Star Wars Graces Vanity Fair

May 17, 2022 Jason Murphy

Star Wars returned to an iconic role of gracing the cover of Vanity Fair recently.

Kathleen Kennedy even issues a tone deaf quote that inadvertently trashes the job Alden Ehrenreich did on the “Solo, A Star Wars Story” project. A film that also graced the cover of Vanity.

“The 2018 movie Solo explored Han Solo’s younger years, with Alden Ehrenreich taking on the role of the smuggler originated by Harrison Ford. The film has its admirers, but it made less at the box office than any other live-action Star Wars movie. Solo’s swagger may be too singular for another actor to replicate. “There should be moments along the way when you learn things,” says Kennedy. “Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that.””

— Vanity Fair

You can read the article here: Vanity Fair

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

May 9, 2022 Jason Murphy

Marvel has yet again delighted our eyeballs in their most recent addition to the MCU. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a no holds barred edition to Phase 4 and lives up to the hype. Director Sam Raimi brings his tride and true expertise to the MCU, but instead of simply rehashing his Sony Spider-Man entries he shines bright in his Evil Dead/Army of Darkness roots.

Here are our top 4 things to love about the film:

Direction: This was Sam Raimi through and through. If youre a fan of Evil Dead, evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness then you will overwhelmingly notice the similarities. I like that Raimi was given this entry as opposed to No Way Home. While he IS known for Spiderman. Letting his explore his Evil Dead roots was a perfect call for this semi horror entry

Design: The entry really feels like a live action What If..? film. Its full of content (via multiverse travel) that all fits right in with its animated cousin, complete with characters we’ve seen…. plus others we haven’t.

Easter Eggs: Have em? YUP!!! Are we going to spoil em? NOPE!!

BRUCE!!: What’s a Sami Raimi vehicle without Bruce Campbell. Bruce returns, yet again, as with every Raimi movie, to make a cameo appearance. We were expecting it and loved its “innuendo” . If you are familiar with Evil Dead 2 then you’ll know how his scene relates to that film. If not, then do yourself a favor and go watch Evil Dead 2.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

May 7, 2022 Jason Murphy

Following the Success of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard , We finally get our first look at Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

SNW is a spin-off of Discovery and a prequel to the original series. Anson Mount reprises his Discovery role as Christopher Pike, the captain of the USS Enterprise who immediately preceding James T. Kirk. Ethan Peck returns as a younger Mr. Spock, as does Rebecca Romijn as Pike’s First Officer, Una Chin-Riley, (Number One). There is also a younf, inexperienced rookie communications and linguistics expert, Nyota Uhura, played by Celia Rose Gooding. and doctor Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) A few crew members are all new characters, including Chief Engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak) and the helms officer Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia).

The pilot episode begins with Pike catching a glimpse of this fate (which we we know from the classic episode “The Menagerie”). This sets the tone for a fractured Captain, hesitant to get back into the chair, knowing full well what awaits him but not knowing when.

The first episode of Strange New Worlds stays true to the original series with emphasis on exploration, discovery, diplomacy, and action. It feels familiar but fresh and new, all at the same time.

With Discovery and Picard both having intertwined plot lines leading to a conclusive season finale, SNW ditches this formula for the classic, with episodes standing on their own. We’ve seen this before with Enterprise from the early 2000s. I for one feel this classic style is refreshing and welcome as most tv and streaming is designed on a larger storyline. The MCU for example are basically 6-10 hour movies spread out over 6-10 episodes. SNW goes back to its routes. While there is still continuing plots, they are not the oerall story here. Each episode stands on alone. One notable mention is that this series also has a “campy” feel to it even though its modern. It feels as if its trying to stay true to the 60s feel while also being updated for 2022. I for one think it works.

Sometimes, Strange New Worlds feels like what JJ Abrams and company did with the 2009 Star Trek movie: using nostalgia, and our favorite characters to bring a modern touch to franchise already well know. Pike is not Kirk, but, the two share the same attitude towards breaking protocol and meddling in alien civilizations when needed for the greater good. One also cannot help to notice that Mount’s “Pike” shares a striking resemblance to Kirk as well as shares some mannerisms. Is this by design? I think it is. There are plans for a young Kirk to make his appearance. We are familiar with the impact Pike has on Kirk as Pike took him under his wing, so its fair to assume were being told that Kirk became the captain he did based on Pike. If the series lasts long enough, there will most certainly be early glimpses of Scotty, McCoy, Sulu, and Chekhov. Paramount is hoping this plan is what the fans want and are ready for and I for one hope theyre right.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds drops new episodes on Paramount+ weekly.

Moon Knight: Summary

May 5, 2022 Jason Murphy

I might be too much of a generalization to say that the MCU is aimed at children, but it’s created in a way that isn’t meant to exclude them. Even with the MCUs political weather and frequent nods toward the military, at the end of it all, , the franchise is designed to remain family-friendly, with mostly “zero-blood” violence and nothing too intense. For the most part, that’s great. The MCU could probably be better without its fascination of comic book heroes as military agents, (this is what grounds the franchise afterall) every move away from that (Shang-Chi) is much appreciated.

Episode 5, “Asylum” is among the strangest, most intimate stories the MCU has ever produced. It’s an episode about a man’s fractured mind shattering as he revisits the most traumatic moments of his life. It’s horrific but delivered with a light touch. The horror is frequently intertwind with moments of humor which is what saves a series like Moon Knight. They give us a deep, dark, psychological horror story, but tied up in a cinematic, humorful, exciting bow

An episode bonkers as “Asylum” is the icing on the cake the series deserved. Picking up where episode 4, “The Tomb”, left off, “Asylum” shows Marc Spector and Steven Grant (both portrayed by Oscar Isaac) seemingly trapped in a psych ward, run by Hawks, “Dr. Harrow”, who is trying to convince “Marc” that the events of Moon Knight are a fiction devised by Marc’s brain as a coping mechanism. Taweret (voiced by Anotonia Salib), a fertility goddess resembling a hippo, offers Marc and Steven another probability: They’re dead, and currently being judged in afterlife known as the Duat.

This episode is the heart of the series, encompassing 6 total journeys into Marc/Stephens fractured mind.

Episodes 5 and 6 are easily the best of the series. Overall Moon Knight is the best of the MCU Disney+ series entries. Psychologically is the most complex which is best suited for adults, but doesn’t neglect humor and action that all fans will enjoy even if they are unaware of the deeply hidden mysteries this series holds

Artist Spotlight: Ken Lashley

April 15, 2022 Jason Murphy

I got a chance to sit down with comic artist Ken Lashley when he was at Comicaze recently. Ken has worked on comic books and toy genres as a cover artist and also contributed art for Hasbro.

Ken resume is vast and includes titles such as Morales Spider-Man, Black Panther, X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man, Flash, JLA, Superman, Spider-Man, and others. He is a cover artist god in the industry.

Ken has also worked for Hasbro, Mattel, and Lucasfilm.

T4L: Tell us about the first comic you ever read?

Ken Lashley: It was Spider-Man I think. Gil Kane was the artist on the cover if I remember, I think, but I remember what really struck me was the story. It was a football player trying to save his daughter. It was a really cool story and I was into football then so the story stuck in my head. I loved the cover art though. I remember Spider-man swinging through a football field. Getting to combine comics and football stuck with me.

T4L: What made you want to be an artist?

Ken Lashley: I dont think at that time I was thinking “This is what I want to do” when I started reading comics. I just loved comics and loved the art. I love all this kind of stuff. After a while I sort of pivoted into comics. I used to draw and loved comics so eventually just kinda moved there and realized I love it.

T4L: What is a favorite comic you worked on in your career?

Ken Lashley: I was a big fan of Uncanny Xmen when I was younger so when I got to work on that I was super excited. I remember feeling like “No way, how is this real?”, that was a big one for me.

T4L: Do you think your art has had impacts on comics?

Ken Lashley: Haha, I don’t know. I draw what I think is cool based on what source I’m given. If they like it, they like it. Where it goes from there is out of my control. I like to think its a a piece of that character from then on, because it is, you know?. That art is there forever. So that’s really cool.

T4L: Are there any comics you want to draw but havent?

Ken Lashley: There’s a ton. There are lots of things that you get offered an opportunity to draw and you don’t end up doing it. I doesnt upset me though. I just feel like someday I’ll do it or whatever but I don’t feel bad about it because I’ve had a pretty good career. I’ve done some really cool stuff. I never feel like that got away. But theres so many things Id love to draw. When I got to draw Spiderverse, It was something I just really liked and thought would be great so I just sad that on social media and that led to me drawing for Spiderverse. So Im always looking at that and thinking “anything is possible”.

T4L: What has been your favorite comic to work on so far?

Ken Lashley: I really like the X-Men stuff I worked on. Drawing X-Men was really wicked. Spiderverse was cool and also Superman. I was always Marvel so getting to draw Superman was different. And Moon Knight is so huge now, that’s really cool people are noticing it who never did.

T4L: What do get most from these small comic book signings?

Ken Lashley: I meet a lot of cool people. I’ve met some amazing people over the years. Just putting a face to a lot of the people who contact you or follow you and then you meet them. You get to meet fans and hear their stories and hear “thank you” and stuff. It really makes you proud of your work because someone out there loves it and push you to do more and more and more.