New: Saga, Ghostbusters, Boba … but where’s Grogu?
After a four-year hiatus the award-winning comic book “Saga” is back! I got my copy of the new issue Wednesday at my local comic book shop, and if you haven’t read this title yet (and are 18 or older – it is rated Mature), I highly recommend you check it out. I have blogged about this comic before – multiple times – and it made my best-of-the-decade list. Here is my review from that post:
“Saga,” written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples, is the best comic book series in the past 10 years, and I’m guessing it made lots of people’s best-of lists. Its central characters are Marko and Alana, lovers from warring planets, and their daughter, Hazel. The family is chased across the galaxy by an assassin whose sidekick is a giant, hairless, lie-detecting cat; a TV-faced robot prince; and Marko’s ex-girlfriend. See my review of the comic here: ‘Saga’ leaves you wanting more but you’ll have to wait
I finally saw the new Ghostbusters movie, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” It’s set 32 years after the events of “Ghostbusters 2” and involves Egon’s grandkids (played by Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace), who have just moved with their mother to his house, which they inherited after his death.
I liked that they did something different – focusing on kids this time around. I especially liked that it was the granddaughter who was the main brain of the story, and with her dark curls and glasses, she even looked like the late Harold Ramis.
I would have liked to have seen different ghosts this time; why did they feel the need to spin out the same spirits again? But it was fun to see the cameos from the original cast members – and Paul Rudd is always good!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably heard about the Netflix movie “Don’t Look Up.” I’m not sure why this got bad reviews. (Only 56% on Rotten Tomatoes? Really?) The plot lays out exactly how society would react if a comet was headed for Earth. Maybe it hit a bit too close to home for some viewers as it was intended as a satire of climate change deniers, but it could just as easily have been a satire about people thinking COVID is fake.
The film, written and directed by Adam McKay, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothee Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, and Scott Mescudi.
My favorite character was Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), an astronomy grad student who discovers the comet. The dialogue struck me as very funny and I laughed out loud multiple times. It captured the absurdity of our politicians and media talking heads and was alternately heartbreaking and hilarious. I loved it and watched it twice.
How refreshing was Chapter 5 of “The Book of Boba Fett” (Disney+), with the return of our beloved Din Djarin? I mean, the first four episodes were okay, but this episode was a reminder of just how good “The Mandalorian” was. I loved this episode! But did I? Or was I just excited because for the whole hour, I thought we were going to get to see Grogu? Where’s Grogu??
Seriously though, it was nice to see Mando again, and also I love Amy Sedaris as the mechanic. It was a great episode (except no Grogu!) and I hope they put a little more of this energy into the rest of the season. And hopefully we will get to see Grogu next time!
I was sad to see the end of “The Expanse”! BUT. I read an article on WinterIsComing.net that explained why the producers ended it here, and apparently it was because the next book starts up, like, 30 years later. So. I think, and hope, and pray, that there will be a spin-off series after the events of this last series. Let me go find that story for you. … Here it is:
I think that just about wraps up this post. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” coming to Paramount+ on May 5!
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2. Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One,” the novel on which the 2018 film is based, is about a teenage gamer named Wade who escapes from his crappy reality by pluggging into an online, virtual reality where anything is possible. He enters a 1980s themed contest, so as you can imagine, there are tons of fun ’80s pop culture references.
story of a girl named Patricia who discovers she can understand what the birds are saying. As someone who’s always wanted to talk to animals, the premise sucked me into this apocalyptic adventure that blends magic and technology when Patricia becomes friends with a computer genius kid named Lawrence. I also enjoyed Anders’ book of short stories, and her other novel, “The City in the Middle of the Night,” which has been optioned for series development by Sony Pictures Television. 
4. “Saga,” written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples, is the best comic book series in the past 10 years, and I’m guessing it made lots of people’s best-of lists. Its central characters are Marko and Alana, lovers from warring planets, and their daughter, Hazel. The f
enjoyed reading “The Odyssey” in college, so I was familiar with a lot of the characters already, but you don’t need to have any prior knowledge of Odysseus, or even Greek mythology, in order to enjoy the book. You might want to know that it reminds me of Maleficent in that it’s told from the villain’s side of the story. Circe is a sorceress who turns men into pigs in “The Odyssey,” but here, we find out why. I loved it and I’m hoping it will be adapted to the big screen.
6. “Monstress,” a comic by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, was introduced to me recently by a family member so I’m not even caught up yet, but what I’ve read so far, I love. And it’s adorable; it’s about a teenage girl who is possessed by a demon. Oh wait, that’s not the part that’s cute – it also has a little girl and a talking cat.
Tess Fowler (see note below), is a medieval fantasy about four women mercenaries who go on always-exciting (and sometimes raunchy) adventures. By the way, all three of the comic books on this list are published by Image Comics (and also are not for kids).
9. “Wool,” by Hugh Howey, is the first book of “Silo,” a post-apocalyptic series. It takes place in the Silo, a city that goes 144 stories under the surface of the Earth. The series is reportedly being adapted to telesvision, as is another of Howey’s series, “Beacon 23.”
is 400 years old. His body ages more slowly than the rest of us so he only looks like he’s in his 40s. I know, you’re wondering if they are making this into a film and the answer is yes! It has been reported that Benedict Cumberbatch will play the main character.
Earth to Shawna 