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]]>Partake in the product discussion here below!
https://www.hidefninja.com/community/threads/oppenheimer-2023-4k-2d-blu-ray-steelbook-best-buy-exclusive-usa.120055/
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]]>The post Vice Press Home Video Presents: Evil Dead II on VHS first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
]]>Over the past few year’s, Vice Press have specialised in creating officially licensed, limited edition fine art movie posters featuring art produced exclusively for them by artists from across the world. On November 16th, Vice Press launch their latest line – Vice Press Home Video.
A collaboration between Vice Press’ Matt Ferguson and James Henshaw, along with regular Vice Press collaborator and artist, Florey, Vice Press Home Video launch their first release EVIL DEAD II, produced and sold under licence in the U.K. from StudioCanal.
Available in two editions; the Collector’s Edition comes in a clear clamshell with double sided cover, featuring art by Matt Ferguson and Florey on one side, and James Bousema on the reverse. The Collector’s Edition also comes with a set of 6 postcards featuring Evil Dead II movie posters, including Ferg x Florey and James Bousema’s releases for Vice Press, presented in a Collector’s Edition sleeve. The Blood Splatter Variant comes in a cardboard slip case cover featuring art by Matt Ferguson and Florey with screen printed “Blood Splatter” black VHS tape.
Packaging and label design on both editions was by Matt Ferguson and Florey.
Alongside the release, Vice Press will also be releasing the artwork from the VHS as fine art movie poster prints in their Editions range.
Evil Dead II on VHS and the Evil Dead II Editions fine art poster prints by Matt Ferguson x Florey and James Bousema will be available exclusively from Vice Press on Thursday the 16th of November at 6pm GMT (UK)/ 1pm EST/ 10am PST (US)
About Vice Press
In 2015 we set up Vice Press so we could create cool stuff for things we love, from our favourite films and TV shows to comics, games and more. Everything we do is officially licensed and as well as limited edition posters and art prints, we have gone on to release premium collectibles like pin badges, coins, steel books and jigsaws, alongside our own apparel and line of frames. Day to day we are ran from our warehouse in Sheffield, UK, by our small team, but we work with like-minded artists, licensors, printers, and manufacturers from around the world to produce exclusive, high-quality collectibles featuring incredible, unique designs for fans like us to collect & display in their homes. We hope you love what we do as much as we do! Matt Ferguson and James Henshaw, co-founders of Vice Press
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]]>The post [NYCC 2023] AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and a Sneak Peak at Interview With a Vampire Season 2 and More! first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
]]>It’s just about time to wrap-up my New York Comic Con (NYCC) coverage and to do that I’m focusing on one of the yearly comic con favorites – AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Unlike other shows which because of the SAG strike actors could not attend to talk about their content AMC has worked an interim agreement with SAG which allowed them to continue filming during the ongoing SAG strike as well as have actors promote the content. Therefore while Chief Content Officer of the Walking Dead Universe Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner David Zabel, and Executive Producer Greg Nicotero were on hand to discuss the show so was Norman Reedus where he was able to share his experience not just as Executive Producer but for playing show lead Daryl Dixon as well. While Norman Reedus was the only actor to come out on stage this does make sense as this was a show focused on his charater. In addition to Reedus, the series stars Clémence Poésy, Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney, Laika Blanc Francard, Romain Levi and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi and is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner David Zabel, Reedus, Greg Nicotero, Angela Kang, Brian Bockrath, Jason Richman and Daniel Percival.
In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Daryl (Noman Reedus) washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan.
AMC Networks returned to New York Comic Con with a The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon panel, along with the panel the entire Season One finale was screened to the crowd. Following the screening, which was moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross, there was a Q&A with Chief Content Officer of the Walking Dead Universe Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner David Zabel and Executive Producer Greg Nicotero and Executive Producer and Lead Norman Reedus.
Not going too much into a recap/review of the season finale but we did learn some important discoveries such as how Daryl ended up in France as well as his family history Normandy. The season finale really does put a question in Daryl’s mind for season two as he will definitely need to explore what family really means to him as he has connections back home but has learned to feel connected to these new people. Only time will tell how this goes and what happens when he runs into people from his past.
As the first season ended with a cameo from Carol (Melissa McBride) looking for Daryl it was no big surprise but it was confirmed that Melissa McBride will be a series regular in the second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon which is currently in production in France and is set to premiere in 2024. The second season also stars Norman Reedus, Clémence Poésy, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, Laika Blanc Francard, Anne Charrier, Romain Levi and Eriq Ebouaney and is executive produced by showrunner David Zabel, Scott M. Gimple, Reedus, McBride, Greg Nicotero, Angela Kang, Brian Bockrath, Daniel Percival, Jason Richman and Steve Squillante.
In a press release Melissa McBride noted: “I’ve known there was much more to be told of Carol’s story as I felt her so unsettled when we last saw her, as she watched her best friend, Daryl, ride away. Apart or (hopefully!) together, their stories run deep, and I’m so excited to continue Carol’s journey here. This team of storytellers have done amazing work to land these two established characters in an entirely new world to them, and I’m loving the discoveries!”
After the panel the panelists provided a press conference for media to discuss even more topics not discussed during the panel. Hi-Def Ninja was able to attend the press interview and get some more insight into The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and learn some new things about the planned second season. Since the season finale has aired there were a few topics that were discussed in the interviews which I feel are now OK to keep in the interviews,
Q: How does Daryl define home at this point and will he ever be okay in one place or does he always have to be out?
NR: Home is where the heart is, his heart is just being pulled in France. He started to care for these people, he’s kind of one of those Billy Jack/Kung-Fu type of characters, movies even TV shows I loved as a kid, with one guy on a solo journey. Even on the flagship show he would take off and do his own thing. I think he’s torn, that’s the story we’re telling… A lot with Melissa too, a lot with that character I feel that somethings wrong. They have that kind of bond that there’s a lot of unspoken things that were said. I’m hoping that the bonds that we made in that flagship show are still very strong so she can take care of herself of course but doing a show that you’ve been doing for this many years the bonds just going to get stronger and stronger. So he wants to go home but he can’t leave it like it is, its just not the time to turn the other cheek.
Q: In the flagship show there’s a lot history; we’ve witnessed communities built up, destroyed, and re-built up again but in this show the main character was dropped into France which already has it’s own culture, society, and set of rules. How did you go about creating this for the show.
DZ: My attitude was that we didn’t have to have all of the same exact conditions as in the American version of the apocalypse. Just like pandemic hit and affect different areas in different ways so there are some subtle little differences although it’s consistent in what Walking Dead posits as sort of the rules and the way things work. But in terms of coming up with the groups it was informed by a lot of things but it was really starting by saying what will make this specific to France. What will make this feel like this is a show that could only happen in France and that is informed by France without resorting to cliché. So that was part of the reason for making it a journey story of Daryl traveling across all of France not just standing in front of the Eiffel tower. Like let’s see the Southern France and let’s see Northern France and that also led me to the other two big elements that I think that answer your question; one of which was the history of French Catholicism and that connected to my feeling that I wanted to find a lot of hope in the show. I wanted to find pockets of hope; there’s clearly darkness, it’s a dark world but I felt like that was an opportunity to find more hope and then also some of the World War 2 references which you see throughout the show and the connection between the United States and France historically and how could we sort of conjure things that that relate to that relationship that also affect his as a character. So that led to the idea of a resistance group and a sort of neo-fascist group and then also the connection ultimately of Daryl through the childhood that we’ve already heard about in The Walking Dead and connecting another dot to that which is the story of the grandfather who died on the beach in Normandy.
GN: It’s pretty fascinating too because standing on that beach takes your breath away. It’s powerful when you think about the sacrifices that people made for somebody that they didn’t even know, they didn’t even know these people and the grandfather’s, husbands, and sons that died it’s palpable and we were fortunate enough to really be able to experience so much about the culture in France. When I landed we went on scouts and we went to Marseilles and we went all the way through Léon and all over the place but I remember reading the script for episode six and of having Daryl on the beach and everything that’s signified in that moment of Daryl looking at the grave is understanding the sacrifices that you make for people that use don’t even know or that you barely know and I think that that moment, I was even telling Norman, just his performance in that moment really tells the entire story of what it’s like for that character to be in France and how it affects him.
DZ: I think we were all affected and Norman said the same thing by being in all those real places. So it’s rare that you’d write a show like this that has an incredible array of locations and places that we’re going and just every time we’re in the real place. It affects everybody in the company and that affect Daryl when he’s standing looking at his grandfather’s grave and he knows that’s what the American soldiers actually land.
NR: It was haunting. Erik had a really good line when we were shooting in the catacombs. What was the line?
DZ: He says “America is an infant we’ve been through hundreds of years on apocalypses; we’ll get through this one” referring to all the bodies in the catacombs and that is the difference too the idea of the historical memory of being in France and the cultural influence that’s something we can do in France that you couldn’t do in an American version of the show cause America’s an infant and these countries in Europe have been there for hundreds and thousands of years and been through lots of other stuff.
Q: We saw many places in France. What were the steps to secure these locations? And how far along are you into season two?
DZ: We’re about halfway through season 2. We’ve done most of the 3 episodes and plans for 3 more. And on locations it’s very it’s tricky and in France it works a little differently than it works here but what was required was a lot of advanced time. So we had to know what we were going to do long in advance so Mont Saint-Michel for example is location I never thought we would actually be able to shoot in. I went there with the location manager, we schmoozed the mayor, we schmoozed the head of security and they let us come and then because we behaved well they let us come back so that we can continue to shoot in and around Mont Saint-Michel. The catacombs was an incredibly hard place to shoot but I just felt like we wanted to go to the real catacombs and be able to say like we’ve been in the catacombs but it was a very challenging place because of the space and the air and all kinds of things. So there were a lot of challenges that were exciting to get through because once we’re in those places it mattered a lot but you have to be very careful in a lot of locations. When we were in the Abbey at the beginning, when we’re in any religious site, when we’re in the cemetery lots of things you have to be very careful about and in France their even stricter about some of that stuff then we are here in my experience at least. So we had to be very cautious.
GN: If you’re talking about an Abbey that’s centuries-old you can’t pour fake blood on the ground. So we had to do a lot of advanced recon and a lot of these places like Mont Saint-Michel can’t be closed. So there’ll be tourists on one little street over here and then we’re shooting-up on this street and there were a couple shots we did where there were people walking on the sand flats outside and you can’t tell them we’re filming. So we would have to go in and digitally remove them.
DZ: The hardest one actually I forgot was the beginning when we had to get the metro train, in the flashback, for Episode 2 when Isabelle down on the metro track and a train goes by and the walkers are killing people inside and that was a huge thing, very difficult, they didn’t want any walkers anywhere in or near the train. Eventually we got them to allow us to have walkers in the train but the walkers can’t actually bite anyone in the train, we couldn’t put blood in the train, we couldn’t have a Walker engineer of the train so that is why you see nobody driving the train and things like that that were very long conversations going back-and-forth back-and-forth. Every time I thought it wouldn’t work and most of the time it worked and it was always worth it.
NR: Touching on that a little bit, what I always thought was so beautiful about The Walking Dead and what we did in Georgia was that it wasn’t our show it was everyone’s show, it felt like everyone’s. It started little and it got bigger and bigger with the fans of the show and it always felt like it belonged to everybody and us going to France it was really important to us not to do an American bastardized tourist version in France, everyone has a brie wheel, a poodle, and a beret. We wanted the French people to feel it’s their show as well and we wanted it to be authentic and we had French writers, there are little French jokes in there that only French people know. We fought to have a lot of the dialogue still in French and not subtitled.
DZ: We were striving for as much authenticity as we could all the way through and we won a lot of those battles and I think the three of us were kind of leading the pack there. We are all kind of open, comfortable, so ingraining ourselves culturally in France and letting that feed into the show too. I was really worried about what you just said. I was really worried about the tourist version of the show and that was part of the reason we fought about how much French language there would be. But they were super appreciative that we didn’t just make all the French people speak English. I had more than one actor, including Clémence who plays Isabelle, say ‘I can’t believe how much French they’re letting you put in the show.’Q: Can you walk us through the timeline for getting Melissa on board to come back or was this always the plan for her?
NR: She was on board from before the first episode.
DZ: From the time I started that was always the plan and I was super psyched about it although it was a secret I kept in my pocket for a long time but we were always building to a second season that included Melissa.
Q: What are your thoughts on this franchise and where it is right now?
SG: This has been about a third wave and it’s been about making very distinct shows like Dead City and Daryl Dixon both have very strong characters and they still have the same story values and that has everything to do with Norman, Jeffrey, Lauren but then we try to counter that with amazing new stuff and new voices telling those stories. So I think this has been a really good year. Before we were doing shows that complimented The Walking Dead in a lot of ways and this is doing shows that are very distinct. We have the last few episodes of Fear the Walking Dead coming out and those couldn’t be any more different than this. It’s been a really good year.
At the Panel AMC teased a few of their other upcoming shows including The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire Season 2, and Orphan Black: Echos
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors??Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live stars Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, Pollyanna McIntosh, Terry O’Quinn, Matt Jeffries, and Lesley-Ann Brandt. Scott M. Gimple, Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe, serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Lincoln, Gurira, Denise Huth and Brian Bockrath.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live premiers February 2024.
A luxury apartment covering an entire single floor of a high rise. Where the Vampire has granted the interview with the man he once judged to be unworthy. And where the journalist Daniel Molloy has hustled, for a second shot at the interview that got away from him 40 years earlier…
Based on Anne Rice’s iconic novel, Interview with The Vampire follows Louis’ epic story of love, blood and the perils of immortality, as told to the journalist Daniel Molloy. Chafing at the limitations of life as a black man in 1900’s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist Lestat’s offer of the ultimate escape: joining him as his vampire companion.
But Louis’s intoxicating new powers come with a violent price, and the introduction of Lestat’s newest fledgling, the child vampire Claudia, soon sets them on a decades-long path of revenge and atonement. A sensuous, contemporary reinvention of Anne Rice’s revolutionary gothic novel.
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire Season 2 premiers in 2024.
Set in the near future, Orphan Black: Echoes takes a deep dive into the exploration of the scientific manipulation of human existence. It follows a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unravelling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal.
The series stars Krysten Ritter, Keeley Hawes, Amanda Fix, Avan Jogia, Rya Kihlstedt and James Hiroyuki Liao, and is executive produced by showrunner/creator Anna Fishko, director John Fawcett, Krysten Ritter and Boat Rocker’s David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg, Nick Nantell, Kerry Appleyard and Katie O’Connell Marsh.
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]]>The post [NYCC 2023] Audible Slayers: A Buffyverse Storyat New York Comic Con first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
]]>Now that I’ve gotten most of my standard New York Comic Con (NYCC) posted it’s time to wrap up some coverage that needed a bit more time to organize.
As is somewhat common for me, every year I tend to separate a show or company and focus on that special item, especially when there are multiple interaction points at the show. Audible and often Prime Video often heavily promoting their content at NYCC and for NYCC 2023 one of those properties was the new Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, is a new tale set in the Buffy universe and includes original cast along with some newcomers. The Audible Original podcast was written by original cast member Amber Benson along with Christopher Golden, and directed by Benson, Golden, and KC Wayland.
Slayers takes place in 2013, ten years after the conclusion of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. Spike (James Marsters), still in L.A., works undercover with Clem (James Charles Leary) convincing the forces of darkness that he’s evil again. There he meets sixteen-year-old Indira Nunnally (Laya DeLeon Hayes) a new slayer. While Spike tries to find a watcher for Indira, a Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) from a parallel reality where Buffy never existed and she is the only slayer comes to enlist Spike’s help in defeating Drusilla (Juliet Landau), his old flame and the big bad in Cordelia’s world. Also returning are Giles (Anthony Head), Anya (Emma Caulfield Ford), Jonathan (Danny Strong), and Tara (Amber Benson) but may no longer be who they used to be. The Audible Original podcast presents a new world, filled with horror, heart, humor, and surprises at every turn.
At NYCC Audible’s promotion for Slayers included a panel, offsite activation, and press interviews for the original podcast. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get a look at everything that happened over the course of convention; so let’s dive right in!
On Friday at New York Comic Con writer, director and original cast member Amber Benson, writer and director Christopher Golden, and cast members Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield Ford, James Charles Leary, Juliet Landau, James Marsters and newcomer Laya Deleon Hayes came to the main stage to introduce the new Aubible Original podcast and discuss the new series and reprising their iconic roles together for the first time in 20 years.
A few panel highlight quotes included:
Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia): “I think we are an incredible team and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m so grateful that we were able to make this come alive and that Audible trusted us and that you [the fans] supported that.”
James Marsters (Spike): “I was in the booth watching all my castmates through the glass, and I had a really good view of you, Juliet. I just wanted a camera on you the whole time. The thing is, you’re fearless. You are one of my favorite actors, who are not just trying to look good or cool. You’re trying to get to the interesting, weird parts.”
Emma Caulfield Ford (Anya/Anyanka): “Juliet was right next to me and I would literally just get immersed in what she was doing…Oh my god, she is lovable, and I was just in awe.” Juliet Landau (Drusilla): “Our cast has an incredible acting chemistry, that just really picked right back up when we started this new project.”
Popverse Members can see the panel here: https://bit.ly/3ROeLaS
If having a panel didn’t give enough insight into the show Hi-Def Ninja was lucky enough to sit down with the cast members at NYCC and discuss a few more topics not discussed in the panel:
Q: What can you tell us about coming back to these characters you know so well and giving them layers and dimension
JM: I was excited to just be able to come back at all because I told the producers when we were filming they have 7 more years if they want me to play because I’ve been playing it for 7 years and I think a 14 year window for a vampire is about enough and so just the idea that I could go back and play Spike was really exciting. The idea that the Amber would be writing with Christopher Golden is perfect because both of them know the world in and out.
JCL: To get to come back and play this it was incredibly exciting and to get to play in the world and to have the character so much more fleshed out and to get to do scenes with people I had never worked with like Tony and Emma and Charisma and watching those people work was incredible.
JM: The thing is that we were originally really well cast, They cast very good actors in roles that they can really shine in and so it was getting back together and effortlessly just fun and easy and I remember listening to you and being just like how is he dunking every line and I’m like oh he’s just being himself, he’s perfectly cast as Clem and you combine your warm personality with your lines and you get a great character.
Q: What could you do with your characters with a scripted podcast that you couldn’t do with a live action show?
JCL: So much more. Like a special effects kind of stuff you couldn’t budgetarily use before.
JM: It’ a good question; I guess I’ll flip it. I think the scripts that were written would probably be easily filmable… My concern was the fights…, I’ve done other audible dramas and the fights were cheesy; which is not the brand… but they {Audible] had me listen to about 15 minutes of it and I was like ‘oh my God it’s perfect,’ and the technology that they’re using is this proprietary technology that puts the audience in a specific point in the room and then blocks the actors digitally because we recorded standing still at a microphone but they’re manipulating it.
JCL: You can hear movement.
JM: Right, they are moving our voices around the room and they took the time to block all of the scenes for all of the episodes, they showed me the notes and they had me listen to it, and for those people who have surround sound you will hear us walking around you. They have to listen to it in stereo too and it’s still very effective but I had this idea that people should find the person who has surround sound in their friend group and then have listen parties. Q: What was the biggest challenge of bringing a character that you’ve done physically in acting into just using your voice?
JCL: I don’t feel like it was a challenge. There was more almost freedom to it.
JM: Thank you; you’re quick. So you’re hanging words in the air, that’s kind of your job and in a certain rhythm in a certain color to tell story and so knowing that you are doing that because when you are filming something it is about covering-up you’re feeling with your voice, trying to hide things because it’s going to be seen anyway because the cameras are so intimate and so good film acting is actually trying not to be seen. Knowing you’ll fit but you don’t want to try to communicate everything that you’re feeling cause that gets cheesy and so it is a process of putting all of the information you have about your character into the voice but for us that was so close to what we do all the time anyways.
Q: Where did this all begin? We’ve had comics and we’ve had some different tidbits to satisfy us but it’s always been going back to the series. So how did this all come together?
CG: It really came together because I was having a conversation with our friend Lydia an executive at Audible about the fact that they had gotten the rights to do this and immediately I jumped in as I would in a case like that and said I wanted to do that but be the only way that this is going to work is if it’s Amber. The key for me is that there’s a level of trust, that everybody involved knew that if we were doing this together, that Amber was Writing/Directing, that they would be in hands that cared, in hands that care for them, and I am 100% certain that there’s no way to do this without you.
AB: It’s been really emotional, I think for me. How we treat each other is really important and everyone getting back together and being a family was really important, the love is real. I feel like so often working on stuff I’m like I like them, they’re fine. But with these people we see each other at conventions and I hug them and I want to hold them…and to be able to give some of them that didn’t get closure on this was really wonderful. There was some rough stuff that we’ve all been through as a group and to try and make this a better experience was high on our list. Charisma keeps saying we’re people forward and I think here we are. We are people forward and I think the world should be that in general. So we try. We mess up, everybody does but we try. That’s all you can do.
Q: What is it about the Buffyverse that is kept people wanting more for such a long time?
AB: I mean there’s something about the fandom that brings people together and there’s something the about character of this Tara Maclay who’s in our Audible Original Podcast Slayers who because of what she’s been through in the relationship and the queer factor I think it brings people together, it brings families together. I think so many people in this world are like ‘I live in an insular environment. I don’t know anybody who’s different than me. So I can spend time listening to the show and I’m like oh I like all these people and they’re different than me; some of them are fierce, some of them come from a whole other way of life,” and I feel like I like them so maybe everybody’s kind of cool.
CG: I just want to wrap-up real quick on it and just say that for me I feel like no matter what you actually look like, no matter who you actually present as, or look like in life everybody feels like an outsider sometimes and some people feel like an outsider all the time and I think more than anything else this story in general and this world in general is a world where everybody can watch them and feel like oh I can be part of this. I can be with these people. I can be heroic. I can have people by my side.
AB: People listen to this and there is a character that you identify with, that you see yourself in and I think that brings people together.
Q: I think the Audible Original Series really holds true to the original universe. With this fandom and how attached we are to these characters, was there pressure in that when you were writing it?
CG: For me it’s internal pressure. I’ve been a fan since day one, I’ve wrote 13 Buffy novels, 2 video games, tons of comics. I didn’t do that just for the work I did because I loved it and I’m engaged on those characters. I’ve debated other fans and all of that so for me the pressure is internal and it also meant that we could play with things and do really fun things that we knew people were going to love and then we took risks with things as well.
Q: Why Spike to continue the story.
AB: So he’s our narrator for a number of the episodes but it’s actually an ensemble. That’s what we realized when we were putting it all together because originally it was called Spike and Dru, that’s what we had as the working title, and then as we were recording it became very clear that this is an ensemble cast and Spike and Dru are incredible but they’re part of. But having this narrator who is in your ear talking to you is so intimate.
Q: What was it like recording this?
CC: It is a lot of work and it is just like you said it’s a completely different skill set to do audio. It’s incredibly challenging and fun but it’s just so much fun that it’s just like oh my God the days over already. I thought it was warm and I thought it was like putting on a comfortable shoe but that you had to still break it in a little bit because it’s been a minute. But having the trust of your fellows, having that familiarity with your fellows, being cheered on or getting the immediate feedback from your peers is I feel like when you get a compliment from a fellow actor or a grip or an electrician, somebody that’s on set with professionals all the time and they’re saying ‘I like that or that was a good take or wow that really caught me off guard’ is the best feeling in the whole wide world and when you’re working with people that you really like and enjoy and trust I just really hope that we can do it again. I hope we can have a season two because there’s no reason not to
EC: I remember a take you did and you did something and it wasn’t that you were struggling or anything and it wasn’t that anyone wasn’t happy, it was just a sort of like something’s not it and you did it a few times and each time I thought it was great but then you did something and you were like no, no I just want to do one more because I think at that point Amber and Chris were like no we got it and you went I want to do one more and as soon as you were done I was like that’s the one that’s the take and they were like that’s the take and it was so good.
CC: And thank God we get a chance to do that. When you know that it’s not resonating, it’s not your bones, you sense it. You know what your potential is you know in your head how you want it to go and it’s not happening yet. Thank you I forgot about that.
Q: Anya and Cordelia, both your characters quickly disappeared and now 20 years later you’re getting to come jump back and be those characters and now we get a chance to hang out with your characters again.
EC: It’s fun working with her cause I only got the one episode and I think I maybe saw you in the prom or somewhere but I don’t think we actually talked so to be able to have so much to do with her again or even like Juliette’s working out definitely. Anya and Drusilla together was wild to be able to experience that it was old but all brand new again.
CC: Yeah I don’t know what the perfect phrasing is but I do want to say this that is why doing this project means so much to me. The show is more than just one person and I spoke out about the one person. I will always want to be Cordelia. The show is the 2 or 300 people that put their blood, sweat, and tears into it. I gave up and sacrificed a lot. I hope with the SAG-AFTRA strike people are starting to understand the image of what actors lives are like and that that’s being dispelled today. But there is a not glamorous side to working 14/16 hour days and not being able to be there for Halloween trick-or-treating with your kid, or taking your husband who cut his finger to the hospital because you’re on set, or you have strep throat and you still going to work, or you can’t stop puking and you still have to go to work. These are the realities of doing what we do and it’s not always glamorous but I think there is this idea that we are and so when I spoke out I wanted to get the commission back to the thing and I wanted people to understand that I loved this character, I loved that job, I love a lot of those people, and Cordelia is me and I am her and she is the one person that I think changed who I was to put me in a position to be able to speak out and that’s kind of a rich. It’s almost like the one person who created this character that then ended up being empowered enough to speak out about what was happening and I think that’s important and I think I wanted people to know that I love her and I love this fan zone and please know that that’s what that is about. They’re separate to me in my mind and I want to give permission to the fandom to enjoy that show and this show and to maybe give it a rebirth and re-generate and to create new positive memories.
Q: Thank you so much for that answer and thank you for coming back because it’s a difficult coming back knowing the painful parts of this
CC: And they were parts, that’s what’s integral.
Q: What is it like for Indira stepping into the Slayer role. In 2013 things look different than in the 90’s as a slayer and as a young black woman. How does that inform her choices, her experiences.
LDH: It informs everything doesn’t it. You can even feel it by the first scene where we’re introduced to Indira. Like there is no fear here. She’s also looking at Spike and Clem to help me out, like I’m the leader in this type of situation and she takes complete ownership of that from the very beginning. Of course then you see there are certain stakes in being a Slayer that she’s not the most aware of yet but the fact that she’s already coming in with a lot of exuberance and confidence I think shows and says all that it needs to say and then for me as an actor it’s exciting to be a part of this world. You don’t get many opportunities like this, being people of color, so I just wanted to make sure that I was doing the show justice but also make sure that I was adding my own flavor my own spice.
Q: Drusilla is such an iconic character. What was it like bringing her back?
JL: I don’t necessarily think differently when I’m working with voice, theater, movies, or television. I basically do the same work and then of course there’s a different technique in different craft in each media and if it’s close up your obviously doing something a little bit different than your whole body working in theater but for me It’s really about creating or bringing back a fully well-rounded character and all the nuance and the development of the character and the contradictions of that character and then that will inform your voice vocally and will be fulsome in your portrayal. So I think that in terms of stepping back into Dru I think when you’ve inhabited a character for a long time and whether it’s on series television or in doing a long run of a play it gets sort of into your tissues in some way and it’s sort of there so I actually found it surprisingly easy to slip back into Dru. Not that I hopefully am like her in my own day-to-day life because that would be a bit scary but to pick her back up came pretty effortlessly.
Q: Is it a big change with the character from before?
JL: She’s definitely more ambitious and also she is not an appendage, she’s not subservient to anyone. She really does drive a lot of the action and so that was very interesting.
Q: Buffy has a rich history and you are stepping into a new character. How has been that experience been as you’re potentially ushering in a whole new fandom into the universe.
LDH: Yeah, it’s just amazing. You can’t put a price on that type of experience as an actor; just to be able to witness the talent of Juliet, James, James, Charisma, and Emma has been like a dream and I think that’s what’s so great about like this Audible podcast is whether you’re a veteran fan or if you’re coming into this with fresh ears fresh eyes there is something here for you to relate to an Indira, my character, she represents that in a lot of ways and even someone in my position who wasn’t very aware of the show you can come into and step into this magical world and still be able to be taken out of whatever craziness is happening in your own world.
Q: So you re-opened the Buffy door, the world has started up again. How long do we think this is going to last. Are we going to be going for years? Can my grandchildren listening to it.
JL: You tell us!
A small aside from Audible Slayers but Juliet also made her directorial debut for her movie A Place Among The Dead a genre-bending, elevated-horror film, which explores the repercussions of growing up under the sway of narcissism and psychological abuse. The movie premiered at NYCC and is now available worldwide.
One of the few offsites at NYCC Audible rented a space, which they previously used for their Sandman activation, to host “The Slayers Society” audio led, immersive activation. Upon entering the building there was a quick introduction in an entry way set-up as mausoleum with placards for the various characters in the series. Once you get inside the activation there were a few different areas that attending fans could immerse themselves in the new podcast.
The bar area was where fans were served show-themed non-alcoholic beverages.
Fans that waited were able to get a quick Tarot Reading and hear different clips from the Audible Original podcast as well as get a photo-op. Luckily, I went on Friday when it was raining and there were not a lot of people at the activation so I was able to get a quick reading.
A training room set up allowed fans to grab a quick photo and gif of themselves at the event.
While most everything fit into one room there was a second room that contained a ‘multiverse portal.’ What was essentially a glass room from the outside projected images and sound from the podcast on the inside felt like a set of infinity mirrors that made you feel as if you were travelling through a multiverse while sound and audio clips played.
Upon entering the experience fans were given a Slayers themed poker chip and a scratch card and had to find clues hidden within the are such as a basket of kittens, a chickens foot, or an eye of newt. Once you found the six clues it was time to go to the mystery swag booth where fans were given an assortment including stickers, pins, a hat, and to a very select few lucky fans a Slayers bomber jacket.
Overall Audible continues to host solid activations for their content, though an adult beverage for those old enough to partake would have been a welcome surprise. The cast even stopped by the activation to participate. Slayers: A Buffyverse Story made all nine episodes available exclusively on Audible on October 12, 2023.
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]]>The post [NYCC 2023] Geek Chic Styles Featuring Heroes & Villains first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
]]>As I mentioned in my other New York Comic Con (NYCC) round-up articles because the New York Toy Fair was so close to this show and because I felt I did a pretty good job of covering collectibles and other figures from that show I felt there was less need to focus on overlapping coverage from the two events. So for NYCC this year I wanted to branch out a bit which led me to decide to feature an area of geek culture that has really expanded over the last few years – Geek Culture Clothing and accessories (for lack of a better term).
No I don’t just mean a t-shirt with clip art of Batman or Spider-man but rather clothing that is a bit more elevated, quality, fun, and in some cases can mesh with your everyday life or a special event. These clothing pieces are sometimes subtle, sometimes flamboyant, but often done in a way that lets fans express their fandoms publicly in whatever way they want.
Most people clothing or accessories from their favorite fandom, but going more mainstream is a newer trend. A few years ago I stepped foot into this trend when I bought a button-down Batman themed shirt from Hero Within, which was a perfect blend of quality and one of my favorite characters. Other companies like Musterbrand, who I wish would come back, made subtle Star Wars jackets and sweaters that fit perfectly into my wardrobe, and last year when I went to a Smashing Pumpkins concert there was a really artistic button-down shirt that mimicked the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness artwork which I decided I needed to own. Other companies like Heroes & Villains are also producing quality curated lines with shirts, jackets, hats, and accessories and have been around for a while. Newer companies like RSVLTS have had explosive expansion and provide fun button-down shirts that fit for a geeky night out and can fit into a workday clothing if you are daring enough. So all these things plus the above mentioned issue with Toy Fair finally pushed me to look a bit more closely in this clothing space when I attended NYCC this year and so below I profiled a few, but by all means not complete, list of some brands producing clothing and accessories that fans looking to expand their wardrobe should explore.
https://heroesvillains.com/
Heroes & Villains provides creates and curates premium apparel, bags, and accessories from many iconic properties including Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Dungeons & Dragons, and more. Their goal is to present a authentic approach to what they coin wearable lifestyle gear for fans that expect more.
The reason I am starting with Heroes and Villains though is first they had a very elaborate themed booth at NYCC to debut their X-Men Academy line and second I was able to take a few minutes to talk with Doug Johnson, Creative Director at Bioworld Merchandising, about the new X-Men themed line. The line features an assortment of clothing including t-shirts, sweaters, shorts, lounge wear, pajamas, cardigans, hoodies, athletic jackets, and bomber jackets, as well as accessories such as hats, backpacks, and wristlets.
ML – At Hi-Def Ninja we are a bit more of a collectibles website but when I was contacted to talk with Heroes & Villains and with Toy Fair last week I thought it would be good to branch out my coverage at comic con and cover something new and the geek culture clothing area is starting to become a bigger market and felt like a good fit.
DJ – So it’s funny that’s your background because we really based our brands heavily on collectibles, collector culture. One of the biggest brands we follow is Sideshow, right. So we are big homies with Sideshow and we’re actually working on some projects with them and that’s where we wanted our product to sit. If our product was as elevated as where Sideshow is, that is where we want to be.
ML – Recently, as I am sure you are aware, there’s been a lot of influx of other companies joining this space and Heroes & Villains has been here for a while, even longer than them. So how do you feel Heroes & Villains fits in, your niche, or what keeps you relevant over others?
DJ – We have a design theory that’s really solid and speaks to the true fan. Everybody on the team is a fan of the properties that we work on. We do all of our research upfront and we know what’s going to resonate with our fans. We have a very grassroots ethos so we always want to be here in front of the fans, we see the same people over and over coming back. We’ve got to build that relationship like a family. Then the other differentiating piece we own is exclusive art. We don’t really use style guides a lot, we want to do a lot more inspired by. We want people to feel like they are in the universe, we want to give people the opportunity to expand the universe into their own world versus just taking Spider-Man and just slapping him on a shirt because those assets are available to everybody with a license. So if you can do something unique, that sets you apart.
ML – Even the new Wolverine hoodie, it’s very clearly Wolverine, there isn’t artwork on the front of it. It can be worn to work or at a convention.
DJ – Yeah, also pulling in the aesthetics of the Xavier campus you have the athletics vibe making it feel like it’s a legit campus or a legit school that did your part of you, that you are in the universe.
ML – So you would say when you are debuting a new line, you try to keep a cohesiveness within the line it’s not just product your trying to tell a story within that product line?
DJ – Yes, we’re trying to tell a story. Every single time we want to identify a certain gap in the story and reference.
ML – You mention do a lot of research, what kind of products would you say relate best with different licenses. Because Heroes & Villains does more than just shirts and jackets you do accessories, patches, book bags.
DJ – In the end in it all kind goes back to building that statement. So if it makes sense to have a hat in the collection then we have a hat but if doesn’t make sense we don’t.
ML – What’s been your favorite piece in this new collection and what’s been your favorite license overall to work on?
DJ – So a hundred percent best piece in the collection is the Xavier Varsity jacket; it’s comfortable and it’s just a very elevated jacket. That being said we’re very well known for our backpacks, which I carry and which I carry for years and years and it’s still amazing and no issues with it whatsoever. Every single backpack is like a commuter cell, you carry it to work, you carry it out, traveling whatever.
As far as our favorite properties to work on, I have to say I’m partial to Star Wars. I started with Star Wars, I’ve worked with Lucas for a long time. They are the ones that we launched he brand with.
ML – So you’re always looking to keep new product in with the Star Wars? Shirts? Jackets?
DJ – It’s everything we do little capsules so we just did a Sabine Wren and Ahsoka collection following the Ashoka Series and then we recently launched a clone trooper collection. So we try to identify little tiny things in this huge story and bring those to the fans.
ML – It’s interesting then as many other companies have been following the 40th anniversary trends, and we are currently in the 40th anniversary for Return of the Jedi and many companies are just doing that.
DJ – So we on Return of the Jedi at San Diego Comic-Con and what we did was we made it like a summer camp road trip type thing and we just identified the different places from Return of the Jedi like traveling to Endor, Dagobah, Tatooine. So we did the whole thing but all the same camp/color story and it turned out amazing. As long as you have a perspective behind the design it generally works.
ML – Going back to the X-Men line, which is debuting here at New York Comic Con with the whole booth being themed, I’ve really appreciate the aesthetic, the colors that are chosen, the design, so how long is the process in creating that.
DJ – So that’s like the beginning of the design process. We identify the colors, what art, and you’ll notice Heroes & Villains in general typically doesn’t use full saturation colors. We don’t sell anything that’s stark white or pitch black, it is usually a vintage black or a natural white. So we want to stay in that realm where it is a bit skewed where we take saturations down on colors. But when we start the design process I have a group of designers back at the office and when I put the creative together it’s like here’s the art, here are the colors, here’s the fabric and this is the general look and then they just go to work.
ML – That’s awesome, I hope this line works out well!
DJ – This has been the best New York Comic Con ever, one hundred percent. New York was a little difficult for us to figure out for a while. We do San Diego and Star Wars Celebration all the time but we’re beholden to Star Wars for both of those shows so New York allows us the opportunity to showcase other properties and it’s been awesome.
So that is a bit of an inside look the process of how Heroes & Villains curates a new line. I highly recommend you check them out. We also discussed what brands Heroes & Villains would like to work on which seems to include expansion from Dungeons & Dragons into other trading card and role playing games including Magic the Gathering, Critical Role all those game.
https://www.rsvlts.com/
RSVLTS [rose-uh-velts] are an apparel brand bringing officially licensed unique and daring designs from a span of movies, shows, artists, and sports. Their signature KUNUFLEX button down shirts are lightweight, soft, and stretchy; the shirts rarely wrinkle and don’t shrink in the wash. RSVLTS has been expanding rapidly over the last year or so and they on the top of my radar. They have embraced the collectors market by offering exclusives at conventions, engaging heavily with their fans, and even hosted a Mosh Eisley and RSVLTS insider event at NYCC. For NYCC they had four exclusive shirts; a Floral City variant, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a Marvel Miles Morales Spider-Man, and a Disney Alice in Wonderland Cheshire Cat shirt, as well as a Jurassic Drip Bomber jacket. I finally grabbed my first shirt from them, the Cheshire Cat, which I recently wore to another event and it got a whole heap of attention so I hope that was just the first of many.
https://shop.kidcudi.com/
At NYCC Star Trek and Kid Cudi announce a new collaboration to kick off Star Trek’s all-new “Boldly Be” campaign. The partnership features includes a capsule streetwear collection, an immersive Fortnite gaming experience, and a new single, “Heaven’s Galaxy.” The clothing line consists of tees, crewnecks, hoodies, a custom button-up t-shirt, and a leather varsity jacket. NYCC attendees were the first to be able to order the products but they are now widely available from the link above. These styles may be a bit more on the stylistic side but given the partnership and the title of the campaign this tracks with what they are going for.
https://www.baitme.com/
BAIT continues their range of collectible apparel and collectibles, from their global collaborations. Their 2023 NYCC collection focused on One Piece and Ultraman, and a Marvel Bomber Jacket.
https://culturefly.com/
CultureFly creates apparel, accessories, and subscription boxes by fans for fans. Their apparel ranges from shirts, sweaters, jackets in a unique style. They have licenses with Dungeons & Dragons, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, and a host of other properties.
https://seventhink.com/
Seventh Ink is another brand I noticed when trying to put this article together though with a bit of a twist. While most of the other companies I mention are doing licensed products most of Seventh Inks products are not. The one-man company run by run by designer/artist Matthew Johnson focuses mostly on spooky or horror themes with skeletons, bats, ghosts, and pumpkins with a lot of black and orange for that Halloween feel. The company does have a range of apparel from tees and button up shirts to leggings and dresses. Also the care Matthew has put in is noticed such as with the use of water-based inks to keep the screen printed shirts soft and vibrant. The company also produces screen prints, pins, and patches.
https://herowithinstore.com/
Tony Kim’s Hero Within company speaks to the geek in all of us looking for something fashionable. Though he has lately been focused on his Star Trek jackets line Hero Within does have licenses with DC, Marvel, Godzilla, and Dr. Who. Their button-up shirts were a nice touch of meshing work appropriate and geek culture, and their batman shirt still gets worn today since it can easily pass as a work shirt. At NYCC their focus was clearly on their Star Trek customizable jackets but I hope that they do continue to put out new varieties of clothing in the future.
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]]>The post [NYCC 2023] Panels and Parties first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
]]>Now that New York Comic Con (NYCC) is behind us it’s time again to look at some of what happened over the course of the four day convention.
At most conventions panels and screenings draw in large crowds with celebrities, panelists and experts discussing upcoming projects, retrospectives, representation, and many other topics across different fandoms. Studios bring content for their latest TV series and movies while smaller panels round out all range of topics from comics, cosplay, education, representation in industry, and everything in between. Panels also allow fans to see and experience their favorite celebrities and serve as a great way for a larger group of fans to feel connected with their fandoms and ReedPop does their best to represent this spectrum.
This year though while there were plenty of panels with loads of content because of the ongoing SAG strike most TV and Movie panels could not have celebrities to discuss their content. Unlike San Diego Comic-Con though where almost no celebrities were on hand because the strike had just started at New York Comic Con because they were prepared ReedPop were able to host a number of panels featuring celebrities though they had to be very careful when talking and instead of discussing previous projects most celebrity panelists instead discussed themselves as actors and other non-struck topics and most panels did not seem to feature a fan question area.
This convention I again didn’t attend too many panels and as mentioned above most of the celebrity ones had to be creative in the ways in which they discussed topics so where a group of actors who were all in Guardians of the Galaxy were put together into one panel as opposed to talking about their interactions on set. However many of the literary panels like Marvel’s Next Big Thing, The Robert Kirkman Walking Dead and Invincible panel, the Del Ray Star Wars Return of the Jedi From a Certain Point of View panel were able to freely discuss their projects freely.
Through their Popverse website New York Comic Con did stream panels from the larger panel rooms for those who could not attend the show in person; though it does require a membership to see this content now.
Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji & Pom Klementieff met on stage and had a lively discussion about their interactions on set of movies. It was a mostly fun panel and the actors interactions were very genuine.
Chris Evans spoke about his life, family, and pets!
Robert Kirkman discussed his two iconic series’ The Walking Dead and Invincible. Though it is not as much news now they did drop the trailer for Invincible season 2 at the panel.
On the other side of things similar to San Diego the amount of after party events seemed to increase in number and I certainly witnessed more companies hosting fan focused events. Since the opportunity arose I decided to attend a few of these exclusive events throughout the weekend which included the two studio sponsored after parties (Starz Shining Vale and Paramount+ Peak Screaming) held within the Javits Center as well as a Godzilla ’54 screening. A few other companies including RSVLTS, FigPin, and Fugitive Toys event also held events on various nights of the convention as a way to connect with fans, with events that offer food and drink and often swag.
As I mentioned in my round-up in July these events are a great way for companies to interact with their fans and provide a more exclusive experience and are great if you are lucky enough to have a group of friends also attending catch-up with them. As I always express to anyone attending a show what makes any experience special is that there are always a variety of ways a fan can tailor their show experience so covering these events not only provides a bit more information on the event hosts but also gives newcomers to conventions another way they can look to experience a show.
One of the two after parties that took place at the Javits Center was hosted by Starz to promote the upcoming second season of Shining Vale; a comedy horror series starring Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, and Mira Sorvino which follows a family that moves into a haunted house. The party was a very fun night. Along with an open bar, the hosts provided snacks, giveaways, and photo-ops all in a themed setting for the show. A DJ was also there to allow fans to cut loose on the dancefloor. I was luckily able to spend Friday night at this after-party to unwind with friends after a long day at the convention.
While there was no Fandom party at New York Comic Con Paramount+ (one of it’s main sponsors) hosted the second of the after party events at NYCC on Saturday night. There really wasn’t a theme to the party itself other than Paramount was generally promoting their streaming service to those in attendance. For those 21 and older who were lucky enough to be able to attend it was a fun night which featured an open bar, a fair amount of food, a claw game featuring prizes, and photo-ops, and a DJ for some dancing. Though sadly there were no couches to sit for the entirety of the night and no cool pillows. I was again fortunate to attend this event and spend a few hours Saturday night relaxing with some friends after the convention.
But wait as if going to one after party per night wasn’t enough, how about two. That’s right after an entirely long Saturday, from show start at 10:00 AM to show end at 7:00PM and then, through the Paramount+ Peak Screaming party I made my way all the way to the other side of Manhattan at near 11:00PM at night and landed at the Japan Society, For those not in the know, which I admit I was not until I got there, the Japan Society is the premier organization connecting Japanese arts, culture, business, and society with audiences in New York and around the world. along with Toho International the Japan Society hosted a screening of the original 1954 Godzilla movie in 35mm, The event was a way for Toho to promote the upcoming December theatrical release of Godzilla Minus One. After the screening a reception was held where food and drinks sponsored by BentOn, Sapporo USA, Brooklyn Kura, and Moshi were served. There were also photo-ops, product displays, and a Godzilla Minus One art print given out. Sadly I missed the screening as I was still at the Javits but did make it over for the reception. The Japan society had a very warm and welcoming environment so I recommend anyone interested in Japanese culture to stop by if you are in town for a visit.
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]]>The post [NYCC 2023] An Interview with Jock first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
]]>Something a bit different from me, an interview! I was able to sit down and talk with one of my favorite artists Jock at New York Comic Con. We discussed a wide range of topics from his creative process, style in art, movies, and comics, his newest venture DSTLRY and where that may be headed and his upcoming comic book Gone.
For those who are unfamiliar with him Jock is a New York Times-bestselling artist who is known for his work on comics and posters and for producing key art and concept design on many films including Ex_Machina, Annihilation, Dredd, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He has worked with numerous writers most notably including writer Andy Diggle on DC/Vertigo’s The Losers and Wytches with writer Scott Snyder.
ML – For those new or catching up what is DSTLRY as a comic publisher and how is it different from other ones?
J – In a number of ways. It’s entirely creator owned comics so it’s arguably some of the best talent in the comics industry getting to have total creative freedom to make their own stories. Also as a founding creator we have a stake in the company as well so it feels very like a band of brothers. We’re very good friends, very close to each other, and we’re all supporting each other’s books because the stuff they have coming out is honestly incredible. It’s the perfect storm of top talent being given total freedom and that’s a great thing.
ML – I’ve seen a lot of big names attached. Who is one of your favorites? You work a lot with Scott Snyder but who else?
Jock – There’s a ton; Ram V I love. James Tynion IV is doing something. Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay their book Somna comes out the month after Gone is released and I’ve read issue 1 of that and it’s incredible, really incredible. Yeah there’s so many cool people.
ML – How has the experience been starting this company from the ground up and where it’s at?
Jock – Yeah it’s been good. It’s funny even though it’s a new company I’m working with my oldest editor Will Dennis who I work with on The Losers at DC/Vertigo like 20 years ago now. So yeah, he’s my editor so even though it’s fresh and new and exciting the day-to-day is still kind of the same.
ML – And that probably has an easy feeling to slide into.
Jock – Yeah, absolutely because I’m writing and drawing my book by myself as well Will’s my main collaborator really.
ML – Your style can be a bit abstract at times. Working on art direction how do you approach the visuals when just given descriptions of a scene or a movie?
Jock – I approach it as well as I can basically; there’s a few things; I tend to like art and certainly in comics I tend to like art and a storytelling that’s quite cinematic. I love movies just as much as comics and it’s been great working on posters and films as well alongside comic books but people say how did you come about your style and I don’t really know. I try to be as clear as I can with storytelling, as dramatic and emotional as I can with the visuals, and if anything that’s my approach.
ML – And Gone is your newest book. So what’s it about and can fans look forward to in it?
Jock – Yes so Gone is a science fiction story about a little girl that gets trapped on a huge intergalactic space liner that caters for the 1%. She comes from very humble background and her family struggles to make a living and her and her buddies go down to the space port to raid for food and supplies and unfortunately on one of those raids it turns out that she gets stuck on the ship and then has to use her strength of character, perseverance, her smarts, and her wit to survive in a very alien environment.
ML – After that you mention something will be coming from Tula Lotay?
Jock – Yeah so Tula and Becky Cloonan’s book is called Somna and that comes out in I believe November. My book gone is out in 2 weeks, October 25th it lands and then Becky and Tula’s comes out in November and it’s a phenomenal.
ML – I look forward to that. I guess one last question which is a little more personal to me. With other galleries there seems to be a bit more space in that area now. Do you think DSTLRY can expand into this space as well especially as you and others have worked in that scene? Do you see that kind of expansion of creator owned portion of it?
Jock – I would say the short answers is yes. Because one of DSTLRY’s main approaches is to make very high quality merchandise. The comics themselves spot gloss, high quality books. In fact in San Diego when we launched The Devil’s Cut, which is a collection of a short stories by a lot of the creators, we did a screen print release with Eric Garza and DL Screenprinting which was essentially a screen printed poster… so the short answer is yes…and because like you say my kind of experience in the poster world I’m sure there will be some of that as well.
ML – I look forward to it because I’ve always been a fan of posters and that speaks to me as much as your comics.
So there you have it a bit of insight into the head of Jock as well as his newest projects and upcoming releases from DSTLRY. Go check it out when it finally drops on October 25th and don’t forget about Somna from Tula Lotay and Becky Cloonan when that releases on November 23rd!
Somna isn’t just another comic; it’s a journey into a world where passion and freedom clash with repression. The story revolves around Ingrid, trapped in a loveless marriage with Roland, the town’s chief witch hunter. As Roland embarks on a relentless quest to rid the town of ‘heretics’, a murder shakes the community to its core. Ingrid, with her own suspicions about the true culprit, finds herself drawn to a mysterious figure who might either hold the answers or lead her to damnation.
The post [NYCC 2023] An Interview with Jock first appeared on Hi-Def Ninja - Blu-ray SteelBooks - Pop Culture - Movie News.
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