Panel Vision - The Humans

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It’d be fair to say 2017 has been a curiously good year for monkeys, by which I, of course, mean all variations of ape and primate because this is a colloquial essay and not an academic one.  But anyway, between Kong: Skull Island and War for the Planet of the Apes monkeys are having a very big year at the box office, if only because TWO ape films at the theater is two more than you’d normally expect.  Obviously, apes have had a long, proud, and storied history in comics going back to the days of DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz’ famous maxim that “Apes on comics sell comics.”  

This definitely won’t be the last time I talk about ape comics this year but it will probably be the only time I really focus in on the actual comics themselves rather than just the covers, mainly because most ape comics are weird old ‘50s stories that the only kind of hold up.  Not so for today’s offering, the supremely bizarre and delightful offbeat indie oddity: The Humans. 

Cover Story - Top 12 Power Rangers Covers

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It’s probably most accurate to say I have a strange relationship with Power Rangers.  I wasn’t in the right age bracket to get into the show as a kid and even as an adult I’ve never really enjoyed any of the various branded media.  However, I am familiar with the franchise history and origin and even though I don’t like it I definitely respect it.  Power Rangers has run, consecutively in one form or another, for 25 years straight, that’s a level of success you can’t ignore.  What’s more, the unique blend of aesthetics between Japanese superheroes and American TV standards has always been a fascinating one.  

The franchise basically re-invented the way we imagine live-action superhero adventures on a level that only a handful of others can actually reach.  Sure, the structure of disposable bad guys, shouting villains with an entourage of lieutenants, giant doomsday weapons, and a heroic bunker might feel generic now but without Power Rangers pioneering it we might not have had stuff like Avengers or The Flash TV show.  As such, I’ve chosen to honor the blockbuster film adaptation with a dive into the recent run of BOOM! Studios Power Rangers comics, let’s dig in. 

War for the Planet of the Apes Trailer Analysis

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This hasn’t come up previously, but I have a…strained relationship with the Planet of the Apes.  It’s one of those sci-fi properties that I didn’t really care for when I was younger, but that’s more to do with my own ignorance than the actual quality of the film series.  Since then I’ve gained a new appreciation for the series throughout its many incarnations while still holding a grudge over certain issues.  Predominately, I’ve always had a problem with the franchise’s tendency to favor “because of shut-up” as the grease that keeps the story wheels going. 

I’m not saying I can’t roll with talking apes or solar time travel, more that the apes are just able to beat the humans because shut-up they can.  That was a big part of my problem with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, to the point I straight up turned on the monkeys by the end of the film.  As such, I’m holding their new entry at a bit of an arm’s length but this opening trailer definitely has me back on board.

Panel Vision - Top 10 Comics of 2015

And so 2015 comes to an end, the comics landscape a severely different place than it was but a year ago.  Marvel is caught in the throws of its first reboot, Star Wars comics are on shelves and the best they’ve ever been, Valiant is in the headlines, Prez is back from obscurity, and the DC You is a thing.  Yes it’s been a year full of change as well as a great year for comics.  Seriously, despite the very important points raised over issues of representation, creator rights and credit, and harassment that have blighted the industry this past year there has been a lot of great comics and we’re here today to list them because that’s how we mark the end of the year.  So with that said here are the top 10 best comics of 2015.

Movie Monthly - Rollerball

Welcome back to Movie Monthly’s celebration of the very thin crossover line between sci-fi and sports this November with a look at all things future, techno, and athletic.  Last  week we looked at Robot Jox, the story of a distant future wherein nations hashed out their disputes through the tried and true method of giant robot fights, this week we’ve got arguably the opposite inverse film with Rollerball, the 1975 dystopian future sports film starring James Caan.  It’s actually kind of amazing how much Rollerball serves as a counter point to Robot Jox; corporations instead of nations, teams instead of individuals, entertainment rather than politics, a well known star with an actual career rather than “that guy from Alien Nation,” a really awful remake in 2002 instead of a reappraisal by nerd culture in recent years, and most key of all: Rollerball was the product of ‘70s pessimistic futurism while Robot Jox was the result of ‘80s blockbuster fun giving way to ‘90s shallowness and polish.

Movie Monthly - Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.

And so we come to the end of another Movie Monthly, this month a bit more sparse and transitional than I might’ve hoped it’d be.  Next month things will ideally run a bit more smoothly but at the very least I can say I achieved my central goal of this month by getting to today’s film.  At the start of September in Time and Space I said the reason I chose time travel for this month was to celebrate the return of Doctor Who to television, today I celebrate Doctor Who’s rich film history with Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., a film so nice they named it thrice.  Also yes, you read that sentence correctly; this is a Doctor Who feature length film, one of two produced by a major American studio in the mid ‘60s.  How?  Why?  Is it any good? Let’s dive in. 

Slasher Reboots & How To Do Them

Edited by Robert Beach 

Recently, it was announced that New Line would be producing a new remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. Hot on the heals of this announcement came the news that CW was developing a Friday the 13^th TV show, most likely in attempt to capitalize on the success of similar horror shows like Bates Motel, Hannibal, and Scream. 

These two announcements represent the latest in the long, rough cycle of slasher film reboots that started in 2003 when Platinum Dunes first resurrected the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series.  Speaking of which, that series is getting its 5^th reboot attempt next year with Leatherface, another prequel intended to explore the character’s origins. 

The Humans #6 Review

The Humans is easily the most underrated comic being published today, an amazing blend of '70s biker drama and '60s high concept madness in the vein of Planet of the Apes meets Sons of Anarchy.  Check out my review of the latest issue at All-Comic.com