Three Weeks of Books! A Not So Quick Review from Daryll B!

Three Weeks of Books. And I not even jumping into the books I got at the Con. That going to be Part 2!!!!

Kingsway West 2 by Greg Pak, Mirko Colak & Wil Quintana - Just when the story seemingly has a set narrative to slip into, Pak goes and flips my table over with the deeper introduction of two characters glimpsed in issue one. Meanwhile, Kingsway's purpose and power(?) gets ever more shrouded in mystery because of that confrontation with constables. 

Rom 3 by Christos Gage, Chris Ryall & David Messina - The Wraiths are everywhere! For the humans realizing the truth for the first time, there's not much time. Rom is literally surrounded by the enemy. Allusions to the IDW extended universe are made. And is there a cure for Wraith infection? A lot of ground covered here folks!

Horizon 3 by Brandon Thomas, Juan Cedeon & Frank Martin - So how many aliens are on Earth and to what extant is their presence is known? What happens when one gets caught? And what are Earth's countermeasures? Some of the questions raised and (possibly) answered here as it is a great time for a jailbreak. 

Agents of Shield 9 by Marc Guggenheim, Ario Anindito & Rachelle Rosenberg -Peeps have asked how this book would work in relation to the show. Well best of both worlds here as Fitz exposed! Coulson on the run from Director Elektra (yes you read that right). An "old friend" returns and Deathlok has an extreme solution to save a teammates life. All this and Civil War too! Speaking of which...

Civil War II 5 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez & Justin Ponsor -Yeah. You remember how Tony was in CW 1? How he went to a place that we said there was no clean redemption from? Well Carol has not only gone there but she has bought real estate. Meanwhile, book is a giant vs book as fights galore are happening between heroes. Then Ulysses happens. And well, one of my favs is now in the crosshairs. Well that last page combines with a statement from a book that follows so succinctly it scary...

Civil War Choosing Sides 6 - In the 1st story by Chelsea Cain, Alison Sampson & Jordan Bellaire, Tony enlists Jessica Jones to do some digging into Ulysses. And she does so in her own signature style. The 2nd story by Christina Strain & Sana Takeda convinced me that we so need White Fox to have more appearances it isn't funny. Carol's faction goes to Korea to recruit her and yeah, we get to see her powers. Finally in the 3rd story by DeClan Shalvey & Jordan Bellaire, the Nick Fury saga comes to a close...well as close to a close as any SHIELD story can I guess. What this means for the future is anyone's guess...

Power Man Iron Fist 8 by David Walker, Sanford Greene, Flaviano & John Rauch contains two narratives leading from the same plot point as Danny's doing detective work in prison along with his fellow unjustly locked up folks. Luke's freaking out on the outside as is planning a breakout just as Captain Marvel comes a calling. Yeah. This one isn't to be missed readers. 

Archie 12 by Mark Waid, Thomas Pitilli & Ryan Jampole - The fallout from Battle of the Bands strikes our major players/lovebirds/friends as cards are strewn all over the table. Another "major" event happens and Archie, well he's Archie. Not a good time for Archie people. At all....

Justice League Darkseid War pt2 HC by Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Francis Manapul, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oscar Jimenez, Paul Pelletier, Tony Kordos, Brad Anderson, Alex Sinclair & Brain Buccellato - The finale to the story (and New 52 Universe). Darkseid is dead. The heroes struggle controlling their newfound Godhood. Grail makes her move for power. The Anti-Monitor is changing. The Justice League is going to need help and it may come in the form of a baby?!?!? Yep. The universe is screwed. 

So as the Nu 52 Universe began, fans like me wondered where was the White Lantern a.k.a. Kyle Rayner. Well I got my answer in the critically acclaimed Omega Men TP by Tom King, Barnaby Bagenda, Toby Cypress, Ig Guara, Jose Marzan Jr., Romulo Fajardo Jr., Tomeu Morey & Hi-Fi. Embroiled in the midst of a Holy War/Galactic Confrontation, Kyle must go through trials and tribulations with/vs the outlaw group known as the Omega Man. Thought provoking in terms of social and philosophic interpretations as to what heroism is. After this, Tom King is a force to be reckoned with.

Surviving Megalopolis 6 by Gail Simone, Jim Calafiore & Jason Wright -So the second act is over....or is it? Insanity and mayhem reign as insane superheroes and supervillains clash with the all too human squad stuck in between. Survival is the goal but after you see how this goes down, it may not be an option for ANYONE.

Return to Astro City 39 by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, Carmen Carnero, & Peter Pantazis where we say hello to an old friend as Marta and the folks from the hill return to the spotlight. You know that also means the return of The Hanged Man. Just wait until you see how exactly. 

Deathstroke 3 by Christopher Priest, Joe Bennett & Jeromy Cox enters Rose Wilson into the equation as Deathstroke tries to unravel a mission entangled with echoes of his and Wintergreen's history. The bar scene is deep with all the subtext that you love seeing from a suspense movie.

Titans 3 by Dan Abnett, Brett Booth & Andrew Dalhouse -The Wally all the time show continues as Kadabra presses the attack. Roy and Donna have a moment. We check in on Herald & Bumblebee, and Linda finds about how deep this rabbit hole gets. Now I'm going to need more character development here....

Wacky Raceland 4 by Ken Pontac, Leonando Manco & Mariana Sanzone -To say this series has been dark is an understatement. Well in this edition, there are more rules to the race than we thought. And we find this out during downtime in Vegas of all places! The cars have a moment that um ok I can't explain without spoiling. And how well do we know these racers?

MASK Revolution 1 by Brandon Easton, Tony Vargas & Jordi Escuin -To respond to threats alien and weird, a special task force called the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand was formed. Unfortunately we only get glimpses of the key players/members as the book focuses on Mayhem and backroom deals tied to Revolution. Here's hoping the regular 1 does better. 

You want fights? In Sam Wilson Captain America 13 by Nick Spencer & Jerome Acuna we get  Captain America vs USAgent. The city vs AmeriCops. Rage vs Sam. The clash of ideals vs reality continues in earnest here. And who's side will Steve fall in with? Speaking of Rogers...

In Steve Rogers Captain America 5 by Nick Spencer, Javier Pina & Rachelle Rosenberg has...um...I know a lot of people hate the Hydra thing. Well if you didn't like that you are REALLY going to hate this one! The Skull has wormed into every part of his past now. To the point where even if we get a clean resolution now, I think the Red Skull has won. 

Drax 11 by CM Punk, Cullen Bunn, Scott Hepburn & Antonio Fabela contains the final battle. A kid's life and future hang in the balance. Drax still can't take a joke and still has that bounty on him. And Terrax and Triple F are still farmers. Really? Glad to see we ending this one as weird as we began it. 

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur 11 by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, Natacha Bustos & Tamra Bonvillain - Kid Kree thinks he's the man with the plan. Lunella torn between anxiety and duty. Devil Dinosaur just wants to get some sleep. Things are either going from bad to worse or are getting better. And once you read you'll see why it is an either or and not both. 

Ms. Marvel 11 by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona & Ian Herring was Heartbreaking. Simply heartbreaking. Kamala is trying to save everything and everyone by herself and we readers know how well that usually goes. And still the biggest domino has yet to fall. The "talk" happens on the last couple of pages folks. Yeah. Not good. 

Things couldn't get much worse for our hero in Nighthawk 5 by David F. Walker, Martin Morazzo & Tamra Bonvillain. He's captured. Beaten up. Unmasked. In the presence of a lunatic. And while he's so "occupied" the city is still a shooting gallery for gun runners. Good luck with this one Raymond. You'll need it!

So you steal a star destroyer and didn't think there would some sort of clapback? Star Wars 23 by Jason Aaron, Jorge Molina & Matt Milla focuses on the problems of maintaining a huge ship with a skeleton resistance crew. How Chewie hasn't choked anyone out yet is a miracle. And as if that wasn't a problem enough, remember that elite Stormtrooper Squad from a few issues back? Guess who just entered the fray... GL Rebellion because you are going to need it!

I told you that the last prediction in Civil War II #5 was going to have repercussions and in Thunderbolts 5 by Jim Zub, Jon Malin & Matt Yackey, Bucky decides to change the vision himself by eliminating the "threat": Miles Morales. But what if in doing so, it threatens to reveal him or the team? Meanwhile, the rest of the 'Bolts try to bond and well...this is the T-Bolts. Nothing goes easy....

Yeah I'm of two minds concerning Ultimates 11 by Al Ewing, Kenneth Rockafort, Djibail Morissette & Dan Brown. On one hand, Thanos' plan starts to come clearer in focus and it revolves around Conner? Yeah. Not good. Then of course team takes on Thanos which, well you have to see this fight... Then comes the Civil War beats interwoven in this story which gets me to damn the delays in this project AGAIN! Two characters with beats in the main story come off WAY different here which is certainly oft-putting. It starting to remind me of Tony Stark's depictions in the 1st Civil War changing with every book.

I got Bloodshot Reborn 17 & 18 by Jeff Lemire, Mico Suayan, Tomas Giorello, Diego Rodriguez & David Baron, capping off the Bloodshot Island Saga and starting up the new Bloodshot USA angle. Questions abound; Histories for each of the Bloodshots; Is Deathmate truly Kay? And Bloodhound being Bloodhound are ALL in play. Glorious, GLORIOUS chaos!

The investigation continues in Generation Zero 2 by Fred Van Lente, Francis Portela & Andrew Dalhouse. Keisha learns more about this team that she has requested help from and not all of it she likes. Questions about her family and friends abound as well as the mysterious Cornermen. Town just keep getting weirder....

So for some reason against my wishes I broke down and picked up Death of X 1 by Jeff Lemire, Charles Soule, Aaron Kuder & Morry Hollowell. Not that I have anything against the creators but the whole mutant situation and Marvel and Fox has left a sour taste in my love for anything X. Anyway, I went on a Twitter rant a week ago about my love and craving for a certain X-Character annnnnd now I wish I hadn't. Sigh. The Inhuman-X-Men conflict has now begun with blood spilt, who will remain standing in the end?

Just when things couldn't get more nuts in James Bond 007 Eidolon 10 by Warren Ellis, Jason Masters & Guy Major, Bond doesn't know who to trust...and neither do his superiors. In the world of covert intelligence, trust issues and who's watching your moves, the answers may be deadly if they are one and the same....

After all of that danger and death, I needed some fun. So I picked up Betty Boop 1 by Roger Langridge, Gisele Lagace & Victoria Robado for the new adventures of the animated heartwarmer. A home under siege, demonic pacts, and crazy fun saloon hijinks make for laugh out loud reading. A promising start for readers and Betty fans young and old....

Continuing in that vein of thought, I also picked up Archie Meets Ramones 1 by Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg, Gisele Lagace & Victoria Robado. The Archies are struggling in preparation for a Battle of the Bands and while in frustation, Archie receives a classic album from Sabrina. Time travel, classic punk pranks and "holy" locations are tied into the hijinks that  ensue. Still chuckling at the initiation scene....

I'm liking this fun tip so I carrying on with Goldie Vance 6 by Hope Larson, Brittney Williams & Sarah Stern. Goldie continues her investigation into not only the pretty astronaut but into her best friend. The more you think you know, the further you have to go and in this case, we going to a beauty pageant??? Hmmm....

The fallout from Civil War carries through as the major narrative in Champions 1 by Mark Waid, Humberto Ramos, & Edgar Delgado. Due to the actions of those they once admired, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man & Nova strike out on their own. AND they are looking for recruits. First up, the Totally Awesome Hulk. Social statements abound in this one through the lens of Mark Waid. Humberto Ramos drawing teens once again. This seems too good to be true...

So. Yeah. I hate the goat in Autumnlands 13 by Kurt Busiek, Benjamin Dewey & Jordie Bellaire. I mean he just essentially c***blocked the crew AND turned the stone/mechanical babes psychotic. More mysteries appear to our heroes in the form of another "goddess" and well the last 4 pages had me scratching my head once again...

I'm ready for the mashups and some are more classic than possible. The first story in Future Quest 5 by Jeff Parker, Doc Shaner, & Hi-Fi sees the Agents of FEAR stage an attack on the gathered heroic forces. Speaking of which, a new hero gets born...The second story by Jeff Parker, Craig Rousseau & Jeremy Lawson involves the origin of The Impossibles and how it is tied to the current predicament. Plus, a new member for the team?

Divinity 2 TP by Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine & David Baron shows another cosmonaut survived the phenomena that change Abram into a near god and unfortunately she's a diehard communist. So imagine her surprise at current Russia's situation. Yep. The Earth might be totally screwed here in the long run but it is a beautiful descent!

Clean Room 12 by Gail Simone, Jon Davis-Hunt & Quinton Winter - ok just when I thought I was ready for whatever shock Madame Simone had planned for me, um. Yeah another last page nightmare vision folks! So Mr. Davis-Hunt is leaving after this issue of rampaging demons, fights and weird flashbacks. Way to set the bar high for the next artist Sir!

Flintstones 4 by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh & Chris Chuckry - the satire slaughter continues as for the first time marriage between a man and woman is proposed. You just have to read this one because wow. Just wow. The team is trying to get this book banned somewhere and I'm left laughing at the overt and clever subversion. 

Squadron Supreme 12 by James Robinson, Leonard Kirk, & Chris Sotomayor - Warrior Women clash!!! Thundra and Blur captured! Spectrum and Hyperion intangible and well you'll see where they have ended up. Remember time is cyclical and everything evens out in the end. Or so I believe. 

Black 1 by Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, Khary Randolph & Jamal Igle - I boasted hard about this creation. Put my money where my mouth was and backed the Kickstarter. Take a core concept of X-Men. Cross that with current events involving police. Then strain it through the lenses of Alphas and Cleverman and we MIGHT get this. I'm just geeking out to hold a physical copy in my hand but there might not be a more personally relevant book on the stands to me right now. 

Part 1 in the books. Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!!!

BOOK REVIEWS: James Bond, Earth Society Annual, Future Quest & More!

Book Reviews and A Lot of Anger... Yup It Time For Daryll’s AfroBlog!

So once again I put my foot in my mouth and have to prove out my points after yesterday's show:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/afrone...

-I stand by my position that you want to introduce Squirrel Girl into TV after her successful comic following, fine. You want to do it in a humorous team dynamic, cool. That group she was a part of is called The Great Lakes Avengers. NOT The New Warriors. Ordinarily, I could let something like this go and see how it is handled BUT not with the Warriors. You see, Fabian Nicenza and Mark Bagley's 90's team was my New Teen Titans replacement. The book touched on, in no particular order:

-Racism -Sexism -Privilege -Cultural Identity -Social ills -Domestic Abuse

And THIS is the book that Marvel/Disney wants to turn into a COMEDY to accommodate Squirrel Girl? NO WAY!

Then we ran out of time before I took aim at my fellow fans but I will give y'all a glimpse of my anger here. I let you all off the hook when you failed to support David Walker's first Shaft series. When sales were down on the second series Imitation of Life, I got a little steamed. You came out and supported his brief Cyborg run and have been loving Power Man & Iron Fist so I relented. BUT he released Nighthawk, his most socially relevant book yet centering on one hero's never ending fight to clean up one city of corrupt elements from all sides. If the book was crap, I wouldn't be mad HOWEVER I know our podcast hyped it up along with Black Girl Nerds, FanBros, 3Black Geeks and others. Not only on air but on Twitter and Facebook. We reviewed it and spread word about its quality. It was talked about on sites like Bleeding Cool, Newsarama, Comics Alliance & Comic Book Resources...

...and it still is going to be cancelled after issue 6...

Business is business I understand BUT what got my goat is the amount of "I didn't know this book was out" or "Why am I now finding out about this?" answers I heard from "smart" fans of color on the net after the news.

REALLY? REALLY?!?!?

Fans that will fight to the death over little things in big budget movies. Fans that will get pissy over changes on favorite characters that will happen 6-8 months down the line, didn't know that this book was out...let alone that its excellent issue #4 is on the stands as we speak?

I CALL BULLSH_T!

We finally get a current book that is reflective of what is going on in our communities and is taking a smart approach to things like Black Lives Matter, a system that is tilted against a lot of people, violence within our community and police brutality... and we didn't support it.

I'M EMBARRASSED & ANGRY!

But most of all, I'm sorry David Walker. I'm sorry that our folks can't put actions and money behind their words. Remember this uproar? "Where are the books with leads of color Marvel?" "Where are the writers and artists of color?" "We tired our the same lily white heroes. It 2016, where's the diversity?"

Well we had it in Nighthawk... and we let Mr. Walker and staff down. You can all just be quiet now OR you can preorder the ^&%&^% out of the the collected edition when it's made available at your comic shops. This is a HUGE step back and.....F IT! I got to be happy again so time for the books...

Earth 2 Society Annual by Dan Abnett, Bruno Redondo, Diogenes Neves, & Rex Locus picks up where issue 15 left off with Huntress in pursuit of Grayson's son. Meanwhile Dick is giving an oral history of Batman and everything that has happened to him and his world. All the while, Ultra-Humanite is pulling strings on his children to recover the ancient Atlantean technology and control the world's future. A lot of balls in the air but great insight on this Earth's Grayson.

YES! I get two of my favorites, Mightor and the Impossibles appearing finally in Future Quest #4 by Jeff Parker, Doc Shaner, Ron Randall & Hi-Fi. With one, we find out that there's a greater connection to the threat than we thought. With the other, there is a sly introduction during the Frankenstein Jr part of the story with a promise of much more in issue 5. And just wait until you see FEAR's inner workings! Nostalgia is a very, VERY awesome thing

James Bond 9 by Warren Ellis, Jason Masters & Guy Major - Here's the thing about the intelligence community: you can't trust anyone at face value. Bond and his whole division are going to learn that the hardest foes are ones that have worked with you. And that may just be enough room for the the bad guys to succeed.

Civil War Choosing Sides 5 - In the 1st story by Chip Zdarsky & Ramon Perez, Alpha Flight finds their resolve tested by none other than the Canadian Prime Minister. Just wait until you see the PM's friend. In the 2nd story by Enrique Carrion, Annapaola Martello, & Nolan Woodard, Welcome back Colleen Wing! Just wait Misty. Your mission with the Howling Commandos is going to get heated. In the 3rd story by Declan Shalvey & Jordan Bellaire, it is Fury vs Fury as Nick Jr tracks his leads to Nick Fury??? Um. O-oh...

Within Howard The Duck 10 by Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quinones, & Jordan Gibson, the puppet masters revealed. The room has gotten crowded. Mojo craves ratings! Time for Howard to pull out Quack Fu as the battle spreads to Earth. But be warned: when Mojo is involved in anything, chances for a happy ending or neat resolution are slim.

Ms. Marvel 10 by G Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona & Ian Herring - While I'm on the heartbreak side of the street, dammit G Willow Wilson! She plucks all the strings in this one. Kamala relives parts of her past with a friend who's gravely injured. Her current charges are seemingly wanting to strike out on their own and nothing will be the same. Happy Birthday G! This issue was powerful!!

So how much deeper can Han get? Well in Han Solo 3 by Marjorie Liu, Mark Brooks & Sonia Oback, Imperials got him shackled and are looking to end the race. Chewie got a little bodyguarding problem. And this still only the first of 3. Yeah... This going to be a long trip... ESPECIALLY since it looks like they are going to run afoul of an old acquaintance.

Miles is not in a good place right now Spider-Man #7 by Brian Michael Bendis, Nico Leon & Marte Garcia. Ulysses' predictions about The Hulk got him totally on edge. His internal doubts about his meeting with Tony Stark got him questioning everyone in tights around him. Good thing he got a couple of familiar faces to drop in. And with that all said, he doesn't have a clue what is going on with his parents...yet. Because that last page....WOW!

Mach-X is having a crisis of conscience in Thunderbolts #4 by Jim Zub, Jon Malin & Matt Yackey. Unlike the others, he was ok with Pleasant Hill and is caught between that and his loyalty to the team. So it is a perfect time for the Squadron Supreme to attack looking for "the weapon". Meanwhile, Moonstone is scheming big (like that's new) and Bucky might be in the same place as Abner. Go Team!

4001AD #4 by Matt Kindt & Clayton Crain features the final battle between Rai and Father with all of New Japan and quite possibly Earth hanging in the balance. A quite different finale than a lot of people will be used to BUT no less thought provoking in regards to Valiant's future...

I am loving Bloodhound. Let me get that out of the way before I get into Bloodshot Reborn #16 by Jeff Lemire, Mico Suayan & David Baron. Bloodshot has his hands full trying safe/stop Deathmate and really makes the only decision that makes sense... with Bloodhound's help of course. We have reached Cabin in the Woods levels people!

I also picked up:

The Valiant Official Handbook which gave me a "Who's Who" for the updated universe.

Guardians of the Galaxy In The Year 3000 Volume 2 - Continuing my 90's nostalgia

Astro City Volume 9: Through Open Doors (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #1–6)

Astro City Volume 10: Victory (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #7-10 and Astro City Visitor's Guide #1)

Astro City Volume 11: Private Lives (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #11-12 and 14-17)

Astro City Volume 12: Lovers Quarrel (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #18-21 and 23-24) (Sue me! I love Kurt Busiek's universe here)

Hawkeye & the Thunderbolts Vol 2 - You already know how much I love the Thunderbolts....

Dark Night: A True Batman Story - Paul Dini's harrowing account of his trauma and anxiety after a mugging. Yet another example of how a comic book story can rise above the medium. Gripping. And Eduardo Risso's pencils made it even more haunting.

I also picked up Infinity Inc Volume 1: Luthor's Monsters by Peter Milligan & Max Fiumara which follows the surviving members of the team after the events of 52 and their power loss. Natasha Irons especially isn't left in a good place. Interesting view on the addictive qualities of the metagene...

Whew! That's a lot of books. And I didn't even include my Shaft novel pickups or the Bendis All New X-Men stuff. I need something for the next blog! LOL

Thx for reading folks! Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!

Check Out Daryll B's Play by Play of Last Week's Afropunk Festival-Bklyn Ed.

AFROPUNK MEMORIES


Before I begin, a moment of real talk. I never had an event like Afropunk growing up. A sense of community and family within something I love. I had sports but as soon as the game was over, whatever truce I had with my antagonists/tormentors was over too and I'd go back to base zero. Meaning the taunting and bullying returned and my personal self image continued to sink deeper into the morose...


Being at AfroPunk Brooklyn for 5 out of the last 6 years gives me what I missed during all those teenage years. It felt like one big clubhouse with like-minded people trading music, experiences and stories. During the two-day event, clearly no one could be perceived as an outcast-the attendees were from every walk of life, filling every conceivable slot.  For all the kids and teens I saw during this weekend: cherish this! Use this! Be this! 


Now onto the misadventures! I actually came into the double day festival with a game plan. How I wasn't going to wear out the battery early on my iPhone. I was going to capture everything that I could. I was going to try to avoid playing music and limit my app use. Annnd I failed miserably.


DAY 1


Met up with AfroNerd around one-ish at Commodore Barry Park after a brisk 20 mins in line and immediately walked into the craziness of Qassim and The Juggernaut War Party at the main stage after a mini warm up with In The Whale on the Red Stage. Qassim and the JWP are like a force of nature on stage. Dancers. Rappers. Band. Constant Energy. I had fun just watching these guys and gals give it everything they had.


From that performance, it was a journey from shaded area to shaded area as this Saturday was like 95 degrees with no breeze. Water and liquids were at a premium for everyone. We crossed from one end of  the park to the other, even running into DJ Benhameen of FanBros. During this time, yours truly made a fool of himself at the ZipCar Adult Tri-Cycle race and we ran into a lovely couple who visited in from Cleveland. They noticed the "Black Heroes Matter" shirt I wore from the great Jaycen Wise, and I just had to take a picture. One 10 minute lively discussion about life and the Blerd experience later and AfroNerd & I found ourselves at the Main Stage again for The VeeVees and SATE. The VeeVees were like southern folk rock meets NYC punk. SATE is the love child of Grace Jones and George Clinton. Literally from sound to stage presence. Amazing, the variety of music I have heard so far and I am not even halfway through the day yet.


This now heralded our cross training part of the event as between 4:15 and 7pm we caught Benjamin Booker's funk rock; Thundercat's pushing all musical boundaries; Saul Williams political grooving; the godfather of funk, George Clinton and then Cee-Lo Green just commanding the stage. I owe an apology to Cee-Lo actually. I pegged him all wrong. His live act was great!!! To close out the day, Laura Mvula hit us with Sade like tunes that had the crowd swooning. Then we were treated to Tank and the Bangas, a 3 woman rap group from New Orleans that were as flashy as the city they rep. Main Event Time! And boy did TV On The Radio deliver the goods. Different rock styles and allusions had the crowd energized and surprised. I bet most had heard of the group but didn't know how awesome their live performance could be. 


DAY 2


Got to AfroPunk early to take pictures of the layouts of the festival before the mad rush of people came in. Which also got me shopping and the first booth I hit was The McGriffs. In case you didn't know, 9 year old Natalie McGriff created the Adventures of Moxie, her own Black Girl comic book. So I had to pick her 3 issues up! Following that, I stopped by the Greenpoint Books booth and picked up a biography on Gil Scott-Heron and the AfroFuturism book. I also found time to pick up some t-shirts to commemorate the event. Now I started to hear music, meaning I was about to be treated to the sounds of personal favorite DJ Beverley Bond and gave me a chance to finally use the Facebook video option: 


https://www.facebook.com/daryll.benjamin/videos/1391142230900716/

Yup. That me in my sweaty, geeky glory folks. Be afraid. Be very afraid. LOL Anyway, now that my video got me confident so when I met up with AfroNerd and we went to check out RAAA, this happened...


https://www.facebook.com/daryll.benjamin/videos/1391161540898785/

Yeah. I'm out of control at this point and now the crowds started to arrive and the Gold Stage Area was half full for BLXPLTN and their sheer rock lunacy. Following that, we chilled in the main area listening to DJ MOMA and I just had to make this one for my fam...


https://www.facebook.com/daryll.benjamin/videos/1391364314211841/

From there, we found out from a fellow fan that Roman Gianarthur was performing on the Red Stage and he funked everything up starting with a nasty Prince tribute. Boy's got skills besides producing and the fans definitely crammed in to see him. This was followed by brief drop-ins to see The Suffers rock and Angel Haze's rap skills before checking out Skye & Ross from Morcheeba just tear us a new one. Followed by the Godmother of AfroPunk Skunk Anansie which may I say was a revelation. She actually set the stage for the craziness to come with her crowd stunts but don't just ask me, you can also ask Bounce! Creator Chuck Collins who was IN THE MIDST of that insanity! 


By now we were hitting 7pm, the park was jam packed and AfroNerd & I was split watching 2 crazy performances. He went over to the main stage to catch PowerJam, a supergroup consisting of the members of Fishbone, Living Color and Bad Brains. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO3OEMSFbYg

I was at the Red Stage catching Janelle Monae. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxiZRLqXVxo


Holy awesome sauce! Both acts brought their A games as Janelle's turned into a tribute to James Brown, Michael Jackson & Prince. Meanwhile, PowerJam played hits from all three bands AND brought back George Clinton & SATE to rock out. The night ended with Ice Cube, who I had misgivings about, raising his game to the previous bands levels and sending us all home banging our heads to his hits. He still got that fastball people! Yeah-YAAAY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTnnSftnNuM

So there you guys and gals go. 2 days of music and fun. Thx to the organizers, staff, fans & acts for making this memorable as all heck! Below are the videos I made of the later performances on Sunday. Enjoy the shaky cam goodness!

Daryll B's Pre AfroPunk Blog Droppings! Get Them While They're Hot!

Eve of AfroPunk Daryll Comic Reviews...

Another week. Another stack of books that I overdosed on. Who cares what I am doing right now! Let's get to the books!

Ripped straight from the headlines, Sam Wilson Captain America #12 by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna explores police brutality, movements against and some of the corporate shell games embedded within. Using the ex-New Warrior, ex-Avenger Rage and the Americops as the two extreme sides, Spencer has Sam torn between the stars and stripes he wears and the community he belongs to. I know some people have their problems with the story but I can't recommend this issue enough in terms of how some black cops must feel right now. Oh yeah, another old Avenger returns...

We wondered when Civil War's beats would start to affect the team and in A-Force #8 by Kelly Thompson, Paulo Siqueira, & Rachelle Rosenberg, boy does it hit them! The team divided with an impossible social question causing one member to not only leave them but becomes "public enemy #1" according to Ulysses. Yeah. Yet another book that uses the idea of the "event" better than the event itself...

In that same vein, when we last left our heroes, some of their villains & their relatives came to Luke and Danny to hire them for protection. They got jumped by hunters and then by the cops. This led to Danny and several of their clients getting arrested.Power Man & Iron Fist #7 by David Walker, Sanford Greene, Flaviano & John Rauch picks up right there as Luke schemes to get him out while inside of prison, Danny has plans of his own for information. Once again the beats of Civil War make themselves present as...well I not going to spill because *geek freakout over last page* ..... yeah...

I take this break from Civil War craziness to visit a world destroyed by smart people in Scooby Apocalypse #4 by Keith Giffen, JM DeMatteis, Howard Porter & Hi-Fi. Daphene still hates Velma, Fred and Shaggy have a bonding moment, and Scooby once again surprises everyone. Oh yeah, there are still monsters AND another famous character from the fabled lore makes his first appearance. The gang is about to get another challenge folks....

Back onto my Civil War grind, (I'm actually amazed how many of these satellite books and the consequences have been well done...) Civil War II Choosing Sides #4 came out. 1st story by Chuck Brown, Chris Visions & Megan Wilson explores how the Punisher is using the climate in his one man crime war. The 2nd Story by John Allison, Rosi Kampe & Megan Wilson updates us on Power Pack and finally the 3rd Story by DeClan Shalvey & Jordan Bellaire, Nick Fury makes a crazy play to uproot the Hydra infiltration within SHIELD. Again, for a Marvel all-around information buff like me, Choosing Sides has been like crack...

Speaking of SHIELD, Coulson is a man alone in Agents of SHIELD #8 by Marc Guggenheim, German Peralta & Rachelle Rosenberg. He looking into the situation with toys that would make several versions of Rick Jones envious. So three guesses who SHIELD sends to curtail him? And as far as the rest of the team goes, Deathlok shows off some skills, Mockingbird does her thing and FitzSimmons might have a new problem. And just wait until you see the new liaison....

On my second Civil War pause, I picked up Horizon #2 by Brandon Thomas, Juan Gedeon & Frank Martin. The android' mission becomes clearer even as it become apparent that her mission has picked up some attention. Now as to the point of the mission or who exactly is monitoring her, you'll have to pick up the book to find out!

Back to Civil War, All-New All-Different Avengers #13 by Mark Waid, Adam Kubert & Sonia Oback features Vision wrestling with one of the most philosophical questions EVER. A question that is tiring but still makes people think. Still, harkens back to how this series began with serious ramifications for the future. And makes me wonder about the Young Avengers too while I'm at it. And you'd think Peter Parker would have better security for that machine???

I'm ending my single issue reviews/snark with Ultimates #10 by Al Ewing, Kenneth Rocafort, Djibril Morrisette & Dan Brown. How much could they fit into one comic? Thanos' objective revealed! Miss America makes her move against.... well that would be telling! Who the hell is backing up who? The fracturing of the team is just about complete and well, Thanos is Thanos. Team is SCREWED! And...and this is an enjoyable carwreck to watch!

Adding Another Week of Books Because Daryll is Tired and Lazy

Talk about feeling an A-Team vibe. Generation Zero #1 by Fred Van Lente, Francis Portela & Andrew Dalhouse kicks off with showing us the life of Keisha, a young rebel living in a seemingly idyllic town. Why does she need Generation Zero? Well doesn't every teen think something strange is up with their town? Once again Van Lente hits the ground running and so the adventure begins....

A project that I have hyped on Twitter. A project that I've been waiting for intensely. And as expected, Kingsway West #1 by Greg Pak, Mirko Colak & Wil Quintana did not disappoint. A lone drifter in the wilds of the Old West encounters trouble in the form of a young woman while trying to escape the authorities. And that's about as vague as I can be WITHOUT spoiling. Pak said he had something special for readers old and new...and I think he delivered here....

Just when I thought the Wraiths from my youth couldn't get scarier, Rom #2 by Christos Gage, Chris Ryall & David Messinaraises the bar with their "new" abilities. Essentially, humanity is on a whole new level of being screwed as the Wraiths have infiltrated EVERYWHERE and EVERYTHING! Gee. Thanks Mr. Gage and Ryall. I didn't need to sleep easy for the next 2 weeks. Sheesh!

After that blurb, I need a little positivity and Faith #2 by Jody Houser, Pere Perez, & Marguerite Sauvage is just the remedy. Captured by her arch-enemy that she only met an hour prior. If she gets out of this, Faith has a date with...well that would be telling but I hope you all paid close attention to issue #1.

Well my little oasis of sweetness has now left the room as Clean Room #11 by Gail Simone, Jon Davis-Hunt & Quinton Winter has entered and... I have said before that Gail is a dangerous woman to not only the characters she writes but to the readers. This issues is proof! Machinations come to a head as betrayals happen, the demons take aim and the "room" isn't exactly a room anymore... Bat %$*^ Nuts!

Kid heroes? Class is in session and Ms. Marvel is handing out grades in Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur #10 by Brandon Monclare, Amy Reeder, Natacha Bustos & Tamra Bonvillain. Kamala and Kid Kree get a little talking to as elements in both their lives get ready to make themselves known. Lunella is about to go into the next level folks!

Sometimes music is the best medicine. However, Archie #11 by Mark Waid, Ryan Jampole, Thomas Pitilli, Veronica Fish, Andre Szymanowicz & Jen Vaughn has our gang split up in two as The Ronnies and Betty & The Waves get themselves ready for the High School Talent Show. Prepare for the usual Archie craziness leading to the one conversation we ALL have been waiting for.

Enter the Teen Titans in Titans #2 by Dan Abnett, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse & Carrie Strachan...but not the Teen Titans you know. An old Flash villain launches an all out attack on the city to flush out Wally and gets the whole team with him. Quips thrown out and heartstrings pulled people. Good luck Titans Fans reading this issue and trying not to go "What the **** was that?!?!?!?"

The racers enter one of the most beautiful places in the world as we find out the origin of another racer in Wacky Raceland #3 by Ken Pontiac, Leonardo Manco & Mariana Sanzone. Meanwhile, Princess and Dirk get separated from the group and whoever this "gamesmaster" is seemingly has the veneer cracked by showing emotion here. Something is afoot here people...

Dragons and monsters to the left. Dangerous people to the right. A baby in the middle. Fin Fang Foom and Terrax are...farming? Welcome to Drax #10 by CM Punk, Cullen Bunn, Scott Hepburn & Antonio Fabela as the battle for the little dragon continues. I know Drax loves a good fight but this is a little out there.

The machinations of Red Skull were laid out last issue. However, in Steve Rogers Captain America #4 by Nick Spencer, Javier Pina, Miguel Sepulveda, & Rachelle Rosenberg, we finally see what is going on in Cap's head as he plots with Dr. Selvig. Meanwhile, we get and update on Jack Flag AND SHIELD starts to hold meetings regarding Pleasant Hill's Standoff. Drama level up to 10, people! And we know that some will crack under pressure, so let's see who will shall we?

A desperate, foolish plan. A plucky group of rebels determined to pull it off. Sounds like Star Wars #22 by Jason Aaron, Jorge Molina & Matt Milla is just another story from the universe BUT the return of one of my all time favorite pilots and the thing that the rebels are trying to heist put this story over the top for me. Talk about an impossible goal, and something that I wish was in a movie...

Tensions are at an all time high in Chicago. Violence is growing and affecting everything in its path. Yes, it is the headlines but in Nighthawk #4 by David Walker, Ramon Villalobos & Tamra Bonvillain this takes on a further significance as 'Hawk takes on problems on all sides INCLUDING The Revelator serial killer. I hope he's ready because I know I wasn't, reading this. Threads and plots come together EXPLOSIVELY.

I complete these 2 weeks of books and a collection with Black Panther By Christopher Priest The Complete Collection Volume 4 by Christopher Priest, Dan Fraga, Jorge Lucas, Jim Calafiore, Patrick Zircher, Joe Bennett, Jennifer Schellinger & Avalon Studios. Who is Kevin "Kasper" Cole? What is his link to T'Challa? Can he overcome the trials and tribulations of the Panther Universe? And say hello to The Crew! Intensity Level turned up to 10 as Little Mogadishu starts to heat up. After all The TRUTH will set you free AND drag you down with equal aplomb.

Two Weeks of Books. Lots of fun reading. No show this Saturday due to Daryll rocking his face off at AfroPunk. No I will not be stage diving this time.

Thanks For Reading! Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!