Category Archives: Erik Smash!

James Gunn’s DC Studios Announcements!

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James Gunn (the director of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad”) was recently hired (along with Peter Safran) as the new creative director of DC Studios, and just last week announced a whole new slate of DC movies and shows – following the release of “The Flash” and “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom”!

DC – Chapter One: “GODS AND MONSTERS”

  • Superman: Legacy (Hitting theaters July 11th, 2025! – Inspired by Grant Morrison’s “All Star Superman”)
  • Lanterns (Greg Berlanti live-action Green Lantern series!)
  • Creature Commandos (animated series)
  • Waller (‘Peacemaker’ / ‘Suicide Squad’ spin-off about Amanda Waller – starring: Viola Davis)
  • The Authority (based on characters from the Wildstorm comics by Jim Lee)
  • Paradise Lost (live action ‘Wonder Woman’ prequel series about the Amazons of Themyscira)
  • Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (Movie based on the Tom King mini-series, a cosmic fantasy with an edgier take)
  • Booster Gold (HBO Max series)
  • Swamp Thing (A horror movie, most likely taking influence from the Alan Moore comics)
  • The Brave and the Bold (A new Batman movie with the Damian Wayne Robin, inspired by Grant Morrison’s run!)
  • And even more announcements to come…!
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Comic Zombie Podcast #32: The Future of the DCU?

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Issue 32: The Future of the DCU?

“Storytelling is always king, that’s all that matters to us.” – James Gunn 

In light of the recent news that James Gunn (director of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad”) and Peter Safran are officially “rebooting” the *entire* DC film franchise (following “The Flash” and “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom”), we decided to break down what each of us would do if we were (somehow) put in charge of the DC Studios reboot! Strap in for two of the craziest, nerdiest, mega-fan pitch meetings of all time as Chris and Erik attempt to construct an entire inter-connected cinematic universe! 

Also On This Episode: 

(Episode edited by Erik Slader)

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Comic Zombie Podcast #31: Frank Miller’s “SIN CITY” (Comics vs Movies)

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Issue 31: Frank Miller’s “SIN CITY” (Comics vs Movies)

“Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything.” – Marv 

Erik rides solo for a deep dive into the corrupt, blood soaked, streets of Basin City with a review of Frank Miller’s “Sin City” graphic novels, and how they compare / contrast to the Robert Rodriguez movie adaptation, and it’s sequel, “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”… 

Click here for Erik’s original reviews of the Sin City comics for visual references:

Check out our blog at ComicZombie.net for more!

And you can buy Erik’s new sci-fi / noir novella, “2299” here! 

(Episode edited by Erik Slader)

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The Best X-Men Movie Watch Order?

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Now that mutants are officially being introduced into the MCU’s Phase 4 (Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel, Wakanda Forever, etc), I figured it might be a good time to revisit Fox’s X-Men series, before it’s inevitably rebooted by Disney.

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with 2008’s “Iron Man”, before Sam Raimi’s Spider-man trilogy, and following the success of 1999’s “Blade”, Bryan Singer gave us one of the most serious takes on a comic book franchise to date, with 2000’s “X-Men”!

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Every Spider-man Movie Explained

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With the release of “Spider-man: No Way Home”, we figured it might be helpful to put together a guide to the Spider-man films, especially considering we’ve had three live-action takes on Peter Parker in the last 20 years! So if you’re new to the webslinger, or just need a refresher course, this is a good starting point.

THE SAM RAIMI ‘SPIDER-MAN’ TRILOGY (2002-2007)

Before Spider-man’s official introduction into the MCU (with Tom Holland as the web crawler), this is a great point to revisit the original Spider-man trilogy, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker!

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“SIN CITY: BOOZE, BROADS, AND BULLETS” (VOL 6) – Revisited

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Click here for Vol 5 – “Family Values”

“She shivers in the wind, like the last leaf on a dying tree.” – the Colonel

BOOZE, BROADS, & BULLETS

The sixth “Sin City” volume is an anthology, collecting various short stories set in Frank Miller’s Basin City.

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“SIN CITY: FAMILY VALUES” (VOL 5) – Revisited

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Click here for Vol 4 – “That Yellow Bastard”

“Call me squeamish, I need a piece of killing done, and I don’t feel like doing it myself.” – Dwight

“FAMILY VALUES”

Frank Miller’s “Sin City: Family Values” was the first Basin City story to be released as a graphic novel, whereas the previous volumes were collections of individual issues. While this is not my favorite volume, it’s still worth checking out if you’re a fan.

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“SIN CITY: THAT YELLOW BASTARD” (VOL 4) – Revisited

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Click here for Vol 3 – “The Big Fat Kill”!

“I take his weapons away from him… Both of them.” – John Hartigan

“THAT YELLOW BASTARD”

This has got to be one of the most disturbing tales in the entire series…

Originally released as a six-part mini-series, and inspired by the “Dirty Harry” movies, Frank Miller’s fourth story arc in the “Sin City” saga is “That Yellow Bastard”. While the book is still in black and white, this one’s notable as being the first in the series to include color in it’s dark and grimy pages: the Yellow bastard himself is – you guessed it – yellow. And not just any yellow, it’s a gross, sickly, yellow. And when he shows up, it’s jarring as all hell, something’s just not right about him.

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“SIN CITY: THE BIG FAT KILL” (VOL 3) – Revisited

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Click here for PART ONE and PART TWO

“Stay smart. Stay cool. It’s time to prove to you’re friends that you’re worth a damn. Sometimes that means dying. Sometimes it means killing a whole lot of people.” – Dwight McCarthy

“THE BIG FAT KILL”

Volume 3 might be my favorite of the Sin City graphic novels so far! Frank Miller’s “The Big Fat Kill” continues the story of Dwight McCarthy (from “A Dame to Kill For”), as he’s once again pulled into treacherous game of life and death. This one has some of my absolute favorite panels, lines, and character moments in the entire series.

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“SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR” (VOL 2) – Revisited

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Click here for Vol 1: The Hard Goodbye!

“Do us both a favor and stay still long enough for me to blow your brains out.” – Ava Lord

“A DAME TO KILL FOR”

Frank Miller’s “Sin City” comics continued in 1993 with “A Dame to Kill For”, a mystery featuring a private investigator, Dwight McCarthy, who becomes ensnared in a plot involving his ex-fiancé, Ava Lord. The story takes place parallel to “The Hard Goodbye” and even includes appearances by Marv!

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