Fantasia Film Festival 2014: Interview with Writer/Director KURANDO MITSUTAKE & Actress ASAMI Gun Woman

Gun Woman is a film tailor-made for the audience at Fantasia. Intense action scenes, over the top violence, gore and a badass story. From the mind of writer-director Kurando Mitsutake, Gun Woman has been gaining a lot of positive reactions from moviegoers. If you missed the showing at Fantasia this year, don't worry, the film will be out on home video in 2015. CBNAH staff writer Panagiotis Drakopoulos interviewed Mr. Mitsutake and actress Asami of Gun Woman to chat about the genesis of the film, Asami's training and preparation for her role, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and more.  

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: Interview with Director and Writer Noboru Iguchi

For almost a decade, Noboru Iguchi's films at Fantasia have played to large audiences at the festival. The writer-director has gained a loyal and strong cult following in North America. Best known for his signature over the top gory and violence, funny humor and insane fight scenes. Not bad for someone for someone who started his career directing porn. His breakout films Machine Girl and Sukeban Boy put him on the map in Japanese cinema and gaining him much mainstream success. This year at Fantasia, Noboru Iguchi visited Montreal to promote his two films Live and Gothic Lolita Battle Bear. CBNAH staff writer Panagiotis Drakopoulos was lucky to interview with Iguchi to discuss his films, Fantasia, breast or ass man and many more.

Artists Assemble! Avengers Makeover

Artists Assemble is the weekly CBNAH drawing event.

This weeks theme is the Avengers makeover. You can choose from the all new Thor, superior Iron Man or the New Captain America. As normal all the art must be your own.

Thor by Adam Bayes

Thor by Jason Graziano

Thor by Richard Chin

Iron Man by Richard Chin

Thor by Franklin O'Neal

Captain America by Richard Chin 

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: GOAL OF THE DEAD Review by Ous Zaim

Magnificent opus of gore splatter and violence, a gruesome plate of zombies with a side of soccer. GOAL stomps all its genres tropes dead. Charismatic, light on its feet and hilarious, all offered at a demonic pace. Awesome and truly entertaining. Here, the subject of darkness is handled with subtle grace and style. Bravo on this one France, bravo! Tip of the hat to you, OF THE DEAD was mesmerizing, don't miss it once distributed.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: THE HUNTRESSES Review by Ous Zaim

Take a journey into 17th century Korea but leave your serious hat at the door, this is a movie that is anything but. Silly as knees, South Korea delivers another contender to the festival. Following a trio of beauteous bounty hunters with martial art skills rivaling their toughest opponent. The spastic tone covers a deep sadness of the past yet keeps forgetting it is sad and continues it's goofball shuffle of slapstick humor and subtle romance. Depending on the level of sap one can endure, this isn't a movie for everyone.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: THE FATAL ENCOUNTER Review by Ous Zaim

Taking place during the Joseon dynasty, the main theme of this story is ascension through tragedy. Beastly ambitions of aristocrats, painful arise of slaves, both have blood and rolling heads in common. Beautiful and meticulously organized, if not needing some work on the pacing. It is a bleak world of scheming royalty and murderous rival political factions that will capture your mind and transport you to another world.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: CHEATIN' Review by Ous Zaim

Bill Plympton's latest marvel. Always original, always energetic. Plympton's perspective is amazing and can never be cloned. Veering away from his brand of manic visual metamorphosis, CHEATIN' takes a straighter route in it's story telling style. But that doesn't take away from offering spectacular entertainment. As always, Mr. Plympton runs away with your imagination and guarantees the laughs in this bizarre, bumper car of chaotic animation.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: HWAYI: A MONSTER BOY Review by Ous Zaim

How do you overcome your fear of monsters? The solution presented in MONSTER BOY is to become one yourself, but is that the only choice? Unforgiving, brutal, and heartbreaking, no one will be left unscathed. Can cold blooded killers truly understand and offer mercy or is it all selfish projection? The performance by Yeo Jin-goo is electric. He will enter your heart like a bullet and leave traces of shrapnel, changing you forever. Pick of the week for foreign cinema.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: COLD IN JULY Review by Ous Zaim

Michael C. Hall stars as mild mannered Richard Dane, a soft-spoken husband, father and after a break-and-enter home invasion goes horrifically wrong, an accidental murderer. In a southern world of uptight manners and rampant gossip, word of said event gets around fast and Michael must face a bereaved, vengeance-driven father. But not all is as it first seems. Joined by audience favorite Don Johnson, the plot thickens as they embark on a roller coaster ride into the darker side of life where the question is asked "What do you do when your dog goes rabid?".

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: NUIGULUMAR Z (GOTHIC LOLITA BATTLE BEAR) Review by Ous Zaim

Presented by the director himself the brilliant and flamboyant Mr. Noboru Iguchi, you just couldn't help but get into a pure KAWAI! mood from the start. And let me tell you, this shiny colorful on-screen gem will indeed keep a smile plastered on your face for its duration. Adorable, unbelievable and vibrant, BATTLE BEAR brings a bright new contender to the often grim world of the super-hero. Be warned, it starts and finishes with a manic pace that makes the time rocket into super-happy joyland. A must see.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: THE HOOLIGAN FACTORY Review by Ous Zaim

A self-aware, surreal parody that takes itself lightly through out. Ridiculous and funny, the laughs in the audience was a constant echoing force. With touches of TRAINSPOTTING and FIGHT CLUB, hit on the head with a mallet by a demented cartoony spirit, FACTORY is a refreshing take on English soccer clubs. Ironic enough, and a huge thanks from this non-sporty nerdling, we don't see a single sliver of actual soccer in the entire flick. Second irony, the entire hour and a half was one big pissing contest, yet there are homo-erotic jokes sprinkled from the get-go. Buy yourself a ticket and go laugh.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: Boyhood Review by Panagiotis Drakopoulos

   Every year at Fantasia there’s one film that comes along and takes the audience into a beautiful and magical journey-- that film is Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. It’s not an opus, but a magnum opus in every sense. Something I don’t see another filmmaker daring enough to follow in Linklater’s footsteps and auteur vision.

   The film follows a young boy, Mason(Ellar Coltrane) for a period of over twelve years, from a young boy to an adult. Focusing on him growing up and his relationship with his sister(Lorelei Linklater) and divorced parents(Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke). Boyhood captures these characters in real time as they age over these twelve years. It’s the closest thing to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force meme “The Highlander was a documentary and the events happened in real time”.

   But in all seriousness, Boyhood is the best film of the year and I expect to see it win a whole bunch of awards by the end of the year. Everything from the acting to cinematography to the soundtrack was great. Linklater poured all of his emotions and resources into his film and it shows. At the core, Boyhood is about relationships, living in the moment, reflecting life like a photo album. Boyhood is something special in cinema, something that I don’t think can be duplicated. A film that transcends time and inspire a whole new generation of filmmakers. I’ll leave you with a quote from Louis Armstrong’s "What A Wonderful World" to best describe this film: “I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, they'll learn much more, Than I'll ever know.” - Panagiotis Drakopoulos    

  

   

Valiant Previews: On Sale July 30th, 2014 – ARMOR HUNTERS: HARBINGER #1 (of 3) | X-O MANOWAR #27 (ARMOR HUNTERS)‏

ARMOR HUNTERS: HARBINGER #1 (of 3) (VALIANT FIRST)
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by ROBERT GILL
Chromium & Standard Edition Cover by LEWIS LAROSA* (MAY141648/MAY141647)
Character Design Variant by CLAYTON CRAIN (MAY141649)
Armor Hunters Variant by TREVOR HAIRSINE (MAY141650)

Earth is besieged by alien enforcers, and some of the most powerful people on the planet…are the kids!

The Harbinger Renegades are still reeling from a tragic death in their ranks, but in the face of monumental destruction they’ll find unlikely allies in a fellow group of super-powerful teenagers. But is Generation Zero here to help…or are they just looking out for themselves?

CHROMIUM EDITION: $5.99 | STANDARD EDITION: $3.99
32 pgs. | T+ | ON SALE 7/30/14

X-O MANOWAR #27 (ARMOR HUNTERS)
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by DIEGO BERNARD
Cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA (MAY141653)
Variant Cover by DIEGO BERNARD (MAY141654)

Hunt it. Trap it. Kill it.

The Armor Hunters are the most dangerous fighters in the universe – unparalleled in their abilities to catch and destroy their prey. Their mission has been long and unforgiving…and has featured the destruction of many X-O Manowar armors. For the first time, we see the brutal beginnings of the Hunters…and the devastation they have vowed to combat.

$3.99 | T+ | 32 pgs. | ON SALE 7/30/14

VALIANT and PUNK YOUR CHUCKS Team for Custom-Made Footwear and Accessories‏

Via press release:

Valiant is proud to announce a new exclusive partnership with custom-painted apparel company Punk Your Chucks – the number one destination for unique, custom hand-painted Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, Vans, Nike Air Force Ones, tote bags, and more on the web! 

Beginning this July, Punk Your Chucks will offer a wide array of made-to-order footwear and accessories featuring Valiant's award-winning library of comic book characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Ninjak, Rai and many more. Made on-site at Punk Your Chucks' New York studio, each item is painted by hand and completely one of a kind. Submit your order today at PunkYourChucks.com.

Punk Your Chucks was founded by owner and artist “AKA MAG”, an urban graffiti artist originally from New York City. MAG started his love for painting, sculpting, and sketching in the cultural chaos of 1970s New York, where his playground was the city's subways, parks, rooftops, alleys, museums, zoos, and rivers. Valiant marks the latest addition to Punk Your Chucks extensive roster of licensors and celebrity clients, which currently includes Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Marky Ramone, Black Label Society, and more.

"It is an amazing honor to have this opportunity to collaborate with Valiant Comics on many upcoming projects," said MAG. "As an apparel artist, I can't think of a bigger thrill than to be asked to work with such an outstanding organization. It's going to be really cool to hit the fans with some awesome custom and production Valiant merch. Stay tuned!"

"Valiant is proud to be Punk Your Chuck's first exclusive partner in the comic book category," said Russell A. Brown, Valiant's President of Consumer Products, Promotions, and Ad Sales. "With an array of exciting, high-quality products in the works, the combination of Valiant's heroes and MAG's craftsmanship is something fans should look forward to."

DYNAMITE TO PUBLISH WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT

Will Eisner's The Spirit has a new home at Dynamite Entertainment. Dynamite reached a licensing agreement with the Eisner estate. More of this deal will be announce at SDCC this year, but best bet is we'll see a brand new reprint of both Eisner's original run and Darwyn Cook and J. Bone's run and of course a new series too.

"We are thrilled that Will Eisner's The Spirit has found a new home with Dynamite Entertainment," state Nancy and Carl Gropper of the Eisner estate in a joint announcement.  "At Dynamite, The Spirit will be joining many iconic heroes including Flash Gordon, The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, and others. Will Eisner created The Spirit in 1940 as a syndicated seven-page newspaper supplement, where The Spirit fought the villains of Central City weekly until 1952.  We're hoping to see Dynamite's new comics of The Spirit surpass the circulation of the Will Eisner's original series."

 

Ride the Ranger; Justin Gray Writes New Ongoing The Lone Ranger Series

With All Star Western ending soon, writer Justin Gray will be leaving behind Jonah Hex for a brand new The Lone Ranger series from Dynamite. Justin Gray will be joining with Rey Villegas (Lady Zorro) on art, as well as covers by John Cassaday (Uncanny Avengers, Astonishing X-Men) and Marc Laming (All-New Invaders, Kings Watch).

"We are incredibly excited to have Justin on board for this title," said Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. "We've had a great run with The Lone Ranger as one of our most consistent critically acclaimed comics, and needed someone who we could trust to fill these 'big boots,' continuing one of the best Western heroes ever.  With a track record like his, we're in for a Western comic that we won't soon forget!"

"I'm proud to be working with one of the longest standing and best known Western characters in all of literature, because to me The Lone Ranger represents a moral code, unquestionable justice, and a sense of adventure that embodies the classic American Western," says Justin Gray.

The Lone Ranger #1 is slated for release in November.