Author: TheDanielWhoWrites

Moana (Live-action) July 9, 2026

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This was such a fun movie!

Was it different than the original? Not really, but it was nice to see Polynesian people performing on-screen. Also, seeing a new actress portray Moana was lovely.

There were a couple extra scenes which I liked that we got. One around the middle and another essentially at the end.

One thing I know people have talked about is how The Rock looks as Maui. At first it did seem off. I was wondering why they didn’t just find an actor who looked close to Maui’s look in animation. But I also remembered that Maui’s character design was basically inspired by The Rock’s late grandfather High Chief Peter Maivia. So, I was content with Dwayne portraying Maui. He also just seemed like he was having a lot of fun in the role.

Catherine Laga’aia was great in the role of Moana. She brought the same energy as Auli’i Cravalho did in the animation. She was expressive as an actor and, of course, a fantastic singer.

The visuals were wonderful as well. I loved seeing familiar places in a more realized way. There was one sequence near the early part of the movie that had really great visual effects mixed with the actors and it made me feel like I was watching something like Space Jam in that the animation and people worked together on screen so well that it seemed seamless.

The music was another start of the movie as it was before. I think there was one new song but it was during the credits. The other songs were the same, but sounded just as good. The song in the beginning of the credits was of the trio of Auli’i, Dwayne and Catherine singing and it was beautiful. It was released a couple weeks ago, so I’d heard a couple seconds of it. I didn’t want to listen to the whole thing till the movie.

The couple extra scenes were with the villagers. I liked the additions.

Generally, I had a great time with this movie in the same way that I had a great time watching the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movoe from a few months ago. It brought me back to a decade ago watching Moana for the first time. The emotional moments hit as strongly as they did originally. If you’re expecting something vastly different, then just watch the original again. If you want to revel in the new faces and voices, go for it! It was a joy.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope

End-credit scene: Nope

June 17, 2026

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Two issues away from not being able to fit everything on the bed! Lordy.

The New Titans have a lot going on for them. Galaxy and Dreamer are in trouble. Kara drops by Lobo’s issue. Rose and Slade are hanging out, and I’m sure it went well. Wanda has eyes for someone, or do they have eyes for her? K’un L’un is dealing with a war god. Patsy and Wonder Man are a thing. Peter has something monumental to talk about. And we got MAD Magazine’s 600th issue!

The main cover and the first of the Nakayama connecting variants. The main cover is here because I just really like the character design of Absolute Two-Face.

The next Catwoman covers. This is the Antepenultimate Frank Cho variant! It’s going to be crazy to get all those variants together in August. And this is the penultimate Forbes variant.

I love this Taurin Clarke main cover! And this is a fun Pride summer variant by Rachael Stott.

This is such a creepy main cover by Fornés. And this Dan Mora Supergirl movie variant is fantastic!

Another fantastic Clarke main cover! It’s like a scene in a horror movie. And another Supergirl movie variant, this one by the great Mitch Gerads.

The next Dream Girls covers. The main one because of Dreamer of course. The first variant is the next connecting cover. And the Pam variant is by Oscar Vega. She looks amazing!

I forgot that I chose almost all the covers for this issue.

This Talaski variant looks so good! The Gerald Parel variant is so dynamic. The Betsy Cola variant looks great! And the Mark Spears is glorious!

Two fun Lobo variants.

The first one is by Simon Bisley. And the Jason Momoa cameo variant is by Dan Mora.

More Deathstroke!

The main cover is by Carmine Di Giandomenico. Dan Panosian did the first variant. Then it’s a David Aja one. Next is a Cully Hammer variant. And this fantastic last one is a Mark Spears.

The next photo variants.

A slight NSFW warning. So many variants of this design and I still need two more!

Such a gorgeous Artgerm design!

I love this next Frison variant! This is the next homage variant for Super Creepshow. And it’s always nice to see an Andolfo cover on a book that I don’t know.

The next Inglorious X-Force cover to actually have Kamala on the covers.

Kris Anka’s variant of Emma Frost looks stunning! I love that Kate got a Pride variant. It’s by Luciano Vecchio. I didn’t want any of the soccer variants except this one just because I enjoy the art from Alessandro Cappuccio. And of course that’s the next Ross variant.

The main cover is by Patrick Gleason and Dean White. I like this cover just because of May and Ben on the cover. The Ross variant looks fantastic. Of course Black Cat got a Pride variant. And I got this New Vulture cover since I always enjoy getting covers with new character designs on them. This one is by Francesco Manna.

Just one poster this time. I’m excited for this Clayface run.

June 10, 2026

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I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a Late Issues post, haha. Also, this is an NSFW warning for one of the images below.

These two weeks had SO MANY comics!! My wallet was certainly mad at me.

We got a facsimile edition of an old Supergirl comic. Absolute Green Arrow 1 got second printings. Absolute Catwoman got a title. Kara is having quite the day. We got the next Dream Girls issue. Castiel got a one-shot Supernatural issue. Frank and Felicia are having a grand old time. The Omen has an eye out for Daredevil. Bishop got a new run started. We got a great comic by Kevin Smith featuring Jay & Silent Bob, paying homage Days of Future Past. The summer event Avengers Armageddon started!

These are both facsimiles. It’s always fun seeing the old ads in these kinds of issues. I liked the covers.

This Adam Hughes cover is so fun! And the action figure variant is by Jason Geyer. I love that some of the action figure covers have the back of the toy backing card on the back of the comic.

More second printings! The first is by Ivan Tao. And the other is a foil version of cover D by Lotay.

So, I got some of the Supergirl movie variants, but I didn’t get them for having the set of them. This one is a Leirix variant. (By the way, the movie is great, watch it!)

The variants that I chose for this issue.

Of course I was happy to get another Nakayama variant. The blank variant. And then a great foil variant.

The next GLC variants by Jorge Fornés and Rian Gonzales.

Fantastic variants! I still don’t know what to do with these yet.

Bruno Redondo, Chrissie Zullo-Uminga and Jim Lee variants! Love all of these!

The next Dreamer covers.

The main cover by Brandt & Stein and the connecting variant by Phil Jimenez and Arif Prianto which I got another copy of because of Dreamer being on it.

I got this Matteo Scalera cover mainly for most of it being orange, but it’s also well-done.

Then next photo variants. They started doing two photo variants per issue. And there’s the blank variant of course.

I’ve not heard of this comic but the art was amazing on these variants! The first two are for the Anime theme in my collection. The third one is an NSFW cover. So, of course this is an NSFW warning.

The first is by Samaru. I love the design of this. It looks like it’s from an anime. And the next cover looks like it’s from a manga. It’s by Autumn Bellflower. And the NSFW variant is by Zawayuki. I like how the crop (on mobile at least) censored the cover perfectly.

Such great variants! The MTG variant is by Victor Adame Minguez.

The main cover is an homage cover for Punisher’s first issue. The variant is by Anand Ramcheron. It’s such a great design! And I think I’ve not had a cover by them in years.

The MTG variant is by Jesper Ejsing. And the other is of course Alex Ross.

The next Daredevil covers. the MTG variant is by Carrie’s Susilo.

The main cover is by Lee Garbett, I liked the creative design. And this is the next Marvel Television variant.

The main cover is by Davide Paratore. And the variant is Skottie Young.

Such fun covers! I’m glad that this issue got an MTG variant! Lucky!

I love that we got a Michael Allred variant and a Phil Noto variant for this issue.

These are the covers I chose for this issue. It was also cool that these issues came with the MTG card that is also the third variant here. So I have 6 of those cards.

This first one is a promo cover, but I thought it was part of a set, nope, haha. and I Love this Frison variant!

Supergirl (June 25, 2026)

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First off, that was such a fun movie!

I enjoyed being with Kara and Krypto again after a year without them.

It has been a while since I read the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comics, but I recognized what they used in the movie for the most-part.

Milly Alcock did a great job portraying Kara in the state she was in for this movie. She was exactly the right amount of detached while in pain with a dash of hope. I’m certainly excited to see more of Kara in the future.

Eve Ridley did well as Ruthye Marye Knoll. She was to the point and still naive of some things. She was strong and holding back things at the same time. Some of the more person scenes with her and Milly were great.

From the day we first saw Jason Momoa as Aquaman, many of us thought immediately that his portrayal was basically the same tonal personality as Lobo. So, I’m glad that he was brought in to play the role he was meant for. He was loud with a big personality. His character design was fantastic and his bike and weapon were prefect! The fights scenes with him were fun too. Though I feel like most of his scenes were in the trailers. So I was a bit surprised that there weren’t more scenes with him. Not that I thought he was a big part of the movie, but it was unexpected.

Matthias Schoenaerts was a creepy villain indeed. He certainly was emphasized as a bad guy. In the comic, Krem is a bit more suave, handsome and aloof. He wasn’t boisterous and flamboyant. Also his character design was very different. I’m not quite sure why beyond that the comic design was kind of just a guy in a shirt and pants. But I think the point of that design was that he was supposed to look like an average person while doing horrifying things. The movie version was a villain who looked like a villain. But he did very well in the role. As did the other brigands.

The story closely resembled the comic plot but just being set in Gunn’s DCU. We got flashbacks set in the DCU and also had a bunch of references to the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic series. It was a relatively simply story of the protagonists searching for the villain with some bumps in the road. There were some truly creepy scenes that could be triggering for some people, so watch out for some of those brigand scenes regarding what they traffic.

The music was also a part of this movie. Perhaps a little less than the music was for Superman, but still enjoyable to hear during the movie.

This just was a fun yet very emotional journey for Kara trying to slightly reluctantly doing some good while hurting deeply. But this was definitely worth the watch. It didn’t really have to set much up and didn’t have to connect backwards too much since most of the plot was based on that comic story.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope. Just fun music!

End-credit scene: Nope. But a nice Supergirl title-card at the end.

Toy Story 5 (June 18, 2026)

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Well, as always, Toy Story movies always hit.

The first scene of the movie feels so random, but it all comes together later of course.

As the trailers suggest, it’s about toys and play and imagination vs technology. Something parents nowadays certainly should pay attention to.

And as a child of the 90’s, growing up like Andy from the first movie playing with toys and imagining adventures and such, this movie was strong in its views of what some kids are losing with technology and how that can affect them interpersonally.

The toys have it a little rough this movie, but I’m happy that this really is Jessie’s movie. The second movie always hits hard when I rewatch it with that “When She Loved Me” song written by the iconic Randy Newman and performed by Sarah McLachlan starts playing. It’s such a powerful moment. And that emotional thread runs through this movie.

The first two acts of the movie is really just the fun and hi-jinx of the conflict between the tech gadget and the toys and the third act is where things hit of course. I rewatched the other movies recently in prep for this since it had been a while since I’d watched them all. I’m not sure if I rewatched the first three before 4 came out a few years ago, but I’m glad I did the refresher.

The comedy was par for the course for Toy Story movies. I certainly laughed. And then there were a couple jokes for older people that hit well.

Since Jessie is the lead, many of the other toys take a backseat for most of the movie. But there’s still enough time with them that makes them feel like part of the story.

Of course, the music is wonderful. The more well-known themes are a bit more subtle than usual.

And the animation itself was fantastic. Every movie gets better and better. The details on some of the objects or people’s hair looks so great!

The new characters we got, both toy and human, were good to meet. The toys were fun and the people were well written. And the directing was so well-done! The human characters went through such emotional journeys and every moment of that was seen on their faces.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed Toy Story 5! It certainly has important messages for kids and adults regarding tech, but the character beats are important and strong too. I’m glad that this movie was made!

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Mid-credit scene: Yes. A fun scene that connects to stuff. Also, the mid-credits themselves give little narrative hints of more that happened.

End-credit scene: Kind of? It’s just a fun little musical bit. Not really a scene. You’d be safe to leave after the mid-credit scene.

Completed Variant Set 40 — June 12, 2026

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This is such a cute Leirix set!

I guess we’ll get another run of this since the final issue ending suggests it. Them all together just looks like a date montage sequence.

These are by InHyuk Lee of course. That first variant is part of the Streetwear variant set by him too, so I had to go get it out of a binder. But yeah, these covers look so dynamic!

I like that each of these show them in different era outfits for each character.

It took a bit for me to realize that this set was only between these two titles and only two covers per title. Gist did these covers so well, as expected. Though I would have liked one of Rotta too!

They still look good together though.

Added two boxes, so it’s at 123!

June 3, 2026

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I think this issue of Batman starts a new arc. This is the final issue (for now) of the Harley and Ivy title. We got an Elseworld title for Supergirl started. Deadman got a new run. Dream Girls got a 4-issue miniseries started. Power Rangers got a new run started! We got a Princess Bubblegum and Marceline Pride special. Jeff got another special. We got a J. Scott Campbell art collection issue. Amora is messing with Thor again. We got a What If issue focusing on the Uncanny X-Men. The next Rogue One anniversary special focusing on Jyn. X-Men ’97 got another comic prequel for the upcoming season.

This Jiménez cover is amazing! The colors stand out so well!

Noobovich did this first variant so well! And the other intricate one is by Manny Vincent Carbonilla.

Tirso did this cool cover of Cassandra Cain. Spectre looks fantastic on this main cover by Pete Woods.

The main cover is by Rod Reis. And the gorgeous variant is by Taurin Clark.

This intricate main cover is by Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran. It looks so good! The first variant is of course by Frank Cho and Sabine Rich. And the next one is a blank variant.

The main cover, by Brandt & Stein, I got another copy of because of Dreamer of course. The first variant is the first connecting cover of a set by Phil Jimenez and Arif Prianto. The pride variant is by Claire Roe.

This amazing first connecting variant by Miguel Mercado. I think this is a nine or twelve cover set. I’m not sure. And this is a trading card blank variant.

This variant is by Mirka Andolfo.

These variants are by Chan and Jaki King respectively. The Chan cover I like because it’s close to the show’s animation style. And I like the art style of the other variant.

This gorgeous main cover cover is by Lucas Werneck.

The main cover is by David Marquez and Laura Martin. The other is of course a photo variant.

The first variant is an animation variant. The next is a Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding cover. And the last one is by Natacha Bustos.

This is such a fantastic Brooks cover!

Many posters!

I actually can’t remember if I got this poster back when the two issues that were connecting covers of this art came out back in Fall 2023, but if I didn’t, I have one now. This is by Lucas Werneck. the two covers were X-Men 26 (2021) and The Invincible Iron Man 10 (2022).

This is the connecting variant art for all the Dream Girls issues. I’m glad to have this in case the variants don’t end up connecting (which is 99% likely) properly.

The infamous Bilquis Evely cover.

This art is by Joëlle Jones and Trish Mulvihill.

This is the Iban Coello connecting design from this event. Again, good to have a poster of the full image since the covers didn’t connect well enough.

This poster is from the Marguerite Sauvage variant of issue 2.

This is the Alex Ross art from the first issue of this new title.

This is the main cover for the second run of this prequel comic. Also, we’re 15 days away from the next season of X-Men ‘97!

May 27, 2026

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We got Batman 163 after 7 MONTHS since 162. This is the Hush 2 finale. We got a new character pop up in Green Lantern named Odyssey. Harley is still heroing. Superboy Prime meets Witchfire and things get hot. Jor-El got an Elseworld minieries telling the tale of what is he landed on earth instead of Kal. I heard about In Your Skin and decided to see what it was like. It’s a horror comic. We got the final issue of Psylocke Ninja. This run of X-Men is on its 30th issue. The final issue of The Ultimates dropped. The first issue of Doomquest dropped. And Wiccan, Hulkling and their family got a one-shot.

Such a great Nakayama variant! The light and details are fantastic!

The next Nakayama variant for Harley. And a nice Derrick Chew variant.

I like the way that Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire drew and colored this cover respectively. I like the skeleton and body alternating between the flames.

These are all great covers! The main cover by Dan Mora is just so good! The lines and colors are so bold. The Lois variant by Scott Forbes is so nice! The next one is by Cian Tormey and Pasquale Ferrara and it reminded me of a painting. And the last one is just for Red Canary being on it, but John Giang did such an amazing job on this.

I love this Szerdy variant of Fire and Ice. I wouldn’t say no to a flipped design. Jamal Campbell does such detailed covers. The ghosts there look wonderful. And it’s been a while since we got a character suit collage cover from Dauterman, this Wonder Man one is fun.

Luciano Vecchio gave us this regal-looking Magneto. And here’s another MTG card variant, this one by Lordigan.

I feel like it’s been a long time since I saw a Mr. Garcin cover, he did well on this Doctor Doom one. And the other variant is an homage cover by Luciano Vecchio paying tribute to the classic cover of Iron Man 149 (1981) by John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton.

This is the main cover, and two variants. I got these because of Viv Vision being on the covers. The main one is a Dauterman of course. The next one is by Javier Garrón and the next is by Betsy Cola. Both covers are fantastic!

May 2026 Late Issues 2

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Posting really late mainly because I had to delay when I picked up the comics, then more delays happened.

A main cover and three variants.

I liked this CAFU main cover for Death Spiral Body Count. I like some of these Leirix Vampirella covers. This one looks great. I don’t know how long Mingyi Gan has been doing covers for, but I’ve not seen any before this one (unless I have and I’m forgetting). It’s such a detailed piece of art! And this is the foil logo variant for Absolute Green Arrow.