HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARVEL COMICS!!!

Anniversary commemorative cover art by Ron Lim and colourist Israel Silva for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18

Although the game-changing first issue of the Fantastic Four didn't arrive until 1961, Marvel chooses to mark the anniversary of the publication of the first issue of Marvel Comics on this day in 1939 as its birthday.

This title gave us Namor The Submariner, The Human Torch (the android iteration, not Johnny Storm), Ka-Zar etc and laid the groundwork for the Marvel superhero universe.

Where it all began...

Messalina (1960)

Courtesy, as ever, the brilliant Peplum TV

Review Round-Up: Stargirl; Kingdom; Batman - Year One

Stargirl, Season One: In the beginning, when The CW started bringing real superhero shows to television, The Flash was my favourite show right out of the gate, but recent seasons have seen Supergirl take the top spot.

However, hitting the ground running, way better than any of the other CW shows did, the new girl on the block, Stargirl, has taken the crown and shows no sign of letting it go.

Proper superheroes, proper superpowers, proper costumes, and proper villains - this show proudly wears its geek cred on its sleeve.

However, unlike the other CW superhero shows, it benefited from a tight, 13-episode season, which meant no filler plotlines or episodes.

In a broad sweep, Stargirl is Buffy The Vampire Slayer crossed with Marvel's Runaways.

You have legacy characters and a town, riddled with secret lairs and tunnels, that's home to a coterie of supervillains and their families.

This isn't a comic book superhero show that's embarrassed to be a comic book superhero show.

In fact, it fully embraces comic book zaniness (but lovingly, not in a piss-take, post-modern ironic way) as well as its source material's history, diving deep into the world of Stargirl, the Justice Society of America, the Injustice Society of America, and the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

I can't wait to see where creator Geoff Johns (who created Stargirl on the comic book page as well, as an homage to his late sister) and his team take the show next.

The first season, which is now available in the UK on Amazon's Prime Video streaming service, is close to being a perfect.

But the seemingly hurried finale left the ultimate fate of too many of the villains undisclosed.

And whatever happened to Cameron (Hunter Sansone), the son of the main villain, who was clearly being set up as a potential love interest for Stargirl herself, Courtney (Brec Bassinger)?

He just disappeared from the story about two-thirds the way through the season and was never mentioned again.

And what about his creepy grandparents, who were clearly in on the bad guys plot?

Given the sweet denouement at the end of the season, to skip over the fate of these key supporting characters seems a disappointing oversight.

Unless, they're all coming back next season?

Kingdom, Season Two: Continuing the amazing story established in season one, the new season of the Medieval Korean zombie series, Kingdom, managed to achieve in its six episodes more than both The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.

The main characters managed to discover not only a wholly convincing scientific explanation for - and ways to combat - the plague, but all against the backdrop of some serious Westerosi-level court politics.

The totally evil and bonkers Queen Consort Cho (Hye-Jun Kim) could give Cersei Lannister a run for her money as the queen of badasses.

The cause of the zombie plague is brilliant in its simplicity and totally fits the established verisimilitude of the show.

However, the biggest twist was the season's wrap-up, that initially gives you the impression that everything is over.

Only for the story to reinvent itself and head off in a new direction.

Batman - Year One (2011): In preparation for the eagerly-awaited - but more than a year away - The Batman, I thought it was time to check out the animated adaptation of Frank Miller's classic Batman: Year One storyline.

To be honest, we don't need any more origin films (and the upcoming The Batman most definitely isn't that) because this hour-long animated movie has given us a definitive take on that story.

Telling the parallel stories of billionaire Bruce Wayne's (voiced by Ben McKenzie, Gotham's Jim Gordon) return to the city of his birth, years after the murder of his parents, and downtrodden police lieutenant Jim Gordon's (voiced by Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston) relocation to the city, with his pregnant wife.

Both men are horrified by the rampant crime and corruption in the city.

Gordon battles daily with his brutal and bent colleagues in the GCPD, a stain of corruption that runs all the way up to Police Commissioner Loeb (Jon Polito).

Bruce, as we all know, instead opts to don a cape and cowl and take to the streets and rooftops as the vigilante Batman.

It is inevitable that their stories will eventually collide.

The film, directed by Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery doesn't slavishly copy Frank Miller's distinctive art style, but certainly embraces it.

While Batman: Year One concerns itself primarily with Gordon and Batman trying to root out police corruption, we get to meet one of the city's most famous gangsters, Carmine Falcone (Alex Rocco), and Selina Kyle (Buffy's Eliza Dushku) suits up as Catwoman, it isn't really concened about introducing Batman's tradional rogue's gallery.

As the final moments hint, that treat is to come in "year two".

Batman: Year One is currently available to stream on Sky Cinema in the UK.

Weird Wednesday...

JEFF DEE DRAWS THE ACROBATIC FLEA

I know I'm supposed to be on a "blogging break", but this was too exciting not to share.

Dreams do come true.

Over the years many amazing artist friends (and DC artist Des Taylor) have kindly turned my signature Villains & Vigilantes character into works of art.

However, I never could have imagined - when I was sketching out the character back in the early '80s for Steve's original campaign - that one day I'd be able to see him drawn by the definitive V&V artist (and the game's co-creator): Jeff Dee.

This came about as one of the rewards for backing the Villains & Vigilantes Third Edition Kickstarter a few years ago.

The reward includes a new edition character write-up for the Flea as well, which Jeff is working on, but I couldn't sit on this illustration for longer than a second without wanting to share it with the world.

My character.. drawn by Jeff Dee... world-renowned Dungeons & Dragons artist from the golden age of TSR modules, comic book artist, and co-creator of the game that Steve, Pete, Nick, and I played endlessly in our youth.

I still can't quite believe it.

The Third Edition (or, more correctly, Mighty Protectors) version of the Flea will be based on the recent iteration of the character that I created for my Knight City setting which, sadly, the Tuesday Knights rejected as an option for the next campaign that I run for them.

But that won't stop me from continuing to fiddle around with the setting as a pure thought experiment, expanding its multiverse with different iterations of The Acrobatic Flea.

Torn From The Headlines: "Now, I Ain't Sayin' She A Gold Digger..."

Two recent news stories - one good, one not so good - about real life golden treasure hauls... like something from a Dungeons & Dragons player's dreams.

Both these stories come from the BBC's online news service.

On the positive side we have the story of young Isreali archaeological dig volunteers unearthing a clay jar rammed with 425 gold coins.

For all you encumbrance fanatics: the coins weighed 845g (30oz), which is roughly 2g (0.07oz) per gold piece.

On a darker note, we have the story of rogue gold hunters destroying a 2,000-year-old archaeological site in the Sudan, in pursuit of their ill-gotten loot.

Have dungeoneers in your campaigns ever been persecuted for the damage they do to a nation's monuments, mausoleums, tomb complexes etc in pursuit of gold and magic?

Marvel's First Alien Omnibus

Direct market exclusive cover by Mark A. Nelson

The first reprint omnibus collection of old Alien comics coming from Marvel's new licencing deal with Fox is due to hit stores in April.

Aliens Omnibus Volume 1 will contain:

• Aliens (1988) 1-6,
• Aliens (1989) 1-4,
• Aliens: Earth War (1990) 1-4,
• Aliens: Genocide (1991) 1-4,
• Aliens: Hive (1992) 1-4,
• Aliens: Tribes (1992) 1,
• Aliens: Newt's Tale (1992) 1-2,
• Alien 3 (1992) 1-3
• Aliens: Space Marines (1992) 1-12

Plus material from Dark Horse Presents (1986) 24, 42-43, 56; Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special (1991) 1; and Dark Horse Insider (1989) 14-27.

New Raised By Wolves Trailer Gives Us A Taste Of Ridley Scott's Story

Today's The Day Everything Goes Kablooie! So Long And Thanks For All The Fish...

Today's the day that Blogger said it would be binning it's old, faithful, user interface - taking it out into the back yard and putting a bullet in the back of its head - and replacing it with a funky, slower, non-intuitive "upgrade".

While it hasn't happened yet, I got fed of waiting for the inevitable and decided it was best to get ahead of things and shutter HeroPress for a while.

As I said the other week, I'm not sure yet what this means for HeroPress.

The bare minimum is that I'll probably be taking a short break, to keep trying to get my head around this unnecessary new development and see if I can tweak it to my liking.

Originally Blogger said it would change by the end of July, but then that slid back to August and they put a definitive date on "termination day" (although I've heard "September" from some quarters... so who knows?).

Like I've already said, posts (primarily picture posts) will continue to appear (and I'll try and remember to crosspost them to Facebook, and elsewhere, while I'm "away").

I shall be using this break to not only fiddle around with whatever state the user interface is now in, but also accelerating work on my exciting Frankengame RPG that I'm committed to run for the Tuesday Knights.

So, I wont't be resting on my laurels...

Armageddon outta here...

Musical Monday: I'm A Fraud (Klaus - The Umbrella Academy)

We teamed up with Schmoyoho, a channel from The Gregory Brothers (Michael, Andrew, Sarah and Evan) to Songify one of our favorite storylines from Umbrella Academy season two, featuring one of our favorite characters, Klaus. He already dresses like a rockstar, so we thought it only fitting he get his own smash dance hit.

Musical Monday: Macavity (Taylor Swift) - This Is From Cats, You Have Been Warned!

Taylor Swift crashes the Jellicle Ball as Bombalurina to sing Macavity in Tom Hooper's 2019 adaptation of Cats, the musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber.

As she drugs the Jellicles with catnip, only Macavity (Idris Elba) is left in the running to become Old Deuteronomy's (Judi Dench) Jellicle choice.

Did You Know Sinbad Was Japanese?

One of the great things I love about the Internet, and Blogging in particular, is when online acquaintances - who very often share similar tastes to my own - introduce me to something that I've never heard of before, but am pretty much guaranteed to love.

A recent discovery along these lines was from pulp author Davide Mana's Karavansara blog where, in an article headed Bandit, Samurai, Pirate he introduced me to The Lost World Of Sinbad, a cinematic Sinbad yarn I had previously been oblivious to.

But the peculiar - and awesome - thing about this Sinbad movie is that it appears to be a Japanese samurai-era story, starring the legendary Toshiro Mifune, that has been redubbed and 'rewritten' to make it a Sinbad story.

The original movie, The Great Bandit, was about the semi-mythical 16th Century Japanese merchant and pirate Sukezaemon Luzon.

So, it's easy to see how the film could become a Sinbad story by merely tweaking the names.

I also sense the hand of shlockmieister Roger Corman in this transformation, The Lost World Of Sinbad being distributed by American International Pictures, and just check out the promises that poster makes - that I'm pretty certain will be not fulfilled as shown!

I have now, of course, tracked down a cheap DVD of The Lost World Of Sinbad, so expect a critique of this quality production in due course.

Way back in 2011 I ran a Sinbad Week of reviews of various iterations of the character on film, some with the added bonus of gaming content drawn from their particular stories, and I'm thinking of doing the same when HeroPress returns from its holidays later in the year.

Will Anyone Go To See This In Cinemas?

DC FANDOME: The Batman and Beyond...

Probably the most eagerly-awaited sneak peek from DC's Fandome event was the trailer (above) for Matt Reeves' The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as both Batman and Bruce Wayne.

From this two-and-a-half minute taste, it looks very Christopher Nolan-meets-Gotham-influenced, but clearly this is a very early look as only a quarter of the film has actually been shot and it's still in production.

And, thanks to the global pandemic, "still in production" was a big theme with many of the previews fans were offered during the eight-hour, free, online 'convention' (which is being repeated three times over the weekend, so is still running), but that didn't stop stars and creators excitedly sharing what they could.

As well as the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer (one of the few projects actually ready to fly), we were also treated to a trailer for Zack Snyder's four-hour cut of Justice League, an animated tease of Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam, a behind-the-scenes look at James Gunn's Suicide Squad - as well as an introduction to the team - and even a snizzle reel for the start of season seven of The CW's The Flash.

First hour or so of DC Fandome was watched at the dining room table - even through dinner!

Thanks to the kindness of Rachel, who said "take advantage of these chances while they're virtual", I was glued to DC Fandome from 6pm, when it started over here in the UK, through to 11.30pm, tapping out after the Black Adam panel, as I needed to get some sleep.

But I have every intention of catching up with more panels later today, when they're repeated in their second and third eight-hour cycles.

Then I relocated upstairs, for the bulk of my viewing, so Rachel could watch her shows on the main TV

One Day The Animals Will Rise Up And Reclaim This Planet...

Batten Down The Hatches, Splice The Mainbrace, Stormy Waters Ahead...

As we box up parts of HeroPress and cast dust sheets over others, ahead of our planned short break (due to the upheaval being forced upon us by our Blogger overlords), I thought it would be fun to take a look at where we currently stand on HeroPress.

Including hits from our previous URL, the current number of unique visitors to HeroPress stands at just over 6.5 million, which isn't too shabby for an unfocused, rambling, 13-year-old blog.

The breakdown of the top ten subjects I post about here currently looks like this:

Compare this to the breakdown at the start of the year, when I was celebrating the blog's anniversary:

While most topics have remained pretty constant for years, Doctor Who has dropped out of the top ten to be replaced by "flashback" (generally nostalgia posts).

I guess as I get older I'm getting more reflective and tending to look back at my life, what I've achieved and what I haven't, mistakes I've made and triumphs gave me pleasure.

HeroPress is due to begin its break from regular posting next week, although, as I've said a number of times, there will still be several scheduled features popping up each week, primarily picture pieces.

I'm looking at this break not just as a chance to fiddle around with Blogger's new interface without the pressure of any self-imposed deadlines, but also to continue work on my old school Frankengame for the Tuesday Knights (having wasted half the year pursuing other ideas)

As a side gig, I'm also hoping to possibly develop my Edwardian "chimney sweep" game I brought up the other week.

When HeroPress eventually returns (it could be a matter of weeks or it could be months) I have a suspicion that it'll be with a reduced posting rate, as the new interface being forced upon us is ugly, slow, fiddly, and annoying.

You may not appreciate it, or even realise it, but for the last few years I've tried to keep HeroPress quite regimented and organised (posts going live at set intervals, pictures all of a certain width etc), and it feels as though I'm now heading back to square one and almost having to start again.

There'll almost certainly be fewer YouTube clips, which means less trailers, the eventual disappearance of the Saturday Morning Matinees etc

However, I'm also hoping this will encourage me to keep HeroPress more focused.

Of course, we've all heard that pledge before...

Wonder Woman 1984: New Trailer!!!

Pick Of The Pods: GM Word Of The Week

Running since mid-2015 and still going strong, I can't believe it's taken until this month for me to stumble across the superb GM Word Of The Week podcast.

It's so good that I feel I must be preaching to the converted, and yet I've never heard mention of it on any other gaming podcast.

Perhaps we're just not moving in the same gaming/podcast Venn diagram circles.

That said, these days, a lot of my favourite gaming podcasts from days of yore seem to have been on extended hiatus, largely due to the global pandemic.

Produced by freelance tabletop game editor and writer Brian Casey and Scott Rehm (aka The Angry DM), GM Word Of The Week  is a half-hour(ish) podcast covering a, usually historic, topic every week inspired by a particular word.

It offers real world context mixed in with some Dungeons & Dragons flavouring to give listeners ideas and, potential story hooks, to add verisimilitude and depth to their gaming worlds.

Or, as the "about" section of the show's website puts it:

"You can’t spell Game Master without “pretentious.” Well, you can, actually. But let’s pretend you can’t so I can make a point. My point is a good Game Master needs a lot of big, fancy words at their disposal to make their flavor text as confusing as possible. Oops. I mean engaging, not confusing."

Recent episodes, for instance, have been on "kings", "outlaws", "peasants", "spectacles", "fur" etc, while older ones have included "dungeon", "ether", "oni", "Halloween", "pottage", "paladin", "catoblepas" etc

GM Word Of The Week is an erudite, yet light-hearted, slick and professional-sounding podcast that hits the right blend of Medieval history and gritty, old school D&D-style fantasy that I love.

I can highly recommend this show, which has a massive back catalogue of almost 250 episodes that you can dip in to pretty much at random, choosing the "words" that tickle your fancy, which then, often, include mentions of other episodes which will send you off down an investigative rabbit hole.

The show runs a Patreon, which explains the evolution of GM Word Of The Week, should you wish to know more before diving in to the audio delights of this podcast.

Tenet: Worth Risking Your Life For?

John David Washington is the new Protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi action spectacle Tenet.

Armed with only one word — Tenet — and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

Not time travel. Inversion.

Eradicator: Absolute Authority (a fan film by Chris .R. Notarile)

Streaming Horror: Sputnik (2020)

Just as she is about to be dismissed from service for her reckless methods, strikingly attractive doctor Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) is recruited by a shady member of the military, Colonel Semiradov (Fedor Bondarchuk), to assist with a particularly sticky problem at his secret base.

It's 1983, and while returning to Earth a two-man Soviet space capsule had an encounter with something "alien".

The lone survivor, "hero of the Soviet Union" Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov), is now host to an extraterrestrial parasite, which leaves his body each night to try and feast on human flesh.

Tatyana wants to find a way to safely separate Konstantin from the creature, but Semiradov is more interested in weaponising the creature.

While it has its moments of gore, the Russian-language sci-fi horror Sputnik is primarily a psychological thriller, focusing on the growing trust between the initially confrontational Konstantin and the driven doctor, Tatyana.

In exploring the connection between Konstantin and alien parasite, Tatyana realises the bond may be closer than first believed, but then she discovers she can use that to her advantage.

Sure, the film is reminiscent of such classics as Alien and The Quatermass Experiment (and not so classics like Venom), but the iconic '80s Soviet setting, and politics, helps make Sputnik very much its own thing.

After a dramatic opening, the plot unfolds at a measured pace, which may disappoint those expecting a wham-bam action flick.

However, wholly convincing performances across the board, coupled with the constant state of tension and paranoia, combined with the double-dealings and shifting alliances we expect from films set in this era, make the movie compelling viewing.

The creature is also gorgeously designed, and the revelations about how it lives and thrives in harmony with its host are truly intriguing.

If Sputnik has a shortcoming it's the emotional sub-plot involving Konstantin's illegitimate child (Vitaliya Kornienko) that he turned his back on to pursue his career in space.

While it that has a nice, if slightly predictable, pay-off, it really serves simply as a minor distraction from the main story.

Coupled with a limited cinema release, Sputnik is now available via VOD through the Sky Store (and possibly elsewhere in the UK) from this week

Now This Is The Right Stuff...

The incredible story of America’s first astronauts begins right here on Earth in the Disney+ original series The Right Stuff.

Based on the bestselling book by Tom Wolfe, the eight-episode season is an inspirational look at the early days of the U.S. Space Program and the iconic story of America’s first astronauts, the Mercury 7.

Produced for National Geographic by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Warner Bros. Television, The Right Stuff takes a clear-eyed look at America’s first “reality show,” when ambitious astronauts and their families became instant celebrities in a competition of money, fame and immortality.

The Right Stuff streaming on Disney+ October 9.

#RPG Research Resumes: "I'm Nothing In All This, I'm Just The Messenger!"

Outside of Hawk The Slayer, one of my major "Dungeons & Dragons" style cinematic influences on my gaming is the 1999 movie Joan of Arc - The Messenger, starring Milla Jovovich as the Maid of Orléans.

Thus, when I found out the other day that there was a Joan of Arc RPG - a 5e D&D remix to cater for the gritty reality of 100 Years War - I knew I had to have it.

Not to run it per se, but as further research material for my old school Frankengame I've now been given the green light to run for the Tuesday Knights.

A quick jaunt to eBay, some haggling with the sellers, and a complete set of the published material for the game was mine.

As well as the chunky rule book (a complete game, so no need to own the WoTC 5e books or download any PDFs), the bundle that arrived included a solid DM's screen, a supplementary hardback book (containing an adventure and stats for some additional fantastical creatures), and a set of Joan of Arc-themed polyhedral dice - with fleur-de-lys replacing the highest number of each die.

I've only skimmed through the rules so far, found some nice ideas for diseases, for instance, but love the fact that its bestiary is essentially just Biblical monsters (should you wish to not run a purely historical campaign), such as The Antichrist, Leviathan, The Beast, The Devil, different forms of demons etc

While more justified in context - and devoid of a stat block for God - this did remind me of the much maligned, but well-intentioned, Fantasy Wargaming book, by the late Bruce Galloway, published in the early 1980s... which did include stats for God (and the Virgin Mary)!

Can't Wait To Finally See Mulan...

Not The Slayer, Nor The Hunter, Just Hawk...

Hawk from CAPTURE on Vimeo.

The land holds many secrets, and one boy will learn them all.

When Rowan is taken away from the civilised world, his lessons in the wild begin.

Yet when he shatters the balance of nature, Rowan discovers another world beneath our own.

In that shadowy land of old gods and wild hunts, the divide between man and beast becomes uncertain and the fairy tales of childhood spring to life.

With only the guidance of a hunting hawk, Rowan must make amends for his crime, and choose between what is real, and what is not.

Since it's release in 2011, Hawk has picked up over 14 international award nominations, with 6 wins including ones at the Accolade Competition, ToHorror Film Festival, ShockerFest and Idyllwild Cinemafest.

Writer/director M.J. McMahon's 40-minute short film Hawk was the last onscreen appearance of the late Philip Madoc of classic Doctor Who fame (as well as many other credits to his name, stretching back to the early 1960s).

Although it has no connection with my favourite Dungeons & Dragons movie, I first came across mention of this enigmatic entry in the annals of fantasy cinema on a Hawk The Slayer Facebook Group.

I suspect it will possibly be a triumph of atmosphere over story (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but look out for a review in due course.

WEEKLY WORLD NEWS: For When Your Games Need A Critter-cal Mass...

Monsters, critters, cryptids, call them what you will, but they're the backbone of many a roleplaying game... and a fixture of the pages of Weekly World News.

This week's selection of creature-featuring headlines cover a lot of bases, offering a whole host of potential plot hooks that go beyond the good, old, D&D trope of "kill monster, take its treasure".

Whether you're players are kids on bikes or costumed superheroes, there's pretty much something for everyone in this cryptid smorgasbord: from a couples counselling Siamese Kangaroo judge, through errant beached whales, mole men and Neanderthals, to Big Foot and lake monsters..