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Dark Horse and Charlize Theron’s Secret Menu team for Imbokodo

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Dark Horse Books presents the epic Afrofuturistic saga Imbokodo, now available in a paperback volume that gathers all four issues of the comic series together in one book. The series is written by Thabo Rametsi and Thabiso Mabanna of Nguniverse Studios, with art, colors, and cover art by Katlego Motaung, letters by Frank Cvetkovic, and logo art by Gil Lazcano. It was developed in partnership with Secret Menu, the new media venture recently launched by Academy Award-winning actress and producer Charlize Theron, Dawn Olmstead, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix, with an eye towards a scripted adaptation.

In the land of the pyramid sun, Ndawo, a single step for the Badimu (Gods) is a thousand Muntu (human) lifetimes. And in the war of the Badimu, from the smallest cut shall flow rivers of Muntu blood… endless rivers of blood.

War breaks out among the Badimu, casting a darkness over Ndawo. A darkness that would birth genocide and war among the Muntu. And now, a thousand years later—Ndawo remains divided into several Empires. As the brutal war reaches a bloody crescendo, numerous young girls mysteriously go missing from their villages in the empire of Mwenemutapa, leaving behind only a trail of carnage in their wake.

In Mwenemuntapa, a nameless woman, whose sister is among the missing, fights to join the ranks of the elite warriors tasked with investigating the missing girls. They are the greatest warriors in all of Ndawo—they are THE IMBOKODO.

The Imbokodo (104 pages, 6.625” x 10.1875″) paperback collection will be available in bookstores on July 15, 2025 and in comic shops on July 16, 2025. The book is available for pre-order now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, TFAW, and wherever books and comics are sold. It will retail for $19.99.

Imbokodo

The Old Guard Gets a Sequel Directed by Victoria Mahoney

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The hit Netflix film The Old Guard is officially getting a sequel. The movie has long been rumored to get a follow up after a well received debut. Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor are all anticipated to return for the sequel to action film.

The movie will be directed by Victoria Mahoney who recently served as the second unit director on J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX -The Rise of Skywalker, making her the first woman and first Black woman to direct a Star Wars film.

The screenplay will be written by Greg Rucka, who along with Leandro Fernández, created the comic series the film is based on. Published by Image Comics, the original comic series was launched in early 2017 and has since seen multiple volumes and spin-offs.

According to Netflix, the film was seen by 78 million households in its first four weeks.

The Old Guard

Movie Review: The Old Guard

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The Old Guard

The Old Guard‘s concept is pretty simple. A group of immortals walks the Earth as a pack of mercenaries and an evil corporation wants to find out what makes them tick and develop a new drug from their gift. A new immortal is discovered and dragged into their shadowy world. Based on the comic series by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernández, Daniela Miwa, and Jodi Wynne, and published by Image Comics. The film stars Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and is written by Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythwood.

There’s a lot of fantastic elements to The Old Guard. Most of those concepts get a little bit of depth but all feel like there could be so much more done with all of the elements. But, even with that, the film is beyond enjoyable with some fantastic action sequences (not enough of them really) and some solid character connections.

Lets go through bits of the film to discuss what does and doesn’t work:

The relationships – This is one of the best aspects of the film. The team is hundreds of years old and that’s a key aspect of so many members of the team. They have either formed bonds with each other or long for the loss of their friends and family of the past. Two team members are in a rather mature/different type of relationship having bonded over centuries. Team members have died (yes immortals can die) and then there’s the loss of family. It’s all on the table and the actors deliver the pain and love you’d expect in each situation.

The goal of the “evil” corporation – The evil corporation wants to use whatever genetic gift that keeps these individuals alive for medical purposes. Though they go about it in an evil way, and probably would do evil corporate things, the overall goal isn’t too out there. There’s something to debate about possibly being able to save the world but not doing so. There’s also moral debates about testing on these individuals since they can survive the testing in theory.

Choices weigh down on characters – The body count rises throughout the film and the idea of the blood on the hands of the immortals is a feature. There’s the concept of fighting their way through life. There’s the idea of living with family for as long as they can before their immortality is realized. It’s an interesting balance and discussion of choice of actions. The concept of killing one is difficult enough but also think about that body count rising over decades? Try to figure out what you’d do knowing you’ll see your friends and family die? Do you spend it with them? Or, do you run?

The theme of the film – The film ends in an interesting way. It’s not a spoiler to say the film is about leaving a footprint. Early in the film, there are moments that touch upon these individuals attempting to stay anonymous but the bigger question thing isn’t their anonymity but instead their impact for the better. That plays deeply into why the evil corporation wants them

There’s absolutely issues to the film. It foreshadows things a bit too much. You can predict what’s coming down the road with a bit too much easy. It doesn’t diminish the story at all and there’s reasons the foreshadowing happens, to explain the world and rules, but still, it feels a bit forced and a bit too obvious.

The Old Guard is an entertaining film that doesn’t use its twist in too many ways to make the concept not seem interesting. It also adds just enough reasons as to why it doesn’t. It’s the rare action film that has some moral questions underneath and themes to it that makes it a bit more than the fantastic action sequences. It would absolutely work better as an extended television series but from everything teased it looks like we’ll be getting more of the film series down the road. Here’s hoping as it’s an enjoyable two hours to kick back and relax to.

Overall Rating: 8.0

The Old Guard Gets a Second Trailer

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The Old Guard has a new trailer. The Netflix film is an adaptation of the series by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernández, Daniela Miwa, and Jodi Wynne, and published by Image Comics. The film stars Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and is written by Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythwood.

Netflix Delivers a Look at The Old Guard

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Forever is harder than it looks. Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (Kiki Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary.

The film is based on the comic series from Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández and published by Image Comics and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Old Guard is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks.

Coming to Netflix on July 10.

You can read the first issue for free.

Netflix Reveals a Look at Charlize Theron in Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández’s The Old Guard

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Netflix has released our first look at Charlize Theron who leads a group of mercenaries in The Old Guard. The film is based on the comic series from Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández and published by Image Comics. It comes to Netflix on July 10. The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and also features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harry Melling, and Kiki Layne.

The Old Guard is the story of soldiers who never die and are trapped in an immortality without explanation.

The comic series debuted in February 2017 with the first volume running for five issues. It was followed up with a second volume that debuted in December 2019, running five issues as well, and is set to wrap up July 15.

You can read the first issue for free.

Around the Tubes

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PTSD

We’re still recovering from watching the Oscars last night! What’d you all think of the show and the winners? Sound off in the comments below. While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

CNET – Zachary Levi asks fans to stop pitting Captain Marvel against Shazam – Fandom can really suck some times.

iO9 – This Exclusive Into the Spider-Verse Deleted Scene Features Another Emotional Spider-Pep Talk – Check it out!

Critical Hit – Netflix secures film rights for The Old Guard comic series with Charlize Theron set to star – Can’t wait for this.

Newsarama – Syfy’s Wynonna Earp Future In Question – This is a popular one. A hell of a fandom.

The Comichron – January comics sales start 2019 strong, up 14%; Batman Who Laughs #2, Conan top charts – For those that like the horse race.

The Comics Journal – Dammit Jim, I’m a Comics Retailer, Not a Doctor! – A rather interesting read. What are your thoughts?

Reviews

Talking Comics – Captain Marvel #2
The Beat – PTSD

Movie Review: Atomic Blonde

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atomic_blonde_posterMix source material graphic novel The Coldest City with classic thrillers like The French Connection, add in some modern Hong Kong-inspired action sequences and killer-thrillers like John Wick, and set it to the soundtrack of a 1989 Berlin discotheque, and you have Atomic Blonde.

It’s a perfect cocktail of fun, sexy, cool, and brutal as MI-6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) combs through Berlin on assignment to find a secret dossier that details all the identities and dirty laundry of secret agents around the world on all sides of the Cold War. It’s literally the weeks before the Berlin Wall is about to fall, making it even more dangerous as both sides are playing as though they have nothing left to lose.

Complicating matters is Britain’s station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) who has gone native, engaging in smuggling and information brokering beyond his normal job duties. Lorraine is also tasked with using the hunt for the list to uncover a mole within the agency who has been passing information to the Soviets. Further complicating things is French agent Delphine LaSalle (Sofia Boutella), with whom things get too close, and too personal, for Lorraine.

The film is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Scenes are framed like comic book panels, and the cold blue and grey color palate — punctuated by the occasional stark neon — help evoke  the specific time and place of the film’s setting.

What helps set this even more in late 80’s Cold War Berlin is the film’s soundtrack. A heavy industrial synth backbone of Depeche Mode, Ministry, and New Order are offset by the tenderness of Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry,” which takes on an added emotional resonance as a sort of love theme in the film. Depeche Mode reminds us “Sweet little girl/I’d prefer/ you behind the wheel/ and me the passenger” which becomes a sort of feminist anthem as we recognize that songs is now about Lorraine and Percival– and also gets us amped for a cool action sequence. Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran” is used perfectly in an eye-popping, jaw-dropping chase scene, and David Bowie makes not one, but two appearances on the soundtrack, giving the film its sort of ethos of “putting out fires with gasoline.”

As amazing and perfect as the soundtracks to Baby Driver and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 were, this is the soundtrack of the year.

One of the other most fun elements in the film is how it’s told– completely in flashback, with a beat-up, post-mission Lorraine being debriefed by her MI-6 handler (a perpetually uncomfortable-looking Toby Jones) and a senior official from the CIA (an incredibly annoyed John Goodman). The interplay between Theron, Jones, and Goodman is masterful and is the apotheosis of the beautiful character work that prevents this film from being simply a bloody spy thriller. We also see Lorraine holding back key details, letting us know she isn’t exactly the most reliable of narrators. This draws heavily from other great thrillers that use this device like The Usual Suspects, but also manages to be its own film.

One of the things that makes this so unique is its portrayal of a completely bisexual protagonist. And unlike James Bond who seems to hold little sentiment for his various romantic conquests who end up dead, Lorraine is motivated by her feelings for those she has fallen for. But, she’s still a kickass spy who puts her business first– we just also see a very human emotional toll this takes.

So much of the credit for this film need to go to director David Leitch. Best known as a stunt and second unit director who also cut his teeth on John Wick, Leitch is able to bring a dazzling and unique visual style sorely lacking in so many blockbusters. He also puts together a hell of a fight scene, one where we as the audience feel the weight of every blow and crunch of every bone and sinew. It helps that he’s drawing from The Coldest City graphic novel, whose authors get a script credit, to bring such a great story to life. But he does it with such great visual and auditory panache that this becomes one of the best movies of 2017, and a super cool way to chill out during the dog days of summer.

Go see this, then spend hours with your friends coming up with slash/fiction where Lorraine, John Wick, and the characters from Kingsman all meet up and fight each other.

4 out of 5 stars

Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

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MM-Main-PosterIn a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.

36 years since the first Mad Max film, and 30 years since the last George Miller returns to pen the script for (with some help) and direct the apocalyptic world he created with a new actor to fill the role of Max Rockatansky, actor Tom Hardy. Mad Max: Fury Road is a throwback film to many ways, but with a modern sensibility about it. Joining Miller and Hardy is a fascinating cast but most notably Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa and Nicholas Hoult as Nux. It is through Hardy, Theron, and Hoult’s three characters we get the crux and much of the theme of the film.

Much has been made about the film being a feminist plot, but after watching it, the film could be called an environmentalist plot, a call for redistribution of wealth, a condemnation of blind and fanatical faith, and a look at post-industrial society. It’s a political film no doubt, but if this is what you’re focused on, you’re probably missing the visual assault and pulse pounding action. The fact is, the film doesn’t raise the women above the men in any way as characters, they hold their own in even footing, the way life and a film should be. The women play both warrior and damsel, but so does Max, and so does Nux. I don’t want to focus too deeply on the political subtext, that’s a post for another day.

The film is brilliant in many ways, Miller clearly had a vision and the film is unequaled so far this movie season. The script maybe contained 500 words between the cast, instead this is a film of action, both through the movement of the actors, but the movement of the machinery. The film at it’s most simple is a chase and disaster film with Max and Furiosa pursued by Immortan Joe and his disciples.

The visuals are the draw here, as you’re thrown directly into the action for a sequence that goes on for quite a while before a proper break. It’s an assault, in a good way, pushing visuals in front of you that left my jaw agape. The film takes us back to practical special fx, forgoing computer animation as much as possible, it’s both refreshing and exciting to see it all again on the big screen.

There’s not much to say about the acting. It’s good, not great, but there’s also not a whole lot there as far as dialogue. There’s lots of grunts and looks, but we’re not talking Shakespeare. While dialogue isn’t prevalent those three main characters of Max, Furiosa, and Nux each have interesting arcs taking them each from subjugation through liberation. It’s all fascinating and gets into the themes of the film.

By the end of the film, I felt spent, the length felt like a perfect amount of time that had me drained when the credits rolled. Miller hasn’t lost a step in his time away, and when you take the story, visuals, direction, fx, and characters it all feels revolutionary in many ways.

30 years later, and Miller has returned at what he does best, and has put Hollywood on notice of how to do a film right. It’s my favorite film of 2015 so far. What a lovely day. What a lovely film.

Overall rating: 9.5