Justin Bell's Blog, page 5

Marvel’s Netflix does it again – Luke Cage is all that

Ever since the first rumors of Netflix’s Defenders series leaked several years ago, I’ve been captivated in the progression of their TV themed universe.  Daredevil was what really intrigued me, I didn’t really have much of an interest in Jessica Jones, Power Man or Iron Fist, but I was willing to roll with the flow as long as it got me the Daredevil series I wanted.

Here we stand with two seasons of Daredevil under our belt, confirmation of an upcoming Punisher spin off, Season 1 of Jessica Jones, and Season 2 of Luke Cage just started on Friday.  Daredevil and Jessica Jones have both impressed, but not knowing anything about Cage, I wasn’t sure how invested I’d feel in that universe.

Given Marvel’s track record, I should have known better than to even doubt it.

Luke Cage is freaking spectacular.

As always, the key is in the characters (and the actors that go along with that) and Marvel does a terrific job giving these characters life throughout the work of the accomplished actors playing those roles.  We saw a peek at Luke Cage in the first season of Jessica Jones, and this official first season takes those nuggets and builds them into a great story arc really exploring the character of Harlem.  Like Daredevil did with Hell’s Kitchen, Luke Cage takes the personality of its surroundings and makes it a living and breathing character  unto it’s own.

I’m almost halfway through the first thirteen episodes now, and so far, so good.  If I have any complaints it’s that so far no villain has appeared who can really stand toe-to-toe with Cage, and the sense of suspense or fear of the character’s life is so far non-existent.  But a lot can change in the next seven episodes, so we’ll see how things go from here.

So far, though, I have absolutely no complaints, and anyone who is even the slightest Marvel fan NEEDS to check this one out.

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Is this thing on?

During the month of October, Amazon celebrates Self-Published Independent Authors…check out Powered By Indie to explore the rich world of self publishing!

It was just around August of last year when I decided I was going to dedicate myself to pursuing my dreams of becoming a published author, and all that came with it, including rampant self promotion, social media, and marketing.

I’ve failed utterly.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Between last August and today, I’ve published two novels, am 140,000 words into my third, and I’ve successfully submitted a short story to the spectacular SNAFU anthology by Cohesion Press.  I’m exceedingly satisfied and downright pleased with what I’ve accomplished in the writing space in a little more than twelve months.

However, as a self published author, I think everyone knows that the writing part is only a piece of puzzle.  There’s marketing, social media and self promotion as well, and in all three phases I have completely and utterly failed.

I built up my Facebook page for Wolf’s Head Publishing pretty well, and have over 750 “Likes” at the moment, which is great.  I’ve amassed nearly 1500 followers on Twitter.  My website is generating some traffic (it ain’t much!) but so far all I’ve succeeded in doing is building a store front that stands empty.  No real content, no updates, no excited posts about the writing process.  Nada.

I need to do better.

Now, it’s not like I have some grand and important wisdom to impart on folks that you can’t find anywhere else, but for my own sake, I need to get excited about my work.  I need to want to share what I’m doing, because if I can’t get excited about my own work, how can I expect anyone else to?

Writing is writing…I love doing it, and I’m thrilled that I’ve somehow managed to string nearly 500,000 words together into a cohesive trilogy of novels, but if I’m writing in a vacuum, what is it doing for my health and well-being.  I’d argue not much.  It just gives me more excuses to withdraw into my own little fantasy world, be anti-social and even more introverted than I’ve ever been.  Not that being introverted is a bad thing…

Anyway.  The third novel is about 80% done and I’m hoping to fix this.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m extremely proud at the small accomplishments I’ve made and I need to share that pride or what’s it really worth?

All this being said, I wouldn’t trade the past year for anything.  Becoming an author, a self-published independent author, has provided a type of reward I haven’t felt before.  Even if that feeling isn’t translated in page hits, book sales, or notoriety, I still know that I did it, and I’m still doing it.  And I’ll keep doing it.

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll have the external reward to go along with the internal one.

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CityWide Blackout Radio Show featuring yours truly is online!

It was quite a pleasure to sit down with Max and Matt from CityWide Blackout on WEFM Radio last week and talk about my work!

We chatted about G.I. Joe and completely geeked out on 80s pop culture, and spoke about my ongoing Operation: Harvest trilogy as well.

All in all, it was a lot of fun, and hopefully you think so, too!  You can check it out CityWideBlackout.blogspot.com.  Enjoy!

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SNAFU: Unnatural Selection available on Amazon!

It’s been released!

The anthology I was honored to be a part of has hit Amazon.com this morning, and I couldn’t be more excited, not just for my own work appearing in it, but also to check out my esteemed company.

A wealth of great horror writers took part in SNAFU: Unnatural Selection, and it’s sure to be a page turner.

You can find SNAFU: Unnatural Selection on Amazon.com right now, so go get it!

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The Fog of Dreams 2nd Edition on Kindle Countdown Deal!

Spice up your summer reading!  My first novel, The Fog of Dreams is officially on a Kindle Countdown… if you’ve been wanting to read it, now’s your chance, as it’s priced at only .99 for a limited time.

Check it out if you’re so inclined…

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Stranger Things on Netflix is a wonderful, thrilling flashback

It often feels like the 1980s were a simpler time, but for many of us, that’s likely just viewing that decade through the rose colored lens of nostalgia.  I was six years old when the 80s started, and that entire decade of pop culture phenomenon was right in my wheelhouse.  It should come as no surprise, then, that Netflix’s new original Stranger Things series falls right in my comfort zone.

But it’s more than just the familiar music and clothes, it’s retro title design, amazing score, and the story is captivating as hell, too.

Granted, I’m only four episodes into the new series, which just launched July 15th, but I’m completely enthralled in the story, and have been genuinely spooked at certain moments. Unafraid to explore supernatural thrills, and with an incredibly familiar story telling motif, Stranger Things has a terrific cast of characters interwoven into music and film tactics that feel a lot like going home.

At it’s core, it’s the story of a missing boy mixed with the story of a discovered girl and a vast, complex conspiracy that involves them both.  Creatures with no faces, unexplained super powers, and a great retro 80s soundtrack all come together to create a fascinating universe.

This is great stuff.  If you were a kid of the 80s like I was, or even if you weren’t, this series has something for everyone.  Truly terrific.

Check it out!

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Goodreads Giveaway for The Fog of Dreams 2nd Edition is LIVE

My first ever Goodreads Giveaway is now officially underway and will be running until the July 4th holiday.  Get prepared for beach season with a nice 400 page suspense novel sure to make the time go by faster.

Check out the details below and enter to win a SIGNED copy!

Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Fog of Dreams
by Justin Bell

Giveaway ends July 04, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

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SNAFU: Unnatural Selection – new anthology pre-order including yours truly!

I’m ecstatic to announce that the Amazon.com Pre-Order for SNAFU: Unnatural Selection by Cohesion Press is now live!  This is especially cool news, as one of my pieces, Unborn will be included in the anthology.

I’m extremely excited for this story to get out there, and equally excited that me debut with the Cohesion Press family features an awesome looking Manshark on the cover.  Really fantastic.

The anthology should hit wide release in July, but if you want to take advantage of Pre-Order pricing, you’ll want to pick it up now.  If it’s anything like the other SNAFU installments, it’ll kick your ass.

Pre-Order it on Amazon.com and big thanks to the folks at Cohesion Press for letting me tag along for the ride.

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Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 12 – Ant Man

Originally, Marvel Studios seem to indicate that Ant Man would kickstart the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but at some point they changed gears slightly and instead relegated it to the conclusion of Phase Two.  It’s kind of weird because the Phases generally tend to build towards some massive conclusion, and Age of Ultron fit that bill, so to see Ant Man kind of tagged onto the end feels a bit off.

At its core, Ant Man is the anti Avengers… as large and world encompassing as Avengers is, Ant Man is small and self contained.  In essence a high tech heist film, it features the Scott Lang version of the character picking up where Hank Pym left off, using a super suit and the “Pym Particle” to shrink to miniature size and fight crime.

Like Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man uses humor as a strong leverage, and it works to a degree, but not nearly as effectively as Guardians did.  The main villain, Darren Cross (AKA Yellow Jacket) feels over the top and Lang’s compadres are the very definition of stereotypical dumb crooks.  Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are excellent in their respective roles, and I’m really glad to see them become a larger part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This does feel like there’s a smaller piece to the larger whole in this film, with a pretty cool cameo of Falcon and the new Avengers facility in upstate New York.  I enjoyed the sequence at the beginning with an older Peggy Carter and Howard Stark dovetailing nicely into the Ant Man backstory and finding a way to heavily utilize Hank Pym, yet still kick off this new more “modern” update to the old school hero.

I enjoyed Ant Man… I did.  But there’s some heavy competition in the MCU slate and ultimately it falls near the bottom of the list.  The action, effects, and fast paced story tell a good tale and do a good job of bringing one of the Avengers founding members back into the team.  It doesn’t stand out in the way other MCU films have, but it falls into place naturally and feels like a smaller part of a bigger whole.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Ant Man’s second cinematic adventure as part of Captain America: Civil War in the theaters.

Ongoing Rank:

#12 – Iron Man 3

#11 – Thor (The Dark World)

#10 – Iron Man 2

#9 – Ant Man

#8 – Thor

#7 – Incredible Hulk

#6 – Guardians of the Galaxy

#5 – Avengers: Age of Ultron

#4 – Captain America: The First Avenger

#3 – Iron Man

#2 – Avengers

#1 – Captain America: Winter Soldier

Check out the Other Posts!

Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 12 – Ant Man Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 11 – Avengers (Age of Ultron) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 10 – Guardians of the Galaxy Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 09 – Captain America (Winter Soldier) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 08 – Thor (The Dark World) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 7.5 – All Hail the King Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 07 – Iron Man 3 Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 6.5 – Item 47 and Agent Carter Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 06 – The Avengers Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 05 – Captain America (The First Avenger)

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Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 11 – Avengers (Age of Ultron)

It’s deja vu all over again.  Just like the original Avengers was the dramatic culmination of every Marvel Studios film that had come before, so did Age of Ultron build upon each individual film throughout Phase Two, wrapping up the second phase with an especially big bang (with the exception of the epilogue-like Ant Man film).

Like the entirety of Phase Two, many would say Avengers: Age of Ultron was uneven at best and subpar at worst, especially when looking at it through the lens of the original Avengers.  I completely disagree.

The balance between character and event is nicely done in the Avengers sequel, though feels a little less obvious, with most character interactions woven between explosions and large action set pieces.

It’s not the best Marvel Studios film, not by a long shot…heck it’s not even the best Phase Two Marvel Studios film, but even rewatching it a second time I found myself entranced by the film in its entirety, a thrilling, two and a half hour spectacle of blockbuster entertainment, which focuses a bit more on the typical Hollywood flash and less on the substance and personality of the original.

That’s not to say there’s no personality, there is a healthy helping of the humanity that makes these films great, but there’s much more special effects explosions and robot combat than we got in Avengers.  Thankfully, the effects, explosions, and robot combat is all done exceptionally well and we end up with a very exciting thrill ride of a film, which not only manages to build upon all of the existing Marvel superstars, but pretty seamlessly introduce a number of others without sacrificing depth on any side.  Joss Whedon once again does a good job balancing an entire roster full of heroes that could (and have) driven their own solo films and manages to juggle them effectively. He even puts the magnifying glass on Hawkeye, a character who many folks thought was shorted the first time around, and brings him to center stage in a big way.

I will say the story flow definitely didn’t work as well as the first time with Ultron’s almost total takeover of the world’s Internet glossed over in a short 5 minute conversation, not to mention the pseudo magic Deux Es Machina that brought Vision to life, but even with these questionable elements, the film as a whole was immensely entertaining and felt like a huge blockbuster conclusion to Phase Two.

It also carried along the MCU into the next phase, clearly identifying the threat of the Infinity Stones in a way that no Earthbound Marvel film as yet done.  Seeing that spoken about one film after it was discussed (in a galaxy far, far away) with the Guardians of the Galaxy film nicely starts to build a bridge between that very unrealistic universe and  the slightly more realistic (though just slightly) world being developed down on Earth.

I will admit that unlike the first Avengers film, Age of Ultron didn’t so much feel like a culmination of the previous films in this phase.  It was certainly a direct continuation of the first Avengers film, focusing on Loki’s scepter and showing Hydra using Chitauri technology, but I didn’t really feel like events in The Dark World or even Iron Man 3 led to this film.  Certainly you saw further evolution of Tony Stark with hints of what he went through in Iron Man 3, but it didn’t feel as much like the direct continuation.  Of course the first Avengers film is such a wholly unique experience, it’s quite possible something like that will never be as effective again.  By now, we’ve seen Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and the like all existing in film together, so obviously the second time around isn’t going to leave such a lasting impact.

It can’t be overstated how well Age of Ultron brings Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision to the franchise in a story that clearly defines each character and leverages their stories to build a deeper world.  The motivations of all three of these unique characters are clearly defined, and while Vision’s creation still kind of feels a little too convenient, I thought the film did a great job of motivating the Scarlett Witch to be evil, but having her turn it around y the end in a way that didn’t feel hokey and contrived.

As a villain, Ultron isn’t quite as entertaining as Loki, but still chewed up his screen time nicely, presenting himself as a threat, but one with some real world motivations.  His constant upgrades throughout the film were nice, and the references to other corners of the Marvel universe (specifically many different mentions of Wakanda and the Vibranium industry there) made this movie feel like a nice piece of a larger whole.

Ultimately, the second Avengers film doesn’t measure up to the first, but really, what film in the world does?  The previous film was an event unlike we’ve ever seen before, and very well may be unlike anything we’ll see again.  Even with those complaints, though, I still felt like Age of Ultron was terrific and a film I was exceedingly excited to sit down and watch again.

Ongoing Rank:

#11 – Iron Man 3

#10 – Thor (The Dark World)

#9 – Iron Man 2

#8 – Thor

#7 – Incredible Hulk

#6 – Guardians of the Galaxy

#5 – Avengers: Age of Ultron

#4 – Captain America: The First Avenger

#3 – Iron Man

#2 – Avengers

#1 – Captain America: Winter Soldier

Check out the Other Posts!

Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 11 – Avengers (Age of Ultron) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 10 – Guardians of the Galaxy Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 09 – Captain America (Winter Soldier) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 08 – Thor (The Dark World) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 7.5 – All Hail the King Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 07 – Iron Man 3 Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 6.5 – Item 47 and Agent Carter Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 06 – The Avengers Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 05 – Captain America (The First Avenger) Revisiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 04 – Thor

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