Tensions Heat Up With ‘The Curse of Brimstone’ – Issue #1
April 14th, 2018 by Gregg Senko
So for a few months now I’ve been tackling DC’s latest arsenal of new titles for 2018. The one I’ve anticipated the most has finally arrived, The Curse of Brimstone. It recently arrived on store shelves and through Amazon’s Comixology in tandem with another new DC release, The Immortal Men. While I haven’t picked up the latter yet, I dove into Brimstone rather quickly. Writer Justin Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode) brings a hot pen to the book’s pages as Philip Tan (Final Crisis) delivers the scorching visuals. Pack some sunscreen because this book is going to burn.
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I was kind of late to the concert scene compared to most of my peers as a teen. I didn’t see my first show until I was 19. Since then, I’ve lost track of just how many concerts I’ve been to, but thankfully there has been that luxury of experiencing a lot more good shows than bad. With each of those headlining bands, there have been a plethora of opening acts I’ve been able to listen to as well. Some sang, some danced, but only a few performed. This past Wednesday, April 11th, another opening act was added to my list of artists seen. Wait, in this case let us say ‘experienced’. Prior to the Daughtry show at the Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield, Ohio, a trio known simply as Sinclair took the stage. No one warned me just how impactful they would be.
In 2011, a certain sci-fi novel was released called Ready Player One. It was an instant hit and not only were sales impressive, but the book found its way to the New York Times Best Seller list. Now, I cannot say that I have read the book, but of those that have, no one has never told me one bad thing about it. Being a bit of literature that flew off store shelves and fulfilled many online shopping carts, it seemed destined to make its way to the big screen. The novel is filled with references to decades past such as the band Rush, Ultraman, Joust, D&D and a boatloads of 1980’s pop culture favorites. How did all this translate to a somewhat dystopian future where video games are more than just an escape from life? You know the drill. No need to drop another quarter to continue. Just click to read on.
If you’re familiar with the some of today’s most popular board games (no, I don’t mean Monopoly or Sorry), then you’re probably familiar with Asmodee (azz-mo-day). The French publisher is a behemoth in the industry and currently oversees production of many massively popular board, card and role-playing games like Hanabi, Splendor, Ticket to Ride, Dead of Winter and Star Wars X-Wing. Of course, to get to the point they are at today, they have acquired a number of other game publishers along the way such as Fantasy Flight, Days of Wonder, and most recently Mayfair Games and Lookout Spiele. While some raise an eyebrow to the number of companies Asmodee is amassing, there is no denying they excel at what they do. So what else do you do when you own nearly everything in sight? You turn it into a movie.
It’s taxing to find good horror on comic book shelves. Many titles that try their hand at the genre are underwhelming while others may just come across as kid-like and are more goofy than scary. Now don’t get me wrong. The horror gems can still be found out there. The first to come to mind is Joe Hill’s resounding Lock & Key, which not only turned some keys, but plenty of heads as well. This title didn’t garner international attention because the covers were pretty. Content was solid to say the least. Yet that brings us to today when horror comic books aren’t exactly commonplace. Let’s correct that right now. I give you Infidel.
Im a big Aquaman fan, but as the saying goes, behind every great man is a great woman. For quite some time, the one-time rival and now love interest of Arthur Curry, Mera of Xebel, gets her own comic book series. Though it is a limited series, something tells me DC is testing the waters to see if sales will allow her to get her own ongoing story. For now, I’m just excited this has come out. DC released issue #1 of the Mera: Queen of Atlantis at the end of February. Pardon me for a being a little late to the game, but as the other saying goes, better late than never. Plus, this is one title that is worth the wait.
In keeping up with DC’s ongoing barrage of new titles this year, the latest arrival in our hands is issue #1 of The Terrifics. This compact super team is led by Mr. Terrific himself while joined by Metamorpho, Plastic Man and newcomer Linnya Wazzo. I really can’t wait to just dive in and start talking about this, but I’m wasting time and space to fill up enough dialogue so I there’s a big enough paragraph in place before you click on the title to read more. I know, cheap journalistic move, right? Yeah, guilty as charged.
In late 2017, DC Comics announced several new comic book series that would begin in early 2018. With a total of eight new titles set, DC is looking to establish some new characters, like Damage, while bringing back some old…Plastic Man, anyone? Innovation and creativity are key in the industry so it’s no surprise the new roster of heroes (are they all heroes?) are making their debut. Keep an eye out in the coming months for The Silencer, Sideways, The Terrifics, The Immortal Men, The Curse of Brimstone, New Challengers and The Unexpected. For now though, DC has satiated our appetite with the first of the eight new series, Damage.
No matter what the final box office tally winds up being, that doesn’t matter in terms of the quality of films that 2017 delivered. While for a long time it seemed like it only had one true Best Picture frontrunner, that’s a whole different bag because there are a lot of awesome films we know they won’t let sniff a nomination. And, that whole Oscar thing seemed to fill out quite easily in the final months of the year. In terms of just speaking genre, specifically the falsely loathed super hero one, it was a pretty outstanding year. Aside from Justice League (Which I found to be a mess, but fun enough regardless), every output felt top tier, with Marvel seeming to have a welcomed comedic approach to its movies this year. There will be focus on box office misses, but that doesn’t make War For The Planet of the Apes any less incredible or Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets the best summer blockbuster film you didn’t go and see. Sure, there were turds and if you’re paying attention in this, you’ll know my bottom 5. 2017 produced a lot of greatness and this list was DAMN hard to whittle down to 10. It pained me to cut some favorites, but my next would be all films I loved quite a bit (Oddly, I’ll probably watch Happy Death Day as the years go by more often than some of these). But, anywho…here’s my 10. 
Without question, this is my favorite article to write for Why So Blu. All of us WSB staffers start keeping track of the films we see from the moment January arrives. As the year progresses, we delete, we add and we rearrange our lists until late December arrives when it’s time to finally see what’s behind the curtain. Now for the inundated, these lists are not reflections of the most artistic films of the year. Each one is a reflection of that writer’s personal favorites from that year. Don’t flip out in the comments section if you were to see something like Rambo higher than The Sound of Music. Again, favorites, people. We’re not giving out Oscar nominations here (though some of the films we discuss are very Oscar-worthy). Anyway, it’s time to pull back that curtain.
I can’t believe it has been another year of rocking and rolling here at Why So Blu?. Once again, it is my Top-10 Blu-ray list of the year — some may or may not come as a surprise but most should be no-brainers for the most part. I do not know if I will be crossing streams with my fellow WSB writers, but that’s half the fun. In any event, the following list does not examine film merit at all. It is all about the best bang for your Blu-ray buck. It is all about presentation, special features, and bells & whistles. It’s as simple as that. Without further ado I give you my favorite Blu-rays of 2017. Enjoy! 
Another year of home video releases in the books. While digital and streaming continue to be a thing, the physical market is still the best possible way to view or take in your entertainment. And whatever the numbers tell you what, whether its “dying” or “doing well”, what’s clear is that the overall quality of the releases are thriving. With the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format in its second year and boutique labels (Criterion, Arrow, etc.) being allotted more and more sublicensing on more A-level titles, there were a lot of reissues in 2017. I argue its been many years since some of these were first released to begin with, but these new editions have really been upping their game in the high quality transfers and restorations business. With the 4K material, some studios are finally opening up to catalog titles further back than the last couple years, with some studios really blowing us away with their enhancements and others lazily just upconverting it seems. All in all, it was another terrific year for collectors and fans, and I for one will be leaving 2017 more than pleased. 
Last year I undertook the pioneer task of only listing my Top 10 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays 
