Author Archives: JD DeLuzio

Harassment Allegations hit Superheroes

A wave of allegations of sexual harassment and impropriety sweeps Hollywood, and they now include at least three men related to comix and superhero movies:

After years of harassment and assault allegations, DC has suspended editor Eddie Berganza. Update: Okay, DC has fired Berganza.

Andrew Kreisberg, showrunner for The Flash, who also works on Supergirl, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow, has been suspended over allegations of inappropriate touching and comments.

Gal Gadot has announced she will only continue as Wonder Woman if Warner removes Brett Ratner’s company from the next sequel. Ratner faces some of the more serious allegations of sexual assault and misconduct among those recently accused.

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Comic Review: Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica

Back in ’94 Marvel and Archie raised eyebrows across the comix community by pairing comicdom’s favorite red-haired teenager with its most deranged vigilante. Back then, of course, Archie was a fading brand sold at grocery store checkouts to nine-year-old girls, and the Punisher, the darkest dude in comic books.

A lot has changed since then.

In 2017, Archie’s mainstream line may be the most relevant and entertaining comics available, and the company has opened up to entirely new markets. In addition to the good ol’ kiddie digests, still available in grocery stores and pharmacies everywhere, other Archie alt-realities include a retro-sixties Sabrina whose witchcraft draws from actual demonic sources, a zombie apocalypse Archie, and the predictably “edgy” and wildly CWesque iconoclastic and wildly popular Riverdale TV series. So when Archie and DC combine to bring several of Gotham City’s sirens to comic-book small-town America, it feels a lot less groundbreaking. It’s just the world we live in.

The question remains: does the team-up work? Is it worth reading?

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Halloween Countdown: City of the Dead (1960)

Oh stop! This would be more effective at midnight with howling winds and crashing thunder and even then it wouldn’t frighten anyone
—Professor Barlowe

Hammer Studios made a name for itself in the late 1950s and early 1960s as purveyors of gothic horror, became more sexualized in the early 70s, halted production in the 1980s, and has tried to reestablish itself in the twenty-first century, with mixed results. Its most lasting contributions to the horror genre are probably Christopher Lee’s Dracula, Lesbian Vampires as a genre, and The Wicker Man, one of the most notorious horror films ever made (with possibly the worst remake in cinematic history. Few b-movies have ever been as bad as 2006’s Neil LaBute/Nicholas Cage disaster).

The Wicker Man did not spring fully-formed out of Hammer’s head. Hammer slowly nailed the pieces together, with two significant precursors: City of the Dead aka Horror Hotel (1960) and The Witches aka The Devil’s Own (1966).

With Halloween approaching we’re reviewing both tales of strangers finding themselves in small communities that aren’t what they seem.

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October Reviews: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

“We need 50% less kink!”

This weekend’s October Countdown takes us away from horror, as we consider two recent films of interest to genre aficionados. Blade Runner 2049 is the big SF release this October (reviewed by W. Blaine), but Professor Marston and the Wonder Women also found its way into theatres.

The fictionalized biopic gives us the story– or, at least, a story– behind Wonder Woman, her creator, and his wives.

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