Now that the election seems to be over (a long and exhausting 70 days ahead of us) and we are driven by political viewpoints, Nora and I are back to writing. Over the last couple months, we lost the will to create and write yet through this very challenging time we have found inspiration to write about things that we love. While having CNN on for the entirety of last week, comic books, Star Wars, and video games provided us with the distraction that we desperately needed.

Instead of the dubious feeling in our stomach watching a so called president spread lies about the vote, we were arguing over the latest episode of The Mandalorian. One of us really enjoyed the episode with the character building and the expansion of the universe into live action, while the other felt the episode lacked storytelling but enjoyed the horror aspect of the episode. It felt great to have an argument over something we love instead of dealing with the stress of the election and politics.

In times like these, it is great to have a hobby that can save us from depression and disappointment. Not only the election, but also the rising cases of Covid, Nora and I are grateful to have these distractions. We know that we have to sacrifice gatherings, we know the holidays may be different from other years, we may not be able to share moments with family this holiday season but we do not let that bring us down. We escape into the worlds that provide us happiness. Whether its swinging through the streets of New York as Spider-Man or we are on a speedster in the desert of Tatooine, we are happy.

If you are reading this, please find something that brings you direct happiness. Right now forget about the stereotypes associated with anything that brings that joy. Remember others do not dictate what you love, if you love Howard the Duck that is awesome man…. so do I.

While attending a social distancing/ goodbye party at our local comic shop, a good friend yells across a table of long boxes “Hey, we need to know what Noggin Comics thinks of DC Fandome?” We stood there with sweat soaking into my Kite Man shirt for a good thirty minutes discussing everything that came out of the global event that shook geekdom. Despite spending thirty minutes discussing it, I feel like there were things that we skipped over.

First off, in regards to comic books news, the only thing that came out of DC Fandome was the exciting news that Milestone is coming back. I love the imprint of Milestone and the characters that it introduced such as Icon, Hardwire, and Static. Talking about Static, it was announced that Static Shock is in the early stages of development for a live action film. As a kid, Static Shock was one of my favorite cartoons and was the earliest introduction to comic book characters. I look forward to hearing more about the film as well as the future of Milestone Comics.

DC Fandome opened with the Wonder Woman 84 panel, which could had very well ended the event. They decided to open the event with a bang, by releasing a new trailer to Wonder Woman 84 and giving us our first look of The Cheetah. Wow! Kristen Wiig looks incredible as Barbara Mineva/The Cheetah and Pedro Pascal looks like he will be a wonderful Maxwell Lord. With a release date of October 4, 2020, we are hopeful that it would be save enough to see this film in the theaters. Our reaction to Wonder Woman 84 was that of joy and excitement for the film and hoping it can build on the foundation that the 2017 film built.

After that was the first of many “holy shit” moments. WB Games Montreal comes out with the announcement of Gotham Knights. Being a massive fan of the Arkham series and a believer that Arkham Origins is an underrated gem of a game. The trailer for Gotham Knights opens with the death of Bruce Wayne and establishes that the game will focus on the bat-family. Gamers will get to play as Batgirl, Red Hood, Nightwing, and Robin as they take on Mr. Freeze and The Court of Owls. Yes, you read that right the Court of Owls will be in a video game. The trailer would had been enough to get me back into the world of the Arkham series, but they decided to share seven minutes of glorious gameplay. The game will have a co-op feature, look forward to grabbing some friends and playing this when it comes out next year.

Another “holy shit” moment will follow the announcement of Gotham Knights, when James Gunn dropped a hilarious panel with the cast of The Suicide Squad. First releasing a roll call video where we were introduced to the characters that the cast would be playing and all I can say is this cast is insane. Returning from the 2017 Suicide Squad (which I low-key enjoyed) are Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag. But James Gunn made sure that we knew this was going to be nothing like the previous film when it was confirmed that David Dastmalchian will be playing Polka-Dot man, Pete Davidson is Blackguard, John Cena is Peacemaker (which he describes as a douchey Captain America), and Peter Capaldi is The Thinker. I seriously thought that Idris Elba would be playing Bronze Tiger, but was blown away to find out that he is playing Bloodsport (no not after the Jean -Claude Van Damme film) and we will be getting King Shark as well. Taika Waititi has an unconfirmed role, but my gut is telling me he is doing voice over work for King Shark. James Gunn shared a pretty lengthy behind the scenes video that took my excitement for this film through the roof. Hate to compare the two films but I believe DC Comics will have a Guardians of the Galaxy like hit with this film.

The reason why most people turned into Fandome was next for the Snyder Cut. As we sat on the couch with our nerdy family members, silence overcame the room when the trailer began with a shot of Darkseid (or shall we say, Uxas) in all of his gloriousness to a haunting version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. The trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League gave all of us hope that this will be the true vision of Justice League with character development and a story that has weight to it. Snyder announced that it will be split into a 4 part mini-series and will premiere on HBO Max in 2021. Reasons to be excited for this film, Darkseid (Uxas), black suit Superman, a Cyborg story, and Flash truly using his powers. Sure I missed out on a few other things but this looks like the Justice League fans deserved. This would had been the best part of DC Fandome, if it was not for what we would witness to close the event.

Between Snyder Cut and the show ender of DC Fandome, we did get some teasers for future films, tv shows and video games. First, Black Adam with Dwayne Johnson will feature the Justice Society of America characters such as Atom Smasher, Hawkman, Cyclone, and Doctor Fate. The announcement of Doctor Fate in a live action film, damn near made me piss my pants. Black Adam is scheduled to come out in December 2021, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was pushed back due to the pandemic. The Flash will be influenced by Flashpoint with a fancy new suit and concept art that features Michel Keaton’s Batman (Holy Shit!). Red Hood is coming to Titans, as well as Barbara Gordon and Scarecrow. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a 2022 video game that looks like a blast. WWE superstar Samoa Joe is voicing King Shark in the video game, and all DC had to do was show me a trailer of a playable King Shark, but instead we got a fun trailer that introduced the whole crew. And finally Shazam 2 is titled Shazam!: Fury of the Gods and it may co-star Sinbad (Sadly, I will need to educate Nora on who Sinbad is, but we have time).

The biggest moment of the night though had to be The Batman panel with Matt Reeves. We were expecting maybe a few stills from the film or some test footage. Nope, Matt Reeves would spend close to a half hour talking about the film with a level of excitement that made us want to see the film without even seeing a trailer. Reeves would reference Dwaryn Cooke’s brilliant story Batman: Ego as an inspiration and on the film side he was inspired by films like The French Connection and Chinatown. He would also mention that the film takes place in year two of Batman and we would be getting a Gotham PD series on HBO Max that will take place during year one (Nora is beyond excited for this, since it will be based on the Gotham Central comic series). He could had stopped there and we would have been sold. Once Reeves would shock us with a trailer that clocks in at 2 minutes and 24 seconds for a film that is only 25% finished. The Trailer opens with the sound of tape as we get a distance shot of a man being tapped by what we believe is the Riddler and from there on we get one of the most insane trailers for an uncompleted film. Colin Farrell looks unrecognizable as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, we get a tease of Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Jefferey Wright being perfectly casted as Jim Gordon (before he becomes the commissioner) and Batman in action. From the tiny glimpse of Robert Pattinson as Batman, all doubt is thrown out the window, as it looks like he delivers with just hearing three words after brutally beating a criminal. Pattinson utters the iconic line “I’m Vengeance” and it won all four of us over in the room. We also are loving the black eye make up after he took off the cowl. With a release date of October 1, 2021 I will probably watch the trailer every day until we get some new footage. Seriously can say I haven’t been this excited for a Batman film since The Dark Knight Rises. Nora ordered The Batman movie logo t-shirt and hopefully will share it with me when it arrives.

DC Fandome was a major success and shows what comic conventions or conventions in general can be like during the pandemic and virtually. We will certainly tune in on September 12 for the second day of the event. From two fans of DC to DC, Thank you for this event and all that we were shown.

As the public finally got their hands on the Marvel’s Avengers for the first time with the beta, I have a few thoughts on the game as a comic fan and a gamer. Just remember it’s a beta, so the game is incomplete and things may be different come release date.

First reaction was filled with a sense of giddiness. The beta opens up with the Avengers being attacked on the Golden Gate Bridge in a dramatic and chaotic scene. This gives the opportunity to play as Thor, Hulk, Iron Man and Black Widow. Each had time to shine and show what they will bring to the game.

Thor throwing around Mjolnir gave me the same feeling as throwing the axe as Kratos in God of War. During the beta the time with Thor is limited but I do look forward to see full gameplay as Thor. Same can be said with Captain America, as we only spent a few minutes playing as Cap.

Each character feels different which is a good thing. With Hulk, it’s gonna be a powerhouse style of gameplay and button mashing. With Iron Man it’s attack by flight and distance. I’ll have to admit that I had the least amount of fun with Iron Man, maybe it was due to the flying mechanics. But being a beta, I’m optimistic that it will be ironed out by the time the game is released.

The two standout characters in the beta were Black Widow and Kamala Khan. Black Widow’s gameplay was fast, agile and a good blend of up close and distant attack. Kamala Khan’s characteristic brings humor and a sense of wonder to the game, but on top of that, her gameplay feels different and new. The ability to use her limbs to stretch across the level, also her heavy attack feels heavier opposed to her light attack.

Now I have to admit I had troubles with the servers a few times causing me to restart the game. Also had a lack of time to really dive into playing online with friends (the five friends I have on PSN, god I need more friends). Maybe I would have different feelings about that, but right now I am highly anticipating the release of this game.

Also on a side note, thank you to whoever reads this. We should hopefully post more, otherwise what’s the point of having a vision. Keep safe and hope to see you playing this game in the future.

In Honor of theDC Fandome event, we wanted to honor the greatness of DC Comics in media. This is going to being the first of lists that we come up with during the pandemic. Here we are going to countdown 10-1 of our favorite DC comics live action film, with our list consisting of different films. We are not looking at the DCEU, but DC as a whole. Don’t worry, a MCU and Marvel list will come in the near future, yes two separate lists for Marvel films.

His # 10: Man of Steel , Her # 10: Birds of Prey

Both of films have their defenders and haters, but we enjoyed both films. Let’s start with Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan and screenplay by Christina Hodson, takes the best aspect of Suicide Squad in Harley Quinn and gives the character a spotlight. Margot Robbie improves on her characterization of Harley Quinn. Despite the characterization not being comic accurate, introducing characters such as Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor in a villainous role), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and Helena Bertinelli/ The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to a mainstream audience was awesome to see. The real highlight of the film is Jurnee Smollett’s performance of Black Canary, as she commanded the screen throughout the film. To us, Birds of Prey was a Harley Quinn comic coming to life, as most of the time reading Harley Quinn, you just don’t know what to expect. As a female Centric film, Nora loved every aspect of the film. Birds of Prey barely missed the cut for Kyle.

Spoiler alert, Man of Steel will be on this countdown again. If it was not for Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill would be the definitive live action Superman. Personal opinion, the man could be perfect as superman with the right script. It has a brilliant cast with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane playing Jonathan and Martha Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor-El and Michael Shannon in an underrated performance as the evil General Zod. Remember leaving the theater, wanting more and each time we watch Man of Steel, we want a true sequel.

His #9: Batman Returns, Her #9: Batman Returns

Holy crap, Batman we agreed upon here. Up until earlier this year, Nora had never seen Tim Burton’s Batman (she lived under a rock for twenty-six years), to change that we obviously had a Batman marathon. After we finished the marathon, Kyle asked the question of what was your favorite? She replied with Batman and Robin…… no shockingly she picked the 1992 sequel. Batman Returns is a favorite for us mainly due to the three core villains that carry the film and the Burton design throughout the film. Let’s start with the first villain in Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck, within the first ten minutes of the film, you hate the guy. When watching the film, you can sense that Walken was having fun with the character. The second character is that of Danny Devito’s Penguin, Burton created a nasty version of a well known Batman character and Devito’s performance as the character makes the character jump off the screen. But the true MVP of Batman Returns and the main reason it is on this list is due to the Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as Selina Kyle/ Catwoman. Twenty-eight years later and we still have not had a performance of Catwoman that surpass that of Pfeiffer’s, but lets hope Zoe Kravitz can in the upcoming The Batman. We are both hoping that she will be the perfect fit for the role.

His #8: V for Vendetta, Her #8: Dark Knight Rises

Much like Man of Steel, V for Vendetta will show up on this list again as we disagree on the placement of the film. V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue and screenplay by the Wachowskis, takes the brilliant graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and creates an unforgettable film. The film is carried by performances of Hugo Weaving as V and Natalie Portman as Evey. Up until this film, I was not a fan of Hugo Weaving and now he is among my favorite actors due to this film. On the 5th of November, V for Vendetta will be on the TV in celebration of this fantastic film.

The Dark Knight Rises is the finale of the Nolan trilogy with Tom Hardy’s Bane as the villain and the introduction of Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle. Nora was surprised to find that the Dark Knight rises did not crack his top ten. It is a phenomenal film that is overshadowed by another film in the trilogy. The action is great with an opening scene that is unforgettable. If this list was based on the best DC films then this would have been on both lists. We are both waiting for the Robin film starring Joseph Gordon Levitt.

His #7: Wonder Woman, Her #7: Aquaman

Patty Jenkins helmed the 2017 film that was long overdue and did it deliver in terms of greatness. Gal Gadot officially replaced Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in this film and the “No Man’s Land” scene may be one of the most powerful moments in DC Comics films. The only thing that holds back this film, are the terrible villains. If it wasn’t for the poor version of Ares, this film would have cracked the top five films from DC. The chemistry between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor was a joy to watch as well, with Chris Pine being a great Steve Trevor. But now after just re-watching the film, the Ares portrayal was not as horrible as seen and perceived after the first viewing (at least to Nora).

As Wonder Woman acts a “fish out of water” tale, Aquaman showed that Atlantis needs to be explored more in live action. The Direction of James Wan proves that he can helm a superhero film and Jason Momoa proves that Aquaman is no longer a joke. Nora desperately wants more of Aquaman and Atlantis in film.

His #6: Superman 2 The Richard Donner Cut, Her #6: Man of Steel

The last time there will be a Superman film on the list but while doing this list, we realized how much of an impact that the character has had on superhero films. Granted that may be an obvious comment, but in today’s superhero films landscape, the important of Richard Donner’s Superman can be forgotten.

As a kid, Kyle remembers loving Superman: The Movie and Superman 2. Later on in life, he would finally watch the Richard Donner cut and holy crap it was like visiting the film for the first time. The cast is absolutely brilliant in the film with Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane (the best love action Lois), Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, and Terrence Stamp as General Zod.

That being said, we both hope Henry Cavill gets the chance to start as Superman in another film. Fingers crossed!

His #5: Shazam, Her #5: V for Vendetta

Did not expect to love Shazam as much as Kyle did. It was another example of great casting. Zachary Levi was perfect as Captain Marv…. I mean Shazam. The film felt like Big was smashed together with a superhero film. It’s just a fun film wonderfully directed by David F Sandberg that brings humor to the DC universe. In the recent DC films, Shazam has the best villain next to Aquaman’s Orm.

Nora’s reaction to V for Vendetta was that of “holy crap, this film is powerful” and a absolute love for Alan Moore’s masterpiece.

His #4: Watchmen, Her #4: Watchmen

Here is another film we agree on. We both love Watchmen and we know that this may be an unpopular opinion but this is Zack Snyder’s greatest film. Besides not involving a killer squid, Watchmen is ripped right from the pages and placed on the screen. Now you may realize that Batman Vs. Superman is missing from the list and that is due to this film. We are huge fans of Snyder’s work and did not want the list to be filled with Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder, so that’s why Man of Steel and Watchmen have a place on this list.

The visuals are stunning throughout the film with Dr. Manhattan feeling like a serious threat throughout the whole film. The real standout performances belong to Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach and Jeffery Dean Morgan as Edward Black/ The Comedian. Despite the length, this is a film we can watch multiple times and find a new love for the film. (Look out for a in depth post on the film in the future). Side note, if you have not watched the HBO series, do yourself a favor and watch it even if you do not like the film or graphic novel. It pulls you in from the first episode. That being said, we are do for a rewatch of it soon.

His #3: Batman, Her #3: Wonder Woman

Jack Nicholson as the Joker and a killer soundtrack from Prince, if it were not for two other brilliant characterization of the sadistic clown, Batman would be Kyle’s all time favorite DC film. Tim Burton’s vision presented a gritty and comic accurate version of the caped crusader for the first time and superhero films would never be the same again. The film is cheesy but at the same time it’s a blast to watch even thirty years later. Micheal Keaton will always be Kyle’s batman and to know that Keaton is coming back as old man Bruce Wayne has us excited for the future of DC films.

Wonder Woman was the film that made Nora fall in love with comics, the story of Diana Prince. The feeling of female empowerment was overwhelming for her and the experience of viewing this in the theater caused a huge smile across her face. And she loves rewatching it over and over. Cannot wait for Wonder Woman 84, even though it will hit theaters in the middle of a pandemic…

His #2: Joker Her #2: The Dark Knight

One performance can make a film great and that was the story of Todd Philips’ Joker. Joaquin Pheonix gives one of the greatest performance in Comic book film history as Arthur Fleck and won the academy for Best Actor for obvious reasons. Pheonix’s performance was not the only thing that stood out in the film as the score by Hildur Guonadottir. The film acting as psychological character study but also a social commentary.

We forced Nora to watch The Dark Knight on New Years Day when we found out that she had never seen the film. She was enthralled by what she saw and brought me enviousness as Kyle wanted to experience for the first time again.

His #1: The Dark Knight Her #1: Joker

We both feel like both films are among the greatest films in general. Walking out of the movie theater after viewing Joker, Nora would say “That is the greatest film I have ever seen.” Which was the same thing I said when walking out the movie theater for The Dark Knight.

Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker will never be forgotten, its one of the greatest performances of all time. But as he was great in the film, so was the whole cast. Aaron Eckhart was perfect as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. For the sake of argument, lets just say both films are absolutely brilliant.

We do hope in the next couple years this list looks different as the future of DC comics films looks extremely bright.

Comic books have a history of addressing the current political landscape and racial inequalities. Stan Lee has his famous Soapbox column that address bigotry and the X-Men have always been an allegory for inequality. In memorial of George Floyd, we were giving a half day off from work to reflect or watch the memorial service for Mr. Floyd. I want to take that time to recommend some books that address Racial inequality and have been an influence of studies and taste in my love for comics. This list will only provide a short summary of the stories, as the idea is to get more to read these books.

March by John Lewis , Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell- Published by Top Shelf Productions

Written by Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin with art by Nate Powell, March is at trilogy of books in black and white art that captures the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of Civil Rights leader and Congressman John Lewis. Each book in the trilogy focuses on different events during the Civil Rights Movement from the Freedom Riders in Book two to Selma march in Book three. March also takes place in 2009 with John Lewis preparing to attend the First inauguration of Barack Obama, this is where we find Lewis telling his story to a family in his office. This trilogy should be required reading in the educational system, much like Art Spiegleman’s Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. In times like this, March provides a history lesson that is much needed and shows the meaning for fighting in what you believe in.

Black by Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3 and Jamal Igle- Published by Black Mask Studios

Black is different in all the best kind of ways. The premise of the book being what if only black people had superpowers. Kareem Jenkins is gunned down by the police but survives and learns that he has superpowers and the government is keeping it a secret. It is a powerful story with commentary on racism and racial inequality. The cover of the trade paperback sends chills down the spine with a young black man with police surrounding him in riot gear. It is a mature book with lots of action and profanity, but the message and commentary blends effortlessly with the over the top action.

Bitter Root by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown and Sanford Greene- Published by Image Comics

Bitter Root is a fun series that allows a message to be told through monster hunting. It is currently ongoing and is on issue 7. The Sangeryes were once considered the greatest monster hunting family of all time by curing souls infected by hate. Using the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s, Bitter Root addresses racism by using the hatred as an infection that creates monsters. Bitter Root is another story for mature readers but it has humor and uses family dynamics to create a relationship with the characters. Sanford Greene’s artwork is stunning and chaotic at times. Of all the books on this list, this is the book that all comic fans can read and enjoy.

Captain America: Truth: Red, white & Black by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker. Published by Marvel Comics.

This is unlike any Captain America book that you will ever read. Steve Rodgers thought he was the only person to have been injected with the super-soldier serum, but he was wrong. This story is about the US government using a group of African-American soldiers as test subjects. It’s a tale of injustice and provides a great history lesson to go along with the typical Marvel story. Teenagers can read this book, as it’s not as mature as others on this book but still can be upsetting for some. Easily among my favorite Captain America stories.

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru- published by DC Comics

The most recent entry on the list and did it send shockwaves through the comic community. Inspired by the 1940s Superman radio serial “clan of the fiery cross” writer Gene Luen Yang crafts a tale of immigration and battling adversity. Using the symbol of hope in Superman, we see Superman protect a family and society from the evilness of the Klan. A very courageous book that is recommended for readers of all ages.

This list is only a few examples of comics and graphic novels that address social injustice and racial inequalities. Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams addressed it in their Green Lantern/Green Arrow series in the early 70’s. Milestone comics in the early 90’s was a publication of all African-American creators creating new characters, produced well known characters like Static Shock and Icon. Comics have been a place for creators and readers to express their concerns about the current landscape of politics and society as a whole.

Let’s address the elephant in the room, we disappeared on you guys, for which we apologize. But you may ask where have you been and why should I care? Well simply put, life got crazy with all the shit recently and not just Covid-19 related. The last couple month has consisted of major changes in our life and positive changes at that.

First I’m am a finally a college graduate. Done with school after 10 fucking long years. And second finally started a new career. It’s been quite busy lately but we are back!!!!

But with us being under quarantine for a little bit longer, it’s time to get back to this blog. Keep an eye out for upcoming blogs on physical vs. digital comics, countdowns & lists, and sharing our opinions on certain comics and comic related news.

We just want to thank you for discovering us or rediscovering….. and for those that have stayed with us, thank you for your patience. You guys are rockstars and please don’t be afraid to contact us. We love talking comics and everything geeky.