DF INTERVIEW: JAMES PATRICK UNLEASHES COOL SCIENCE FICTION, A DASH OF HORROR AND, OH YEAH, PERHAPS THE END OF THE WORLD IN ‘ASTRONAUT DOWN’05/16/22 @ 8:57 am EST
Source: Dynamic Forces | Categories: MIsc | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentDF Interview: James Patrick unleashes cool science fiction, a dash of horror and, oh yeah, perhaps the end of the world in ‘Astronaut Down’ By Byron BrewerDouglas Spitzer wants to be one of the "astronauts" selected for the crucial Mission Politzer. And just as astronauts like Buzz Aldrin and Sally Ride, Douglas is brave, adaptable and self-sacrificing. He's one of the program's best candidates.
But if he qualifies, Douglas won't be traveling through space; he'll be launched into alternate realities on a desperate mission to save Earth from a horrific crisis that has our world on the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, it's a mission where everything will go wrong, where Douglas' training and very humanity will be put to the test, and where a deep-seeded secret could sabotage everything.
Writer James Patrick (Kaiju Score, Campisi: The Dragon Incident) and artist Rubine (Search for Hu) lead us on a perilous undertaking to save the planet from total destruction in Astronaut Down! They had ME at “Buzz Aldrin and Sally Ride”, so I tethered myself to a wall and floated into an anti-grav chamber to discuss the coming comic with scribe James Patrick.
Byron Brewer: James, tell readers a little about the inspiration for Astronaut Down coming soon from AfterShock Comics. Curiously, I heard it had to do with your fondness for the 2020 film Possessor, written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg? James Patrick: Sure. And yeah, Possessor had kind of pushed me into making this particular book. I watched and loved that movie, and the aesthetic and originality was just mesmerizing to me. It had a unique mix of sci-fi, realism and violence. It was one of my favorite movies that year. And so I wanted, initially, to kind of just create after seeing that. To do a unique mixture. You come out of certain art, viewing it or listening to it, with kind of a high and kind of an urge to create. Now, the final product that is Astronaut Down does not resemble Possessor. It didn't inspire it in that way. It's more of a carrot that gets you off the couch and to the keyboard, and that was the big giant carrot at that moment. And I've heard a lot of creative people say that same thing about the Green Knight lately – a kind of, "I want to do something that feels like the Green Knight!" – and this was exactly that. So yeah, this thing started spinning out of that spark, and we threw in some 70's NASA, some Akira, and a dash of maybe Moebius when the scripts started growing.
And the other inspiration for the book was that I had a sh*t ton of stuff rejected and I wanted another book! I'd just come off the success of Kaiju Score, I knew there was a window in there to maybe take advantage of, and I didn't want it to pass by.
So yeah, my two motivations were Possessor and practicality.
Byron: Before we discuss more about the comic and its cast, what can you say about the world you and artist Rubine are building here? Give us just a taste of this Earth, where folks travel through things other than space and oceans. James Patrick: The canvas here is kind of our world and kind of not our world. It resembles ours. I've said this in interviews before, but it gets the point across. Frank Miller once said he uses iconic pieces of different eras to fill Sin City. So, he might like a gun from the 20's or a car from the 50’s and so on. Astronaut Down isn't exactly like that, but to put the reader in the right sort of mindset, hopefully, we used a little 70's NASA, even though what's occurring hasn't occurred in our world yet and would technically be the future. All while society is in a place that's straight out of two years ago to now. So there's no locking down if this is our world or when it would be in our world. And all of that doesn't work on a conscious level unless people think about it. So there's this world where there's a similar program for sending people into alternate realities just like NASA sends astronauts to space or the moon. It's approached the same way, here it's been sped up out of necessity, and all the problems that come with an expedited space race arise. And the backdrop is a world that is dealing with a crisis that has changed it dramatically physically and societally, the latter of which is very similar to covid. There's just no denying this is a post-covid book the same way you can feel the post-9-11 influences in entertainment after 9-11. I did not set out to make some allegory on covid in any way, but when I needed certain elements to populate this story, it made sense. It made sense for the mechanics of the story.
Byron: Introduce us to Douglas Spitzer. Who is he as a character, his vocation and family, and how those may or may not have bearing on what we’ll be reading in this exciting new mag? James Patrick: Douglas has had one course his whole life. He's aimed, trained and been focused on one thing: to be an astronaut. Whether it be to explore space or, in this case, the more symbolic version of what that means and explore alternate realities. He's been on this path and he thinks he has everything that's necessary – the exact tool-set – but when his destiny occurs and everything is on the line, he realizes there's been a wrench thrown into it. And it begins to reveal itself at the worst time.
Byron: No spoilers needed, but talk a little about Mission Politzer and how that converges with Spitzer’s life. James Patrick: Mission Politzer is one of the missions to put an "astronaut" into another reality in an attempt to save the world. Previous missions have ended in disaster. Launches have gone horribly wrong for the "astronauts", and it's basically all come down to this to save everything. It's going to be their last shot since they're out of time. So imagine if you had to send a space shuttle up after Challenger and the stakes were, well, everything. Douglas is one of the astronauts. He's exceptional. Physically. He thinks that there is no way he can not succeed at this mission.
Byron: Are there a few other characters in the series that you can tell readers about? Maybe spotlight two or three here? James Patrick: After Douglas, the Project Manager of Mission Politzer is Beverly Engle, and she has to not only save the world, she has to deal with all the fallout and bullsh*t that revolves around the mission. A press that's critical of her every decision. Her own self-doubt. The very stakes of the decisions she makes when it comes to selecting the astronauts, the timetable, etc. And then there's Maddie, who I won't get into, but she's a breath of fresh air that is completely the opposite of the duty-driven Douglas. She evens him out.
Byron: I will probably get a “Read the book” comment for this, but I am going to see if I can get a bit about some of the book’s mysteries. Can you give readers even the slightest of clues about a crisis which threatens Earth or an existing secret which may lead to the failure of Mission Politzer? (Haha! I know, I know… read the book.) James Patrick: The crisis is essentially a crisis that has to do with the laws of physics and I won't get into the specifics or its origins. This is comics, so it's executed in a visual way. And how the world deals with this crisis is, as I've hinted at, similar to the different ways we dealt with covid. Where it goes from there I won't spoil, but I will say that, yes, there is a deep-seeded ticking time bomb that all of this place into Mission Politzer. A personal truth that nobody knows. It's very hard to describe it more without giving too much away.
Byron: What makes artist Rubine a great fit for this series? James Patrick: Well, firstly and generally, he's just an exceptionally talented artist. But he also has a knack for finding that realism while still drawing amazing sci-fi. His storytelling is also very clean. And they say that the more complex a story, the more need for a cleaner art style. I'm not saying the story is super complex, but in any event he delivers it perfectly.
Byron: James, what other projects in which you are involved can you tell readers about? James Patrick: Campisi: The Dragon Incident TPB, which collects the series, just came out on May 11th, Kaiju Score: Steal from the Gods, the sequel to Kaiju Score (optioned by Sony) is coming out right now and issue 2 hits stands on May 18th. I can't say too much about anything after those and Astronaut Down.
Dynamic Forces would like to thank James Patrick for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Astronaut Down #1 from AfterShock Comics is slated to be on sale June 1st! For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.
'THUNDERCATS' COMIC & FANS WELCOME SNARF WITH ISSUE #303/18/24 @ 4:08 pm EST
Source: Dynamite | Categories: Thundercats | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentDynamite and the creative team of
ThunderCats are excited to announce the coming return of the beloved character Snarf to the smash hit new comic book series!
Snarf is Lion-O's devoted childhood pet, the quadruped beast cannot speak, but has a doting and special connection with his companion who seems to understand him better than others. He gets his name from his trademark noises.
Though teased a little bit on the industry-shaping stunning cover to issue #1 by superstar David Nakayama,
ThunderCats #3 will be the first official in-story appearance of this exciting addition to the cast in this new continuity. Writer Declan Shalvey and artist Drew Moss are excited to present their vision of this classic character.
In addition to the appearance within, the third issue will be offered with a limited variant cover at "Final Order Cutoff" drawn by Moss prominently featuring his design of Snarf alongside Lion-O.
Veteran
ThunderCats fans may be familiar with other approaches to the character. Dynamite can tease fans to stay tuned, as everything may not be as it seems on the surface... Pretty soon some mysterious developments may happen with Snarf, and no fan should miss out!
This news follows the exciting first ever appearance across any media of Calica in
ThunderCats #2. The hype for the story continues to grow, with a massive 180,000 copies sold on the first issue, a second printing, and a strong 82,000 copies initially sold for the follow up second issue. It's not too late for readers to jump in on the new era and tale of the ThunderCats by Shalvey and Moss!
VAMPIRES RAIN, DR. STRANGE TURNS, MORE IN JUNE'S 'BLOOD HUNT' TIE-INS03/18/24 @ 3:55 pm EST
Source: Marvel | Categories: Blood Hunt | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentWho will bite it? Starting this May, the Marvel Universe is caught in the fangs of Jed MacKay and Pepe Larraz’s BLOOD HUNT, and no hero is safe from the endless vampiric hordes! In addition to the main event series and special limited series, the highly-anticipated crossover event will impact some of Marvel’s hottest ongoing series in thrilling ways, including the very series where the saga was seeded such as MacKay’s MOON KNIGHT and Cody Ziglar’s MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN As eternal night washes over the world and vampires begin their savage reign, the frontlines of the conflict will be a certified bloodbath as heroes are transformed, old and new enemies rise, and dramatic betrayals keep readers guessing till the very end! The desperate attempts to reverse Earth’s cruel fate will leave a lasting mark on the Marvel mythos as a whole so fans will want to devour every tie-in to witness each key development for themselves! Today, grab a sneak peek at what’s to come in BLOOD HUNT’s second month with the reveal of new tie-in covers and story information!
AVENGERS #15Written by JED MACKAY Art by C.F. VILLA A BLOODY BRAWL ON A VAMPIRE-INFESTED HELICARRIER! Captain America’s ad hoc team of Avengers old and new must face a foe commanding an army of vampires… IN THE SKY! With a group of decidedly earthbound heroes! Don’t miss this action-packed, bloody tale of heroism and hemoglobin!
DOCTOR STRANGE #16Written by JED MACKAY Art by PASQUAL FERRY DOCTOR STRANGE…THE VAMPIRE?!Earth’s mystic defender is off the board as the skies darken! Can Wong and Clea save Stephen from himself? Or…can they save themselves from him?
FANTASTIC FOUR #21Written by RYAN NORTH Art by IVAN FIORELLI FORMULATING A CURE? Reed and Alicia are in New York for a day trip to an art museum, when suddenly the skies turn black with darkforce energy and vampires attack, everywhere, all at once! It’s Reed Richards versus the world as he tries to save everyone he can – AND come up with a cure for vampirism! But vampires are magic, illogical, impossible. Can Reed come up with a cure? And even if he can’t, how is he going to keep all the survivors alive and safe? And can Sue, Ben, and Johnny, all alone in Arizona, keep their families safe? It’s a BLOOD HUNT tie-in you won’t want to miss as the Fantastic Four take on a world overrun with VAMPIRES!
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #21Written by CODY ZIGLAR Art by TRAVEL FOREMAN THE ENDLESS NIGHT! Endless hordes of bloodsucking vampires ravage the Earth beneath pitch-black skies of Earth’s last night! But vampire-slayer Blade has a plan, and his only hope for victory rests with Miles Morales! But Blade’s mission comes with a cost – one Spider-Man may be unwilling to pay!
VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #6Written by JED MACKAY Art by ALESSANDRO CAPPUCCIO THE MIDNIGHT MISSION JOINS THE HUNT! As the Marvel Universe devolves in panic and fear with the unfolding BLOOD HUNT, writer Jed MacKay casts his gaze from the events of the main event to this companion tie-in! With more chaos on their hands than ever before, and no tested leader to show them the way, the Midnight Mission is on their own as they fight like hell to save New York and its people from being completely overrun by vampires!
VENOM #34 Written by AL EWING Art by JUAN FERREYRA LEE PRICE RETURNS! The Captive is loose! And the vampiric super-foe thirsts for one thing – VENOM! And the Captive isn’t the only problem – the dead now walk an Earth smothered in eternal night. Vampires infest New York City, and Lee Price, one-time host to the Venom symbiote, rises from the grave! And he has unfinished business with his old partner.
‘THE ACOLYTE’: ‘STAR WARS’ SERIES GETS PREMIERE DATE ON DISNEY+03/18/24 @ 3:40 pm EST
Source: Deadline | Categories: Star Wars | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentDisney+ has revealed a spring premiere date for
The Acolyte, the new Lucasfilm
Star Wars series.
Star Wars: The Acolyte will be released June 4 on the streaming service. The date was revealed Monday on Star Wars verified X account. Created by Lesley Headland (Russian Doll),
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. (via
Deadline)
UNIVERSAL'S 'WOLF MAN' REBOOT STARTS FILMING03/18/24 @ 3:39 pm EST
Source: ComicBook | Categories: MIsc | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentWork on the next Universal Monsters reboot is officially underway. Sunday, megaproducer Jason Blum shared a photo of
Wolf Man director Leigh Whannel straight from the set of the upcoming horror picture. It's Whannel's second stab at a Universal Monsters movie, having last reimagined
The Invisible Man for the studio, something that turned out to be a critical and commercial success. The film was initially set to star Ryan Gosling in the title role, though the
Barbie star eventually left amid a series of creative adjustments. Now, Christopher Abbott has replaced Gosling, and Whannel has now been named director of the project, replacing Derek Cianfrance.
Wolf Man is set to hit theaters on October 25th. (via
ComicBook.com)
NETFLIX RELEASE POST FOR REBEL MOON PART 203/17/24 @ 2:53 pm EST
Source: Twitter | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentNetflix has released the first poster for the upcoming
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver and the trailer for it will drop tomorrow. The second part to
Zack Snyder’s ambitious sci-fi franchise is slated to be released on April 19th and will continue the story of Kora and the rag-tag group of survivors and outcasts that are trying to stage a rebellion against an oppressive empire.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire was released on December 22nd to mix reviews with many of the critics calling it an amalgamation of stories we’ve seen before. But Snyder has a loyal fanbase and the streaming service has big plans for the IP that also includes other mediums like comic books. The sequel stars
Sofia Boutella,
Jena Malone,
Charlie Hunnam,
Anthony Hopkins,
Ed Skrein and
Cary Elwes.
KAREN GILLAN TALKS FUTURE OF THE GUARDIANS AND IF SHE'D JOIN GUNN WITH DC03/17/24 @ 2:25 pm EST
Source: The Hollywood Reporter | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentThe post-credit scene for
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, that Star Lord would return, was a surprise to a lot of people, including series star
Karen Gillan: “It was pretty surprising, but it was cool as well. I was like, ‘Okay, what’s the plan here?” Through three films and a holiday special, the fate of the Guardians was in the hands of writer/director
James Gunn and Gillan had been along for the entire ride and a couple side trips into Avengers and Thor films. But now Gunn has moved over to the competition, teaming with Peter Safran to helm a reboot of the DC universe. And while Gillan would be interested in following her friend over, she has no intentions of pressing him about it. “The fact that Nebula turned into ten years of work is the greatest thing that’s happened to me. I like to leave things up to the universe a little bit and see what happens, but I would absolutely love to work with James again. He’s the best.” And since we’re talking about the Guardians fate after the third film, Gillan spoke about how Nebula’s life may continue in the MCU with her trying to run Knowhere. “Nebula has got a real sense of purpose now, and it’s such a major part of healing. She’s been through so much, and now she can finally accept love and show love towards other people. So the last stage of all that healing is helping other people, and that’s exactly what she’s doing.”
ARTHUR THE KING CAN'T GET PAST A PANDA OR SANDWORMS03/17/24 @ 2:09 pm EST
Source: Deadline | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentAs with the previous week, the top two spots at the box office were strong and then there was quite a dip to the third.
Kung Fu Panda 4 held a firm grip on the number one spot for a second week, taking in $31.5 million while
Dune: Part Two was close behind with $29 million in its third weekend. The sequel has crossed the $200 million mark domestically and is expected to top out at around $275 million. Then the drop to third has the debut of
Arthur the King coming in at $8 million showing that
Mark Wahlberg and
Simu Liu need more than just a dog to rake in the money. Maybe if the dog turned into a robot or was trained as a ninja… This was followed by three films that opened last weekend,
Imaginary with $5.3 million,
Cabrini with $2.8 million and
Love Lies Bleeding with $2.75 million. We’ll have to see if this weekend’s new film,
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, will be able to shake up the box office.
IRONHEART AND WONDER MAN ARE STILL ON TRACK03/16/24 @ 3:18 pm EST
Source: Agents of Freedom | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentAfter the recent comments from
Bob Iger about how they’ve quietly cancelled some projects lately, everyone is trying to figure out which ones. According to
Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios head of Streaming, Animation and Television, that list does not include the much-delayed
Ironheart or the recently restarted
Wonder Man.
Dominique Thorne was introduced as Riri Williams in
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and then went on to film her own series joined by Anthony Ramos and Alden Ehrenreich. It was said to have completed filming, but it’s not on the current release schedule. And
Wonder Man, starring
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II went on hiatus during the different strikes before just getting started again recently. We’ve heard very little about either project recently until now when Winderbaum told
Agents of Fandom that both are still on track. "Yeah, absolutely. We're editing both of those shows as we speak. They're spectacular, they're amazing, and they're different… We're able to explore corners of the universe that are really exciting. Riri Williams is one of them, and I cannot wait for people to meet Simon Williams." There is some speculation that the delay on
Ironheart may be more content related as the
Don Cheadle lead
Armor Wars series was changed to a planned film and
Ironheart may lead into it, so delaying the series until the film is closer makes a lot of sense.
A NOVA PROJECT IS IN EARLY DEVELOPMENT03/16/24 @ 3:03 pm EST
Source: comicbook.com | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentWe have been waiting a long time for the debut of Nova in the MCU. Ever since
Kevin Feige said back in 2018 that the character had “immediate potential,” fans have been waiting to see his golden helmet on the screen. He was once part of the original
Guardians of the Galaxy story before
James Gunn signed on. There were also discussions about including him in
Avengers: Infinity War or
Avengers: Endgame before those ideas were scrapped. But according to Marvel’s head of streaming, animation and television,
Brad Winderbaum, something may finally be happening. In a chat with
Comicbook.com, "We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova. We have a new system behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios. We're more like a traditional studio now. We're developing more than we actually will produce. There are plans to develop Nova. I love Nova, too. I love Rich Rider, too. I hope it gets to the screen. The world is always chaos. There's always things. You gotta conjure these things to make them happen but I would love to see a Nova show, one day." Since Winderbaum is the one talking about it, the odds are this won’t be a film, but rather a Disney+ series… live-action or animated. The nice thing is a lot of the elements needed for Nova/Richard Rider’s origin have already been laid out in the MCU with the introduction of Xandar and their destruction by Thanos when he went after the Power Stone. We never got to see that scene, but it would be an excellent way to open up a
Nova series.
A LIVE-ACTION TEEN TITANS MOVIE IS IN THE WORKS03/16/24 @ 2:41 pm EST
Source: Deadline | Comments (0) | E-mail Article | Add a CommentWhile things are just starting to move forward with the new DCU headed up by James Gunn and Peter Safran, there is a report saying a new film is being added to the upcoming slate that wasn’t part of the initial announcement. Gunn at the time said it wasn’t a complete list and more would come, but this is the first addition so far. The report says that Ana Nogueira, the scriptwriter for the upcoming
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will also be tackling another popular DC IP, the
Teen Titans. The team was created by
Bob Haney and
Bruno Premiani in the pages of
The Brave and the Bold #54 in 1964 and was made up of the sidekicks of DC’s most popular characters. This included Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Speedy. The line-up would change over the years, especially when the series was relaunched with the creative team of
Marv Wolfman and
George Perez, and they added Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, and others. This would lead into other media an animated series and a live-action show called
Titans. Nogueira was first announced as writing the
Supergirl movie last November, but many people remember her as an actress from the series
The Vampire Diaries and
Hightown. No plot information or release date have been given.