Listen in as the boys discuss Avengers: Age of Ultron in vivid detail, the return of the X-Files, and much more.
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Category Archives: Graphic Novels
Bonesaw Comiccast – Episode 1: Marveling at Batfleck’s Dragon Balls
Celebrating the release of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, we at The Bonesaw are proud to present to you The Bonesaw Comiccast.
In our first episode, join hosts Chris Butera and Jonathan Schorr as they discuss Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Avengers, Dragon Ball, and a whole lot more.
Throwback Thursday: Superman – Red Son
In 2004, Mark Millar took Superman and asked the unthinkable: what if our hero landed in Soviet Russia instead of the United States of America?
Red Son is that terrifying three part re-imagining.
While Superman is still saving people and attempting to be the most noble creature he can be; he takes orders from Joseph Stalin and mostly protects only Russian citizens.
The few times he does set foot on American soil (while saving American citizens) he is still not greeted kindly and is feared thanks to propaganda and Lex Luthor – who is in fact the smartest man in the world, married to Lois Lane and eventually becomes President of the United States.
Once Stalin dies Superman takes control of Mother Russia to create a Utopian society with the aid of Wonder Woman. This creates a dilemma with an anarchist Batman (complete with Soviet origin). Over time Superman becomes obsessed with creating a perfect world, further separating himself from the human race.
On top of that, Luthor constantly devises plans to destroy Superman solely because he challenges Luthor’s God complex by simply existing. Luthor creates Braniac, Bizarro and even the entire Green Lantern Corps attempting kill Superman in this unbelievable take on the D.C. Universe.
Red Son reads like a film, with each page representing a scene. The illustrations by Kilian Plunkett and Dave Johnson create the noir based shots and camera angles while Paul Mounts, Andrew Robinson and Walden Wong’s vibrant, yet gritty colors bring the story to life. Red Son will glue you to its pages and suck you in with its social commentary. Every page has you wondering what will happen next with equally shocking results each time.
Red Son will make you gasp, shiver and wonder why an animated feature hasn’t been made. If there’s anything to be said, the realism of the world Millar has created in this book is shocking, controversial and a highly enjoyable masterpiece.
Jared Leto’s Joker Revealed
It’s amazing what a little studio magic can do to a person.
In honor of “The Clown Prince of Crime’s” 75th birthday, director David Ayer gave everyone the big reveal yesterday as to what actor Jared Leto (Fight Club) will look like as The Joker in the upcoming Suicide Squad film.
White as a ghost, covered in tattoos, and a lone, purple glove (Michael Jackson anyone?). Of course, Leto keeps the lyric true; fully dressing himself with that deranged, Joker smile we all know and love.
In the immortal words of Darth Vader, “Impressive…most impressive.”
With teasers all month using the “WhereIsJared” and “SuicideSquad” hashtags, Ayer cleverly built global suspense before giving the people what they wanted. It’s safe to say no one was expecting anything this awesome or unique.
In addition to Will Smith announcing his role as Deadshot, Suicide Squad looks to be one of the biggest blockbusters we’ve seen in a long time. With Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant Man poised to take this summer’s proverbial cake, it’s almost a given that DC will be taking a larger one next year.
Unless Deadpool has anything to say about it (he always does).
Trailer Feedback: Batman V Superman – Dawn of Justice
The trailer for the film comic book fans have been waiting for has finally been unveiled.
Apparently, Superman has developed a God complex with Batman taking matters into his own hands (as usual) in an effort to take him down.
Upon a statue of America’s most iconic figure we hear how all men who are given too much power is corrupted in multiple ways before cutting to Ben Affleck gazing into the hallowed eyes of the legendary cowl before a glimpse of Batman emerging from some wreckage.
Our next shot is the showdown of the world’s most recognizable superheroes straight out of Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns;” complete with high-tech bat-suit.
Cyber Bat-Fleck then utters the words “Tell me, do you bleed? You will,” before we cut to the graphic.
While we don’t exactly know what the plot is we have definitely seen some potential key development in why our heroes are fighting. However, we know the film is not going to be about them fighting alone. Regardless, we are definitely interested and are looking very forward to another trailer.
Well played Hollywood, well played.
Throwback Thursday: The Killing Joke
One of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time comes in the form of Alan Moore, Brian Bolland and John Higgins’ “The Killing Joke”.
The 1988 one-shot dives into The Joker’s past in the closest thing we get to an origin story (since the clown prince of crime prefers his origin to be multiple choice). Believing in the theory that one bad day can shatter a persons psyche, Joker uses Commissioner Jim Gordon as his personal guinea pig – tormenting him in one of the more vile crimes we’ve seen him commit.
Batman of course is on his way to rescue Gordon. With very little time on his side, he hopes that he isn’t too late or wrong in his counter-theory that willpower determines whether or not one will snap under their circumstances.
What makes The Killing Joke unique is how it develops The Joker. For the first time, we empathize for him. We see him as a tragic hero misshapen by society. There is a realism here that only Moore can tap into with his writing matched with Bolland and Higgins’s art. The Killing Joke is especially grisly in the heinous acts Joker commits for the sole purpose of proving a point.
In 2008 The Killing Joke was re-released as a deluxe edition, containing liner notes and recolored by Bolland in order to restore his artistic intentions to the novel.
There are very few novels that stand the test of time as The Killing Joke has, being one of the few story arcs kept in constant in “The New 52” series, serving as influence for Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” and being referenced in the “Arkham” games and “Batman the Animated Series”. If you’re looking to start getting into comics or just in the neighborhood of finding a great book, pick up The Killing Joke.
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