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.

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 21^St 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!

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

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

E’steem: Ascension

ISBN: 978-1973739456

 $7.99 Paperback

$2.99 Digital

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!

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! 

A Recipe For $cucce$$

Spellbound

Isis: Samurai Goddess

Isis: My Sister, My Frenemy

The Man Who Rules The World:  

Justice Leage Underperforms- R.I.P. DC Cinematic Universe

E'steem: Ascencion Sample Chapter

Here's a sample chapter of the Upcoming E'steem: Ascencion, the action packed climax to the first E'steem series story arc! You want to pick this one up, it's a MAJOR turning point for the E'steem character! 

E'steem Ascencion will be coming this Black Friday in paperback & e-Reader Pre-order your copy on Kindle and Smashwords today! 

Chapter 7

A flash of light takes Carol and me from the Morris Phillips Tower to the Java Joint. I can’t wait to share my favorite latte with her.

I’m given a friendly smile as I get the door for Carol. As lead her over to my usual table at the bustling coffee house, Claudius rushes from around the counter and greets us both with a smile. “Welcome to the Java Joint.” Claudius greets. “What cup o’ Joe can I get my two favorite ladies today?”

“Claud is that you?” Carol asks giving him a curious look.

“Yes it is, Mrs. Williams.”

“I thought you had a good job over at Lucerne. What are you doing here?”

“Doing the work of The Lord.”

“Why would he have you working here?”

“Claud runs Demons Anonymous, a support group for Demons who left the Legion.”

Carol gives Claud a curious look. “You left?”

“Yeah. A lot of New Breed demons have left the Legion like E’steem and I have.”

“Aren’t you afraid of the Lord’s wrath?”

Before Claud can answer her question we hear the screams of people outside and hear footsteps scrambling up the street. When we look out the picture window to see what’s going on we barely catch a glimpse of a creature with bat wings before it crashes through the pane of glass in the front of the shop. 

“I don’t think you’re gonna have time to hear the specials.” Claud says.

Why do the monsters always come out when I go to lunch? “I’ll go see what it is. Stay with Carol.”

Claud leads Carol to the back as patrons scramble out of the coffee shop. I jump out of my seat and rush over to confront the creature that flew into the Java Joint. When I meet the reptile eyes of the mocha skinned she-demon wearing a pink T-shirt, blue skinny jeans, and pink sneakers I frown. From the looks of her she’s got herself a major power upgrade. I really don’t want to beat up D’lilah in front of her mother. “Haven’t seen you in a long time.” I say.

“I’ve been busy licking my wounds since your sister beat the crap out of me.”

“So why aren’t you picking a fight with her?”

“Because I’m here to kill you.”

I guess the beef has always been between us. And it looks like she’s looking to finally settle the score once and for all. I make a desperate plea I hope doesn’t fall on deaf ears. “D’lilah, don’t do this.” Not in front of your mother-”

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna wimp out on me now you big nerd.” D’lilah snarls. “Mom really needs to see what a loser you truly are.”

D’lilah lets out a growl and swings at me. I duck the blow and D’lliah and slam a fist into her the gut. I let out a gasp and wince in pain as I shake my fingers. What happened to my powers?

Before I can even ponder an answer to that question I’m given a backhanded slap that turns the room into a blur. The force of the blow is so hard it knocks me out of my shoes and sends me crashing into a bookcase in the back of the coffee house.

My body aches from being hit so hard; I hear footsteps rushing towards me and do everything in my power to get to my feet. Get up girl, get up…

Getting Back to Basic Superhero Stories in Comics

SJS DIRECT UNIVERSE UPDATE

With the Spinsterella Trilogy finished, I’m getting back into the groove of writing SJS DIRECT Universe titles. I’ve got a lot of great ideas for stories featuring the goddess next door and the Aspiring Angel. And I’m hoping to add a John Haynes series to the mix next year.

I used to write stories for the Isis series and the E’steem series and publish them in the same year. But due to my continuing long-term unemployment and financial issues these days I have a bit of a backlog as related to Isis and E’steem series stories. Right now I have three Isis stories edited and uploaded to CreateSpace and Kindle, and all they need is a cover to be ready for publication. The Bill Walko covers have made a tremendous difference in the way my stories are perceived by customers; they’ve left such a powerful first impression on readers and that’s made me want to hold off on releasing books until I have a quality cover to go on them. That’s what led to the numerous delays in the publishing schedule.

Thanks to donations from readers and YouTube Viewers that paid for the Isis: Samurai Goddess and E’steem: Ascension cover, I’m starting to clear up some of the backlog of manuscripts and getting stories out to readers. And I’m starting to make plans for the future of the SJS DIRECT Universe.

With E’steem: Ascension the first E’steem series story arc is finished. And with her character transformation arc complete, I can now focus on Isis’ and John Haynes’ long-term character transformation arcs as well as plotting E’steem’s second overreaching story arc. With each story all the characters in the SJS DIRECT Universe have been growing and changing as people and the SJS DIRECT Universe has been coming together into an action packed fantasy world filled with positive Black heroes having action packed adventures.

Currently I’m working on outlining the second stage of the SJS DIRECT Universe and setting a course for the characters in it. Right now I’m planning new stories featuring the return of some older villains like The Cybergoddess and creating some new ones like Avarisk, The Tormentor. And I’m outlining E’steem’s first Fantasy Flashback story, one set in Ancient Egypt! I’ve got a lot of great ideas for stories, now I just have to take the time to get to the keyboard to write them.

Back in 2002 when I published the first Isis I never thought I’d get this far. But with God’s help fifteen years later I’m publishing books with covers by professional comic artists and books with quality on the level of any trade publishing house.

I’m still not on the next level yet. But I think I’m making great progress.

Shawn Reviews Dynamite’s Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #2

I was looking forward to buying Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella on Wendesday. Unfortunately I had an ordeal getting a digital copy.

When I went over to the Dynamite’s website to get an official copy, Issue #1 was up at a reduced price, but Issue #2…just wasn’t there. Now I got Issue #1 there on the day of release on Dynamite’s website. But Issue #2 was a chore to find on a digital platform. I had to go all the way over to Comixology .com to pick up a digital copy. With the DRM attached to the comic I’m stuck with a comic I can’t download to a laptop as a .PDF. This is why I wanted to buy my comics at Dynamite’s website!

A note to Dynamite’s Editorial Team:

If people buy the first issue at your website, they want to pick up the second one there as well. I like your comics, and I want to buy more of them. Please don’t make it hard for me to spend my money!

If my customers can buy an SJS DIRECT paperback and digital edition of Legendary Mad Matilda at online booksellers on the day of sale, I should be able to do the same at Dynamite’s website when a new comic comes out too! 

Issue #2 picks up where issue #1 left off, with Cassie and Vlad facing off against the demon the Blood Red Queen of Hearts left them with. The demon has Cassie and Vlad on the ropes. Cassie has a plan to stab the demon in the nuts but demons have no nuts. Thankfully Vampirella comes along to save the day.

With the demon dispatched, our heroes head down to Vampi’s room and we learn more about this Blood Red Queen of Hearts. While she explains the history of the Blood Red Queen to Cassie and Vlad, and their connection to her, Vampi quickly changes out of the dowdy street clothes she wore in the first issue into the CLASSIC and ICONIC red one piece everyone knows. Vlad’s first reaction to it is to…faint.

I guess he was dumbfounded by her beauty.

After Cassie, Vlad and Vampirella get in the van and head down to an abandoned warehouse. There they run into a few more demons that they dispatch of easily. But the Blood Red Queen of Hearts has a surprise for Cassie that leads into a plot twist that sets up the big showdown between Cassie and Vampi everyone’s been waiting for. I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ISSUE!

The Second issue of Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella was rock solid in its buildup of the story from the first issue. The action and the pacing of the story were well done, and the character interactions were FUN. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Vlad and Vampirella, and the banter between Cassie and Vlad had some humorous moments. Writer Shawn Aldridge does a great job with the story on Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella and Rapha Lobosco’s art is top notch. This comic was just as much fun as many of the comics I used to buy in the late 1980s from the newsstand in Times Square. The plot twist at the end sets up the showdown of showdowns and I’m definitely buying the next issue in 30 days!

You definitely have to pick up the second issue of Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella. This is the miniseries you definitely DO NOT WANT TO MISS!

Street Clothes Isis model sheet sketch

I had to draw up a model sheet for 2018’s Isis series books Isis: House of Isis and Isis: Escape From Transylvania. In both those stories Isis is featured in street clothes, not her usual New Heliopolitan Kilt and cropped top. With the next four books set in the fall, it’s time for a change of clothes.

When Isis is on the streets of Harlem she usually walks around in blue jeans, a white blouse and a black leather jacket and black leather high heeled Chelsea boots. Her ankh pendant usually sticks out of her open shirt. As the goddess next door this outfit expresses her tomboyishness and allows her to blend in at the same time. Plus, the jeans allow her to be able to use her marital arts skills and move around quickly in a fight.

Decided to play with the hair a bit with this sketch to better convey Isis’ regular hairstyle. Isis’ hair is a mix of straight Egyptian styled bangs in the front and a big head filled with bushy curls in the back. Business in the front, party in the back.  

Also decided to do a quick head sketch to show how her hair is filled with big bushy bouncy curls. Yeah, the Ankh pendant is a mess, but what I was trying to do with this sketch is show how her hair is big and bouncy.

Right now I’m outlining new Isis series stories and working on a new Isis series adventure. I’m hoping to feature this design on the covers of Isis: Escape From Transylvania and Isis: House of Isis later this year. But all that depends on me getting enough donations to pay for the covers! You can help with a donation to PayPal or Patreon!

Creating Black Comic Characters who are NOT SJW Stereotypes

Legendary Mad Matilda & Legendary Black Men