Now with the Avengers assembled, you would think that it would be easy for any of the members to just pick up a phone – maybe not for Thor – and call his or her fellow teammate for some help. After watching the new Iron Man 3 trailer, we saw that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) had a clear opportunity to call any one of them to help him fight the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).

But it appears that he is stuck with Rhodey (Don Cheadle). But why doesn’t he call the others for help?

Stanley Kubrick was and always shall be one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of the moving image. Over the course of a forty-six-year career in directing he made thirteen films, many of them timeless classics and a few undisputed masterpieces that not only influenced generations of filmmakers to come but also forever changed the way films are made and regarded.

Kubrick was a master whose legacy in cinema will endure forever in the continuing impact his films have on the moviegoers who discover them and the directors who studied his works and used the lessons they learned to shape their own careers, including Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Michael Mann, Wes Anderson, Lars Von Trier, and of course Steven Spielberg.

The Damned Meanderers
Chapter Three: All One Wants
By Tom McGrane
DamnedMeanderers.com
Release Date: December 19, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Continuing our look into the multimedia motion comic experience called The Damned Meanderers, we enter the third chapter of the journey. While the first two issues make a fine establishment of setting and introduce some key characters, the third issue is unfortunately more filler material than anything of substance, exposing the characters on their journey back from the fight with the orcs to the return to the main camp.

The plot behind Chapter Three is quite simplified, beginning with a funeral for the fallen dwarf who died in the battle in the previous issue. From here the small group, including main protagonist Mage Dazanorl, journey back to their main camp, but stumble across the remnants of another battle that bring Gillo and Greer clues as to who the main nemesis is – hinting at the Sovrin we encountered in issue one.

Cold Days
A Novel Of The Dresden Files
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
Written by Jim Butcher
Roc Books
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Cover Price: $27.95

This week saw the release of Cold Days, book fourteen in what is arguably the greatest urban fantasy series of all time. I want to gush and talk about all the greatness that I bore witness to by reading this novel…but I cannot. That wouldn’t be a review, it would be a spoiler fest because this book upended the entire Dresden Files universe. Jim Butcher created a masterpiece of intrigue and adventure. Again.

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard/private investigator, is back. And back in a major way. As the new Winter Knight for the Unseelie Court, he is Mab’s right hand man. Harry finds himself with ridiculous amounts of power that augment his own innate magical abilities, which is impressive considering how much he is feared already. Mab definitely has plans for him, though. Plans that he may or may not be carrying out.

Ignition Vol. 1
Written by Various
Penciled by Various
Colors by Various
Edited by Andrew DelQuadro
215 Ink
Release Date: Available for Pre-Order
Cover Price: $29.99

So, there’s a review in here, promise, and it’s going to be about the new collection from 215ink called Ignition Vol. 1. The lede is just, as people who call writing a profession say, buried. First, I need a moment to qualify what I mean and give a frame of reference. So, sorry, but: you can always circumvent that by skipping to the end if you’d like.

There’s been something of a renaissance of creator owned content lately, with a bevy of titles being announced from creators like Grant Morrison, Steve Niles, Brian K Vaughan, and other industry heavyweights. Although artistic control has been a high profile issue in the comics world at least since the early 90s -what with the Creator’s Bill of Rights in 1988, and the creation of Image Comics in 1992- the past calendar year has seemed like something of a watershed moment for the publicity and frequency of creator owned projects. Every major publisher, I believe, has an imprint dedicated to these projects, and the whole thing smacks of a cash-in. That sounds cynical.