Who’s loving the ad campaign for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1? *raises hand* Well, here’s more subversive propaganda, but with a twist (hin: Beetee!)
(I’m also loving the all-white thing going on with the image that goes with the “transmission”. So kewl.)
Mockingjay Part 1 hits theaters November 21, 2014. A nice belated birthday prezzie for yours truly, and a pre-Turkey Day moviefest for everyone else.
Taking the original “trapped in the house with Big Bads right outside” claustrophobia of The Purge and amping it up to a citywide view of total chaos, The Purge: Anarchy is goin’ big. The Trailer looks like a cross between Deliverance and Escape from New York. Others have said that this looks like a Rich Vs. Poor kinda thing, but I’m hoping for more of the have-nots whupping on the haves. Call me a hopeless romantic.
Will you be a part of The Purge? Man, I don’t think I’d be cool enough. I’d be up in West Virginia BFE ’til the day passed. But either a lover or a fighter, check out these stills…and the film on July 18th, if you dare.
It’s that time again y’all — and about time too. You know. It’s summertime, and everyone’s thoughts turn to what the heck are we gonna read by the pool/hiding away from the crazy heat/on vacation? Well, the Ghastly Awards have you covered, at least for your horror comics fix. And there are some doozies from last month!
Hack/Slash: Son of Samhain has really switched up the storyline, and all bets are off. Spaced says that’s a Very Good Thing for fans of the series, and horror junkies in general. LIBRETTO Volume One: Vampirism had me at it’s gothic-feel of a title, and Bree says it’ll fascinate fans of the fang. Steve Banes weighs in on the latest Poe story to hit the shelves, Morella and the Murders in the Rue Morgue. And if you’re in the mood for a bloody good (heh) origin story? Decap says Rise of the Blood Queen #1 will definitely fill the bill.
Chilling stories for a hot-as-Hades month. Enjoy!
Ghastly Awards – June 2014 Update
Don’t forget to submit your book for the 2014 Ghastly Awards!
Horror comics are becoming more and more frequent in our reading culture, and the Ghastly Awards are here to recognize those that shine the brightest. We encourage all Comic Creators and Publishers to take the time to head over to www.ghastlyawards.comand submit your work for 2014 Ghastly Award Nomination consideration.
Creators please remember that you can submit your Horror Comic work throughout the entire calendar year! For the month of June 2014 the Judges are recommending you go back and take a look at:
Hack/Slash: Son of Samhain (Umage) – Still dealing with the death of Vlad, Cassie Hack’s life is coming apart more than it ever has before. Leaving Georgia and losing their child to the system Cassie becomes a bounty hunter, but bringing down non-slasher bad guys won’t be as easy as she thought. During a bounty collection Cassie is interrupted by Delroy, a bounty hunter, but of a different kind. Delroy knows Cassie and her past and offers her a chance to return to her old life. But, will Cassie go back to slasher slaying or is the hope of a normal life still a driving force for her? The reins of Hack/Slash have been handed over to Michael Moreci and he has done an excellent job of capturing Cassie in a way that still harnesses her original origins but gives her his own mature spin. This isn’t a reinvention of Cassie, but rather a continuation of her story and it’s told with no loss of any of the humor or the horror of Hack/Slash. Steve Seeley’s art is spot on with the action continuously flowing throughout the comic with the dialogue being smart, catchy and fun. This is a great opening start to a new chapter in Cassie’s life that I know will be filled with some bloody gory fun. – Spaced
LIBRETTO Volume One: Vampirism (IDW / 44Flood) (IDW) – The insanely talented men behind LUST partnered with IDW to produce an intense art book / comic book / and artist biography (via interviews with and conducted by the contributing artists). This massive, 200+ page tome runs on a theme of vampirism, as the press release states, “…vampirism, being the misuse of power, as well as the objectification and exploitation of others.” Each contributor explores this concept with their unique style of art, be it painting, digital art, sculpture, photography, etc. With each interview, we delve into the dark minds of our favorite artists and their motivations for creating the gorgeous pieces of dark art that we’ve all come to love so much. The care and time that went into making this volume is evident and it’s clear that each artist has a deep knowledge of and passion for the theme itself. The commentary within the pages of LIBRETTO is deep and the takeaway is resounding. – Bree Ogden
Morella and the Murders in the Rue Morgue (Dark Horse) – Richard Corben adapts two classic Edgar Allan Poe terror tales with seriously fun and sometimes frightening results in this one-shot from Dark Horse Comics. As with most Corben projects, the art is a visual, unique feast for the eyes, sinister, sexy, gruesome, and 100% like no other Poe version you’ve ever seen before. – Steve Banes
Rise of the Blood Queen #1 (Bloody Gore Comix) – I freaking LOVE Zombie Commandos from Hell books. They have this feel of the late 80s and early 90s, that just bring me back to everything I love about horror. The story by Steph Dumais is fantastic. Like I mentioned, it has this 80s vibe to it, it’s post apocalyptic and retro at the same time. It’s disturbing and troubling, and this is all just a build to explain where the Blood Queen came from. The artwork is GORE-Geous! Dumais split up art duties between himself, Mike Bauman, Adam Geyer, Walter Sablotny, Mark K Allen and Croc Dave. Each artist has their own style, yet it came together so well here. Personally I’ve not hear of Mike Bauman before, but he is on my radar now. This was a great read from start to finish. I do highly suggest that if you pick this one up, you buy yourself all 3 of the covers. Look it up, you’ll see why. – Decapitated Dan
Creators and Publishers please make sure to go over to www.ghastlyawards.com to submit your books for 2014 Nomination consideration! More informaiton on how the submission process works can be found here http://ghastlys.blogspot.com/2010/10/submit-your-horror-comic-to-be.html
* Please note that none of the books reviewed are guaranteed to be nominated. These are just books that the Judges enjoyed and want you to know about.
______________________________________________________Judges:
Decapitated Dan, Mike Howlett, Belinda “Spaced” McNeill, Lonnie Nadler, Bree Ogden
Staff:
Steve Banes, Pedro Cabezuelo, Denise Dutton, Rachel DeeringFounded in 2011 by Decapitated Dan with the help of Steve Banes, Mike Howlett, Lonnie Nadler and Mykal Banta, the Ghastly Awards recognize outstanding achievements in Horror Comics over a range of 15 different categories. The nominees are chosen by other horror comic book professionals and winners are chosen by a panel of judges.
The Awards were named for acclaimed comics creator “Ghastly” Graham Ingels.
Starting in 2013 the Ghastly Awards switched over to a Submission based process. Comic Publishers and Creators can submit their books for nomination consideration throughout the calendar year. The top five nominees in each category will be chosen by the Judges, and will then be voted on by the Judges, Creators and Fans to decide the winners.The Ghastly Award Judges work strictly on a volunteer basis. There is no paid staff and the awards are completely funded from the generous donations of its sponsors.
Zombies! Apocalypse! First person narrative! Any wonder I grabbed this off the bookshelf yesterday? The only real wonder is that it took me a half a day to finish it; Red Hill is a definite page-turner. As with my usual laziness, here’s the 411 from my GoodReads review:
I’ve read a ton of post-apocalyptic &/or zombie fiction. Being a horror nerd’ll do that to a person. But this is a rare breed; a story that keeps the gore up close, and still manages to dig deep into the living characters mucking through the new world order.
Is it sometimes a bit too convenient? Are there a few “yaaaaay, good!” moments that seem improbable? I don’t care. This book grossed me out, made me weepy, and made me smile…sometimes all at once. Win.
So yeah, I enjoyed it. My only real quibble? On page 122 a character drops car keys “under the car”, but after a brief shuffler panic – kudos to McGuire for coming up with a new word for zombie – drives off, no mention of how the keys were retrieved. Howzat? I should dock the book a half a star for that, but that’s really poor editing, not poor writing. And it’s the only hangup I had with this book.
Gruesome, gicky action. Zombies that shuffle but are still DTB (Down To Bite). And maybe… wuv? You got me, Red Hill.
No, this doesn’t have anything to do with movies, TV, books or music. But it’s freakin FIREWORKS from the vantage point of being in them.
If that’s not Atomic Awesome, I don’t know what is.
Ready for fireworks and BBQ? Well, the whole Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has a 4th message for you. Happy 4th! (…?)
Now that the start of the new season – and new Doctor – has been announced, are you jonesing for more Who? Yeah you are. Well, there’s a new Con in town, and it’s name is Reggie Hammond ReGeneration Who. Say thank you to the nice folks.
What’s drawn me to this Con is the idea that it’s a meeting place for all Whovians, from old-school cool to newer series addicts. What a perfect way to meet and chat with folks all over the spectrum. Have you been afraid that you’re not knowledgeable about the earlier Doctors? *raises own hand* Not to worry, everyone’s cool here! Yayz!
And did I mention they’ve already got Colin “The 6th Doctor” Baker coming? Yeah baby.
ReGeneration Who is coming at’cha March 27-29, 2015 in Hunt Valley, MD. Plenty of time to start saving for that life-size Dalek….
Me? I’ma cosplay the 10th Doctor. Hey, it’s cold in March. A trench and sand shoes’ll be perfect.
Read on for the full press release!
Image: Netflix/Eli Roth
This was sent to probably everyone who has Netflix. But I share because Hemlock Grove was crazy, weird and ultimately grew on me big time last year. Plus, Eli Roth just may answer any of your burning, bloody questions ala The Twitter. (That’s the @EliRoth you see above this post. In case you needed 100% verification.) Peep the Season 1 recap (requires Netflix, sorry) — be prepared for awesome FX if you haven’t seen it yet — and get your paws on some popcorn. It’s gonna be a dark and stormy, crazy night come 7/11. I’m betting Mr. Roth wouldn’t have it any other way. (All apologies to Netflix and Eli Roth, but the HTML? She’s a-shaky ’round hereparts….)
….[D]o you want to see something really scary…? The wait is almost over. If you’re like me, you devoured Season 1 like a ravenous Vargulf in one marathon sitting. Or perhaps you slowly drained the life from each episode over time like an Upir. Either way, we know you’re hungry for more, and I want you to know Season 2 is well worth the wait. But just in case you’ve forgotten all the gory details of Season 1, here’s a bite-sized recap to chew on…Hungry for more Hemlock Grove? Talk to me @EliRoth. And yes, it’s actually me, not a creation from Dr. Pryce’s lab…
So who’s with me for bingewatching July 11th?
Note: this IS NOT A PASS. But it’s purdy. (Image: Marvel Studios)
Hi guys! Remember the Guardians of the Galaxy sneak I was telling y’all about? Well, if you want to go but figured you’d missed the passes, there are more to be had! That’s right!
Easy-peasy: check out the 411 below, and get yourself passed.
But do remember; these suckers will be overbooked so the studio can have the most feedback from the most folks. So if you’re dying to see this? Get yourself there early. And also: poster y’all!
You’re invited to a special event: Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”: An IMAX® 3D First Look, featuring 17 minutes of exclusive footage from the highly anticipated summer blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The sneak peek will be showcased in 150 IMAX® theatre locations across North America on July 7 at 7 p.m. TheBaltimore area locations are:
- Regal Waugh Chapel Stadium 12 & IMAX – 1419 S Main Chapel Way, Gambrills, MD 21054
- AMC Columbia 14 & IMAX – 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044
For your chance to win tickets, email DC.GOTG@gmail.com with your name and theater preference. Tickets are available while supplies last.
Note: Like a screening, the seating is first-come, first-served and these will be overbooked.
Nutshell: I’d give it a C+. It’s not good, but it’s not a complete trash heap. Melissa McCarthy takes a pathetic person and gives her heart, but fans of Christina Yang will have to live with watching Sandra Oh just stand around for a handful of scenes. She’s not the only one who gets tossed off; Toni Colette and Allison Janney are in a brief, thankless roles too. But this movie isn’t a flat-out comedy, it’s a funny movie about flawed people. And so it kinda works. Kinda.
Here’s one: what’s funny, not funny, and then almost flat-out depressing ‘til a feel-good ending? Hey, how’d you know I was gonna say Tammy? Melissa McCarthy’s script that was shelved awhile back got dusted off and trotted out…and maybe if I’d paid for the privilege I’d be a bit more disappointed. But as it stands, Tammy is a film that isn’t gonna have you laughing your ass off, but there are enough genuine laughs and even some heart-growing scenes that were surprisingly on-point. Guess that’s what happens when you stuff a so-so script with a whole lot of top-shelf talent.
Tammy is a lower-middle class white-trash cliché. Driving a heap of a car that’s held together with empty food packets and sheer will, she’s late for her job at the local McDonalds rip-off TopperJacks. But she hits a deer when she takes her eyes off the road…which totals her car…which makes her disheveled and even more late for work…which gets her fired by her icky boss (Ben Falcone, McCarthy’s husband & the film’s director/writer)…which gets her home early so she can see her husband’s having an affair…which gets her to hey mom, I’m home!
Got a dollar to spare? A quarter?
Atomic Fangirl 