Predator: Badlands New Trailer

A new trailer has dropped for the November movie, Predator: Badlands. Despite the initial reaction to the new look predator, this new trailer gives us a better bloody look and a better taste of what is to come. Again, directed from the man that brought you Prey, Dan Trachetenberg, this looks promising indeed. I have to say, I’m quite excited.

Classic Heroes: Vincent: The Black Hole

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Besides R2D2 there is one robot that has stayed with me for all its humour and appeal to the sci-fi kid inside me that has never left.

The fact Vincent, in the Disney movie The Black Hole, was and still is a joy to watch is something that Star Wars really should have had too. He is so human in a way that has stuck with fans to this day as action figures of him still sell in big numbers. His name is short for Vital Information Necessary Centralized and a valued member of the Palomino. He is very human and constantly bantering with first officer Charlie Pizer. I always wanted a flying robot rather than a pet but alas it never happened. But Vincent can and it helps him maintain the ship both inside and out. When Vincent is almost lost to float in space forever, we discover he has a telepathic link with Dr Kate McCrea (Yvette Mimieux). It helps the crew locate and rescue him before they discover the Cygnus on the lip of the titular Black hole.

Voiced by the legendary Roddy McDowall, the audience immediately listens to him due to the actor’s being such a household name. Like a cross between your dog and best friend, Vincent protects those he cares about. Once aboard the Cygnus, he meet older models of him especially BOB whom Vincent forms an immediate bond with like an uncle or father figure. But Vincent makes enemies too in the shape of Maximillion and Starr (Special Troops/Arms Regiment) as he takes a firm stance on their bullying of BOB.

Starr and his minions treat other beings like trash and look down on humans given Reinhardt’s ambitions. Starr has seen the human crew reduced to lobotomised to mindless vegetables. If one human can do that to his so called colleagues then Starr follows that example. And Vincent will not stand for it.

When Starr tries to beat Vincent on the shooting range, he does not take it well when Vincent beats him hands down. With his superior firepower, Starr is twenty years out of date. Vincent also goes head to head with the evil Maximillion, Reinhardt’s psychotic robot. Like a turtle, Vincent can retract his head afraid of the behemoth. It is clear that the Palomino crew care for Vincent and BOB as much as they care for them.

A lot of this is down to the dialogue and imbuing Vincent with such a human personality. He is the best friend you always wanted and someone to have by your side. BOB is the frail old man you want to protect. The fact they are machines doesn’t even come into the equation. And that is a huge part of the appeal of the character. McDowall is the perfect voice for the robot and there is pure magic on screen that does stand up there with the droids from Star Wars.

But when the Cygnus begins, under Reinhardt’s direction, to move into the black hole, Vincent and the other crew members are sentenced to death. He must take on Maximillion in a battle to the death in order to get everyone to a probe ship that they can escape in before being pulled in. What we get is a wonderful ariel battle between David and Goliath as meteors crash into the ship. BOB is killed in the fight. Maximillion almost kills Vincent by electrocuting him but Vincent drills into his rival’s stomach area killing him instantly. Ironically, it is payback universally for how Mailmillion killed Doctor Durant.

Too late, Vincent is pulled into the black hole with the others. Vincent would go on to cameo in Tomorrowland and Tron: Legacy but the Black Hole was his only big screen outing. There is no doubt that he worked beautifully as he is still popular among collectors to this day. It is a figure set I have on my wish list. Indeed R2 never flew until the prequels but the idea of a floating robot was just too much to resist. His big eyes were very much of Disney character origin but it was the way the other actors treated him that made him a relatable character. Just with the Star Wars droids, we cared about Vincent and BOB. Their design was genius and to this day the ariel fight between them is awesome.

But once again, it took the magical tones of Roddy McDowall to complete Vincent and instill him to all who saw the original movie.

Forgotten Villains: Pumpkinhead’s Witch Haggis

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright MGM

Introduced to horror fans in the classic 1988 Lance Henriksen movie, Pumpkinhead, Haggis is well versed in dark magic and all things unholy. Her appearance is that of an old crone but this may be the effect of the dark forces she channels. Her age is unknown and she lives far along Black Ridge. Ed Harley seeks her out to summon Pumpkinhead to kill those who murdered his son.

She lives in a cabin seemingly in or near a swamp. From the outside her cabin is a typical witch’s home; gnarled wood, surrounded by mist. Within the house is filled with potions and ingredients that would turn your stomach. Vermin and insects crawl freely about her home. A lone owl is perched just opposite her front door but not because she is a Harry Potter.

When we first see her she is almost desiccated looking with thinning wispy white hair sitting in a chair. Barely looking at Ed, she sees the dead body of his son in his arms and tells him that raising the dead is not within her power. The late Florence Schauffler imbues Haggis with such a dark presence with her low raspy voice and limited movement. Her elderly exterior does not reflect her sharp wits and intellect. She knows what makes people tick especially those grieving an injustice.

She manipulates Ed into revealing what he really wants as his sparse material wealth is useless to her. When he cracks and speaks of Pumpkinhead, she is eager for it as if her words alone cannot be part of this deal. The wish for Pumpkinhead must come the pain of the one seeking him. She warns him that this would come at a powerful price but like any good demon neglects to give the specifics. It is as if the universe has spun a black web that traps and ensnares the souls of those torn by injustice.

She knows of the places that are not spoken of. She sends him to Razorback Holler. It contains a graveyard filed with the bodies of family members their families were ashamed of. In the entire scene she doesn’t move from the chair of turn her head once making her much more impactful for it. It is almost as if she is the spider at the centre of the web.

When he returns with the Pumpkinhead embryo, she reveals that for each of man’s sins there is a specific demon and this one is vengeance. She describes it as cruel, devious, sure as venom, vengeance but it could be she is speaking of herself. With being so close to a graveyard of the unwanted and banished, could it be she is among that number? Did her family wipe her from their lives due to her dabbling in the black arts? Indeed was that darkness in her deepened by living in the wake of such darkness like the graveyard?

She is the very embodiment of what a classic fairytale witch looks and lives like. There is no doubt she is terrifying and you will find her on scariest movie witches lists everywhere.

She has no pity or remorse for Ed or his sorrow. Given she has access to a dark world of which Pumpkinhead only shows us a glimpse of, Haggis may well be the soul collector for something darker. Or her curse may be to trick people into summoning the demon and when they realise too late that the price is actually their soul, Haggis takes their body and leaves it in the graveyard to become the new embodiment of Pumpkinhead. In the end she has to bury Ed’s body and perch once again waiting for the next soul ready to summon the demon.

What makes her so scary and memorable is that she isn’t a cackling stereotype flying on a broom. She sits waiting for souls to damn in a quiet voice that on the surface tries to discourage them when in fact she is manipulating them is far more of a threat than any blasts of magic could ever be. Her scenes with Lance Henriksen are disturbing and electric as he succumbs to vengeance. Her gentle manipulation works wonders for her cause as she stares ahead and sits in her chair. Stan Winston’s direction and lighting makes her ethereal and unworldly at the same time as the camera pans her.

If you want to see scary witches done right then Haggis is the bar the rest need to reach for.

Frank Miller Private Signing For DCC Summer 2025

We’re beyond excited to announce — in association with TASQ (Tallaght Academy of Sequential Art) — a very special private signing with the legendary Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, The Dark Knight Returns) at Dublin Comic Con this August 10th! 🖊️📚

🕒 This rare opportunity will be limited to an exclusive signing held in a private room from 2.30pm, Sunday of DCC. Frank will NOT be on the main floor nor doing any panels or ops.

👉 Tickets must be pre-booked and are limited to 1 item per person. No selfies permitted.

🎟️ Grab your ticket here: https://tixr.com/groups/comicconireland/summer2025

📍 Please note: Frank will not be doing panels or appearing on the main floor.

🎤 Want to hear him speak? Check out TASQ’s Frank Miller Masterclass on August 11th – email info@tasqart.com for details (no signings at the masterclass).

🔔 Don’t miss out – this is a rare chance to meet one of the all-time greats!

#DublinComicCon#ComicConIreland#FrankMiller#SinCity#TheDarkKnightReturns #300

Stephen Carey & Owen Quinn Ask, Is Fantastic 4 2005 As Bad As they Say?

This time, we look back at the almost first Fantastic 4 movie. Remember this was the early days of superhero movies so was it paving the way for what we have today or complete failure?

Stephen Carey & Owen Quinn Ask, Is Fantastic Four 2005 Really As Bad As They Say?

We journey back to 2005 for the almost first Fantastic Four movie. But is it as bad as they say? Remember, this was the early days of superhero movies so do we owe them for paving the way? Join the craic. You won’t look back!

Star Wars Weekly The Long Hunt Comic Strip

      By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

In the days long before Disney showed the world just how much they didn’t understand Star Wars, all we had for new stories was our imaginations when playing with our figures and vehicles and the much loved Star Wars Weekly comic strip.

Marvel did a great and more cohesive job than Disney in expanding and solidifying the Star Wars universe right up to the very last issue. Some stories belonged in the general sci-fi stable but a focused effort was made to show us what else lay out there. Water worlds, Death Wheels, the Tagge family and politics where Vader tried to assassinate Leia kept us running to the newsagent every week.

In issue 100 we got the story The Long Hunt which expanded Han’s history, gave us a hint of the past to the days of a young Obi Wan and young Vader. I’ll explain that later when I review at the story.

The Long Hunt gives us what we want and more. New characters like the feline henchmen the Katuman, an airborne alien race , ariel lightsaber battles, multiple alien planets and a new range of characters that would make great figures.

Our heroes respite is short lived when Han takes them to the planet Tirahnn with its exotic marketplaces. Recognised as rebels, Luke and Leia are set up and accused of being thieves by Kharya, the Majestrix of Skye. She slams into Leia deliberately and she sets her bodyguards, the Catuman on them. Luke is injured but Han and wookie Chewbacca arrive and rescue them.

Han is visited by an old friend Kayta M’Buele, a fellow smuggler from the past who clearly has feelings for Han. From Luke’s description of the winged woman, both Han and Katya recognise her and it scares them. Han is never scared of anything at least outwardly and it is a chance to fill in his past. Given he refuses to tell the others even Chewbacca, deepens the tension and mystery. Chewie is literally Han’s guardian angel thanks to their life debt so this shocks the reader. What could be so terrifying that Han would keep them in the dark?

In those days the comic strip paired Luke and Leia together teasing the attraction Luke has for her taken from the first movie. It’s strange reading it now as we read Luke’s inner thoughts. He wonders if Leia feels the same for him as he does for her but it goes unspoken. Just as well given the ultimate reveal about their true relationship but in the Long Hunt, it won’t be the only wrong direction we will see. But no one knew the ultimate revelations the movies would being so fair play to the writers, they took what had been established, ran with it and in a later revelation about Vader, Ben Kenobi and Luke’s father, they got it wrong. But not their fault.

Han also visits an old colleague that owes him money and in the cliffhanger to part one, we learn he knows who the woman in the market that attacked his friends is; the great tyrant of Skye, Kharys.

Part two gives us an insight into Chewbacca’s thoughts at how hurt he is by Han’s actions. But little does he realise that a creature capable of turning itself into smoke attacks Katya. She is absorbed alive into it as it turns its attention to Luke and Leia. Even Chewbacca is helpless against it and only Luke’s lightsaber kills it. But we learn the thing was created from the Force by someone as powerful as Vader in the use of the Force. Furious at his friend’s death, Han blasts off the planet and heads for Skye to take down his old enemy.

He reveals that Skye is a remote world not even the Empire is aware of. Kharys hunted twenty two Corellians down as sport for daring to smuggle on her world. Only two survived; Han and Katya. But his thirst for revenge blinds him to the fact it is a trap and they are attacked by TIE fighters. The Falcon is overwhelmed as it plunges to the planet surface. Han ejects the droids, a sick Luke and Leia in an escape pod.

When Luke awakes he and Leia are prisoners of Aragh, Lord of the Highlands, Patriarch. For the crime of being born without wings and trespassing on sacred land, they are to face trial with only two outcomes; freedom or execution. and anyone born without wings is seen again.

In the relatively short part three, Han is being tortured by Kharys intent on learning all about Luke Skywalker. Han is subjugated to the Imperial torture probe, something Vader used on Leia on the Death Star. This deepens the connection between them unintentionally as they are both endured a torment that Leia can’t even speak about.

Suddenly Leia and Luke are leading an attack on Kharys’ fortress to save their friends. The reader gets no explanation at their sudden freedom but the answer may lie with Luke’s lightsaber. Using glider wings they manage to hit the Imperials hard. They found Skye and quickly took control as part of the Empire. Kharys used this opportunity to lure Han to Skye once she recognised Leia from wanted posters in the marketplace. She knows Luke destroyed the Death Star so by logic she knows of the involvement of a certain Corellian freighter. It also reminds us Leia is no pushover as she fights two Catuman warriors ending on a cliffhanger.

Leia manages to blast one of the Catuman while the rage of a hate filled wookie is on display again when Chewbacca chokes one to death. Meanwhile Khayrs is perched almost Batman like above the battle watching Luke. She can sense he is strong with the Force and in a twist used in The Phantom Menace, she believes that Luke is The One from the prophecy just as Qui Jonn did with Anakin in the movie. See? The writers weren’t that far off in their ideas. The watching council only confirm her fear and she swoops in to kill him. They have something we have never seen in the movies, an aerial lightsaber battle.

Kharys is strong with the Force as she attacks Luke psychically making Luke doubt his abilities. She also has wing and foot claws, slashing at his bandaged wounds in order to force him from the sky. But he feints, killing her with his saber. It is then we learn why Luke and Leia were not executed.

Long ago Ben Kenobi came to Skye with two apprentices; Vader and another man whose saber Luke carries. They saved Skye becoming brothers to the windborn. However Vader returned later declaring Skye an Imperial fort to be ruled over by Kharys to whom he gave his knowledge and part of his powers.

While we know that Vader was Luke’s father, it was a great attempt to flesh out the characters which succeeds in the frame of the early comics. It gives Luke depth as he sees first hand the impact his father had on Skye. He leaves Skye determined to be as great a Jedi as his father someday.

The droids are literally background characters here and rightly so as this is a story where the four main antagonists all emerge from it changed to some degree. While Chewbacca’s anger at being blocked out by Han is never mentioned again, you can see Luke continues to grow especially as the Empire Strikes Back was only around the corner and many images had already been released. The Long Hunt is probably the most adult story in a while given Luke is badly wounded, Han is tortured ala Empire Strikes Back And Katya’s arrival and murder only deepen Leia’s feelings for Han. He is suffering and all she wants to do is be a support for him even when he turns on her. But remember we always hurt the ones we love.

Kharys is a great villain that I feel could have been fleshed out evenmore. She is powerful enough to create an assassin out of thin air that could only be killed by another Force created object; the saber. Such a power has never been demonstrated before or since and it is a bloody cool one to have. If Luke Skywalker could project himself across the galaxy on The Last Jedi, imagine a Sith that never needed to hunt down their victims but simply spawn them from the Dark Side and let them kill their victim. Katya’s death is horrible as she is alive when she is turned to smoke then absorbed.

A cracking story that bravely expands the mythology; worthy of a one hundredth issue.