Image Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 8, 2023

IMAGE COMICS

JAN230196 ALMIGHTY #2 (MR) $3.99

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Marvel Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 8, 2023

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Comic Books, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for March 8, 2023

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DC Comics Shipping from Lunar Distributors for March 7, 2023

DC COMICS:

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Clayton Henry), $3.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Zu Orzu Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover C Rafael Sarmento Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover D Yasmin Flores Montanez Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover E Al Kaplan Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover F Clayton Henry Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover G Megan Huang Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover H Lee Weeks Shazam Fury Of The Gods Movie Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover I Jordi Tarragona Card Stock Variant), AR

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover J Clayton Henry Foil Variant), AR

Adventures Of Superman Jon Kent #1 (Of 6)(Cover K Dan Mora Design Spot Gloss Variant), AR

Batgirls Volume 2 Bat Girl Summer TP, $19.99

Batman #133 (Cover A Jorge Jimenez), $4.99

Batman #133 (Cover B Joe Quesada Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Batman #133 (Cover C Stanley Artgerm Lau Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Batman #133 (Cover D Derrick Chew Card Stock Variant), AR

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Batman #357 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover A Ed Hannigan & Dick Giordano), $3.99

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Batman And The Joker The Deadly Duo #5 (Of 7)(Cover A Marc Silvestri), $4.99

Batman And The Joker The Deadly Duo #5 (Of 7)(Cover B Whilce Portacio Batman Variant), $4.99

Batman And The Joker The Deadly Duo #5 (Of 7)(Cover C Whilce Portacio Joker Variant), $4.99

Batman And The Joker The Deadly Duo #5 (Of 7)(Cover D Gary Frank), AR

Batman And The Joker The Deadly Duo #5 (Of 7)(Cover E Marc Silvestri), AR

Batman And The Joker The Deadly Duo #5 (Of 7)(Cover F Daniel Warren Johnson), AR

Batman Superman World’s Finest Volume 1 The Devil Nezha HC, $24.99

Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes Volume 2 TP, $16.99

Flash #794 (Cover A Taurin Clarke)(One-Minute War), $3.99

Flash #794 (Cover B Marco Dalfonso Card Stock Variant)(One-Minute War), $4.99

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Flash #794 (Cover D Jerry Ordway & Alex Sinclair Shazam Fury Of The Gods Movie Card Stock Variant)(One-Minute War), $4.99

Flash #794 (Cover E Eleonora Carlini Card Stock Variant)(One-Minute War), AR

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Joker The Man Who Stopped Laughing #6 (Cover A Carmine Di Giandomenico), $5.99

Joker The Man Who Stopped Laughing #6 (Cover B Lee Bermejo), $5.99

Joker The Man Who Stopped Laughing #6 (Cover C Kendrick Kunkka Lim), $5.99

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Monkey Prince #12 (Cover A Bernard Chang), $3.99

Monkey Prince #12 (Cover B InHyuk Lee Card Stock Variant), $4.99

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Nice House On The Lake Volume 2 TP, $19.99

Nightwing #100 (2nd Printing Cover A Bruno Redondo), $6.99

Nightwing #100 (2nd Printing Cover B Dan Mora Card Stock Variant), AR

Poison Ivy #10 (Cover A Jessica Fong), $3.99

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Static Shadows Of Dakota #2 (Of 6)(Cover C Sanford Greene Card Stock Variant), AR

Teen Titans Robin TP, $16.99

Pokemon Ash’s Atlas SC, $14.99

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Review: "CREED III" Lets Loose with Fists of Fury

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2023 (No. 1900) by Leroy Douresseaux

Creed III (2023)

Running time:  116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sports action, violence and some strong language

DIRECTOR:  Michael B. Jordan

WRITERS: Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin; from a story Ryan Coogler, Keenan Coogler, and Zach Baylin

PRODUCERS:  William Chartoff, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Glickman, Elizabeth Raposo, Charles Winkler, David Winkler, and Irwin Winker

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kramer Morgenthau (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Jessica Baclesse and Tyler Nelson

COMPOSER:  Joseph Shirley

DRAMA/SPORTS

Starring:  Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, Mila Davis-Kent, Jose Benavidez, Selenis Leyva, Florian Munteanu, Thaddeus James Mixson, Jr., Spence Moore II, Tony Bellew, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Yahya McClain, and Stephen A. Smith

Creed III is a 2023 boxing drama and sports movie directed by Michael B. Jordan.  It is the ninth entry in the Rocky film series, which began with the 1976 film, Rocky.  Creed III is also a sequel to 2018's Creed II.  In Creed III, Adonis Creed has retired on top of the boxing game, but a childhood friend who was once a boxing prodigy returns bringing trouble with him.

Creed III finds champion boxer, Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan), defending his unified heavyweight boxing championship of the world (including the WBC titles) against an old rival.  Then, he retires to the life of a boxing promoter and manager via Delphi Boxing Academy in Los Angeles with its owner, Tony “Little Duke” Evers (Wood Harris).  His wife, music producer Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson), has a thriving career, and they have a bright, inquisitive, and hearing-impaired daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent).  Life is good, but...

Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad), the wife of Donnie's late father, Apollo Creed, adopted Donnie, and he must now deal with her failing health.  Also, Donnie has been teaching Amara to fight, and that causes a clash with Bianca after an incident at Amara's school.

The most shocking turn of events is the return of Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors).  Once upon a time, Dame was an 18-year-old, “Golden Gloves-winning,” boxing prodigy (Spence Moore II).  He was also 15-year-old Donnie's (Thaddeus James Mixson, Jr.) best friend.  However, a terrible incident separated them, and now, a reunion has become a dangerous face-off.

I did not think that I would enjoy Creed III as much as I enjoyed Creed (2015) and Creed II, but I did.  I will say, however, that Creed III is not quite as good as the earlier films.  The main reason is that the screenplay, written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin with contributions for producer Ryan Coogler, is full of fanciful nonsense that would not happen in the real world of boxing.  Much of what happens in the planning and managing of fights seems illogical.  Still, the film's fight scenes are quite intense and even crazy, especially the fighting between Donnie and Dame.

Creed III, however, does not run on logic; it runs on emotions and passions.  The film's themes revolve around time and loss, and, to a lesser extent, love and longing.  Time does not heal all wounds, and the loss of opportunity can be devastating – as the film sees it.  Under the guidance of first time director, Michael B. Jordan, who is obviously also the film's star, the characters are direct – sometimes stunningly so – to each other about their feelings.  So can there be healing?

In that mode of raw emotions, Jordan, Tessa Thompson, and Wood Harris give strong performances.  Phylicia Rashad offers a poignant painful turn as Mary Anne, and Mila Davis-Kent steals scenes as young Amara Creed.  Jonathan Majors, currently a blazing hot movie star, presents Dame Anderson as crazy, but not too crazy, and as bull-in-the-china-shop who hides two decades of hurt behind his destructiveness and brutality.

Creed III”s maelstrom of emotions and feelings fascinated and got me past the plot holes.  For all the bitterness, wall-pounding, regret, and hurt that this film presents, it is about making amends.  I am impressed by Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut, and I think that fans of the previous films will really enjoy Creed III.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, March 4, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "CREED II" Stands Strongly on Its Own

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 of 2023 (No. 1899) by Leroy Douresseaux

Creed II (2018)

Running time:  130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sports action violence, language, and a scene of sensuality

DIRECTOR:  Steven Caple, Jr.

WRITERS: Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone; based on a story by Sascha Penn and Cheo Hodari Coker (based on characters created by Sylvester Stallone and Ryan Coogler)

PRODUCERS:  William Chartoff, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin King-Templeton, Charles Winkler, David Winkler, and Irwin Winker

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kramer Morgenthau (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Dana E. Glauberman, Saira Haider, and Paul Harb

COMPOSER:  Ludwig Goransson

DRAMA/SPORTS

Starring:  Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Milo Ventimiglia, Robbie Johns, Brigitte Nielsen, Andre Ward, Tony Bellew, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Max Kellerman, Jim Lampley, Roy Jones, Jr., Michael Buffer, and Scott Van Pelt

Creed II is a 2018 boxing drama and sports movies directed by Steven Caple, Jr.  It is the eighth entry in the Rocky film series, which began with the 1976 film, Rocky.  Creed II is also a sequel to 2015's Creed, which was a spin-off of the Rocky series.  In Creed II, newly crowned heavyweight champion, Adonis Creed, faces off against a boxer who is the son of the man who killed his father in the boxing ring.

Creed II opens three years after the events depicted in Creed.  Boxer Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) finally defeats his rival, Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler (Andre Ward), to win the heavyweight championship of the world.  By his side is his trainer, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), the rival-turned-friend of his late father, Apollo Creed.  Creed's widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad), who adopted Donnie as her son, is proud of him and his accomplishments.  His girlfriend, singer-songwriter Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson), also accepts his proposal of marriage

On the other side of the world, however, ghosts from his and Rocky's pasts stir. In Kyiv, Ukraine lives Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the former Soviet Union boxer who killed Apollo Creed during a bout in 1985.  After losing to Rocky in a subsequent boxing match, Ivan moved to Ukraine in exile.  Seeking an opportunity for redemption and a chance to regain glory, Ivan has been training his son, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), to be a professional boxer.  Using training methods that are practically torture, Ivan has turned Viktor into a monster of a boxer who can and has broken his opponents' bodies.

Assisted by American boxing promoter, Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby), Ivan is determined to get Viktor a match against Donnie.  For Donnie, it is a chance to settle his late father's affairs, but Rocky wants no part of such a match.  Can Donnie's body take the punishment fighting Viktor will inflict?  Donnie must also answer this question: why is he really a fighter?

As I said in my review of Creed, I have never watched the movie, Rocky, or any of its sequels in their entirety.  I doubt that I have ever watched enough of them to amount to an entire film.  I don't like boxing movies, but after watching these Creed films, I am thinking about diving into the Rocky series.

I thought director Ryan Coogler delivered some powerful work in the first Creed, and I think director Steven Caple, Jr. delivers an equally powerful film in Creed II.  Although Creed II's story is directly connected to 1985's Rocky IV, it is not as reliant on the Rocky franchise the way Creed, with its multiple intimate connections, was.

Like Coogler did in the first film, Caple gives Sylvester Stallone the space he needs to give one of his best performances as Rocky Balboa in decades.  Stallone, who also co-wrote Creed II's screenplay, actually evolves the character of Rocky, showing more about his character and life.

Caple also gets an excellent performance from Michael B. Jordan.  Jordan makes Adonis Creed seem genuine; all his hopes and dreams and the things that make him proud or angry resonate strongly in Creed II.  I dare say that Jordan is Adonis Creed the way great actors have seemingly made themselves into their characters (for instance, Harrison Ford as Han Solo and as Henry “Indiana” Jones).  Simply put, Jordan makes Donnie real.

Tessa Thompson as Bianca Taylor is good, but the character seems as if she is becoming a younger version of Phylicia Rashad's Mary Anne, and Rashad already does the mothering in this film quite well.  Dolph Lundgren is nice as Ivan Drago, delivering a layered performance as a fully developed character.  I must say, however, that Florian Munteanu is magnificent as Viktor Drago.  Viktor does not have many lines, but Munteanu tells the character's story and reveals his personality with his expressive eyes and emotive facial expressions.  Viktor Drago needs his own movie.

I did not think that I would like Creed II so much, but I love it.  I think its depictions of boxing matches are more intense than those in Creed (shout-out to Creed II's editors:  Dana E. Glauberman, Saira Haider, and Paul Harb).  The finale between Donnie and Viktor is the cherry on top of Creed II, a movie that can go toe-to-toe with the other boxing movies that I have deigned to watch.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, March 2, 2023

NOTES:

2019 Black Reel Awards:  2 nominations: “Outstanding Actor” (Michael B. Jordan) and “Outstanding Score” (Ludwig Göransson)

2019 Image Awards (NAACP): 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Michael B. Jordan)

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