New Moon Knight Mini-Series is No Dead End
July 27th, 2023 by Gregg Senko
That’s right, in addition to his monthly ongoing series, the Fish of Khonshu also gets a concurrent mini-series titled Moon Knight: City of the Dead. The five-issue series is penned by David Pepose (Savage Avengers, Hulk Annual) with artwork from Marcelo Ferriera (The Amazing Spider-Man, Strange). I’ll leave it to Pepose’s website (davidpepose.com) to best describe this latest installation in the world of Moon Knight…
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I don’t know if this has ever happened before, but when three of your favorite bands all release studio albums in the same year, that can be ironic, iconic, a sign, or simply coincidence. It’s certainly the most latter of all of those, but it didn’t demean the anticipation any less. Between Paramore’s This Is Why, Metallica’s 72 Seasons, and now Dave Matthews Band’s Walk Around the Moon, Paramore put out the most enjoyable effort, in my humble opinion. Still, there’s an enjoyable rock-engaging experience to be had with each recording. With DMB’s ninth studio album out this past May, it’s time to take a quick look at this 12-song record.
I’m going to make it a habit to do album reviews well after they’ve been released. The simple reason being I’m far too knee-jerk reactionary when initially hearing a new release. So that brings us to Metallica’s 11th studio album, 72 Seasons. The title is a reference to the first 18 years of someone’s life that, as lead singer James Hetfield stated, “form our true or false selves.”
When Doomsday killed Superman back in 1992, the earth-shattering storyline concurrently introduced new characters that instantly struck a chord with readers. One of those was none other than John Henry Irons, an engineer by trade who created his own enhanced suit of armor to fend off the villains of Metropolis. Irons donned the moniker Steel and took to the skies and the streets of Superman’s city. The man with the hammer is back, well, this other man with a hammer, not the Asgardian one, and he’s looking to do big things for the citizens of Metropolis.
Worlds collide as IDW brings together the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a roster of classic Street Fighter characters in the new mini-series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter! Gang Green is all here, including the fifth turtle, Jennika. With writing by Paul Allor (Godzilla Rivals) and art by Ariel Medel (Evil Ernie), TMNT vs. SF opens with a calcium-shattering punch by Raphael, connecting with the face of everyone’s favorite sonic-booming flat top, Guile.
About two months ago, give or take, some comic book stores were lucky enough to get debut issues of Dylan Burnett’s Arcade Kings. Though those were very limited, the series has now had its official widespread release with issue #1. Burnett, who’s done covers for another Image title, Radiant Black, has also spent plenty of time with Marvel working on series such as Ant Man and Cosmic Ghost Rider. With Arcade Kings, however, this is Burnett’s baby as he created, wrote, and did the artwork. So what’s this new, colorful series about anyway?
It goes without saying that this album has had plenty of time to stew in listeners’ ears, considering it was released this past winter. Still, the timing doesn’t feel all that off as the North American tour is about to get underway and the vibes and sounds of This Is Why have simmered without making any hastily written reviews.
It’s a bustling week for comic book releases as IDW, DC, Marvel, and a the small publisher Scout Comics all have newsworthy titles arriving at stores. The end of March will be bringing a variety of nostalgia, famous faces and new stories for readers everywhere. So what titles did these aforementioned publishers provide? Without further ado, let’s cast some spells, smash some walls and turn up the volume!
It’s been a short while since the last Pacific Rim film or Godzilla vs. Kong, but we are due for a good kaiju film, are we not? Straight from Thailand comes The Lake from writer Lee Thongkam who also co-directed with Aqing Xu. Although it’s a 2022 film, it is just now making its way across the Pacific to the shores of the States. Billed as a sci-fi, horror, thriller, The Lake clocks in with a one hour and 44-minute runtime and bills itself as “Godzilla’s water brother from a Thai mother!” That’s cool and all, but does it deliver?
The Spider-Man universe has a lot going on right now. I’m talking traffic at Times Square busy. Spider-Gwen has clones, Silk is back, Miles Morales is trying to find his way, and Dark Web made a chaotic splash, and then there’s Janine Godbe. Godbe is the former girlfriend of Ben Reilly, a clone Spider-Man. When Reilly’s memories were erased and he became the villain Chasm, Janine Godbe hit the road with her collection of supernatural masks to become Hallow’s Eve.
Last week Image launched its newest series, and despite its title, the concept is definitely from out of town. Local Man is created and written by the duo of Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) and Tony Fleecs (Star Wars Adventures) and the tandem has approached the first issue in a most unique way. Jack Xaver, better known by his hero name Crossjack, is a former member of the super team Third Gen. The comic book is actually set up quite unconventionally where the back cover starts with Third Gen in action ripping through a horde of supposed baddies. If you flip the comic book over to the other cover, however, it delves into the modern day aftermath of Jack Xaver back home at his parents’ place in a small town called Farmington. So what got this guy the boot?
Norman Osborne, better known as the Green Goblin, is easily Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis. The sled-flying psycho has changed his tune in recent years, most recently donning the unwilling moniker of the Gold Goblin. After his son Harry’s death, a gap was left in the world of law-refusing goblindom. Enter Normie Osborn, Harry’s son, grandson of Norman. But this little scarlet menace is quite different than his science-based predecessors. What secret does he hold that his family does not?
Coming from Kyle Starks and Dark Horse Comics, Where Monsters Lie is a mini-series I had heard nothing about, yet came highly recommended at my local comic book shop. Starks is the creator behind Sexcastle, an 80’s-themed story about an assassin who’s retired to become a small town florist. While I can’t say I’ve read it, Starks must be doing something right because Sexcastle was just optioned to become a major motion picture, according to Image Comics. Hats off to Starks’ success, but can he match that with Where Monsters Lie?
DC and Warner Bros. Animation keep churning out hit after hit with their animated films. While some are certainly better than others, this line of films seems to do quite well in the direct-to-disc format. The first DC Universe film this year is Legion of Super-Heroes directed by Jeff Wamester. Wamester is no stranger to the animated scene as he previously directed Batman: The Long Halloween and Justice Society: World War II, just to name a mere few from his lengthy resumé.
Lots of big splashes were made in the industry this year with Detective Comics releasing its DC vs. Vampires miniseries and Marvel delivering the Judgement Day event. Meanwhile, Aliens and Predator both saw their respective miniseries get launched for the first time not under the Dark Horse label. And speaking of firsts, Batman and Spawn teamed up for the first time in years to put the dark duo back in the hands of fans. But who stole the show as the year’s best?
In good years and “bad” years at the movies, there are still great films gifted upon us. Old faithfuls deliver and new voices step into the light. Small films will climb high and a blockbuster or two will remind people of why something needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. And in every year, as a film writer, we craft together our Top 10, 20, 30…films of the year. No matter the year, its never an easy task for people who appreciate the art and love and live for the medium. For 2022, culminating a top 10 was aggravating as the cuts to make were pretty deep. There were films I’d love to highlight, but being honest with myself, I have to go with what meant more to me while at the same time not being phony in trying to include what I “should” or exclude something because plenty of other people will have it on their lists and I want to be hip and different just for the sake of trying to stand out. As I say every year, there were plenty of films I still wish I would have been able to get to, but at some point, you have to call “time” and just get to it. With all top 10s, its that person’s film experience for the year. Whether they were able to see 12 films of 200, their top 10 is their top 10. So, let’s get to cracking on my Top 10 Films of 2022! 
