A Review Of Tom Bale’s Book ‘See How They Run’

What would you do to keep your family safe?

Bale doesn’t waste time with unnecessary beautifications. With the first passages, the reader fully starts into the scary situation of husband and father Harry French, who sees himself face to face with psychopathic intruders. The masked men are searching for a particular man, called Edward Renshaw.

They are guessing Harry and his wife Alice stay in contact with him and threaten her and their new-born daughter Evie, to get information’s about him.

A mysterious parcel should have been send to their home, but none of them knowing anything about it. So the intruders left them alive, but now the true nightmare begins.

What does other readers say about ‘See how they run’?

‘See how they run’ was published on May 6^th 2016 by Bookouture and earned a lot of good reviews. Fascinated readers say, it’s a thrilling story which jumps from horrifying scenes to scenes and left them totally breathless.

My Résumé of the book

I’m not kidding – Tom Bale has created a gripping story that will definitely blow your mind. The way he described the scenes and the changes of the characters really got me good. When I first read the reviews of readers, I knew this book is going to be good, but not this good! I don’t want to spoil you that much, but from the first passage, Bale took me on a roller coaster of feelings. From the beginning, I felt in love with the characters and somehow I wanted to help them because they were so real. Their conversations and their actions were so real, so human.

Both of them, Harry and Alice were on their own run of trying to stay alive and protect their helpless little baby Evie from the psychopaths.

Harry is a family man who loves his wife and baby so much, that he would do anything for them to stay safe. Harry and Alice made huge changes during the story. At the beginning they were pretty anxious and vulnerable when they first met the intruders, but later they gained so much courage and strength.

“We will be watching you.” – Intruders to Harry and Alice

The antagonists, two men with horrifying mask are so well written. With Bales excellent style of writing and well thought-out character trait, he build believable and frightening antagonists that go to the core.

The plot is full of turns and twist, which makes this thriller a real nail biter and not for the faint-hearted. You never know which character you can trust and which not, because so many unexpected twists are happening during the story.

So, now it’s your turn to make your own opinion about this book.

Who is Tom Bale?

Tom Bale is a British writer which was born in 1966 in Sussex, as David Harrison. He grew up in Peacehaven and started writing when he was just seven years old. He finished his first novel at age fifteen. After several rejections and twenty years, he published his debut novel “Sins of the father” under his real name. His actual novel, a thriller and crime story called “See how they run”, was published by Bookouture in May 2016.

Michael Keaton Back In Talks To Star In ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’

After initial talks didn’t get past the offer stage, Michael Keaton is now in final negotiations to take on a villain role in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Whilst the role hasn’t been confirmed, and Sony and Marvel are keeping their usual tight lid on these things, there’s a lot of speculation that he’ll be staring as the Vulture, one of Spider-Man’s most popular and recurring villains.

Spiderman: Homecoming is a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise – however, this time Sony will be partnering with Marvel to produce it. Amy Pascal and Marvel’s Kevin Feige will be producing, and Jon Watts will be sitting in the directors chair.

Tom Holland will be starring at Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He made his debut in the role during Captain America: Civil War, which has had an amazingly positive reception, and has just passed $1m at the global box office.

Other cast members include Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, and Zendaya has been cast as the main female lead. Tony Revolori and Laura Harrier are also on board.

Robert Downey Jr. is also confirmed for an appearance as Iron Man/Tony Stark.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is currently scheduled for release on July 7th, 2017.

 

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Casting Confirmed By Marvel Studios

Marvel Studio’s have confirmed their incredible cast for Thor: Ragnarok, and it looks incredible.

Cate Blanchett, two time Oscar Winner, will be joining the movie as the new villain Hela, along with Jeff Goldblum who has been cast as accentric Grandmaster.

Also joining in on the third Thor movie is Tessa Thompson, who has been cast as the hero Valkyrie, and Karl Urban who will be adding his talents as Skurge.

Returning cast for the new members to play alongside will be Chris Hemsworth, reprising his role as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as the trickster demi-God brother Loki, and Idris Elba as Heimdall, the Asgardian sentry.

And, in incredibly exciting news for returning Marvel cast members, Mark Ruffalo will be reprising his role of Bruce Banner/the Hulk – that’s excellent news, especially after his sudden departure at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Overall, the cast for Thor: Ragnarok looks incredibly solid, and it’ll be fascinating to see what the realm of Asgard holds for viewers this time.

Thor: Ragnarok is currently scheduled for release on July 28th 2017.

 

‘Preacher’ TV Series Starts This Sunday

And you thought Game of Thrones was the only thing you had to look forward to on Sundays…

Preacher, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name, is the story of Jesse Custer, a preacher from a small town of Texas. He has taken over as preacher for his deceased father’s church – however, he’s torn between his desire to be a good man and to commit to his faith, and between his dark and violent past.

Playing the main role of Jesse Custer will be Dominic Cooper, also known for his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a young Howard Stark. Other cast members include Ruth Negga as Tulip O’Hare, Joe Gilgun as Cassidy, an Irish Vampire and Custer’s best friend and Ian Colletti as Eugene Root, the sheriff’s deformed son – also know as Arseface.

The show is scheduled for a 10 episode order, and has received mostly positive reviews from critics. It’s certainly an incredibly interest premise, especially when you look into the original comics stories and lore.

Preacher – Episode 1 airs May 22nd, 2016.

 

Wolverine 3 Cast Adds Elizabeth Rodriguez

So it has been announced that Elizabeth Rodriguez (Fear of the Walking Dead/ Orange Is The New Black) to the cast they have not yet released what character Rodriguez will play but we do know it will be a “small but key role”.

 

But if the rumors that are coming out about the film are true about it being linked to the old man Logan story line we could see Rodriguez take up one of two roles either as Laura Kinney (X-23) this being linked to my article about Bryan Singer pitching a female Wolverine or we could see her play Maureen Logan’s wife from the comic books these are all rumors of course and we could see her play another part in the film.

Rodriguez is only another member added to an already growing cast which includes the likes of Stephen Merchant, Eriq La Salle and Elise Neal in as yet unknown roles. We also know that Boyd Holbrook (Narcos) is set to play the films main antagonist and that Richard E. Grant (Jekyll & Hyde) has been signed up as an unspecified mad scientist and Patrick Stewart as Professor X.

I for one am extremely excited to see this film when it is released in 2017 as I am a huge Wolverine fan and will also sorely miss Jackman’s portrayal of one of my favorite Marvel characters.

As always Bub for all your feral clawed mutant needs stick with @Deadpool_1984 only at skatronixxx.com.

Valiant Kick Starts Summer With 4001 A.D.

Publisher: Valiant Comics @ValiantComics

Story By: Matt Kindt

Art By: Clayton Crain  & David Mack

Lettered By: Dave Lanphear

Covers By: Clayton Crain, Tula Lotay, Ryan Bodenheim, Clayton Henry, Ryan Lee, Ryan Sook

Release Date: May 4th, 2016

Cover Price: $3.99 USD

Reboots, abrupt cancellations, and controversial turmoil is status quo for Marvel and DC at the moment. But much like famous sports teams that suffer rough periods, it is difficult to imagine they will remain that way. However, during this period of upheaval for the big two, independent publishers are offering up some of their best work. Valiant Comics is currently producing absolute gems. 4001 A.D. is their current summer hit crossover.

Primarily encompassing their science fiction success Rai, this event  ushers in the future for Valiant Entertainment. Their universe is easily accessible with little canon in which to be lost. In fact, I often suggest Valiant books for new readers and collectors. Harbinger and Bloodshot, two of the publisher’s flagship series will see their motion picture debuts beginning in 2017 via Sony Pictures.

All star writer Matt Kindt and artists Clayton Crain and David Mack bring the 41st Century character Rai to life. He was a government-like enforcer for “Father” an artificial intelligence that had laid waste to the Earth and lifted a utopian society New Japan into orbit. “Father” may be compared to an advanced Skynet from James Cameron’s Terminator. Rai has resisted his iron fist methods, and he finds himself cast to the dangerous and primitive lands of the Earth. In an ironic twist, the Earth is similar to the world of Mad Max filled with dinosaurs. With the help of other heroes like the immortal Eternal Warrior, he fights his way back to New Japan to face the ultimate tyrant.

In 4001 A.D. Kindt’s pacing is on point. The art by Clayton Crain can only be described as breath taking. The art could be a sole reason for the purchase. The lettering is by Dave Lanphear; it took some adjustment. Not because I didn’t like it, but it is much different from what I am accustomed. The issue overall is excellent.

If you are looking for an entrapping read with amazing art, 4001 A.D. does not disappoint. I admit that I am a huge fan of great stories, and I believe that Snyder and Capullo’s Batman was perhaps the best run of the past decade, but Valiant much like the aforementioned masters is producing tales in which you can easily find yourself captivated.

4001 A.D. art by Clayton Crain

 

 

 

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Preview

We are about two weeks away from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows everybody! I have been excited to talk TMNT ever since I started writing for this site and you should  expect more articles regarding TMNT once the show comes back for the second half of its fourth season soon. That’s in the future though. For now, lets take a look at TMNT 2 and what you should expect to see in it!

For me and many other fans of the Ninja Turtles one thing we are looking forward to most is the first appearances of Bebop and Rocksteady in a live-action film. Bebop and Rocksteady were two characters first introduced in the original Ninja Turtles cartoon. They have also been featured in the most recent cartoon series.

They are two henchman of Shredder who just happen to be a rhino and warthog. They actually were originally human though, similar to Master Splinter. I would be excited to see these characters in any form but I am even more excited to see a person I am a fan of play one of them. If you have read any of my articles for this site before, you know I am a giant wrestling fan. Rocksteady will be played by former multiple time champ, Sheamus. It will be an exciting time to finally see these two on the big screen together.

Two other frequent villains of the Turtles will also make their live-action film debuts. Those two being Baxter Stockman and Krang. Stockman is an evil scientist and Krang is essentially a brain in a body but Krang is arguably number one on the list of people you don’t want to mess with in the world of TMNT. It could be argued that Stockman was in the last film but I don’t believe he even had a line.

These two characters actually worry me quite a bit. Brad Garrett is playing the role of Krang. I enjoy Garrett’s work but I don’t think he will make a particularly good Krang. They have recently used Roseanne Barr and Gilbert Gottfried as Krang Prime and Subprime, so they could have chosen worse than Brad Garrett. Fred Armisen would have been interesting in the role, but I don’t think he would have been a particularly good Krang either. In my opinion, nothing will ever beat the 80’s version voiced by Pat Fraley.

As I mentioned previously, I am also a bit worried about the actor playing Baxter Stockman. Tyler Perry will be the one playing Stockman and I can’t think of a time where I have seen him not play an elderly woman in a dress. That being said, I enjoyed the little pieces we’ve seen of Stockman in the trailers. He looks like he may be playing the role a bit overboard but he seems to be having fun with it.

We are also getting Casey Jones in this film. Casey Jones is the best friend of the Turtles that isn’t named Splinter or April O’Neil. I use the term friend somewhat loosely though. Him and the turtles have their arguments but he is a great ally to them on many occasions.

Stephen Amell will be playing Jones. Amell is best known as the Green Arrow aka Oliver Queen. I loved the first season of the show but did not enjoy the second season and have not watched since. Amell is the star but is rarely the best part of the show in those seasons. I’m highly intrigued to see him play the role of Casey Jones. I think he can knock it out of the park. I think he’s a talented actor. It’s just for whatever reason I don’t love the character of Oliver Queen.

Aside from that, almost everyone from the first film will be returning and we will also see an increased role for Karai, the daughter of Splinter who thinks she is the daughter of Shredder.

I loved the first film in this series and expect to enjoy this one even more. Not only do we get Shredder, Stockman, Bebop and Rocksteady. We also get Krang coming down from Dimension X to fight the Turtles as well! You can’t ask for much more than that!

Harley Quinn Set To Star In An All-Female Superhero Film – Go DC!

Hey all you ‘pumpkins’ and ‘puddins’ out there, check it: Margot Robbie, Suicide Squad’s very own Harley Quinn, is producing and starring in an all-female superhero movie!

It’s about freaking time, amiright?

This won’t even be the first female-led superhero film. DC’s Wonder Woman is set to release next year, with Israeli actress Gal Gadot reprising her role from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Despite the fact that Marvel had a ridiculous head start on this whole superhero movie trend, DC continues to pull ahead in terms of diversity and mold-shattering.

Meanwhile, Marvel is frustratingly dragging their heels on their one female superhero film: Captain Marvel. Production has been delayed twice, with the estimated release date now tentatively set for 2019. Marvel doesn’t even have an actress lined up to play the powerful and popular Carol Danvers – or, if they do, they’ve stayed mum on the subject. Shoot, they don’t even have a director.

Setting that aside, the thing that really gets my goat is the lack of a Black Widow film. I mean, seriously? Yes, Marvel’s been making some ‘noises’ about finally creating one, about how a film starring Scarlet Johansson as Natasha Romanoff is at the ‘top of their wishlist’.

Frankly, the fact that Marvel has the next eight male-led films lined out, but we’re only getting vague whispers of a film for one of the most hard-hitting, dynamic, powerful, brilliant, clever, intriguing, backstory-rich characters of the MCU – shoot, the entire Marvel-verse, period – is incredibly frustrating.

C’mon Marvel, you’re doing great almost everywhere else! Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Agents of SHIELD… why do you continue to fall short on the big screen? (I’m not going to give you Agent Carter… dropping her is an unconscionable mistake and tragedy. Shame on you, Marvel. Shame.)

… … …

Whew. Sorry for that rant. Now lets talk about what DC is doing right.

Even though Dawn of Justice got mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, Warner Brothers and DC continued to produce and film Wonder Woman.

When Margot Robbie pitched the idea for an all-female super- and anti-hero film, Warner Bros picked it up right away, despite the fact that Suicide Squad hasn’t even been released in theaters.

Basically, DC and Warner Brothers have realized something that Marvel has yet to comprehend – that female superhero films shouldn’t rely on whether or not their male-counterpart films are successful. They should be allowed to stand on their own, because they’re heroes and bad-asses in their own right.

And what a line-up of bad-asses, too. Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Katana, and Bumblebee.

For those who aren’t complete tenth-level geeks, lemme give you a brief description of each super-heroine.

Harley Quinn: an incredibly complex, unique anti-hero. Her story is fantastically layered. Yes, she is a young woman who fell in with the wrong guy. And yes, that guy frequently beats, puts down, and nearly kills her. And yes, like the battered-wife cliché, she always returns to him. But she’s so much stronger than just that. She does have a set of morals (even if they’re easily screwed by her ‘Mistah Jay’). She does often want to do the right thing. She has a close (if complicated) relationship with Batgirl and Poison Ivy. She does eventually stand up for herself and metamorphasize into an amazingly strong, dynamic anti-hero. I will always love her, and I have high hopes for Margot Robbie’s portrayal of her. She clearly not the version from the original Batman show that I came to know and love, but Margot has the potential to make her own, unique version of the ever-famous harlequin.

Poison Ivy: although she’s often drawn very scantily clad, Ivy is an environmentalist at heart. Well, more of an eco-terrorist, but you get the idea. She loves the earth and wants to protect it from all those who are destroying it. She’s a brilliant scientist, who uses a combination of toxins and pheromones from her plants to commit her ‘evil deeds’ – although most of those selfsame deeds are to protect endangered species and the environment. She has an extremely close relationship with Harley Quinn, a sort of very-close-forever-friends-with-benefits-sometimes. Ivy also sometimes has a relationship with Batman, but we won’t get into that right now.

Batgirl: does she really need an explanation? I will say that I hope she’s the Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl. Daughter of Commissioner Gordon, she has an incredibly unshakable sense of justice and right and wrong. She pushed herself to become a crime fighter all on her own, without the Bat-training that Robin had. And, of course, who doesn’t love a redhead that can kick ass like a boss?

Birds of Prey: this is a comic book team that has a long and complicated history, with a wide range of different female members. The team was originally founded by Black Canary (Dinah Lance) and Barbara Gordon (called Oracle at the time), although two other potential main characters we might see are Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) and Lady Blackhawk (Zinda Blake). There are a ton of possibilities, here.

Katana: another character from the upcoming Suicide Squad film, Tatsu has an intricate and incredibly sad ‘origin story’. Two brothers loved her, but she loved only one, Maseo. When she married Maseo and had two children with him, his brother, Takeo, become consumed with jealousy, and killed Maseo with a magical katana. In the fight, a fire was started, and while Tatsu was distracted defeating Takeo and taking his swords, her children were caught in the blaze. Encouraged to flee by the soul of her husband within the sword, Tatsu barely escaped with her life, and began training under a samurai master. Shortly after her ‘graduation’, she moved to the United States to become a superhero.

Bumblebee: she is DC’s first African American superhero. I knew and fell in love with her during the show Teen Titans (the original, amazing version, not this new baby-fied monstrosity). She is absolutely brilliant, and although she has no superpowers of her own, she created her own super-powered battle suit. It enhances her in every way, and gives her the ability to fly and shoot electrical blasts that mimic bee stings. She’s all kinds of sassy, and I can’t wait to see who’ll play her.

And that’s it. Sorry for the long nerd-splosion, but I wanted to be sure that you’d appreciate how fantastically awesome this upcoming film is.

An all-female super- and anti-hero film, pitched and produced by Margot Robbie, picked up by Warner Bros, and directed by an as-of-yet-unnamed female director… this has all the makings of something new and revolutionary and perfect.

It’s about time we got a carnage film where chicks get to blow a bunch of stuff up.

Bring. It. On.

For those who are interested, here’s the trailer for Suicide Squad, starring the fantastic Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, who’s now my absolute hero. Here’s hoping that the tone of her film is just as fun and violent as this one.

‘Iron Man 3’ Reveals Main Villain Was Re-Written as a Man – For Toy Sales.

Yep. Yep, yeah, you read that correctly.

Iron Man 3, the first movie in Marvel’s Phase 2, and the third Iron Man movie, was supposed to star a female villain, namely, Maya Hansen. And this would have made a lot of sense – she created Extremis alongside Aldrich Killian. He then stole it and sold it on, resulting in his suicide.

Shane Black was excited about this too – having the whole world focus on the formidable “Mandarin” – and then it’s a small brunette woman who’s been running the show the whole time.

Being a character who was so important to the original plot, and who also you know, was a key factor in Extremis existing, you think that would earn her the spot as the Big Bad, right?

Well, according to Shane Black, Marvel execs didn’t think so, and figured toy sale success was much more important, and that a female villain toy would not sell. Thus, Shane Black was made to re-write the script.

Yeah. Because of toy sales. Because I sure remember the shelves being stocked with Killian toys, and kids begging their parents for the Aldrich Action Figure for Christmas.

Shane Black said in a statement;

“All I’ll say is this, on the record: There was an early draft of Iron Man 3 where we had an inkling of a problem. Which is that we had a female character who was the villain in the draft. We had finished the script and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying that cannot stand and we’ve changed our minds because, after consulting, we’ve decided that toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female.”

He continued, “So, we had to change the entire script because of toy making.”

Now, given that there weren’t really any Killian Toys outside of the mini-mates double pack (pictured above), most are a little unsure about the logic behind this statement beyond the mere “that is a ridiculous and outdated point of view .” Black did, however, go on to say that the powers-that-be that made this decision are no longer at the head of those decisions.

These statements came shortly after backlash towards toy companies for not including Rey in the initial release of toys for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You know, Rey – the main character.

But hey, I suppose now the ending isn’t the only awkward thing about that movie now.*

Hopefully, Marvel and other large franchises will continue to take fans comments on board, to help improve, impress and expand their fanbases.

(*Just a note – I like Iron Man 3 – I’ve watched it multiple times. However, the ending made no sense to me because of the whole “Yay I just got my arc reactor removed!” – did no one remember Iron Man 2? When it was literally killing him from the inside out? Surely that whole movie would have been solved if he could just cut it out? Or the Avengers, when he called it his Terrible Privilege and used it to bond with Bruce Banner? Because I do. And I am still so deeply confused.)

 

Daredevil SN1 EP1 – ‘Into the Ring’

They say you only get one chance at a first impression. So being the first episode of a new show means Daredevil needed to get off to a good start.