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When Will the WATCHMEN/DC REBIRTH Connection Be Revealed?

We’ve got more news from last week’s Comic-Con plus a ton more in today’s Comics Relief, starting with when we can find out just what Dr. Manhattan has been up to in the DCU. So let’s get going, shall we?

When will we learn the truth behind the Watchmen/DC Rebirth connection?

By now, you’ve probably heard about the big reveal from DC Rebirth, which involves characters from Alan Moore’s Watchmen in the mainstream DC universe. Specifically, the implication that Dr. Manhattan messed with the DC timeline that resulted in the New 52 universe. Since that one-shot came out two months ago, there have been only the tiniest of follow-ups to the Watchmen connection in the Rebirth titles. So when can we expect this all to come to a head?

Well, don’t hold your breath — DC co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee told Comic Book Resources in an interview that the whole Watchmen connection to the DCU is a storyline that will play out slowly…over the next two years. “When we went out and we set up Rebirth, we set up a two-year story. A lot of the questions that are out there will be answered during that two-year plan. The goal is not to answer every question in the beginning, but to roll things out and continue to excite people all the way through. You’ll see a lot of twists and turns coming out over the next year or so that will get you to, hopefully, where you want to be.” So basically, everyone just chill on waiting for an answer as to why the Comedian’s button is in Bruce Wayne’s Batcave. [CBR]

DC’s Geoff Johns gets a big promotion

Speaking of Rebirth, the writer of the one-shot in question, Geoff Johns, who happens to be one of the most talented and well-liked individuals in the comics business, just got a big promotiony. The writer and DC Comics CCO now holds the title of President and Chief Creative Officer at the Warner Bros. His 80 page DC Universe: Rebirth will be his last DC title for awhile, as Johns will be focusing on DC films, and righting that ship.

There is almost no one one, outside of maybe Grant Morrison, who knows and loves the DC Universe more than Geoff Johns. The man has written several definitive runs on titles starting with Superman in Action Comics, the Flash, Green Lantern, Justice Society of America, Batman: Earth One, and most recently, fifty issues of Justice League. Congrats from all of us at Nerdist to Mr. Johns on the big promotion. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Artist Bill Sienkiewicz is not happy about SDCC Dazzler promo

If you were at Comic-Con in San Diego this past weekend, than you might have seen Fox’s giveaway of the album cover of Dazzler’s LP The Sound of Light and Fury that was cut from the final film. If you pre-ordered a copy of X-Men: Apocalypse at the Fox booth,  you received a limited edition recreation of the Dazzler album seen in one of the movie’s cut scenes, which is actually a reproduction of the cover of 1983’s Dazzler #29, a comic cover illustrated by artist Bill Sienkiewicz. And considering he received no compensation or eve credit for it, Mr. Sienkiewicz is not a happy camper right now.

The artist didn’t even know the album cover giveaway was a thing until fans started bringing it to his booth at SDCC to have him sign it. On his Facebook page, he said, “This practice is hardly unusual standard operating procedure for corporations. Even so, it still rankles. I’m one guy. I’ve been doing this comic book thing for years. I’m aware most everything is Work-Made-for-Hire. Still, I received no prior notification (a common courtesy), no thank you (ditto), no written credit in any form whatsoever either on the piece or in connection with the premium, absolutely no compensation and no comp copies of the album.” You can read Sienkiewicz’s entire post on the matter by clicking on this link to his Facebook post. [Newsarama]

Joe Quesada draws variant cover for the final issue of Darth Vader

Marvel’s excellent Darth Vader solo series is sadly coming to an end with issue #25, which hits comic shops this coming August 31. This issue will be a 40-page finale, written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Salvador Larroca. The book has dealt with Vader “getting his groove back”, so to speak, after the destruction of the the Death Star in A New Hope, and discovering just who the pilot who destroyed it was. For the big finale, Marvel CCO Joe Quesada has drawn a very cool variant cover featuring everyone’s favorite Dark Lord of the Sith. You can check out the cover above. Hopefully Lord Vader won’t be gone from the comics pages for too long, and will receive a new solo series again soon. [Comic Book]

Rumor: Are the Valiant heroes coming to Riverdale?

Chalk this one up to complete rumor mill for now, but stranger things have happened in the comics wold lately, so you just never know. Bleeding Cool is reporting that their little birds, to use a Game of Thrones term, have told them that Valiant and Archie comics are looking to do some kind of crossover in the near future. Both are among the lastof the major publishers left in New York City proper, so it seems like a no-brainer if indeed. Besides, at this point is seems Archie has met everyone but the Valiant characters, including the Ramones and the Predator. Why not X-O: Manowar? [Bleeding Cool]

The new Hulkbuster is even more badass than the first

Revealed in this week’s issue of The Totally Awesome Hulk (the one featuring Amadeus Cho, not Bruce Bunner, who is currently quite dead thanks to the events of Civil War II) we have ourselves a new Iron Man Hulkbuster armor, similar to the one made famous in Avengers: Age of Ultron. But it’s not Tony Stark at the controls this time. Nope, this Hulkbuster armor is of Wakandan design, and the pilot is none other than the his royal majesty, the Black Panther. We have a feeling Hulk 2.0 and T’Challa are going to be coming to blows here very soon. You can see what the Wakandan Hulkbuster armor looks like in the image above. [Comic Book]

Images: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / Archie Comics / 

Fan Art Friday #86 – IRON GIANT, DOCTOR WHO, and More by Chelsea Kenna

You never know when you’ll find new artists to admire. I came across Chelsea Kenna’s work when I attended CatCon. And yes, CatCon is exactly what you think it is. Chelsea’s portfolio features plenty of felines. She has some famous kitties from pop culture–like the Cheshire Cat–and does custom sketches of pets at conventions. Her work also includes other cute critters, but I’m focused on the cats because I’m a cat lady in training.

But for Fan Art Friday, I made sure to pull a variety of illustrations to show you. Like this one from The Iron Giant. I just watched the animated film for the first time recently (I know–it was ridiculously overdue), so this piece featuring Annie and Hogarth jumped out at me immediately:

And this Alice in Wonderland features my new favorite take on the Cheshire Cat:

I chose a handful of other images by Chelsea for the gallery below. You’ll find art from Doctor Who, more from Alice, and even a piece inspired by The Secret of NIMH. Besides pieces inspired by pop culture, Chelsea completes many original illustrations. Visit her website to get links to her shops and social media accounts.

Do you create awesome fan art or know someone who does? Please send them my way. You can get Fan Art Friday suggestions to me by leaving a note in the comments, send me a link on Twitter, tagging me on Instagram, or by emailing me at alratcliffe at yahoo dot com.

Images: Chelsea Kenna

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Movies Will Have Different Titles

Back in May, directors Anthony and Joe Russo indicated that Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 & 2 would probably be re-titled in the near future. Today, the word has finally come down and only one Avengers film will retain the Infinity War title!

Via Superhero Hype, Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures have confirmed that the third Avengers movie will now simply be known as Avengers: Infinity War. The fourth movie is now simply “Untitled Avengers film,” which indicates that Marvel hasn’t yet settled upon a final title. In Marvel’s comic book universe, the original Infinity trilogy by Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim began with Infinity Gauntlet, and it was followed by Infinity War and Infinity Crusade. Infinity Gauntlet doesn’t strike us as a very cinematic title, but perhaps Infinity Crusade could work because it will literally take an army of Marvel’s heroes from across all of its MCU films to take down Thanos.

The Russos previously indicated that the Infinity War titles would be changed because each film will stand on its own with a complete story, as opposed to one movie ending on a cliffhanger to be resolved by the next sequel. Marvel has yet to confirm which characters will appear in both films, but it is known that production will begin in November of this year and both movies will be shot back-to-back. Famed composer Alan Silvestri is also on board to score both Infinity War and its follow up movie, after sitting out of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Avengers: Infinity War will be released on May 4, 2018, and its now untitled sequel will follow on May 3, 2019.

What should be the new title for the film formerly known as Avengers: Infinity War Part 2? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Marvel Studios

Bandcamping: The Best Underground Albums of July

Those of you who have been keeping up with Bandcamping know that we recently made the decision to streamline it by reducing its frequency to a single monthly post for reasons we previously described by talking about pancakes.

The format of this space isn’t going to change aside from that, but I would like to point out that since the beginning of the column (January 2016), I’ve been maintaining a Soundcloud playlist of songs that have appeared in Bandcamping (currently 87 songs deep). Since this column is now going to produce fewer music recommendations overall, I’ll be adding songs to the monthly Soundcloud playlists that didn’t make the cut for whatever reason, that reason usually being because they were singles which weren’t part of a strong album or were just released independently.

If that interests you, check it out here, and oh yeah, here are this month’s best underground albums as seen on Bandcamp:

5. Too Much of a Good Thing by Seasaw

Too Much of a Good Thing by Seasaw

Genre: indie pop, alternative

If you like: Hot Chip, Noah & The Whale, Tegan & Sara

Seasaw hails from Madison, Wisconsin, but musically, they’re all over the map. They can produce pretty indie folk ditties like album opener “Folklore,” then they’ll hit you with a bizarre alternative track like “Waiting Song,” and then you’ll get indie rock filtered through a Sega Genesis from “Into The White.” The duo hits a bunch of extremes, and they don’t pull any punches while doing so.

4. Abyssinia by Mos Generator

ABYSSINIA by MOS GENERATOR

Genre: metal, hard rock

If you like: Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, Baroness

We know that Ozzy Osbourne is still alive, but it feels like at least part of the Black Sabbath frontman was reincarnated in frontman Tony Reed. The sludgy, old-school metal sound of Mos Generator is also perfectly content in being behind the times, because the early ’70s, when Sabbath and similar groups were taking off and defining metal for future generations, was a beautifully brutal era.

3. Golden Light/Aeolus by Holy Monitor

Golden Light/Aeolus by Holy Monitor

Genre: krautrock, psychedelic rock

If you like: Neu!, DIIV

For those unfamiliar with krautrock, it’s a German form of rock that began in the late ’60s that’s characterized by its motorik drum beats. Its best-known purveyors include Neu!, Kraftwerk, and Can, and now Holy Monitor is grabbing the torch and bringing it into modern day. It’s somewhat ambient in its repetitiveness, like a more analogue version of trance music, so it’s perfect to close your eyes and drift away to.

2. Imaginary Life by T R A C E S

Imaginary Life by T R A C E S

Genre: shoegaze, dream pop

If you like: Beach House, My Bloody Valentine

Shoegaze and dream pop are closely related in that they both take advantage of reverb to create immersive atmospheres, but it seems like bands haven’t quite found a way to produce a sound that can settle in both camps, that’s both based on guitar pedal distortions and ethereal synthesizers. The Montreal-based T R A C E S are about as close to achieving this balance as anybody else has gotten, and the yield is an inviting record that can sound as punishing or as sweet as you want it to.

1. Famous Men by Magnolian

Famous Men by Magnolian

Genre: folk, indie rock

If you like: The National, Bon Iver

Magnolian, the project of Mongolian musician Dulguun Bayasgalan, is reminiscent of, to use a point of reference nobody will understand, Japanese ambient folk duo Kicell, but draws influence from more Western-styled acts like The National, Tom Waits, and Paul Simon. There’s an adventurous delicacy here: Magnolian tries a lot of different things without sounding like he’s ever leaving his comfort zone on his tremendously fun debut EP.

Honorable Mentions

Good Things Will Happen by Soft Corporate

Genre: indie rock, alternative rock, dream pop

If you like: Coldplay, OneRepublic

Faulty Inner Dialogue by Kid Canaveral

Genre: indie rock, dream pop, shoegaze

If you like: Angels & Airwaves

That’s all for today, but until next month, let us know in the comments which of these albums were your favorites, what we missed, and what we should look forward to. If you missed out on the last post, check it out here (and the complete Bandcamping archives are here).

Rami Malek on MR ROBOT’s Twists and Turns, His Favorite Moments, and Season 2

Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for USA’s television show Mr. Robot. Proceed with caution.

When Mr. Robot debuted on USA network last summer we didn’t know what to expect. As we descended further down the rabbit hole that is the delusional mind of the protagonist, Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), our perspective of what was actually going on significantly twisted, and things only got better for the delightful plot. Fast-forward to today and we’re three episodes deep into the second season and still unsure of what’s real–a good thing for the show, if you ask us. To say that we’re dying to see where the show is headed next, would be an understatement.

A lot of that has to do with Elliot’s inner battle, and the introduction of FBI agent Dominque ‘Dom’ DiPierro (Grace Gummer), who is hot on fsociety’s trail, and has seriously changed the show’s dynamic. We got a chance to chat with Malek and Gummer about the show at San Diego Comic-Con this year. While they didn’t give too much away (because really, that would spoil the fun) the actors discussed what it’s like being a part such a popular show, their favorite plot twist, and more.

The cast also made their Comic-Con debut in a panel moderated by our own Chris Hardwick. While they didn’t reveal too much, we did learn that Christian Slater is an avid Pokémon GO player (of course), which is obviously pretty important news. Also, based on Portia Doubleday’s remarks, Angela sounds like she’s on the brink of cracking. She’s got some pretty big decisions to make this season, as does Darlene (Carly Chaikin), who is currently leading fsociety. Based on last season, the show has the potential to go in any direction, and we love it.

Have you been watching Mr. Robot? If so, don’t forget to follow along with our weekly recaps and check back for more news, theories, and more!

Image: USA

Jonah Raydio #87: No Episode

Hey everybody. Cash here for the no show Adam. He wasn’t there, but long time friend of the podcast and artist extraordinaire Dana Lechtenberg was. Check out his work on this podcast and more at www.cargocollective.com/subpop2000. We talk movies, music, fake energy becoming real energy. I had like five beers. And there was an uncomfortable argument that we cut out. But I left in some weird cuts taken out of context. It’s much better than the bullshit we yelled about.

Music :

Todd Terje “Firecracker”

The Descendents “Without Love”

Ricky Baker “From Hunt for the Wilderpeople”

Blink 182 “Sober”

Dios Malos “Starting Five”

That Dog “Minneapolis”

David Crosby “Jonah’s Dumb Meditation Mix”

Juliana Barwick “Bode”

Dyke Drama “Crying in a Bathroom Stall”

Radiator Hospital “Cut Your Bangs”

Paws “Empire State”

 

Watch Kanye Cry in His New Music Video for “Wolves”

Is Kanye… crying? Yes, folks. Your eyes are watching the new music video correctly. Kanye West can’t keep from bawling in his “Wolves” video. If you don’t want to get misty-eyed, read on for news of Elvis Presley’s ’60s guitar going up for auction, The Melvins guest appearence on a Cartoon Network show, Malia Obama’s attendance at Lollapalooza, Massive Attack’s new song with Mazzy Star’s frontwoman, and Action Bronson’s new clip where he watches alien-related footage with Tyler, the Creator.

It feels like The Life of Pablo has been one constant release. Kanye West teased the album, teased it some more, released it, changed it, changed it some more, released a video, changed it some more, released another video, and alas, here we are today, staring down yet another music video. Things feel different now, though. In the newest clip for “Wolves,” Kanye teams up with director Steven Klein to tell an autotuned story of pain and pride. The black-and-white video sees Vic Mensa, Sia, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Joan Smalls, Cindy Crawford, and more make appearances in what seems to be a big ad for fashion company Balmain. Most importantly, the video features a new version of the track and it’s so dang beautiful that it brings Kanye to tears. He can’t stop crying. Really. Look at all those tears. It’s a sight to see, especially if you’re tired of seeing him look so dang smug all the time. [Pitchfork]

It seems every musician is offering up old rarities for auction. Elvis Presley now joins that list. The deceased singer-songwriter will have numerous items up for sale, most estimated to sell for tens of thousands of dollars. The items up for auction: a guitar he used in the ’60s, his 1935 birth document, his Magnum revolver, his custom-made karate outfit, and 200 other “unique items.” The bidding goes down on August 13 as part of Invaluable.com’s Auction at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Start savin’, collectors. [Rolling Stone]

Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you’re irrelevant. The Melvins have been churning out awesome punk rock for three decades now and they’re still loved for it. The group got cartoon-ified for an episode of Uncle Grandpa on Cartoon Network. The episode premieres on August 4 and sees Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover turn up to help Lizzy when her band bails before a talent show performance. It’s an honor to be animated for most. Osborne is no exception. “I LOVED seeing myself animated,” he told Rolling Stone. “It’s the most reality I’ve had in a long time. These guys were so nice to us! They even allowed Dale and I to do the voiceovers sans pants!” If only that image made it into the cartoon. [Rolling Stone]

Was going hard to @CASHMERECAT and then Secret Service and Malia Obama just pull up pic.twitter.com/lfNRxWzwRu

— Alex Lao (@alexanderlao) July 29, 2016

Sometimes your parents throw boring parties. Sometimes you bail on those parties for a better party elsewhere. If you don’t know how it’s done, just ask the president’s daughter, Malia Obama. She skipped out on the Democratic National Convention to go to Lollapalooza this weekend. Armed by some slacked-out Secret Service , Malia caught EDM act Cashmere Cat close to the front row. No word yet on any other acts she saw, but it seems like she had a good time with her friends, possibly even more fun than when she went to Lollapalooza in 2014. Rock on. [Consequence of Sound]

 

VICELAND TV has a new series called Traveling The Stars: Action Bronson & Friends Watch Ancient Aliens. It’s exactly what the title describes. The foodie rapper invites guests onto his show to watch the History Channel TV show and discuss aliens, weed, and everything in between. This week’s episode will make you laugh in under five minutes with Tyler, the Creator as a guest. There’s some funny animations about face tattoos and giant piles of sand, both of which sound random but make sense if you watch it. Check it out above to see what we mean. [Pitchfork]

Enjoy the weekend! We’ll see you back here on Monday for another Music Dispatch!

Image: Kanye West/YouTube

Modern Films in Retro VHS Cover Art Will Make You All Kinds of Nostalgic

If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, chances are VHS has a special place in your heart. Sure, the quality was absolutely terrible, but VHS tapes were the way that we began to really internalize movies as a culture. We could now rent or buy our favorite films, and watch them over and over until the darn things broke. There was just something special about walking into a mom n’ pop video store as a kid, one that had a lot of weird looking older tapes in clamshell packaging, and finding that one oddball movie that you just had to tell your friends about.

Now an artist (who goes by the name Steelberg) has painstakingly created VHS boxes in an early ’80s style, but made for current/modern films. The level of detail in these creations are amazing, and Steelberg goes out of his way to give each of the cases a worn out, “been rented a thousand times” vintage feeling to them. And some of the movies he’s chosen are so modern in fact, they haven’t even been released in theaters yet—like the upcoming Star Wars: Rogue One and Ready Player One.

Other recent Steelberg creations include the recent shark thriller The Shallows, the horror films You’re Next and The Witch, and of course, recent Netflix hit series Stranger Things, which is the most fitting given that show’s deep ’80s roots. You can check out a sampling of Steelberg’s more recent VHS art in our gallery below, but be sure to check out his Instagram account or his Facebook page for his complete collection.

What do you think of these cool as heck retro style art? Does it make you long for the good old days of wandering around the video store on summer afternoon? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Steelberg

SHERLOCK Team Talks Hiddleston, the Other One, and Mary’s Fate

Big things are afoot in the upcoming fourth season (or series, if you’re British) of Sherlock. After the trailer debut at this year’s Comic-Con, we were more than a little bit concerned for everyone’s favorite brainiac genius detective and his funny little uptight doctor pal. In their latest installment of the Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman-led series, things look gravely serious in a way they never have before—and based on our conversation with the cast, there’s no happy ending in sight. So while grilling the cast over on our Camp Conival stages, we were filled with dread, worry, and concern about our favorite characters. Could we get co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat to spill the beans about Moriarty? What about producer Sue Vertue, or Mary Watson herself, actress Amanda Abbington? Is there a third Holmes brother? Will he be played by Tom Hiddleston? Well, you’re going to have to watch below to find out.

Of course, that’s not all we got out of the cast—we also wanted to talk about what it takes to put on such a thrilling series. After all, working in an oeuvre as impressive and beloved (and recreated!) as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s—except maybe that other show the producers work on, Doctor Who.

Are you looking forward to Sherlock‘s fourth installment? What do you think of their mysterious final words about season four? Have any thoughts or theories on Sherrinford? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist and creator/co-host of Fangirling. Find her on Twitter (because she’s not trying to make you do any detective work). 

YO-KAI WATCH 2’s Blasters Mode is Co-Op Madness

While everyone was out and about trying to catch cute monsters in Pokémon Go at San Diego Comic-Con, I was catching monsters of a different kind. As part of the Nintendo Gaming Lounge, both Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls and Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits (which are the same game, with each containing exclusive content) were playable, with the brand new co-op mode, Blasters, being the main attraction. Luckily, we learned quite a bit about it while going hands-on!

First, the campaign is going to be massive when compared to the first Yo-kai Watch game on the 3DS. You’ll have the opportunity to go explore more areas, and experience time travel with a new Yo-kai friend named Hovernyan. While bending time, the players will witness the inception of the Yo-kai Watch! It’s really shaping up to be an incredibly interesting adventure for long time fans. And who doesn’t like time-traveling Yo-kai that also happen to be the most adorable thing ever?

Now on to what could arguably be the biggest addition: the Blasters mode. This is 4-player local co-op mode (which is playable in single-player as well) is all about getting together with friends to hunt down “Oni Orbs” to unlock loot for the main campaign. At the end of each session your orbs will be gathered up, and the higher the amount, the better chance you’ll have at getting great randomized loot—it’s a great incentive to take a break from the campaign (even if they are tied, which is brilliant).

Before jumping into a session, you and your friends will choose to play as a Yo-kai from an available list. You can choose between one that specializes in range attacks all the way to a brawler who is adept at facing trouble in close-combat. I, of course, chose Blazion, the fiery beasts (who happens to be a brawler)!

Once you’ve chosen your character, you’ll be dropped into a mid-sized map with “oni orbs” scattered throughout—grabbing as many orbs as possible with your friends is the main objective. While doing this, you must avoid the “oni patrols” (bad guys) in order to survive long enough to leave the map when the escape portal opens up after a certain amount of time. The 3DS’ second screen shows you where everything is at, so it’s up to you to strategize how to tackle the map. You can choose to stay long after the escape door opens up in an attempt to nab more orbs, but it’s at your own risk since more patrol members will fill the map. There’s also a large oni that’ll wreck you if you’re seen, and the longer you stay, the more that’ll spawn.

It’s a rather simple concept, really, but it’s a total blast. I actually died a couple of times, so keep in mind that it’s actually pretty tough.

When Yo-kai Watch was finally making its move over to the states (both the show and games), many thought it could had the potential to be as popular as the Pokémon franchise. And while there was some hype behind the series, it never quite captured the mainstream audience as many had hoped it would. However, if the short demo is anything to go by, this series could still be special in its own right.

We also got a look at Hasbro’s new Yo-kai watch toy. The new model has switchable medals like its predecessor, but this time around it not only makes unique sounds depending on which coin you slide into the body of the watch, it also projects a moving image onto surfaces. Aesthetically, the toy itself still looks very similar to the last model. As for the coins, they include QR codes that can be scanned into your game to unlock some goodies. It’s a nice novelty item to add to your collection.

Are you guys a fan of the Yo-kai show? How about the last 3DS game? Which Yo-kai is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Image: Nintendo, Level 5