In his debut Buffverse novel, the young-adult entry “Sweet Sixteen” (April 2002), veteran fantasy writer Scott Ciencin seems to make a smart call by focusing on the often-underused Dawn. But after a solid start where Dawn befriends picked-on new girl Arianna, the plot is driven by misunderstandings, manipulations and contrivances. Arguably worse, most of the […]
Director and co-writer Gus Van Sant channels some of the character- and relationship-building magic of “Good Will Hunting” in “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,” which delivers a message that a good life can grow out of horrible circumstances if one works at it. Yet this film – which is still playing in […]
Writer-director Leigh Whannell’s “Upgrade” – now available for streaming – blends sci-fi elements we’ve seen before into a fresh yarn that’s gripping as a thrill ride and a near-future mystery. Most remarkably, it’s also darkly funny, making it one of the hidden gems of the summer movie season.
When I heard that the “Buffy” Season 5 premiere would be called “Buffy vs. Dracula,” I thought it was a bad idea to bring other people’s characters into a show that was so good at developing its own characters. But the episode won me over as I realized it was about the Scooby Gang’s reaction […]
As anyone who has searched the web for specific “Valerian” information knows, scholarship of this franchise is sketchy compared to, say, “Star Wars” or “Star Trek.” Two reference books have been released in English — and hopefully more will follow, including a pair of Jean-Claude Mezieres art books that are only in French for now. […]
‘Valerian and Laureline’ flashback (TV review): We look back at the first 10 episodes of this altered take on the comic heroes.
After a brief foray into Season 4 with “The Lost Slayer,” the “Buffy” novels skip over Season 5 (at least for now) and enter Season 6 with “Tempted Champions” (March 2002), Yvonne Navarro’s sophomore effort that improves dramatically from “Paleo” (2000). Not only is this an excellent Anya novel, it’s one of the best Anya […]
One of the most remarkable things about writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mezieres’ work on “Valerian and Laureline” from 1967-2103 is how little they farmed out the characters. It wasn’t because they weren’t interested in doing that – indeed, they had wanted Luc Besson to make a “Valerian” movie for decades before it happened […]
Looking for a “Valerian” fix after last year’s movie, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” I’m delving into the comics that started it all, by Frenchmen Pierre Christin (writer) and Jean-Claude Mezieres (pencils and inks). “The Complete Collection, Volume 5” includes “On the Frontiers” (1988), “The Living Weapons” (1990) and “The Circles of […]
Along with the “Angel” license, IDW also picked up the “Spike” license in 2005. Although there was never a “Spike” TV show, there were enough “Spike” comics that it can be treated as a distinct line, especially since the covers feature a “Spike” logo rather than the “Angel” logo. IDW tested the waters for the […]