Holy Transforming Batmobile Batman!

We’re sure that Robin can come up with a better creative wordplay to describe what Batman’s Transforming Batmobile can do had it been more than just a play set.

Spin Master Batman Ultimate Transforming Batmobile Package
Available to purchase on Amazon USA, Walmart, Target or your favourite retailer near you.

While I’m still waiting for some creative team to write a story about the Batmobile to become a Transformer, let’s just say that thought came to mind after reading the Ghostbusters and Transformers comic-book crossover back in 2021. I wasn’t suprised that a toy was made afterwards. For Batman’s vehicle to do the same, and beat up Megatron, that will require DC Comics to give their okay. In the meantime, SpinMaster Toys has their own take with the release of the Ultimate Transforming Batmobile play set. While this car doesn’t actually convert into a metroplex, I think the seeds of some story is being laid down.

In what’s different from other giant sized city dioramas is that this one isn’t necessarilyu sentient. What’s offerd from this toy maker looks fun. And last week, this company announced that their product made the Toy Insider’s list of most wanted toys for the coming holiday season! Although Halloween is pretty much right around the corner, but the next big party will be Christmas!

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Highwater Press. From Little by Little to The Rez Doctor, This Publisher is Paving A Bright Future for Everyone!

Sometimes, reading influential books and graphic novels is enough to show how young readers can change their lives for the better, and Highwater Press is leading the way!

Highwater Press LogoHighwater Press continues to impress readers with heroes who can make a difference in everyday life. Whether this concerns a young child in Little By Little to another who desires to dream big in The Rez Doctor, just what makes these stories special is that these role models come from indigenous roots.

I’m glad this publisher has given me the opportunity to read most of their late summer and autumn catalogue of works. They opened my eyes to what anyone can be capable of. While the focus is on what these writers with First Nations upbringing can imagine up, I really enjoyed their takes on life, how to change for the better, and be more humane to one another.

For example, the Reckoner Rises (review) series shows teens coming together and learning how to use their mutant (superhero) abilities to take on the establishment. Not every graphic novel released are as simple as that. They just tackle social issues everyone should be aware of. After the discovery of a mass grave in Kamloops, the theme of how to heal and do better for a rewarding future will always be a theme. That aspect is central to what the Surviving the City series (review) is about.

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Everything Bubblegum is Back with The Complete Archive and Bubblegum Crash! Remastered through MediaOCD

Fans hoping to collect everything Bubblegum Crisis related don’t need to Bubblegum Crash with this update on upcoming releases this year and next.

Bubblegum Crash Cover ArtOne great thing that’s been consistent ever since MediaOCD  brought AnimEigo into its fold is that fans who missed crowdfunding fond this smaller company’s anime classics is that they’re bringing them back for the masses! This time, Bubblegum Crash is getting a revamped and remastered upgrade that’s sure to say that interest in this series is not being forgotten. This release is set for January 21, 2025.

The timing is terrific because in Oct will be Bubblegum Crisis: Complete Archive Art Book (Amazon link). This collection compiled by Jason Hofius features concept art, model sheets, key visuals, poster art, special magazine artwork and a lot more!

There’s lots to love about this series created by Toshimichi Suzuki, and while news of whether there will ever be a live-action version, that will still take time to gestate. The cinematic movie magic technology is here to make it good, but ultimately it’s up to the creators and Artmic to say yes to moving forward. I suspect the reason everything has stalled is due to not finding a major studio to help produce.

Opening The Veil for it’s Streaming Debut

Thankfully, the wait for The Veil to cross into streaming isn’t long, and it’s release is appropriate for the coming Halloween season.

The Veil 2023 Movie PosterRelease Date: Oct 4, 2024

Next month, Cameron Beyl‘s The Veil can be ill met by moonlight, and for those fans eager to see this film, they too can witness the wonder and experience the chills at home! This movie was released in 2023, and was making its rounds with limited theatrical screenings this year. My review of this movie can be read here, and the good news regarding the streaming release is that it will be available on all platforms.

In what I wrote before:

Not only is the cinematography gorgeous to behold but also the meaning behind this simply titled film is very telling. Here, what’s presented concerns what happens during a solar storm. In what a young Douglas (Sean O’Bryan), a then priest in training, witnesses while driving down a lonely road one night is a wonderful aurora borealis. Little does he know that its effect will cause him to have nightmares much later in life. That’s because during this green tempest, he nearly runs into an Amish girl (Rebekah Kennedy) fleeing for her life.

The Veil Trailer:

Dick Tracy. All Noir All The Time in Mad Cave Studio’s Commitment to Release More Pulps!

Fans of the pulps might want to consider looking at Dick Tracy’s new adventures in this new comic book series being distributed by Mad Cave Studios.

Dick Tracy #5 Comic Book CoverSome comic book series are better reviewed as fully stories rather than by individual chapters, and Mad Cave Studio‘s Dick Tracy flows better when I can see the tale in full. As a monthly series to provide an experience similar to the pulps, I don’t think I’d have the patience to wait for the next chapter/broadcast. I held off on publishing this review until that first adventure comes to an end, and what’s presented here feels more hard boiled than I can recall from other takes.

After enjoying this release, I also wanting to watch Warren Betty’s take on this detectvie and swoon over Madonna again. This hero made his debut in the early 30s, and I’m reasonably sure writers since then have rewritten or retconned his early life. In this latest, he’s a war veteran turned police detective. And it seems some of his past has arrived to haunt him. While his bosses say the war is over, the trauma he’s faced and everything that defines him now is worse than a ghost knocking at his door!

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When Houston Had The Blues, Nobody Can Bring Me Down!

The who’s who of everyone who was influenced by the Houton music scene can be found in this excellent documentary by Alan Swyer.

When Houston Had The BluesComing to Digital on Sept 24

Every city that’s been considered the birthplace of the Blues has a distinct sound, and When Houston Had The Blues, what’s unique to this locale is the sax. As for why that is so, everything a student of this genre would want to know is excellently answered here. This documentary curated by Alan Swyer, who also serves as director, dives deep into looking at the legends who shaped the sound.

Not only does Lightning Sam (Hopkins) get the spotlight, but also we see why a lot of prominent female artists rose to fame here. Back in the early part of the 20th century, not everyone got treated fairly–the music was often restricted to juke joints, and it wasn’t until Elvis that helped introduce the music from African-Americans and later transform it to something known as rock and roll.

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