Official Website For Clay N. Ferno, Clay S. Fernald, Boston MA, USA
Website for writer Clay N. Ferno / Clay S, Fernald
One of my favorite and universally beloved Batman Elseworlds stories, Gotham By Gaslight, has been adapted in the latest DC Animated Original Movie.
While there is now a call for DC to reach into the Elseworlds catalog for the live action movies to re-right the ship, using the imprint to make successful animated movies is working well.
Zoinks! Boy, am I glad one of my favorite iterations of The Bat is back on my TV screen, even if he’s caught up with some meddling kids! That’s right, Batman: Brave and The Bold has been revived for a crossover with Scooby-Doo. Who out there can forget our childhood team-ups in The New Scooby-Doo Movies: “The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair” and “The Caped Crusader Caper”?
Batman: The Brave and The Bold welcomed the Mystery Inc. gang on to his show as well back in 2011 with the chaotic “Bat-Mite Presents: Batman’s Strangest Cases”! But enough of the history lesson, there are cameos here galore, Bat-Easter Eggs and more in store for you on the latest movie!
Best Movies: Thor: Ragnarok, Blade Runner 2049, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Lady Bird, Justice League, Logan
Best TV Shows: Star Trek: Discovery, Victoria, The Punisher, The Defenders, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham
“Whatever you do, do it carefully”.
Paul Thomas Anderson directs Daniel Day-Lewis in his final acting role in Phantom Thread opposite Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville.
The film focuses on The House of Woodcock, a fashion house in England run by Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis). Woodcock is a talented, depressed and genius designer of dresses and couture.
While taking breakfast one day he plays a flirty game with waitress Alma Elson (Krieps) and asks her out to dinner.
Leonardo Da Vinci stars in the latest book from AfterShock Comics written by Paul Allor (G.I.Joe, TMNT). Paul joined us today to talk about Monstro Mechanica, his take on a robotic Renaissance and the difference between his robot and the one Da Vinci actually designed and built! This fun book places an automaton in the age of de’ Medici family and on the streets of Florence in 1472.
You’ve never read a book quite like this! Here’s what Paul had to say.
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FOG!: Thanks for joining us, Paul! Issue #1 introduces us to Leonardo Da Vinci, a robot and his female apprentice. Why set a comic book story with a robot in The Renaissance?
Paul Allor: The more heady answer is that the Renaissance is where the modern western conception of the self first began to develop; the idea that every individual has importance and worth beyond their place in society. So we were intrigued by the notion of pairing that time period with the classic sci-fi story of a robot gaining sentience.
The less heady answer is that a robot in the renaissance sounded like a whole lot of freaking fun.
Have we broken through? Have the rough drafts been scrapped and the iterations of the Batmobile reached a point where it won’t loose a wheel?
Folks, I think we’re there, and Justice League and the DC cinematic universe has figured itself out. Is it perfect?
Far from it, but my prep for the film came in the form of watching Avengers: Age of Ultron and Wonder Woman.
My logic being, let’s take what we have to build on and look forward from there. Zack Snyder’s Justice Leaguehad the advantage (through very shitty circumstances) of being punched up by Joss Whedon and also the distinct pleasure of being the next chapter to Gal Gadot’s and Patty Jenkins’s incredible Wonder Womanmovie from earlier this year.
Sure, I’ve been a Man of Steel apologist, and perhaps you might judge me for going against the grain by also championing Suicide Squad so take my ringing Justice League endorsement with a grain of salt, certainly. I can’t blame you for that. I’ve also spent a few Sunday afternoons with Batman v Superman: Ultimate Edition because I wanted to. You aren’t the boss of me!
Adam West’s final film puts him back in the cowl facing off against ’60s television hero William Shatner in Batman vs. Two-Face.
With co-star Burt Ward by his side, West and company reunite with other cast members of the ’66 series, most notably Julie Newmar as Catwoman and an appearance by Lee Meriwether as Lucilee Diamond.
Shatner plays a Batman ’66 version of Harvey Dent / Two-Face, a character that unusually never appeared in the show. The Dynamic Duo faces the entirety of Gotham’s rogue gallery that includes Hugo Strange, The Joker, The Riddler, Penguin and even King Tut and this reviewer’s personal favorite, Bookworm.
The story kicks off with Strange and assistant Harley Quinn extracting evil from all of Gotham’s bad guys.
When the machine goes Ka-Blam!, the essence wipes out star district attorney Harvey Dent and transforms him into Two-Face.
Batman and Bruce Wayne are naturally disturbed by this turn of events. Wayne uses his resources to restore Dent’s face to its natural look, but the evil Two-Face could very well be lurking below the visage.
The pace and tempo of West’s dialogue, long ingrained into our collective consciousness, is slapped right up against Shatner’s staccato delivery, making you wonder if we haven’t been missing Shatner in the Batman Universe for our entire lives!
In 2014, “The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face,” an episode written by sci-fi and Star Trek writer Harlan Ellison was released in comic book form from Len Wein (RIP) and artist José Luis Garcia-Lopez as Batman ’66: The Lost Episode #1. After seeing these pages, we’d love to build a time machine and persuade the network to make this happen with William Shatner in the role.
This year at New York Comic Con we stopped by the Kabam booth to try our hands at the latest from Contest of Champions. The mobile game features Marvel characters in head to head fighting action and has the distinction of adding new heroes and villains into the Marvel Universe. Have you been following the adventures of Venompool, Civil Warrior and Guillotine?
No, you, haven’t because these are brand new properties introduced exclusively for Contest of Champions.
We spoke with Contest of Champions design director Tim Molyneux on the New York Comic Con floor and he talked us through his job and what we can expect from the future, including the introduction of mystic character Morningstar and other new characters soon to be unlocked on a tablet or phone near you.
Artist Dan Panosian is best known for his work on Marvel and Image books as penciller and inker. Remember those sweet fake X-Men books in the movie Logan? Yup, Dan did those too. Dan joins us today to talk about his bold new crime redemption story from Skybound, Slots. He also reminisces about the early days of Image Comics, why he decided to break into storytelling with Slots at Skybound/Image, and what the future holds for his hero, Stanley Dance.
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FOG!: What can you tell us about Slots and your lead character Stanley Dance?
Dan Panosian: Stanley is the guy who made every selfish decision that most normal people would deem far too indulgent . We can all look back and wonder what our lives would be like if we took some left turns here and there. But generally we’re reasonable and responsible.
Stanley always listened to the devil on his shoulder and brushed off the angel. Consequently, he doesn’t have many friends or family left. Or chances for that matter. He’s pretty much done. That’s where we start off.
We’ve been a fan of your art for a long time, what made you want to tell this particular story as the writer and artist?
Skybound editor Sean Mackiewicz joins us today to talk about his latest writing project, Gasolina, from Image Comics. The desert drug lord adventure comic is already off into some interesting and somewhat scary places. Sean tells us what makes Gasolina burn so bright before the first issue hits the shelves later this month on September 20th.
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FOG!: Sean, you’re known for your Skybound editorial position. What inspired you to shift gears and get behind the writer’s chair?
Sean Mackiewicz: Finding the right idea.
Skybound’s been very encouraging in allowing employees to pursue creative projects outside of their main job, and I just couldn’t shake this idea. Doing a modern-day western with incredible vistas and gun fights against cartels armed with some truly gnarly “weapons”… and balancing it with newlyweds just trying to navigate and survive this messed up situation? I like challenging myself.
In a world without Mr. J, Harley Quinn has teamed up with Batman and Nightwing in the latest animated DC movie. Confirmed by writer and producer Bruce Timm as part of the DC Animated Universe aka Timmverse,Batman and Harley Quinn is the first PG-13 installment in the universe.
Cussin’, fartin’, raunchy boudoir humor and a bizarre Batusi musical segment complete with a 70s rarity “Don’t Pull Your Love” followed by Harley Quinn blasting out Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone” puts a little spike in the punch of your typical Batman: The Animated Series adventure. Batman & Harley face off against Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue a.k.a. The Floronic Man. Batman Kevin Conroy and Nightwing Loren Lester reprise their roles from the original series with Melissa Rauch voicing Harley. Even Mr. Timm gets in an off-camera cameo as Booster Gold!
Those familiar with recent New 52 lore will recognize the force of The Green as the supernatural swamp energy running the world. Poison Ivy and Plant Master are going all in to combat the destruction of the Earth and The Green by putting a plan in to place that will turn all living creatures into plants. An Inconvenient Truthindeed! In order to sway Pam from making this green-thumbed gaffe, Nightwing and Batman track down Harley who has gone off the grid for a bit. Not only that, but also in line with current DC continuity, she has gone straight. I mean, Joker’s dead, right?
This year’s FanExpo Boston takeover of Boston Comic Con came with not only a change of venue, but an entirely different experience for BostonCon fans. The change in venue from Seaport World Trade Center to the much larger Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was a welcome to accommodate more fans. It did seem a bit odd that Fan Expo had nearly an entire room dedicated to a line queue when some vendors and artist alley tables were on top of each other with not much room for people to ‘squeak by’.
I’m familiar with well-run conventions in the same space, most notably PAX East, so I don’t think my overall iffy experience at FanExpo was a unique one. First time convention volunteers and ushers gave wrong or poor information. The Guidebook App was difficult to track down. Signage was messed at a major floor entryway that said EXIT. Instead of fixing the sign on day 2, they just posted two guards there to send people in the opposite direction.
August 9, 2017 by Clay N. Ferno
The DC Super Hero Girls are back in LEGO form for this latest animated feature, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain. Starring Wonder Woman (Grey Griffin), Supergirl (Anais Fairweather) and Batgirl (Ashlyn Nicole Selich), the students of Super Hero High face an unknown threat and try to solve the mystery of the High School’s amnesia from being brainwashed.
Don’t expect The LEGO Movie twist on these familiar characters, quite the opposite, this movie, while bricked up, sits nicely in the Super Hero High storyline and current loose and fun take on the DC Universe established in 2015 with the DC Super Hero Girls brand since 2015.
There is lots to love in Reborn, Mark Millar’s highly anticipated team up with Batman artist Greg Capullo. These master storytellers comment on aging, the afterlife, superheroes and large scale fantasy in a way that only Millar can.
Millar’s strength always at the base is taking a genre and re-presenting it to the comic book masses. From Kick-Ass‘ Spider-Man fantasy to Kingsmen‘s James Bond/Nick Fury spy stories, the genre gets inverted in Millar’s world.
Reborn, is more Excalibur meets Dungeons & Dragons and Conan The Barbarian meets Willow, than it is a story of what might happen when you die. In the battle between Adystria vs. The Dark Lands we’re immersed in a colorful fantasy world with a hero’s journey.
He may be the latest-born writer on a regular G.I.Joe property, but Aubrey Sitterson has distilled his interpretation of the team into a military sci-fi property that earns the title “The Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe”. With a Transformer on the team and an awesome new headquarters, Aubrey joined us today to talk G.I. Joe, The Hasbro Universe and what we can expect after the latest Hasbro event First Strike!
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FOG!: Yo, Joe! Thanks for taking the time to talk Joe with us! What brings you to the IDW Joe Universe? How did you end up taking over for this season?
Aubrey Sitterson: Last year I wrote the fan-favorite Street Fighter x G.I. Joe, which was not only beloved by readers, but by Hasbro themselves. They dug the high-energy take on the Joes, one where they all felt like unique characters, so when it came time to launch a brand-new G.I. Joe series, IDW knew exactly who to call!
Following Revolution, we’re seeing a brand new take on IDW’s Joe properties, certainly different than the ongoing Larry Hama G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero continuity. For one, it is integrated into the other Hasbro titles, as “The Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe”. Tell us what it is like to write a Transformer, Skywarp, on to the team.
What kind of question is that? How is it to write a big, mean, surly transforming robot that happens to be on a team with people he could literally crush beneath his foot? It’s AMAZING, Clay.
The original G.I. Joe, Joe Coulton, takes his fight to Transformers home world of Cybertron, tying together the Hasbro Comic Universe event of 2017, First Strike!
Today we spoke with writer Mairghread Scott and editor David Hedgecock to talk about Hasbro post-Revolution and how Micronauts, M.A.S.K. and ROM fit into this epic story.
Earth formally joins the Cybertronian Council of Worlds but there can’t be universal peace with Dire Wraiths and Cobra out there for the Joes and Transformers to take on!
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FOG!: For those not caught up in the Hasbro shared universe, where is a good place to start to get caught up on Revolution that can carry you to the events of First Strike?
Mairghread Scott: Well let’s start with what First Strike is. Cybertron and Earth are having their first joint diplomatic event. Explosions, fighting, no one knows what’s going on and before anyone on Earth can figure it out the feed cuts out. All we know is that it looks like Cobra is laying waste to Cybertron and there’s seemingly no way to get there.
But a little thing like interstellar travel isn’t gonna stop Scarlett and her team of G.I. Joes, who gather all the help they can to make it to Cybertron and try to save day. Unfortunately, the Cybertronians they’re trying to defend are often as much of a threat to them as the people they’re fighting.
We’ve got Optimus vs. Destro. Storm Shadow and her ninjas cutting down Decepticons. This is the story where you get to see the world’s most elite soldiers riding and dying with the universe’s most powerful warriors.
So what do you need to read get onboard?
Nothing.
G.I. Joe are the good guys, Cobra are the bad guys and the Transformers are everything in between (literally). But of course, if you want to go back and read our previous issues, they’re totally worth it and available on Comixology now.
Produced by Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan,
Sean Daniel, Sarah Bradshaw
Screenplay by David Koepp,
Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman
Story by Jon Spaihts,
Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet
Directed by Alex Kurtzman
Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella,
Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson,
Marwan Kenzari, Courtney B. Vance,
Javier Botet, Russell Crowe
The latest reboot of The Mummy opens the crypt into Universal Pictures’ new monster-centric franchise, Dark Universe. This solid start stars Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari and Russell Crowe.
Cruise plays soldier of fortune Nick Morton and is working in Iraq for the US government with his sidekick Sergeant Chris Vail (Johnson), when they steal a map from archeologist Jenny Halsey (Wallis). By unleashing an air strike on a small village, they uncover the tomb of Ahmanet, daughter of the Pharaoh cursed for taking revenge on her family and making a deal with the dark god Set.
Captain Kid: Super-People Problems
Written by Mark Waid & Tom Peyer
Illustrated by Wilfredo Torres & Brent Peeples
Colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Lettered by A Larger World
Published by AfterShock Comics
$14.99
ISBN-13: 978-1935002864
Comixology Digital Release
Today sees the release of the collected edition ofCaptain Kid Vol. 1 (Aftershock Comics) from writers Mark Waid & Tom Peyer. Waid’s collected an impressive creative team, co-writing with The Atom‘s Tom Peyer with art by Wilfredo Torres (Jupiter’s Circle), and Brent Peeples (TMNT). The origin of the story starts with an idea Peyer (Legion of Superheroes, Tek Jansen) had ten years ago, finally bringing the story to light for Aftershock.
What exactly is Captain Kid, you ask? It is Mark Waid doing what he is best at, retelling familiar comic book superhero stories with a new twist. In the vein of Irredemable and Insufferable, Captain Kid takes the idea of your super powerful tight wearing hero but this time, he’s allowed himself to have a bit more fun with the palette.
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written and Directed by James Gunn
Based on Guardians of the Galaxy
by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista,
Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker,
Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki,
Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone,
and Kurt Russell
The lovable bunch of a-holes are back in Vol. 2, the much anticipated sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) leads and ends up expanding the team who have garnered a galactic reputation as true Guardians in the months since the last film.
So much so, that Peter’s father, a comic book favorite Ego (The Living Planet) played by Kurt Russell sprouts up to reunite with his son.
Superheroes Decoded is a two-part documentary about the history of superheroes and comic books. Piggybacking on Brad Meltzer’s Decoded series title, this is in-depth look in to how American comic books and heroes have developed into a major money-maker for studios but also a reflection of over seventy-five years of pop culture.
Capped on each end by the creation of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and the invention of a Pakistani Ms. Marvel in 2013 the just under three hour documentary has a lot packed in.
Interviews with creators Stan Lee, Iron Man director Jon Favreau, creators Brad Meltzer, Joe Quesada, Mark Waid, Dan DiDio, Nicola Scott, G. Willow Wilson, Sana Amanat are poised against non-comics people and celebrities George R.R. Martin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Clark Gregg, Anthony Mackie, T.J. Miller and many more to paint a historical perspective on comics and heroes.