Red Goblin Enters the Marvel Fray
February 28th, 2023 by Gregg Senko
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?
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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?
A full year of movies in the cinema! Granted, that happened last year too, but it’s great to have normality back in the mix for consecutive years, even if it feels like the cinema is slowly passing away, sadly enough. Nevertheless, the early part of 2022 saw a few films that made the most of a cinematic experience, certainly ones you will see on this list. Marvel dotted the landscape with its expected trio of films this year, streaming services continued their increasing library of solid films, and finally, an old friend from the 90’s showed up to close out a trilogy. One film I did not get to see in time was the James Cameron epic, Avatar: The Way of Water. Then again, I fell asleep in the first one so perhaps that omission isn’t a drastic one. That aside, 2022 gave us plenty of other titles to fill our lists with.
There’s the old saying that every dog has his day, such is the case with short, green Jedi Masters. Marvel recently released issue #1 of Yoda in part one of the story arc, Light and Life: The Coming of the Jedi. No stranger to Star Wars, Cavan Scott, can be found authoring the series with Nico Leon responsible for the artwork. While it’s not necessarily considered an oversized issue, the premier certainly has more content than your typical comic book. That’s all fine and dandy, but how is the story?
Artist/Writer Scottie Young (Human Torch, New X-Men) has created something uniquely appealing with his new series I Hate Fairyland. This time, other than the book’s cover, Young steps back from artistic duties and works primarily as the series’ writer. With a title like that, you’re probably asking what this series is about, especially if you did not catch its prior inception. It centers around main character Gertrude, who was trapped in Fairyland as a child, grew up there, became disenchanted there, and split a lot of heads there…literally. What can I say? She carries a big axe.
Marvel heads to South Korea with its newest super team, Tiger Division ! Emily Kim, who wrote the Spider-Man spinoff series Silk, assumes writing duties for Tiger Division, and does a more than proficient job I might add. As the inaugural issue states, “When South Korea needed defending, the National Intelligence Service, led by Director Ami Han, A.K.A. White Fox, assembled a team of super-powered individuals. Taegukgi, the powerhouse who packs a punch; Lady Bright, a card-wielding sorcerer; Mr. Enigma, a street-brawling demigod; the General, a living totem; Gun-R II, a fast-talking robot; and Luna Snow, a cryokinetic pop star.”
Namor: Conquered Shores recently mades its debut in comic book stores and has been receiving solid reviews across the board. Written by Christopher Cantwell, the writer/director takes us 100 years into the future when much of the earth’s surface is a scalded wasteland while Atlantis prospers below the waves. Cantwell is joined by artist Pasqual Ferry who offers page after page of descriptive visuals in what will be a five-issue mini-series.
Created and written by H.S. Tak, author of the novel Red Shift, the writer describes Hitomi, Image’s latest release, “In feudal era Japan, a drifter with no prospects begins training in secret under Yasuke, a disgraced, once-feared warrior, as she struggles to find her place in a society entrenched in discrimination and violence.” With this debut issue titled ‘Ghost’, readers will soon learn the violent memory she pursues.
On the 30th anniversary of the original Mortal Kombat video game, Warner Bros. gives us the next film in the animated line of the MK Legends series, Snow Blind. This marks the third film in the Legends series following 2020’s Scorpion’s Revenge and last year’s Battle of The Realms. Directed by Rick Morales, a former storyboard artist on the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie, Morales guides us on this 82-minute tale through the Wastelands and back. How does this latest entry fair? Let’s check it out…
There are three universal things that are known to unite people; music, food and sports. The third of those three has not failed to produce a number a timeless films in the genre such as Field of Dreams, Miracle and Sandlot, just to name a few. Every once in a while, the great sport of American football gets its due on the big screen. In the vain of gridiron greats such as Rudy and Friday Night Lights comes American Underdog, the biopic of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, and yet, this film could be best described as not being a sports film and that depth proves to be a good thing.
For Jazz enthusiasts and those in the music industry, the name Bob James rings true with that of an accomplished musician and composer. For the unfamiliar, it likely sounds as the most common of names. Rest assured that his accomplishments and skill are not of the common variety though. The 4k UHD Blu-ray release, 
2022?! But we just started 2021! Yes, time does seem to be flying by awfully quick these days, but I’ll take it considering the further we move ahead, the more we can eventually put Covid-19 in the rear view. Speaking of which, before we get to the films on the list, can we just look at how much better things are right now than they were twelve months ago? Yes, I’m aware numbers are spiking, but the things we can do in society today that we couldn’t a year ago is quite the positive upswing. In over a decade of writing for Why So Blu, last year was the first time my Top 10 list was shrunk to a mere five films. This was of course due to the tremendous lack of new releases combined with the closures of cinemas across the country. But, here we are.
Here we are about to wrap a bow on 2021 and some things have certainly improved from twelve months ago while some of this all feels the same. One aspect which hasn’t changed is the unfaltering delivery of our shows, our films and our comic books to dodge and parry the current norm. We’ve all still managed to find our escapes through these various media, and not only that, but some have gone beyond just good entertainment or solid reads. Some, such as the comic books you’re about to become acquainted with, rose to that tier for one reason or another. We can agree, we can disagree, but we can all be entertained by them.
In 2019, DC Comics released a six-issue mini-series titled DCEASED, which was, if nothing else, one of the most gripping storylines the publisher has released to date. If it was described to you simply as DC’s most famous super heroes fight zombies, you might immediately revert to the thought of Marvel Zombies. However, this couldn’t be further from the reality of DCEASED in which many DC characters transformed into the undead. Building on that age old notion of the animated post-living, DC now brings us its latest mini-series, DC vs. Vampires.
Tis the season! October brings about more than just a slew of purple and orange decorations or the numerous Spirit Halloweens that temporarily occupy vacated buildings. It’s also that time of year when horror films hit the big screen and mini-series fill our televisions. Such has been the case on Netflix, especially since 2018 when The Haunting of Hill House made its debut. For this unfamiliar, the ten-episode series was the first of now three ‘season’ production. Similar to American Horror Story, each season is disconnected from the previous in story, though you’ll find a lot of the same actors recast in new roles. Two of those thespians that have appeared in all three shows include Henry Thomas (E.T.) and Kate Siegel (Hush).
