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Writer: Christopher Cantwell / Artist: Luca Casalunguida / Boom! Studios

Just the idea of a conspiracy theory is a dangerous one. Within the confines of the social contract, there is a certain expectation of trust, a certain understanding that we must be able to trust what we are being told. By that same metric, are we supposed to take our information without question? Given the uncertainty of everything, where people in power have the influence to almost warp perception and by association reality, should we not question things at least a little?

Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body attempts to find a story within one of the most iconic web of conspiracies, as a crew of unsuspecting individuals become complicated with replacing Lee Harvey Oswald’s body before it was buried in the aftermath of the JFK assassination. If nothing else, it makes for a very exciting thriller.

Christopher Cantwell, in addition to being a prolific comics writer, is the creator of AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, one of the finest period pieces and prestige television I’ve had the pleasure of watching. When I saw that he had returned to the court of historical fiction, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #1 opens with an exhumation in 1981 before flashing back to 1963 where we slowly get introduced to various corners of Texas and its inhabitants. Cantwell has a flair for the dramatic and a gift for transcribing accents and capturing the feel and time of the locale. It certainly that Luca Casalunguida manages to effortlessly channel the rogue-ish, ruggish cowboy aesthetic and small towns aesthetic. There are also some noir-adjacent elements that I appreciate, but the genre is definitely 100% within the confines of a political crime thriller, alongside the classic redacted chain of relations that are equally iconic.

Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #1 is your classic assembling of the crew from a shadowy organization, and there are just a lot of intriguing elements in play. Each character only gets a few pages, but Cantwell and Casalunguida manage to be very efficient in establishing their personality and draws the reader in to the latest conspiracy. It makes for an exciting read and tantalizes us with what will happen next.

While conspiracy theories are still a dangerous concept, I think I’m okay with them being retrofitted to tell an interesting piece of fiction. Cantwell and Casalunguida have captured and captivated with a stellar hook and magnificent rendition of said hook that I will gladly follow them down the rabbit hole they have carved out.

8.5 “Laughable Easy Jobs” out of 10

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The post ‘Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #1’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

Hi everyone! Today I want to discuss which picks I got correct and which ones I got wrong! I predicted that the Titans would beat the Saints 34-27, but the final score was 23-21 Titans over the Saints in a very close game. I predicted that the Bills would beat the Jets 31-15, but the final score was 45-17 Bills over the Jets. I predicted that the Colts would beat the Jaguars 27-16, but the final score was 23-17 Colts over the Jags in a close game. I predicted that the Cowboys would beat the Falcons 38-27, but the final score was 43-3 Cowboys over the Falcons in a blowout. The Falcons really got their butts kicked that time! I predicted that the Packers would beat the Packers 31-27, but the final score was 17-0 Packers over the Seahawks in a shutout. The Packers defense was outstanding against the Seahawks offense.

I predicted that the Steelers would beat the Lions handily 45-13, but the final score was actually a tie at 16 in overtime! Nobody won that game and I did not get this pick correct or wrong. The Lions at least avoided going 0-17 on the season! The Lions are 0-8-1.

I predicted that the Buccaneers would beat the Washington Football Team 37-23, but the final score was 29-19 Football Team over the Bucs. The football team surprisingly played pretty good by forcing Tom Brady to throw 1-2 interceptions. I predicted that the Browns would beat the Patriots 30-27, but the final score was 45-7 Patriots over the Browns in a blowout. The Browns got steamrolled after they got up to a 7-0 lead early in the game. I predicted that the Cardinals would beat the Panthers 31-20, but the final score was 34-10 Panthers over the Cardinals in a blowout. The mentality was not there for the Cardinals at all. Too many mistakes on offense and defense. They allowed Christian McCaffrey to run all over them again as the Cardinal defense is still struggling to stop the run. Cam Newton had 2 touchdown runs including the first series after the Cardinals turned the ball over on their first series. Both of these teams had 2 turnovers. The Cardinals offense could not even convert a 3^rd down and 1 and 4^th down and 1 a couple of times. The Panthers have own the Cardinals so far according to their last games these 2 teams play. The Cardinals did managed to finally score a touchdown late in the 4^th quarter, but it did not really matter that much. I predicted that the Chargers would beat the Vikings 27-17, but the final score was 27-20 Vikings over the Chargers. I predicted that the Broncos would beat the Eagles 24-13, but the final score was 30-13 Eagles over the Broncos. I predicted that the Raiders would beat the Chiefs 28-24, but the final score was 41-14 Chiefs over the Raiders in a blowout. The Chiefs played the way they used to play and the Raiders did not have an answer to them pretty much all night. I predicted that the Rams would beat the 49ers 35-27, but the final score was 31-10 49ers over the Rams. The 49ers were gashing up the Rams and they did not have an answer to the 49ers.

So, I have gotten 5 out of 13 picks correct! Now let’s get to the week 11 picks, shall we?! The first game I will predict is the Ravens @Bears game. I think the Ravens will beat the Bears 34-16 because they are a better team than the Bears. The next game I will predict is the Packers @Vikings game, the divisional rivalries. I think this should be a really good game. Both of these teams are coming off with their wins last week. The Vikings have been playing a little bit better. What it is interesting is that the Vikings have won games to where they have to score game-winning scores almost every game. The game against Seattle did not happen, but every other game has been so close for them. I think the Packers will barely win this game in another close game over the Vikings 24-21. The Packers are a little bit of a better team than the Vikings. The next game I will predict is the Colts @Bills game. Both of these teams are coming off with their wins last week. I think this should be a good game. I do think the Bills will beat the Colts 27-21. The next game I will predict is the Lions @Browns game. I think the Browns will beat the Lions 31-10. The Lions will continue to lose a game. The next game I will predict is the Football Team @Panthers game. Both of these teams are coming off with their wins last week. I think the Panthers will win this game over the Football Team 33-23. The next game I will predict is the Texans @Titans game, the divisional rivalries. I think the Titans will beat the Texans 37-13. The Titans are playing outstanding football right now and they are one of the best teams in the AFC. The next game I will predict is the 49ers @Jags game. I think the 49ers will beat the Jags 31-17. The next game I will predict is the Saints @Eagles game. I think this should be a pretty good game actually. I do have the Saints winning this game over the Eagles 36-29. The next game I will predict is the Bengals @Raiders game. I think this should be a pretty good game here. I think I will give the slight edge to the Bengals 27-24 over the Raiders. The next game I will predict is the Cowboys @Chiefs game. I think this should be a really good game. I think the Chiefs might be able to pull this one off over the Cowboys 34-30 in a close game because the Chiefs are starting to play a bit better right now. The next game I will predict is the Cardinals @Seahawks game, the divisional rivalries. Both of these teams are coming off with their losses last week. Quarterback Russell Wilson will be playing tomorrow and Kyler Murray is questionable, but he could play tomorrow. Although, he won’t have DeAndre Hopkins. The Cardinals run defense might have a hard time stopping the run if Chris Carson plays tomorrow. They miss JJ Watt. The Cardinals just need to get off to a great start by letting Seattle get the ball first. When the Cardinals get the ball first, then things don’t go quite well for the Cardinals like it did last week against Carolina. There will be a lot of Legion of Boom fans out there trying to distract the Cardinals because that’s what they do best. This should be a pretty good game. I think the Cardinals may beat the Seahawks barely 27-24. The Cardinals can’t afford to play like they did last week. The Seahawks can’t afford to go to 3-7 at worse. I won’t be surprised if the Cardinals win or the Seahawks win.

The next game I will predict is the Steelers @Chargers game on Sunday Night Football. I think this should be a pretty good game. I think the Chargers will beat the Steelers 31-26 in a close game. The last game I will predict is the Giants @Buccaneers game on Monday Night Football. I think the Bucs should beat the Giants 27-13. It would be embarrassing if the Bucs lose to the Giants.

So, what do you guys think about the NFL week 11 picks?! I would love to hear lots of comments, thoughts, opinions, questions, or concerns down below!

Stay tuned for NFL updates.

The post Week 10 Team Pick Updates and Week 11 Picks! appeared first on The Nerd Element.

The rankings keep rolling in as Tiffie enters the Air Nation to rank the airbenders of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. Air is the element of freedom and we saw a lot of airbenders elevate the element to new heights.

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Netflix, and anime in general, hasn’t exactly had a great track record when it comes to live action adaptations. I’m looking at you Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note. When you have 15-year-old high school boys who look 30, and 50-year-old women who look 8, some things just don’t translate well into the IRL medium. So when it was announced that the beloved Cowboy Bebop would receive the remake treatment, all eyes were deservedly on Netflix. And with them diving into the deep end of live action anime, Cowboy Bebop could become the Iron Man for their service. Or to could end up being their Batman V Superman. So where does it end up? Well, it’s solid, one of the better made live action adaptation, for whatever that’s worth, with the bar already extremely low… but just not quite there yet.

Special: Bell Peppers and Beef

The original Cowboy Bebop was this strange mishmash of a science fiction noir kung-fu western exploitation show that on paper really shouldn’t have worked. However, most would agree that this is one of the greatest animes made to date. From the get-go, it was going to be an uphill battle to satisfy the fanbase of this juggernaut. The biggest thing that sets this apart from a lot of other adaptation is that, for better or worse, it fully embraces the tone of what the original is.

The original Cowboy Bebop would have a totally serious dark brooding episode like “Black Dog Serenade” and jump to a completely goofy off the wall episode like “Mushroom Samba.” That’s part of its charm. In the live action, while it maintains a more even tone throughout the season, the tone of each episode has plenty of dark brooding and goofy moments. The spirit of the original is there even while doing its own thing, and that’s for the better overall. Thankfully, this show isn’t a one for one shot remake of the original. Quite early on the show sets itself apart as telling the original story but in a whole new way, and for the most part, it’s a solid retelling.

The Real Folks Blues

One of the biggest questions coming in was can these actors pull off these characters from the Cowboy Bebop anime. And when it comes to our main three, I can say they do, especially Mustafa Shakir as Jet. This was, by far, the best choice of the show. Mustafa comes in with the weary big dad energy Jet exhumes in the original. He gets the energy down, the mannerisms, and naturally gets the voice spot on. THIS IS JET! No questions. And his centric episode was by far my favorite of this series. John Cho as Spike was the biggest point of contention coming in, and he channels Spike well. He has that cool low-key energy and that goofiness that Spike has. At times the writing has him lean a bit more into the goofy side, but it still works.

And Daniella Pineda does a great no nonsense curse like a sailor Faye Valentine. Now, Faye’s character has been tweaked. She doesn’t rely on sexuality to get what she wants, she’d rather just put a bullet in you and ask questions never. Some will love it, some will hate it, but it’s still Faye at the end of the day and Pineda really carries her own. A great part of the story is having these characters interact on a more personal level with each other more than the original, and the story really does benefit from these little moments.

Carry That Weight

Outside of our main three, characters get a lot more screen time and development. Gren (Mason Alexander Park) is completely different, and Ana (Tamara Tunie) receives a lot more time and urgency and this is for the better. But that’s not to say all the characters have been changed for the better. A lot of them are expanded on, and it gives them more to portray. But one change I feel was absolutely for the worse was Vicious. Alex Hassell does just fine acting out what was written, but his story itself is one of the biggest overhauls that just isn’t a great change. Without spoiling it, this right here, is not Vicious. The same can be said for Julia (Elena Satine). I understand wanting to expand the characters, but their storylines are the most boring parts of the show.

The Uncanny Valley

As I watched the show there was one thing that bugged me that I couldn’t quite figure out. I’d see scenes and think, “This feels very Cowboy Bebop, if I saw this animated it would fit perfectly. So why isn’t it working?” And then it clicked, it’s goofy. Goofy, but not in a good way. Some of the action and fight scenes work, but other times it just doesn’t click to the human eye. Some fights feel slow, and the hits just don’t land like they should while the editing can make a simple move look cheap and poorly planned. The show feels really close to nailing it but what sticks out really sticks out. Kind of like an anime uncanny valley, as close as it gets to nailing it, it just falls short.

That’s not to say it isn’t a decent attempt of showing their own interpretation, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark. And that’s the shame of it all, anime may never get that universally great live action adaptation, we might never cross that uncanny valley.

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