Josh News: Christmas 2015 & New Years Eve Edition: Butterfly Painting

     It's been a long year, lots of school, lots of work, lots of an internship, some surgery and a whole shit load of writing.  Hopefully I can maintain the output through the coming year for all of you readers out there.

     Here's a Christmas gift I painted for someone, and apologies for the image quality, I hadn't realized how strange it would look on camera due to the glossy coating I put over it.  It looks 20 times better in person.

     In other news this blog passed 300K visits like a week ago when I wasn't looking.  In addition I have a video channel prepared so I can start adding video content early in 2016!  To top that off, I'm going to try a bunch of new things, including potentially adding a fiction thread for stories and comics, some art as I've gotten the itch to create again, and so on.

     To all of you readers, Happy New Years!

TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan: Platinum Games' Possible Box Art Leak

     While neither Platinum Games, nor Activision, have officially announced the game, there's a very strong possibility that the rumored upcoming game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is quite real and on the way.  After hearing about it through a ratings board listing, we now have what might amount to a promo or box art via Xbox Live watchdog Lifelower.

     Until the official word is given, we are crossing our TMNT fan fingers that Platinum IS making something as on par with what they did with Transformers: Devastation.

     TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan is listed for release on PS4, PS3, PC, Xbox One, and the Xbox 360.
          (According to the ratings board listing it was first spotted on)

     Sources [ Lifelower (Tweet) ] via [ Gematsu ] via [ Destructoid ]

     For more of my Turtles related posts [ TMNT ]

Doctor Strange: Revealed

     There's a ton of new info on Marvel's Master of the Mystic Arts over at Entertainment Weekly, with some highly interesting takes on how magic will look and work in the first film to tackle the metaphysical realms for the studio.

     As Producer Kevin Feige says (about the picture above),

“These gestures are ways of creating the magic. It’s a beautiful thing, it’s balletic, it’s very dynamic," says Benedict Cumberbatch. "And once the boys in the backroom get to work on it, there’s going to be crazy s--t going on."

     Then with the following picture shows what might be, at least concept art-wise, our first indication of what the astral plane might look like on film.  It's very surreal and definitely evokes the 60's drug-induced psychedelia they are referencing for the film.

     And for this image, Feige has something really cool to say about it:

"When this comic appeared in the early '60s, it really informed, in a way that is pretty amazing, a lot of the psychedelic '60s as we know it. I don’t know that they were doing anything weird in the bullpen in Marvel, but certainly the stuff they were doing inspired all those people who were doing mind-expansion experiments at the time. So, that's inherent to the property. And that's our mission statement for the visual effects on this movie."

     I hope this starts to break from the typical Marvel film fare and goes into the weird.  They've been playing too predictably, and need to shake things up, and this first foray into the odd otherworldly realms could be the first step into the Strange Tales type stories that could breathe new life into Marvel's cinematic universe with some esoteric mysticism.

     Doctor Strange hits theaters November 4th, 2016.

     Source [ Entertainment Weekly ] [ EW Gallery ]

X-Force: Possible Film Line-up and Thoughts

     Following a post of Greg Semkow's X-Force conceptual art, there's been much speculation of the potential future feature film.  It seems on deck to be fast-tracked due to the immense popularity of Deadpool's marketing, and the image features the "team's line up from the script" which was written by the writer/director of Kickass 2, Jeff Wadlow.

     Right off the bat we have mainstays Cable and Domino, along with Warpath, Cannonball lrocketing around in the back, and an unknown female on the left.  I've seen a lot of rumors that it could be Feral, Wolfsbane, or Boom-Boom, but I'm thinking either Psylocke or X-23 are far more likely.  X-23 especially because Hugh Jackman is leaving the character of Wolverine, and that would leave a large opening for a human slaughter machine that is their legacy.  I mean seriously, an assassin of the Wolverine bloodline capacity (well, technically a female clone in X-23's case) would be perfect for the black ops wetwork dealings that X-Force is known for.

    I'm not too intrigued by the art as it is, but it is just conceptual.  Cable should be older and far more grizzled, and as I've mentioned before I think Stephen Lang would be perfect for the role.  Warpath already has been in X-Men: Days of Future Past (Booboo Stewart), and if the unnamed woman is Psylocke, she too is already cast (Olivia Munn) for the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.  There's plenty of options

     Over the last couple years we've been getting things trickled out, after Days of Future Past, the idea was to focus on X-Force, but apparently that was put on hold because the Deadpool test footage was so well received.  That is good because we know that X-Force creator Rob Liefeld had already read the script and said it was, "Beyond impressive."  He also confirmed that BOTH Cable and Deadpool were in it.  It makes sense to capitalize on Deadpool's popularity despite him not appearing in the artwork above.

     Since Wadlow had stated the team would have 5 members, and that he was a fan of Wolverine, Colossus, Deadpool, Domino and Psylocke, I have to wonder how the art has a mostly different team.  Unless the members come and go depending on the mission?  Or there could be casualties.  There's also always the possibility for cameos galore.

     Personally, I really hope X-Force is a go, and that they follow the precedent Deadpool is setting in shooting for a more mature audience.  This is supposed to be the dark side of the X-Men, doing the dark works that shouldn't be out in the public.  It needs to be bloody, dark, and well-written.  I've complained time, and time, and time again about how they've played Wolverine as too angsty and not as badass as they should have been.  He's the best there is, and we want to see that on film.
     Here's a snippet from a post I did on 11.05.2013:

     "Fox, why can't you get a Wolverine done by a decent writer and director?  Where's the team that can compete with Nolan's on The Dark Knight level?  I've written enough on the subject of handling this character so poorly plenty of times.  About teen angsty Logan mopery, bemoaning his past, and the need for real grit in the series.  If Marvel (Edit: Fox) wants to create a series worthy of a man who is the best hunter/killer, they need to really hunker down and focus.  We do NOT need another one-note-Wolverine film.  He needs to grow as a character, and that still hasn't happened in the X-Men film franchise.  Fans are sick of watching him cry into his beer."

     We want the dark and grim.  It doesn't have to be the whole X-Men universe, but at least with the killers of the mutant world, it makes sense.  It's time to lose those kiddie gloves.

     Sources [ ComicBook ] [ ComicBookMovie ]

Deadpool: IMAX Trailer: Mega-Chimichanga Time!

     Deadpool is really hitting the marketing hard, but every bit of it has maintained a level of appropriate to the character hilarity, and I welcome it greatly.  In the newest trailer, we get a very delicious reason to upgrade and see the film in IMAX theaters.

     Deadpool hits theaters Feb. 12th, 2016.

     That'll be just in time to send the giant chimichanga a Valentine card.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool: Getting Her Own Series Finally

     In a completely predictable occurrence, Gwenpool's immense popularity has led to her getting her own ongoing comic series.  Beginning as essentially a joke cover for Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars issue 2- combining Gwen Stacy with famed Merc-with-a-mouth Deadpool into the wonderful creation dubbed Gwenpool, she has since gotten turned into both a 3 page back-up story in Howard the Duck 1 and then she received her own one shot issue titled Gwenpool Christmas Special.

     The series will be continued by the same team that was responsible for the Christmas Special- consisting of writer Christopher Hastings with art by Gurihiru.

     In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hastings gives us some insight into what we can expect from this upcoming series:

Can you tease a little about what we’ll see from her series, now that you have the freedom to really play around in the world? What can fans expect to see from this character they’ve grown to love? 

Her whole deal is, she’s from the world that she claims to be — some sort of “real world” — and knows of the Marvel universe as a fictional one. So the series is a lot about her believing she’s in a fictional world with no consequences. She’s seen everyone come back to life at some point, and it sort of seems like she’s living in a video game. And then the book is going to be the universe fighting back at that. Like, “you can’t really get away with everything” is kind of the struggle there. It’s also sort of, she just assumes, “I’m obviously a main character so I need to be a superhero” even though she has no powers. 

Okay, let’s put the pressure on: from a creator’s perspective, what do you want fans to know about this series? 

I think it’s just so much fun, and we are telling an interesting story here. We’re not just making up a reason to buy comics based on a popular cosplay character. There’s so much to explore with this new character and all of her weird little quirks and things like that and I really had to make some very hard decisions in what we could tell in those very short little 10-page comics. It was super fun exercise in trying to make something entertaining in a short little period of space. I’m really excited to have the space here to really let it breathe a little bit. 

     Gwenpool is set to begin in April 2016.

          Hopefully not as an elaborate April Fool's Day joke.

     Source [ Entertainment Weekly ]

Batman: Arkham Knight: Season of Infamy DLC Release Trailer

     Batman: Arkham Knight's newest, and possibly final DLC from Rocksteady, is a massive villain-filled story add-on and is brought to us today with a nice debut trailer for the content.

Season of Infamy DLC missions include:

Shadow War: Picking up after the events of Batman: Arkham City, Batman’s devout moral code is pushed to its limits as Ra’s Al Ghul’s health rebounds with the help of the League of Assassins. 

In From The Cold: Mr. Freeze returns to Gotham City, where he is immediately entrapped in Scarecrow and the Militia’s plan to destroy Batman. The Militia has kidnapped Nora and will return her to Freeze in exchange for Batman’s capture. 

Beneath The Surface: The World’s Greatest Detective and Nightwing venture out to investigate Iron Heights, a flying airship prison that housed Killer Croc, after it crashed in the waters surrounding Gotham City. 

Wonderland: The Mad Hatter makes things personal as the villain lures Batman into a demented, hallucinatory battle of wits across Gotham City and within the pages of a twisted story book.

     As shown in the trailer, there is a monstrous amount of new skins, challenges, and all-around goodies being released for our Holiday joy.  But I think best of all- is actually a tidbit from a couple days ago, when Sefton Hill heavily implied there'd be more work between Rocksteady and Batman in the future.

     The Season of Infamy DLC is available today.

     Source [ Comic Book Resources ]

Arkham Knight: Season of Infamy DLC: Mr. Freeze Returns (as does Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and Ra's al Ghul)

     It's been a long road for the Batman Arkham games, and December 22nd brings Arkham Knight's "Season of Infamy" DLC.  Returning bad guys are plentiful and they all get an extra area made for them specially.

     Mr. Freeze returns, Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows has risen from the Lazarus Pit, Killer Croc is prowling a downed aircraft, and Mad Hatter is talking crazy at the GCPD building.  New areas to explore and tasks to complete alongside capturing the villains.

     In addition to the story DLC, also available will be the Arkham Asylum Batmobile skin and the Christian Bale costume he wore in Batman Begins.

     The end of the video gives us a nice teaser for the future, when Dax Ginn asks Sefton Hill, "So Sefton, are you saying, categorically, that this is the end of the road for Rocksteady and Batman?"

     And Hill's response is, "Well..."

     The end of the game leaves the potential for more to come, probably with a wider DC Comics universe base- Arkham Knight had references to Lex Luthor and a really blatant homage ending reminiscent of the Frank Miller classic comic series The Dark Knight Returns- leading me to believe Bruce Wayne faked his death to go Batman full-time, and then they'll bring in at least Superman, if not all of the JLA, into the video game series.

Disney Infinity 3.0: Vignocchi Talks the Future of Infinity: An Unannounced Special Character in 1st Quarter 2016! (And an Unannounced Playset!)

     Disney Infinity's VP of Production John Vignocchi had an interview with Dis Kingdom's Abraham Larios Jr. with a bunch of interesting things about the future for 2016.

     To me the important things are-

     First- In addition to the Marvel Battlegrounds playset, we will see at least one more playset for sure.  Vignocchi was asked about his phrasing about playsets and, "When asked to clarify if he meant to say playsets as plural, JV said that the word Playsets with an “S” on there is on purpose and correct!"
     Furthermore, on the topic of Marvel Battlegrounds, no release date has been officially announced, and the Power Discs will be used in a much different fashion than they have been for the last few years.  They'll be used in "a unique way" which is quite intriguing to think about what they might be cooking up.  On top of that the playset itself will also play very differently than any of the previous sets have, and has been labelled a "game changer" for Disney Infinity while still in the Beta.

     And Second- Vignocchi mentioned while talking about the figure release slate, that Boba Fett has been pushed out from his originally expected release date in January, but still remains in the first quarter of 2016.  Nick and Judy from Zootopia will also be in that time period but then going on, "he mentioned that during quarter one, another special character that has not been announced or leaked yet."
     That's right, a character that hasn't been leaked or announced yet will be arriving in the first quarter 2016!  They have not confirmed if they'll be a Disney, Marvel, or Star Wars character.  We know that Ant-Man, Vision, and Black Panther have been leaked by Amazon, and there has been rumor and speculation that one other character might be coming some day, and I really hope that's who it is- Kim Possible.  Of course, we'll just have to wait and see.

     Peter Pan is still set for an August/September release and his final design is going to be revealed to the Toy Box Master Artist group by Avalanche Studios before being shown to the community later this year.  Captain EO is stuck in a kind of limbo.

     Darkwing Duck though, he is another story.  As Larios writes:

"Darkwing Duck on the other hand, seems may be closer to becoming a reality. JV told us about a conversation he had with John Blackburn this past week. He said he was having an argument with John Blackburn about a character for an upcoming project that JV was supporting inside of Disney Infinity. John then said to him that he rather do Darkwing Duck than that character he was proposing. JV said that John really put him back on his heels because in the midst of a heated argument about a character, he dangled one that is so close and personal to him as one that they could officially bring."

     That is a very loaded paragraph.  Darkwing Duck is very possible, but then so is the mystery character that was dangled in his face, which could be anyone.  What makes this so cool, is that it is one that Vicnocchi himself is psyched about, and by the sounds of it, he was genuinely surprised by not only the suggestion- but the likelihood of it actually officially happening.

 The future of Disney Infinity is looking good.

     Source [ Dis Kingdom ]

Spaceballs 2: The Farce Awakens: Considered by Yogurt Himself (Mel Brooks)

     Following hot on the tails of The Force Awakens being released Mel Brooks has officially stated that a sequel to his cult-classic 1987 spoof of Star Wars, Spaceballs, might be in the works...

     ...sort of...  

                   ...all right, it was almost a year ago.

     Back in January Brooks told Adam Corolla on the "Take a Knee" podcast that there were some ideas floating around for Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, that in itself being a joke from the original film.
     This is by no means a confirmation, but simply a re-consideration of an interview he had early in 2015.  I spotted an article over at the Escapist Magazine from earlier today that the writer might not have known this was from nearly a year ago, but still- it makes me wonder if Brooks is still thinking about this.

     A lot of the original cast has either died (John Candy, Dom DeLuise, Joan Rivers) or left acting as Rick Moranis had, but there's still a chance.  If Brooks finds a way to pull out a can of Liquid Schwartz and hope that Moranis returns and they can convince Bill Pullman and Daphne Zuniga to return, there could be a whole new generation of Spaceballs.  Even the original writer had some ideas for a sequel, as Brooks told Parade in 2014, "Tom [Meehan], who wrote it with me, has great ideas and I would love to do Spaceballs 2."

     For now we can only cross our Schwartzes and hope Brooks mentions some news about this in the near future.