DC Comics is returning Batman to middle school in a new series for younger readers ‘Bruce Wayne: Not Super.’ The book is written by ‘Spy School’ author Stuart Gibbs and illustrated by ‘Flash’ artist Berat Pekmezci. It will feature a young Wayne going to a school where a lot of the students are superpowered, yet he is not.
“Next Spring, two new DC middle-grade graphic novels will introduce new takes on the iconic Batman—one through the eyes of a young Bruce Wayne, just discovering how he can be a Super Hero, and one through the eyes of a young Batman super-fan, who is learning how he can be like his hero,” DC Comics said on their website.
They continued, “Bruce Wayne: Not Super follows a 13-year-old Bruce Wayne as he attends an exclusive prep school for the gifted. But, in this book written by Stuart Gibbs (Spy School) with art by Berat Pekmezci (Flash), this school is for the super-gifted. Bruce doesn’t stand a chance of winning a race against the future Flash, or a swim meet against the future Aquaman, and he always gets picked last for dodgeball.”
The book is a “reimagination” of the Batman mythos with an alternative origin where Bruce will encounter future villains who are shown to be bullies in the school while a superpowered student body seems to ignore the bullying going on against the normal human students.
DC Comics describes the synopsis as follows,
“It’s hard enough being in middle school, but it’s even worse when you’re the only kid at your school who doesn’t have super-powers. Bruce does have a goal though: he wants to make a difference in the world. But how can he do that when he doesn’t have any powers? While the Future-Supers are currently content to simply use their gifts to glide through school and court popularity, Bruce struggles to figure out if he has any gifts at all — and if so, how to use them. His challenge comes when he discovers fellow student Jack Napier and his hired bully Bane shaking down lesser-powered students for money, including that hapless kid Dick Grayson. Someone must stand up to them and somehow, it’s going to be Bruce!”
The book is set to hit shelves on February 7, 2023, in both physical and digital formats.
Batman Goes To Middle School In ‘Bruce Wayne: Not Super’
Four Japanese Manga and Animation Companies Combine Forces to Form JOEN
There has been much talk over the years about the state of animation in Japan. From being overworked, being underpaid to working literally to death. After the continually growing concern about these conditions hurting the hard-at-work artists and the anime industry as a whole, there has been several attempts at making changes. Just last year, the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida vowed to bring about changes towards better pay within the animation industry. There’s also a group called Animator’s Dormitory which strives to support and help new members of the animation industry as they step into the world of animation for their first 3 years in the business.
Now a new attempt of change has been created just in May of this year. CloverWorks, WIT STUDIO, Shueisha, and Aniplex have joined together a new company focused on the production of art and animation. CloverWorks and WIT STUDIOS are the animation studio. Followed by Aniplex as the producer, with Shueisha as the publisher. With these three different sectors, they become JOEN.
They describe their vision as:
“…high-quality animation is vital to the success of creative works. As such, animation studios have begun to play a greater role in the production process, simultaneously shouldering the growing demands and expectations that accompany it. Even if the final product—or the company that created said product—is successful, it can be difficult to distribute the profits among the staff, creators, and those involved in the animation studio.
To bring about change to the present situation, we aim to collaborate with these studios to build a new business model, wherein profits are directed back to the creators. To nourish the production of high-quality animation, we as a production company would like to lay down the foundation for a long and prosperous future wherein creators can produce animation comfortably. We aspire to introduce a new structure for those involved in the creation of animation, by creating an environment that allows for the continuous production of high-quality animation while ensuring studios and creators are rewarded in line with what they produce.”
As they describe, the name JOEN comes from the word JOIN. Simply add three lines to the letter I, and you get JOEN. “These three stripes are reminiscent of the famous Japanese legend of the Three Arrows, which turned the three arrows into a Japanese symbol of unity and teamwork. Through the incorporation of these three tenets, the company will endeavor to play a supporting role, and facilitate smooth connections between organizations.”
According to the website, “We strive to support the animation industry and related ventures by taking a supporting role and allowing the people involved in planning, production, and distribution to take center stage. We’d like to rise to the challenge of establishing a new framework for the animation industry through cooperation with those who can help us accomplish this goal.
Supporting Creativity, Empowering Creators.”
Hopefully the combination of these major companies can help bring about much needed change towards a healthier environment for everyone for a stronger future of anime content production.
Source: AnimeTV-JP, JOEN Site
“Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water” Gets a New Blu-Ray Complete Set
On June 2nd, Gkids announced a new 4k restoration of the entire series of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. The sci-fi series is a 1990-1991 anime that comes from visionary director Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion). This award-winning show is loosely based on the works of Jules Verne, and its’ popularity later inspired a film, manga, and video games.
Available August 2, 2022 from GKIDS, the release features an all-new 4K restoration, and includes all 39 episodes of the series in both the original Japanese and an English dub, as well as a number of bonus features including a new booklet featuring character and mechanical designs from the series, a sneak-preview featurette, a TV spot, and more. Fans of the Nadia series can preorder their own copy for $44.98 now by visiting GKIDS.com.
Here is a summary of the story:
It’s 1889 and people from around the globe are flocking to Paris to see scientific achievements at the Exposition Universelle despite rumors of dangers lurking in the oceans. While attending the fair, teenaged inventor Jean meets Nadia, a mysterious girl who possesses a highly sought-after crystal called Blue Water. Pursued by nefarious forces, the pair journey by sea and by sky to escape their would-be captors and to discover the secret of the crystal.
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: The Complete Series Bonus Features
- NEW 4K restoration of the series
- NEW Character and Mechanical Design booklet
- TV Spot
- Sneak-Preview Featurette
- Prologue
See the trailer here:
GKids Announces “Belle” 4k UHD Collector’s Edition
The latest movie from Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu, Belle, was announced on June 1rst by GKids a 4k UHD Collector’s Edition. The film was previously released on all major digital platforms on May 3rd, and then as a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, as well as a Target exclusive Steelbook edition on May 17, 2022.
This 3-Disc Collector’s Edition Set will include the film in UHD and Blu-ray, and will be available both in the original Japanese and with an English dub. The set will also contain a bonus disc of new special features, wrapped up in beautiful deluxe packaging.
The extensive bonus features on this set include those from the previous Blu-ray/DVD release, as well as several new additions, such as new special dialogues with cast, a new interview with Takeru Satoh, a new Eric Wong interview, and more.
Here is a summary of the anime film:
Suzu is a shy, everyday high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters “U,” a massive virtual world, she escapes into the online persona of Belle, a gorgeous and globally-beloved singer. One day, her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature chased by vigilantes. As their hunt escalates, Suzu embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of this mysterious “beast” and to discover her true self in a world where you can be anyone.
Belle Collector’s Edition Bonus Features
- NEW Behind the Japanese Dub
- NEW Promo Events with Hosoda and Cast
- NEW Special Dialogues with Cast (Kaho Nakamura, Takeru Satoh, Lilas Ikuta)
- NEW Interview with Takeru Satoh
- NEW Eric Wong Interview
- The Making of BELLE
- A Conversation with Director Mamoru Hosoda
- The Music of BELLE
- Hosoda Draws Belle
- Finding the Voice of Belle
- Scene Breakdowns
- Mamoru Hosoda at Animation is Film
- Design Gallery
- Kylie McNeill Performs “Gales of Song”
- Trailers
This Collector’s Set will be available to buy on August 30th, 2022. It is available for pre-order for $51.98. You can now pre-order your copy here.
Do you think you’ll get this set?
See the trailer here:
‘The Outlaws’ Renewed For A Second Season
The dark comedy known as ‘The Outlaws’ is returning to Amazon’s Prime Video for a second season. The group of rabble-rousers will once again bring cheers to the small screen when it returns in August 2022 after an initial season of six episodes.
“Prime Video announced that The Outlaws Season Two will premiere on Friday, August 5. They also released first-look images for the witty and critically acclaimed comedy thriller from award-winning writer and director Stephen Merchant (The Office) and Elgin James (Mayans M.C., Lowriders),” Amazin said in a press release.
You can watch the show trailer below:
Prime Video describes the synopsis as follows,
“‘The Outlaws’ is a comedy thriller about a disparate group of lawbreakers thrown together to complete a community service sentence. Seven strangers from different walks of life are forced to work together to renovate a derelict community center. When one of their number gets dragged into a dangerous world of organized crime, they unite in ways none of them thought possible. Picking up a few months after the climax of Season One, in Season Two, the Outlaws still have time to serve on their sentences, but quickly realize the criminal underworld isn’t done with them yet—not by a long shot. This ragtag group of misfits’ shared past comes back to haunt them, in the shape of a terrifying London drug lord out for blood—The Dean.”
The show stars Rhianne Barreto (Hanna, Dixi) as Rani, Gamba Cole (Hanna, Guerrilla) as Ben, Stephen Merchant as Greg, Christopher Walken (Severance, The Deer Hunter) as Frank, Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark, The Nevers) as Lady Gabby, Darren Boyd (Trying, Fortitude) as John, Clare Perkins (The Wheel of Time, Suspicion) as Myrna, and Jessica Gunning (Back, Fortitude) as Diane.
‘The Outlaws’ is a co-production between the BBC, Amazon Studios, Big Talk, and Four Eyes production.
‘Our Flag Means Death’ Sails Into A Second Season At HBO Max
The pirate comedy ‘Our Flag Means Death’ is getting a second season at HBO Max after a critically successful first season of ten episodes. Series creator David Jenkins serves as the showrunner and executive producer. ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ director Taika Waititi is also an executive producer and stars in the show as the dread pirate Blackbeard.
“We felt the show was special while we were making it, but fans’ open-armed embrace of the inhabitants of the Revenge makes heading into a second season all the more sweet. Thanks to our team at HBO Max, our invested executive producers, and our wildly enthusiastic audience for making another voyage to this world possible,” Jenkins said in a press release.
The show follows actor Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet, a former aristocrat who decides to live the pirate life on board the ship Revenge. He finds friendship with Blackbeard, and later something more. Critics have praised the show for its humor, making it certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
You can watch the trailer below:
HBO describes the plot synopsis as follows,
“Season one was (very) loosely based on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby. After trading in the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede’s fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by Waititi. To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas… they found love. Now they have to survive it.”
The show also stars Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matt Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O’Neill, Guz Khan, David Fane, Rory Kinnear, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon, Fred Armisen, and Leslie Jones.
More UbiSoft Titles Coming To XBOX Game Pass In June
Hey! Do you like games overstuffed with DLC? Do you enjoy buggy gameplay that never gets fixed? Do you like the same handful of gameplay loops reused across several video game titles? Then get yourself a subscription to XBOX Game Pass because UbiSoft titles are coming this month!
Not all UbiSoft developed or published games are like that, but the company’s most prominent titles are. Regardless, if you’ve been holding out on games like Assassin’s Creed Origins or For Honor for the past few years, now is your chance to play them without directly handing UbiSoft any of your money. Instead, you’ll be giving it to Microsoft to pay for the Game Pass.
Xbox.com shared a post this week outlining the upcoming games headlining the June releases, and two AAA titles from UbiSoft made the list.
- For Honor: Marching Fire Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 1
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 7
Also releasing this month on Game Pass are a few indie titles and the return of Ninja Gaiden!:
- Chorus (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 7
- Disc Room (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 7
- Spacelines from the Far Out (Console and PC) – June 7
- Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection (Console and PC) – June 2
The following titles will be leaving XBOX’s all you can binge service on June 15th:
- Darkest Dungeon (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Greedfall (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Limbo (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Worms Rumble (Cloud, Console, and PC)
For those of you who are on the premium tier of Gass Pass (Ultimate), this month’s perks are below:
- Assassin’s Creed Origins: Deluxe Pack – June 7
Upgrade your game experience with the Deluxe Pack as you discover the origins of the Assassin’s Brotherhood. The Deluxe Pack includes: The Ambush at Sea mission, The Desert Cobra pack (including one outfit, two legendary weapons, one legendary shield, and one mount) and three Ability points. - Madden NFL 22: MUT MVP Bundle – Available now
Score Madden NFL 22 Ultimate Team MVP content including a Mahomes or Brady Elite Item and 11 Team Fantasy Packs with the MUT MVP Bundle. - Eternal Return: Skins and Boosts Premium Bundle – Available now
More skins to make your characters look even cooler! What’s not to love? Unlock A-Coin and XP Boosts and 3 skins: Midnight Shinobi Yuki, Champion Jan and Magnolia Oracle Hyejin! Everything you need to leave your mark on Lumia Island! - Smite: Slipknot Starter Pass – Available now
Unlock the Gods for Slipknot! Claim your Slipknot Starter Pass including Poseidon, Chaac, Raijin, and more!
What do you think of June’s offerings for Game Pass? Let us know below.
[Source: XBOX.com]
Disney and Lucasfilm Could Learn from the Netflix and Warner Bros Layoffs
The Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus is making waves on social media and in the Star Wars fandom, but for all the wrong reasons.
Once again, Lucasfilm’s PR and marketing staff felt that they should chastise Star Wars fandom using an official account.
Once again, they faced the backlash of a divided fandom.
The firestorm was kicked off when it was revealed that Reva actress Moses Ingram was warned by Lucasfilm that she’d likely get backlash from some fans simply for being a Black actress.
Before I go any further, I want to denounce racism. I shouldn’t have to even have to say it, because it’s 2022 and we’re all adults. But we’re talking about angry social media users, and many social media users these days have the mental capacity of a small child.
Racism should be denounced, and companies should support their employees if they’re facing legitimate racist abuse.
No doubt Moses Ingram has faced racism in her lifetime. I am not her and cannot speak to her experience.
However, Lucasfilm’s tweet could easily be taken to mean that the company truly believes a good portion of the Star Wars fanbase are, in fact, racist.
This, despite the fact that POC characters are some of the most beloved in all of Star Wars, and have been for decades. Even Darth Vader himself was voiced by a Black man.
More recently, Rosario Dawson, a POC actress portraying a very popular character previously voiced by a white woman, faced severe backlash on social media over an altercation with a trans family friend.
Lucasfilm did not pre-emptively try to stop fans from attacking her because of her race — or at all –that I can remember.
(Did whoever was running the Star Wars Twitter account at the time feel Dawson actually deserved the copious amounts of hate she got? I would hate to think it.)
The official Star Wars Twitter account doubled down on the ‘racist fan’ sentiment when they encountered more pushback from users. This is not the response of a brand account representing one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history. This is a petulant child who is delighting in the power of the platform they’ve been given.
If this were an individual expressing their own opinions, it would be more forgivable. But Disney — and Lucasfilm in particular — is having a really hard time with their employees keeping their hot takes to themselves for the good of the brand.
And it’s absolutely hurt them. Star Wars has been damaged so much more than Disney’s other properties.
Box office duds, Galaxy’s Edge initially landing with a thud and its luxury hotel becoming a laughingstock. It’s become very obvious even to casuals that Star Wars isn’t living up to its full potential, that even mainstream media is calling it out.
Publicly assuming the worst about one of the most dedicated fandoms in history is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, regardless of how they actually feel about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series itself.
‘Execute Order TADUM!’
Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery saw an opportunity to refocus their efforts on making profitable shows and movies. And part of that initiative means cleaning house of personnel that are actively harming the company’s reputation.
Netflix used a decline in subscribers and a loss of stock value as an excuse to, frankly, terminate employees they probably didn’t really want anyway.
Weeks before the layoffs, the company put out a memo that if their activism-minded employees were so offended by the content the company produced for its paying customers, that rather than change the company culture they could just leave.
In other words… please leave on your own, so we don’t have to fire you for the good of the company and deal with the fallout.
Warner Bros Discovery, under David Zaslav, has been brutally cutting divisions and staff. No corner of the Warner empire is safe. CNN+ was chopped after only three weeks.
With the economy seemingly headed into recession, and the streaming wars heating up, Disney needs every advantage to fire on all cylinders if it not only wants to survive, but thrive.
Some Lucasfilm marketing people are actively participating in anti-marketing, and it might be a good time for Disney to take a look around and see who is actually helping the company make money for its stockholders, and who is just dead weight.
Just a thought.
This piece is an Op-Ed and does not reflect the opinions of other contributors on ClownfishTV.com, our advertisers or sponsors.
‘Aeon Flux’ Stunt Almost Seriously Injured Star Charlize Theron
The 2005 box office bomb ‘Aeon Flux’ might have been based on an animated series from MTV, but it failed to impress critics or audiences. Directed by Karyn Kusama, ‘The Fate of the Furious’ Charlize Theron was tapped to play the title character. The experience proved to be more harrowing than recently thought.
SlashFilm reports that Theron recounted a story of a stunt that turned deadly when an accident occurred on set that almost severely injured her.
“You know, what happened on Aeon Flux was a very unfortunate accident, and it was very severe,” she told an Australian media outlet. “I was a centimeter away from being completely paralyzed for the rest of my life. It definitely woke me up to, OK, you have to be prepared.”
The South African actress went on to say that no one was to blame for the incident, but it definitely brought safety to the forefront of her mind.
“It was nobody’s fault, but it was just a freak accident where I landed on my neck,” she explained. “I had eight years of pain management, where I just couldn’t get rid of the spasms and the nerve damage. I ended up having a (neck) fusion four years ago, and it was the best thing I ever did. Now my body’s functioning perfectly again, and I obviously didn’t want to mess that up.”
Fortunately, she would survive the ordeal and escape relatively unscathed.
“And I love storytelling through the physical; I think it’s the ballerina in me, the fact that I started as a dancer. I’m not interested in doing stupid things, but I am interested in learning new things. It’s different to getting on a motorcycle and doing something stupid — it’s precise,” she continued.
You can watch the film trailer below:
The movie’s synopsis is listed as follows,
“In the 25th century, the Earth’s population has dwindled to a surviving five million following a devastating virus that almost resulted in the extinction of all human life 400 years earlier. Confined to one city-state, a group of rebels, led by Handler (Frances McDormand), seeks to destroy the oppressive government — first, by assassinating a high-ranking chairman (Marton Csokas). Tasked with this mission, Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) must integrate herself in a world of deceit and mystery.”
Despite having a successful box office opening, ‘Aeon Flux’ was ultimately a failure with critics, audiences, and fans of the original animated series. Many critics called the movie “dull” and a “travesty.” Despite this, Dark Horse Comics produced a prequel comic book to the movie in 2005.
‘Aeon Flux’ was based on an MTV animated sci-fi series created by Peter Chung. The show ran for three seasons between 1991 and 1995 for a total of 21 episodes.
Marvel Comics Announces New Releases From The Multiverse
Marvel Comics announced a plethora of new comic book titles to be released in June 2022. These include fan favorite characters such as Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Deadpool, the X-Men, and a host of Avengers-related titles that explore the main Marvel Universe, as well as the Multiverse.
“Meet Spider-Smasher, unravel the mystery of Binary, uncover T’Challa’s darkest secret, travel the Multiverse and more by picking up the latest titles this week! From fresh comics to collections and even Marvel Unlimited, find the full list of new releases…” they say on their website.
Their list of new comic books include:
- ALIEN (2021) #12
- AVENGERS FOREVER (2021) #6
- BLACK PANTHER (2021) #6
- CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) #38
- CARNAGE (2022) #3
- DEADPOOL: BAD BLOOD (2022) #2
- GHOST RIDER (2022) #3
- KING CONAN (2021) #5
- KNIGHTS OF X (2022) #2
- MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN (2018) #38
- MOON KNIGHT FACSIMILE EDITION (2022) #1
- SHANG-CHI (2021) #13
- STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS (2020) #23
- STAR WARS: DARTH VADER (2020) #23
- STRANGE (2022) #3
- X-MEN ’92: HOUSE OF XCII (2022) #2
They also announced two new graphic novel collections including a ‘Luke Cage Omnibus’ and ‘Marvel: June 1962 Omnibus.’ The “1962” graphic novel will feature several characters including the Hulk, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Thor, the Fantastic Four, and the villainous Dr. Doom. Spider-Man will also appear for his 60th Anniversary.
Marvel did not stop with that, they also released a series of titles that will appear on their Marvel Unlimited reading app.
These include:
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #90
- AVENGERS FOREVER #3
- BEN REILLY: SPIDER-MAN #2
- BLACK PANTHER #4
- BLACK WIDOW #14
- CAPTAIN MARVEL #36
- CARNAGE FOREVER #1
- DARK AGES #5
- DEVIL’S REIGN: SPIDER-MAN #1
- DEVIL’S REIGN: VILLAINS FOR HIRE #2
- DEVIL’S REIGN: X-MEN #2
- ELEKTRA: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD #2
- GHOST RIDER #1
- IRON MAN #17
- MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #35
- MS. MARVEL: BEYOND THE LIMIT #3
- PHOENIX SONG: ECHO #5
- SHANG-CHI #9
- SHE-HULK #2
- SILK #2
- SILVER SURFER REBIRTH #2
- STRANGE ACADEMY #16
- X-MEN UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC #37
Marvel superheroes are not the only ones who are getting some new stories. Fans will also be able to dive into the ‘Alien’ film franchise, the Star Wars galaxy, as well as fantasy with some new ‘King Conan’ titles.
