MILES MORALES Exists In The MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE ... Probably

And he's got a direct connection to SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING.

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https://www.newsarama.com/35093-miles-morales-exists-in-the-marvel-cinematic-universe.html

Best Shots Reviews: NICK FURY #3, THE WILD STORM #5, CAPTAIN AMERICA: STEVE ROGERS #18, COLOSSI #3

Last week's comics are in the crosshairs in this Monday Best Shots column.

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https://www.newsarama.com/35092-best-shots-reviews-nick-fury-3-the-wild-storm-5-captain-america-steve-rogers-18-colossi-3.html

Deadpool, Vol. 4: Monkey Business - Daniel Way, Carlo Barberi & Dalibor Talajic

Deadpool, Vol. 4: Monkey Business Daniel Way, Carlo Barberi & Dalibor Talajic Genre: Graphic Novels Price: $8.99 Publish Date: June 26, 2013 Publisher: Marvel Seller: Disney Publishing Worldwide

Collects Deadpool (2008) #19-22 & Hit-Monkey. Not many people - hero, villain, mercenary or otherwise - are going to upstage the Amazing Spider-Man in a team-up. But Deadpool will have to if he'll survive the most dangerous threat he's ever faced - Hit-Monkey! Plus: The origin of Hit-Monkey revealed!

get it now at https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/deadpool-vol-4-monkey-business/id685022434?mt=11&uo=2&partnerId=11&at=1010ldoE

Preacher: “On the Road” Review

By: Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)

Preacher is a unique fusion of elements that surprise and delight audiences. The second season of the AMC show kicked off with a bang this weekend, and we’ve got a review of the premiere episode of the season right here!

Season premieres have fairly high standards to live up to, working to rekindle the interests of old viewers while pulling in a new audience. Preacher’s “On the Road” didn’t pull any punches. Explosively fun and full of thrills, “On the Road” was a perfect example of the distinctive flavor that is 100% Preacher. Foul-mouthed and violent, everything the fans of the Vertigo comic series love was jammed into this week’s episode. From a conversation about foreskins, a car chase, an apparently unstoppable pursuer, blood and guts, and the jazz that even God can’t resist, from beginning to end, the first episode of Preacher’s sophomore season was entertaining beyond measure.

“On the Road” capitalized on all the things that made the first season of Preacher great. Kooky characters, outlandish situations, and a dark undertone pervaded the opening episode, which was ridiculously fun! Cleverer than that was the seamless integration of all the players and “need to know” information for the season crammed into a single episode. Exposition may often be necessary, but it can unfortunately be boring. This week’s episode of Preacher managed to tell us what we needed to know about the unlikely trio (played by Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, and Joe Gilgun), their search for God, the frightening cowboy from hell (Graham McTavish) pursuing them, and a reminder of the power now wielded by Jesse Custer (Cooper). All the things the audience needed to know to get on board with the season were slyly melded into the story of the first episode, and it’s clearly the first stop in a wild and unpredictable ride!

Being crazy and off-kilter is not the only strength that Preacher brings to bear in the fight for television ratings. The show is appealing because it thoroughly explores the shades of gray of morality and hits on elements of faith and religion, subtly telling a deeper story than the comic shenanigans would have the audience initially believe. “On the Road” took a sharp knife to the power of Genesis and cut to the heart of the ethics behind Jesse’s use of such power (in its usual irreverent and darkly humorous way). The fabulous and empowered Tulip (Negga) draws attention to the issue of utilizing the supernatural force, and it’s clear the lines will have to be drawn at some point. Whether Tulip will be the naysaying girlfriend trying to curtail Jesse’s use of Genesis remains to be seen. Meanwhile, there is something strangely poetic about humans chasing after God with hell hot on their tails. Intentional or not, the story parallels that of mankind and religion in many ways, which adds to the appeal of Preacher.

The first season of Preacher had some hit or miss moments, losing focus and consistent pacing, but it did succeed in setting up a great foundation to build on. If “On the Road” is any indicator, the second season of the show has worked through the kinks that didn’t flow to find its solid footing on the ground of success in 2017.The first season of Preacher had some hit or miss moments, losing focus and consistent pacing, but it did succeed in setting up a great foundation to build on. If “On the Road” is any indicator, the second season of the show has worked through the kinks that didn’t flow to find its solid footing on the ground of success in 2017.

To watch Preacher yourself, tune in to AMC! And as a special treat, the second episode of season two of Preacher airs tonight at 9/8c!

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http://www.nerdhq.com/preacher-on-the-road-review/

Steven Universe #2 - Jeremy Sorese & Coleman Engle

Steven Universe #2 Jeremy Sorese & Coleman Engle Genre: Graphic Novels Price: $1.99 Publish Date: September 3, 2014 Publisher: Boom Seller: Trajectory, Inc. (Books)

Steven is in the annual Beach City Bike Race, and he and Connie are deep into training mode! But everything gets a little crazy when the Gems get involved, and Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl’s worry about Steven might do more harm than good!

get it now at https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/steven-universe-2/id975056285?mt=11&uo=2&partnerId=11&at=1010ldoE

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Returns to NYC … Sort Of

The world outside somebody's window.

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https://www.newsarama.com/35091-avengers-infinity-war-returns-to-nyc-sort-of.html

Movie Review: Netflix’s War Machine

By: Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)

Netflix invested big money in their original film production, War Machine, starring Brad Pitt. Did that investment pay off for the streaming service? Read on for a review of the film and find out!

War Machine was advertised as an absurdist war story, and on that front the film delivered as promised. High on his own hubris, a general is brought to the Middle East to take command of the forces there, and he truly believes he has the winning strategy to wrap up the war. (Spoiler: It’s not a good plan.) In a cynical look at the handling of the war and the plans of those in power, War Machine is a satirical project that aims to be a dramedy with a message. Whether that message is effectively communicated to the general viewing audience is questionable, however.

Watching War Machine, it’s fairly easy to see what the makers were trying to say. However, that focus gets a little lost in the meandering story-telling of the film (and just a few too many characters to comfortably keep track of). Everyone has met someone who rambles on and on, detouring from the main story with irrelevant details. Everyone knows what the point is, but they’re just waiting for the orator to get to that point. War Machine is the movie version of a human rambler, getting off the path and heading down the rabbit holes that go nowhere in the end. The result is a film project lacking focus and good pacing.

Part of the reason the message is lost in the rambling is that War Machine actually tries too hard to be a sardonic commentary of the conflict in Afghanistan. There is fine line between making a satire and going completely over-the-top, and War Machine unfortunately fell on the wrong side of that line. It’s as if the creators of the film were overly aware of the humor they wanted to instill in the project. Try this thought experiment on for size: Imagine someone telling you over and over again that they are cool. They declare it so frequently and vehemently, you begin to realize that if they have to inform you how cool they are, the behind-the-scenes truth is likely that they aren’t actually that cool. Now apply that same concept to Netflix’s film. War Machine keeps trying to tell the audience that it is sardonic and sarcastic, to the point where the audience begins to wonder if that’s actually true. By trying too hard, the humor didn’t evolve organically, but was forced. The actions of the story are honestly absurd enough in and of themselves, and the audience can get on board with that. It would be fairly safe to say that too much “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” weaseled its way into War Machine, making the comedy of the events uncomfortable instead of humorous.

This is not to say that War Machine is all bad. If you can look past the “trying too hard” attitude, the film has a great Catch-22 feel to it. There are some who might argue that the book Catch-22 is over the top and too unrealistic. It was the absurdist war story of its time. But just about anyone in the military or involved with the military can tell you that it’s far closer to the truth than any civilian would believe. As outrageous as War Machine tries to be, there’s a lot of truth to the story. It may fly over the heads of those who haven’t experienced it personally, but those in the know can appreciate how ridiculous reality may actually be. In fact, Pentagon reporter Helene Cooper spoke on podcast “The Daily” about the popularity of War Machine in D.C. “…everybody at the Pentagon is talking about [the movie]… It’s a very anti-Afghanistan war movie, but the guys who you think would be offended by it, love it.”

War Machine currently stands with a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.1/10 on IMDb. I might be biased as a former military member who has seen what’s behind the curtain and came away with a different perspective (and a different sense of humor). However, criticisms aside, I believe War Machine is worth the watch. (If you have Netflix, it’s a low risk investment anyway. No extra dough spent at Redbox to give the movie a try.) If nothing else, the film serves as an interesting conversation starter in the world of politics. Getting people talking is as great as reward as any in media, and there War Machine shines.

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http://www.nerdhq.com/movie-review-netflixs-war-machine/