Image Plays Deadly Rhythm with ‘Dancer’
May 21st, 2012 by Gregg Senko
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Image Comics shows no signs of slowing down, especially with its release of new titles every year. One in particular is the brand new series Dancer. Writer Nathan Edmondson (Grifter, Popgun Vol. 3) is the man behind this Jason Bourne-esque story with artist Nic Klein (Viking) providing the visuals in the newly released issue 1.
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Most people I know are only familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen’s work on the Borat and Bruno level. My first exposure to him was 11 years ago in a boring Biloxi, Mississippi apartment with time to kill. There it was. The Ali G Show. Cohen displayed comedic brilliance in the role of the suburban Brit gangsta-wannabe, which of course also included Kazakhi tourist Borat and gay Austrian fashion journalist, Bruno. Fast forward those 11 years and here we are with Cohen’s latest incarnation as Admiral General Aladeen. My, how the mighty have fallen.
Though there are only 2 films to its credit, the successful Tron franchise is frequently mentioned when it comes to landmark special effects. The original film from 1982 set a visual standard back then and that high quality was maintined when Tron: Legacy entered the digital fray in 2010. The series now continues with that same backbone of wowing imagery in the form of the new Disney cartoon series Tron: Uprising.
The Spider-Man saga started quite a long time ago…1962 to be exact, and since then, everyone’s favorite web slinger has seen just about all there is to see within the pages of a comic book. Plus, the guy’s abilities are pretty impressive, so needless to say his enemies have been out to harness that for some time now. One successful attempt at that has led to the recently released series, Scarlet Spider.
Last week I released a story covering the rebirth of Valiant Comics along with reboot mentions of some of their best selling titles from the 1990′s. With X-O Manowar being the publisher’s flagship title back in the day, they made a common sense decision making the one-man army their first release in 2012. So was this do-over worth the read? Was the art worth a second look? You know the drill. Read on to check out the new Valiant’s exciting first release.
Two of the most prominent establishments that film nature documentaries these days are the BBC and Disney. The BBC tends to focus on a more straight delivery with a dose of epic-ness thrown in. DisneyNature, however, focuses their films around a story as their crews follow a select group of animals, capturing their plights and good fortunes alike. This past weekend, following a year after its highly successful African Cats, DisneyNature brings us the highly touted Chimpanzee.
It was back in the 90’s when Valiant Comics lived the good life before tapering off into oblivion. With a variety of titles to their credit including Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger, and Ninjak, their hottest book was arguably X-O Manowar. After the company changed hands and then practically fell off the face of the earth, its glory days may be resurfacing this year as the new-look Valiant makes its debut on Free Comic Book Day, May 1st, with the relaunch of X-O Manowar, which will be written by Robert Venditti (who also wrote The Surrogates books, which later became a popular Bruce Willis film) and penicilled by artist Cary Nord (Marvel Comics Presents).
With all the stories that have been written in the comic book world, it can sometimes be difficult to wonder what else is left. Well, how about this? Take the two biggest heroic forces in the Marvel Universe, and pit them against each other in a massive slugfest for the ages. Sound good? Or does it sound like a potentially epic story that also doubles as a fanboy’s dream come true? This eruptive combination came to reality yesterday, April 4th, as the two super teams dropped the gloves in issue #1 of Avengers vs. X-Men. 
Navy SEALs. Is there anything these guys can’t do? I mean one minute we see them on CNN picking off Somali pirates on a moving boat from a few hundred yards, the next they’re taking out Bin Laden with the garbage. Even amidst an unconventional day at the office, these guys find the time to…star in a movie? You got it. In case you missed the high octane film in theaters this past winter starring active duty U.S. Navy SEALs, you’ll have the chance to catch it on Blu-ray and DVD very soon. If Infinity Ward’s highly successful ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ video game franchise were ever to make a transition to the big screen, this is what it would look like. Check out all the details here…
It was only a matter of time before FX guru and Star Wars creator George Lucas jumped on the 3D bandwagon. This past Friday, Episode I: The Phantom Menace made its arrival in theaters. With massive cardboard standups in cinemas months ago promoting the upcoming release/re-release, hopes were high that Lucas would deliver on the conflicted visual technology. At the end of the day, however, the only thing that was high was the ticket price.
I remember a handful of years back when word got out that a third Underworld movie was in production. Then word arrived that series star Kate Beckinsale would not be a part of the film. I, along with many other fans, felt the unfortunate sting. Thankfully, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was a great-fitting prequel spelling out the history of the werewolf/vampire rivalry. With a trilogy in the books, fans still wanted another movie, but this time with Kate Beckinsale. I give you Underworld: Awakening. 
I was kind of worried throughout the first half of the year that it wasn’t going to be a pleasant 2011 as far as theater viewings went. There were more than a few flops at the cinema by the time June came to a close with a sparse picking of films that had some ‘wow’ factor. Thankfully, the second half of 2011 made up for it in just about any genre you can think of, and as December winds down, I waited until seeing War Horse before releasing this list. However, that potentially epic film fell short and didn’t come close to making the list. So without any more delay, here are some of the best and worst films we’ve had the opportunity (or displeasure) of experiencing since January…
So many Blu-rays, so little time. If I bought every disc I wanted to see this year, I would’ve gone broke before the summer ended. There were some great releases that didn’t make my list such as Swingers, Attack the Block, and True Blood: Season 3. Then there were the sure-fire films I thought would make the list but missed by a mile, like a really bad video transfer of Gettysburg and an extras-less Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Who releases a big budget feature on Blu-ray with no extras?? Anyway, I’d have to say this was probably the most difficult top ten Blu-ray list I ever had to assemble as it underwent many changes throughout the year, most over the course of the last week. Now that 2011 is just about said and done, here are my favorite picks of the year…
The wait is nearly over. On December 20th, PC gamers will finally be able to get their hands on an official copy of the latest MMO (massive multiplayer online) title to hit store shelves; Star Wars: The Old Republic. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity of being selected as a beta tester. This past weeked, I managed to grab a few hours of adventure in a galaxy far, far away…
The final week of issue 1′s from DC’s New 52 have been released and the public has had their day in the sun to review them. While I didn’t get to every issue that came out last week, I did take a look at six of the titles. I passed on David Finch’s The Dark Knight, simply because I’m not big on the idea of stopping a series three or four issues into it, then rebooting it right away. Plus, that title did not receive favorable reviews on Comixology, so in its place, I went with the lesser known I, Vampire. With other titles like Superman and the Flash gracing last week’s releases, week four saw the New 52 first-issue premiers going out with a bang…or was it more like a pop?
The final week of The New 52 is upon us, and while I will have a review of multiple titles next week, today is going to focus on a character DC has had trouble delivering to readers on a more serious level. Aquaman. The sea-farring superhero turned 70 this week, debuting in issue #73 of More Fun Comics on September 25, 1941. He gets his reboot today. How appropo.
As the third season of the Fox hit makes its debut on TV, so does season 2 on Blu-ray. While the latest season will feature the final seasons of stars Lea Michele and Chris Colfer, you can relive their junior years in high school on the latest Blu-ray addition. Of course the show doesn’t stop there. There’s the Dalton Academy, Sue’s incessant antics to abolish the glee club, relationships gone awry and the list goes on. Still, as bubblegum as some of these topics come across, there is a great deal of reality the show contends with. It can be a lifestyle choice or a disability and whatever the case, has no fear in addressing the matters in an entertaining and sometimes educational fashion. No, not PBS educational. I mean look-at-people-around-you educational. It is truly unique and is tough to compare it with anything else out there now on the airwaves. Get ready for the complete second season of…Glee!
Yesterday witnessed another barrage of DC Comics restarts as we get closer to the final launch date. Though September 21st’s releases consisted of twelve titles, we’re going to take a quick look at half of those, including DC standouts Batman and Wonder Woman. It’s hard to believe four of the five ‘New 52′ release dates are already said and done. So far, personal favorites include Animal Man, Batwing, Justice League, and the Red Lanterns. How does this week compare? Let’s find out… 
After today, there are only two more Wednesdays of release dates that restart 52 DC titles at issue 1. While I was unable to get my hands on issue 1 of Deathstroke (sold out) or a few of the other DC notables today, I did pick up six other firsts. Read on to see what’s worth a buy and what’s worth leaving on the shelf.
