A New, "The Invisible Man," Comic is on the Way

I've been enjoying the Universal Monsters-themed comics from Image's Skybound imprint. Their sequels/retellings/etc. have been superb among the issues I have had the chance to read. That is why I'm excited for a new, "The Invisible Man," comic written by  James Tynion IV with art by DaNi and colors by Brad Simpson. There are old tales about an invisible man, more modern retellings and takes, and I have been a fan of many iterations. 

This version of the story goes with the solicitation of, "Jack Griffin has always been invisible to the people around him — at least in his own mind. But when an experimental breakthrough presents a path to make his dreams of invisibility a reality, no one — not even the woman he loves — will stand in his way. Witness Griffin’s legendary descent into madness as his humanity fades away and the monster inside is revealed, leaving only… THE INVISIBLE MAN!" Sounds like some scary fun to me; I look forward to the debut issue on August 27th!

Netflix Has Been Building a Cinematic Universe of Christmas Movies

A lot of companies were working at making cinematic universes a short number of years ago due to how popular and successful Marvel had been. Many failures occurred from a false-start of Universal's monsters in a, "Dark Universe," to DC having to get James Gunn to do a reboot for their flicks after they started to crater at the box office. Cinematic Universes don't seem to be much of a focus for companies anymore, so imagine my surprise at reading how Netflix has quietly been building one...with Christmas movies. Yes, seriously.

"Hot Frosty," is a new Netflix flick that looks equally silly and fun. It features Lacey Chabert and a snowman who magically comes to life--he also happens to be a totally ripped hunk played by Dustin Milligan. One assumes the movie features them falling in love, but it just came out the 13th on the streaming service so I haven't watched it yet. That said, I read an article discussing how, "Hot Frosty," ties in slightly with a 2022 film starring Lindsay Lohan known as, "Falling For Christmas," and makes allusions to another movie titled "Single All the Way," where that exists as a fictional production plus, "Christmas Prince," has elements riffed on too. In addition, there are some throwaway jokes that reference, "Mean Girls," just for fun. Still, it is clear that Netflix is building some kind of Christmas-themed movie universe where things tie together, somehow, and that is interesting (the "Mean Girls," stuff is more of a joke than any true continuity, however).

Romance and inter-film continuities!

Could we be leading up to some kind of epic crossover full of wild CGI fights (like Marvel always has) and Christmas cheer? Probably not the former, but I'd imagine we'll get a lot of the latter as even if this is more of a wink-and-nod cinematic universe Netflix has with their holiday flicks, it still is a rare example of one outside of Marvel succeeding so far--even if it is just a handful of films, but that's pretty impressive in some ways considering how many cinematic universes died a terrible death after a single production flopped (sorry, Valiant Comics and your movie plans for after the, "Bloodshot," one). Whether this is a complex multi-layered storyline Netflix is building or just fun easter eggs, I applaud them on inadvertently doing what so few studios have been able to do, make a cinematic universe people actually like watching besides Marvel.

Doesn't a Scary Version of, "The Munsters," Defeat the Whole Point of the Show?

"The Munsters," was a show I enjoyed watching on Nick at Nite as a kid. It showed how even with a family that looked scary, everyone could actually be sweet and loving. Just because Herman was a Frankenstein's Monster-looking fellow he actually was sweet. The wife was a vampire, the son was a wolf-boy and the daughter was seemingly average, yes, but they all were swell folks. Even the Rob Zombie movie that got a critical drubbing kept things lighthearted and didn't lose sight of the humorous and positive aspects. Now, it has been announced we're getting a Munsters-themed reboot that is dark and scary...doesn't that defeat the whole point?

Titled, "1313," which is the number of their house on Mockingbird Lane, this new Munsters show that has just been announced will, apparently, be in the Universal Monsterverse that died a horrible death in one form but is slowly making its way back into existence in a new iteration. Okay, but why? The Munsters are a sweet family, making them grim and horrifying defies the whole message of the first show. It would be like making another take on Hannibal Lecter, but in this version, he's a vegetarian. This is all in the very early stages so I'm not going to make some snap judgment about this upcoming show's quality, but I do have concerns.