SDCC 2019 - Cosplay Music Video

The Superior Spider-Man #9

Everyone loves their local Spider-Man. However, earning the praise of the people, and even the key to the city, isn't enough to satisfy our hero. Before launching into the next arc, The Superior Spider-Man #9 features Otto struggling with the recent loses during The War of the Realms and the limitations even a "superior" Spider-Man must accept.

It's Pokémon PokéFest SA 2019

Killjoys - Blame it on the Rain

After her initial plan to wake-up Johnny (Aaron Ashmore) and D'avin (Luke Macfarlane fails, Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) regroups with all the Killjoys in the quad after her. Luckily Zeph (Kelly McCormack) has survived her near-death experience and has come up with a way to wake up the Jaqobis boys. Unlucky for Zeph, she gets caught in the rain and is reprogrammed, unable to help the reunited team make an escape after attack one of the the Lady's terraforming factories.

Uncanny X-Men #22

This version of Uncanny X-Men comes to a close with an odd issue the feels pressured to fit into larger events in the long-term scope of Marvel's favorite mutants. Emma Frost's plan is revealed, which turns out to be fairly benign in making the world forget about mutants, a major supporting character is killed, and the X-Men and Hellfire Club come together to battle Robert Callahan and O.N.E.

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood

The latest from writer/director Quentin Tarantino includes all the trappings that fans have come to expect over the past two decades. Overly talky, in need of a little editing, with a few too many shots of his characters' feet, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood is still quite entertaining and easily the best film Tarantino has made since 2009's Inglourious Basterds. Most comparable with Death Proof, Once Upon a Time offers a slow build-up focused on character and snappy dialogue before jumping headfirst into an explosive finale.

Elementary - The Latest Model

"The Latest Model" offers two cases for Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu). First, Odin Reichenbach (James Frain resurfaces with a case involving a potential killer. As he proposed to Holmes, he offers the detectives a chance to prove to the billionaire that his system isn't correct in identifying and eliminating the man prior to his crime. The case here involves a podcaster (Roderick Hill) whose idea was stolen by a filmmaker who has turned it into fame and fortune while prolonging lawsuits to bankrupt the podcaster from ever seen a dime. As Reichenbach suggests, evidence does seem to point to the man committing crime that would injure both the guilty party and several bystanders. Holmes comes to an alternate solution to prevent the crime from occurring, and seems on the brink of pushing the billionaire into a less violent solution to the would-be criminals he identifies, but given the events at the end of the episode I'd say there is little chance for collaboration between Odin and the detectives (or any reason to suggest him changing his methods).

The Boys - The Name of the Game

I'm not a huge Garth Ennis fan,but with success Wanted and Kick-Ass in theaters and Preacher (also created by Ennis) on television it's hardly a surprise to see The Boys make it to live-action. Adapted from the comic of the same name, the show centers around a group of normal people whose lives have been destroyed by super-hero celebrities and the consumer market which makes them all but untouchable. In the opening episode we meet smart but lazy Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) whose girlfriend is murdered in front of him by a speed-racing hero (Jessie T. Usher). After being offered compensation from the corporation who markets the heroes and sweeps under any mistakes they make along the way, Hughie is offered a second path by a vigilante pretending to be an agent of the FBI (Karl Urban) with his own personal baggage where super-heroes are concerned.

Silver Surfer: Black #2

Things get no less weird in the mini-series second issue. Lost in space and time, the Silver Surfer encounters Knull and the planet of the symbiotes. Those unfamiliar with the character may feel a bit lost here, but his motivations are rather straightforward. The ancient god is intent on removing all light from the universe and returning it the full black abyss from which he came.

Kung Fu Panda - Blue Dragon Plays with Fire

Po (Mick Wingert) begins teaching his new students Nu Hai (Haley Tju), Bao (Gunnar Sizemore), Jing (Laya DeLeon Hayes), and Fan Tong (Makana Say) in the show's second episode while also offering both the students and audience a brief history on the Chi passed to them from each of the Four Constellations. The twist here is that each Panda was given power that goes against their base instincts and will require them to master themselves if they have in hope in unlocking the power within.

Legion - Chapter 24

As Legion moves one-step closer to its series finale the show dispenses with several supporting characters. Once again, several members of David's (Dan Stevens) flower child army are used as canon fodder but the episode is also notable for several other deaths including Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) and Clark (Hamish Linklater). The former, distraught over recent events, takes her own life while Clark becomes one of many casualties when David attacks Division 3's air ship in search of Switch (Lauren Tsai). During the attack Syd (Rachel Keller) also manages to use her powers and take control of David's body, although she's unprepared for the numerous other split personalities still walking around his head as the show's title is uttered by the left-over shards of David's conciousness.

Batman #75

Batman #75 feels very much like an Elseworlds story as we open to a Gotham City where Hugo Strange is the Police Commissioner and the Joker and Riddler are police detectives on the beat involving a double-homicide committed by Two-Face. Although there is a Batman working the streets, it's the alternate version of Thomas Wayne whose back-up isn't Robin but Gotham Girl. This is Gotham City, as designed by Bane.

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #2

The second issue of Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil features Red Sonja performing her duties as a protector of a caravan, including dealing with some unscrupulous (and rather dim-witted) thieves who thought it would be more worth their while to try and cash-in the bounty on Sonja's head rather than fulfill their contract. I'd say they learned their lesson, but since none of them survived I'm not sure that's the case.

Black Cat #2

As teased at the end of the series' opening issue, the Black Fox has arrived to hire Felicia Hardy and her team for an impossible heist. Not every place in the Marvel Universe is easily broken into, and some are nearly impossible. The item of interest to the Fox lies deep within one of the most heavily guarded spots in New York, Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sactorum.

Wednesday with Heidi Mae

Heidi Mae is a cosplayer, singer/songwriter, and actress. You can follow her on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Photo by Miranda Marie.

Killjoys - Run, Yala, Run

Sometimes the heroes lose. It's a brave new world in Killjoys' Fifth Seeason premiere. After escaping the Green, the Lady (Lily Gail Reid) has begun reshaping Westerly to suit her needs. While D'avin (Luke Macfarlane) remains a Killjoy, albeit without any memories of his friends or family, Johnny (Aaron Ashmore) and Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) are living life as a married couple blissfully unaware of the truth... until Dutch begins to wake-up. The Lady has turned the world topsy turvy recasting those to fit her whims (and to keep the dangerous at arm's length). There are certainly questions here, such as who is lurking behind the scenes to help trigger Dutch's memory? And, now that her first attempt has failed, what kind of shock will Dutch need to force on her friends to try and awake them again?

Harry Potter Card Trader - Awesome Pack 6

For more Harry Potter cosplay, check out Pack 1, Pack 2, Pack 3, Pack 4, and Pack 5.

Event Leviathan #2

DC's summer event has been all about chaos and misdirection, which makes it hard to buy into the theory postulated here about who is behind the attacks across the DCU on various spy organizations such as A.R.G.U.S., Spyral, the DEO, and others.

Batman & the Outsiders #3

Batman & the Outsiders #3 is all about tests and loyalty. After taking Sofia Ramos, Ra's al Ghul begins to condition the young woman and slowly bend her to his will. At the same time, rather than hunt for the girl, Batman puts the Outsiders through a test of his own whose true purpose is force Signal to face his guilt and stop running from it.

Spider-Man...

...needs hot dogs to live.

Young Justice #7

Young Justice #7 is a zany, and highly amusing issue (even if it makes the mistake to go with the updated, rather than classic, look of one of its guest-stars), as the team's attempt to find their way home leads to them getting lost in the Multiverse. Bouncing around like a ping-pong ball, the group first hits the Earth of the Lil' Leaguers before landing in the anthropomorphic paradise of Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew. The jump to the following world involves a giant mallet (which is exactly as awesome as it sounds). Sadly, only Bart seems amused the the events.

Elementary - On the Scent

Beginning with the murder of artist, the NYPD believe a serial killer dormant for a decade has returned. Unable to connect any of the original victims to each other or the latest victim, Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) begin looking for alternative reasons for the unknown killer's DNA showing up at all five crime scenes. In the first of a series of twists, they discover the tainted samples for each crime are not from some mysterious killer but a worker in the DNA lab who unintentionally contaminated each of them. Looking at all five cases separately, all have obvious motives except for the most recent one... until they discover one of the woman's dogs was taken as well.

Naomi #6

The six-issue mini-series comes to a close with a story that spans two planets as Naomi steps foot on the alien world where she was born and comes face-to-face with despot who has slaughtered it (and her parents) for his own amusement. Still not fully in control of the power that is now flowing out of her, the kid manages to hold her own long enough to get home (and prevent the creature from taking even a single step on the adopted world she calls home).

Star Wars Adventures #23

The main story of Star Wars Adventures #23 takes place after the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the second Death Star. Wanting to spend a bit more time piloting the Millennium Falcon, and give Han and Leia some privacy, Lando persuades Chewbacca (who doesn't want to watch Han and Leia get all lovey dovey) into another mission. Being Lando, however, he fails to adequately explain the risks before getting the pair into trouble.

Reel Hooligans - Best Comic Book Superhero Tournament

Got a couple free hours and in the need for some nerdy entertainment? This past weekend I joined the Reel Hooligans for the final rounds of their Best Comic Book Superhero Tournament to determine the Best Comic Book Superhero Movie Ever. Who won? Who lost? I guess you will have to listen to find out. And, if you want to start at the beginning, you can find Round 1 and Round 2 inside as well.

Cosplay Italy: Etna Comics 2019

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #6

For those of us who know what happened the first time around, there is some interesting foreshadowing the latest issue of the rebooted Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The issue focuses on Buffy and Willow working together to complete to a quest to earn a soul tie to save Xander Harris from life as a vampire. Picking up more than halfway through the quest helps move the issue along. This path includes some physical obstacles for the pair, and an unexpected travelling companion, as well as a hard choice that may lay the initial ground for Dark Willow in the future.

Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #10

Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider comes to a close with its tenth and final issue (but don't fret, true believers, our girl will be back in the all-new Ghost-Spider series). Issue #10 brings us back around to the trouble of Gwen's malfunctioning powers. In need of help, she dimensionally jumps to find one of the smartest people she knows.

Tuesday with Hendo Art

Hendo Art is a cosplayer from California. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Check out her official store as well. You can also support her on Patreon. Photo by Martin Wong.

Colossalcon 2019 Waterpark Cosplay Party

Monday with Courtney at Galaxy's Edge

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan - Inshallah

The First Season finale of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan opens with the first-half of Suleiman's (Ali Suliman) plan revealed. While only moderately successful so far, it seems he is far from finished. The terrorist has stricken a friend of the President (Michael Gaston) with an incurable form of Ebola and put him in direct contact with the leader of the free world. First there is a local bombing in Washington and the discovery of nuclear material at the port. Putting the pieces together, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) and Greer (Wendell Pierce) head to the hospital to prevent the terrorist from completing his plan.

The Wild Storm #24

The 24 issue experiment of re-imagining the WildStorm Universe comes to a close with The Wild Storm #24. The war between I.O. and Skywatch is finally here. Bendix has activated his sleeper agents and sent them to New York. He's also decided to drop a rather large diamond on the city just to wipe out I.O. completely. What he didn't count on was a group of heroes banding together to stop him.

Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny - Enter the Dragon Master

The first episode of Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny introduces us to the four rambunctious Pandas who will, by the end of the episode, become Po's (Mick Wingert) new students. While playing Nu Hai (Haley Tju), Bao (Gunnar Sizemore), Jing (Laya DeLeon Hayes), and Fan Tong (Makana Say) discover a mystical cave beneath Panda Village where they receive the chi from ancient kung fu warriors, the Four Constellations. Believing their story to be nothing more than childish fantasy, Po is gifted with a vision of his own which clues him into the Dragon Warrior's new path as teacher.

Holmes & Watson

Holmes & Watson sets a new bar for the worst Sherlock Holmes adaption ever made. It's likely it will keep that honor for several years, if not decades. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly don't so much play Sherlock Holmes and Dr. James Watson as reprise their roles from Step-Brothers playacting what they mistakenly believe 19th Century versions of the characters must have been like.

Star Wars: Target Vader #1

The first issue of the new six-issue mini-series sends Darth Vader after a secret syndicate known as the Hidden Hand. While the Emperor may be able to turn a blind eye to some smugglers, he cannot abide those willing to see to the Rebellion. Vader's early searches only turn up whispers of the Hidden Hand as he leaves destruction in his wake.

The first issue also gives us Han Solo knock-off cyborg bounty hunter Beilert Valance who isn't well liked by the other members of the Bounty Hunters Guild. While a rule breaker, Valance isn't crazy enough to get into business with the Hand... until he discovers just what the job entails. Valance is the final member of a squad already including Honnah, Urrr'k, Chio Fain, Arr-Nine-Nineteen, and Dengar who were all hired to kill one man. Is Vader hunting the Hand, or is the Hand hunting Vader?

Wondercon 2019 Cosplay Music Video (Part 8)

Tuesday with Sara Moni

Happy Birthday, Sara!

Sara Moni is a cosplayer from Phoenix, Arizona. Follow her on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Photo by ju_rock.

Charlie's Angels vs. The Bionic Woman #1

The Angels are sent by Charlie to infiltrate a laboratory and retrieve the secrets of a former government program that have fallen into the private sector. Their client, the original inventor, wants the plans returned to him. Easy, peasy, right? Trouble is, the people in control of the new business have ties to OSI and have brought in their own security. Jaime Summers has very personal reasons for not wanting to see the technology which saved her life stolen by a trio of strangers.

Angel #2

There are several points of interest in the second issue of Angel, even if the full story remains hidden and a bit fractured and still out of focus.

The Beast in Heat

When you are looking at a film where the director and 90% of the cast refused to put their real names on the project, you know you found something pretty awful. An Naziploitation film co-written and directed by Luigi Batzella, under the pseudonym Ivan Kathansky, the film centers around the comings and goings around a Nazi POW camp during WWII where a mad scientist (Macha Magall) has created a human beast (Salvatore Baccaro). Apparently the Nazis have decided the best way to win over the locals is for the Beast to rape them into submission.

There's nothing of merit and little of interest here. The film is a bizarre mix of unintentional camp mixed with gore, torture, shootings, and rape sequences. There's also a subplot involving locals looking to derail the Nazi war effort who become prisoners the Dr. Kratsch (Magall) as well. Had the film thoroughly embraced its ridiculous nature and gone full camp it may have been semi-passable as a guilty pleasure. As is, it's hardly watchable.

Atomic Robo & the Dawn of a New Era #5

Atomic Robo & the Dawn of a New Era comes to a close without any twist, large disaster, or looming trouble for the new Tesladyne team. While many members feared his existence, issue #5 finally introduces everyone to the new Alan (who is far less homicidal than the original).

Detective Comics #1006

When Detective Jim Corrigan is shot and kidnapped, the Spectre reaches out to the world's greatest detective for help. Not always the most subtle of DC's characters, growing 300 feet tall and stalking the streets of Gotham City draws the attention of the Batman.

America Chavez...

...wants to punch your face.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, a movie you will definitely want to see before sitting down for this one, Spider-Man: Far From Home centers around Peter Parker (Tom Holland) struggling to fill the void left by Earth's mightiest heroes while also trying to enjoy his high school class trip to Europe.

Elementary - Command: Delete

The season-long arc continues to develop as Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) mull over Odin Reichenbach's (James Frain) offer to assist him in preventing crimes through the use of his clients' private data. Repulsed by the idea, Holmes reaches out to Agent McNally (Tim Guinee) only to discover that the NSA, or at least McNally, is already fully onboard with Reichenbach's operation and any attempts by Holmes to try and expose or thwart the billionaire's efforts would likely be met with strong reprisals. Apparently not content to go to war with just one government agency in his final season, Sherlock now finds himself at odds with the NSA as well.

Awesome Cosplay Covers - Uncanny X-Men (Hendo Art)

Hendo Art is a cosplayer from California. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Check out her official store as well. You can also support her on Patreon.