More Comic Updates and a Video Game Recommendation

Summer is here and I’m feeling free. My family’s summer schedule has opened up, thanks to less child activities.

We’ve spent this time playing board games around the house, walking around the neighborhood, and swimming at The Elk’s Lodge pool.

In This Issue:

• House of Satisfactions Update

• Comics Read in May

• Movies Watched in May

• What to [watch] this weekend

House of Satisfactions is my alternative comic book studio that is publishing a Southern horror anthology on Kickstarter in October.

This week we had our design kickoff meeting with our designer, Braian Malfatti, who is an absolute pleasure to work with. He has already delivered awesome art for one of our stories.

Malfatti recently won the Best Art award at the Prêmio SamPaulo, a new award celebrating the comics scene of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The trophy is of a popular character called Sofrenildo created by cartoonist SamPaulo.

Go follow his Substack to get insights into his art process:

We’re currently editing and finalizing art for the stories while also searching for artists for the four book covers we’ll have for the book.

This is shaping up to be a fantastic comic!

Sign up for the House of Satisfactions email list so you get VIP pricing for the comic.

Pre-Save "Hangwater, TX" on Kickstarter

I started adding movies back into the monthly diet.

• Star Wars - ★★★★½
  Always magical.

• The Empire Strikes Back - ★★★★½
  My kids were shocked at the Vader reveal. It always hits.

• Obsession - ★★★½
  Great first feature entry. Didn’t fully work for me but this guy has a future.

• Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu - ★★
  CGI battles just don’t do it for me anymore. But the cute little guys never grow old. I kind of wish they leaned into this being a goofy kids movie because those were the best parts. But that would include cutting the run-time by 40 min. My kids were checked out in the last half.

• Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance - ★★★
  I probably shouldn’t have started my Samurai film watching career with Akira Kurosawa. Nothing else matches.

• Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx - ★★★
  The series leans more into b-movie cheese. Love the color of blood, but I think I’m done with this series.

• Send Help - ★
  A stinker of a script with schlocky Raimi flourishes that are tonal whiplashes.

• Memories - ★★★★½
  An anthology of three stunning anime stories with a single-shot marvel from the director of Akira.

Follow all my reviews on Letterboxd.

• The Hood: The Saga of Parker Robbins - ★★½
  The core mini-series sees Brian K. Vaughan create a blue-collar evil Spider-Man which is a fun concept. Very 2000s vibes throughout. I liked the family stuff but thought it was just OK.

• Secret Invasion: Inhumans TP - ★★
  This is a tie-in comic to Secret Invasion that has some cool concepts but falls short in getting you to care about any of these characters. And the Inhumans really need you to give a shit about them.

• Avengers by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection Vol. 3 - ★★★★½
  This run finally hits its stride with Cap leading the galactic empire in giant sci-fi space battles while back home, the Illuminati fend off a crazy invasion of Thanos and The Black Order that were later featured in Infinity War film.

• Avengers by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection Vol. 4 - ★★★★½
  Badass continuation of the story with fantastic character work for The Illuminati (Namor & Black Panther specifically). Also features a truly awesome battle between The Avengers and a copy of the multiversal Justice League.

• The Fables of Erlking Wood - ★★★★★
  Some of the best cartooning I’ve seen recently. And the storytelling from Juni Ba is truly next level. I was so impressed by the modern fairytale and world he’s created. Incredible work that really highlights the strengths of the comic medium.

Follow all my comic reviews on League of Comic Geeks.

The hardest multiplayer game I’ve ever played.

But Bungie simply makes the best feeling shooters in gaming. The world-building and design of this game are totally unlike anything I’ve seen. Very inspiring.

Season 2 is out now and a great time to jump in.

And remember, when you’re playing a hard game, never rage quit. Always find a way to end on a win, no matter how small that win might be.

Not gonna lie, but I thought part 4 was the perfect ending of the series. I know people said that about 3, but that one never hit for me. I saw Toy Story 4 at a baby-friendly screening while holding my new child in my arms. The film is about Woody and BoPeep letting go as parents (to both the toys and their responsibility to children), and I saw the future ahead. It crushed me.

I’m fine with more Toy Story. I’m not too precious about the series or cynical about future installments. Pixar’s animation is magical and I’m excited for this entry.

Directed by: Andrew Stanton

Logline: “Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang’s jobs are challenged when they’re introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.”

Have I watched it yet? No

Where to watch? Theaters of course.

If you enjoyed the issue, please share with someone who you think would dig it. And subscribe for free so you don’t miss an issue.

See you next week.