SPOILER May 2021

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OUR TEAM Editor-in-Chief Galaxy Print Editor Art Director Sara Hope Kent Klarks Design and illustration Supervisor Ronald Garcia Design Manager Zerologhy Copy Editor Ethan Brehm

INSIDE OUR y UNIVERSE x a l a

by G Welcome back to another amazing issue of SPO!LER!

Staff Writers The Greatest Writing Team in Our Universe Ethan Brehm Matthew Mclachlan Vanessa Bellew Robert Napolitano David Grand Phuong Pham Natalie Reade Michael Bernardi Kim Koo Moses Gamer Social Media Manager Thor the all mighty Advertising Ads@SpoilerMagazine.com Sponsorship sponsorship@SpoilerMagazine.com Press Please send all press releases to: press@SpoilerMagazine.com Please send all review material to: review@SpoilerMagazine.com Subscriptions For all subscription enquiries please contact: sub@SpoilerMagazine.com Check out our website for details on how to get our DIGITAL EDITION Circulation Do you want this magazine at your local book store, comic book hangout, toy shop, or anywhere else for that matter?

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The summer is coming—can you feel the heat? This latest issue is jam packed with celebrity interviews and features revolving around your favorite fandoms, just in time for you to take on your upcoming vacations, whether it be out of town or just lounging by the pool.

This month we’re fortunate enough to showcase Syfy’s very own Van Helsing. After five seasons, one of the best vampire shows of ALL TIME is coming to an end this year. We at SPO!LER have been following the series since day one, before they even aired their very first episode. And although they will be sorely missed, season 5 will fully and completely wrap up the characters’ journeys, so this is bittersweet indeed. It’s truly been an honor for us to get to know the people behind the show who have made it so great, and to bring this world exclusive directly to all the fans out there who have passionately loved and supported the series for so long.

Also look out for our exclusive Van Helsing cast panel which we produced in partnership with our fandom family at Comic Con Radio, hosted by yours truly.

Of course, as always, our amazing staff of writers and designers have contributed another batch of phenomenal articles for you. I can’t believe the team we’ve assembled here at SPO!LER, working tirelessly to bring all of this content straight to you.

In other news, more and more conventions are announcing their return this year, we can’t wait to be right there with you and see all of your faces in person!

The launch of our entertainment website is finally happening soon, which will be an expansion of this magazine with fun new features and articles for your reading pleasure.

We’ve pushed back the release in order to level everything up and make it even better for all of you to enjoy. Trust me, it’ll be worth it!

Our print edition of the magazine is coming soon as well, so sign up for our newsletter online and be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the updates!

We’re continuing our journey to becoming the number one fandom magazine in the world and we’re getting pretty close. We couldn’t have made it this far without all of your love and support. You truly have our undying gratitude!

Better days are almost here! And we can’t wait to be right there with you on the other side.

I Love You All...

Galaxy Galaxy EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @ComicConRadio may 2021|

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table of contents

FEATURES

42 van helsing

world exclusive

Interviews with cast, showrunner, and more!

SPOILER MAGAZINE TABLE OF CONTENTS

24 the nevers looks very fine (I think so too)

the watch 12 a fan of fanfic

170 from toys to collectibles

34 star wars attack of the fans

178 the persistence of superstitions

the base 148 at the movies

182 comic book characters that need to hit the big screen asap

INTERVIEWS

186 Comic Book Review www.spoilermagazine.com | Follow us on Instagram: @SpoilerMedia

46 Kelly Overton 50 Jonathan Scarfe 54 Tricia Helfer 60 Christopher Heyerdahl 66 Aleks Paunovic 72 Rukiya Bernard 78 Vincent Gale 82 Jennifer Cheon Garcia 88 Nicole Muñoz 96 Keeya King 100 Rowland Pidlubny 110 Heather Doerksen 118 Trezzo Mahoro 124 Jesse Stanley 132 Jonathan Lloyd Walker 140 Beverley Huynh March 2020 |

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i wrote my first fanfic in the year 2000. i was 14.

I didn’t know it was called fanfic at the time, of course. I just knew that I was obsessed with the X-Men movie that had recently come out and that I wanted to live in that world. So my friend and I wrote ourselves into it.

It was bad.

I would go on to write and read plenty more fanfiction in my teens and early 20s. I read only Harry Potter fics, some of them so good that I still think about them to this day. I wrote anything that struck my fancy, from a series about an American Hogwarts called Katmeers to the next generation of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I always included a self-insert character and those self-insert characters would always go through the same kinds of

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Harry Potter/J. K. Rowling/Star Wars/Disney/Lucasfilm/Dragon Age/Electronic Arts/David Gaider/BioWare/X-Men/Marvel

BY VANESSA BELLEW

trauma I was steadfastly repressing in my real life. Not that I realized it then.

I outgrew fanfiction around the same time that the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows bookended my childhood. I had a life to live, adult things to do, and my own original works to write.

Fanfiction was fine, I thought, for teens and undergrads and people who like to write but went into non-creative fields. I knew from experience that some fanfiction was just as good as or better than published works, but I looked down on the community as a whole. A lot of them, after all, were self-insert fantasies without much thought to plot or character development or

even a sense of faithfulness to the source material. I had been a stickler for those things even when I was writing my own self-insert fantasies, but I was beyond that now.

I was going to be a professional writer—a novelist—and I didn’t have time to waste on filling out someone else’s world for free.

Or so I thought.

The first fanfic I ever shared outside my friend group was in early 2015. I had just turned 29.

I was several years into writing my first novel (which I have since finished). It was a painstaking process full of meaningful worldbuilding and brutal emotional honesty. It was difficult and solitary and entirely without validation.

It was an act comprised solely of discipline and will. The deadlines I gave myself for a finished first draft slipped out of my grasp again and again.

It was during this period that I discovered a video game series called Dragon Age. I blasted through Origins and Dragon Age 2. I felt strongly for the characters and the

storylines, but no more than any other great science fiction or fantasy universe. Then I played Dragon Age: Inquisition.

I became obsessed.

I told a friend of mine who had also played that I was jonesing for more of a particular romantic pairing.

They sent me links to a few stories on Archive of Our Own (AO3), and while those stories were lovely and did scratch the itch, I didn’t actually find the depictions of the character in question to be in line with their ingame actions.

So I started writing my own.

Now at this point, I was not done with my novel, but even with a completed first draft, my actual book that I had worked on for years did not surpass 170,000 words. For reference, that’s about the same size as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and slightly shorter than Dune.

Within a year, I had written nearly 470,000 words of Dragon Age fanfiction. That’s somewhere between A Storm of Swords and Infinite Jest.

I wrote constantly. I had a job at

the time that required me to walk around Times Square for five hours a day and I would churn out chapter after chapter of fanfiction on my smartphone while hustling my way in front of taxis and between tourists.

I would finish one novel-length fic and then immediately begin the next part. My melodramatic post-game series contains everything from dick jokes to in-depth explorations of what it’s really like to deal with the fall-out of childhood trauma.

Yes. It even contains what the fanfiction community calls “smut”.

When I finally ran out of steam in early 2017 and returned to my original work, everything had changed. After all, I had effectively written multiple finished novels by then. I had reread them each several times. I could see with newfound clarity what worked and what didn’t. The ineffective habits I’d picked up over a lifetime of writing without thought to an audience were suddenly obvious to me. I had matured drastically as a writer before I ever finished my first real book.

Why is it that typing up the fruits of my imagination based on someone else’s intellectual property was so fast, fun, and appealing? Why

did my own work take me years of gruelling discipline while fanfiction based on a video game felt like play?

Obviously a big part of it is inspiration. When someone else’s hard work has captured my attention, I fall back into that pretending I did when I was growing up. I’m driven by a sense of urgency that is compounded beautifully by the fact that there is absolutely nothing at stake.

E.L. James may have made millions from rebranding her fanfiction, but that’s not likely to happen to me, no matter how popular I become in my niche pocket of the internet. As long as I don’t mind: 1) potentially being discovered by people I know in real life (I tell them anyway), and 2) being occasionally insulted by a stranger online (I’ll survive), there’s no world in which making and releasing this labor of obsessive love in a lessthan-perfect state is at all impactful on my life or career. The worst thing that can happen is that someone I’ll never meet gets grumpy that one of the characters did something they don’t like, in which case my answer is always the same: This story is free. If you don’t like it, write your own. may 2021|

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Harry Potter/J. K. Rowling/Star Wars/Disney/Lucasfilm/Dragon Age/Electronic Arts/David Gaider/BioWare/X-Men/Marvel

Fanfiction also comes with some major benefits that simply do not exist for more original work, especially if you’re trying to create your own world. Which of those benefits you feel most depends on what you lack in your writing life.

For me, writing my novel lacked two distinct things: ease and a willing audience.

It’s so much easier to write hundreds of thousands of words when you rarely have to invent anything new, when you don’t have to stop every few paragraphs and do a deep-dive into your notes or internet research to make sure you’re being consistent.

The Dragon Age universe is a masterpiece of epic proportions, created over a decade by entire teams of artists from multiple mediums. There are constructed languages and intricate geography and full histories for each country, ethnic group, and tradition. The world already feels deep and real.

The characters in the games are written and edited and acted and brought to life before I, a fanfiction author, ever try to recreate them.

I can hear their voices in my head when I’m writing new dialogue for them. I know them well enough to make educated guesses about what they would and wouldn’t do in any given situation. The vast majority of the work is done for me. I’m left with a beautiful sandbox where the castles are already made and all I

have to do is write the fun parts: the love scenes and the banter and the catharsis. I don’t even have to worry if a choice I want to make in my writing is the strongest for the plot or characters. When there’s no pressure for the art to be Art-witha-capital-A, I can make whatever decisions turn me on.

I also don’t have to take time to explain the world as I write because of that aforementioned built-in audience. If you’re reading this particular pocket of Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfiction, chances are you’ve played at least one of the games, so you already get it when I

double-down on the rules of magic and what I mean when I reference obscure parts of the various religious beliefs and when my characters make layered political jokes about the rulers of their native countries.

If I make up a sex position and name it after something else that exists in this world, you’ll probably think it’s as funny as I do. It lets me write as easily and with as much clever nuance as I could if my setting were the real world. This makes my writing better and it lets me concentrate on the relationships and the plot...which also makes my writing better.

More than that, though, the builtin audience gives me feedback and validation. As a social experiment, write nearly two hundred thousand words of fiction and then try to get

anyone—literally anyone—to read it and tell you what they think. If they aren’t sleeping with you, the likelihood that they’ll agree and follow through is slim to nil. Within hours of my first posts on Archive of Our Own, total strangers were commenting with their thoughts and reactions. By the end of my fanfiction year, I had a corkboard in my room completely covered in the fan art (some of it erotic) drawn by people I’d never met of my Dragon Age story and the original characters I’d added to it.

Not all of this feedback was validation. Some of it was constructive feedback, all of which I considered. Some of it was knee-jerk reactions to the complicated, flawed ways I write characters dealing with trauma. A few of them were your

common or garden variety troll comments. But for an unpublished writer who’d spent the previous five years never sure whether or not the novel she was writing was even mediocre in quality, the outpouring of support and encouragement was life-changing.

I returned to my novel with newfound knowledge about how to write and confidence in myself as an author. I finished the first draft at the end of 2017 and turned my attention to editing and revising. Sometimes I still get comments on my fanfiction from people who are just discovering it. They help me keep going when the effort to complete my original work feels like an endless grind. I look at my porny fan art when I need a reminder that I can make things that excite people’s imaginations and inspire them to make art too.

Every so often I go back through and reread my whole fanfiction canon. Some of it hasn’t aged well.

Most of it is beautiful, hilarious, and heartbreaking. It’s how I know I can do well. It’s how I know I can do better.

Not too long after completing my first draft, I met a young, accomplished woman with several published and popular science fiction novels. She very kindly talked to me over drinks about how to write queries to submit a manuscript to literary agents, which is a possible first step to finding a publisher. She asked me about my book and at some point I admitted with mild embarrassment to having taken a year off of my own work to crank out an absurdly large cache of video game fanfic.

“Oh no, don’t worry,” she said seriously, “I write an astounding amount of fanfiction under a pseudonym. Honestly, most novelists I know secretly write fanfic.”

It turns out a lot of professional writers have been known to and still do practice their craft on the playground of fanfiction, the same way actors work on scenes and monologues to get better at acting and painters sometimes copy the masterpieces to learn the techniques.

The fanfiction community isn’t just for career writers, though.

Anyone can upload their writing to sites like Archive of Our Own and have the experience I’ve enjoyed.

The fanfiction community is, for better or for worse, not subject to any real gatekeeping. It is a great democratizer of prose.

If you do decide to take the risk to post your writing and someone doesn’t like what you’ve done, just remind them of the central tenant of fanfic: This story is free. If you don’t like it, write your own.

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SPOILER MAGAZINE

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BY ROBERT NAPOLITANO

since this issue is dedicated to van helsing’s

highly anticipated season 5, I thought it would be cool to take a look at some more of TV’s best that fans are champing at the bit to get another season of. As of now every show on this list is slated to return, but many of the release dates are still up in the air due to the pandemic or other various reasons. Also keep in mind if you’re behind on your binging this article contains plenty of SPO!LERs. 20 I

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Van Helsing/Syfy/NetflixCobra Kai/Netflix/The Walking Dead/AMC/ Lucifer/Stranger Things/Netflix(Cover Image): The Boys/Amazon

10

COBRA KAI (season 4)

In a world where remakes, reboots, and spinoffs reign supreme, even still few are able to achieve the type of success Cobra Kai has had. It doesn’t matter if your 14-years-old now or back when the original Karate Kid came out, there’s plenty to love about this teen comedydrama. Perfectly blending ‘80s nostalgia with the progressive times we live in today better than any show has been able to, the series still admittedly gives into the belief that things were better back then. With the love of this show growing by the season and a finale that sets up a potentially epic partnership 37 years in the making, there’s plenty of reason to be stoked for the eventual release of Season 4.

Next Season’s Release: TBD

9

8

the walking dead

lucifer

For over a decade, The Walking Dead has been one of television’s most beloved shows. And now, not only is one of the longest running shows on TV getting another season, but the slated 24 episodes will make the final chapter the longest season yet.

According to series showrunner, Angela Kang, The Walking Dead is going to be “bigger than ever.” What she means by that remains to be seen, but with this series’ track record we’re likely in for a chaotic showdown and a bloodbath of an ending. This final season will be broken down into three parts, so even though it kicks off in the coming months it likely won’t conclude until well into 2022.

Since Netflix shot life into this once-canceled series, Lucifer has risen to new heights.

Despite having the ability to push the needle much further, showrunners have stuck to their roots and refrained from turning the show into anything that wouldn’t have been able to air on NBC (its original network).

All they’ve done is proven to have faith, and fans of the show absolutely love them for it. Season 5, part 2 already had plenty of hype, but now with what Netflix has done with the show, along with recent news that they’re already locked in for a sixth and final season, the stakes are higher than ever for Lucifer and company.

Next Season’s Release: Sunday, August 22, 2021

Next Season’s Release: Friday, May 28, 2021

(season 11)

(season 5, part 2)

7

stranger things

(season 4) We get roughly eight hours of content per season, but the diehards fly through it so damn fast it’s one of those shows where fans are constantly craving more. So a hiatus of this length for a show this big is difficult for fans to bear through. That said, with season 4 rumored to be the scariest one yet, the excitement is at an all-time high. This season is expected to show a lot of growth in its young characters as well as the overall tone. With that in mind, and word of a major character set to return, the sky is truly the limit for season 4. Though it’ll have been one hell of a layoff between seasons, we should have faith that Netflix and its showrunners will make it worth our while.

Next Season’s Releas: TBD

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5

4

the boys

ANIMAL KINGDOM

the mandalorian

This is the one show on our list that most benefitted from the pandemic. After it’s season 2 release last summer, Amazon Prime’s original series about R-rated super hero satire broke into Nielsen’s Top 10 Streaming Ratings chart for the first time, and next thing ya knew fans around the world couldn’t stop talking about this dark and edgy comedy that exploits the pitfalls of a world where super heroes and celebrities are one in the same. Heading into its 3rd season, the show has gotten so successful that there’s now a spin-off in the works that will further explore this world of corrupt, out-of-control antiheroes.

It’s been almost two full years since we last saw the Cody family, and when they left off things were crazier than ever.

With the family matriarch and antagonist of the show, Smurf (Ellen Barkin), now dead. the series is destined for a major shift. Gritty crime dramas like this one tend to get darker by the season, and now the table is clearly set to find out who the true alpha of the Cody family is.

Thus far the series has done a tremendous job of surpassing the expectations left by the 2010 film it’s based on. That said, how the showrunners handle the epic and inevitable head-tohead clash between Josh Cody and his uncle Pope could be the only thing standing in the way of Animal Kingdom going down as a generation-defining TV show, or even an all-time great one.

As great as the first two seasons were, The Mandalorian is a show that needs to shake things up a bit, and luckily that looks to be the case in a major way as it gears up for season 3. In the season 2 finale, Din completed his mission by reuniting Grogu with the Jedi, watching “Baby Yoda” head off with Luke Skywalker to study the ways of the Force. As the two go their separate ways, the Mandalorian will have to find new avenues to explore, which will undoubtedly make it a slightly different show. There might as well be an unlimited number of routes the showrunners at Disney could take at this point, so which one they choose is anyone’s guess.

But one thing is for sure, we’ve still only seen the tip of the iceberg of what this universe has in store for its fans.

Next Season’s Release: Summer 2021

Next Season’s Release: 2022

(season 3)

Next Season’s Release: TBD

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(season 5)

(season 3)

1

3

2

dexter (season 9)

ozark

better call saul

When news broke that season 4 of Ozark will be its last it was definitely a bummer for its many fans, including myself. But but I must admit their plan to break the season down into two 7-episode parts helped win me over. Once I was able to accept the fact that one of my favorite TV shows is ready to soon call it quits, I then started to embrace the fact that we still have 14 potentially epic episodes of top-notch television coming our way eventually.

Marty and company sink in deeper with each passing episode, and having seen the conclusions to similar family crime dramas over the years like Breaking Bad or The Sopranos we know that this will likely not end well for anyone, but most of all Marty. The protagonist is always the smartest person in the room, which makes waiting to see how he finally slips up all that much more intriguing and suspenseful.

Better Call Saul’s final season will finish Jimmy’s transition into Saul Goodman, the dirtbag lawyer we met in Breaking Bad over a decade ago. If the stakes weren’t high enough, rumor has it three popular villains are making a comeback after pictures recently surfaced on Twitter. Top that off with the fact that the series predecessor had possibly the best final season in TV history, and it’s fair to say the bar is insanely high. Actually, it would almost be unfair if not for the fact that showrunner of both show, Vince Gilligan, raised that bar himself. The good news is it doesn’t have to eclipse the level of greatness Breaking Bad went out on, but in a way it does still have to live up to it. Gilligan and company have given us way, WAY too much quality TV for this series not to go out on a high note, so we have plenty of reasons to be psyched for what’s in store.

As much as we can’t wait for the return of all these shows, the other nine pale in comparison to the level of excitement and anticipation there is for the return of Michael C. Hall as America’s favorite serial killer, Dexter. When we last saw the titular character he hung up his butcher knives and plastic sheets for a chainsaw in what looked like his own personal purgatory. It’s been 8 years and many fans, none more than myself, feared we had seen the last of him. This was a show on par with the all-time greats, and still is to some extent, but the sour taste that ending left in so many fans’ mouths and the fact that it is near the top of damn near every ”Worst TV Endings of All Time” list makes it hard to justify that 8th season.

But now, nearly a decade later, the TV gods have answered our prayers and we’re getting one last ten-episode fix of vigilante justice.

Many details are still up in the air as far as how much of the cast is returning and what we can expect out of those who are, but with showrunner Clyde Phillips (seasons 1-4) back in charge, Dexter diehards might finally get the ending we’ve been owed for far too long. Showtime might have failed the former face of its network back then, but a huge shout out to them for having the balls to run it back all these years later. Better late than never.

Next Season’s Release: 2022

Next Season’s Release: Fall 2021

The Boys/Amazon/Animal Kingdom/TNT/The Mandalorian/Disney/Lucasfilm/Ozark/Netflix/Better Call Saul/AMC/Dexter/Showtime

(season 4)

Next Season’s Release: Part 1 is set to hit Netflix literally any month now

(season 6)

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LET’S GET SOMETHING OUT OF THE WAY:

This review was always going to be biased.

HBO’s The Nevers was always going to be my exact trash. You knew it, I knew it, all my ancestors knew it. Joss Whedon had my number from the beginning, as he always has, and here I am, once again, like the predictable little trash panda I am, eating it up.

He even hired two of my favorite actresses from my other period television obsessions—Laura Donnelly (Outlander) and Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark)—just in case someone saying, “women in bustles with superpowers,” somehow didn’t already grab my interest.

The Nevers is what the Miss Peregrine book series always hoped to achieve but never quite nailed.

As it turns out, that’s everything I wanted.

Of course, that’s just me.

Mired in controversy before it

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The Nevers/HBO

BY VANESSA BELLEW

ever aired, this celestial steampunk X-Men mashup was destined to divide the public opinion. Even when Joss Whedon was the media’s favorite male feminist, he elicited strong responses to his characters and storytelling. For decades, the only three ways to think about Joss Whedon were avid love, avid loathing, or avid cluelessness... but even the avid love folks (me, I’m talking about me) had plenty of valid criticisms of the work and the mostly-progressive-but-sometimes-

problematic representation (or lack thereof) within it.

He famously, after all, Buried His Gays (look it up), made a galaxy full of White people who swore in Chinese, and repeatedly used sexual assault and mystical pregnancies as plot devices when dealing with his Strong Female Characters.

A lot of this was before he knew better—before most of Hollywood knew better, before most of the audiences knew better—which doesn’t excuse it, but does put it into context.

What I will not be putting into context are the allegations of abusive behaviors in the workplace.

Why? Because it’s complicated, because this isn’t that long of an article (editor’s note: turns out it is that long of an article), because it’s been a brutal year and I want to write something fun, because he stepped down after six episodes, because

I’m still processing the Death of the Author for one of my all-time favorite storytellers...take your pick.

I will say I think the industry as a whole really needs to change most of its practices, which have been built to allow for the kinds of violations and unprofessionalism that would involve HR and lawsuits in any other business, and that a good place to start is the carte blanche permissions we give our favorite White male auteurs. I say these things as a viewer, but also as an actor and a writer whose longterm career goals once (read: until approximately a month ago) involved working with Joss Whedon.

Now onto The Nevers: From what I gather, most of the reviews of the pilot episode of The Nevers, which aired Sunday, April 11th, were mixed, with many critics complaining that there were too many characters, that it was too convoluted and confusing.

Those critics are wrong and if you agree with them, you’re also wrong

(sorry, I don’t make the rules).

The pilot is a seamless storytelling masterclass. You will find no hint of an exposition monologue, nary a whiff of an info dump, not even a paragraph of text before the opening scene to let us in on the action. With his script and directorial touches, Whedon sets tone and introduces characters, politics, and relationship dynamics with ease and efficiency.

He never spells anything out for us; rather, he trusts us to pay attention and anticipates that the audience is

smart enough to keep up and fill in the blanks. It leaves a little mystery, a little wiggle room, and doesn’t always tell us what information we should be seeking. We can be curious about what interests us rather than where the proverbial quest icon directs us. He’s letting the story take its time, which has always been one of Whedon’s strengths.

There is a lot going on in the Victorian London of The Nevers, but that’s because there was a lot going on in Victorian London. It only comes across as a lot because we’re not looking myopically at a single team of good guys and a single team of bad guys like we’re used to, where the Big Bad changes every season.

The world in which Amalia True and Penance Adair run their orphanage is a complicated and shifting one, in the midst of a technological boom, an industrial boom, and a whatever-they-are boom. They have more to worry about than the rich White men of government, more to protect against than a group of extremists, more to their lives than their troubles and the touches than marginalize and empower them.

You know...like life.

Anyway, it’s not like we’re dealing with a Game of Thrones level of storylines and factions.

As for the menagerie of characters we encounter in that first hour, I urge you not to worry. It isn’t actually essential that we remember every single person we meet in the pilot because like a practiced composer, he’s built their themes into the

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The Nevers/HBO

overture. We’ll recognize them again when the symphony reprises those themes. The pilot sets patterns and ley lines and teaches us how to follow them with dialogue refrains like, “You look very fine”/”I think so too,” so that when those patterns are plucked in a certain way, we resonate with them, and when they’re a little discordant, we feel that too. This means that with every rewatch, we’ll discover something new, something deeper, appreciate it differently. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have art I can dig into than the kind of television I can have in the background while I scroll on social media.

The other big issue for reviewers seems to be some thought that Whedon has plagiarized himself.

There is some basis for this. We can see classic Joss tropes and beloved Joss characters throughout the pilot, from Penance’s quirky girl engineer energy (Kaylee in Firefly) to Maladie’s unhinged girl speakingin-riddles energy (Drusilla in Buffy/ River in Firefly) to his weird love of giant teen girls (see Primrose in The Nevers and Dawn in the post-Buffy graphic novels). It’s also pretty obvious that despite inclusive casting in the peripheral characters, almost every single main character is White. The women and girls are waifish and beautiful in that Whedon way, lots of them can and do fight, and their stories involve variations on self-empowerment and fighting the Patriarchy (but also extremely

well-written and more complex than that). So, yes, similarities between this work and his other creations do exist.

Now allow me to bring your attention to literally every creator ever.

Read through the works of one author long enough, watch enough of any director’s movies, listen to a musician’s full discography, and you’ll notice what stories they tend to tell, what characters they tend to write, what settings they prefer, what styles they love. Even if they’re trying desperately to never write the same thing twice, there will always be overlap. We are large, we contain multitudes, but we are not infinite. We are, alas, limited by our experience, by our knowledge, by

what we encounter of the world and how we see it. The best we can hope to do, as artists and as humans, is grow our understandings and expand our perspectives.

This is not self-plagiarism; this is the nature of art.

It’s why so much of Stephen King’s work includes the adventures of 12-year-old boys or the existential nightmares of alcoholic writers. It’s how Quentin Tarantino created such a specific style. It’s why a computer program that looked at the frequency of words used by J. K. Rowling confirmed her mystery writer alter ego in Robert Galbraith.

Hell, Anton Chekhov went ahead and named a bunch of his characters Masha after his sister.

Artists put the best they have for

the story they’re telling into the work they’re working on at the time. You can’t hang onto every good idea like it’s the One Ring, waiting for the perfect, singular project. There is no perfect project.

As George R. R. Martin famously advised a fellow writer, “Never hoard your silver bullet.”

Well, Whedon’s been writing werewolves for decades now.

Having said all of that, Whedon was only involved with the first six episodes before he stepped down and HBO hired Philippa Goslett.

While Whedon is known for his longterm plans for his television series, an interview with Laura Donnelly during publicity for the premiere of The Nevers suggested that Goslett has at least some different ideas for the show and the characters that Donnelly found compelling.

I’m excited about having a woman showrunner, but I don’t actually know enough about Goslett to declare preemptively that it’s all going to be okay.

There’s a possibility that the first six episodes of The Nevers may be a totally different show than the rest of it, a brief but brilliant flash in the sky the way Firefly was (this is also a clever reference to the end of The Nevers pilot). It could very well be a change for the better! I certainly hope so because I am desperate for some scrappy Victorian women with divine-or-maybe-extraterrestrial superpowers. It is incredibly rare for a show like this to get the budget and effort it deserves and actually make it work, and I want it to work.

I’m already in love with the world, the characters, and the actors who bring both to life. I need more Ann Skelly as Penance Adair. I want to know the truth about Mrs. True. I need to find out what the [SPOILER] was.

So whatever happens, I, at least, will be watching.

For right now, The Nevers looks very fine.

I hope you think so too.

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batman: caped crusader, world’s greatest detective,

and the only person we as a society have been cool with training child soldiers. He’s a multifaceted hero with endless stories diving into various parts of his damaged soul, but something I’ve noticed we don’t ever really talk about is the psychology of the guy. His mental health, in particular. Now, just to be clear, Batman is my absolute favorite of all superheroes and I am aware that he is beloved by millions, but holy hell does this guy need a God damn therapist. The dude has some serious deep-rooted mental and emotional issues and it’s a miracle he’s fighting for good instead of sitting on top of Gotham’s smoky rubble. He is who he is (and who we love) because of his mental state and what he became because of it, but I really think that trauma is something we should talk about more often.

Now, before I go any further, I want to say that if you’re looking for an in-depth and clinical look at Batman’s psychology, you should check out Dr. Robin S. Rosenberg’s book What’s the Matter with Batman (yes, that

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is a real book. And no, I didn’t read it because I’ve got a deadline, people.)

You can find some incredible excerpts online in which she makes some very compelling arguments.

However, if you’re looking for a nerdy, half-informed, comedic take on the whole thing, well then, I say, “Come on in, Bat-friends!”

Here’s something we all know: A young Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents being murdered. Worst of all (and this has never actually been confirmed) I’m pretty sure he just, like, sat with their bodies for a very long time. Now, I’m no psychologist, but that has got to f**k you up, right?

I mean, I, as an adult, feel shaken when I see someone yell at my coffeeshop barista for giving them the wrong drink, not to mention watching your parents being gunned down in an alleyway as a child! We know there was an emotional and mental void created within him that he filled by promising to stop all crime in Gotham, right? We know he then went off and spent his teenage and young adult life in the Himalayas

Batman/DC/Warner Bros.

BY MATTHEW McLACHLAN

and other impossible-to-reach places learning how to break a man’s wrist forty-seven ways and how to do that impossible disappearing thing that pisses everyone off. But we, as a collective fanbase, all know that something snapped inside Bruce Wayne that day, but we never really talk about that. We’re only ever focused on what came after.

Everyone overlooks how mentally torturous it would’ve been to train to the physical limits it would take to become Batman, not to mention the physical and mental drive it would take to maintain it as he got older! Some would say you’d have to be somewhat mentally unstable to push your body that hard for so long. Who says that? Why, the people who do it, of course! You ever watch any of those CrossFit documentaries on Netflix? These

athletes push themselves to such physical extremes that over the course of these documentaries, many of these athletes admit that you’d have to have something a little wrong with you to find the joy from this level of exertion. Uh. Yeah!

No sh*t! Flipping 700 pound tires in a 110-degree garage 100 times in a row isn’t exactly the portrait of sanity, people! Now, can you imagine doing that every God damn day as just a warmup so you can keep up the physical endurance to support 150-pound Bat-armor as you flip through the air while avoiding getting shot in the face?! Yeah, sounds insane doesn’t it?!

I think what no one ever addresses in the Batman comics and/or films that I think is tied directly to the psychological break within Bruce Wayne is that, if he really wanted to eradicate crime from the streets of Gotham, he could. He’s smart enough. This is the guy who figured out how to stop the entire Justice League and you’re telling me he can’t figure out how to clean up the city streets? Even Rudy Giuliani figured that out! I bet if any of Batman’s allies said to him, “Yo, Bruce, I crunched some numbers and found that if you donated X-amount of millions into education while using your political resources to push strict weapon laws and prison reform, you’d cut the Gotham crime rate in half in less than 10-15 years! While as Batman, if you punched these people in the mouth and sent them

off to Arkham or Blackgate while you did all that as Bruce Wayne, your job would be done, mah dude!

You could retire in no time!” But he wouldn’t do it. Because I don’t think he really wants to. I think that a part of his psychological break is that he craves the fight. He doesn’t really want to stop. He self-medicates on the process of stopping crime, not the actual stopping of it. If I were to be so bold, I would tie this to the reason why he doesn’t just kill the Joker. He needs him. He needs that

little piece of chaos in his life to keep him moving forward, to keep giving him that sense of purpose, to give him his medicine. And I don’t think Bruce Wayne would ever give that up. That’s a part of his break from reality. So, what do we do when the only real person who can eradicate all of crime in Gotham could actually be the reason it still exists after so many years in the vigilante game?

I don’t freakin’ know, I’m just a nerd who thought this article was a good idea and needed a good ending line.

Leave me alone.

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BY MICHAEL BERNARDI

i am a star wars fan. as such, i can attest to

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It transforms them from fans into fanatics. Their zeal turns to zealotry.

More machine now than (wo)man, they are twisted and evil. Posting toxic commentary online, they eviscerate the films and filmmakers, disparage and dismiss thoughtful, good-faith discussion, and demean and dehumanize the actors with hateful, villainous rhetoric ranging from the racist and sexist to the obscene and violent.

Sadly, some zealots and fanatics are irredeemable. They are Emperors Palpatine. They embrace the dark side because they think it makes them powerful. The hate flows through them just...because. They hate that the main protagonist, Rey, is female. They hate that Finn is not white. They hate that Luke is world-weary and that he died. They hate that The Force Awakens is too similar. They hate that The Last Jedi is too different. They hate a second Death Star. They hate Ewoks. They hate Jar Jar Binks and Rose Tico,

but they also hate Ahmed Best and Kelly Marie Tran. Some of them laughed when they heard Ahmed say in an interview that he considered suicide in the wake of the reactions to his performance as Jar Jar in The Phantom Menace. More than a few were pleased when Kelly said she had no choice but to leave Twitter due to all of the harassment she received following her turn as Rose in The Last Jedi. I figure one or two

Star Wars/Disney/Lucasfilm

the fact that being a Star Wars fan is hard. It’s not as hard as being discriminated against, or experiencing inequality, or not having the “high ground.” Those things are objectively terrible. They lead to suffering. Being a Star Wars fan is hard because I love it. Star Wars brings me joy—and joy is terrifying.

Joy can turn to sorrow. Love can make you vulnerable. Sand gets everywhere.

There in the silent blackness of the screen, an ethereal blue sentence appears.

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....”

It hangs there for a moment. For a Star Wars fan, that moment is sacred. It holds so much imagination, excitement, anticipation, awe, and reverence for what is to come that we are forced to take a breath— to center ourselves—before the orchestra bursts to life and the star wars begin. We must live in the moment while being mindful of the future. That moment is the closest any of us will come to being a Jedi.

For some, however, that moment begins a journey to the dark side.

who have read this article now hate me for putting a “(wo)” before “man” in my earlier cutesy reference.

How do you help an Emperor Palpatine? How do you hold force lightening in your hand? Yoda only knows. Knows only Yoda? Knows Yoda only? One of those.

The rest of the noxious fanatics are Darths Vader. They are not deserving of sympathy—after all, regardless of the tragic nature of Vader’s fall, he was still a committed demonic murder-machine for almost 25 years—but there is still good in them.

It hasn’t been driven from them fully. They are, at least, deserving of empathy. Like Vader, they turned to the dark side because of love. In this case, their love of Star Wars. The same love as mine.

Love makes it tough to stay on the light side of the force. Anakin couldn’t manage it. He loved his mother but couldn’t save her when her situation was bad. He loved Padme and their unborn children (well, according to what they knew, “child”—apparently for all the technology in The Republic, pregnant Galactic Senators can’t get a sonogram to see if they’re having twins) so he chose a dark path to prevent a worse fate. Ben Solo embraced being Kylo Ren because he loved his Uncle Luke and was devastated by Luke’s momentary betrayal. Kylo’s disappointment in his

own internal struggle has led to an infatuated love for the Darth Vader version of his grandfather.

Even Luke barely made it through without turning. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he did. A terrifying masked, mechanical man clad in all black with a Mufasa voice cuts off my hand, tells me he’s my dad, then, instead of apologizing, offers me work. Later on, I’m fighting him in front of his boss and he tells me my sister is his new favorite kid. And I’m supposed to resist the urge to kill him in spite of having the

power (the force) and the permission (Palpatine) to do otherwise?

These characters show us that when things are bad or disappointing, we are susceptible to the dark side. And the harsh truth is that Star Wars is fantastic at being bad or disappointing.

I still roll my eyes every time I watch the yellow scroll of Ep.I read, “Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.” The first line of the first episode is a convoluted mess that is almost impossible for kids under the age of 16 to understand (the kids Lucas has said his movies are technically meant for). Then we are introduced to the amazing Darth Maul, but he is underutilized and cut in half. Jar Jar Binks—enough said.

An uncomfortable, bordering on creepy, romance in Ep.II. Dialogue seemingly written by a middle school drama club. An uneven relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin through all three prequels (Anakin is like a brother, but Obi-Wan is like a father? Does the average of the two make them cousins who are roommates?). Yoda’s hand slips off a platform, so his fight with the Emperor is over because for some reason the Jedi Grand Master can’t jump back up. Anakin can’t just step off his droid onto the lava bank; rather, he has to risk his limbs by

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Star Wars/Disney/Lucasfilm

doing a sweet flip over Obi-Wan. Ewoks. The First Order had to do a huge (Death)Starkiller base. The Canto Bight scene is too long. I wish I saw The Last Jedi Luke do a ton of sick, powerful force stuff. I am bothered by all that and more.

The thing is, I’m an apologist for what I love. So are the Jedi. We are both capable of excusing even the gravest transgressions especially when there is a redemption or an overall positive outcome. Vader killed innocent children and terrorized the galaxy, but he throws ONE emperor down an open shaft and five minutes later he’s a smiling ghost in the good-guy lineup standing next to someone he murdered two movies ago. The politics of the opening crawl of The Phantom Menace are annoying, but it’s a smart, logical way to set up Palpatine’s path to forming the Empire. Darth Maul’s death is a letdown, but his mere creation is cool and other creative forces brought him back for other amazing, fulfilling character arcs.

Jar Jar Binks is grating, but he’s critical to Palpatine’s gaining of (emergency) power; therefore, his presence has purpose. Anakin and Padme’s romance storyline and its development aren’t great, but we can’t get to Vader without it. The dialogue is heinous, but I didn’t show up for the dialogue. Obi-Wan and Anakin could have a clearer, deeper relationship, yet I still feel the pain of their conflict. Maybe after Yoda’s fall his disadvantage to the Emperor was greater than I understood. Anakin on Mustafar simply lets the dark side amp him up the way he lets his skills amp him up to fight Dooku in Attack of the Clones. Both times it ends poorly for Anakin and his limbs.

The Ewoks are tedious, but they represent the life and connections of the force which is a factor that Palpatine couldn’t foresee through the dark side. It’s key to his defeat.

Starkiller is similar to the Death Star, but it isn’t the same. World-ending weapons may get destroyed, but they never stop being useful. Canto Bight goes on too long, but it helps to get Finn to commit himself to the Resistance. Luke’s characterization

was surprising, different, and real. He did his best, he was met with failure, he retreated to prevent him causing more harm. The movies are only ever a snapshot of the larger epic.

In that snapshot, we see Luke at his low point so he can use his power to make the greatest sacrifice in order to continue the greater story. I’m ok with that. It’s not all about him. It’s not all about any of us.

I’m sure many of the toxic members of Star Wars fandom wish that they could just wish their feelings away. You can’t. You can only manage them. Even if you’ve turned to the dark side, it’s never too late

to come back. It’s not impossible to change. Every fan has the capacity to love and hate Star Wars. Darth Vader exists in us all. Choose to be Anakin. And isn’t he the truest, most relatable choice? A little whiny, occasionally uncomfortable, with bad dialogue, a big heart, and the best intentions.

There will always be a light side and a dark side to loving Star Wars.

The movies themselves represent a struggle for balance. The Sith get their revenge, but the Jedi returns. The clones attack and the Empire strikes back. It begins with a phantom menace which is quelled by the arrival of a new hope, an awakening of the force, and the ultimate rise of Skywalker. Let us fans seek a similar balance.

We’ve spent a whole movie, a whole trilogy, an entire trilogy of trilogies, on a journey that has always begun with a deep breath as the quiet, blue words transported us away. Now we can hear the music starting to swell.

The final screen wipe is coming. John Williams’ last few notes lengthen like the starlight stretching out as we are thrust into hyperspace, back to our galaxy far, far away. May the force be with us. Always.

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W Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy

hen Bram Stoker released his novel dracula back in 1897, he never would have guessed that his characters would survive the legacy that they have today.

However, despite countless adaptations, both groubreaking and forgettable, you would think that this tree would be all tapped out by now. But with Syfy’s Van Helsing, which has just entered into its fifth and final season, there’s proof that with the right creative forces behind your project, there will always be fresh ideas.

Inspired in part by Helsing, a graphic novel series

by Zenescope Entertainment, Van Helsing follows Vanessa Van Helsing (Kelly Overton), the greatgreat-great-granddaughter of famed vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, in present day. She wakes up from a three-year coma to discover that she’s living in a sort of vampire apocalypse and her blood has the ability to turn vampires back into humans again.

Naturally, the vampires, of which there are many types, want to destroy her. But as her army continues to grow, passing along special abilities to everyone she affects, she becomes even stronger.

The idea of normal, possibly-good humans turning into evil vampires at the bite of a fang is provocative and one of the things that keeps us coming back to Stoker’s lore for over a hundred years now. However, many adaptations don’t ever touch the origins of Dracula prior to becoming a vampire. But with season 5 underway, Van Helsing will fill us in on the Dark One’s history. This isn’t against type for the series, which enjoys jumping around in time, expanding the background for many of its characters, especially the ones who we only know as vampires—whether it’s their life prior to turning or their redemption after becoming human again—both of which keep these characters relatable and empathetic.

Debuting in 2016, the series has experienced an ever-evolving storyline, with kinetic arcs and totally captivating characters. Now with its final season, it’s natural for fans to be nervous about how much of those interwoven plots will get wrapped up in the end. But the benefit of knowing your show is ending before the season starts is being able to handle all of the closure at hand.

Showrunner Jonathan Lloyd Walker and company have assured their fans that they’ve crafted a magnificent 13-episode finale that will be sure to leave no stone left unturned, with the cast and crew able to finish the story they set out to tell five years ago. may 2021|

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kelly overton

BY ETHAN BREHM

Kelly Overton/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy

The number one question on Helsingers’ minds throughout the latter half of season 4 is, “Where’s Vanessa?” Humanity’s savior has been stuck in the Dark Realm since episode 7 and we haven’t seen her since. With season 5, fans will finally get answers, and our favorite vampire hunter will undoubtedly return to her set path.

Syfy’s Van Helsing follows Vanessa Van Helsing, who is immune to becoming a vampire in a world now overrun by these blood-sucking creatures.

With ancestral blood composition that turns all vampires back into humans again upon biting her, she’s humanity’s last hope. Fearless and headstrong, Vanessa is the perfect person for the job. As she gives those around her her powers, she’s slowly spreading her immortality throughout the world—as if vampires weren’t bad enough!

Kelly Overton stars in the titular role. Known for roles on HBO’s True Blood and TNT’s Legends, the Massachusetts native now shines in her most complex role yet. Strong, brave, and blessed with superpowers, Vanessa has a mental toughness and intellect that would serve her well even if she didn’t have any gifts. To go with her attributes, she has a vulnerability and personal growth that are brilliantly written on paper, but it’s the unique humanity that the actress imbues into the role that allows audiences to connect with Vanessa on a personal level.

The fifth and final season of Van Helsing will be one for the ages, wrapping up one of the most intriguing Dracula adaptations of all time, with an original spin that makes this series stand out in its long lineage.

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interview interview

Jonathan Scarfe

INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Jonathan Scarfe has been in Hollywood for almost 30 years. With spots on anything from Murder, She Wrote to NYPD Blue and even a recurring role on ER during its front nine, the actor has seen it all.

On Van Helsing, his character Axel is a very by-the-books Marine, a loyalty that serves him well throughout his journey in the post-apocalypse, despite enduring isolation and hardships, ultimately surviving because of this dedication to his principles.

His strong will even overpowers his thirst for human blood once he turns into a vampire, proving that ultimately human compassion conquers all animalistic and selffulfilling desires.

The actor, himself, is also a man of principles. Known by many on set as the hardest working cast member, Jonathan is also arguably the best actor on the show. As his character Axel carries many of the storylines and becomes a dominant surrogate for the audience into this crazy world, he does so with so much relatability and conviction.

Not only does Jonathan star in the show, but directs quite a few episodes as well, including some that he’s also performing in—a difficult task for even the most seasoned actors, but all the more testament to his work ethic and passion for what he does.

SPOILER: Axel Miller has been there since day one. He’s a fan favorite, a protector. And now going into season 5, we don’t know what’s going to happen. What’s going on with your character?

JONATHAN SCARFE: I think Julius and Axel spent the last of the 13 episodes in a cuddle puddle [laughs].

That’s where we left off. But you’ll have to tune in to see. What use does Axel find for himself to help get our gang towards the conclusion?

SPOILER: Being in an almostapocalyptic situation with COVID, it spooks people out. So with Van Helsing in season 5, do you think the fans’ emotions are going to be more intensified because they just came through this pandemic?

JONATHAN SCARFE: Oh sure, everybody’s been having this horrible time dealing with isolation and angst—particularly in the beginning of the shutdown. You know, we all ran out of toilet paper, man! It was an emergency! [laughs] But in how that relates to the show, of course.

I think initially everybody was afraid that everything was gonna be much, much worse. So it does put things

like a post-apocalypse in a different perspective.

SPOILER: Something everybody wants to know about is the orange dust throughout the series. What’s going on with that?

JONATHAN SCARFE: It makes you fall madly in love with Axel. It encourages mask-wearing.

SPOILER: If there’s a potential apocalypse, vampire or not, what would be your weapon of choice?

JONATHAN SCARFE: I think a sailboat to flee [laughs]. That would be my route. But I also fell in love with that sawed-off shotgun. I think that thing is handy. I’d have that in my pocket.

SPOILER: Leave us with a message to all your fans out there in the world.

JONATHAN SCARFE: “To all the fans who have been watching this show from the beginning, thank you so much. We love you guys.

We wouldn’t have been able to have this crazy experience without you watching and supporting the show.

So we really appreciate you, and hope you enjoy season 5.”

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Thanks to Bathory (and Sam), Dracula, aka the Dark One, emerges from her Dark Realm to wreak havoc on the real world. With season 5 now underway, fans get to see Dracula, née Olivia, prior to becoming the Dark One in medieval times.

The mother of all darkness is played by Tricia Helfer, perhaps most known for her role as Number Six

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Tricia Helfer/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Vince Trupsin/Brian Bowen Smith

INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

in Battlestar Galactica prior to Van Helsing. In her limited time on this series, Tricia has made a big impact, helping evolve the tone to a place that even the biggest fans didn’t see coming.

The former model has made the transition to acting seamlessly, continuing to level up her game with each and every project over the past 20 years, with esteemed roles in voice acting as well. In the vein of the most famous Dracula portrayers, such as Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, Tricia brings her own spin to the role and provides plenty of inspiration for whoever has to follow in her footsteps.

erview erview

interview interview

Tricia Helfer SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

TRICIA HELFER: My experience was wonderful. I only had a couple days of filming during season four since my character was just being introduced, but everyone was very welcoming and just a great group of people. The episodes we shot in Slovakia were really great, so it was such a bizarre experience for the pandemic shutdown to happen right after and the change in filming once we started back up again.

Our production team was amazing and worked hard to keep everyone safe, but of course the experience changes.

Thankfully we were already a family, so to speak, so we could weather the changes easier. I think starting a new show during COVID protocols is much harder because you don’t see each other and it’s much harder to get to know each other.

SPOILER: Will you miss working on the show once it’s gone?

TRICIA HELFER: With any show where you enjoy the people you are working with, of course you will miss the experience when you finish. But that’s the business—you move onto the next and hopefully you formed long-lasting bonds and will also work with many of the people—cast and crew—again on a different project.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

TRICIA HELFER: I had been modeling internationally for ten years and I wanted to move on to something else— to use my mind more. I decided to take an acting class to see what it was like and I fell in love with it. I was terrified, intrigued, and exhilarated all at the same time after that first class.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

TRICIA HELFER: No I do not. I do think there are people who can suck you dry emotionally, but I don’t think there are immortal souls walking around feeding off people’s blood.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

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TRICIA HELFER: I’m sure there are quite a few. Seeing it’s the last season, I think pretty much all the cliffhangers will be answered, no?

That’s the novelty of knowing the season is going to be the last before you start filming, the writers can wrap up the story and tie up all the loose ends, unless they intentionally want something left open.

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

TRICIA HELFER: I think we all rely on each other. Sets are a mechanism of constant interaction and cooperation. Being in tune with your scene partners is integral, and having a running dialogue with the writer or showrunner is necessary for anything you’re not quite understanding or for something that will be coming up in future episodes that you haven’t read yet but would inform how you’d play something now. And of course the director. I

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love feedback and back and forth with the director. I love when you get to have a shorthand and you’re just on the same page so you can easily alter or try things different ways.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

TRICIA HELFER: I never experienced any of that but I’ve heard Aleks [Paunovic] is a bit of one.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

TRICIA HELFER: Nothing creeps me out of what I’ve done. I can separate when I’m filming because you’re playing a character. I have a hard time watching the blood and gore of other scenes though—ones I’m not in.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

TRICIA HELFER: Would depend on who I was dealing with. Kindness

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing in your opinion?

TRICIA HELFER: I think them working together is the most powerful.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

TRICIA HELFER: Teleportation, if that’s considered a weapon. Otherwise, a gun with an unlimited supply of bullets.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

TRICIA HELFER: I think the show already provides that answer.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

TRICIA HELFER: Many times.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

TRICIA HELFER: My first Comic Con was San Diego, so it was like being put into it at 200 miles per hour. No one knew my character yet so it wasn’t overwhelming on that aspect.

It’s just quite an experience to see and be part of.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

TRICIA HELFER: Can’t say I would. I mean, if I was the last human left and

Tricia Helfer/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Vince Trupsin/Brian Bowen Smith

would be my base, but wouldn’t be afraid to switch to ruthless if needed or crossed.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

TRICIA HELFER: Which kind of vampire? If you’re talking Dracula: power, mystique, guardedness.

Tricia Helfer TRICIA HELFER: Of course. It’s thrilling and stressful at the same time. It depends on the character, of course, and how much research you need to do, or what you need to learn. Or sometimes just tapping into parts that will allow you to be able to portray the character properly. Some are easier than others of course.

it was become a vampire or perish, I’d probably choose vampire. But if it wasjust, “Do you want to be one?”

That’s a “No.”

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

TRICIA HELFER: Salad, veggies, vegetarian omelet—light healthy food. Eating heavy and attempting to work long hours is not good. It puts you to sleep.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character you play?

TRICIA HELFER: I think there’s a piece of me in every character I play.

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

TRICIA HELFER: A wild ride, answers to a lot of their questions, some terror, and some tears.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

TRICIA HELFER: Dracula—need I say more?

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

TRICIA HELFER: She seems pretty emotionally destroyed by her powers so I’m not sure I’d want to take them on, but I’m sure a few of the healing benefits and fighting prowess would be nice. Not that I get into fights, but

the knowing I could kick ass would be nice.

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

TRICIA HELFER: I think the word “family” will have significant importance in more ways than one.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

TRICIA HELFER: Everyone is hard working. If I have to choose, I’d say Jonathan Scarfe because he was directing a lot of the episodes too, while also being in some of them. That takes a ton of focus and dedication and lack of sleep.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

TRICIA HELFER: I’m currently filming Step Up: Highwater for Starz network, playing Erin Baxter, District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

TRICIA HELFER: Do it because you love the craft, not because you have some preconceived notion of what it’ll be like. There are a lot of ups and downs, a lot of rejection. Be prepared to work hard and have a nomadic lifestyle that is not always the easiest for personal or family relationships.

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

TRICIA HELFER: I’m not going to explain my hidden fears. But what upsets me currently is I can’t seem to sleep at all. Insomnia has taken hold of me this year in a dramatic fashion and it’s pissing me off.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

TRICIA HELFER: ”Thank you for your support and your kindness.”

It means the world to me that something I’ve done can resonate with people and either just give them an escape for a few minutes or help them work through something, or feel connected to others.

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

TRICIA HELFER: I suppose the same as most shows. Of course, it helps fans keep up to date on releases and so forth. But more importantly, I think it allows fans to form a community around a shared passion and experience, and that, in our current messed up world, is a comforting thing.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

TRICIA HELFER: I don’t know. I’m sure some would like it to continue but I’m sure many others are also happy that the show will be able to have a proper conclusion. may 2021|

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Christopher Heyerdahl/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Rob Daly

Can you blame us for being a little tentative before

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interviewing Christopher Heyerdahl? From the enigmatic Swede on Hell on Wheels to H.P. Lovecraft himself, the actor has made a career out of portraying mysteriously sinister characters.

On Van Helsing, the actor plays perhaps his most chilling yet as the absolutely creepy Sam, a deaf human who seems kind and warm at first, but harvests some menacing secrets. There’s a lot to his character, who may prove to be one of the most evil in the series, even before he becomes a vampire.

In real life, Christopher couldn’t put you more at ease with his wry humor and wit, which only speaks volumes of his talents as an actor to time and time again put together these characters who are each so individually eerie in their own right. With a career that spans all the way back to the late-’80s, there’s a reason why the actor has enjoyed such longevity.

interview interview

SPOILER: Who is your favorite Van Helsing castmate?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: I’ve found joy in working with every scene partner on Van Helsing but Trezzo [Mahoro] will always have a special place in my heart.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: My love of imagining.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Of course, don’t you?

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: What happened to Phil, aka Flesh? did he

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: The first scene we all shot in the post office set, which was used for pretty much all of season 1. It was wonderful to all be together discovering the world and developing character. LaBute’s writing team were all on the soundstage, within earshot, prepping episodes and developing story. There was a great deal of freedom in trying to focus totally on the senses other than hearing.

I loved communicating with Rukiya [Bernard] while she was locked up as Vampire Doc. She went deep. Sam and Vamp Doc connected that day. Rukiya, you know what I’m talking about. Still makes me smile.

ever find his fam? And why didn’t Neil LaBute kill off Aleks Paunovic’s character in season 1? That was perpetually hanging off a cliff.

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: The writers.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Paunovic.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out?.

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Sam killing Susan.

SPOILER: Name the most memorable scene from the series.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: I hope kind, though I do have a terrible habit of playing with my food from time to time.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Not worrying about blood stains and never having to wipe your chin after a particularly juicy meal.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Violet and Jack. It’s always about the next gen.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Innocence and purity. Callie seemed to always walk through the valley of death and come out just fine.

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CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: No hesitation: Jonathan Scarfe.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Work harder than everyone else, be more curious, read the script again, work harder, then look in your scene partner’s eyes and support them and the story.

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Always.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Not serving the story.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Always go for the head. Pretty sure no one’s grew back.

SPOILER: Pick one character from the series and tell us everything you know about them.

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: I try to never assume.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Excitement and curiosity.

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Never kill a vampire if you can just as easily turn them back into a human being.

Very practical!

SPOILER: If you had a choice to become a vampire, would you do it?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: I’ve made that choice a few times.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character you play?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Always.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: The power of transformation is beautiful.

I hope I’d choose light. Sorry, what’s the real world?

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: A journey towards our humanity.

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SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: ”Thank you for your support. Let’s all be kind to one another especially those we disagree with.”

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: I’ve garnered great pleasure and insight from both. I’ve gotta say DC has paid my rent more than a few times and will again this year.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL: Odds are good.

Christopher Heyerdahl/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Rob Daly

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Aleks Paunovic is continuing to make a name for himself in the fandom world. Becoming a fan favorite with each of his most recent roles on Snowpiercer and Van Helsing, the Winnipeg native continues to level up each and every project he’s a part of with his steady performances and charismatic presence.

In Van Helsing, Aleks plays Julius, a vampire-turned-human who winds up joining Vanessa on her quest to rid the world of vampires once and for all. A dominating presence on any project he’s on, Aleks has proven to be a master of finding ways to fluctuate between shining on screen or providing just enough to make someone else have the spotlight in any given scene.

Aleks has been featured in everything from Battlestar Galactica to Supernatural, but in recent years with recurring roles on two major series, fans are finally getting to see more and more of him on a consistent basis.

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Aleks Paunovic/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/ Dan Power/Syfy/Brendan Meadows

With a career spanning over two decades

erview erview

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ALEKS PAUNOVIC

SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: It’s been one of the best experiences of my career.

The development as an actor and the friendships that were made will be with me forever.

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I was in the music industry for a long time, and when I was playing in my hometown of Winnipeg, a casting director saw me and asked if I would audition for a movie. The rest is history.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite Van Helsing castmate?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I don’t have a favorite. Everyone I’ve worked with brings so many different qualities to the work. There’s been guest stars and day players that I really loved working with, so it’s hard to say just one.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I believe in soul suckers. I try and stay away from those ones [laughs].

SPOILER: This is season 5, the finale. Will you miss working on this series once it’s gone?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I will definitely miss Van Helsing. The story we got to tell and the people we got to work with makes me so lucky to be a part of the team. All the producers, writers who wrote some amazing work, and the hardest working crew out there. Definitely gonna miss these people.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I’ve been lucky to have some great people on this show from season 1 until now. I would have to say our creators, showrunners, and executive producers Simon Barry, Neil LaBute and Jon Walker. They have been awesome to me over the years.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: No one was more of a consistent practical joker than our head of makeup, Jenn Kaminski. Walker and Labute were close seconds [laughs].

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: When Sam had sex with my mom! That evil bastard! [laughs] SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I think there’s only one way to be… ruthless!

Gimmie my blood!

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Sleeping during the day.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: I think the most powerful character is Dracula. She can morph.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: As vampire Julius in season 1, I loved my little vamp dog! He had a leash and everything. He was badass!

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Cutting the head off. Quick and easy.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: We were at Comic Con in San Diego for Van Helsing and the fans lining up to see us and tell us about the show, and how many fans were there was just mindblowing.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Julius is a straight-forward guy. He was

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caught up in wanting to help his mom, that brought him to the dark side. When he became human, he felt like vampire Julius was a cage for the real him. All he wanted to do was help people around him.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character you play?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Yes, I think when Julius became human and his love for his mom and just trying to do good in the world—there’s a piece of me in there for sure.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Snowpiercer has been another show I’ve been working on, and as I’m writing this, I’m working on a show in Atlanta that I can’t talk about yet. But when I can, you’ll be the first to know.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: You have to love it. Like, really love it. You have to love it so much that you would do it for free. If you do that, stay consistent and persistent, then you’ll know it’s the thing you want to do for the rest of your life.

Aleks Paunovic/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Brendan Meadows

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: The team worked really hard to have season 5 be the perfect journey to the ending of the show. They can expect a lot of blood, drama, and resolution.

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Ooh yeah, constantly [laughs]. I think nerves are a good thing. It means you care about doing a good job. And helps you prepare.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Right now, it’s

getting back to normal after COVID. I miss hugging people. I want that back.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: “Thank you!

Thank you for supporting the show.

The reason we have five seasons is because you came out and watched us; were invested in us.” I can’t thank the fans enough for this gift.

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: For sure!

Without a doubt. They have been our life force on social media. I have amazing friends who came from social media who love Van Helsing.

And I will keep talking to them after the show is done.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC?

ALEKS PAUNOVIC: Marvel!

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Sarah Carol, aka Doc, has had a real struggle over the course of the series. When we first met our Van Helsing star she was a vampire. But with the help of Vanessa’s powers, she turned back into a human. Sounds fortunate, right? However, Doc can’t handle her humanity, trying but failing to become a vampire again. Despite being the counterpoint for our protagonist, Doc is the one responsible for preserving Vanessa for the three years prior to her awakening, passing on responsibilities to Axel once she gets bitten.

Doc is played by Rukiya Bernard, a Toronto native who’s found a steady career for more than two decades now. While featured on some big TV and film projects in the past, such as The Cabin in the Woods, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Supernatural, the actress has really taken off since her starring role on Van Helsing with recent turns on the new Nancy Drew series, as well as the upcoming film XCII (Zero Contact) alongside Anthony Hopkins and Van Helsing costar Aleks Paunovic.

With her role on the show going on somewhat of a hiatus, Rukiya is excited to close out Doc’s storyline and finish the story she started five years ago.

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interview interview

Rukiya Bernard

SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

RUKIYA BERNARD: It was life changing for me. I’d been acting for a little while but never in the capacity as a series regular. It allowed me to hone my craft as an actor on the job playing such an interesting character, Doc. SPOILER: Who is your favorite castmate?

RUKIYA BERNARD: After five seasons, it’s hard just to choose one. As much as Doc and Susan didn’t like each other on the show, in real life Hilary Jardine is now one of my closet friends. Kelly [Overton] and I really connected too—our kids have grown up together watching their mothers on the show for five years. And Paunovic—what can I say? I love that Yeti.

Recently he asked me to play his wife in an upcoming film Zero Contact which we shot in lockdown during the pandemic.

SPOILER: Will you miss working on Van Helsing once it’s gone?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Yes, but all good things must come to an end. I haven’t been part of the show much since season 4 so it was nice to close out storylines. You don’t get that opportunity often.

Rukiya Bernard//Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

RUKIYA BERNARD: I’ve always loved performing. As a child, my parents use to call me “Miss Dress Up” because I loved getting into costume and putting on shows. I suppose I still do—I’ve just managed to make a career out of it. My journey has been relatively typical in that I went to theater school and worked my way through the entertainment industry somehow landing on Van Helsing.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Literally, no.

Figuratively, yes.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

RUKIYA BERNARD: What happened to Doc? SPOILER: Who on the show is your go-to person for advice?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Kelly Overton and

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Rukiya Bernard Aleks Paunovic have helped so much. Showrunner Jon Walker too.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

RUKIYA BERNARD: 1000% Paunovic.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

RUKIYA BERNARD: Anything Chris Heyerdahl did! In fact, the episode that introduces Felix, Sam’s disillusioned stand-in for Mohamad, that made me very uncomfortable. The scene with Felix in the pool without a tongue as his fellow detention inmates taunt him—in this day in age watching a young Black disabled person being bullied by more privilegedlooking people is very uncomfortable.

SPOILER: Name three memorable scenes from the series.

RUKIYA BERNARD: Season 1, episode 3 when Vanessa bit Doc the Vampire—it was my first and only “action” scene with Kelly and she actually bit me! In season 1, episode 3 after everyone thought that Vanessa’s bite didn’t work on Doc, miraculously Doc is turned back human and emerges from her cage for the first time in years. In the script, it was written that Doc emerges, confused, concerned as if, “What does this all mean?” And our executive producing director, Michael Nankin, directed me to play the relief of it all smiling joyfully.

And to this days it’s one of my top 3 Doc moments. And then in season 3 when Doc revealed she was a virgin to Jolene—that was a story point I came up with and the writers wrote it in.

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SPOILER: If you were a Vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Ruthless.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

RUKIYA BERNARD: You can binge watch Netflix without annoying daytime glare on your TV. SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Syfy and Netflix.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

RUKIYA BERNARD: A gun.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

RUKIYA BERNARD: UV. They need some serious sunblock.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Yes, I went with the show twice to San Diego Comic Con.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first one?

RUKIYA BERNARD: It was incredible!

To experience the global impact the show has had by meeting fans from around the world was surreal. Also, the perpetual press junkets were a marathon. Gotta remember snacks next time they come back. I turn into a vampire when I’m hangry.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

RUKIYA BERNARD: No. The reality of impending death we all face as humans makes life all the more precious and worth living. I’d choose to remain amongst the living—ride or die for my life.

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

RUKIYA BERNARD: It’s not food but a drink: tea. I’m a tea granny.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in Doc? RUKIYA BERNARD: Yes. I too was a vampire once.

Rukiya Bernard

Rukiya Bernard//Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Sometimes when it’s a new character. I was super nervous during season 1 of Van Helsing but by season 5 the character is a well-worn glove.

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

RUKIYA BERNARD: This season the fans are in for a real bloody, gory, shocking, yet satisfying treat as the series comes to a close.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

RUKIYA BERNARD: Doc is selfinterested, reclusive vampire apocalypse survivor. Pre-end-of-theworld, she was a medical examiner.

She survived the beginning of the apocalypse with Axel as her protector but was turned into a vampire. Axel didn’t kill her, and to her luck, Vanessa came back to life and turned her back human. Since then she’s learning to come out of her shell and be selfless, as surviving an apocalypse is better done with other survivors and in love.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

RUKIYA BERNARD: God no! Could you imagine having her powers during the election? And if there were others too? Eek! SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

RUKIYA BERNARD: A Canadian made TV show—BOOM! SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Plastic and the fate of our Earth.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

RUKIYA BERNARD: ”Thank you for supporting!”

RUKIYA BERNARD: I learned how to shoot a gun. It was a sadly profound experience as I understood the instant sense of power you feel when you feel the kickback and see the damage you can do. I quickly realized that average human beings shouldn’t have these things as day to day accessories. Might be an unpopular opinion, but that’s me.

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

RUKIYA BERNARD: What happened to Doc? Watch and find out!

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Absolutely.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? RUKIYA BERNARD: HBO. SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

RUKIYA BERNARD: It’s always hard to say goodbye, so we’ve made it a heartwarming bloodbath.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

RUKIYA BERNARD: The hardest working cast mate is probably Jonathan Scarfe. He picks up double duty acting and directing— sometimes at the same time.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

RUKIYA BERNARD: I currently recur on CW’s Nancy Drew as Ryan Hudson’s love interest Val Samuels.

Also, I recently wrote, directed, and produced a short film called The Blactor SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

RUKIYA BERNARD: Make sure you do it for the love of the craft—never to be famous.

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because of Vanessa’s blood, Flesh lives with a lot of pain and guilt due to his previous life as a bloodthirsty monster. However, his existence on Van Helsing serves as a symbol of redemption and hope.

Flesh is played by Vincent Gale, one of the most experienced veterans on the show with a career spanning all the way back to the early-’80s. And still, he says filming during Van Helsing was one of the happiest he’s ever been on set.

While the fate of Flesh has been up in the air since the beginning of season 4, hopefully fans will get to see what the vampire hunter has been up to in the meantime. As for Vincent, they can also catch him on Snowpiercer as well as the upcoming Netflix series Midnight Mass and the recent film Every Breath You Take alongside Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan.

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Vincent Gale/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky/Luke Cyprian

The first vampire to turn back to human form

erview erview SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

VINCENT GALE: I loved working on Van Helsing! Some of my favorite people were involved: David Cubitt, Christopher Heyerdahl & Simon Barry. Season 1 was one of the happiest times I’ve ever had shooting film.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

VINCENT GALE: I’ve been acting for over years. It’s all I’ve ever done.

I started acting as a child on a BBC TV series.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

VINCENT GALE: Yes! I interact with the soul suckers every day.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

VINCENT GALE: Where’s Flesh!?

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

VINCENT GALE: Neil [LaBute].

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Vincent Gale

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

VINCENT GALE: Aleks [Paunovic].

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

VINCENT GALE: Sleeping late.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

VINCENT GALE: Flesh—he did it his way.

your character.

VINCENT GALE: Flesh is the tortured, moral compass of Van Helsing.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

VINCENT GALE: Why not?

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

VINCENT GALE: A super fun Syfy show!

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

VINCENT GALE: Yes! San Diego Comic Con.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

VINCENT GALE: John Scarfe worked his ass off directing and acting!

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

VINCENT GALE: Sour keys from crafty.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

VINCENT GALE: I’m back auditioning. I have a film coming out this summer with Casey Affleck, and a small role in a cool new Netflix series Midnight Mass.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character you play?

VINCENT GALE: Not a bit.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

VINCENT GALE: Don’t do it. There’s too many of us!

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

VINCENT GALE: Always.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

VINCENT GALE: Anything bad happening to my family. Or a fatal disease.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

VINCENT GALE: Watch FX’s Better Things.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

VICENT GALE: I hope not.

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which role she’d like to take on in a superhero movie, she would tell you, “The Joker.” And we can see it. The actress has shown such range since her season 2 debut as Ivory on Van Helsing, the former leader of the Sisterhood-turnedhuman. Jennifer has been asked to be insidious and creepy for her role, but, on the other hand, show such humanity.

The Vancouver native has been featured on projects such as Supergirl, Arrow, and the Minority Report miniseries, but in Van Helsing she’s able to show a different side of her skillset. With the indelible imprint she’s already leaving on the series, the future is bright for the actress.

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Jennifer Cheon Garcia/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Jeffrey Fountain

If you ask Jennifer Cheon Garcia

interview interview

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA

SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: It was one I’ll never forget.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite castmate?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Ooh, can I plead the fifth?

SPOILER: Will you miss working on the show?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Yes, I already do.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Wanting to be transported to other realities.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: I believe in the metaphor. I feel there are definitely energies out there that can suck the life out of you.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: There is one. but you’ll have to wait and see.

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your goto person for advice?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Everyone single person on Van Helsing has taught me something that I will take with me through life. But most recently Tricia [Helfer] gave me some good cat mom advice.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Aleks [Paunovic].

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: It’s in an episode called “Miles and Miles.” It has to do with cannibalism… Freaks me out even saying it.

SPOILER: Name three memorable scenes from the series.

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JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: The fight scene between Vanessa and Dimitri’s sister—so badass. Also, the reveal of Dracula. And a personal favorite was when Ivory addressed to her day-walker Sisterhood holding the heart.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Both.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: You would save so much money. No more “beauty” products, and food.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: I plead the fifth again! They all brought their own magic to the title.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Well if I can’t grab a firearm, then I would have to go with a machete.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a Vampire?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Take the head.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: It was a dream come true.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Mmmm I wouldn’t want to live forever. But it would be cool to have superpowers so I could become Batman.

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Candy.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character your play?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Yes! SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: They can expect to see the OG Van Helsing back in action.

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SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Vamp Ivory was ruthless. Passionate without thought. Human Ivory is discovering who she is, learning to take her pain and turn it into strength.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Yes. SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: A protector. A mother. A father.

SPOILER: Pick one character from the series and tell us everything you know about them.

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Scab.

Jennifer Cheon Garcia/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Jeffrey Fountain

He was a gentle soul as a human. He was teased, tormented and bullied.

When he was turned he still searched for the love. But he was so angry from all that hurt and couldn’t control it.

That’s why when he found Ivory they found a partnership.

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Yes, I learned so much! And I’m taking it with me everywhere I go.

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: The blood.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Jonathan Scarfe. Actor, director—sometimes at the same time. Insert “clap.”

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Staying healthy. And continuing to entertain you all.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Be you.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Yes.

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: I hope so! I hope they loved it so much they want more.

That means we did what we set out to do: give you a good show!

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Not being centred on the day.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: ”Thank you for all your support and love. I love you.”

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: I do. It’s so awesome to see how the fans of the show reached to the show.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? JENNIFER CHEON GARCIA: Both.

But hey DC, I wanna be the next Joker. Wink, wink.

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

daughter, Jack, is played by Nicole Muñoz, who, despite not even being 27-yearsold, has been acting for over two decades, with roles on Defiance, Once Upon a Time, and Supernatural. Now with a prominent role on Van Helsing, the actress is continuing to let the world know who she is.

Nicole has always known how to lock into her roles, a standout in every project she’s in, and here is no different.

She’s able to tap into the pain that Jack carries with her, as well as the immense levels of guilt that she’s accumulated.

Where we last left off at the end of season 4, Jack had been possessed by Dracula herself. Now that season 5 is underway fans can finally get some answers about her fate and what she was doing in that coffin.

The Vancouver native fills us in on how she got into acting, and also admits that her character’s weapon of choice wouldn’t be the most practical option if we were actually in a vampire apocalypse.

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Nicole Muñoz/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Noah Asanias Photography

Vanessa Van Helsing’s biological

interview interview

NICOLE MUñOZ

SPOILER: How was your experience working on VanHelsing?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Working on the show was an incredible experience that offered growth, exciting challenges and a whole new family. I am now ready for the evernearing apocalypse.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite castmate?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Filming in Slovakia brought me very close with Jesse Stanley.

We formed a tight friendship that I feel so lucky to have. Call me “Jessie’s girl.” I’ll forever be in her corner.

SPOILER: Will you miss working on Van Helsing once it’s gone?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Of course. We wrapped a while ago and I miss it already. Though Jack will forever live on in my heart, I am going to miss bringing her out to play.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I started acting when I was four-years-old. The first commercial I auditioned for I booked, and it went on from there. Mom says that instead of doing what was being asked of me in the room, I insisted on explaining the mechanics of my favorite doll at the time that had such a heavy head it did somersaults. Riveting stuff! Clearly my natural charm paired with my candy-apple head and ringlet curls launched me right into the career that would become a very important part of my life.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I believe there are so many things out there that we don’t know about, why not vampires!

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Are we alone in this universe? The ever-continuing season of Earth has been quite the nail biter, I can’t wait to see where they go with it.

Hopefully a few more seasons.

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your goto person for advice?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Van Helsing brought together the most wonderful group of people. Everyone would look out for one

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NICOLE MUñOZ another. I would say personally, [head of makeup] Jenn Kaminski.

She has a way of always being there for anyone who needs it. I know Jenn has impacted many of us on set in the best way, supporting us and fiercely guiding us to our most authentic selves.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I don’t know who’s the joker but the punchline is always [Aleks] Paunovic.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Anytime I had to be in the coffin with the lid shut. It becomes very disorienting in there and the surroundings get so loud!

SPOILER: Name the most memorable scene from the series.

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Anytime we got to do an ode to Indiana Jones. I am a huge fan of the franchise, specifically Raiders of the Lost Arc and always enjoyed giving a nod to it. [Jonathan] Scarfe was usually behind it and I was more than happy to go along.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Ruthless. If I’m going to be a vampire, I might as well commit all the way.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a Vampire?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I could finally embrace my nocturnal nature.

Insomnia would be celebrated.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Dracula. She’s the biggest threat to humanity and has survived centuries for a reason.

SPOILER: What’s your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

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NICOLE MUÑOZ: Not a crossbow...

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Vanessa Van Helsing once told me it’s important to take their heads.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I have! 2019 Comic Con and Toronto Fan Expo in 2013. I hope they become more frequent, I always have the best time.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I’m going to talk about Comic Con because that was a whole other level. It felt like an adrenaline rush I didn’t want to ever end. Being in the same space with so many people who love what you love was an experience I will not soon

forget. The location, the people, the costumes—stimuli overload in the best way.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I would highly consider it. Tricia [Helfer] makes it look fun. Though, being a Van Helsing and all, becoming a vampire would feel a little too close to treason.

Nicole Muñoz/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Noah Asanias Photography

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Sugar Free Red Bull. Sugar free strictly for taste. I think battery acid can only get so healthy.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character your play?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Definitely.

Jack’s inability to give up and the importance she places on family.

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: An epic battle and a chance to learn about how it all came to be. Many viewers who have been around since day one will be especially delighted.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Jack is a fighter, physically and mentally. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders all while harbouring the guilt of her past in her heart. Jack will walk directly into the line of fire for those she loves. She understands sacrifice comes with the duty of being a Van Helsing and is willing to put everything on the line over and over again for the sake of humanity.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I wouldn’t say no.

Even though with real power comes real responsibly, I’m willing to take my chances. Would be nice to have in the back pocket.

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: A show about inner strength and inner demons. A show about the real fight between the good and evil in our world guised under the cloak of a vampire show.

SPOILER: Pick one character from the series and tell us everything you know about them.

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Bathory/The Oracle. A cruel vampire; most powerful servant to Dracula who’s tragic past we learn about in season 5. Hobbies include: plotting, enchanting, and branding. The Oracle has many powers including shapeshifting, telekinesis, and

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NICOLE MUñOZ

the ability to ruin a Van Helsing’s day. I personally think learning about Bathory’s backstory is one of the most exciting arcs of the series.

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I learned some Latin that can open the portal to the dark realm. Maybe one day I will need that to escape.

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: All sorts of juicy, bloody body parts rolling around this season.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: The crew. The amount of effort and stamina that goes on behind the scenes is unmatched.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I am currently working on a project I can’t yet talk about, but I look forward to sharing it with you!

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Go for it. Go forth with tenacity, discipline, and strength!

Reach for the sky and believe in yourself.

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Life gives me stress and anxiety, and playing a character is a good way to relieve it.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: How familiar a postapocalyptic show is looking next to our current reality.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: ”Thankyou. I see you.”

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Having support like that really means the world and I hope they know how important they are to myself, and to whoever else they interact with. I wish them all the best in life, success in their endeavours, love, and luck.

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: Immensely. Having such vocal supporters of the show online, or of any show really, points out to the network that this is something to pay attention too. The general public really does have the power to impact huge corporations with their online voices and I’m not only talking about TV networks.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? NICOLE MUÑOZ: Marvel. I say this because the only two shows loaded onto my laptop are Frasier and the 1992 animated X-Men series.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

NICOLE MUÑOZ: I am sure some are, but I would offer that even though the series is ending, it will always be there to watch again, and the more you watch the more you pick up. There are Easter eggs peppered all throughout the five seasons. The cast and crew are thankful to have had such supportive and dedicated fans of the show and we really poured our hearts into this final season to give the series the farewell it deserves and that the viewers deserve as well. Five seasons and a proper finale! This is something to celebrate!

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Nicole Muñoz/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Noah Asanias Photography

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

Keeya King/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Liz Rosa

The culmination of the final season of Van Helsing later this year

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shouldn’t worry star Keeya King one bit.

With spots on the brand new Batwoman series and A Million Little Things, the young actress has a lot in the works and should find success parlaying these roles into even bigger projects.

On Van Helsing Keeya plays Violet, a biological daughter of Vanessa Van Helsing (it’s a long story) who holds some secrets that even she doesn’t know. King is able to showcase her impressive combat skills as her character’s background slowly unfolds over the course of season 4.

Despite an impressive resume thus far, the horizon looks more than promising for the budding young star.

interview interview

KEEYA KING now to become a vampire, would you do it?

KEEYA KING: Probably. Just to kill the curiosity.

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

KEEYA KING: Not a food, but I love Red Bull.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character your play?

KEEYA KING: No, I don’t think there is a piece of me in Violet, but I enjoyed playing every piece of her.

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

KEEYA KING: A bloody, bold, and badass season.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

KEEYA KING: Yes, I would love them!

SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

KEEYA KING: My experience working on Van Helsing was absolutely amazing!

SPOILER: Who is your favorite castmate?

KEEYA KING: I loved working with every single actor on this show. I can’t possibly pick a favorite.

SPOILER: Will you miss working on the show once it’s gone?

KEEYA KING: I am going to miss working on this show so much, but we had a blast and a great time.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

KEEYA KING: I totally believe in vampires!

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go to person for advice?

KEEYA KING: Like Violet goes to

Julius, my go to person for advice on anything is Aleks Paunovic!

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

KEEYA KING: The entire team is full of jokes and hilarity!

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

KEEYA KING: There is not a single moment while working on this show where I am not creeped out by the effects and gore!

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

KEEYA KING: I believe that every character exudes power in their own way.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

KEEYA KING: My mind.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

KEEYA KING: Just watch and find out!

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

KEEYA KING: Just watch and find out!

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working actor in the series?

KEEYA KING: Everyone works so super hard, from cast, to crew, to writers—it’s incredible!

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

KEEYA KING: Not really. I find so much joy and enjoy the challenge preparing for this show.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? KEEYA KING: Both!

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interview interview

Rowland Pidlubny

INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

Loyalty and tenacity can be great, commendable traits...if you’re not part of a vampire clan.

Scab, the former minion of Julius and member of the Sisterhood, is one of the most fearless of the bunch. However, he’s also one of the most evil. Although, he wasn’t always like that. While little is known of his life before the Rising, we see enough to empathize with Scab during his human days.

We get some help from Rowland Pidlubney who plays the vampire.

The actor has really done an excellent job in the role and has been able to give the audience someone they love to hate, while also feeling bad for the hand he was dealt prior to his sinister fate.

In real life, Rowland is such a fun dude with a real joy for life. He explains how he channels certain emotions for the dark role of Scab, making us appreciate the creativity required to execute it so effectively.

Rowland has been in the industry for over a decade now, but audiences are really starting to get to know what he can do on screen and how talented he really is. The actor has such a passion for his time on Van Helsing, and shares with us a few anecdotes from behind the scenes. And also, we’re not entirely sure he’s not actually a vampire.

SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: I hope every actor has an opportunity to play on a show like SyFy’s Van Helsing in their career. It will change your life in the most exhilarating way. Going to bed at 2 a.m. when you’re too excited to sleep and need to be on set at 6 a.m. In the chair ramping up with the makeup artists, then the dark ritual of the costume going on and becoming a vampire. On set, the fight scene: “Let’s shoot it!” One take. “Got it!”

Nod from the director. Close-up shot. The bite and quiver of your victim. Fist pump from the camera crew. On to the next scene. Mouth full of blood. Later that night with the echoes of their screams ringing through your ears, and knowing you can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite castmate?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Sisterhood forever! My sacred beloved is Ivory, played by Jen Cheon Garcia. Her drive as that badass character shows her inner-strength. She deserves to be at the top. Something clicks with her when “action” is called and I’m glad to be on her side when in happens! I’ve really enjoyed watching Christopher Heyerdahl, Teach Grant, and Michael Eklund perform on set, I have great admiration for their artistry as well.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: I remember the night. Wayne Dyer had an inspiring speaker on his show, Dan Caro, who was in a tragic fire as a child, burning 80% of his body and losing the use of his hands. He found an inner desire to play the drums, becoming an incredible jazz drummer. I cried at thought of what gifts are inside me that I’m

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SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Jennifer Kaminski, our makeup head, and Aleks [Paunovic], who plays Julius, are rather mischievous. It’s gotten to the point where they leave a life-sized stuffed bear in Aleks’ trailer—with someone in it, to scare him. Now remember Julius is a trained boxer with a solid right hook. Sometimes the blood is real on our show and sometimes lifesized stuffed bears go down, hard.

afraid to open. Why would I wait until something tragic happens to wake me up before I follow my dreams. So I believed in myself and am very grateful for people along the way believing in me as well.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: (Hesitant smile from across the room) Sometimes revealing, oneself, results in complicated social issues. Quenching a hunger is never enough, I felt the breeze from the wings of madness.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Are you sure that vampire is dead? Sometimes to be thorough, you really need to dispose of a vampire properly, don’t you agree? Unless you actually see the ashes and then burn those ashes

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again—who knows what may rise from the darkness. I’ve always been interested in having the audience see how Julius made Scab.

SPOILER: Who on the show is your go-to person for advice?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: That’s the thing about our show, everyone of the cast and crew are valued and respected for their ideas. I’ve had many insightful conversations with our writers Jackie [May], Matt [Venables], and Jeremy [Smith], as well as directors Michael Nankin and David Winning. To know their vision is invaluable and I trust their experience.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: I have three for you. Dmitri and his sister Anastasia sitting in a full blood bath—I mean, what a waste of blood!

Second: barbecue vamps. “Oh great, they’re eating them now.” You know how hard it is to find ranch dressing in an apocalypse? And third: “Say hello to my little friend.” Scab lost a certain appendage. My therapist was getting a lot of business from me because of that scene. But I drained him of blood in the moonlight, so there’s that.

SPOILER: Name three memorable scenes from the series.

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Vanessa screaming out over her daughter as she turns into ashes after the sun reaches her. Kelly was giving life to a new baby around that time and that scene rang out with a lot of feeling.

Rowland Pidlubny SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: My choice?

Toilet paper. [inquisitive look] Oh! You mean a vampire apocalypse.

Scab’s choice: his scream. You lay prey to the fear racing up to your throat, heart pumping, hands shaking and becoming weak, unable to run as you become stuck in a tunnel vision of terror.

I’ve dismantled you without touching a blade.

Rowland Pidlubny/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Miranda Moon Photography

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: The fastest way is having him live with his mother-in-law. The best way though, is a blender. Big one. A bit of oil. A bit of garlic just for taste. Garlic actually doesn’t hurt us. Make sure it’s plugged in, you have one shot at it.

Season 2—Julius as human in 1936 pleading with the nun while his mother lay in the other room. Third: Axel talking in the armored truck about his sister who went missing on his watch—the tears were real.

Human connections on all of those scenes.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: If you only knew that I treated this series as a documentary. I can put it this way, the pleasure that one can give to another can sometimes be ruthless.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Please, join us, we have great benefits and give out free sunglasses. Whatever

ailment or impairment you had physically as a human, it tends to correct as you become vampire. I’ve learned that seeing in the dark really helps with finding keys at the end of the night. Stamina for certain activities really has been heightened.

Best of all, we don’t need to heat our castles. It’s always cold and damp, just the way we like them.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: It has to be Callie, the little girl in pink boots roaming the vampire terrain remaining unharmed like a sheet of acid going through a crowd of hippies at Woodstock before the Grateful Dead plugs in and coming out untouched. That is power my friends!

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Been to a few and it’s always like being a kid stepping into a toy shop, batteries included. I know some of the artists, and their ability to draw characters in front of your eyes is always impressive. I did a show with Karl Urban and ended up at a convention meeting up and talking with him again while stormtroopers were listening in and Bill Sienkiewicz was eating a stuffed almond butter and strawberry jam french toast kabob.

Where else would you possibly get that?

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Visual overload. Walking in you soak up the arena of artistry. Do you go left or right? “I need to get to the back wall somehow,” thinking the best stuff is there and everything else in front is protecting it. “Quick, follow behind the Incredible Hulk! He’s making a path!” And then there it is, a super rare mint comic, glass-encased with a spotlight aimed at it, but they don’t turn it on so it doesn’t yellow the paper, saying, “You can look at me but you will never have me.”

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Rowland Pidlubny SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: If you’re going to walk on ice, you might as well dance.

It’s more scary making the choice to become human and all of the emotions that go with it. I don’t know how you do it.

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: That’s the part I can enjoy after the day is done. I like to eat light on set to stay focused, not stuffed. Bananas, tuna, granola, and lots of water. The food though is fantastic every day. There is a good breakfast put out to start your day and you can order anything from the chef’s truck. Lunch and evenings are always different. Late nights have grilled cheese, and even for a vampire, that’s hard to pass up.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character you play?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Very much so. At the same time you allow another vibration to be there that you learn more about over time. You can create your character in part from experiences you’ve had in your life; what real feelings those gave you. Scab is a loyal, hard worker that has tripped over his ego and fears, balancing on the edge of insanity and invention at all times. I’ve had a lot of energy and frustration that I’ve let out on the dance floor at Goth clubs and always feel better for the release. It always feels good to channel energy out creatively in a character.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: In human form known as Scott, we learn that he’s been bullied, claustrophobic, and a damaged person in many ways. Crossing a union picket line

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to work at a factory to survive, he received the name “Scab.” Becoming a vampire, all that was fearful to him melted as he became fear itself.

Being in the brooding Julius squad, rising in the ranks, chewing on the carcasses of trophies. Then he joined with Dmitri after Julius turned human, and then eventually grew into a battle-hardened warrior with the Sisterhood. Many different faces to Scab and it’s great to play the arc of the character.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Power needs

to be earned. It’s only then can you appreciate what you have and how to use it with respect and honor.

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: It’s really a show about surviving in the human condition in extreme circumstances.

One’s self and inner turmoil: choices, regrets, humiliation, guilt, how we move on, determination and wanting the light shine for our loved ones. Loyalty to others and the worlds we create with our actions.

Sometimes we lay ourselves down for the ones we care for, sometimes they lay down for us.

Rowland Pidlubny

Rowland Pidlubny/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: We have intensity in our cast, and Vincent Gale playing Flesh personifies that. Even at our table read Vin is half off the chair as his fist slams on the table.

Kelly Overton is devoted to her role, she makes it look easy when she puts it all out there. I have to say Kimani Ray Smith, one of our stunt coordinators, is amazing. As our show is physically demanding with stunt and fight scenes, he teaches us safely how to hit the marks and really brings a lot of creativity out of us. He’s directed in the show as well.

SPOILER: Pick one character from the series and tell us everything you know about them.

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Doc is a complex character played by Rukiya Bernard whom I’ve enjoyed working with. She was in the medical field when the rising began and eventually became a vampire herself. Axel took care of her in the Seattle hospital, feeding her from a tube in his arm.

Vanessa turned her back, reluctantly, to human. Doc struggled with the human side, making choices out of fear then learning to find strength in herself to correct relationships. She seeks to help human kind and learns to stand up in frantic situations.

Finding love with Jolene and having a connection in a world that is being torn apart, she’s determined not to lose it.

their craft, watching, listening and learning—that helps you get better.

People on both sides of the camera have given me a wider perspective.

As well, mentoring others helps you understand it more deeply yourself—their questions make you expand. If you play in a band with good musicians, their timing and skill make you a better player.

I’m fortunate to be in an acting community where we are generous and encourage each other.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: I’m fortunate to have my agent Amber Carroll work tirelessly on bringing exciting roles my way. It could be 2 a.m. on a Sunday: “I think you’d be really great in this.” “And here I thought I was the vampire. When do you sleep?”

The encouragement I get from her is awesome. After a read or a day on set, sharing the excitement with her genuinely makes her happy and proud for me.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: “Please go for it. Learn from everything in your life and use your imagination.

Listening to your scene partner is most important. If you only concentrate on what you’re going to

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

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say right after they do, then you miss the absorption of their words and the natural reaction. Acting is doing and reaction.

Do short films at the local film school to get used to how a set works. Watch others act on set. Communicate with your director and camera crew. Subtle expressions and movement can go a long way on camera. And above all, enjoy the process, the experience, and the work you do to prepare. You’ll find it’s not a competition, it’s an art and you are a unique artist.”

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Initially reading a script, I get into what the writer is saying, visualizing the scene. Story is everything. That makes me excited.

Then the character is revealed. If one had anxiety it would be because of not understanding why the words are written. Talk with the writer or read it over and over. Each time you do there is another layer that you find.

Like a sculptor with a block of Carrara marble: “What’s in there? I know it’s in there!” David will reveal itself more and more with each chisel hit made. A thing I do is wear the costume or clothing while preparing. You become it and it becomes you. Have confidence in yourself that you were selected for your ability and they have trust in you.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Often, things we worry about turn out very different than the scenarios we build up in our minds. The shadow it casts creates an environment of immobilization.

Appreciate this moment and what you have control of—take a deep breath.

Become active, put on some music, go in your neighbourhood and pick up garbage to create a balance. Helping others relaxes the tension we put on ourselves. You do these things, answers will come to you about how to handle your situation and the series of next steps.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

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ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: “Thank you for giving us all the love, support, and feedback. From artwork to creating dolls of Scab, to letters, videos, and reviews of our show. Taking the time to show us that we are appreciated means a lot. It’s quite something being on the receiving end of that.”

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: Our Helsingers rock! They are the fanbase support on the front lines getting us a new season each time. A lot of our actors and writers interact live on social media while the show airs. It’s an overwhelming wave of excitement, and all across the world people make their voices heard.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: If you would have asked me that years ago I would’ve said, “DC all the way—wicked with the villains.” I was obsessed with the Joker and always wanted to play the character, and then when Heath Ledger encompassed that role, it brought a new level out in me. I’d love to play my rendition of the Joker. I envision him gritty, classy, mysterious, and mad. A cross between John Cleese, Mephistopheles, Aleister Crowley, and David Niven. Marvel movies are so hard-hitting now and the comic art has always been cool, they are winning me over with their superheroes.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

ROWLAND PIDLUBNY: I feel that we are fortunate to have an ending to the series as a full story. That is something I hope our fanbase is proud of because they helped and encouraged us to tell the story.

Their voices were heard. Our hopes are to have season 5 leaving you feeling fulfilled and screaming!

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Rowland Pidlubny/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/ Dan Power/Syfy/Jolienne Moore

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Season 4 of Van Helsing really starts to get interesting when Michaela enters the picture. The creator of the mysterious vampire clan, the Sisterhood, Michaela was woken from her slumber only to stir things up a bit. The dangerous army leader becomes a real threat to Vanessa as she tries to summon the Dark One. Michaela is played by Heather

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Doerksen, who fits the role so perfectly. The actress is enjoying quite the resume lately, with spots on the Charmed reboot and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Many casual viewers don’t realize that Heather is also an accomplished voice actor who’s been lending her talents to countless projects for 15 years now.

Fans were bummed when the actress’ tenure on the Van Helsing turned out to be brief, and the showrunners must’ve been privy to the uproar because Heather makes a surprise return in the brand new season 5, but we won’t spoil any of that for you. You’ll have to see how it happens yourself.

Heather Doerksen/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Studio Aviva

INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

erview erview

interview interview

HEATHER DOERKSEN SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I got to explore so many facets of Michaela. The writers and producers gave me the chance to take big risks as an actor.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite Van Helsing castmate?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Right away, Jesse Stanley said to me, “Would you like to meet for coffee and discuss our scenes?” That doesn’t happen often in film and we have become good friends off screen since that coffee date.

SPOILER: This is Season 5, the finale.

Will you miss working on Van Helsing once it’s gone?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I’ll absolutely miss working on the show. But I thought I was dead after season 4, so it was a fabulous surprise to be invited back for some bonus episodes!

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: A motivational acting teacher got me into acting beyond just high school drama class.

He said, “Picture what makes your heart sing, and ask yourself what’s stopping you from doing it, and ask yourself how you can start.”

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: If I believed in vampires, I would never sleep. I do, however, believe in magic.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Where is Vanessa? Are Axel and Julius dead?

What the heck happened in that scene?

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: When Christopher Heyerdahl was still on the show, and I’d just started, he gave me advice on many things, but one stands out. Just before the scene when us vamps eat Avery for dinner, we got the fake blood in our mouth and Christopher said there was a technique to it. I thought he was joking, but nope.

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HEATHER DOERKSEN He gave me a speed tutorial on how to use fake mouth blood right before Jacquie Gould yelled, “Action!”

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I am friends with Aleks [Paunovic] outside of the show, but we only really had one scene together.

He never pranked me, but have you seen him and head makeup Jenn Kaminsko and their running practical jokes?

You must.

SPOILER: Name the most memorable scene from the series.

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Susan being killed by Sam. Scarlett taking her life.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I often get to be ruthless on screen. So in the name of balance, I’d be a kind vampire.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Advantages of being a vampire? Hmm... can’t think of any.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Most powerful Van Helsing is Vanessa. OG from the beginning.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Speed. Just run.

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Heather Doerksen/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Studio Aviva

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Gosh, anything that has Sam in it creeps me out. Specifically, the ones where he’s singing. Quite possibly the entirety of the episode where he recalls his childhood.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Lure them in with your sweet human scent then behead ‘em with something sharp you just happen to have on hand.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I’ve been to one Comic Con that was specific to Pacific Rim. It was a fun intimate Con in Washington, D.C. That’s the first and only one I ever went to, so far.

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first comic convention?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: It was great to connect with fans in person.

So often we only interact through social media, and it was nice to see people’s faces.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: No I would not become a vampire. I am fine with ageing, and not drinking blood for breakfast.

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: After lunch,

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Van Helsing is a lineage that upholds a legacy to end vampires and rid the world of that darkness.

SPOILER: Pick one character from the series and tell us everything you know about them.

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Julius in a nutshell: He used to be head of the vampires and now is human. On the journey with the heroes to rid the world of the Dark One and redeem himself.

Iddo Goldberg/Snowpiercer/TNT/David Bukach/Warner Media

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I learned that I never want to put on a nun habit again because there is nothing comfortable about that darn wimple!

I definitely get candies—sour chewy ones—and grab a coffee when there’s a couple hours left in the day. Just to push through.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the character you play?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I think there’s always a piece of me in characters I play. This resurrection of Michaela was pretty dark and I had a hard time connecting to that darkness, so instead I decided to really lean into her desires. What does she strive for more than anything? On the other side of desire can be a dark side if you look very closely.

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Anything juicy? Nope. You’ve gotta watch to see what happens... love that Dracula is a woman and also played by the exquisite Tricia Helfer. My character is driven by a pull to extinguish mortals and bring about eternal night. She will stop at nothing to achieve that.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I would not want Vanessa’s powers. That’s just too much responsibility!

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: That’s a toughcall between Jesse [Stanley] and Nicole Muñoz and Jen [Cheon Garcia]. They were always going nonstop, giving all of their energy so that when the scene came up they were ready.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: What’s up next? A recurring role in CW’s

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: The fans can expect an actual conclusion to this story! This fifth and final season was written with that in mind—to wrap up all the loose ends and bring it home.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Michaela is one of the brides of Dracula. I

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Heather Doerksen Charmed. Also a recurring guest star in Disney’s Gabby Duran and the Unsittables.

Heather Doerksen/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Studio Aviva

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Getting into film acting takes patience and work. Take classes with respected teachers then get some headshots that represent you, and shop around for good agents. Send your materials off and follow up. Also, find a group of actors—or even just one person—and train together.

Memorize scenes and work through them as a group. Watch movies and theatre together and chat about it.

Keep your mind engaged. Create your own work! The cast of Always Sunny in Philadelphia wrote their own show, and just did it. Balls to the wall.

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: I get less stage fright than I used to but it can still be there right before the director calls, “Action.” I find that adrenaline rush is helpful for staying in the moment though and enjoy the thrill!

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Sometimes I just feel anxiety for no reason at all, especially during this pandemic.

Yoga and exercise and staying in touch with friends all help keep things calm when it starts to swirl around.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: ”Thanks for all the support. Choose kindness.

Keep dancing. Don’t be afraid to use your voice to speak out.”

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: Social media can be a great tool for promo, Van Helsing included.

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SPOILER: Marvel or DC? HEATHER DOERKSEN: Marvel, baby.

Love how the dark side of humanity is explored.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

HEATHER DOERKSEN: It’s always tough when something ends that you’re attached to, but I think fans will be happy Van Helsing is really going out with a bang.

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

Trezzo Mahoro/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/

In the early running of Van Helsing, Mohamad is a shining light amidst

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the darkness. The only optimistic one of the bunch, the human provides the audience with a sense of warmth and hopefulness despite the terrors growing around him. That is, until he meets his demise in season 3 being betrayed by his former friend.

Mohamad is played

by Trezzo Mahoro, who imbues his role with such charisma and energy.

Since Van Helsing the actor’s career is on the up and up, with roles in the To All the Boys film franchise, as well as the upcoming Day of the Dead series. Trezzo is also a talented kickboxer, traceur, and musician, with releases coming out soon.

Despite being absent from the show in the final two seasons, Trezzo and Mohamad’s spirit live on to remind us that even in the moments of deepest darkness and despair, we can always find a glimpse of hope.

interview interview

Trezzo Mahoro TREZZO MAHORO: You’re nice to me and I’ll be nice to you.

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

TREZZO MAHORO: Enhanced speed, strength, and agility. Not only that, but your senses are dialed up to a ten, and you basically have limitless stamina and an added bonus of being even better in the dark.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

TREZZO MAHORO: So far, the Dark One is up there!

SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

TREZZO MAHORO: This show was a huge blast and such a blessing to be on. I learned a ton from my Van Helsing fam! I’ve equally grown as a person and in my craft in multiple ways, all good of course. I love my fam!

SPOILER: Who is your favorite Van Helsing castmate?

TREZZO MAHORO: That’s an impossible question to answer—have have you seen this cast?! So many relationships formed with so many dope people! I plead the fifth.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

TREZZO MAHORO: Lots of encouragement from friends and peers. Also having a very persistent agent helps—love you Tea! SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

TREZZO MAHORO: Wouldn’t that be dope if they existed?? Minus the trying to rip your head off and drink your blood constantly thing, I’d like to see a vampire dunk contest [laughs]. That was the long way of saying no….

SPOILER: Who on the show was your go-to person for advice?

TREZZO MAHORO: Everyone has such a dope and unique perspective

on life, so I definitely get gems from everyone. But I usually went to Chris [Heyerdahl], Jonathan Scarfe, and the big man, Aleks [Paunovic], mostly.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

TREZZO MAHORO: The Yeti, the big kahuna, the silver back, both King Kong and Godzilla himself: Aleks P! I think he’ll appreciate that little intro.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

TREZZO MAHORO: When Paul Johansson was basically in a whole tank of blood—to this day it still don’t sit right with me [laughs].

SPOILER: Name three memorable scenes from the series.

TREZZO MAHORO: For me personally, it was the first time I popped up on screen and had my whole family hollering, “WE MADE IT!” [laughs] That was the first time I really felt like I could really do it, really make it. Second one was when Dylan died—that scream Vanessa let out—jeez! Third one would be the first time we learned Sam was the killer.

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

TREZZO MAHORO: Exactly what I had on the show: a spear, machete, and a shotgun.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

TREZZO MAHORO: Off with its head! Wait, no, I’d blow it up.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

TREZZO MAHORO: Yes! SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first one?

TREZZO MAHORO: I was geeking out the entire time. I’ve always wanted to go as an attendee, but being a guest was a dream come true!

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

TREZZO MAHORO: Nah, melanin stay poppin’ under the sun [laughs].

SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

TREZZO MAHORO: I have an unhealthy obsession with juice boxes!

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in Mohamad?

TREZZO MAHORO: Yes, absolutely.

I’ve always been a high energy

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person growing up, and that energy had to go somewhere. So I put it in dance, parkour, and kick boxing. Those skills definitely helped with Mohamad.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

TREZZO MAHORO: Mo is a very kindhearted young man, and very smart too. Sometimes too smart for his own good. He’s a resourceful survivor with a strong will, which makes him stubborn and sometimes leads him into trouble.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

TREZZO MAHORO: I can be extremely clumsy at times, so super fast healing would definitely be something I want in my back pocket.

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

TREZZO MAHORO: A bloody emotional roller coaster of a show! We love to see it!

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

TREZZO MAHORO: Definitely! A new self defense mechanism: violently growling.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

TREZZO MAHORO: I really wouldn’t be able to narrow it down. The reason this show has been as successful as it has is because of all the hard work everyone is putting in.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you in the future?

TREZZO MAHORO: I got another show coming soon called Day of the Dead, and few other projects in the works.

But I’m also happy to announce I’ll be releasing music soon.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

TREZZO MAHORO: You never want to be that person who asks, “What if?” If this is what you want to do, then go ahead and do it.

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SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

TREZZO MAHORO: Absolutely! But that stress and anxiety quickly turns into motivation because I love what I do.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

TREZZO MAHORO: Feeling not in control, which I’m sure a lot of people have felt, especially in these times.

But learning to recenter myself and be present has definitely given me a new outlook.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

TREZZO MAHORO: Mama told me, “Power of manifestation, prayer, and the grind go hand in hand.” Which one are you missing?

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

TREZZO MAHORO: Yes! I’m so glad we were able to connect with so many people and even more grateful those people kept supporting us and still continue to do so.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? TREZZO MAHORO: DC! I’ve been obsessed with those comics since a was little.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

TREZZO MAHORO: Yeah! I know I am! It’s been a wild ride for the better part of five years. Even when Mo died and I wasn’t on set with my fellow cast or live tweeting with fans, they [the fans] always made sure I knew I was in their minds, which kinda felt like I never left. It’s bittersweet.

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mysterious than Bathory, whose namesake is the most prolific female murderer of all time, Hungarian noblewoman, Elizabeth Báthory. The build-up for who her character really is has been a fun ride over the course of her three seasons thus far. Bathory, herself, can be seen as a microcosm of the unpredictability of the series as a whole.

If you didn’t know any better, you would never guess that the ruthless and powerful vampire/oracle was portrayed by Jesse Stanley, whose comforting enthusiasm and earnest sense of humor are completely mutually exclusive from Bathory’s personality entirely.

The young actress really wowed audiences with her conviction in the role and how easily she was able to cultivate the sense of curiosity surrounding her character.

With her performance on Van Helsing, Jesse’s career should be on the up and up, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for her around the corner.

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Jesse Stanley/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky

There may be nobody on Van Helsing more

erview erview SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

JESSE STANLEY: It was unreal.

Working on Van Helsing was my first meaningful gig in TV, having returned from theater school in London about six months before. I was hired initially as a day player for the final episode of season 2 and then the role grew exponentially over the following three seasons— kind of an actor’s dream.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite Van Helsing castmate?

JESSE STANLEY: Nicole [Muñoz] and I worked together pretty exclusively together in Slovakia this past season and I just love her. We laughed a lot and kept each other sane through some very long days.

SPOILER: Will you miss working on Van Helsing once it’s gone?

JESSE STANLEY: Of course! I miss it already. The cast and crew were such a genuine, solid group of people. It’s not always the case, so I feel really lucky I got to experience such a positive environment at work every day.

SPOILER: What got you into acting?

JESSE STANLEY: My mum put me in a production of The Lion King when I was seven-years-old and by some fluke, I got the role of Simba. I

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caught the theater bug and haven’t really stopped being on stage in some capacity since then.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

JESSE STANLEY: I’m sort of afraid that if I say no, one will come find me to prove a point. So no comment.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

JESSE STANLEY: I think everyone is wondering where Vanessa is and what’s happened to her since she threw herself and the Dark One into the dark realm. Fans can expect some satisfying answers on that front this season. Also, I imagine there are some questions about what havoc Dracula will wreak with her unbridled presidential power.

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

JESSE STANLEY: Probably Jonathan Scarfe. He has done it all on this show. He’s a really good actor and manages to bring truth and grounding to every scene he’s acting in—or directing—no matter how absurd the scenario. If I felt lost or out of my depth, I would go to him and say, “Help me! How would you play this?!”

SPOILER: Which one in the cast is a practical joker?

JESSE STANLEY: Hmm... I think the cast would probably say Aleks [Paunovic] because there were various schemes ongoing from season 1, but I was very rarely on set at the same time as him so I have no idea what he was up to. I’d see a random mask with the showrunner’s face on it somewhere in the makeup trailer with no explanation other than, “Aleks did it,” or a creepy doll strung up—also in the makeup trailer!?), so maybe [head of makeup] Jenn Kaminski was the real joker in the bunch!

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

JESSE STANLEY: When we were in Slovakia, we shot a scene in a wooded area that had been setdressed as a graveyard. It was an icy, cold night, the wind was howling, and we could barely hear each other’s dialogue. There was a tangible feeling of heaviness—I don’t know how else to describe it.

We found out that evening that a body had been found earlier in the day, just beyond the clearing where we were shooting. I got chills, and in that moment, I just wanted to get the hell out of there. It felt like we were trespassing on a site that needed to be respected and left in peace.

SPOILER: Name three memorable scenes from the series.

JESSE STANLEY: In season 5, episode 2, Jack, Bathory, and Roberto see the sky darken as they’re perched on a hilltop looking out towards Olivia and Dalibor’s castle. We were shooting at Orava at the time and the view was stunning; we were gazing at an actual ancient castle built into a rock face.

In episode 3, Jack and Bathory run into Count Dalibor who attacks us.

We pleaded with the fight director, Roman Jankovic, to let us do the

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fight ourselves and he let us give it a go alongside Dalibor’s stunt performer, Matus Lajcak. It was super empowering and exciting to get to do it all ourselves.

I also loved shooting the White House stuff with Tricia and Ali [Liebert] in season 5, episode 11. We had a few scenes that felt a lot like theater. Director Jacquie Gould gave the three of us a ton of freedom to play and change things up in every take, which is the most fun way to work.

to become a vampire, would you do it?

JESSE STANLEY: Could there be a trial period?

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

JESSE STANLEY: Having played Bathory, I have more practice being ruthless.

SPOILER: Is there a piece of you in the Bathory?

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

JESSE STANLEY: You can get a lot of things checked off the bucket list when you live for hundreds of years.

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

JESSE STANLEY: That’s tricky to answer.

I think when the Van Helsing gals are banded together, they are pretty unstoppable. But probably as a singular entity the Dark One takes it.

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

JESSE STANLEY: I always wanted Jack’s crossbow. I think I’d like to have that, along with some poison tipped arrows!

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a vampire?

JESSE STANLEY: There are so many demonstrations over the seasons to choose from! Maybe I would try the old fashioned way: Force them into the sunlight and use the old stake-to-theheart.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

JESSE STANLEY: I haven’t, no. They look like a wild ride! I would have loved to have gone with the Van Helsing team this year, but COVID obviously thwarted that possibility.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now

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SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

JESSE STANLEY: Catering on set was excellent. They worked so hard and had such long hours. I think my favorite thing they did were the breakfast burritos that I would reassemble, putting the hash browns inside.

JESSE STANLEY: Yes. I think you always need to find a way into the character you’re playing through some like quality that live in you already. There are lots of overlaps between Bathory and me, but if I had to choose one, I’d say I relate to Bathory’s mischievousness.

SPOILER: What can the Van Helsing fans expect from this final season?

JESSE STANLEY: The satisfaction of seeing some disparate storylines finally come together, a lot more blood, and some surprising alliances.

SPOILER: Tell us a little bit about your character.

JESSE STANLEY: Bathory is loyal to her core. Whether she’s working for good or for evil, she’s committed 100%. You want her on your team.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

JESSE STANLEY: Is this real world postapocalyptic or is it the world we know right now? Because if it’s the latter I feel like her powers would be kind of a burden!?

SPOILER: What is Van Helsing?

JESSE STANLEY: I understand ‘Van Helsing’ to be a family name for those who are blessed—or cursed—with the innate ability to fight darkness.

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Jesse Stanley/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky

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SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

JESSE STANLEY: I could pull out a pretty impressive sword flourish for intimidation purposes. After that it’s all downhill with my sword skills though.

SPOILER: Who is the hardest working cast member in the series?

JESSE STANLEY: Jonathan Scarfe or Holly Raczynski, who was the stunt performer for literally all the women on the show at some point.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

JESSE STANLEY: I’m in the midst of making a feature with a group of close friends; a collection of writers, actors, and crew. We shot the first block of it while isolating at a cabin together, during early COVID times.

It’s been the most exhausting but satisfying project I’ve ever been a part of.

Jesse Stanley/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky

SPOILER: Pick one character from the series and tell us everything you know about them.

JESSE STANLEY: I would choose Bathory as the character that I know the most about, but my account of her would take up this whole magazine! I think the most interesting thing to note about her, is that until the moment before her death, she has always been driven by the impulse to serve someone other than herself. When she’s human, she is motivated to protect her people and avenge her mother’s death. When she’s vampire, she is a slave to the desires of the Dark One. SPOILER!—AM I allowed to say this??—when she takes her own life, in a sense it’s the first time she adamantly refuses to be beholden to anyone or anything ever again.

JESSE STANLEY: Sometimes.

Depends how easily I can understand the character’s motivations and drop into their worldview. It also depends on whether the dialogue sits easily in my memory or if it’s a real struggle to make the words stick.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

JESSE STANLEY: In terms of actor preparation? I worry that I won’t be able to deliver on the day and that my fellow actors won’t feel like I’m adequately showing up for them in the scene. The team is trying to get through so much each day on this show and if you’re not prepared, the scene can fall really flat. It’s a horrible feeling!

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into acting?

JESSE STANLEY: Love it so much that you can’t do anything else.

SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

JESSE STANLEY: ”You are a massively motivating force and your support is really meaningful to us!

Without you, there is no show.”

SPOILER: Does preparing for your character ever give you stress or anxiety?

SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

JESSE STANLEY: I think so! I don’t

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have a social media following in the same way that some of the other cast members do, but I think the ability for fans to have direct access to what they share on their personal platforms is super helpful in generating buzz around the show.

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? JESSE STANLEY: Marvel.

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

JESSE STANLEY: Sure. It’s always sad when a program you’ve grown attached to comes to a close, but I think they’ll appreciate that it’s better overall for a show to have a complete arc and finish with intention, than for it to drag on with a plotline that falls apart. I’m really glad that the writers got to wrap up the Van Helsing story the way they conceived of it to unfold from the beginning.

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If there’s one man responsible for the overall tone and creative sandbox that is Van Helsing, then it’s showrunner Jonathan Lloyd Walker. His time producing on previous shows like Private Eyes and Continuum have helped pave the way to Van Helsing, a series that has really grown and matured along with him.

Born in England, where he started acting in theater and commercials as a child, Jonathan eventually moved

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to Canada as a teenager and was involved in some high-profile projects throughout the ‘90s and ‘00s, such as The X-Files, The West Wing, and V on the acting side. As an actor, he has been in the game for nearly three decades now, but his journey as a writer and producer has started relatively recently.

With the fifth and final season currently unfolding as we speak, Jonathan looks back at all the series has accomplished since 2016 and will be sad to say goodbye, but rests assured believing that when it’s all said and done the entire story of the world within Van Helsing will have found its natural and total conclusion with no stone unturned.

Jonathan Lloyd Walker/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/ Dan Power/Syfy/Kevin Clark Studios

INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

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interview interview

jonathan lloyd walker SPOILER: How was your experience working on Van Helsing?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Evolutionary. I came in as a coexecutive producer to work under the first showrunner, Neil LaBute, who had not written specifically for TV or run a show before. So it was an opportunity to help him and at the same time develop my abilities to learn the top job at the same time.

Luckily for me, Neil moved on after season 3 and very much laid the path for me to take over the show. The network was also very supportive of me having creative license to push the series in new directions.

So Van Helsing has been a very big part of my evolution as a writer and showrunner.

SPOILER: Who is your favorite Van Helsing cast member?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Asking to pick between actors is like asking a parent who their favorite child is. As their boss I’d really like to emphasize they were all integral parts of our storytelling. BUT, I have said in other press that I do have a tremendous amount of respect for Jonathan Scarfe. He not only acted on the show but also directed many episodes. I always enjoyed our collaboration because Jonathan is a gifted artist with a real innate understanding of storytelling, both on the page and on camera. So he’s been terrific to work with.

SPOILER: Will you miss working on the show?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: I don’t think you can spend six years working with a core group of people, going through good times and bad, loving the work, and not miss it.

We wrapped almost 6 months ago and I still think about the cast and crew daily. But from a storytelling perspective I truly feel we told as much of the story as we wanted to.

From that point [of view], seeing the show end seems appropriate.

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jonathan lloyd walker SPOILER: You’re also an accomplished actor. What got you into acting?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: I did start out as an actor before writing and still do act from time to time—Snowpiercer most recently.

I was about 7 and I got cast in the Christmas pageant at school. I remember doing a scene in front of all the students and something I did got a laugh. I will never forget the sudden rush I felt of having connected with a room full of people through performing and it was in that moment that I was hooked.

SPOILER: Do you believe in vampires?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Of a type. I believe some people can be energy vampires. They suck people dry for their own emotional needs, and victims leave feeling drained, defeated, and, quite frankly, depressed. I do think those types of vampires feed on others either consciously or subconsciously in order to feel strong. So that’s as close as I can come to believing in the literary type of blood-sucking vampire.

SPOILER: What are some cliffhangers that you think haven’t been answered yet?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: We left season 4 with a bunch of unanswered cliffhangers. What will happen to Axel and Julius? Both seemed to die from heart attacks on the steps of the sunshine unit.

What happened to Doc? What will happen to the rest of human-kind now that the Dark One has taken on the identity of the President? Where is Vanessa? How will Jack escape the Dark Realm?

SPOILER: Who on Van Helsing is your go-to person for advice?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Depends on the situation. If it’s story advice I always counted on my writing room to help me solve

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problems. But on set, if there were issues with someone on the cast or crew, I often went to our makeup department head, Jennifer [Kaminski], who always seemed to have an ear to the ground and a good sense of how to resolve problems.

SPOILER: Which one of the cast is a practical joker?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Aleks Paunovic was more often the victim of the joke rather than the joker.

But he got a few good pranks in on people so he was always up for a joke.

SPOILER: Recall a scene in the series that still creeps you out.

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Season 1: A seemingly lovely, hippielike cult have been giving children away to families who lost their own kids in the Rising. But it turns out they’ve actually been trading them to a powerful vampire for protection and she’s been drinking their blood.

Doc finds that out the hard way when she stumbles into a field full of baby skeletons. That was pretty haunting.

SPOILER: Name three memorable scenes from the series.

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Season 1: Mohamad attacking Sam because he’s angry and sad that there’s no choice but to kill his best

jonathan lloyd walker taking its head. But not Dracula. She’s more powerful than that.

SPOILER: Have you been to a comic convention?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Many.

Toronto, Vancouver, and San Diego Comicon three times.

Jonathan Lloyd Walker/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/ Dan Power/Syfy/Kevin Clark Studios

SPOILER: What did it feel like attending your first convention?

friend. Season 2: Dylan turning to ash in Vanessa’s arms and her grief scream. Season 5: The very last scene of the series! You’ll have to tune in to see it!

SPOILER: If you were a vampire would you be kind or ruthless?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Kind?

Is there such a vampire? They stay alive by killing people and drinking their blood!

SPOILER: What are some advantages of being a vampire?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: In our show they are strong, they heal from damage, they can live hundreds of years, the elite ones have special powers. That’s a pretty good list of advantages!

SPOILER: Who is the most powerful Van Helsing character in your opinion?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Vanessa. She didn’t know who or what she really was when the series began. And over five seasons she’s turned in to this super powerful vampire hunter who is prepared to take on Dracula!

SPOILER: What is your weapon of choice during an apocalypse?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: I always liked Scarlett’s double swords.

The only truly dead vampire is one who’s had its head removed!

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Inspiring. To see so many fans of so many different types of genres, and to also see them be completely accepting of each other. It doesn’t matter if you are in a wheelchair or if you are four hundred pounds, if you are in a Superman costume then everyone calls you, “Superman.” And that’s probably the coolest thing about comic convention fans.

SPOILER: If you had a choice right now to become a vampire, would you do it?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: No. If I’ve learned anything from writing for vampires over five seasons it’s that the downside far outweighs the upside.

SPOILER: What do you think would be the fastest way to kill a Vampire?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Depends on the type. In our show we had early ones who could be burned to death by the sun. But then Daywalker virus made them immune to the sun. So the tried and true method of killing any vampire is to

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SPOILER: What’s your favorite food when working on set?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: I’m a big breakfast guy so the fact that there’s always great breakfast on set no matter what time of day you start shooting— that’s my favorite.

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Study your craft. Nobody just walks onto a set without training. Nobody gets discovered and made into a star. You have to do the work, hone it, all the time until your acting isn’t acting, it’s being.

SPOILER: What can the fans expect from this final season?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: A great conclusion! We’re all so happy to get to tell the story to an ending. Many shows get canceled having left the story on a big cliffhanger and the fans never get closure. You will get closure with season 5.

SPOILER: What worries you the most?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: In life? As a parent I think you always worry about the health and safety of your kids.

Nothing tops that.

SPOILER: Would you want Vanessa Van Helsing’s powers in the real world?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Not really.

They’ve come with a huge burden. She’s lost just about everybody she’s ever loved. She’s wrestled with her darkness and it’s really consumed her. I don’t know if I’d want that kind of burden on my shoulders.

SPOILER: Did you learn anything exciting while working on the series that you can use in a practical situation?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Some good hand-to-hand fighting. We had a great stunt coordinator so it was fun to learn about techniques to disarm people and things like that.

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SPOILER: Do you feel social media has helped Van Helsing?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Of course. Before social media, before the internet, fans couldn’t easily find each other and communicate, share, and feel connected. Now you can find your people around just about any hobby or pursuit. And I think our little gang of Helsingers have pushed the series into view for people who otherwise might not have found us.

SPOILER: Can you share anything from season 5 that is juicy?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: No! I know you are SPO!LER Magazine but spoilers would spoil!

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Marvel.

SPOILER: What’s in store for you after Van Helsing?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Lots of projects in various states of development. I’ll let you know once something specific lands.

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: Fans are always upset when something they love goes away, even if they get a satisfying ending. There are shows I loved and part of me still misses them years later.

SPOILER: What advice can you give someone trying to get into the industry?

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SPOILER: If you can give one message to all your fans out in the world, what would it be?

JONATHAN LLOYD WALKER: ”Thanks for sticking with us for five seasons of Van Helsing. We wouldn’t have made it this far if you hadn’t supported and championed the show. And for that, I will always be grateful.”

SPOILER: Do you think fans are upset that the series is ending?

Jonathan Lloyd Walker/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/ Dan Power/Syfy/Kevin Clark Studios

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

Beverley Huynh/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Shimon Karmel/ Shimon Karmel

Known by those around her as “The Costume Queen,”

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Beverley Huynh has been linked to many of your favorite TV series for over a decade now. On Syfy’s Van Helsing, she was head of the costuming department for seasons 4 and 5, helping set the aesthetic for the show’s most memorable moments.

A costume designer plays a huge role in the look of any show or movie, helping to create the ambiance of these franchises that we love—and one of the main reasons why we do. An endless world of imagination, a designer plays a big part in selling a scene and establishing the verisimilitude for the audience. Costumes also have a big impact on the actor’s performances, helping them get into their characters the more they’re able to feel like them.

In the convention world, costume designers are literally the main contributing factor for not only what a cosplayer will wear when trying to become their favorite characters, but also why they want to become these characters in the first place.

Beverley has worked on some iconic shows, such as Arrow, A Million Little Things, The 100, The Flash, Siren, 90210, and, of course Van Helsing, helping to build these worlds that fans desperately want to be a part of. She’s also lended her talents to films like The Interview, Netflix’s The Perfection, and the latest Blair Witch reboot.

A great person to talk to if you’re trying to get into wardrobe, the designer has seen it all. She shares with us her experience on Van Helsing and how she requested to come back for the fifth and final season, as well as how she got started in costuming, and how it’s her destiny to be involved in this industry.

interview interview

SPOILER: What got you into costuming?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: Honestly, I fell into it. I started out loving fashion design and wanted my own runway show. I have a sister who was into theater growing up and got me into it. As I pursued my career in design, I did a short film for a friend and I’ve been hooked ever since. It combined all my interests into one thing. Instead of fashion, it became storytelling.

SPOILER: Did you have a background early on?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: It was all very late into my adulthood that I learned the history of it. Although I had an interest in design, I was always discouraged from that career. I went down many different paths in terms of non-creative fields. And then I took a leap of faith and went into this. I went to an art school that had a focus on fashion design and that got me the skill set I needed. I mean, you learn things in home economics and elementary school—you learn how to make a bag or an apron— but when I finally went to fashion school I was taught the skills and the

Beverley Huynh I’ve picked up on something. And that’s the best thing you can do when you’re in a creative field.

language of sewing. I was given the tools to understand how to sew and how to make an idea come to 3-D. However, I have an amazing team now that backs me up and helps my vision and my designs come to life. I don’t have the patience to make things anymore [laughs]. I can’t process things from beginning to end anymore. I have an amazing team that I look to that helps me execute. And they’re extremely talented and I’m very fortunate to have people who support my ideas.

SPOILER: Did you also start out assisting for a while prior to heading departments?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: I assisted on Siren, Charmed, 90210. I was very fortunate to learn from colleagues and people who have been doing this a little bit longer than I have. And I’ve learned something from each and every one of them. At every stage in your life you always have an opportunity to learn from people who are better than you or more experienced, whether it’s what kind of person you want to be or what you don’t want to be. Whether I’m head of department or an assistant,

SPOILER: Is it easier to dress someone in a fantasy show or one based more in reality?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: I think that’s the biggest misconception. When you have a character who’s an everyday person, the decision to make someone look like they fit in or blend them into the background, to me, is harder than a fantastical person.

At least with an out-of-this-world character, you have a direction, you have references. When people write for those types of characters, there’s always tons of research behind the name or who they’ve drawn their inspiration from. But when you have a normal person walking down the street, I find it sometimes more difficult because a decision as simple as a t-shirt versus a dress shirt can make or break a character. For me, the harder ones to dress are modern day characters. There are too many options out there, and if you don’t nail it you get a lot of notes back.

And I don’t wanna get a lot of notes back [laughs].

Guys are probably the hardest ones because their style and fashion hasn’t changed in hundreds of years—you’re looking at a dress shirt, a blazer, a jacket, a denim or just regular pants—that’s the basics of a male character. So let’s say you have a room full of five male characters, you have to give each of them their own personality, their own individuality. How do you give them each their own style or their own voice?

SPOILER: I feel like the shoes sell it, am I wrong?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: I agree. If you’re the type of person whose basics is denim and a t-shirt everyday, then your shoes are your personality; your shoes are what give you your stylistic voice. A lot of my characters, if I don’t have a good baseline to work off of and I’m trying to build a character, if I find the right shoe— that’s it, that’s the inspiration right

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Beverley Huynh/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Shimon Karmel/ Shimon Karmel

there. There’s a reason in theater why they call it “character shoes,” because when you step into them, you become that character. Once you put on that pair of shoes, you walk in them every day. That’s your stride. It sets the tone for your day.

SPOILER: How do you determine the styles if there’s no specific time period or setting?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: Something like that is usually dictated by our showrunner who gives us a bit of a guideline of what he’s after, and generally which direction he wants the show to go in. And same thing goes for the writers as well.

Something like Van Helsing, it’s fun to do that because you’re in a postapocalyptic world. You’re in a world where there’s found objects. So if you’re running through small, rural America, you’re gonna come across a line of clothing flying through the air that’s been around forever.

Everyone collects vintage pieces or buys new—there’s a wonderful area to play in when you’re given that many options. You’re given more of a creative outlet because you can make up those stories in your head.

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You don’t have to stick to a single year. The world is your oyster. You can fill in the gaps. With something like that, it’s way more fun.

due to my amazing team around me.

We always come together and make it happen and people are excited about it, and that’s all you can ask for.

SPOILER: Do you get stressed out a lot?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: [laughs] Yes, but who doesn’t? When you’re on a TV show, you have strict deadlines to deliver an episode. You have moments where you’re like, “How the hell am I gonna pull this off in eight days??” You want these crazy, fantastic characters or creatures, and the expectation is to pull it off. And that’s one of the fun things about it—you’re given opportunities to come up with creative solutions in such tight deadlines. They say that creativity comes out of restriction. If you have an open book all the time, then you don’t know where to go. I constantly have times where I look back at the work that I’ve done and I’m reminded of the tight deadlines and how we got there. On The Perfection, I had many moments like, “How did I pull that off?” And Van Helsing was the same story as well. I have these moments of pure gratitude. I’m fortunate every time

SPOILER: Is it tricky when you have to create some nostalgic moments with wardrobe?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: Not necessarily. It’s the same process as everything else. I dive into my own nostalgia a lot of the time. I love diving into history and combining eras together. That’s kinda fun. The nostalgia comes from the storytelling.

The costumes are just a part of it. Right now we’re revamping the ‘90s, and I would have happily left the ‘90s behind. But that’s a big nostalgia point for me right now because I feel like I’m reliving my childhood a little bit.

Beverley Huynh SPOILER: How far in advance do you have to start before a show is released?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: When we began Van Helsing, we were about a month early in terms of prepping and discussion and what the expectations for the season were. Usually the first three episodes of a series are done anywhere between three to six months prior to airing. So for me, I usually get in there about a month to a month and a half prior to first day of shooting. Any one-hour show, it goes anywhere from eight to ten days of shooting. So if we’re lucky, we’ll get eight days to prep the following episode that’s currently being shot. The production designer and everyone else behind the creative look of the show gets way more time than the costume designer. And on a feature film, I get about three and a half to four weeks to get my team together and make it happen. It’s why you need a really good crew.

SPOILER: How long does it take between talks with executives and when you start?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: I’ve had everything from meetings with the

executives within 48 hours to being in the office the next day. And then I’ve had people reach out to me months in advance and have it go nowhere [laughs]. Or deadlines get pushed. Our biggest takeaway in this industry is that you don’t have to count on anything. I always say that I don’t believe anything until I sign the paperwork. It’s all up to the people in charge and whether or not they feel like your ideas match what they’re going for. You always have to realize that your vision isn’t always going to match theirs, and that’s not a bad thing. You just end up finding another production that really matches your style. And sometimes you just get lucky.

When you reach a point in your career where you kinda get to pick the projects you want to work on—I like to do different things because I like to challenge myself and try different ideas. It’s not that I’ll never say, “No,” but, “Is this the project for me? Will it help me progress and be better? Will it give me the right challenges?” Getting in the habit of saying “no” is really hard for me. I tend to overcommit sometimes. At the end of the day it’s how you want

to progress as a designer and an artist.

On Van Helsing, I knew that after season 4 I wanted to come back for season 5. I shared that with the producers and showrunner, and because of that I knew where the story was going earlier on than if they were to hire someone new. I got a lot of information and Easter eggs early on, and was able to prepare really early. A lot of times you can’t design until you see the face. You can have an idea, but when you see the actor or actress, they can be completely different from what you envision. So I try not to do too much in advance.

SPOILER: Do you have your own homebase where you create? Or do you go on set?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: In Canada it’s a little bit different than it is in Los Angeles. In Vancouver, a lot of productions are location-based.

Every production I go to, I have a different office connected to a different studio. I get my own office and my team. And depending what the needs are, I have a whole entire area designated to the costume department and fitting rooms and all this other stuff where I get to dive into the creative process with the actors and showrunner, and everyone else who’s involved in what it looks like. Sometimes I go to set if I absolutely have to, but in an eightday turnaround, you’re shooting one episode when you’re prepping the next. I try to be on set on the first day when we’re going to see something new to set it up exactly how I want it and make notes to my team about how it’s supposed to be seen on camera. But I get the best of both worlds. I get to establish relationships on set, but also can be confined to the office.

SPOILER: Do you always make from scratch?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: It depends on what the needs are. For something like armor, if you’re lucky enough to find it and it’s not copyrighted, you can use it. It will save you a lot

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SPOILER: If you had a choice of any movie or show to work on right this second, what would it be?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: Star Wars.

That would be my dream. It’s so out-of-this-world. You get to make a little bit of everything. It’s pure makebelieve. Star Wars is the ultimate land of imagination.

People aren’t just wearing t-shirts or button-ups. You get to add on top of it and make it look a little bit different. It’s the best of both worlds.

I would also love to do a beauty sci-fi. Something from The Cell or Gattaca. I just want an amazing futuristic story with beautiful, clean, streamlined costumes.

Something like that I could pull a lot of sources from vintage and historical-type designs to really execute it. I just want beautiful aliens [laughs].

SPOILER: Do you believe in the paranormal?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: Yes. I grew up in a household that believed in voodoo and the craziness of spirits. I didn’t find out until late into my 20s that my late grandfather was a tailor! It’s been

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in my blood and in my ancestry this whole time. If that’s not cyclical, then I don’t know what is.

SPOILER: So do you believe in fate?

BEVERLEY HUYNH: I do. This has been a calling for a while. With fighting against your instincts for so long, eventually you have to go, “Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?” So if you try, sometimes it works out when you’re doing what you feel like you’re meant to be doing. And that’s exactly how I’ve felt since I was 7. And now that I’m doing it, it feels like everything’s falling into place. Despite all the failures and learning curves, I still feel like I’m in the right place of what I’m meant to be doing. If you’re going after what you believe in and what you want to do, and try for it, anything can happen. It just feels like I’ve been meaning to do this for a very long time.

SPOILER: That’s great to hear for anyone who wants to be in this world of TV and film.

BEVERLEY HUYNH: No matter what walk of life you come from or what your skill set is, 90% of the time you can find a role here in the industry that you could probably do. One of my biggest influences is Robin Williams, where every project that he ever did, it was written into his contract that there’s a certain amount of homeless people that the company has to hire. And that says a lot about a person’s ability to influence, but also make the world better. But that goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what history you have.

We’re like the modern day circus.

“Please come, this is it.” Any misfit or human who wants to be a part of something can be part of a film set. This is your weird. And I’ve definitely found my weird, for sure.

SPOILER: If someone wants to get into costume design, what advice can you give them?

Beverley Huynh/Van Helsing/Nomadic Pictures/Dan Power/Syfy/Shimon Karmel/ Shimon Karmel

of time, especially if it’s going on a background performer. We don’t always have the time to make things from scratch. You wouldn’t want to put something vintage on someone because they’re carrying an extra 50 pounds on their bodies—especially for something like armor. So we do try to cheat it a little bit sometimes and, much like cosplayers do, we try to use lightweight materials and disguise them as heavyweight materials just to ease the amount of mobility. And sometimes if you have the time you can make things from scratch. Sources are limitless, especially in Los Angeles, when you have warehouses of just costumes you can use as reference. Etsy’s another one. You can reach out to creators who have made beautiful work and ask them to make something for you.

Beverley Huynh BEVERLEY HUYNH: That’s tough because it can come from many places. First of all, have an interest in clothing. Know the basics.

Know how to sew on a button and use a sewing needle and thread. And at least understand how to do a hem. Understand some of the language and what it means to be a storyteller in clothing. But start by just having an interest in clothing. Having retail experience is a huge part of it—understanding how to work with people and talk with people is a huge part of costuming. And just start by doing independents.

Find a group of students from film school and offer up wanting to be their costume designer or their stylist. Even begin in fashion and do “print for time” where you can just style the model for a photograph to build a portfolio. Start experimenting with bodies and clothing and find your niche. You have to just have some initiative in yourself to say, “Hey, I wanna try this. I’m gonna do this.”

And surround yourself with similar-minded people who are interested in the same thing and go from there.

Just start by doing it—that’s the best advice I ever got. may 2021|

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cherry Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor

The Russo brothers might be the most famous directors who aren’t known for anything outside of the superhero genre. They’ve directed four Marvel films, most notably Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but their curiously obscure feature filmography has interested many, while placing expectations high for what they’re going to do next.

The mental health drama Cherry is their first non-Marvel movie in 15 years (since the 2006 Owen Wilson comedy You, Me and Dupree), and with it we finally can see their style outside of the congruous sameness of the MCU. And with them, they brought MCU-veteran Tom Holland.

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Cherry is split up into several chapters, but it’s really only three parts: a love story, a war film, and an addiction story. Holland plays the title character, a college student who becomes romantically involved with his classmate Emily (Ciara Bravo).

Their relationship sprouts quickly and they form quite an understanding for one another. But after he declares his love for her, she gets scared and says that she’s moving away to Canada for school. Cherry, feeling like he’s got nothing to live for anymore, joins the Army.

Well, you see, Emily was bluffing about her move, but by the time she comes back to Cherry to profess her love in return he’s getting ready to leave for basic training. The two quickly elope before his deployment.

The story turns into an epic as Cherry goes through basic training and active duty overseas as a medic, loses friends in combat, and then comes home wrecked by severe PTSD. And all the while, there’s something that feels like a pebble in our shoe. The reason he joined the Army was all because Emily was afraid of love. Sure, we can attribute

it to her own past with her father cheating on her mother, but Cherry inexplicably never resents his wife as much as the audience does, and that’s never really addressed. The sequence of events that follows all makes sense, but it’s never justified by its very first catalyst.

Eventually Cherry becomes addicted to OxyContin, prescribed to him because of his anxiety, and then so does Emily in retaliation. But things go south quickly when they both wind up developing a heroin addiction and resort to robbing banks to pay for their fix.

Cherry shows how mental health can unearth itself when someone is continuously failed by the system: the bank system, the GI system, the pharmaceutical system. However, through all of the system-blaming, we still can’t stop thinking about how this all could’ve been prevented if Emily hadn’t broken up with him in the first place. Although, you can argue that Cherry was unstable to begin with.

Throughout the film Holland narrates basically everything, which means we almost always know what’s going on inside Cherry’s brain. This

Cherry/Apple

surprisingly doesn’t become too overbearing, probably because our protagonist’s analysis is always a step beyond what we could gather from a story that isn’t necessarily unique on the surface. But like a novel, the voiceover adds either color or levity depending on the situation. For instance, it breaks up the tedium of the extended military montages as Cherry ribs basic training and his officers, sprinkling in some odd details about drill sergeants with fake PTSD, or rectal examinations, or how he was made to do the robot dance during a required morale-boosting chant. However, there are moments when the Russos use the narration as a crutch. When it makes us laugh, we love it, but when it rushes Cherry and Emily’s relationship we can’t help but feel like it’s being abused.

Despite not totally buying into the chemistry of our two leads, we still feel Cherry’s love for Emily and can sympathize with his pain, much like we comfort a friend after a breakup, even if we didn’t ever see the connection ourselves. And here, it makes the events that follow all the more heart-wrenching. These two souls just found themselves on one another’s radar, yet have become broken because of where they wound up—not necessarily because of who the other person is. And somehow they both still find the will to live— perhaps because they still have each other, or at least some version of each other.

The main plot takes place over a five year span, and the film artfully takes its time evolving the story, even if it stays in the 3rd act a bit too long. The Russos employ kinetic camerawork, falling somewhere between the quick and deliberate cues of Edgar Wright and the artful focus pulls of Martin Scorsese or Brian De Palma, but insert their own flair with Holland occasionally breaking the fourth wall as time freezes within the movie. The directors stylize their picture in a way that addiction films usually aren’t.

And for better or worse, Cherry is almost…fun?

The tone seamlessly alternates between brooding and sardonic, so that we’re always prepared if it goes in either direction at any moment.

And we take the good with the bad. With that hard stylization, the Russo brothers occasionally have a hard time finding the poeticism underneath their intense saga.

There’s the potential for a really

powerful moment with Emily’s father late in the film that’s never even realized. We’re also never quite tuned into Cherry’s dissociation which he describes in the early going. There is some deep nuance in his character, yet all the filmmakers are ever concerned with is cause and effect— even if those aspects are totally and completely justified as well.

Unfortunately this ambitious tale stays focused on the here and now.

There are even times where you could almost make the case—if there weren’t plenty of clues that proved otherwise—that Holland’s character is actually not real. He has no name (“Cherry” is just assumed), no background, no family. We’re never really shown why he got to such a depressed state prior to even meeting Emily—if there’s a reason at all. We get origins for Emily’s issues, so the curious absence of an explanation for whether or not

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Even amidst his moments of the most unbridled abandon, the actor still shows a level of control.

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Cherry’s mental health got triggered by something big in his past leads us down a fan theory rabbit hole.

And then there are instances when they hit the nail right on the head, like with the setup and payoff with the bank teller from early on in the film, or Cherry’s childhood best friend who’s against him joining the Army because of its potential effects on the people who serve, yet enables and encourages the drug dependency of those around him.

If the Russo brothers get to show the world what they’re made of, then so does Holland. The young actor was able to show off his talents last year in the criminally underrated The Devil All the Time, but there he was more contained, and intentionally stoic. In Cherry, however, he’s asked to depict a spectrum of emotions, and he’s believable in all of them. Even amidst his moments of the most unbridled abandon, the actor still shows a level of control. He’s hitting every note that he’s given and doing it with absolute brilliance and conviction. And when his character is at his most despicable, he convinces us that our protagonist is still in there somewhere.

These kinds of downward spirals in movies aren’t novel, and Cherry doesn’t cover any new ground.

However, it offers a fresher way to look at this story that’s palatable and accessible, all while taking in the medicine just the same. And the Russos, along with Holland, still find the proper magnitude for this lofty saga when it counts the most.

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Zach Snyder’s Justice League/DC/Warner Bros./HBO/Judas and the Black Messiah/HBO

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The big lebowski (1998) Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi

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Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara), for money owed by his wife.

But the problem is, the Dude doesn’t have a wife and the “Jeff Lebowski’’ they’re after is a wheelchair-bound millionaire.

Turns out, this mistaken identity sends the Dude down a rabbit hole of involvement in people and societies he has no interest or business in.

The real reason why the Dude is upset is because one of the men ends up peeing on his throw rug, which “really tied the room together.” So the Dude meets with the other Jeff

Lebowski (David Huddleston) at his mansion to get him to buy him a new rug. Mr. Lebowski declines, claiming that this isn’t his problem since it wasn’t his rug. Accusing the Dude of seeking a handout, he kicks him out of his home.

Soon after, however, the Dude is contacted by Lebowski, who

Get Shorty/MGM

Roger Ebert once said in his review of The Big Lebowski, “The Big Lebowski is about an attitude, not a story. It’s easy to miss that because the story is so urgently pursued.” The Coen brothers beg for our attention as they take us through events and intricate details of the plot, yet want us to focus on the themes and characters within.

A shaggy dog story of sorts, the movie has us exerting so much energy trying to piece together the rambling events that the esoteric allegory might go unnoticed upon first watch.

After all, it’s hard to dislike a movie when you know you simply may not understand its deeper meaning. However, the frustrating ending almost comes off as an insult no matter how many times you watch it.

Set in 1991, Jeff Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski aka The Dude, a glorified slacker who goes shopping in bathrobes and writes checks for 67 cents.

One night he comes home to his small apartment and gets assaulted by two goons hired by famous pornographic filmmaker,

has a business proposition. It turns out, his young trophy wife, Bunny (Tara Reid), has been kidnapped, and Lebowski wants the Dude to deliver the $1 million ransom money. If he succeeds, Lebowski will reward him with $20,000.

Most of the film is set at the bowling alley where the Dude plays in his ostensibly-nightly league with his best friends Walter (John Goodman) and Donnie (Steve Buscemi). The Dude tells them what’s been going on, and Walter thinks he’s been too calm about the whole ordeal.

However, The Dude explains how he believes that Bunny has actually kidnapped herself, but that he’s willing to go along with the charade in order to get the $20,000. Walter

feels like he should take the million dollars for himself and let the chips fall as they may. Through a series of fun surprises, credence is given to both men’s way of doing things, but the Coens play with the natural consequences of doing both right and wrong.

The Coen brothers are kinda notorious for not knowing how to end their stories. And here is no different. The Big Lebowski builds up really well, even with 5 minutes left, but then doesn’t conclude in a satisfying fashion. We have so many plot details at play and so many themes rolling at once that we anticipate the movie culminating in a big way where everything will finally make sense and the overall point, which we are on the brink of understanding, will finally be made clear. And it all seems to be readying to do just that (and boy, would that have been so satisfying), but then the filmmakers never quite deliver and the plot just falls to the ground.

There’s no redemption for our characters and almost every loose end is left untied.

The Big Lebowski is a deceptively challenging film masked with mainstream appeal. The Coen’s commentary is explicit, though

the meaning behind what they’re saying and referencing may come off as obscure to today’s audiences.

Playing as a satire on many things, including aggression and war politics, the movie is riddled with esoteric symbolism and meaning, which can make it fun, but also confusing.

The Dude is surrounded by aggressive people—usually all bark and no bite. His best friend is Walter, a Vietnam vet who seems to connect every frustration in his life back to the war in which he fought. He’s abrasive and usually unlikable. Perhaps the film’s biggest achievement is how a guy like the Dude and a guy like Walter can be best friends despite vast differences in their political and social views and morals—likely its most relevant application to today’s world.

The Dude goes through a very intentional anti-development, and your enjoyment of the film may heavily rely on how willing you are to accept this. Since the movie is buckled so tightly to its themes which heavily depend on these character traits, the Dude is often frustratingly passive, preventing him from garnering any sort of may 2021|

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success and hindering any realistic trajectory for his character. In fact, the flow of events tends to be a bit clunky as well, with these same themes also preventing it from unfolding naturally. We constantly feel this invisible hand putting things in place so that an overall point can be made. The film is messy in that way, and its unique style manages to be both consistent and inconsistent at the same time. But luckily, when you begin to realize what it’s trying to say, a bunch of other details may start to become clear in the process.

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Bridges is magnificent and will be forever tied to this role, no matter what else he’s in. He manages the Dude’s ups and downs so well, personifying the character’s very specific philosophies that you could make the assumption that the Dude was based on Bridges, himself.

The Coens are probably geniuses for this one. However, at first glance, they seem to be disorganized and overwrought, crafting an interesting story but ultimately appearing to go nowhere with it. Yet perhaps this artifice is just another commentary in itself. Regardless, even amidst their grandiose and well-diagramed plot, there are still some aspects of The Big Lebowski that are inherently flawed and may very well be a deal breaker for those who aren’t willing to think about a movie after it’s over or watch it a second time.

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Bridges is magnificent and will be forever tied to this role, no matter what else he’s in.

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The Big Lebowski/Gramercy Pictures/Get Duked!/Amazon

Directed by: Ninian Doff Cast: Eddie Izzard, Samuel Bottomley, Viraj Juneja Ever wondered what would happen if you combined a hip hop music video with a British black comedy inspired by Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”? Well writer/director Ninian Doff’s Get Duked! (originally titled Boyz in the Wood) moves dialogue in the British equivalent of mumblecore and wears its influences on its sleeve, but provides enough uniformity that surprisingly nothing ever feels out of place.

Get Duked! is one of those films where everything connects in the end. Even a throwaway running gag gets cleverly utilized in a big way.

The movie is over the top, but lets you know this right away with its overly-stylized credit sequence/ montage and pulsating 808s. Doff began his career directing music videos, and he finds a couple of opportunities to squeeze in miniperformances when appropriate.

Luckily, he sets them up ahead of time so that these scenes don’t feel out of place. The hip hop undercurrent really brings an added element, punctuating that stylization and setting the film apart from its other pseudo-Edgar Wright knockoffs.

The film provides a keen eye for the self-fulfilling agendas of certain government-initiated programs. The Duke of Edinburgh Award, which is massively exaggerated for the sake

of this film, is a challenge put in place to test certain skills of the youth in England. If you succeed, then you receive a certificate (and only a certificate) at the end that states your completion, thus helping you get jobs and get into college. An arbitrary feat, but one that is supreme merely because of who instituted it—the nation’s figurehead, not even the actual government or prime minister or someone who actually makes a lot of decisions, but someone who’s famous simply because of his bloodline.

Three troubled high schoolers are forced to partake in the Duke of Edinburgh Award program after they collectively set fire to their feces in the school bathroom, among other things. One boy is a desperate stoner

(Rian Gordon), one a wannabe rap artist (Viraj Juneja), and the other just a complete nincompoop (Lewis Gribben). There’s a fourth member along for the trip, a well-mannered kid named Ian (Samuel Bottomley), who gets good grades and always stays out of trouble. He just wants the merit that goes along with completing the journey.

The foursome has to navigate the Scottish Highlands over the course of a couple days and meet their instructor (Jonathan Aris) on the other side. They’re given a paper map and a speedy list of verbal warnings about the hazards and deadly threats along the way. As they set out, we see a man from afar watching them through a rifle scope, and things begin to get interesting and a little frightening. may 2021|

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couldn’t help but be reminded of Peter Jackson’s very low-budget Australian debut, Bad Taste. The plots and tones are strangely similar (and banter usually indistinct for American viewers), yet with different genres and intent (this movie favors a tight narrative, where Jackson’s is schlocky sci-fi at all costs).

Both films are far from perfect, yet so masterful in their own way with clever camerawork and inventive special effects. Bad Taste was extremely telling of the visionary that Jackson came to be known as, and Get Duked! should do the same for Doff.

Propelled by a relentless energy and confidence, Get Duked! is able to entertain with sheer style even during its biggest lulls—a comedy/horror with music video sensibilities, and honestly better for it.

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in their juvenile roles, even if the filmmaker doesn’t always have a firm grasp of his characters, often thinking that they’re dumber than they really are, but then making them brilliant when it’s convenient.

He means to develop these characters, but they often don’t fit in with the rules that have been laid out for them. Luckily Doff gives us Ian, who doesn’t conform, yet maintains his morals and teaches by example rather than overt judgement. It doesn’t quite justify the abrupt and expedited character shifts of the other three, but the intent is there.

Albeit, Doff makes it clear that the older generations have left this world in shambles, thus making it quite difficult for today’s youth to be successful. He’s neither right nor wrong. Sure, there are plenty of different factors that have led to the loss of direction and mindfulness of many teens these days, but admitting those things should teach today’s parents a thing or two as well, hopefully reversing the process. Also, the antagonists in this film aren’t quite the types of grownups who these kids should be mad at in the first place—they’re complete psychopaths.

While watching this movie I

Get Duked!/Amazon/C.H.U.D./New World Pictures

Doff also attempts to give commentary about how the younger generations aren’t actually as incompetent as the older ones think they are. However, his only real flaw here is making his characters complete idiots most of the time, which becomes the butt of 90% of the jokes (oftentimes unrealistically so, even for these kids). In fact, these gen-Z-ers nearly get themselves killed for the sake of getting high, run over their teacher by a car because they “just decide” he’s the man trying to murder them, and commit a laundry list of other entitled and self-absorbed acts that just leave the audience shaking their heads. And then Doff has the audacity to “inform” us that these kids should be given more intellectual credit.

The four charismatic young actors all give convincing performances

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Get Duked! is one of those films where everything connects in the end.

Even a throwaway running gag gets cleverly utilized in a big way.

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C.H.U.D. (1984) Directed by: Douglas Cheek Cast: John Heard, Daniel Stern, Christopher Curry It’s bizarre that Douglas Cheek, the director of 1984’s C.H.U.D., never went on to direct another feature film (though he has some 20 credits as an editor). Both his establishment of ambiance and his focus on the characters over the monsters actually makes the end result creepier and more vicarious for the viewer. Likewise, the two writers, Parnell Hall and Shepard Abbott, have never written another movie ever. I mean, C.H.U.D. is

far from perfect, but it has solid storyboarding and an overflow of charm. There’s definitely a lot to like here.

C.H.U.D. stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, so the title tells us right away this movie is about its monsters. And for better or worse, the filmmakers don’t dwell too much on the monsters themselves—rather, why they exist in the first place.

C.H.U.D. plays out as a mystery of sorts as our main characters try to figure out the cause of a drastic increase in the amount of missing persons in a small neighborhood in Manhattan. Police Captain Bosch (Christopher Curry) has a personal interest in these cases since his wife has also gone missing. He heads down to a local soup kitchen run

by A.J. Shepherd (Daniel Stern), who has noticed that a dozen of his regulars—all underground homeless occupants—haven’t showed up in a while. As the two men have mutual investment in what’s going on, they join forces to get down to the bottom of the issue.

Meanwhile, photographer Gary Cooper (John Heard) has recently worked on a project where he photographs this underground homeless population in New York City. He’s developed a rapport with these people, and one of them has sought him out for assistance after her brother was attacked by a monster.

The film does a good job not meandering or filling its fairly thin premise with meaningless plot.

Instead, it focuses on different characters and their stories. There are really three protagonists, and we see all of their stories intersect at some point.

There’s Gary, who used to be a popular fashion photographer, but is realizing he doesn’t want to do photography for the fame and fortune anymore—hence, his passion project on the homeless. Where Heard grounds the film with his realistic approach, Stern brings life to it with his off-kilter brand of subtle

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comedy as his character casually incorporates random lyrics from rock songs into everyday conversation, not dissimilar to his character from 1982’s Diner.

While Curry gives a believable performance as Bosch, he doesn’t necessarily bring a whole lot of dynamic range to the role for a guy whose wife is missing and presumably dead. As he goes about his case, he never appears to have anything in the back of his mind. In fact, he seems more concerned with the homeless people than his wife most of the time.

C.H.U.D. is definitely not without its flaws, but they’re fairly innocuous since we never expect much from the schlocky pretense to begin with.

This is a really great horror-thriller that knows how to get your blood pumping, ramping up perfectly to its climactic finish, which delivers like many of its contemporaries aren’t able to. The makeup and costumes are essential to creating the dark, smoky tone as we’re immersed into this underground world where the characters, and the audience with them, are left so vulnerable and afraid. With this being a well-directed and surprisingly well-written film, it’s too bad we never got to see what else Cheek and company could do.

The film does a good job not meandering or filling its fairly thin premise with meaningless plot. Instead, it focuses on different characters and their stories.

mandy (2018) Directed by: Panos Cosmatos Cast: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache Revenge films are one of the least evolved sub-genres in cinema. The straightforward plots don’t lend themselves well to deviations and there are only so many ways you can draw up conflict and subsequent retribution. However, every now and then you’ll get one that finds its way around those traditional story markers and brings something creative to the table. Although in 2018’s Mandy, that creativity has nothing to do with the plot.

The first 30 minutes show Red (Nicolas Cage) and his girlfriend Mandy (Andrea Riseboroguh) living their quasi-idyllic life in their quiet, woodsy abode in the Pacific Northwest. They spend their evenings dreaming and stargazing, or bonding over a B-movie on their 13-inch television. The year is 1983.

We don’t get much about the couple’s background, other than perhaps Red is growing tired of his daily grind as a lumberjack and Mandy is starting to toy with the idea of them moving somewhere different despite how peaceful

their lives are there. When she’s not working at the local general store, Mandy spends her days drawing mythical characters and reading dark fantasy novels. She’s inspired by her surroundings, but maybe, like most of us, she longs for a different routine. Both Red and Mandy sort of realize that it’s being with each other that makes them happy, not their locale.

Everything changes when a secret mountain-cult leader, Jeremiah (Linus Roache), notices Mandy walking alone one day. He tasks his followers with kidnapping her and

beating up Red. Jeremiah expects, judging by her assumed emptiness, that he will have an effect on her, but even when she’s drugged and gagged, Mandy laughs at his egodriven zealousness. And so he burns her alive, and ties up Red with barbed wire so he can watch her die.

This sends Red down a path of anger and revenge with the memory of his deceased love mournfully haunting his mind every step of the way.

Revenge thrillers can be a dimea-dozen unless there’s something else going on in the movie. Low concept, but highly stylized takes, such as John Wick, just don’t have enough fumes to take them to the finish line. In fact I’d rather watch something slightly less technicallysound, like 2010’s Faster, which has more unexpected conflict and plot twists than something that’s entirely straightforward like the Keanu Reeves action-thriller. Mandy, on the other hand, actually has some story potential with a cultish underbelly.

However, it never quite explores those areas enough to retain any tension from the audience outside of the catharsis of the revenge itself.

With that said, the stylization keeps the viewing experience pretty fun at the very least. Director Panos Cosmatos employs inspired practical effects for the gore, along with unconventional lighting and coloring techniques as he washes his frames with vibrant reds and purples, creating a psychedelic trip as Cage

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ends up amounting to any sort of unique and bold message in the end, other than, “fake-Christian cult leaders are crazy, and it’s actually contradictory for them to go around killing people.”

This film isn’t narrative-focused, but one that emphasizes mood and mise en scène over actual story, and does so exceptionally and effectively well. While it may not challenge us with its plot, the cinematic language that Cosmatos utilizes invites us to experience the movie in a unique way. Predictable in its last half (as most revenge thrillers are), but very in-the-moment in the mesmerizing first, Mandy never once asks us to look to either the past or the future, which is perhaps even a flaw for the more traditional filmgoing experience—but not for Mandy.

Cosmatos makes it so that it almost doesn’t matter if you’re on the director’s same atmospheric wavelength

“

goes on his rampage.

Cosmatos makes it so that it almost doesn’t matter if you’re on the director’s same atmospheric wavelength, mostly because he refrains from really becoming self-indulgent, with the help of a lean script and simple storyboard.

The 121-minute runtime is more due to the slow pace and the development of our two leads in the first act. But by establishing their likability, Cosmatos connects us with Red’s suffering in a notable way. The director does a great job not allowing the phantasmagoric atmosphere to feel distancing, even making it appealing in its beauty at times. He also infuses his grainy milieu with ambiguous elements of ‘80s zeitgeist, with obscure horror films playing on TV, retrostyle commercials, heavy metal t-shirts, and a handful of Easter egg references to the era. These are the best parts of this film, but just like the intriguing lore hidden underneath, they never serve as more than just a tease for the audience or subtle garnish to the story.

The themes are also not quite clear as the compelling dialogue never

bad boys ii (2003) Directed by: Michael Bay Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union Nobody does 25 minute action sequences like Michael Bay. In fact, in 2003 no one else was doing 25 minute action sequences. Bay gets a bad rap, but what he does here with the camera and certain action scenes is actually pretty inventive. However, this script needs a lot of work. Bad Boys II has about seven different people with screenplay/story credits (including Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen, who are both technically uncredited). Throw in Bay and that’s eight people tasked with telling a single story—not necessarily a recipe for success.

Eight years after the events from the first film, Miami Police Detectives, Mike Lowrey (Will

Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), are investigating a narcotics surge in their city. The mission leads them to different locales, gunfights, and car chases along the way.

As it turns out, Marcus’ sister, Syd (Gabrielle Union), is an undercover DEA agent also assigned to the case.

Mike and Marcus keep getting in her way, risking her cover getting blown.

Later on, her life ends up being put in danger and they have to go save her, but never address the fact that the entire reason why she’s in jeopardy is because of their ill-advised involvement, even though they were strictly told to butt out. Don’t you just love self-fulfilling premises?

Extra plot details are added to ensure that things get more confusing. At two and a half hours, the story is never-ending, overwrought with details it thinks we want to know. I don’t need to see the perspective of the bad guys unless it’s some intriguing Bond

villain stuff, or unless these bad guys are going to be developed beyond mere mustache-twirling. The movie shows its hand too early with this peek behind the curtain rather than leaving any room for surprises along the way.

Bad Boys II is entertaining despite itself, but is still very long. There’s so much that could be cut out, if nothing else at least for the sake of clarity and concision. Bay is very good at orchestrating interesting action—of which there is a lot—and does a great job with the car chases and tactical strategies, but even those drag on for what feels like an eternity.

The story hops around so much and becomes so difficult to keep track of that you end up just throwing up your arms and saying, “I guess it doesn’t matter.” And truthfully, it doesn’t, because the reason we’re watching this movie in the first place is for Smith and Lawrence—who are both fantastic.

Lawrence is his same old goofy self, but Smith shows how good of an actor he’s become, even during small moments. There’s a scene where he goes undercover

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“

At two and a half hours, the story is never-ending, overwrought with details it thinks we want to know

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as a rodent exterminator trying to comedically fool the bad guys.

Where a lesser actor would have been complacent acting fake since the audience already knows he’s pretending, Smith actually approaches the scenario as though his character is really trying to make people believe that he’s on the job.

Smith also gets the chance to flex his comedic chops a little more this time. In the first movie, he served as the straight man to Lawrence’s absurdities, but by now Smith has established his on-screen identity and both actors are able to just riff off each other.

Fans of the first film will appreciate Smith and Lawrence’s banter,

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because, let’s face it, that’s what makes these movies so enjoyable.

In the sequel, their chemistry is the only thing keeping the movie alive and actually pretty fun, whereas in the first film, their talents were more like found money. That story wasn’t fantastic either, but at least it was content taking a backseat to its two stars. But here, Bay seems dedicated to crafting an action epic that nobody asked for, drawn out because he wants it to be, hoping it plays on the same level as Smith and Lawrence. It never comes close.

The director thinks Bad Boys II needs to be bigger and better than the original, but truthfully all it needs to be is more of the same.

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WHEN MOVIE AUDIENCES WERE FIRST INTRODUCED

to James Logan Howlett, better known as Wolverine, in 2000’s X-Men he was an amateur cage fighter. He was an angry, dangerous mutant, far from the nearly-unstoppable superhero Professor X helped groom him into. Logan was always looked at as a loner; the X-Men wanted him more than he did them, but at the end of the day there’s not a mutant in the universe Professor X trusted more. Through seven movies Logan honed his skills and got better with age. Of course that all ends with 2017’s Logan. The passing of the torch premise makes for a strong story and an excellent film, but once those credits roll and we’re forced to accept Logan’s fate, something just feels off.

Obviously Hugh Jackman wasn’t going to play Wolverine forever, but once it’s officially time to say goodbye and we stare at the last shot of Logan’s grave, it’s hard not to get a little choked up. I mean, talk about the end of an era. For 18 years Hugh Jackman was the Wolverine.

He’s as tied to that character as any actor we’ve seen in recent memory,

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no matter how much success he continues to have outside of it. He’s a very talented actor, and over those 18 years any other roles he took on were all well and good, so long as when an X-Men movie came out he was back to holding down the fort.

And because of that dedication to every project he was a part of—both superhero and high-brow—he always had the full support of the fans.

Batmans and Spider-Men come and go, but Jackman as Wolverine is forever. At least that’s how it felt.

Even if deep down we know that won’t always be the case, until we see someone new take on the role it’s hard to imagine anyone else even trying.

So regardless of what some of us obsessed fans would like to believe, the truth is that the actors do come and go, and only the superheroes themselves can last forever. So while sadly Logan was likely the farewell to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, we all know that the character will soon be resurrected, leaving Hollywood to choose their next star to lead the mutants and dawn the retractable claws. Who that could be remains a mystery for now, and while I’d imagine that’s a very coveted role for any young actor, those are some seriously big claws to fill. I originally wanted to put together a list of actors who I think could one day fill the part, but to be honest I couldn’t

Wolverine/X-Men/Logan/Marvel/20th Century Studios

BY ROBERT NAPOLITANO

come up with a single name. They all felt forced. Maybe I’m biased because he’s the only Wolverine I’ve known, but deep down I believe if they do decide to bring the character back it doesn’t matter who plays him. Much like Han Solo and Harrison Ford, if it isn’t Jackman then people will complain—there’s no way around that.

Like it or not, the powers that be are still gonna try to recast the role, and you can’t blame them.

Hugh Jackman not only turned Wolverine into a mainstay in the cinematic world of superheros, but greatly helped the genre become the dominant force it is today at a time when the rise was in its nascence.

And seeing how influential Wolverine has been to the success of the Marvel Universe and comic book movies in general, it’s only right that the character lives on.

As far as who should be next in line, it’s really anyone’s guess. Being that there’s no confirmed return to the big screen for the character yet, the eventual successor could be anyone. Only time will tell, but we know it’s inevitable. Even if superfans like myself get our dream movie where Hugh Jackman returns once more for some type of R-rated Wolverine vs. Deadpool scenario, it’s still only a matter of time until we see the next man up. Seeing the way Hollywood works more and more, I’ve just come to accept that. It’s part of the business. So be it.

There is reason to be optimistic, however. Change can be good sometimes. For years it looked like there’d never be a Batman who could come close to Michael Keaton’s, but then, boom, Christian Bale takes the character to a whole new level. For the fans’ sake let’s just hope we don’t have to watch Wolverine go through a Val Kilmer and George Clooney phase before his return to glory.

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BY PHUONG PHAM

used to be something reserved for kids. Film studios would think of the marketing potential of selling merchandise to the younger demographics, but somewhere along the way that seems to have shifted. In recent years, adults seem to have more of an interest in what were previously referred to as “toys.”

Somewhere along the way toys became things that were less about play and more about investing— much like vintage cars or art.

Probably the first big geeky toy craze came in the form of the original 1977 Star Wars action figures. When Star Wars first debuted no one foresaw what a pop culture phenomenon it would become. People were mesmerized by the special effects, the lore, the expansive universe where anyone with screen time could have an actual character name. Toy companies especially took notice.

The manufacturer Kenner was so blindsided by the popularity of Star Wars figures that they sent out empty boxes to eager fans, which acted like a rain check for when the items did arrive.

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Star Wars/Disney/Lucasfilm/Barbie/Mattel

owning toys of our favorite characters The landscape of “toys” today is very different. For one thing, some of the toys we had as children are now worth a lot of money. It goes without saying that Star Wars collectibles tend to be part of the conversation when discussing vintage toys that have appreciated in value. Other toys from our youth whose stock has increased significantly are Barbies.

For instance, the original Barbie that debuted in the ‘50s sold for $27,450 (in mint ccondition). There are also Barbies—very limited edition Barbies—that sold for exorbitant amounts of money, most notably one designed by famed jewelry designer, Stefano Canturi, which is the most expensive Barbie ever sold.

Designed specifically to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the doll features white and pink diamonds which, alone, have an estimated value of around $300,000 with the Barbie eventually

selling for $302,500 at auction. But for those with a smaller budget, collector’s editions of Barbies also fetch a somewhat hefty price tag, with special editions such as the annual Holiday Barbie and other themed dolls ranging anywhere from $30 up to $100, and more in some cases.

The idea that these items are an investment is certainly not an exaggeration. One very literal example of this is the creation of the website mtgstocks.com. This website tracks the value of any number of Magic: The Gathering cards so that collectors and Magic players can sell their cards at peak pricing. It’s true that even now card games have become a profitable collectible.

Gone are the days of action figures when we now have companies like Hot Toys and Kotobukiya providing hyper-realistic “maquettes.” But one thing remains true: There will always be collectors.

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Kid 90/Soleil Moon Frye/Hulu/Jurassic Park/Universal/Men in Black/Sony/Marvel/Batman/DC Comics/Power Rangers/Hasbro

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BY MATTHEW McLACHLAN

to get your knowledge on, and you’re rockin’ a brand-new T-shirt, backpack, or sick-ass Trapper Keeper with your favorite comic book character or super hero on it. Pretty cool, right? Then, all of a sudden, some big meany-head makes fun of you for it. Not because of their opinion of said character (though, until Jason Mamoa came along, no one was safe from Aquaman jokes), they make fun of you for the mere fact you’re sporting a comic book character at all. Now, I ask you…what kinda uncivilized caveman society would allow someone to be made fun of for a comic book-themed anything these days?! Well, the reality is, that was exactly our world not so long ago. That’s right, Martha, clutch them pearls Now, this is not a “back in my day” rant, because for the most part, “my day” was the beginning of the Geek-aissance. I just wanted to bring attention to the fact that we are currently living in the Golden Age of all geekdom and that things used to be a real sh*t show for people who enjoyed a good superhero, so let’s maybe take that in every once in a while. I’m not gonna go into the history of when things changed in comics and culture because that could be its own article (note to self) that requires a lot of research (never mind) and I’m just here to gently remind you all…don’t take this time for granted. Bask in this incredible time of geeks reigning supreme. If back in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s geeks were allowed to build a remote city

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in a Wakanda-like fashion, I think it would look very similar to the world we live in today with comics, toys, anime, and more all getting the love they deserve! I’m sure they would’ve liked more flying cars than we have now, but I think they’d get over it.

Probably the trickiest thing about all this now is, those bullies from all the way back in the first paragraph?

They’re not ‘80s teen-movie jocks anymore, they’re other geeks.

Bullying people for liking or not liking certain things within the culture!

Again, that’s another article entirely (dammit) but can we as a collective just take a step back for a second?

Seriously. Put down this magazine

and look around you. Uh-huh, that’s it. Now, be thankful! The world we as geeks did not think would ever happen, has happened! Adaptations of our favorite characters being brought to screens of all sizes all the God damn time! We couldn’t be more lucky! So, please, be kind to each other, people, and live in the geek-moment! And the next time you talk to someone who was a fan of comic books well before you were born, you salute that sonuva b*tch.

Why? Because without them dealing with all the BS they had to endure for enjoying what they love, we’d never have the beautiful world of geekdom we all take for granted today.

Wonder Woman/DC/Craig Barritt/Getty Images/ReedPop/Paul Scardino/ Funko/Guinness World Records/Firewire Blog/Chris Kooluris

imagine, if you will, that you’re back in school, ready

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BY KIM KOO

black cat has crossed your path?

Or avoided walking under a ladder?

Maybe refused to wash a jersey while your team was on a winning streak? Avoided scheduling anything important on a Friday the 13th? Blown on dice before rolling them? If there is the slightest chance that stepping on a crack will break your mother’s back, it takes nothing to step over a crack, right?

These are just a drop in the vast, ocean-sized bucket of superstitions observed by people around the world. Does wearing a dirty, sweat encrusted uniform give one a definitive edge, other than maybe discouraging your opponents from lingering too close? Can you really blame anything that goes wrong on a black cat that crossed your path?

Superstitions are beliefs that are inexplicable yet held to be true to the degree of taking action; there is a conception of causation tied to good/bad or lucky/unlucky outcomes. The belief that certain actions can make unpredictable situations predictable imparts a sense of control, which is a biological imperative for survival. This human tendency to make sense of our environment and connect unrelated items is called apophenia. It is an evolutionary trait that has aided longevity.

There are ancient, deep-

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Getty/Alamy/Water Expressions

have you ever thought, “Uh oh!” when a

seeded, universally acknowledged superstitions that keep drifting down generation after generation. One such superstition is that it’s bad luck to walk under a ladder. Practically speaking, this makes good sense, right? Someone working on the ladder could drop something or the ladder itself could collapse—anyone who’s been on a ladder can attest to the high probability of these outcomes. Being cautious here clearly supports survival.

Turns out the resemblance of ladders to gallows was an early reason people avoided walking under them. Falling under the transference-

by-proximity logic, avoidance is the only action needed. There is no proof that death by hanging would result from walking under the ladder, but there also isn’t proof that it couldn’t happen. It was easy to not walk under a ladder if people thought they could avoid the fate of death by hanging. The risk far outweighed the simpler act of not walking under a ladder.

Another origin story of this superstition can be traced to ancient Egypt, where pyramids were considered sacred and powerful.

Belief that the pyramid-like shape created by a free-standing ladder

leaning up against a wall was also powerful created the superstition that walking under it would break that pyramid, thus destroying the power and invoking bad luck.

It is conceivable that movement under a ladder would disrupt the air flow or ground enough to cause a temporary, precarious fixture to become unstable and cause an accident. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission there are more than 500,000 annual ladder related injuries and 300 deaths in the US. Since 2017 March has been National Ladder Safety Month in order to raise awareness. It’s easy to understand how this superstition is perpetuated.

Have you ever tried to raise a toast with a glass of water? How did that go over? If you were told it was bad luck, you may have the Greeks to thank for that. Greeks toasted the dead on their journey through the River Lethe, one of five rivers in Hades, with water. The myth goes that the deceased drink from the River Lethe, which means oblivion or forgetfulness, upon entering the Underworld to forget their corporeal lives. So if you toast with water you are wishing death upon the recipient.

In Spain, it is believed toasting with water brings seven years of bad sex.

How this bad sex curse originated is murky but I have theories involving people who may have not wanted to have sex to begin with.

Then there are personal superstitions. Attempts to rationalize coincidences. Athletes are known to train hard to perfect their craft, but four out of five also engage in habits that are not going to be part

of a trainer’s playbook. Athletes are faced with regular win/loss scenarios and have more reasons to craft their own personal creative superstitions in order to get those Ws. NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Hall, aka “Mr. Goalie,” threw up before every game in order to give his all to the team. Another NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzksy, aka “The Great One,” would drink a Diet Coke, an ice water, a Gatorade, and a second Diet Coke before getting back onto the ice for the next period. He also refused to cut his hair while on the road. Tennis great Serena Williams ties her shoes before matches a certain way. She also wears the same pair of socks through a tournament until she loses. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has to be the last out of the tunnel before going to a game.

He is also known to style his hair

differently at halftime.

David Beckham (no introduction needed) arranged everything in his refrigerator a certain way before going to a game. MLB pitcher Steven “Turk” Wendell was given the honor of the Most Superstitious Athlete by Men’s Journal. Turk’s quirks were that he threw his resin bag, chewed black licorice, drew three crosses in the dirt as prayers “to play to the best of [his] ability, (to be) injury-free, and to win,” leapt over the foul line when returning to the dugout, and brushed his teeth between innings.

In an interview with Howie Rose, Turk said he didn’t consider himself to be superstitious, although he did believe baseball gods were listening. He explained his actions to be a comforting mechanism.

The notion that one has control over as much of their environment as possible is comforting, even if there is no true correlation between the behavior and the outcome.

The very act of making a conscious decision, intentionally choosing to make a choice in taking an action reinforces the notion of having control. Humans crave this to bolster self-efficacy. Feeding our ego helps our confidence. Believing and observing a superstition itself ultimately supports our psychological needs for well-being.

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ZATANNA

BY ROBERT NAPOLITANO

4

Gambit

Channing Tatum On the verge of production several times, the origin story of Gambit remains a film that has sadly gone unproduced. Channing Tatum has expressed plenty of interest in playing the mutant thief (even though Taylor Kitsch portrayed him ever-so-briefly in X-Men Origins: Wolverine), so right now the ball is in Disney’s court. One thing’s obvious, that the Marvel Universe has plenty of room for another super hero crime thriller. You don’t think so? Go check the box office numbers.

Overshadowed by the likes of most Justice Leaguers, Zatanna is a major badass in her own right. She’s known as the most powerful sorcerer in the DC Universe. The illusionist-turned-super hero has quite literally a magical set of skills, and with her connections to household names like Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc., working her into the DCEU is more likely a question of when, not if.

Francia Raisa is an ideal candidate for the part, not only because she’s talented and looks like Zatanna, but two years ago she donated a kidney to her friend (Selena Gomez). And granted she didn’t do it with magic, but it’s still pretty heroic.

3

Spider Jerusalem Mos Def

Spider Jerusalem’s one goal in life is to fight the corruption and abuse of power brought on by the president(s). If that doesn’t fit in with today’s society, nothing does. It might take a little more of a gamble on the studio’s side, which means unfortunately we’ll likely never see it, but keep your fingers crossed. Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, is Black, unlike the comic book version of Spider, but all the better. A rapper/actor/ activist like Mos Def is exactly the type of guy we can get behind as he fights corruption in ways we can’t help but occasionally fantasize about.

1

Silver Surfer Josh Hartnett

2

Emma Frost Blake Lively

From supervillain to X-Men mainstay, Emma Frost has been through the ringer and yet still hasn’t gotten the screen time she deserves. January Jones did a fine job portraying her in X-Men: First Class and if she’s on board I’m sure she’d do a great job as the lead, but for my money Blake Lively is the one to play the part. Box office success would be nothing new to Blake Lively and while she wasn’t to blame for Green Lantern’s shortcomings, I’d love to see her make it up to the comic book universe.

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Lets be honest, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is not a good a movie. It’s pretty bad actually, but the Silver Surfer character is the last one to blame. It’s hard to connect with a super hero sometimes, but one that surfs through the universe feeling all alone and undesired is as relatable as it gets. Hollywood did Josh Hartnett pretty dirty after he turned down back-to-back super hero roles a little over a decade ago (Batman Begins and Superman Returns), so maybe he wouldn’t even consider, BUT he should. A Silver Surfer origin story starring him is a home run waiting to be smashed.

Gambit/Emma Frost/Silver Surfer/Marvel/Zatanna/ Spider Jerusalem/DC/Getty Images/Alamy/AP

Francia Raisa

Meet your new sidekick gita is a first-of-its-kind hands-free robot that follows you and totes your gear.

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DEATHMATE Prologue The Good

Right out the gate we have Gayle, a woman begging to be killed because all her friends have grown old and died and she feels alone in the world. One page in and the tone is already set, Solar must part with the woman he loves. The earlier we have reason to root for our hero, the better, which is what this book does so well.

The bad

The coherency of the story’s direction is a big weak spot. The majority of the dialogue feels loosely strung together. There’s so much action, but so little context for it all. The panels look cool, but when you can’t make sense of the bubbles, it’s hard to fully enjoy the story.

The Veredict

There’s a ton of cool imagery throughout, but the first half of the book becomes increasingly more confusing as it goes on. A little past the midpoint, when Solar wakes up in the year 1993, we get a better sense of where

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the story is headed. However, by the time that happens, there are only a couple pages left.

Fortunately, things look to be heading in the right direction as the prologue does a decent job of setting up issues 2 through 6. But when the reader spends half the book trying to figure out what’s at stake and what’s happening in general, the story’s flaws become hard to rectify. The series clearly has potential, so I will hold my breath until after issue #2.

score

5.0

Deathmate/Valiant Comics/Image Comics/ Transformers/Dreamwave Productions/Hasbro

Written by: Cullen Bunn | Pencils by: Dalibor Talajic | Inks by: Lee Loughridge | Colors by: Lee Loughridge

TRANSFORMERS Armada

Written by: Chris Sarracini | Pencils by: James Raiz | Inks by: Rob Armstrong & Erik Sander Colors by: Alan Wang, Gary Yeung & Ramil Sunga

The Good

Even if you didn’t read a single one of the first 10 issues, I’d say the team does a great job of throwing us into the mix. It’s like a TV show that you can enjoy regardless of whether or not you watched last week’s episode.

The urgency is there from the beginning, and that’s what keeps us turning the page. The best part of the storytelling is their mastery of the basic principal of making the audience need to know what happens next.

The bad

The only real knock I could come up with is that if you don’t know much about the Transformers and what a Decepticon is, then

this could be pretty confusing at times. But at the same time, maybe this shouldn’t be the first book you read.

The Veredict

Transformers, whether it be the comics, the movies, or the TV shows, are so popular that both the main heroes and bad guys are household names. Most comic books don’t have that luxury, but even ones that do don’t usually take advantage of it the way Transformers does, and the writers deserve a lot of credit for that. Coming from someone who didn’t grow up watching the TV show and isn’t even a huge fan of the movies, this comic book is still very solid. I’ve seen enough to know the lingo, so there was no confusion there. But even if you don’t know a single thing about the Transformers, if you like comic books, I’m confident you’re going to like this series. I’d just recommend starting from issue #1 rather than #11.

score

7.0

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spirit of the tao #11 Written by: D-Tron | Pencils by: Billy Tan | Inks by: Team Tron’s D-Tron, Andy Kim, & Jeff De Los Santos | Colors by: Jonathan D. Smith Lately I’ve been trying to open my eyes to a more diverse variety of comic book. Spirit of the Tao is a very unique series, and issue #11 is no different. There are a couple of pages that take place in this universe’s version of Heaven, filled with kids who were infected with the Tao virus. For these pages, the book takes us out of this dark, grim world and puts us in one that’s bright and beautiful, filled with children and animals.

It’s a perfect contrast for the hellish pages that follow.

The bad

My only real knock (which, I’ll admit, is kind of a big one) is Lance. He’s the last hope for mankind to survive what Mother Earth is throwing at them. This would require a really badass protagonist, but Lance isn’t really anything special. This would even apply to Jamie, who is arguably the real protagonist in this one.

The Veredict

Spirit of the Tao feels like the David Lynch version of a comic

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book. It looks really cool, it’s confusing at times, but by the end of it I’m thinking, “I’m not sure what I just read, but it was pretty dope.” Hero aside, great art and a captivating story are what’s most important to a good comic and Spirit of the Tao has both in spades. Bonus points for being the type of comic I wanted to read twice in a row just to get a better feel for it overall.

score

8.0

Spirit of Tao/Image Comics/Top Cow/ Superman/DC Comics

The Good

superman

Fawcett City Fallout!

Written by: Dan Jurgens | Pencils by: Gil Kane | Inks by: Joe Rubinstein

The Good

Like all the best Superman comics, this one is jam-packed with action sequences. The surprise appearance by Captain Marvel definitely upped the ante a bit and only added to the excitement. By the end I realized this issue is more of a setup for Shazam! than anything else, which could be a negative if that agenda were forced on us, but in this case it felt so organic that if you like this issue as much as I did, you’re likely to still give Shazam! a chance.

The bad

For a Superman comic this felt a whole lot more about Captain Marvel than it did Superman.

Does that hurt the issue? Not at all, but if you picked up this book to see Superman kick the bad guy’s ass, just know he gets a lot of help this time around.

The Veredict

Superman and Captain Marvel go toe-to-toe and battle it out while neither realizes who it is they’re up against. Superman thinks he’s

fighting a cyborg, Captain Marvel thinks he’s fighting Black Adam, but really they’re beating the piss out of each other and only the bystanders can see what’s really happening. This might seem a little confusing at first, but the comic does an excellent job with its execution and keeps the pages turning at a fast pace. This felt like the comic book version of a pilot spin-off: We came for Superman, but we leave with Shazam on our minds. It’ll make you curious to see what this kid’s all about.

score

7.5

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samurai penguin Written by: Dan Vado | art by: Mark Buck When you go in to read a comic book titled Samurai Penguin you expect some humor to be involved, but this exceeded expectations. The amount of jokes mixed in with violence is right up there with Deadpool, just in a much less gory and raunchy way. One of the best compliments I can give is that I wish it were longer. Whether Samurai Penguin was breaking the big, bad shark’s nose or fighting off a gang of evil walruses, it was entertaining and funny in a way not nearly enough comic books are.

The bad

It’s a little out there for sure and probably not for everybody, especially those who are into the black & whites, but the only thing I could really knock it for is the protagonist. It’s not that I didn’t like him or find him interesting— it’s the opposite—I would’ve liked to see more of him.

The Veredict

Samurai Penguin is oddly unique.

Most superheroes we root for

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we do so because they look so badass and they’re here to save the world, but in this case it’s the humor and wit of these penguins that keep me wanting more. This is much more suited for kids than Deadpool is, but the tongue-in-cheek writing makes it a great read for comic book fans of all ages. The way CGI is today, maybe it could be liveaction, or maybe it’d be better off animated, but with all the superhero movies being made I’d love to see this ‘80s comic get a crack at the big screen, because with the right writers, parents would love it as much as the kids, maybe even more.

Samurai Penguin/Slave Labor Graphics/The Silver Surfer/Warlock/Marvel Comics

The Good

score

10.0

THE SILVER SURFER

WARLOCK RESSURECTION #1

Written & penciled by: Jim Starlin | colors by: Ian Laughlin sounds honest, the art seems to be saying otherwise. The art and the dialogue are in constant conflict, which is this book’s best quality.

The bad

I find the best comic books have a degree of humor to them. In the case of this particular issue, there is none to be found.

The Veredict

The Good

It wastes no time. One page in and you can already feel Silver Surfer’s pain. Warlock claiming friendship as his motive was something I wasn’t expecting, so to have that as a main focus in the first issue makes the next few to come very enticing. We know what’s driving both characters and we know what they want.

However, we still question Warlock’s sincerity. Although he

Using the first few pages to catch us up on the backstory is a good way to show Silver Surfer’s pain and motivations. If you’re already a fan, you know he’s alone in the universe, but this also gets into why he’s alone (the loss of the woman he loved, Shalla Bal). Rather than going head-tohead with Warlock, Silver Surfer decides he rather use him for his own advantage. Is Warlock telling the truth? Can he resurrect Shalla Bal from the dead? Or is he just manipulating Silver Surfer for his own personal gain? This remains to be seen, but this issue sets the bar for a compelling series that seems well-worth the read.

score

8.5

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THE SILVER SURFER

WARLOCK RESSURECTION #2 Written & penciled by: Jim Starlin | colors by: Ian Laughlin Right out the gate and right where the first issue left off, the opening packs a mean punch.

It’s not as bloody and gory as I prefer, but it’s action-packed from the first page to the last. Halfway through when the tides turn and Warlock’s true intentions are revealed, the conflict gets turned up a few notches and becomes more than just a battle royale.

The bad

There are three big things that make a comic book great: story, action, and humor. When used right, those, along with the graphics, are the only things that matter. So much like the first issue, my only knock is that this seems to lack the humor aspect.

While I have to consider that a flaw, there is something to be said about the fact that this is a very good comic in spite of that.

The Veredict

Silver Surfer and Warlock aren’t alone, but they are outnumbered by a long shot. Even though we

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always expect the super hero to come out on top, the odds need to be stacked against them, which is done here in a big way. For a brief moment, about halfway through, it looks like Silver Surfer already got everything he wanted, including the love of his life back, just like Warlock promised. But while he brought her back to life, she is now soulless. He convinces Silver Surfer (and the reader) that his intentions are still pure, but now we’re left questioning that more than ever. The book ends like it begins: in a battle royale of action. Except now, the stakes are even higher, leading us to believe issue #2 accomplished exactly what it set out to do.

score

9.0 The Silver Surfer/Warlock/House of M/Marvel Comics

The Good

HOUSE OF M #1 Written by: Brian Michael Bendis | Pencils by: Olivier Coipel

The Good

The art is top-notch—easily my favorite aspect of the whole comic. It’s a star-studded issue and every hero looks awesome.

We see so many familiar faces, from X-Men to Avengers, which only makes this better.

The bad

Despite the massive super hero roster, the story gets off to a really slow start. With all the fire power, you would hope to see a lot more action. However, we basically get a verbal brawl between the X-Men and the Avengers... Not quite the level of excitement you would want out of a comic.

The Veredict

Without a doubt, it’s the first comic book I ever read that opens up with a child birth.

Even if it was just a figment of Wanda’s imagination, I gotta give credit for originality. It’s really hard to hate on a comic book that involves the X-Men and the Avengers. The problem is that despite having all these

super heroes present, they spend almost the entire issue sitting around talking. If all the talking is setting up the action for the seven issues that follow, then great, but for the sake of just this issue, it’s a bit of a disappointment. Aside from the fantastic art, the strong ending is the best aspect of this book.

Granted, the last page was every bit as odd as the first, it still gives us hope that, with an impressive cast of characters and an appealing aesthetic, the series will only get better from here.

score

7.0

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