2017

writer: Tim Seeley / artist: Javier Fernandez / DC Comics

After their bizarre encounter with Deathwing and question-mark Robin, shit gets even more bizarre. But you’re dealing with Professor Pyg, so of course it gets more bizarre. It’s the only way. After learning that Pyg is the one that has kidnapped Shawn and plans to make her his latest work of art, the emotionally wrecked Nightwing and pragmatic Robin crash Pyg’s viewing to save Shawn from becoming some perversion of art.

The warring mental states of Nightwing and Robin play off each other well here, as Grayson operates from a point of depseration and Damian is business as usual while trying to keep Grayson’s head in the game. While the emotional stakes are higher for Nightwing than usual, the complete lack of composure is a little hyperbolic for a hero that’s dealt with bigger threats (albeit, not concerning his possibly pregnant girlfriend, but still).

The dialogue between question-mark Robin and Deathwing carries a lot of weight as well, in examining their lives before being in Pyg’s clutches. It isn’t as interesting as our main characters of course, but the pay off is large and sets up the next part of the story well.

Fernandez’s art does well to set the scene for the weirdness of Professor Pyg and his machinations while maintaining the action at a frantic pace. My favorite panel is the reunion of Grayson and Shawn as it carries a softness and calm in an otherwise chaotic scene.

Nightwing Must Die continues with its fatalistic storyline, putting everyone in danger at one time or another. With one problem down, another one looms and a bigger player is introduced for the rest of the story.

7.9 Closed to the Public Viewings out of 10

Directed by Danny Madden, Frolic n’ Mae tells the tale of a little girl who slowly realizes she’s the weirdo outcast at a slumber party. To cope with her bitchy preteen peers, she begins doodling, but the artwork magically comes alive—and causes all sorts of mischief and mayhem in the process.

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The late Heath Ledger is best known for unforgettable roles like the Joker in The Dark Knight, Ennis Del Mal in Brokeback Mountain, Patrick Verona in Ten Things I Hate About You, and William Thatcher in A Knight’s Tale (that movie is cheesy goodness and I will fight you on that). But as it turns out, his true desire wasn’t to be in front of the camera — it was to be behind it.

At least, that’s what Heath Ledger’s friends and family all say in the latest trailer for I Am Heath Ledger. Directed by Derik Murray, the Spike TV documentary will explore the life of Ledger, who died unexpectedly in 2008, via the lens of his own camera. Check it out below, and we’re sorry in advance for all the tears.

Ledger’s directorial work consisted primarily of music videos, although in 2007 he disclosed a desire to work on a documentary about British songwriter Nick Drake, who died young due to an apparent overdose. He’d also been planning to direct a feature length adaptation of the book The Queens’ Gambit, about a troubled chess prodigy (who would have been played by Ellen Page), who becomes famous overnight and finds herself addicted to painkillers as a method of coping with her reality. In light of how Ledger himself died, the similar subject matter of both projects is a little eerie, but more distressing is the fact that he never got to work on any of them.

I Am Heath Ledger premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23; it will also see a limited film release on May 3 and will finally be aired on Spike May 17. Are you planning to see it for yourself? Tell us in the comments!

Images: Spike TV

With the release of Alien: Covenant coming up on May 19, director Ridley Scott has been doing a lot of press discussing the future of the franchise. But there’s always room to share some fun facts about its past—or not-so-fun, as in the case of the ending he originally planned for 1979's Alien.

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