#IReadsYou Movie Review: "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Running time: 132 minutes (2 hour, 12 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and language
DIRECTOR:  Destin Daniel Cretton
WRITERS:  Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, and Andrew Lanham; from a story by Dave Callaham and Destin Daniel Cretton (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: William Pope (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, Nat Sanders, and Harry Yoon
COMPOSER: Joel P. Best

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring:  Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Wah Yuen, Florian Munteanu, Jayden Zhang, Elodie Fong, Arnold Sun, Harmonie He, Ronny Chieng, Benedict Wong, Tim Roth, and Ben Kingsley

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a 2021 superhero film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.  It is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu, that was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin and first appeared in the comic book, Special Marvel Edition #15 (cover dated: December 1973).  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings focuses on a young martial artist who is forced to confront his past and his father's deadly criminal legacy.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (or simply Shang-Chi) opens one thousand years ago and focuses on Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung), a warlord who found the “Ten Rings,” mystical weapons that grant their user immortality and great power.  Wenwu establishes a secret society of warriors called the “Ten Rings,” and begins to conquer the world.  In 1996, while searching for a legendary village, “Ta Lo,” Wenwu meets the village's guardian, Jiang Li (Fala Chen).  The two battle, but eventually fall in love and have two children, a boy named Xu Shang-Chi and girl named Xu Xialing.

Decades later, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) has adopted the name “Shaun” and is living in San Francisco.  Along with his long time best friend, Katy (Awkwafina), he works as a valet at a fancy hotel.  One day, while taking the city bus, Shang-Chi and Katy are attacked by a Ten Rings squad led by the assassin, “Razor Fist” (Florian Munteanu), who wants to steal a pendant given to Shang-Chi by his mother.  Fearing that the Ten Rings are going to steal a second identical pendant given to his sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), Shang-Chi decides to track her down.  Waiting for him, however, is a conspiracy that will inadvertently free a great evil known as the “Dweller-in-Darkness.”  To stop that, Shang-Chi will finally have to confront his past and grasp his destiny.

If I am honest, I will admit that I love martial arts fighting scenes in television and especially in movies.  I prefer fighting as performed by Asian or Asian-American actors.  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings gives me both, and the fight scenes are spectacular, so much so that they movie could never give me enough to satisfy me.  The general choreography of the action scenes is quite good, as seen in the bus-battle sequence, and it is clear that Shang-Chi's fighting style and techniques are influenced by the martial arts films of legendary Chinese actor/stuntman, Jackie Chan.

With flashy visual effects, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings also explores Asian culture, offering nice peeks into both family dynamics and Chinese culture and myths.  In a way, Shang-Chi is a movie that blends a story of family with an an exploration of a fantasy world that is similar to the one in Disney's recent animated film, Raya and the Last Dragon.  This immersion in a different world and culture allows Shang-Chi to set itself far apart, the way Black Panther stood out from other Marvel Studios films.

Shang-Chi also offers the combination of the prodigal son and the gifted-kid motif that both Raya and other Marvel films (like Iron Man and Black Panther) offer.  In that role, Simu Liu is versatile as Shang-Chi, an incredibly talented fighter who is also a happy-go-luck every man.  I found Liu's Shang-Chi likable from the first moment I saw him on film.  Tony Leung is an intense, dramatic heavy as Shang-Chi's shady father, Xu Wenwu; it's a gritty, edgy performance that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings needs in order to keep the story from flying away in its flights of fancy.

I do think that Marvel tries a little too hard to convince us that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.  We got that with the appearance of Wong (Benedict Wong), a character that appeared in Doctor Strange (2016), but an end credits scene is ready to pound it into our heads, as if we never had a clue.  The film, especially its flashbacks and in its quiet moments, sometimes falls flat.  That keeps it from being the kind of next-level Marvel film, that Black Panther and the better Avengers and Captain America films are.

Still, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an exceptional film, both in its story and in what it represents.  Shang-Chi is Marvel Studios' first film with an Asian director and a predominantly Asian cast, and it shows those distinctions with pride, while being wonderful and entertaining.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: DREAMING EAGLES #2

DREAMING EAGLES #2 (OF 6)
AFTERSHOCK COMICS – @AfterShockComix

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Garth Ennis
ARTIST: Simon Coleby
COLORS: John Kalisz
LETTERS: Rob Steen
COVER: Francesco Francavilla
VARIANT COVER: Declan Shalvey
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2016)

For mature readers

Dreaming Eagles created by Garth Ennis

Chapter 2: “Sunward I've Climbed”

Dreaming Eagles is a comic book created and written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Simon Coleby.  A six-issue miniseries, Dreaming Eagles tells the story of the first African-American fighter pilots to join the United States Army Air Force in World War II.  The narrative connects the pilots' stories with the 1960s Civil Rights movement through two character, WWII veteran, Lt. Reggie Atkinson, and his son Lee, a Civil Rights activist.

As Dreaming Eagles #2 (“Sunward I've Climbed”) opens, Reggie tries to explain to Lee the experience and feelings of flying an airplane.  He then recounts the early struggle of Black pilots to gain acceptance and the difficulties facing other Black men who wanted to become pilots.  Connected to the U.S. Army Air Corps Thirty-Third fighter group, the Black servicemen travel overseas to find that some things are the same as at home in the United States, as they prepare for their first combat.

As much as the first issue of Dreaming Eagles intrigued me, I was equally curious about where this series would go.  I am surprised that the second issue focuses so much on the bureaucratic obstacles that the Black pilots confront as much as it depicts the resistance these men face from their superior officers.  This is all driven by racism, bigotry, ignorance, and everything bad that is rooted in the Jim Crow America which emerged late in the 19th century.

Garth Ennis offers a story that reads like an oral history, covering both the larger details of the wider national and military history, but also depicting the more intimate details of a personal story.  Yet Ennis also depicts the thrill of flight, both in training and in combat.  This sense of drama is as exciting as the best moments of a good action movie.

Artist Simon Coleby brings Ennis' script to life and captures every nuance and all the high-drama.  I can't find the words to describe how wonderful is the manner in which Coleby depicts airplanes in flight and in fight.  Yet Coleby also brings the same power and intensity, but quietly, when depicting the indignities the Black servicemen face.  Even when these men take it with a “stiff upper lift,” Coleby shows the anger that simmers beneath these proud men.

Dreaming Eagles #2 makes me even more curious.  What's next with issue #3?

A

[This comic book includes a six-page preview of the comic book , “Second Sight,” by David Hine and Alberto Ponticelli.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

I Reads You Juniors: August 2021 - Update #96

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon.

NEWS:

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Marvel Comics may be announcing some big news on Tues., Aug. 31st.

DC CINEMA - From ComicBook:   Henry Braham, the cinematographer for DC Films' "The Flash," says the movie is "complex" and is "not really a comic book movie."

DC TV - From Deadline:   Actors Neil Hopkins, who plays the villain "Sportsmaster," and Joy Osmanski, who plays "Tigress," will become series regulars on Season 3 of The CW's "DC's Stargirl."

DC TV - From DCBlog:   The CW announced it will kick off Season 8 of "The Flash" with a five-part epic event that will bring more than a half-dozen heroes and villains from throughout the Arrowverse to Central City for a massive story line called “Armageddon.”

SONY MARVEL U - From WeGotThisCovered:   Sony Pictures may movie its sequel, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," again, this time to 2022.

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Actor John Leguizamo has his own comic book coming out from Image Comics.  Entitled "PhenomX," it features a Latinx superhero.

COMICS TO FILM - From Variety:  Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in a feature film adaptation of "Oblivion Song," the comic book by writer Robert Kirkman (the writer of "The Walking Dead" comic book) and artist Lorenzo De Felici.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Barry Windsor-Smith's classic Wolverine saga, "Weapon X," gets the "gallery edition" treatment.

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Skottie Young has announced an ongoing "I Hate Fairyland" comic book series, but while he will write it, Brett Parson will draw it.

MANGA - From BleedingCool:   Yen Press announces 13 manga and light novel titles for February 2022.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From WeGotThisCovered:   Barry Keoghan, who plays the villainous Druig in Marvel Studios' upcoming "Eternals," has suffered serious injuries to his face which led him to be hospitalized for a short time.

MARVEL - From Nerdist:   Released 30 years ago this past week: How 1991's "X-Men #1" changed Marvel Comics' mutants forever.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Marvel Comics is giving "The Thing" of the Fantastic Four his own comic book series, which will be written by novelist Walter Mosley ("Devil in a Blue Dress").

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   The site has a first look at "Superman vs. Lobo #1," the "DC Black Label" comic book that ships next week.

DC CINEMA - From THR:  Jurnee Smollett will reprise her role as "Black Canary" from the 2020 film, "Birds of Prey."  Misha Green, creator of "Underground," will write the Black Canary film which is slated for HBO Max.

INTERVIEW - From GQ:   In a "GQ" interview, horror master mangaka, Junji Ito, talks about his new book, "Sensor," and other subjects.

VIZ MEDIA - From ScreenRant:  New "Jojo's Bizarre Adventures" may be coming, as well as a spinoff manga.

VIZ MEDIA - From CBR:   VIZ Media is currently offering the first chapter of its recent release, "Star Wars: Guardians of the Whills," for free on its website.

DC COMICS - From Variety:   DC Comics characters are going to the digital comics platform, Webtoons, via deal between DC Entertainment and Webtoon.

From BleedingCool:  The Korean boy band, BTS, may be part of the DC/Webtoon deal.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From BleedingCool:  Marvel just dropped the final trailer for its upcoming film, "Eternals."

DYNAMITE - From BleedingCool:   Dynamite Entertainment is launching a comic book starring "Vampirella" character, "Nyx."

MANGA TO ANIME - From ANN:   Takehiko Inoue is writing and directing a new anime film based on his classic basketball manga, "Slam Dunk."  The film be released Fall 2022.

MANGA - BookRiot:   The site offers a look at the manga market in North America.

MANGA - From CBR:  Grammy-winning recording artist Ed Sheeran recently teamed up with Japanese illustrator and manga artist Rui Ikeda to release an anime adaptation of the music video for his latest single, "Bad Habits."

DARK HORSE - From BleedingCool:   Brian Michael Bendis is moving his creator-owned titles under the "Jinxworld" banner to Dark Horse Comics.  His new miniseries, with artist Stephen Byrne, "Joy Operations," starts in November.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:   Novelist Christopher Ruocchio will write a Thor story for "Avengers #50" that Steve McNiven will draw.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  Joe Quesada, John Romita, Jr., and Scott Hanna are producing a new 9/11 memorial comic that will appear in select Marvel Comics titles published on Sept. 8th, 2021. 

DC TV - From DCBlog:   In an interview, "Stargirl" actress, Brec Bassinger, talks about Season Two and about the evil of "Eclipso."

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Dick Grayson is finally on top in the three-issue miniseries, "Robin & Batman" by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Bryan Hitch is working on a "Superman" project for 2022.

DC CINEMA - From GiantFreakingRobot:   Warner Bros. may be looking to drop actress Margot Kidder as "Harley Quinn."

MANGA TO FILM - From THR:   Shinsuke Sato will direct Legendary Entertainment's live-action version of the smash hit manga, "My Hero Academia."  The English-language project currently does not have a writer attached to it.

IMAGE COMICS TO FILM - From THR: Brian Tucker, who penned the 2013 Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg crime thriller, "Broken City," has been hired to write the script for Todd McFarlane and Jason Blum's long-developing "Spawn" reboot film.

DC TV - From Deadline:   Vincent Kartheiser, who plays the villain Scarecrow on Season 3 of HBO Max's "Titans, has triggered at least two complaints and two internal investigations by Warner Bros Television. The allegations, which are believed to have included disruptive, juvenile behavior and inappropriate comments, were investigated by WBTV’s Labor Relations department.

DC COMICS - From EW:  "Dark Knights of Steel" is set in a new DC Comics medieval fantasy world.  The 12-issue miniseries will debut soon.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Actor Danny DeVito has written a "Penguin" story that will appear in the comic book, "Gotham City Villains Anniversary #1."  DeVito played the Penguin in director Tim Burton's 1992 film, "Batman Returns."

SONY MARVEL U - From Variety:   Sony has changed the release date for "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" again.  Sony has moved the film's release date from Sept. 24th to October 15th.

From Esquire:  In an interview with "Esquire," "Venom" star Tom Hardy says that Sony is very happy with "Venom: Let There Be Carnage.'

IMAGE COMICS - From THR:   Todd McFarlane's "King Spawn" has sold 497,000 copies, which is Image's biggest monthly title release in 25 years. "King Spawn #1" actually goes on sale August 25, 2021.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  Apparently, WalMart has obtained and is selling Marvel retailer variant covers in its three-pack offerings.  This includes variants that are exclusive to particular retailers.

SUBSTACK - From BleedingCool:  Skottie Young is moving his comic book, "I Hate Fairyland," from Image Comics to whatever Substack Comics is.

CONVENTIONS - From BleedingCool:   In 2022, six of Wizard World's top conventions will be rebranded as "Fan Expo" events.  Is this a prelude to Fan Expo taking over Wizard World.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Captain America and Iron Man have been teaming up forever.  But they will team-up in a miniseries for the first time in November with "Captain America/Iron Man," from the creative team of Derek Landy and Angel Unzueta.

DC/LGBTQ - From YahooEntertainment:   So Tim Drake, the third character to carry the mantle of Batman's sidekick, Robin, is officially bisexual.

DC COMICS - From CBR:   James Tynion IV announced on his Substack newsletter that he is both starting a new creator-owned series on Substack and that he will be leaving DC to focus on his creator-owned work.

MARVEL/DC COMICS - From TheGuardian:   Marvel and DC Comics faces backlash over the paltry royalty payments issued to comic book creators for the use of characters and story lines they created in films and television series.

COMIXOLOGY - From BleedingCool:   Scott Snyder explains why he has eight comic books coming from comiXology.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Vault Comics announces the rapid expansion of its "Barbaric" franchise.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics admits that Jack Kirby co-wrote "The Fantastic Four #1" with Stan Lee."

DC CINEMA - From IReadsYou:  Here is my review of "The Suicide Squad."

THE SUICIDE SQUAD - From Deadline: "The Suicide Squad" has an opening day box office of 12.1 million dollars.

From CBR:  "The Suicide Squad" director James Gunn explains why "The Peacemaker" is the character getting his own series.

From DCBlog:  In an interview, writer-director James Gunn talks about "The Suicide Squad's" colorful lineup of characters.

From YahooEntertainment:   Margot Robbie, DC Films' Harley Quinn, had a profane warning for writer-director James Gunn concerning Harley's fate in the new film, "The Suicide Squad."

From DCBlog:   Who the f*** is the Peacemaker - all about the character.

From Insider:  8 of the wackiest DC characters James Gunn considered for "The Suicide Squad."

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INTERVIEW - From GamesRadar:   In an interview, "Daredevil" artist Mike Hawthorne talks about his decision to leave Marvel Comics.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:   Marvel's current "Runaways" comic book series comes to an end with issue #38.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Behemoth Comics is starting a record label and music publishing company, Behemoth Records.

DC CINEMA - From Time:  Here is a list of DC Comics-based films and TV shows coming after "The Suicide Squad."

BLACK COMICS - From Nerdist:   Rodney Barnes and his Zombie Love Studios have landed the rights to produce a graphic novel based on the seminal African-American and American horror film, "Blacula" (1972).

MANGA - From Siliconera:   Udon Entertainment is now the publisher of the manga, "Persona 5: Mementos Mission," with the first volume due December 7, 2021.

MANGA - From TheMainichi:   The legendary Japanese manga, "Goldgo 13" now has the largest numbers of volumes for a manga ever wit the release of its 201st volume.

MARVEL/VIZ - From ScreenRant:   The tentative release date for the English-language release of the "Deadpool: Samurai" manga is February 2022.

MANGA - From CBR:   Paru Itagaki, the creator of "Beastars" and "Bota Bota," announces the upcoming release of her new manga "Sanda" in Weekly Shonen Champion.

FANTAGRAPHICS - From ScreenRant:   There is a video trailer for the hardcover graphic novel release of Simon Hanselmann's "Crisis Zone."

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Hellblazer Vols. 25 and 26 will collect the final issues of the original 300-issue run of "Hellblazer."

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Jesus Saiz and Paul Azaceta may be the art team of Jason Aaron's "Punisher No More."

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Celebrated alt-comics creator, Ho Che Anderson ("King: A Comics Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr."), is writing his first Marvel Comics title, "Luke Cage: City of Fire."  The three-issue miniseries will be drawn by Taurin Clarke and is due in October.

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Take a look at three interior pages from the upcoming "King Spawn #1."

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS - From SlashFilm:   Fantagraphics Books will collect all of Underground Cartoonist Gilbert Shelton's "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" comics in a four-volume set.  The first volume arrives January 2022.  There is also an eight-episode animated series based on the brothers from Lionsgate TV that is due to arrive by the end of 2021.

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS - From TheBeat:  There is a trailer for Fantagraphics new, hardcover edition of R. Kikuo Johnson's 2006 original graphic novel, "Night Fisher."

COMICS TO FILM - From Deadline:  Paramount Pictures have chosen brothers Colin and Casey Jost had write a new "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movies.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   "Marvel Legends" is a new line of comic book miniseries from Marvel Comics, intended to be collected in paperback.  The target audience is middle-grade graphic novel readers in bookstores, book fairs, and libraries.  Each miniseries will retell or reboot the origin of a well known Marvel character.  And it will begin in October with "Black Panther Legends," a four-issue series by novelist Tochi Onyebuchi and artist Setor Fiadzigbey that will retell the origin of the Black Panther.

DC COMICS - From DCBlog:   DC Comics and Walmart unite for the "My First Comic" program. Each comic book is a 48-page two-in-one flipbook featuring comics stories and activity pages.  They arrive at participating Walmart stores and Walmart.com the week of August 3rd, 2021.

COMICS TO FILM - From YahooEntertainment:  "Cowboys & Aliens" creator, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, explains why director Jon Favreau's expensive 2011 film adaptation of the comic book never got a sequel.

EISNER AWARDS - From BleedingCool:   If you care, here is a list of winners at last night's 2021 / 33rd annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  The site has made a list of agents who sell graphic novels to the book publishers.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From IReadsYou:  My review of the new "Black Widow" film.  

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:   The new "DC Universe" explained ... and it's a doozy.

comiXology - From THR:   Scott Snyder and his Best Jackett Press have signed a deal to co-create eight titles for ComiXology Originals. The titles will first debut via the Amazon-owned digital comics service and Kindle, and then appear in print via Dark Horse Books.

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AUGUST 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Free Comic Book Day for August 14, 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Action Lab for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Artists, Writers & Artisans for August 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Bad Idea Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth for August 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Black Mask for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for August 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  It's Alive for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Second Sight Publishing for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Source Point Press for August 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for August 2021

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for August 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze Publishing for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Action Lab for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for September 2021 

From BleedingCool:  AWA for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Black Mask for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM Studios for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for September 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal Magazines for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Source Point Press for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for September 2021

OCTOBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Aardvark Vanaheim for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Action Lab for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  AWA Studios for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for October 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Black Masks for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for October 2021

From CBR:  DC Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for October 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal Magazine for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for October 2021

From CBR:  Marvel Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool: Oni Press for October 2021

From 2000AD:  Rebellion for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Entertainment for October 2021

From BleedingCool: VIZ Media for October 2021

NOVEMBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Black Mask for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM Studios for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Silver Sprocket for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for November 2021

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#IReadsYou Review: THE ETERNALS #1

THE ETERNALS #1 (2021)
MARVEL COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kieron Gillen
ART: Esad Ribić
COLORS: Matthew Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Darren Shan
COVER ARTIST: Esad Ribic
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jen Bartel; Russell Dauterman with Matthew Wilson; Arthur Adams with Jason Keith; Alan Davis with Nolan Woodard; Mike Del Mundo; Inhyuk Lee; Peach Momoko; Jenny Frison; Rian Gonzales; Greg Land with Frank D'armata; Leinil Franics Yu with Sunny Gho; Otto Schmidt; Takeshi Okazaki with Edgar Delgado; Khary Randolph with Emilio Lopez
[The following artists are not credited as variant cover artists in the comic book, but Diamond Comics Distributors is offering issues with their cover art for sale: Alex Ross; Mahmud Asrar; Dave Johnson; Frank Cho; Jeff Johnson; J. Scott Campbell; Todd Nauck; Dan Panosian; Joe Quesada; Ron Lim; Walter Simonson; Superlog; Skottie Young]
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (Jan. 6, 2021)

The Eternals created by Jack Kirby

“Only Death is Eternal,” Part 1

The Eternals are a race of humanoids in the Marvel Comics universe.  They were created by legendary writer-artist and comics creator, Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The Eternals #1 (cover dated: July 1976).  The Eternals are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth.  They were created by the immensely powerful alien race, the Celestials, along with the Eternals' destructive counterparts, the Deviants.

The Eternals first comic book series ran for 19 issues from 1976 to 1977, with issue #19 having a January 1978 cover date.  In addition to Jack Kirby's original series, there have been miniseries starring The Eternals in 1985-86, 2006-07, and 2008-09.  In the 2018-launched Avengers comic book series (written by Jason Aaron), the Eternals discovered that their creators, the Celestials, preferred humans over them, which lead to the mass suicide and death of the Eternals (as seen in the Avengers story arc, “The Final Host”).

Now, the Eternals return in a new comic book series.  The Eternals (2021) is written by Kieron Gillen; drawn by Esad Ribić; colored by Matthew Wilson; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.  In the new series, the Eternals face something new to them – change.

The Eternals #1 opens in “the Exclusion,” one of a system of sub-dimensional threads in “The Machine” (apparently the Earth-side system by which the Eternals teleport).  The Machine also narrates the story, which opens with the resurrection of Ikaris, the last Eternal to die.  However, the “Eternal Prime,” Zuras, has a surprise for the ever-direct Ikaris.  Ikaris must awaken and take charge of Sprite, the murderous prankster Eternal.

Arriving in New York, Ikaris and Sprite meet Iron Man.  Then, it is time to do their job, protect humans from “the Deviants,” especially those that become monsters.  While the mismatched duo is away, however, new death in a familiar guise comes for the Eternals.

THE LOWDOWN:  I recently read the original The Eternals #1, from 1976, which was written and drawn by series creator Jack Kirby.  I did this in preparation for the new series and for the (eventually) upcoming film, The Eternals, from Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios.

First, let me speak to the beauty of The Eternals 2021.  I first discovered artist Esad Ribic when he drew the final two issues of the X-Men miniseries, X-Men: Children of the Atom (1999-2000), that was begun by writer Joe Casey and artist Steve Rude.  I was not crazy about Ribic's art in that series, but it was clear to me that this artist had huge potential as a comic book illustrator.

I must say that he has developed way beyond what I expected.  Here, Ribic's beautiful illustrations and Matthew Wilson's supernatural coloring combine to create gorgeous art that recalls the work of the late master, Moebius.  The graphical storytelling reads and feels like superhero comics as real science fiction comics.

Kieron Gillen's story is intriguing and the script is straightforward and clean.  His dialogue and The Machine's exposition made it easy for me to follow the story, setting, and plot/concept.  Gillen is going to make me spend some money on this comic book series.  So, if you don't want to spend more money on comics, dear readers, avoid The Eternals #1 2021.  If you are just looking for a really good first issue, spend it on this one … which has a killer last story page.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the Eternals and of good Marvel comic books will want The Eternals 2021.

9 out of 10

[This comic book includes a one-page tribute to former Marvel Comics publisher, Mike Hobson, who died in November 2020.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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