Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we revisit the Ultraverse of Malibu Comics and examine one of its many stories through the Sludge comic book series.
For the newcomers reading this, I published my retro review of Sludge #1 back in December of 2020. I really enjoyed that Ultraverse comic book and now is a good time to revisit that series and find out what will happen next to Sludge, the UV’s most notable monster protagonist. I should state that Steve Gerber (Man-Thing) and Aaron Lopresti made a solid creative duo in Sludge #1.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at Sludge #2, published by Malibu Comics in 1993 with a story written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Aaron Lopresti.
The cover.
Early story
The story begins with a quick flashback of a young blonde boy who got bullied by other kids due to his unusual appearance and the way he expresses himself. Fast forward to the present day, an armed man (the same kid in the flashback) fires his guns on a man who was on his bed inside his residence.
After finishing the killing, the armed man enters his unusual looking car and leaves in high speed. After passing through the city streets, he drives his vehicle into his secret hideout filled with several weapons. Shortly after cleaning himself, he takes his seat in his private study and starts communicating with Mr. Barnett who tells him that bad news that something happened to his father. The killer then states, “Payment is due.”
Somewhere in lower Manhattan, a man is being beaten by two men who are enforcers of a man wearing a trench coat in their presence. The beaten man named Mikey swears he will get the money to pay off his debt but the coated man tells him that he is a week late and will be penalized.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Sludge comes out and grabs the two enforcers which frees Mike whose ear just got cut off by the coated man. Sludge then calls the coated man by his nickname…
Quality
The situation only gets more intense whenever Sludge comes in.
I’ll go straight to the point on the storytelling by Steve Gerber. The biggest surprise is here is that the focus was shifted from the titular protagonist Sludge in favor of the first appearance of Bloodstorm who is more than just a typical villain. Gerber heavily emphasized Bloodstorm’s personality as one who enjoys inflicting violence or death to others (and get paid for it) as a result of his painful childhood and his eventual acceptance of the beliefs that violence itself is always part of life. Even so, this comic book shows that Bloodstorm does not believe in inflicting misery for money and he calls it a cowardly way of earning money. Even as he finds his client’s business appalling, he still proceeds to do the dirty work to make money. This, of course, puts Bloodstorm in the dark work organized, target-focused mobbing which also puts him on the same course as Sludge.
As with issue #1, the violence here is pretty intense and adulterated which goes along almost perfectly with the story’s dark and gritty tone. There is a fine mix of suspense, shock moments and the revealing of key details. I assure you all reading that that even though Sludge himself was not so dominant as the centerpiece of the story, the payoff for all the build-up was still worth reading.
Conclusion
Get to know Bloodstorm through this comic book.
Sludge #2 (1993) is a pretty surprising comic book. One might think that it would become the natural progression of what was established in issue #1 (which itself was the first appearance and origin of Sludge) but ultimately it took a completely different approach. I should also state that the duo of Steve Gerber and Aaron Lopresti continued to deliver compelling stuff in this comic book. While the fact that Sludge is not the dominating force in the story might turn off some readers, I can say to you that Sludge #2 (1993) is still a very worthy read and it builds up on something waiting to be revealed in succeeding issues.
If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Sludge #2 (1993) be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $16 while the near-mint copy of the newsstand edition costs $48
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from watching V: The Final Battle and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
With a very engaging story, memorable characters, intriguing concepts and innovative marketing, the $13 million production V: The Original Miniseries (simply called V back then) became a major TV hit in America over two nights in May, 1983. I personally loved watching the said mini-series back in the 1980s and I still love replaying it in this age of high-definition and Blu-ray discs. For me, at least, it is a timeless classic and it carries several lessons about the fragility of society, the rise of fascism, the spread of evil in many forms and the human desire for freedom from oppression.
The cover and the title that did not live up to its purpose.
Early story
The story begins with Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) having a nightmare of him and his son Sean (who was abducted during the events of V: The Original Miniseries) in a desperate escape attempt while inside one of the motherships of the Visitors. He wakes up in the presence of Julie Parrish (Faye Grant) and realizes they have a dangerous mission to execute at a local facility used by the red-uniformed Visitors. It turns out, the Resistance movement led by Julie has been losing ground to the alien humanoids and Mike has been helping them out while prioritizing the state of his son who has been in captivity in one of the mother ships.
During the night, a truck carrying many local civilians inside its trailer arrives at a local factory controlled by the Visitors with officer Steven (Andrew Pine) watching over. After the civilians got directed to enter the factory, it turns out they got processed and came out in the form of food cocoons. The sight shocks Julie watching from a distance with her armed teammates waiting on stand-by.
Easily the most engaging shot in this sequel. A clear reminder about the fascist takeover by the aliens from outer space.
After causing damage on the nearest fence, the Resistance begins their attempt to raid the facility and free their fellow cocooned people but the tide turned against them. It turns out, the Visitors’ troops are wearing stronger armor and bright lights were installed on the top of the facility to forcing Julie, Marc and the rest of their team to retreat. They lost some members along the way. During a closed-door meeting with the Resistance stakeholders, Mike Donovan says a key event is needed to make a significant gain against the Visitors.
Over at the mothership hovering over Los Angeles and in the presence of Diana (Jane Badler), the leader John (Richard Herd) tells Kristine Walsh (Jenny Sullivan) that a major medical announcement will be held in the form of an organized special event very soon and that she will be part of the presentation for the global TV audience…
Quality
Marc Singer as Mike Donovan with Michael Durrel and Michael Wright as Robert Maxwell and Elias Taylor near him.
I’ll star first with the presentation here. This sequel mini-series was composed of three episodes totaling over 270 minutes. In what looks like to be attempts to ensure more spectacles for the viewers’ enjoyment, each episode of V: The Final Battle has a battle near the end and the creative team succeeded in not only providing on-screen action but also scored well in making the spectacle more varied while still making sense within the main narrative. For the most part, this sequel is indeed a natural progression of what was established in V: The Original Miniseries and that is something to admire given the fact that V creator Kenneth Johnson left this production early.
On the storytelling, V: The Final Battle expands a bit on the Visitors’ dictatorship of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas while the Resistance led by Julie Parrish and supported by close companions Robert Maxwell (Michael Durrell), Elias Taylor (Michael Wright) and Caleb Taylor (Jason Bernard) are shown to be struggling on taking down the alien humanoids even though they secured noticeably more weapons and equipment. The storytelling and the dramatization about the Resistance changes dramatically with the addition of Ham Tyler (Michael Ironside) and partner Chris Farber (Mickey Jones) in the 2nd episode and from that point on, you get to see a human opposition that becomes more flexible with their operations.
Michael Ironside as Ham Tyler is the most significant new addition to the cast.
As mentioned earlier, Kenneth Johnson’s involvement in this sequel was minimal and it is seen on the presentation. The symbolism Johnson implemented in the original mini-series that established parallels between 1980s America to the Nazi occupation of Europe did not continue here which results a more straightforward presentation of details, character moments and story progression. There was also a noticeable lack of suspense when it comes to executing big scenes with big reveals. The pacing, like in the 1983 mini-series, moves smoothly at a moderate pace throughout and there were no boring moments at all.
The quality of script is still good. For the most part, the writers managed to capture the essence of the established characters from the original mini-series as they told the further developments of this sequel. For example, Caleb and Elias’ father-and-son moments quickly remind me of what I saw in V: The Original Miniseries. Robert Maxwell’s struggle to help his troubled daughter Robin (Blair Tefkin) while assisting Julie and the Resistance is a very natural progression of what was shown in 1983. The friendship between good natured alien Willie (Robert Englund) and Harmony (Diane Cary) got developed a lot more than expected eventually adding to one particular side of the conflict. The local collaborators Daniel Bernstein (David Packer) and Eleanor Dupres (Neva Patterson) developed further with their treason towards their fellow humans as they enjoyed further the power they gained from the Visitors. These two characters will surely get on the nerves of viewers rooting for the Resistance.
Denise Galik as Maggie is a fine new addition to the cast.
David Packer returns as Daniel Bernstein.
Sarah Douglas as Pamela, a superior of Diana’s.
When it comes to new additions to the cast, Ham Tyler and Chris Farber are not the only new players to add depth to this sequel. There is also Maggie (Denise Galik) who is an attractive, brave and strategic Resistance member whose contribution makes an impact. On the downside, there is also Andrew Doyle (Thomas Hill) who is bad choice the creative team came up with as the on-screen representative of faith when he in fact represents religion, idolatry, rituals and distortion. On the side of the Visitors is Pamela (Sarah Douglas) who is a higher-ranking officer than Diana and even John. Pamela is the more militaristic type of leader who is more focused on achieving goals while keeping things in order.
If there is anything flawed about the characterization, it is the romantic relationship of Julie Parrish and Mike Donovan which starts in the first episode. Considering how dramatic the performances of Faye Grant and Marc Singer were in this sequel, Julie and Mike still don’t make a believable pair of lovers in my view. While this romantic relationship opens up new dimensions within Julie and Mike and offer viewers something new to focus, it brings down the former’s value as Resistance leader somewhat while also setting aside the hinted personal connection between her and Elias in the 2nd episode of the 1983 mini-series.
Faye Grant as Julie Parrish in the conversion process scene watched closely by Jane Badler’s Diana.
More on Faye Grant, her performance here is more varied. Not only does she play the brave and struggling leader who is talented in fighting, science and medical practice, she also portrayed Julie as an even more vulnerable character this time around. Her act as the traumatized Julie during the conversion process (read: mental and psychological torture using a more detailed form of virtual reality or nightmare generation) scenes under the watch of Diana is very dramatic and compelling to watch. Just seeing Julie in the conversion process will make grip you with despair and you will eventually feel sorry for her. I should state that the nightmare scenes of Julie were presented with a clear touch of horror.
Marc Singer as Mike Donovan is no longer the reluctant action hero but rather a driven man with a mission to get his missing son back while maintaining a secret connection with Martin (Frank Ashmore) of the Fifth Column (secret dissenters among the Visitors) hoping to achieve breakthroughs for the Resistance and their friends among the dissenting aliens. Singer did the best he could with the script provided to him and he remain likable all throughout. Other than the unbelievable romance with Julie as well as his past encounters with Ham Tyler, there is not much new to expect from the way Mike Donovan was written here. What I should point out, however, is that Mike Donovan’s support for the unholy act of abortion (along with the so-called right to abort) is very wrongful, highly immoral and makes the hero having a sinister presence within him even though he is a father searching for his son.
Jane Badler’s performance as Diana deserves admiration here. Not only did she successfully recapture the charismatic and sinister nature of her character in the 1983 mini-series, Badler was very convincing in showing the more desperate side of Diana, especially when it comes to power struggle within the ranks of the Visitors. You can clearly see the desperation and struggle as soon as Pamela appeared. This sequel also showed a lot more of Diana when it comes to personally supervising her conversion process which is much more elaborate here (note: the conversion process in the 1983 mini-series was limited to the showing of a chair with torture devices). Being the very symbol of charisma and evil in the V franchise, Diana’s place in pop culture is solid and her real-world comparative counterparts would be none other than Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
Jane Badler as the ever charismatic yet very wicked Diana.
As mentioned earlier, Michael Ironside’s Ham Tyler is the most significant addition to the cast and the script. Ironside had that excellent mix of toughness, cruelty and sarcasm portrayed in here and at the same time Ham Tyler brought out very interesting and intriguing interactions with the more established Julie and Mike. As seen in entertainment history, Ironside went on to climb up the ranks in Hollywood with Total Recall (1990), Starship Troopers (1997) and in the Splinter Cell video game franchise. Ironside’s Ham is easily the fourth major character of the V franchise of the 1980s.
Going into the spectacle part of this sequel, the action is more varied as mentioned earlier and the 3-episode structure was a factor. You will see lots of shooting with the use of guns and laser blasters here and there, and with the in-story locations and props as key factors, there are action sequences that are uniquely done. There is a lot to enjoy for any V fan and casual viewers watching this sequel.
As for the special effects part of the spectacle, this one is a mixed bag similar to what was presented in the 1983 mini-series. To put things in perspective, the use of in-camera effects, practical effects and optical effects for TV back in the 1980s was ambitious. That being said, certain effect shots here did not age well such as the miniature shots looking fake (because the camera used did not have a special lens to capture visuals that would have made the miniatures look believable). I should also state that there were certain effects shots that were recycled and reused in key sequences in this sequel which remains embarrassing to see. What is even more embarrassing to see here is the very poor-quality monster effects used during the nightmare scenes (conversion process) of Julie and, more notably, the presentation of Robin’s other child. The monster effects are so fake, they are laughable to watch.
On the bright side of the special effects, the quality of the laser blasts remains good to watch right down to the precise timing with the explosions that were simulated on-set and in-camera.
Conclusion
The Visitors and Resistance key characters in the sequel.
While it has its strengths and weaknesses, V: The Final Battle is still engaging and enjoyable to watch, and at the same time it is a worthy addition for your Blu-ray collection when it comes to HD viewing (note: this is the sequel with the best visuals yet albeit with black borders on the sides). Even though creator Kenneth Johnson was not too involved on the production side, the creative team managed to deliver a long story that proved to be a natural progression of the original mini-series while providing more spectacle (especially action), developing the established characters and resolving key plot threads that started in 1983.
The lack of Kenneth Johnson’s personal touch on the presentation was noticeable and somewhat brought this sequel down a bit in terms of style. What brought V: The Final Battle’s quality down were the overall cheaper looking visual effects, the Julie-Mike love relationship and the climax of the final episode which seemed executed with desperation on the part of the creative team (note: giving a little new character instant purpose). In fairness, this sequel still succeeded in showing what fascism in America (or California specifically which is now dominated by Commies) would look like and it built up on its predecessor’s themes such as the deception of power and the collaboration with foreign enemies. This mini-series even added themes of teenage pregnancy and abortion (note: someone from the creative team wanted to promote the wrongful Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973) to its narrative.
Does V: The Final Battle live up to its title? Absolutely not because a regular TV series that deteriorated in quality followed. In retrospect, it’s clear that this sequel marked the beginning of the decline of the V franchise in pop culture. What more, V: The Final Battle was never counted as canon in Kenneth Johnson’s 2008 novel (and sequel to the 1983 mini-series) V: The Second Generation. On its own, V: The Final Battle still has more positive stuff than negative ones and in my experience, it remains enjoyable and compelling to watch from start to finish. Compared to V: The Original Miniseries, I can say this sequel falls short. It is good, not great.
Overall, V: The Final Battle (1984) is recommended. That being said, let this 1984 mini-series remind you that there is so much evil in the real world in the forms of Iran, the terrorists of Palestine, the social justice warriors (SJWs), the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and liberal media to name some. Always keep in mind to avoid becoming evil no matter how tempting power in this divided world becomes to you. You also do not want to let the evil ones take over your government and have authority over you, your family members and your community. Push back against evil and stand up strong by faithfully taking sides with the one true Savior whose name is Jesus!
+++++
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/
Since early 1973, the unholy and murderous act of abortion became legal in the United States of America as a result of the highly controversial Supreme Court decision referred to as Roe v. Wade. Since that time, many millions of unborn babies were killed and to this day the issue of abortion remains highly divisive among Americans.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the detailed report of CBN News. Some parts in boldface…
Constitutional experts were glued to the Supreme Court’s oral arguments Wednesday, looking for any clues as to how the justices might rule in a case that’s considered the biggest challenge to Roe v. Wade in decades.
And the six conservative-leaning justices appear poised to uphold the Mississippi law that bans abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy. They could even take it a step further, which would mean overturning the so-called national right to abortion created under the landmark Roe case in 1973.
The Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart argued that the high court should get out of the business of crafting abortion policy and return the issue to the state legislatures to decide.
“Nowhere else does this court recognize a right to end a human life,” said Stewart. “The Constitution places its trust on the people… on hard issue after hard issue, the people make this country work. Abortion is a hard issue. It demands the best from all of us. Not a judgment by just a few of us.”
In Roe v. Wade, the Court declared that a right to abortion can be found within the right to privacy, stemming from the 14th Amendment.
But Stewart argued that the so-called right to abortion is not constitutional.
“A right to abortion is not grounded in the text,” said Stewart. “It’s grounded in abstract concepts.“
If the justices rule in favor of the Mississippi law it would undermine Roe, and if they overrule Roe it would break with precedent.
It’s why much of the arguments focused on the legal principle of “stare decisis,” and whether or not this is the moment to make such a dramatic change.
Some of the liberal justices worried aloud about the country’s trust if the new conservative majority leads the high court to reverse course.
“Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “I don’t see how it’s possible.”
“They’re going to be ready to say, ‘You’re just political, You’re just politicians.’ And that’s what kills us, as an American institution,” Justice Stephen Breyer argued.
Center for Reproductive Rights Director Julie Rikelman defended Roe before the court, arguing primarily that abortion is about women’s “liberty”.
“For a state to take control of a woman’s body and demand that she go through pregnancy and childbirth with all the physical risks and life-altering consequences that that brings is a fundamental deprivation of her liberty,” said Rikelman.
Justice Sotomayor asked about impoverished women who suffer medical complications with unwanted pregnancies.
Stewart responded that both the mother’s and child’s interests are important and so the states should be allowed to decide such a complicated issue in which two lives are at stake.
Justice Amy Barrett also noted that women with unwanted pregnancies have the option of adoption thanks to safe-haven laws.
“Why don’t safe haven laws take care of that problem,” asked Barrett. “That would answer the reliance concern.”
Rikelman contended that women have come to rely on abortion, and need it for success in education and work.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh pursued questions relating to neutrality and said the Court shouldn’t be forced to pick sides.
“Many say the Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-abortion and should be left to the state or the Congress and that the court should be scrupulously neutral because the Constitution doesn’t give us the authority,” Kavanaugh said.
The above news ended stating that a decision from the Supreme Court won’t be known until June-July 2022. For more insight on this, watch the related news video posted below.
Pray for victory over abortion not only in America but also for the rest of the world
Abortion is truly unholy as it is clearly more about taking life away from the unborn. Never let the Satanic Left and its pawns (abortionists, radical feminists, socialists, Communists, Marxists, liberals, secularists, atheists, Black Lives Matter, Antifa, the “My Body My Choice” fanatics and others) fool you! Abortion is absolutely not part of liberty and certainly not about freedom at all…it is a rebellious act against God who Himself made plans for each and every person long before they were even born here on this very divided world. Abortion is murder and there is no denying that! Abortion itself increased immorality in America and caused disruptions and division on countless families it affected. Abortion is truly evil. Learn from the following scriptures below…
You shall not murder.
Exodus 20:13 (NKJV)
There are six evils God truly hates
and a seventh that is an abomination to him:
Putting others down while considering yourself superior,
spreading lies and rumors,
spilling the blood of the innocent,
plotting evil in your heart toward another,
gloating over doing what’s plainly wrong,
spouting lies in false testimony,
and stirring up strife between friends.
These are entirely despicable to God!
Proverbs 6:16-19 (TPT)
I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
Psalm 22:10(NKJV)
The Lord gave me this message:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV)
Children are God’s love-gift; they are heaven’s generous reward.
Children born to a young couple will one day rise to protect
and provide for their parents.
Happy will be the couple who has many of them!
A household full of children will not bring shame on your name
but victory when you face your enemies,
for your offspring will have influence and honor
to prevail on your behalf!
Psalm 127:3-5 (TPT)
With the fate of abortion rights in America on the balance, now is the time for us all to pray to our Lord to enlighten the Supreme Court justices so they will vote decisively to uphold Mississippi’s law and strike down Roe v. Wade once and for all! It does not matter if you are a citizen of the United States or not. What matters is you are a faithful child of the Lord, you faithfully follow His Word and you can help Him save the unborn from certain death. Overturning Roe v. Wade will also be a major push back against the Satanic Left and their members, including the most radical abortionists, will realize their errors, come to Jesus to repent and submit themselves to Him. Pray to the Lord that nationwide legalized abortion in America will end and pray that the followers of Satan will decide to leave him behind, stop being evil and come to our Lord for forgiveness and salvation. Do not cease praying to our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit for the breakthrough! Live on with unwavering faith in the Lord!
From this point on, I would like to reach out to all the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Are you frustrated with religion? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the atheists, the humanists and the secularists fool and abused you? Were you victimized by a religious zealot? Have you been living as a homosexual or as a transgendered person? Are you still prioritizing addictions to sex, drugs and other inappropriate elements over the Lord ? Have you been causing trouble as a social justice warrior (SJW)? Did you spend an entire life worshiping statues, statuettes, images, people and relics? Are you a toxic person or one of those modern-day Leftist activists (Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, the abortionists and others) who got fed up fighting for worthless causes? Have been a Planned Parenthood supporter or activist? Did you kill someone and have been living so long with the guilt? Have been practicing sorcery and witchcraft? All of that darkness can finally end and you can decide to do it! How? You can save yourselves by submitting yourselves to the Lord Jesus willingly and realize He is the Light! Glorify only the Lord!
There is no force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now and gain salvation, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from my first pastor.
Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Father God,
I thank You. I believe Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died for me and redeemed me from all of my sins. He took my sins and, Father, thank You for loving me and You demonstrated Your love for me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, I open my heart to You. I welcome You to enter into my heart. I confess today that You are now my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiveness. I receive forgiveness. Thank You for Your blood that cleansed me from all of my sins. I will follow You, Jesus. Thank You for Your plan. I receive the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, help me to follow the will of God in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always used religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord.
With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).
With your new life realized, make an effort to get yourself copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a local Christian church that God has chosen for you (note: ask Him for a local church!) and find your place in the spiritual family (God’s family!). Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God. When you are at home, be in your room with the door shut and have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. On a personal level, practice Christian Habits in reference to what I published here and here. Remember the truth that God rewards the faithful abundantly and continue to be people of the Word. Declare your love for Him as well!
The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close to it for it is the Word of God. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion at all. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God. We can do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on Earth by preaching His Word, blessing the Jewish people and saving the countless lost and unsaved souls around us by leading them to Lord Jesus. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion. Never let the idolaters, the idol makers and other sinister forces fool you into becoming unholy.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/
If you are eager to order in advance a copy of the upcoming Saints Row reboot – AKA Saints Row (2022) – you should consider waiting first because the said game’s release has been delayed all the way to August 2022 as confirmed recently by Volition’s Creative Director Jim Boone and the developers simply cannot complete their work on the game based on their current situation.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Saints Row website post by Jim Boone. Some parts in boldface…
Can you imagine Johnny Gat beating all these four and tell them they are not worthy of carrying the Saints Row title?Also what’s with the SJW look on the character designs?
Saints Row will no longer release on the originally announced date of 25th February 2022, instead it will launch worldwide on 23rd August 2022.
Our priority is to create the best Saints Row game yet and, if we released on the original date, it wouldn’t be up to the standards we’ve set ourselves, and that you’re expecting and deserve. The team just need more time to do our vision justice; we’re doing some fine tuning and there won’t be much change in the game outside of overall quality and polish.
In all honesty, we underestimated the impact COVID would have on our schedule, although everyone adapted very quickly to the working from home arrangement and continued to be incredibly productive.
However, due to the size and scope of our new Saints Row, it’s become apparent that to create the best game possible, we need to give our team longer to perfect their craft.
As you can see in the above excerpt, Volition needs more time and opportunities to polish Saints Row (2022) and make it the best and most enjoyable game possible. Volition’s situation of having employees work at home due to this COVID-19 crisis is not surprising at all. I can only guess that their previous announcement of a February 2022 release was decided rather too aggressively. How long exactly have Volition’s workers been working from their homes remains unclear.
Boone also mentioned on his post that Saints Row (2022) will be their “biggest and best Saints Row game ever,” while confirming that “there will not be any changes to the story or the characters.” With those details declared, it’s obviously clear that revising the story or the characters will consume a lot of time given the creative processes involved. Still, I would prefer that they revise the character designs of the new age Saints Row who currently look more like misfits molded with Commie-oriented diversity concepts. Were Volition’s artists influenced by images of the Cancer Culture and Black Lives Matter mobs?
For those who missed out on updates about Saints Row (2022), the game was recently featured by Game Informer with videos showcasing how it plays, what the concepts are, how the writers reacted to its quality, etc. Check out the Game Informer videos below…
Saints Row (2022) will be released on Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X on August 23, 2022. If you have decided already to order the game in advance, click right here.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/
Welcome back, fellow geeks, movie buffs and fellow Blu-ray/4K Blu-ray collectors!
If you are nostalgic about 1980s Hollywood or you if you are discovering more of the said era for your Blu-ray collection, then you might be interested in the 1982 comedy Night Shift which is coming out on October 5, 2021 on Blu-ray format via the Warner Archive line of Warner Bros. Night Shift Blu-ray can be ordered right now online.
The cover.
What exactly is Night Shift? For one thing, it was one of the older films directed by Ron Howard (the same guy behind Solo: A Star Wars Story) and starred the famous Henry Winkler (Happy Days) and a very young Michael Keaton (Batman in 1989). Posted below is its synopsis according to Blu-ray.com…
Chuck (Henry Winkler) has given up life as a stockbroker because it was too stressful. Now, he works an easy gig as a night shift attendant at a New York City morgue. His co-worker, Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton), on the other hand, is always looking to make a quick buck. When Bill finds out that Chuck’s prostitute neighbor, Belinda (Shelley Long), needs a place to do her work, he convinces Chuck to turn the morgue into a brothel where they can work as her pimps.
Posted below are key details of Night Shift Blu-ray from its Blu-ray.com page.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Do you seriously believe that the intergovernmental organization called the United Nations (UN) is really working for the good of the world as well as maintaining peace and security? Are you comfortable with the ideas that the UN would affect your personal liberty, violate your nation’s sovereignty and meddle in the local affairs?
I asked these questions for you my readers to be aware of what has been going and what is happening around us all in this very divided, screwed-up world we live in. Very recently, the UN had its 76th General Assembly in New York and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres went ahead with what could be described as acts of fearmongering and making people even more worried during this COVID-19 pandemic.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Philippine News Agency (PNA) report. Some parts in bold…
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres raised the alarm on Tuesday as world leaders convened in New York for the 76th General Assembly, telling them to “wake up” in the face of cataclysmic challenges.
Speaking as the General Debate opened, Guterres said the international community is facing “the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetimes.”
“We are on the edge of an abyss and moving in the wrong direction. Our world has never been more threatened or more divided,” he said. “The Covid-19 pandemic has super-sized glaring inequalities. The climate crisis is pummeling the planet. Upheaval from Afghanistan to Ethiopia to Yemen and beyond has thwarted peace. A surge of mistrust and misinformation is polarizing people and paralyzing societies. Human rights are under fire, and science is under assault.”
Guterres blasted searing inequity in vaccine access with the developed world mulling booster shots for its populations while many in developing regions are desperately searching for immunizations.
“This is a moral indictment at the state of our world. It is an obscenity. We passed the science test, but we are getting an F in ethics,” he said.
The UN chief further warned that current national climate commitments will see emissions go up 60 percent by 2030, which he said would bring a “hellscape of temperature rises of at least 2.7 degrees above pre-industrial levels” as nations remain “light years away from reaching our targets.”
“Instead of humility in the face of these epic challenges we see hubris. Instead of the path of solidarity, we are on a dead-end to destruction,” he said.
The stark warning comes after the UN issued a report last week that said the commitments established in the 2015 Paris climate accord, which are largely not being met, would lead to a 16 percent increase in emissions by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. A cut of 45 percent by 2030 is needed to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century, it added.
Guterres continued to warn of the dangers posed by ongoing great power competition between China and the US, saying he fears the world is heading toward “two different sets of economic, trade, financial and technological rules; two divergent approaches in the development of artificial intelligence, and ultimately, the risk of two different military and geopolitical strategies.”
“And this is a recipe for trouble. It would be far less predictable than the Cold War,” he said.
Amid the potential global split, Guterres said the UN’s powers remain too limited to address the globe’s challenges and need to be updated to ensure it could adequately address them.
When it comes to the climate change topic, the year 2030 is repeated yet again and as such it is important to point out that related climate change initiatives like the Green New Deal is a scam and renewable energy is itself unreliable as it depends on the cooperation with the weather (note: established energy forms like fossil fuels and nuclear power remain consistent, reliable and essential). It should be noted that climate change initiatives can be quite destructive to people socially and economically. Learn from the following videos below…
When it comes to the international community, the UN has a history of condemning Israel (click here and here) within its spectrum. Anti-Semitism is the norm for the UN for a long time now and there does not seem to be any movement from the UN leadership to stop it. As such, Israel has to keep defending itself. The lies that Israel is evil continue to circulate and I urge you readers not to be consumed by all the deception propagated by the enemies of Israel within the UN’s membership. As the UN cannot even solve its anti-Semitism problem within, how can they even prove their worth internationally with such developments like the what happened recently in Australia due to COVID-19 and Pakistan’s link with the Taliban in connection to the tragedies that happened in Afghanistan? Do we really need the United Nations at all? Learn from the videos below…
Finally, I want to point out that as the children of the Heavenly Father, we the faithful should follow Him, not the world. What is worldly is clearly not holy. Even world leaders are not immune to sin and the many temptations that come with the power they wield over people. The evil one – Satan – is clearly causing division worldwide using many methods and human pawns, and not a lot of people depending on worldly authorities and influences realize that. Learn from the holy scriptures below…
The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.
Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.
Luke 22:1-6 (NLT)
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV)
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 (NKJV)
Lord, it is so much better to trust in you to save me than to put my confidence in someone else.
Yes, it is so much better to trust in the Lord to save me than to put my confidence in celebrities. Once I was hemmed in and surrounded by those who don’t love you. But by Yahweh’s supernatural power I overcame them all!
Yes, they surrounded me, like a swarm of killer bees swirling around me. I was trapped like one trapped by a raging fire; I was surrounded with no way out and at the point of collapse. But by Yahweh’s supernatural power, I overcame them all!
Psalm 118:8-12 (TPT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Very clearly, it is only the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit who can protect us, heal us, lift us up and protect us all from Satan and the screwed-up world. The United Nations cannot do the same for it (along with other worldly bodies out there) is vulnerable to sin and temptation, not to mention being influenced by the climate change extremists, the Marxists, the socialists, the secularists, the abortionists, the Communists, the liberals, the SJWs, the covetous, the religious extremists, the atheists, the fascist and the terrorists. Where is the spark for the UN to reform itself in and out? What we can do is pray to the Lord so that the worldly forces will realize their errors, stop doing Satan’s will, come to the Lord, repent to Him and submit themselves to His authority.
Any person of faith knows it is only the Lord anyone can truly trust wholeheartedly and worship eternally. It is only the commands from the Lord we should follow, not the commands of the worldly. As people of faith, we must always stand with the Lord and spread the Word of God to the countless unsaved and lost souls everywhere to help them realize that Jesus is Lord and Savior of all and He is truly the only way to salvation. True peace, stability, security and prosperity will be realized under the Lord, not under worldly forces.
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Visiting Israeli health experts shared best practices in managing their country’s cold chain and logistics systems during a meeting held here with Covid-19 task force officials, members of the medical community and private sector representatives on Tuesday.
Considering the archipelagic composition of the Philippines, the health experts advised their Filipino counterparts to create centralized vaccine storage hubs that will cater to both urbanized and far-flung areas in the country.
“The Philippines needs more hubs since it is an archipelago. You should go for creating centralized hubs for Pfizer vaccines based on the ability to reach a certain population, and possibly with a customized approach in more remote areas,” said Adam Segal, logistics and operations manager of Salomon Levid & Elstein Ltd.
“Centralized hubs for vaccine storage will work with metropolitan areas, with a dedicated approach in remote areas,” Segal added.
He said the Israeli Ministry of Health has also developed a smaller packaging for their vaccines. He explained that the vaccines are more secure and less prone to shaking with the smaller packaging they use.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje requested the Israeli team to provide samples of their vials so that it will be easier for the Philippines to reproduce them.
Efficient data management
The effective management of Covid-19 data was also among the main topics covered during the learning session held between Covid-19 task force members and Israeli health experts.
Officials from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) led the discussions on the current strategy of the Philippines in managing its vaccine deployment data.
The three-member Israeli delegation explained how they developed and managed their vaccination data system.
According to Dafna Segol, the Israeli government uses a data-based approach when making decisions related to its vaccination program.
One key feature of the Israeli vaccine information system is its use of a “traffic light” model. Through this approach, Israeli authorities are able to identify cities or areas that warrant immediate action.
“It allows us to focus on cities that need more attention,” Segol added.
Data warehouse
DICT’s Christian Edmond Chua said the agency established a data warehouse to capture information related to the vaccine supply chain and then process them to make crucial day-to-day decisions.
Chua noted that the local government units’ lack of resources remains the biggest challenge for data management in the vaccination program.
To address this situation, he said the DICT has designated LGUs as the “data owner” of their vaccination records.
This means the LGUs are accountable for submitting accurate information based on their vaccination records.
“In terms of the development of the technologies and tools to help in the submission (of vaccine data), we are adopting a low tech and low internet process,” Chua said.
The National Task Force Against Covid-19 has also developed an application that will ensure transparency and accountability in submitting data to the National Vaccination Operations Center.
“We monitor not only the performance of the LGUs but it is also helpful in providing feedback for the public policy health experts in calibrating our vaccination program,” Chua said.
The Covid-19 task force officials thanked the delegation for sharing their insights on how the Philippine government can further enhance its data management system.
“We look forward to applying the same lessons we have learned into our own practices in the Philippines,” DICT Director Amelia Dean said.
Lessons learned
Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Ma. Carolina Vidal-Taiño noted that the meeting with the Israeli health experts would help the government further improve the implementation of its vaccine rollout.
“As we prepare for the arrival of the 40-million vaccines from Pfizer, the sharing of best practices and strategies from our Israeli partners will be a learning opportunity that we can adopt in our practice,” Vidal-Taiño said.
“We will consider the four success factors of Israel on vaccine distribution. First, the availability of trained human resources and the availability of infrastructure. Second, the small batch packaging, which we are very interested in. Third, the high usage rate and minimal waste. And lastly, the adequate preparation for the storage capacity and the outstanding cold chain distribution,” she said.
“We have to strictly follow the safe handling of the vaccines,” said NTF Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez during the discussions.
As you can see in the details above, the Philippines is very fortunate to learn from Israel’s health experts. As the Philippines has a population of over 100 million and an archipelago with lots of cities, towns and small communities scattered throughout, dealing with COVID-19 and getting people tested or vaccinated will always be a tremendous challenge. Israel’s success in handling COVID-19 and normalizing the lives of many people make a good starting point that leaders here in the Philippines – from the national government down to the provincial governments, the local governments, the barangays and to the homeowner’s associations – can learn from and be able to make adjustments. There are certain factors about the COVID-19 problem that the Philippines does not share with Israel, but new ways can made to improve the local COVID-19 programs now that the Israeli health experts shared their views and strategies to their local counterparts.
Watch this informative video about Israel’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Even though major breakthroughs in the Philippines’ effort on solving the pandemic-related problems and getting everyone vaccinated have yet to be realized, we Filipinos should be grateful to the State of Israel and give back by supporting them in more ways than one. We should also strengthen Israel-Philippine relations! Remember that Israel helped us and they committed with advising and improving the local COVID-19 efforts and processes. Iran did NOT help the Philippines. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) did NOT help the Philippines. Black Lives Matter cares NOTHING about the Philippines. The Democratic Socialists and SJWs overseas DO NOT really care about people here in the Philippines. Israel cared for us Filipinos.
Before ending this article, posted below is a holy scripture…
Pray and seek for Jerusalem’s peace,
for all who love her will prosper!
Psalm 122:6 (TPT)
If you truly believe in Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Heavenly Father wholeheartedly and you continue to be faithful (not religious), you should be aware that Christians are meant to stand united with Israel, love the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. You can do your part supporting Israel by donating to Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Do not forget to read the Holy Bible, then pray in tongues to the Lord in the privacy of your room with the door shut.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from watching V: The Original Miniseries and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Way back in 1983, I was fortunate to watch the 2-episode sci-fi mini-series on television titled V: The Original Miniseries. Because there was no Netflix, no YouTube, no Internet access and no DVD at the time, getting to replay the said mini-series as well as its sequel V: The Final Battle was really hard. Replays of them on local TV rarely happened.
Then in 2001, V: The Original Miniseries was released on DVD format and I got to watch it all over again with a good amount of enjoyment. In recent times, I purchased the Blu-ray release and replayed the original miniseries in high-definition at last!
You must be wondering if the original mini-series aged well through the decades, and is it still good to watch by today’s standards? While I will comment about its overall quality below, what I can say is that its theme about people fighting to be free from fascism, oppression, terrorism and dictatorship remains relevant to this day.
For his part, star Marc Singer stated: “I think themes of what holds society together and what tears society apart, those themes are universal themes and I think they’re always going to be relevant. I think there’s going to be a necessity for things like V to be revisited in order that society remember what it is that’s cohesive and coherent about it and why is it that we should all stand together and treat each other well.”
With those details laid down, here is a look back at V: The Original Miniseries, written and directed by Kenneth Johnson. The first episode was broadcast on television in the United States on May 1, 1983.
V: The Original Miniseries
Early story
The story begins in El Salvador where camera operator Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) and his companion Tony risk their lives capturing footage of an armed conflict. As the two tried their best to move away from the heat of battle, a helicopter of the enemy tracks them and corners them. Just as hope seems lost for Mike Donovan, the helicopter suddenly flies away. He turns to the other direction and witnesses the presence of a huge, floating saucer-like space ship coming his way. He begins to record footage of it.
Soon enough, several other space ships arrive and float above many other cities around the world. In America, medical student Julie Parrish (Faye Grant) and her colleagues carefully watch the TV news coverage. In a nice neighborhood, several residents – including Robin Maxwell (Blaire Tefkin), Eleanor Dupres (Neva Patterson), Daniel Bernstein (David Packer) and his grandfather Abraham (Leonardo Cimino) to name a few – marvel at the sight of a space ship above them. At another location, the research of scientist Robert Maxwell (Michael Durrell) and his colleague got interrupted with the arrival of a space ship.
The Visitors formally begin their new relationship with the people of Earth.
Diana of the Visitors played by Jane Badler.
Some time later, the Visitors make verbal contact with the people around the world using varied languages of Earth. In a special arrangement held at the top of the United Nations (UN) building in New York closely viewed on TV by the general public, the Visitors reveal themselves represented by John (Richard Herd) who expresses their message of reaching out peacefully to the people of Earth, seek their help and, in return, share with them their advanced technologies that could help humanity a whole lot for future generations. The Visitors are human in appearance but speak with very distinct sounds.
As a result, the governments of Earth agree to the offer of the Visitors and establish ties with them. Symbolically, a large group of Visitors’ engineers led by Diana (Jane Badler) and security chief Steven (Andrew Pine) arrive at a refinery to formally begin collecting chemicals and minerals.
Then things start to turn bad…
Quality
I can clearly declare that the writing and directing done by Kenneth Johnson remains great, and for many reasons why. On storytelling, Johnson (who was inspired by the anti-fascist novel It Can’t Happen Here and made an adaptation of it before finally coming up with V) clearly took his time on establishing the core concept stage-by-stage, and he also found efficient ways of explaining details to viewers by using in-story news reports and videos and retrospective as effective tools of exposition (these helped cut down the reliance on expository dialogue).
As the story goes on, Johnson carefully introduced the many characters on-screen (including the use of quick introductions of some characters who are located away from others they are connected/related with), established who they are and, most notably, showed how the events that took place affected them.
The Visitors (and one member of their youth auxiliary movement wearing brown) posting propaganda material to condition people’s minds they are friendly and trustworthy. These posters are familiar to many Nazi propaganda materials used in Europe decades earlier. Prior to the release of the Original Miniseries, a real-life marketing campaign of putting up such posters happened in real life.
Johnson also used symbolism which reflects what happened decades ago in Europe with the rise of the Third Reich. The Visitors’ symbol resembles the Nazi Swastika while the persecution of scientists (as well as their families and associates) resembles the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, and the scene of Daniel Bernstein joining the Visitors through their “Friends of Visitors” movement recalls memories of the Hitler Youth. I should state that Earth citizens who chose to collaborate with the aliens from space (strongly symbolized through Eleanor Dupres), images of the armed Visitors watching several helpless Earth people being taken away from their homes and the dominance of propaganda over the free press also reflect what happened back in World War II when the Nazis occupied many parts of Europe. The fact that Johnson used alien humanoids as the Visitors make them a more universal antagonistic force that viewers can relate with.
When it comes to the cast members and their respective performances, there is a whole lot to enjoy here and I can confirm that the quality of dramatic performances is pretty good and adds a whole lot of believability to the story. The most notable performer here is none other than Faye Grant who believably portrayed Julie Parrish on her in-depth transformation from a promising medical student to a reluctant organizer of a movement of freedom-loving people called the Resistance. Faye Grant excellently portrayed emotions and even showed the fragile side of Julie as she struggles to strengthen herself to lead her fellow people who seek freedom and survival. Julie also is the most charismatic and likable character in my view.
Marc Singer’s Mike Donovan is the closest thing this miniseries has to an action hero. Donovan is not a soldier, nor a policeman, nor a combat specialist. He is a hard-working media employee who has covered a lot of armed conflicts overseas and along the way he learned how to fight. As he is not a fighting machine, Donovan was portrayed to be vulnerable and really ends up struggling a lot. In a way, Donovan symbolizes people who take action once they realize what is wrong and what lies they have been fed with. It should be noted that before Bruce Willis wowed audiences as the vulnerable hero John McClane in Die Hard, Marc Singer’s Donovan was the vulnerable and struggling action performer realized ahead in time. On the dramatic side, Donovan’s talk with his mother Eleanor is a great scene to watch, and his contrast with Kristine Walsh (Jenny Sullivan) must be seen! If you ask me, Mike Donovan is Marc Singer at his best!
Faye Grant’s portrayal of Julie Parrish is highly believable complete with a good range of emotions. Her character development all throughout the Original Miniseries is very believable.
Marc Singer as Mike Donovan.
The other most notable role is none other than the Visitors’ commander Diana excellently played by Jane Badler. Diana was played to be charismatic, powerful, and sadistic at the same time. She is not a mere evil figure nor is she your typical pure evil antagonist. In fact, she is the powerful extension of an unseen high authority of the aliens and this alone makes her worth your attention. Also, through her interactions with her fellow aliens Steven and Brian (Peter Nelson), you will see very interesting traits of Diana’s personality. I should state that Jane Badler’s eyes and expressions really gave her character a very commanding presence on-screen. Even though her screen time is not dominant, Diana’s impact remains very strong.
As for the other cast members and their contributions in the film, I can state that Robert Maxwell was excellently portrayed by Michael Durrel to be the very caring father striving to protect his family even as society has been manipulated to demonize scientists like him. Daniel Bernstein is clearly the traitorous Earthling who has gotten so involved with the Visitors, and I am confident that David Packer will get on your nerves. Willie is the good-natured Visitor who tries to fit in with the people of Earth and his friendship with Harmony Moore (Diane Cary) is very symbolic. Given the reputation of Robert Englund as a horror icon, his performance as Willie is a must-see!
The most notable of all the supporting cast members here is none other than Leonardo Cimino’s Abraham Bernstein who is a Jewish man who went through the Holocaust and survived to establish the family in America only to see evil return in the form of the Visitors. His dramatic scene of protecting a certain family is a must-watch, and most likely it will stir your emotions.
This scene shows the contrast between Abraham Bernstein (Leonardo Cimino) in the background and his grandson Daniel (David Packer) in the foreground. Abraham is an old Jewish man who went through the Holocaust and lived on. Daniel, who is 17-years-old, willingly joined the Visitor’s youth auxiliary movement which parallels that Hitler Youth.
In addition to being successful with telling the story, spreading the details and getting solid performances from the cast, Kenneth Johnson also proved to be really crafty with the way the camera captured images and how the very important moments were presented to captivate viewers. Johnson’s work here is clearly a labor of love. As for the music, Joseph Harnell did a good job overall. His style gives V a distinct aesthetic on tunes and I noticed his music becomes more lively late in the 2nd episode. Harnell also knew how to add musical excitement when the narrative needed a boost of energy or speed.
People of Earth, including children, are helpless under the Visitors.
Last but not least, I want to talk about the action and visual effects here. The action is, for the most part, raw and believable to watch. The action performers dressed as the Visitors never looked like they were trained but at least their ways of positioning themselves to fire their laser weapons made up for it. The hard action has that raw aesthetic which I actually liked because the action performers – including Marc Singer himself – were convincing with the way they exerted efforts. In this modern age of wire works and digital effects, seeing raw action and real human effort combined with risk taking is refreshing to watch.
More on the action scenes, I should state that the concept of showing the humans using conventional guns against the laser-armed Visitors was done in a satisfying and believable manner on-screen. Such concepts could have turned out bad had Kenneth Johnson and his team lacked talent and precision. As for the visual effects, they resulted a mixed bag as far as quality and artistry are concerned. While the laser blasts still look very good (and their impact was felt thanks to excellent timing with the on-set explosions and fireworks), the huge motherships really look dated as they were matte images (not miniatures), and in a few shots the matte lines were clearly exposed in high-definition which broke the immersion for me. The smaller space crafts that were shown flying also had that similar, out-of-place look (note: they did not match the lighting of the live-action footage). Still, the practical effects used are good to see and the matte paintings used for two key shots in the 2nd episode were photo-realistic.
Conclusion
The free and righteous praying to the Lord.
As it is clearly still great and engaging to watch, V: The Original Miniseries (1983) certainly aged well, it remains essential to watch even by today’s standards and most of all, its theme about the conflict of freedom and dictatorship makes it completely relevant to this day. It is a reminder about what your part in your society is, who you are, what your values are, and why you have freedom in your local society which can be destroyed by an alienating force once your fellow people refuse to resist it. As mentioned earlier, the cast is great and I am confident that you readers will find a character or two to relate with.
The focus of this miniseries on fascism invading the lives of the free people easily reminds me about how, in this modern age, sinister influences like Marxism, socialism, Communism, unrestrained political correctness and fascism poisoned the minds of millions of people through the academic system and turned them into social rebels, domestic terrorists, looters, rioters and new criminals who are so determined to go against their fellow people who do not share their beliefs. In modern-day America, the ongoing movements of Black Lives Matter, Antifa, SJWs, the anti-Semitic BDS movement, the rabid LGBTQ+ movement, the so-called democratic socialists and other agents of Satan have been harming patriotic Americans, attacking their values, taking the innocence of the youth and children away, destroying businesses and tearing down societies as we know it. The 1983 mini-series will remind you that from time to time, social order will be pushed hard by the invaders (be it people or be it influences so alien to the society) and the people who are righteous can choose to restore the said order as well as their respective lives.
Seriously, if you value your freedom, your culture, your values, your people and your faith in the Lord, you certainly would not want to submit yourselves to a foreign people who intend to destroy you.
No matter what happens, people should never lose faith in the Lord and they must look up to Him for deliverance. The Lord will punish the wicked and make ways happen to lift up the faithful. Clearly, V’s theme about the fight for freedom is truly universal.
Symbolism and socio-political relevance aside, V: The Original Miniseries (1983) also comes with a good amount of spectacle that make sense within the narrative. Do not expect to see extensive, over-the-top action scenes of modern-day cinema/television here but I assure you that the spectacle (note: even with the flawed matte imagery of the visual effects) in this production paid-off nicely in relation to the build-up of events throughout the story.
I strongly recommend you acquire V: The Original Miniseries on Blu-ray while it is still available. Watching it in high-definition is a great experience on my part.
Overall, V: The Original Miniseries (1983) is highly recommended! That being said, I strongly encourage you to buy it on Blu-ray disc format while it is still available and affordable. If you want more of Kenneth Johnson’s other work related to V, I suggest you to look for his book V: The Second Generation. Don’t forget to visit Johnson’s website at http://www.kennethjohnson.us/
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
For more V-related writings of mine, check out my retro comic book reviews of the V comic books (published by DC Comics) issues #1, #2, #3 and #4.
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, superhero enthusiasts, comic collectors and fans of 1990s comics culture! We go back to the Ultraverse to witness further events from The Strangers told during the late stage of their 24-issue run as a comic book series. In the previous review, Teknight became more prominent as a member of the team as Candy/Electrocute got heavily damaged which led the Strangers to having her repaired not in just any private facility but rather in the facility of a powerful organization.
And then something happened at the end of The Strangers #21.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at The Strangers #22, published by Malibu Comics in 1995 with a story written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Paul Abrams.
The cover.
Early story
The story begins inside a high-tech facility when the newly repaired Electrocute gets up and attacks her teammates Grenade (her romantic partner) and Teknight. Electrocute is acting under someone’s control. In response to Teknight’s methodical approach on absorbing electric blasts from Electrocute, Grenade warns him about the how capable NuWare is when it comes to control and execution.
Even so, Teknight continues to stand until he gets overwhelmed by the lady’s power and ends up getting paralyzed. An executive walks near Teknight and Electrocute boasting that he loves seeing his designs in action and Grenade comes in to use his power on his romantic partner…
Quality
Grenade and the door.
Once again, Steve Englehart crafted another story that keeps this series fresh and fun to read. The story started with a good amount of action involving Grenade, Electrocute and Teknight. As I don’t want to spoil the plot, I can say that what happened after the action-packed opening sheds light on a new yet significant youth who wields a lot of power thanks to his father (clue: a powerful and ruthless executive who was involved not only with the Strangers but also with Mantra and Night Man). The story is very well structured and moves at a nice pace. Also I can say that the spotlight on the Strangers as a whole team was carefully balanced.
When it comes to character development, it is Grenade who clearly got a good dose of it. Apart from the usual display of his feelings towards Electrocute, this comic book dramatizes his effort to understand not only his lady and their new teammate Teknight, but also his realization about the delicate balance between being alive and being linked with technology.
Conclusion
I wonder how today’s SJWs, radical socialists and Black Lives Matter activists would react to this particular scene.
The Strangers #22 (1995) is another fun-filled superhero story which served its purpose in concluding the story that started in the previous issue. It also achieved its goal of emphasizing the role of NuWare (read: corporate intrigue) and the continued relevance of a certain corporate executive that the Strangers could not just get rid of.
If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of The Strangers #22 (1995), be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the comic book costs $27.
Overall, The Strangers #22 (1995) is recommended.
+++++
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, superhero enthusiasts, comic book collectors and fans of Marvel’s 2099 universe! Do you want to see more of 2099 stories written by the late Stan Lee? There is Ravage 2099, the one original character for the 2099 universe co-created by Lee and illustrator Paul Ryan. In my last review, the story had Ravage desperately trying to survive in an island which is toxic and filled with lots of bad guys hunting him down.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at Ravage 2099 #5, published in 1993 by Marvel Comics with a story written by Stan Lee and drawn by Paul Ryan.
The cover.
Early story
The story begins with Ravage, in the presence of Ursell (the one who saved his life), reacting to his hands burning with light-blue flame. Ursell states it is the radiation causing it. Ravage accuses him of turning him into a troid and that he is not better than Dethstryk, the ruler on the island. As he could not control his anger, Ravage attacks Ursell (who told him his hands are lethal as they destroy what they touch).
Outside, one Dethstryk’s troops spots light (the result of Ravage’s energetic hands) coming from the same cave Ravage and Ursell are in. Eventually Ravage calms down and the energy of his hands weaken. Ursell hands him gloves (composed of complex molecular formula) which help him contain the energy but only for one hour.
Suddenly, Dethstryk’s thugs spot the two in the cave. One of them identifies Ursell as the betrayer of their leader…
Quality
I wonder if SJWs, socialists, Communists and the radicalized feminists will find this image offensive…
In terms of storytelling, this comic book is a big improvement over the last issue. While issue #4 was pretty much limited to Ravage just struggling to survive, this one had more elements of discovery and surprise which made it feel fresh. Ravage having his hands energetic and getting bothered deeply by it was a nice touch to spice up the character while building him up to be potentially more powerful. I also enjoyed the sub-plot in which Tiana, who has been portrayed as an erotic damsel-in-distress since issue #1, finally gets to do something important with trying to free the troubled youth Dack. Not only that, there is also another sub-plot involving a race of aquatic creatures that seek to invade the surface.
Conclusion
Spider-Man 2099’s very brief appearance!
Ravage 2099 #5 (1993) is fun to read and surprisingly engaging as it is a big improvement over issue #4. Considering the uneven quality of this particular series, it’s nice to see Stan Lee make storytelling improvements just as they are needed. Still the quality of dialogue is sub-par and there were corny lines like Ravage saying, “You’re cornier than breakfast cereal!”
If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Ravage 2099 #5 (1993), be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $8 while the near-mint copy of the newsstand edition costs $24.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Author Carlo Carrasco 