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Friday, December 22, 2017

Feminists and SJWs Have Destroyed Masculinity in Star Wars




There’s a big difference in the context of the narrative of the new Star Wars Trilogy and the Original Trilogy.


The Original Trilogy was presented from a Patriarchal perspective. And the narrative of the story was about a boy becoming a man on during an intergalactic war in a galaxy far, far away.


In contrast the new trilogy is presented from a Matriarchal perspective.  And due to that matriarchal perspective that’s why it’s a jumbled mess. Instead of us getting the story of Rey becoming a woman, we get the story of women being gods over men.


Thanks to Feminists and SJWs, balance has been taken out of Star Wars. Star Wars The Last Jedi is almost like watching Alice Walker’s The Color Purple in Outer Space. In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple Celie is a victim of “no good men” and every man and boy was presented in a negative light. And Celie becomes a superwoman who can open her own shop once she has a lesbian relationship that teaches her to love herself and hate every man around her.


Feminists and SJWs believe that in order to make Rey, and the women in the new Star Wars strong they have to emasculate all the men in the franchise. This is why Finn has been asexualized, Poe Dameron is presented as incompetent, and Kylo Ren is an emotional Mangina incapable of navigating through his emotions.


The men in the new trilogy movies The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi are presented as neutered and weak. Incapable of taking responsibility as leaders and incapable of solving problems on their own. Every decision made is based on emotion, not logic.


That’s a complete contrast to the original trilogy where Princess Leia went through a character transformation arc right alongside the men. During her journey we saw a woman learn how to be strong by having the strength of character to work with men she didn’t like such as Han Solo and learn to love and respect them in the field. The Original Trilogy gave us women who knew how to work on an equal playing field with men.


If anything the women in the new trilogy show how weak they are by presenting themselves as superwomen. Examples of this can be seen in Rey knowing everything that Luke learned from Han, Obi-Wan and Yoda in the first movie and Princess Leia being so adept with the force that she can fly in the vacuum of space. Instead of being people they have become caricatures of women, not people viewers can relate to and identify with like people did in the Original Trilogy.


And the men in the franchise are presented as bumbling stumbling idiots incapable of leading themselves. Flat one-dimensional caricatures of men who just live to be submissive to the women or to show how weak masculinity is in the face of female superiority.


Star Wars no longer tells the story of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It has become feminist SJW propaganda.


Damn. Just Damn.


The attempts to make the women stronger through this feminist narrative in the new trilogy are a complete betrayal to the source material.  Luke Skywalker’s journey into manhood was clearly defined by his interactions with the men in his life. Every man who he interacted with from Uncle Owen, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Yoda, and Darth Vader shaped the man he would become in Return of the Jedi. He became a Jedi like his father before him due to the men shaping him for that role.


Unfortunately, Rey’s journey into womanhood isn’t as clearly defined. And the reason why it’s not defined is because feminists and SJWs who look at Star Wars from afar want to give her Luke’s story of empowerment, but don’t want to give her the relationships or the character transformation arc that Luke has. They want things to be equal, but don’t want her to deal with equal struggles or equal hardships.


Because everything for Feminists SJWs is about making things equal for women is giving them whatever they want without having to work for it. That’s why this new trilogy is so hated by many fans.


Part of what makes the new trilogy movies not work is the perspective the writers and directors come from. When George Lucas wrote the original Star Wars, he came from the perspective of a man who came from a two-parent household. He had his father in his life and his love for his father showed in the development for the story for the original three films.


The new producers on the other hand come from an age of broken homes and single mother households. This is why The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi don’t have the depth, substance and strong interpersonal relationships the original trilogy had. Rey and Kylo Ren’s story comes from an age of single mothers who dump their kids in childcare and go on to have their lives like Leia and Han did in the movie. That’s why both are so lost. Because they come from broken homes Kylo Ren expresses his contempt for his father Han Solo by killing him, and Leia is caught up in a hyperfeminist fantasy where she thinks she’s superwoman.


If anything the first two films of the new trilogy are a commentary on the disintegration of the American family. Because most children over the last 50 years have grown up with feminist ideologies and female authority figures in places like single parent households they don’t see a value to manhood and masculinity that George Lucas did when he created the original trilogy.  And with the children in those households growing up not understanding the value in the role of men contribute to society, we’re getting a Star Wars trilogy that has all of the flash of the prequels but none of the substance of the Original Trilogy.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

What Constitutes Work Experience?

Monday, December 18, 2017

Reinventing Returning From The Dead in Comics




In comics lots of characters have died over the years. But I can only think of a few that have really resonated with readers. Outside of Wonder Man, Jean Grey, Supergirl, Barry Allen, Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn most deaths haven’t really had an emotional impact on readers.


So many comic book characters come back to life these days the plot device has no emotional impact on the reader. But there’s a story that most writers haven’t explored about a hero coming back to life.


Jim Shooter was the only writer I know of to explore that concept of what it was really like to come back from the dead in depth with Wonder Man in the pages of The Avengers. In some ways Simon Williams was a man out of time like Captain America. And while he was dealing with a new and different world, he was exploring his fears and anxieties about being alive again in a world he no longer understood.


It had to be more unnerving watching The Vision, an artificial man living the real life he never got a chance to. Seeing him married to the Scarlet Witch had to make him think about the hopes and dreams he could have achieved in a possible future if he remained alive.


While Shooter told a great story about returning from the dead with Wonder Man, I always thought there was an even greater story to be told with Jean Grey’s resurrection that never saw print. Chris Claremont and Bob Layton didn’t dig as deep with X-Factor as Shooter did with Wonder Man in The Avengers. They just put Jean with back Cyclops and acted like nothing happened. Even though Cyclops had a wife and child he ran back to Jean and abandoned his family like old garbage in Claremont’s disastrous crossover event Inferno instead of dealing with his unresolved feelings regarding her death.


For me, the deeper story would have to deal with Jean’s her fears and anxieties about having to deal with a world that had changed and people in her life she had grown close to moving on. Wondering what type of hero she wanted to be. Or even if she still wanted to ever put on a costume again.


I believe there’s much deeper story to be told about a hero coming back from the dead. But outside of Shooter, no comic book writer ever scratched the surface regarding the subject. For them, death is a poorly used plot device and a hero just comes back from the dead and goes back to life like nothing happened. But that’s not how the real world works.


As I see it, there are just so many questions a writer could try to answer writing a story on the subject of a superhero coming back from the dead. Did the character have a soul? Where did they go when they died? Heaven? Hell? Someplace in between? And would they even be interested coming back to this world again to start fighting the never-ending battle for Truth, Justice, and The American Way again?


And how does a hero adjust to getting back to life? Does an organization like S.H.I.E.LD. or The Wayne Foundation cut through the government bureaucratic red tape to help them restore their identity? What kind of job would they get? How do they find another place to live? How do they rebuild their lives? And what kind of life would they build in a completely different world than the one they knew?


I think there’d be a whole host of mental health issues a hero would have to deal with if they came back from the dead. Depression, anxiety, guilt doubt, and feelings of failure. Compound this with the stress of trying to rebuild a life in a changing world around people who are completely different than what they knew and there’s a foundation for a great character transformation arc. That’s what I believe were some of the issues Wonder Man was struggling with in those old issues of The Avengers. And that’s why he froze up in fights. I believe exploring that aspect of a superhero’s psychological issues related to returning from the dead would make for some fascinating comic storytelling.


I believe if a hero died and 15-20 years of real time passed, I believe there’d be a HUGE culture shock if they returned from the grave. In addition to dealing with a changed world, the mission they had for fighting evil would be considered obsolete by today’s standards. And the approaches they had for fighting crime would be outdated. It’d be hard for them to relate to anyone, the heroes their age they worked with would be either dead or retired, and the younger heroes like sidekicks would be adults dealing with the struggles of filling their predecessor’s boots or going in a completely different direction.


Some of the younger heroes would see that hero’s life through rose-colored™ glasses and others would express great contempt for the praise they received in the past. A few would be indifferent to them and see them as some sort of historical figure. It’d be hard to relate to for many to see them as a person like them with actual feelings.  


And I think their former supporting cast would struggle with dealing with this hero coming back. When people die, people mourn that person being gone. They miss them, then they move on with their lives. And seeing that person come back brings back a lot of painful memories they don’t want to deal with.


Then there would be the members of the rogues gallery. I think the hero’s surviving arch-enemies wouldn’t want to go back to business as usual if a hero came back to life 20 years later. Some would have moved onto feuds with other heroes, others would get out of the game altogether. A few would die old and bitter about their lifelong dream of killing that hero being unfulfilled. Many would struggle with their feelings regarding some hated and others respected.


The story of a hero returning from the dead is a concept that I believe that needs a complete overhaul. Because there’s a great character transformation arc in it and a great story to be told in the 21st Century. Just as the world has changed, the hero who returns from the dead is changing as they adapt to it. And the question is What kind of hero would they become in a new and completely different world? Would they stay true to their original mission? Or would they adopt a completely different philosophy to adjust to the changing world? Or would they just decide to hang up their cape once and for all and let the next generation take care of business? 



I think I could put a fresh take on death in comics if I wrote a story on the subject. And I think I could make it a fascinating story for a new generation of readers. Drawing from my experiences during my numerous periods of long-term unemployment I think I could tell a powerful story about a hero coming back from the dead, exploring all the mental health issues a person would have to deal with experiencing a changing world and the world’s perceptions of a person who some older people only knew in old memories and younger ones only knew in a history book. The conflicts would come from that character adjusting to the changes in their life as it restarted and running into resistance from those who had to deal with the changes in their lives from that person trying to move forward with their life. I think I could present a unique take on a hero coming back from the dead, one that would really get comic readers to appreciate this thing we call life and why we need to value every moment in it as precious.  

Friday, December 15, 2017

Shawn Reviews Dynamite’s Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3


I’ve been anticipating buying Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3 for over a month. The plot twist on the issue of #2 had me counting down the days to issue #3. And when I got to the library this Wednesday, the first thing I did when I logged on was go right to the Dynamite Website to pick up my digital copy.


And that issue DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella finally gives us the big fight between Cassie Hack and Vampirella. Well, a Cassie Hack possessed by the Blood Red queen of Hearts. The battle of the Bats is fast and furious leading up to a climax where Vampirella takes a bite out of Cassie to take the fight out of her.


However, while the battle between Cassie and Vampirella is short and sweet, it’s full of feels. After the battle of the bats Writer Shawn Aldridge does an AMAZING job of taking us into Cassie Hack’s past in a delirium sequence. While the Blood Red Queen tries to mindfuck Cassie, this sequence seamlessly brings new readers up to speed with the Hack/Slash continuity and shows us why Cassie Hack is the killer of killers. Everything in this mini could easily be used as the foundation for a new Hack/Slash ongoing series. Make it happen Dynamite! I’ll buy the hell out of it!


After Vampi takes a bite out of Cassie, (She doesn’t become a vampire because Drakulons don’t roll like that.) the ladies and Vlad regroup. With her out of Cassie’s body, they’re wondering where the Blood Red Queen is. She shows up in the most surprising way at the last panel. The way she brings down Vampirella has me counting down the days to find out what happens in the next issue!


Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3 read a lot FASTER than issues 1 and 2. The action was so fast paced in this comic I read through this one in less than 10 minutes! The writing and art sequences on this one were really well done. The first couple of pages of Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella#3 reminded me of some chapters in my book Isis: Bride of Dracula. Vlad’s concern for Cassie mirrored that of John Haynes’ concern for Isis after Dracula hypnotized her to make her his bride. I really enjoyed seeing Shawn Aldridge bringing in Cassie Hack’s past into the story and explaining how Drakulonian Vampires are different than regular vampires. Those little touches made this story feel less like a crossover and more like a great stand alone story between two characters in a shared universe.


With this series Dynamite has shown that they have a great handle on Cassie Hack and Vlad. And with Tim Seely currently working at Dynamite, A new Hack/Slash series would be a great fit with Dynamite’s other franchise characters like Vampirella, Red Sonja, and Deja Thoris. Please make it happen Dynamite! PLEASE!


So far Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella has been a GREAT miniseries. Lots of fast paced action and lots of AWESOME twists and turns in the story. I’m looking forward to picking up issue #4 in 30 days. 2018 can’t come fast enough!

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Isis: All That Glitters Sample Chapter





Last week I finished a new Isis series story Isis: All That Glitters. In this story the goddess next door takes on a bikini clad bank robber with a taste for the finer things in life.

With this story I’m trying to write a basic comic book story where a hero does something simple like take on a bank robber. We don’t see that kind of story in comics anymore and it’s a shame. It’s this kind of story that shows readers how superheroes protect the community and has a relationship with people in the neighborhoods they serve. It’s stories like this that show new readers who a superhero is, what they do for them and why they should care about them.

Chapter 1

I see my breath blow before my face as a flash of light takes me from the warm offices of the Morris Phillips executive suite to the chilly sidewalk on 23rd Street in Chelsea. After I get out of the bank, I think I’ll head over to Victoria’s Secret to pick up that nightgown I saw yesterday-
Just as I’m about to head into the Chase bank branch, my iPhone rings. When I see John’s phone number I frown. I know executives work twenty-four hours a day seven days a week, but I’d like to think a sista could get a moment to run some errands on her day off. “You do know I’m off the clock John boy-”
“I’d like to think it’d be hard to do shopping without a way to pay for it Princess.” E’steem says.
“I just got paid-”
“You left your ATM card on my desk.”
Must have left it there when I was shopping online. “Guess I was in a bit of a hurry to get out of the office.”
“So you want to pop back in and pick it up?”
I could, but that’d take precious seconds away from my lunchtime shopping trip. “I won’t need it.” I say pushing past the tall wood and glass door of the bank branch. “Back in the good old days of the 1940s we had these people at the bank called tellers-”
“You know they still have tellers at banks-” 
They call them customer service associates these days. “Humor an old lady for a minute willya.” I say walking through the vestibule past the ATMs. “Now back then they had these little slips of paper called Withdrawals. We’d fill em’ out present, em’ to the teller and then they’d give you cash money you could spend anyplace you liked.”
“You and your old fashioned ways.” E’steem laughs.
“That’s how we used to do it in the olden days of the twentieth century.”
After I get off the phone with E’steem, I head over to one of the tables in the corner get a withdrawal slip and fill it out. As I get on the back of the long line near the door to wait for the tellers, I count ten heads. Maybe I should have gone back for my ATM card-
Just as I’m pondering that thought, cold air blows behind me as the door opens. A tall attractive blonde woman with a tan saunters onto the bank floor wearing only a white bikini and strappy sandals. With it being forty degrees outside, this has to be some sort of reality show stunt.
Several people on the line behind me get out their smartphones to get pictures of the blonde in the bikini as the bank manager comes out from behind the swinging door of the office area. As the stout man in the pinstripe suit approaches her he’s completely intimidated by her beauty. “Can I help you miss?” He asks.
“I’m here to make a withdrawal.” The woman says.
“Would you like a withdrawal slip?”
The woman flashes him a smile. “No thanks, I’ll get it myself.”
The bank manager’s jaw falls agape when the woman struts past him and through the swinging door he came through. He and the elderly security guard patrolling the floor are dumbfounded as she marches over to the vault door on the far side of the bank. My eyes grow wide as she grabs the solid steel door and tears it right off the hinges like cardboard.
After she props the door on the wall beside her, she strolls in and starts stuffing her designer handbag with stacks of money. I’m about to step out from behind the velvet rope to stop the robbery when the guard rushes past me. “D-Drop the money miss.” He orders pulling out his gun.
The blonde turns to the guard with an annoyed look on her face. “You better put that thing away before you hurt yourself.” She laughs. “You’re not man enough to take on this much woman.”
The air explodes as the terrified guard empties his gun in the direction of the safe. The customers who were on line recording the robber scramble for the exit on hearing the gunfire. As I dart over to the table with the bank slips near the door I’m shocked to see the bullets bounce off her breasts like Jell-O.
After his six-shooter runs out of bullets, the blonde scowls at the guard. She slings her bag over her shoulder and storms over to him. “Looks like you shot your load big man.” She says snatching the gun from him. “But it’s still not enough to satisfy me.”
Standing in the presence of the beautiful bikini clad blonde, the old man clutches his chest and crumples to the ground. She crumples his .38 revolver like tissue paper and hands it to the bank manager. “Something to remember me by.”
After taking the crumpled gun, the bank manager faints and falls on top of the guard. On seeing the men fall at her feet, the blonde has a smug smile on her face as she steps over them and starts strolling towards the door. Before she can reach it, I step out from behind the table and meet her blue eyes with mine. “Excuse me, can I see a receipt for that withdrawal?”
The blonde rolls her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna play the superhero concerned citizen-”
“Goddess.”
“I look the part more than you stringbean.” The blonde says looking me up and down.
“That’s what you think Goldilocks-”
“That’s Golden Shine.” She corrects flipping back her long blonde hair. “And you’re gonna find there’s more to this beach body than meets the eye.”
“Tell it to the cops when you wake up in Central Booking-”
I throw a punch at Golden Shine; she catches my fist with her manicured hand before it connects with her face. I knew she was strong, but I didn’t think she’d be strong enough to hold me back. “You’re good beanpole.” Golden Shine says. “But you just can’t beat perfection.”
Golden Shine grabs my arm and twirls me around. The room is a blur as I hear glass shattering and feel pebbles of raining down on me as my body skids on the floor of the vestibule. I hear Golden Shine’s heels stepping through the shattered doorway. I scramble to my feet and point daggers at her. “Still want some more of this Princess?” Golden Shine asks.
“You’re not leaving here with that money.”
“Guess I’m gonna have to teach you why you shouldn’t mess with the beautiful people.” Golden Shine says shrugging her shoulders.
Golden Shine drops her bag of loot on the floor and gets into a fighting stance. I swing on her; she dodges the punch and hits me with a right cross that sends me stumbling around the vestibule. Before I can recover, I’m grabbed by the back of my leather jacket and the waistband of my jeans. My eyes grow wide when I feel my three hundred pound body being hoisted in the air like a sack of potatoes. I catch the evil grin on her face reflected in the tall picture windows of the bank’s entrance. She laughs as the pane of glass explodes around me and I crash onto the sidewalk.
I hear Golden Shine’s designer sandals pounding into the concrete a few feet away as I shake the stars out of my head. Once I get my faculties together, I see Golden Shine strutting out of the bank and getting a key fob out of her bag and pressing it. When she steps into a White Bentley Continental coupe and starts it up I frown. Oh no, she’s not getting away from me.
Golden Shine’s car burns rubber as it bolts down Sixth Avenue. I take off into the street right behind her. In a few moments I’m catching up with her car and I’ve got her bumper in my hands. Then I feel surge of electricity jolt my body. I let out a scream as I’m forced to let it go.
My limp body tumbles into the street. As I look up I see all the midday traffic racing down Sixth Avenue in my direction. I barely have a moment to disappear into a flash of light before I’m run over. 
***
Isis: All That Glitters will be out…Eventually. I have four Isis series books on the shelf and they’re delayed due to a shortage of funds to pay for the covers. So if you could donate to my Patreon or my Paypal or give me some leads on a full-time job in New York City I could start clearing up the Isis series backlog and get those books out to you!


NOTE: Dynamite’s Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3 comes out today. So there’ll be a review up of that issue on Friday’s blog!

Friday, December 8, 2017

John Haynes Series Progress Report



In between editing The Legendary Mad Matilda, editing E’steem: Ascension and writing new Isis and E’steem stories I’ve been putting together the framework for a new John Haynes series.



The momentum for a John Haynes series has been building for a while. To let readers get to know John, I’ve featured him in numerous Isis series books like Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess.


And I took readers into John’s world in Isis: Night of theVampires, E’steem Undercover and Isis: Bride of Dracula as a supporting character. And he’ll be featured in the upcoming Isis: Escape From Translyvania and Isis: Revenge of the Cybergoddess.









John also had his own solo story The Man Who Rules the World in 2016.  And interest in the character has remained strong.


I’ve completed the first story in the series, A Conversation With Death, a short in the style of E’steem: No Good Deed. A Conversation With Death deals with the aftermath of The Man Who Rules The World and will be a teaser to set up the John character and the character transformation arc he’ll go through in his storyline.  


I’m still working out the outlines for the first two stories for the John Haynes series and the members of John’s supporting cast. But E’steem will feature prominently in a John Haynes series. While she has her own series, E’steem is John’s his right hand woman and will always be at his side.


And Lilith Graves from Isis: Night of the Vampires will be a major character in John’s series. While E’steem is his right hand woman, Lililth is his left hand. As someone who knows all about Morris Phillips corporate culture, she gives him some perspective on things he wouldn’t get from E’steem. As an ex-vampire Lilith will give us more insight into the Vampire culture in Lucifer’s Legion.


Claudius Johnson from E’steem: Demons Anonymous will also appear in one of the first two stories I’m planning called Dark Succubus. And he’ll show us some insight into Incubus/Succubus demons and their culture in Lucifer’s Legion.


As for bad guys Lucifer is still the lead villain. However, there will be some new demon rogues like the Succubus, and some of the corporate underlings like Brent Morrison. And depending on how things work out Dracula could possibly make another appearance.

And Brimstone Jack. I gotta bring Brimstone Jack back. Because he’s a demon pimp who sounds like Ice-T. And he’s got demon strippers. And Demon strippers are awesome.

The John Haynes series will be a dark spooky fantasy/horror series in the style of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Ghostbusters and Supernatural. It’ll still follow the keep the Monster High all Grown up theme I established with the E’steem series.



I’m working on trying to get out the first John Haynes story sometime in 2018. So until then pick up his appearances in the Isis series, the E’steem Series, The Man Who Rules the World and The Temptation of John Haynes.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017


STOP SIMPIN IN THE WORKPLACE NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK


ISBN: 978-1979924177
ISBN-10: 1979924171

$14.99

What is a Workplace Simp? A Workplace Simp is a man who puts his career at risk trying to win the favor of a female co-worker on the job. In his quest to get her attention, he costs the company he works for hours of productivity and billions of dollars in court costs and legal fees.

In this book men will learn why Simpin in the workplace has them working against themselves and prevents them from achieving their personal and professional goals on the job.

After many requests, I’ve made one of my more popular eBooks STOP SIMPIN in the Workplace available in paperback! With Stop Simpin in the Workplace men will be able to identify male and female workplace predators and protect their jobs from these individuals who would threaten their livelihoods. 

In these troubling times where sexual harassment allegations from predatory females are taking down prominent men, Stop Simpin In TheWorkplace is essential reading for every man and boy entering the workforce.


Friday, December 1, 2017

Comic Artists I’d like To See Draw My Characters




Over the last few years I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to see many of my characters drawn by awesome comic artists like Mike Williams, Bill Walko, and Terry Beatty. However, there are a bunch of veteran comic artists I’d love to see draw characters like Isis, John Haynes, E’steem and Matilda Crowley. 


Some of the artists I’d love to render my characters include:


Darryl Banks- I was a big fan of Darryl Banks Green Lantern run back in the 1990’s. And when I look at his comics I could easily see him being the artist on an Isis comic book. I think he’d draw a GREAT Isis and he’d really do a great job of drawing up Isis’ rogues like Amari and The Cybergoddess. And I know he’d draw an AMAZING E’steem!


Keith Pollard- I really like Keith’s style. Very clean and simple. And I think he’d do a great job rendering a character like Isis or John Haynes. I could easily see him doing an Isis or E’steem series cover. Keith Pollard drawing demon E’steem or Demon strippers would look AWESOME!


Josh Howard- I LOVE Josh Howard’s art! And I really want to feature it on a cover. His style really pops and I think he’d draw a really dynamic Isis, E’steem or John Haynes in his style.  And with all the AWESOME Goth girls he’s drawn I know he’d draw an AMAZING Spinsterella.


Rundotexe- Rundotexe submitted digital fanart so AWESOME I had to feature it on the Spinsterella cover. After seeing his STUNNING interpretation of Matilda Crowley I’d love to see what his version of Isis or E’steem would look like on a cover.


George Perez- When I was writing The Man Who Rules the World I imagined it looking like a George Perez comic book in my head. Lots of big epic panels filled with incredible details.

With Perez having a waitlist for sketches, it’d be a longshot to work with him. But whatever he drew would be AWESOME!


Walt Simonson- I LOVE his Thor. And seeing how amazing he made the Norse gods look I wonder what he’d do with the Egyptian gods in New Heliopolis. The way I see it Simonson’s art style+Egyptian Mythology+Black actors=AWESOME! 


John Byrne- Sometimes when I used to write stories I used see panels like a John Byrne comic. And It’d be a dream come true to see Byrne render my characters on a cover or a story. Like Perez, there’s a long waitlist for Byrne art, so it’d be a 99 to1 longshot to ever work on him on a cover or a comic.  


Bruce Timm- Yeah, this is a longshot. But Bruce Timm’s cartoons were a major influence on my writing. And Batman Beyond was one of the major inspirations for my interpretation of the Egyptian gods. And I’d love to see what his versions of Isis, E’steem, John Haynes and Spinsterella would look like. I think he’d make them look Kickass!


John Romita Sr. I think his style is PERFECT for Isis! I’d love to see his version of the goddess next door because he’d give her a great girl next door look. I know a Romita Sr. Isis cover would be a masterpiece!


John Romita Jr. When I was writing Spellbound I actually imagined certain scenes like panels of a JRJR comic. And his run on Daredevil with Ann Nocenti was one of the major influences on the development of the story of Matilda’s babybat years. Seeing how he designed Typhoid Mary, I know His style would be perfect for depicting the grim N’ gritty late 1980s Harlem Matilda Crowley lived in. 


Alex Ross- There’s just so much emotion and energy in his paintings. And I know he’d paint an INCREDIBLE Temptation of John Haynes cover. He’d definitely convey the quiet strength John has and his intensity in a painting.  And he’d convey the humanity behind E’steem’s reptile eyes in the same piece. His rates are extremely expensive, but I think it’d definitely be worth the cost to see Ross’ version of John Haynes.

I’d also love to see Ross’ version of Isis. I think he’d do a great job of conveying the Tomboyish girl next door in her face while conveying the beauty of a goddess. A Ross Isis would be a fun piece to see! 



To work with any of these artists would be an honor. And it’d be a dream come true just to see my characters rendered by some of the legends like Keith Pollard, George Perez, and Walt Simonson. Will I ever work with any of these artists on a cover or a comic in the future? Who knows.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Shawn ROASTS CW’s SJW Crisis on Earth X



What do you get when you mix Nazis, Alternate DC Universes and sour grapes about the 2016 Presidential Election?


The SJW hot mess known as Crisis on Earth-X.


Crisis on Earth X is the second crossover event from Greg Berlanti. After the disaster called Heroes and FAILIENS last year, he decided to go back to the drawing board to craft another crossover between the four CW shows. Only this time instead of half assed adapting a DC Comics, event like Invasion! He decides to use the DC Universe as a soapbox to express his anger about Donald Trump being elected President of the United States.


Good Gravy, Hollywood’s liberals need to get over this shit. If Berlanti really wants to make a commentary about the 2016 Election he’d make a show about the 60% of American White women who voted for Donald Trump in the same way a large majority of White women voted for Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s.


 But SJWs and liberals always give White women a pass. Because White women can never do anything wrong.


Anyway, the opening scene to this SJW Cross-over takes us Earth-X’, a world taken over by Nazis. James Olsen as a Captain America Knock-off goes into action. Unfortunately, this super soldier is killed by Nazi Green Arrow.


Damn. Just Damn. Even on Earth-X James Olsen can’t catch a break.


I just love how Greg Berlanti uses the DC TV Universe as a soapbox to project his unresolved issues about the 2016 Presidential election but still has time to express his racism towards Black men. First five minutes of this crossover and he finds a way to emasculate a Black man.


Don’t you just love the hypocrisy of these SJWs?


Anyway, Nazi Arrow and Supergirl find a machine capable of taking them to other earths. And having conquered their own world, they want to take their Fourth Riech… to other Earths in the DC TV Universe.


Basically Justice Lords +Savage Time+ SJW butthurt over Trump winning 2016 Election = Crisis on Earth X.


I liked both these stories better when they were done on Paul Dini and Bruce Timm’s Justice League 15 years ago. The Justice Lords was a powerful story about what happens when good guys cross the line. And Savage Time shows us what happens when someone time travels and screws up the timeline. Both stories still resonate with viewers because Paul Dini and Bruce Timm weren’t pushing SJW identity politics. They just wanted to tell a story about good guys and bad guys.


That passion for creating a great story isn’t in Crisis on Earth-X. Crisis on Earth X isn’t a crossover event, it’s leftist propaganda posing as a superhero show. It’s designed to manipulate our feelings. The only reasons why Nazis were chosen as the bad guy is because they represent the ultimate evil to liberals, not because they are a formidable threat to the heroes. The Nazis aren’t characters, they’re just stand ins for what Greg Berlanti, and Marc Guggenheim believe Donald Trump and his supporters represent. That’s why they come across as shallow, flat, paper-thin characters.


If Berlanti’s writers had spent some time writing an actual STORY for this event with multidimensional characters the way Paul Dini and Bruce Timm did for the Justice Lords episodes or Savage Time maybe Crisis on Hot Mess it would have been passable. But what the presented onscreen is a HOT mess. One-dimensional characters, a heavyhanded story, cliché dialogue, and absolutely HORRIBLE CGI make this crossover a bigger DISASTER than Heroes Vs. FAILIENS.  


Here’s a tip Berlanti: Keep your personal politics out of DC’s Superhero shows. People watch these shows to watch good guys beat the bad guys, not for you to use them as your personal soapbox to present your personal grievances regarding politics. Yeah, comics make social commentary about the world around us. But what you presented in Crisis on Earth-X showed no respect for the characters or the source material they were based on. It was all about you and your feelings about the 2016 Presidential election.    


I never thought it’d be possible to have a fail bigger than the epic fails of Batman V. Superman and Justice League, but here we are. Crisis on Earth-X isn’t a Superhero Crossover, it’s bad SJW propaganda posing as a superhero crossover. Berlanti, IT’S TIME TO STOP. Don’t do any more events until you can craft a STORY that treats the characters and the source material with the RESPECT THEY DESERVE.


Monday, November 27, 2017

Shawn Reviews Netflix’s The Punisher





The Punisher has had numerous adaptations over the last 28 years. And while many production companies think it’s easy to hit the target for translating a comic about a guy with a bunch of guns who kills criminals into a movie they always miss the mark. Thankfully, Marvel Studios hits the target on the first shot with this Web series.


Netflix’s The Punisher picks up right after Daredevil Season 2. Frank has avenged his family and murdered all the criminals responsible for their deaths. He’s ready to move on. Taking work at a construction site, he’s the quiet guy with a sledgehammer who many think is a little nuts. While he breaks down a wall, he’s dealing with the symbolic wall that keeps him stuck in at a dead end in his life. In the first episode Frank is a man without a purpose and mission. However, as the episode progresses and several of his co-workers recruit a kid named Donnie into a plan to rob a mobster’s poker game Frank breaks down his mental wall when he takes down the hood co-workers and starts to find a purpose again.


The first episode does a great job of establishing Frank’s character his mission and gives us a reason to care about him. The second introduces Franks’ partner Microchip, the guy in the comics who gives Frank his intel and helps him get his weapons. There’s tension between the two dead men, but they begrudgingly start working together to start The Punisher’s war on crime.


There are two subplots, one that features a Female Muslim Federal agent that has the stink of SJW Marvel and another that features a flashback of Frank’s military past that seems like it’s stolen from CW’s Arrow, but they seem to flow into the show organically and don’t impede Frank’s story.  He’s front and center in this series and when he’s on the screen he dominates every frame with his presence.


After watching 1989’s movie with Dolph Lundgren, and looking at the Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson movies, I’d have to say Netflix’s the Punisher is the best adaptation of the character PERIOD. From the visuals to the action, it captures the spirit of a Punisher Comic and brings to life the grittiness of Frank Castle and the New York City he lives in. That’s a major challenge in the gentrified Disneyfied 21St Century New York where there are hipsters and Starbucks everywhere but the production company manages to take us to the darker, grittier parts of NYC in every episode. Frank’s world is full of Mom & Pop shops, rundown tenements and abandoned warehouses. And those dark gritty parts of the city play a great contrast to the gentrified areas in most of the visuals onscreen. It’s those contrasts that take the viewer back to the era of the 1970s and 1980s when The Punisher was a popular character and show you how different Frank’s world is than that of other Marvel Superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America.


What I really like about The Punisher What I like about this series is that it’s a very cerebral show and it has a lot of depth. There’s a lot of symbolism and contrast in the visuals. From Frank breaking down the wall and the story is so compelling that you get sucked in almost immediately. When you watch one episode, you just want to watch more!


After losing a step with shooting Luke Cage with a Judas bullet, stumbling over with the terrible Iron Fist and falling to the ground with the disastrous Defenders Netflix has finally found its footing again with The Punisher. The Punisher shows us what Marvel Studios can do when they maintain their standards and make efforts to stay true to the source material of their comics. Netflix’s Punisher is a top notch show and I highly recommend you check it out. 



And Check out my Kindle sale going on this Cyber Monday! The following titles are 99 cents on Kindle!


Friday, November 24, 2017

E'steem: Ascension Now Available in Paperback and eBook!


E’steem: Ascension Now Available in Paperback &  e-Readers


E’steem: Ascension
ISBN: 978-1973739456


Bad Girl Gone Good! Good Girl Finds Redemption! Finally granted E’steem’s herald power, D’liah begins her quest to ascend to the next level in Lucifer’s Legion by killing E’steem. In her final battle with D’lilah a powerless E’steem must not only face her greatest challenge, but also face her fears and finally confront the inner demons that have tormented her for thousands of years. 

This is the E’steem story you don’t want to miss! E’steem: Ascension is a major turning point for the E’steem character and is the powerful climax of the first E’steem series story arc. This action packed story concludes several storylines that have been building since The Temptation ofJohn Haynes, and the Isis and E’steem series. And it sets up several storylines that are coming up in the future. So whether you’re a long time reader of the SJS DIRECT Universe or you’re just starting out, this is the book you want to pick up!  YOU WILL GET THE FEELS WHEN YOU READ THIS ONE!


And if you’re picking up E’steem: Ascension, don’t forget to pick up many of the titles that are part of the SJS DIRECT Black Friday sale!


Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Is Change FINALLY Coming to Marvel and DC ?




Some bad news transpired over the last week at the Big two:


At Marvel Comics  Axel Alonso was just fired. After several years of abysmal sales  the longtime editor-in-chief was finally given his walking papers by Disney’s top management.


And over at Warner Brothers, the Justice League Movie was a flop. Costing over $300 million to make, the film underperformed with a $96 million dollar opening. In the face of bad reviews and weak box office it looks like the nail has been put in the coffin for New 52 era DC once and for all.


Is Change FINALLY coming to the Comic Book Industry? In the face of so much bad news I’m hoping so. 


Many comic fans like myself have been calling for change at DC since 2011 when Dan Didio ushered in the dark and depressing era of DC Comics with the New 52. The same era of comics that was used as the template for Zack Snyder’s dark and depressing DC Cinematic Universe. With the failure of the New 52 Comics at the comic shop and the box office failure of Justice League movie based on the New 52 versions of the characters, Warner executives have been sent a message by comic fans and the general public that they don’t want to see dark Angry DC Superheroes, that they want to see the classic iconic heroes that multiple generations grew up with in shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

I’m hoping this FINALLY leads to Warner executives cleaning house at DC it’s needed for years. Comic fans have been demanding the gang of five Didio, Lee, Nelson, Harras, and Johns be given their walking papers for eight years. Fifteen if you count the voices calling for Didio to be terminated since he started the decline of DC with Identity Crisis. With the failure of Justice League at the box office the time is NOW for Warner Executives to start a real rebirth at DC by hiring a new editorial team and ushering in the Post-Didio era.


And many Marvel fans have been calling for change since 2015 when Axel Alonso ushered in what many comic fans called SJW Marvel. It’s at where Alonso and his assistant editor Tom Bevroort ushered in the era of “diversity” where characters of color took the place of popular characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor and Iron Man. Unfortunately, sales dropped by 90 percent in some cases, and most fans hated what they called the SJW Marvel heroes. With the near collapse of Marvel a message was sent by readers that they want their classic iconic Marvel heroes generations grew up with.  

Unfortunately, Axel Alonso never got the message. He continued to push the SJW Marvel agenda in the face of the worst sales numbers in the history of the comic book industry in August and a New York Comic Con breakfast, where angry Comic shop owners demanded that Marvel stop publishing SJW comics because the books they were producing were putting them out of business. Looking at the long-term damage to the Marvel brand and the overall comic book industy, someone at Disney finally handed him his walking papers.

Comics are a business. And it looks like many executives who own the big two have gotten to the point where they’re just tired of losing money. With comic shops closing and fans alienated by leftist creators attacking them on social media, it looks like the industry are finally waking up and seeing the reality regarding how dire things are regarding that business.

Could change be coming to Marvel and DC? I’m hoping that this bad news will finally lead to something good happening regarding who works at the Big Two and the comics they publish.

Oh yeah, and the Black Friday Kindle Sale is on TOMORROW! You can pick up some GREAT SJS DIRECT eBooks for 99 Cents!




All these books are gonna for sale 99Cents on Kindle starting Thanksgiving!