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Wrong Roles: August 25, 2026
Author: Kyra
Kyle Kyra (they/them) writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They live in a sleepy Nebraska town. Yes, corn lives outside their back door. They hold a BFA in creative writing from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and their work has appeared in Menacing Hedge, Spank the Carp, Danse Macabre, The Door is a Jar, The Collidescope, and other journals and anthologies.
Geekly Casting: Dick Tracy
Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Geekly Casting. Today’s subject, the comic strip Dick Tracy, is a special case. First, Hollywood already made a Dick Tracy movie in 1990. Second, Warren Beatty retains the rights, so he or someone from his estate on his behalf would have to sell the rights. Third, 1990’s Dick Tracy film was the third story in a proposed trilogy. I mentioned the True Hearts and Tommy Guns Trilogy in a previous Whatcha Reading. I won’t rehash what I said in that post, but we are looking at potential prequel territory. Shooting Dick Tracy as the trilogy it should have always been made into could involve making the first two films, letting the original stand as the final film in the trilogy. Or Hollywood could reshoot and reimagine the finale. Either way works.
It could only be a matter of time (perhaps within the decade) before Dick Tracy gets a reboot, so we’ll be casting a potential movie. Another issue I found while compiling this list is Dick Tracy’s massive cast. 1990 Dick Tracy features dozens of villains. While our Dick Tracy, beginning with Dick Tracy: Big City Blues, trims a lot of that fat, we’re still left with nineteen characters. Yikes! I may go through our justifications quickly. Let’s kick things off with Geekly’s Casting Call for Dick Tracy.
Dick Tracy: Henry Cavill
Originally, I had cast Jon Hamm as Dick Tracy, but he was a little old for who I had cast as Tracy’s love interest, Tess Trueheart. And then I saw this picture (above) of Henry Cavill. Yep! Cavill may make a more convincing Dick Tracy than he ever did Superman. Give him a clean shave, a haircut, and the proper attire, and Cavill is Dick Tracy.
Tess Trueheart: Deborah Ann Woll
Deborah Ann Woll has done it all as an actor. She brings life to comedic, dramatic, and action roles, and she’ll need to tap into all of that with Tess Trueheart. At times, Tess can be Dick Tracy’s empathetic better half with a razor wit. And at others, she’s unafraid to mix it up with some of Tracy’s rogues.
While Tess is depicted as blond in the comics, Dick Tracy (1990) gave Tess red hair to differentiate her from Breathless Mahoney. This was a good choice, and I wouldn’t mind another redheaded Tess Trueheart.
Emil (Pops) Trueheart: David Schwimmer
To the best of my knowledge, David Schwimmer has never portrayed an older father-figure, and I’d like to see him in a role like that. Pops Trueheart doesn’t show up for too long in the Dick Tracy Trilogy–he famously passes away in the comic strip–but Schwimmer could give a memorable performance as Pops Trueheart before the fateful night.
Lilly (Momma) Trueheart: Connie Britton
Since I went with an actor I’ve never seen as a warm and doting father-figure, I had to cast someone like Connie Britton as Lilly (Momma) Trueheart. Despite Dick Tracy‘s setting of Chicago (gangsters and all that), I always read Momma Trueheart with a Southern drawl. I don’t know why. When I put both of these aspects together, I came up with Connie Britton. Britton pulled off a convincing drawl in Friday Night Lights. Hi, y’all.
Chief Brandon: Idris Elba
Honestly, I saw a picture of the classic Chief Brandon and immediately thought of Idris Elba–sorry, Sir Idris Elba (congrats!). I struggled to cast a diverse group of actors in Dick Tracy and had to go with instincts like this as much as I could. We’re talking Chicago in the Twenties and early Thirties, so diversity can prove difficult. Elba is one heck of an actor, and Dick Tracy will need an accomplished actor to portray Chief Brandon.
Pat Patton: Tom Hiddleston
Does Tom Hiddleston look the part of Pat Patton? Maybe. The two may be close enough in appearance, but Pat occupies an odd space in Dick Tracy lore. He has as much, if not more, experience than Dick Tracy, which is why he eventually takes over as Chief after Brandon leaves the role. So, Patton’s actor should slot somewhere close to Tracy’s age, younger than Chief Brandon, and definitely older than the next character on this list, Sam Catchem. In some media, Patton is portrayed with a slight Irish accent. Hiddleston isn’t Irish, but I’d like to hear him try a slight Irish accent.
Sam Catchem: Jeremy Allen White
Sam Catchem is new to the force. He’s as likely as Tracy to get involved in action sequences, and Jeremy Allen White is just the man for those action sequences. He pulled off some crazy moves as Kerry von Erich in The Iron Claw. White didn’t look too similar to Kerry, but you know who he looks more like? Sam Catchem. And White is one hell of an actor.
Steve the Tramp: Josh Brolin
Because of his look as Marv in Sin City, I first thought of Mickey Rourke to play Steve the Tramp. Rourke could still play the role today, but I don’t know about five to ten years from now. Brolin could also give a stellar portrayal of the small-time crook who uses children to commit crimes. Through most of the Dick Tracy Trilogy, Steve the Tramp is reprehensible. Good thing whoever portrays the character will do so under a mountain of prosthetics.
The Kid (Junior): Unknown
The Kid, the eventual Dick Tracy Junior, is impossible to cast given the parameters I set for myself. The rights to Dick Tracy will, at best, become available in the next five to ten years. Any young actor I could cast as The Kid, would age out of the role by the time Dick Tracy would become a reality. In fact, we’d have to cast an extremely young actor (like under eight years old when the movies begin, so I may have to cast someone who hasn’t even been conceived). Eek!
Patricia “Breathless” Mahoney: Ever Anderson
Ever Anderson (Evelyn Nesbit from The Artist) may seem like she’s on the young side to portray Breathless Mahoney, and you might be right if Dick Tracy began filming tomorrow. But the Patricia Mahoney we’ll see in Dick Tracy: Big City Blues is a Mahoney who’s unsure of herself. She reads very young. Patricia grows into Breathless Mahoney, and Ever Anderson could easily pull off this metamorphosis.
Mahoney also begins the Dick Tracy Trilogy as a brunette. She doesn’t transition into a blonde until after she’s under Texie Garcia’s control.
Ribs Mocca: Adam Driver
Ribs Mocca barely appears in the original Dick Tracy movie. You may think we don’t need an actor of any acclaim for Mocca, but Mocca’s a far bigger deal in the True Hearts and Tommy Guns’ first two storylines. A war rages among Mocca, Lips Manlis, and Pruneface, with Texie Garcia flying under the radar with her own hustles. Adam Driver as Mocca makes sense because Mocca is the most junior of the mob bosses. He obtains incriminating evidence on Manlis and uses it to weasel his way into a higher position. Driver would make an excellent Ribs.
Lips Manlis: Bill Hader
Like so many other Dick Tracy villains in the 1990 movie, Lips Manlis didn’t get nearly enough screen time. Manlis is one of the biggest crime bosses. Heck. Big Boy Caprice begins the Trilogy working for Manlis. That scene in Dick Tracy, where Big Boy puts Manlis in the bath, was cathartic. And Manlis is a devilish bastard you love to hate. With the context of the previous two stories, fans will cheer Big Boy giving Manlis the bath.
With that said, Bill Hader may be an odd choice for Lips Manlis, but Hader has proven he can play this character type. Hader’s star turn as the title character in the dark comedy Barry proves he can play an unhinged character with a ton of depth. And Manlis requires depth and can get unhinged.
Pruneface: Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon as Pruneface may be typecasting, but I don’t care. Pruneface is another one of the major crime bosses. He specializes in sabotage and explosives. Not necessarily in that order. Whoever portrays Pruneface needs to have presence, and Shannon has proven he has that in spades.
Texie Garcia: Shorhreh Aghdashloo
I love Shorhreh Aghdashloo’s iconic husky voice. Texie Garcia is yet another crime boss (albeit one who hides in the shadows) and needs to have an actor with plenty of gravitas. Aghdashloo’s voice oozes cool. She looks the part. She may be on the older side to portray Garcia, but Garcia barely shows up in the Dick Tracy movie (the third story of the Trilogy). Instead, she dominates Mahoney’s origin in the first two stories.
Numbers: Stanley Tucci
“Numbers” Nelson is one of those rare made-for-the-1990 Dick Tracy movie characters. The only comic book you’ll find Numbers in is the True Hearts and Tommy Guns Trilogy. While Numbers eventually works for Big Boy Caprice, who’s more of a minor character in the beginning, he starts as Texie Garcia’s accountant. Brilliant character actor Stanley Tucci could give a great performance as Numbers without breaking a sweat.
Jack “Big” Frost: Sean Bean
At first, I had cast Sean Bean as B-B Eyes and DJ Qualls as Jack “Big” Frost, but I couldn’t pass up a funny and swapped the two actors. Minor Spoiler: Jack “Big” Frost dies at the end of the first movie, Big City Blues. We have to keep Sean Bean’s streak of dying in movies alive.
B-B Eyes: DJ Qualls
Again, I had DJ Qualls as Jack “Big” Frost and swapped him for B-B Eyes. I didn’t care for this side of the swap, but it grew on me. First, Qualls doesn’t usually get too many prominent roles, and B-B Eyes is one of the second story’s focal points. Second, Dick Tracy puts on a B-B Eyes mask and goes undercover as the mobster, and watching Henry Cavill putting on a DJ Qualls mask would be amazing. Finally, I can see Qualls as B-B Eyes. He may be a better choice than my original pick, Sean Bean.
Big Boy Caprice: Paul Giamatti
While Paul Giamatti would never get confused with Al Pacino, he looks more like the comic strip version of Big Boy. Pacino gave a good performance in the original Dick Tracy film. The movie didn’t work in a lot of ways, but none of those ways was because Pacino gave a flat performance. But Big Boy begins the Trilogy as a mouse. Caprice becomes Big Boy over the course of the first two stories. Giamatti would have no problem pulling off this kind of character arc.
Flattop: Keanu Reeves
While researching this post, I saw someone else fan-cast Keanu Reeves as Flattop “Jones.” I can see that. Flattop is Dick Tracy’s most recognizable and beloved foe. He was even the first comic strip character to receive a funeral. People mourned the loss of Flattop like they would the loss of a loved one. Why not cast a beloved actor as Flattop? It also doesn’t hurt that Flattop could’ve been John Wick in another timeline and with a different moral compass.
Mumbles: Jeremy Renner
Mumbles is another character where I saw the picture and immediately thought of an actor: Jeremy Renner. I may have seen a caricature of Renner that looked exactly like Mumbles. And Mumbles is yet another popular Dick Tracy villain. Even though his name is Mumbles, Mumbles doesn’t mumble. He speaks too fast and slurs his words. I could see Renner having fun with the character’s speech patterns, but when push came to shove, and a dramatic moment was warranted, Renner could dig deep for Mumbles’s inner calm.
88 Keyes: Leonardo DiCaprio
88 Keyes (or Keys), named after the 88 keys on a piano, is nothing short of a lady’s man. In the Dick Tracy Trilogy, 88 Keyes may be a little older than he was originally in the comic strip, but he remains a man who gets by on his looks. DiCaprio may have some experience with that. It also doesn’t hurt that 88 has underhanded plans for days. He lets everyone think he only cares about the ladies, but he has real criminal ambitions. DiCaprio knows how to obfuscate his character’s true intentions. He’d make a dapper 88 Keyes.
Those are my picks to portray Dick Tracy characters in a hypothetical Dick Tracy Trilogy. Who would you cast? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Geekly News: August 23, 2026; New Releases
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. We had a few board games and video games release this past week. Let’s begin by discussing this week’s board game new releases.
Spirit Train: The Final Journey Launches on KickStarter
Spirit Train is played in 3 Cycles. Each Cycle consists of a series of rounds where players will determine what to do using a unique simultaneous action selection mechanic. Before the start of each day, conductors will select between a list of different rooms to fill their train with. These rooms will provide base actions depending on the shape/size of the room. How many rooms you use will affect the speed and energy level of your train, as well as turn order. When spirits are active on your train, they will provide you even more actions. The number of active spirits you can select will depend on the current mood of your spirits (spirits are more active when they’re happy!). You can maximize the number of actions you use by strategically placing active spirits into rooms you’ve created specifically for them on your train.
Thank you, SweaterBear Games, for the description. I love how players can customize their trains (image above). Each player slides rooms into their trains and this will attract/satisfy the spirits you carry to their final destination. I like this theme. I like Spirit Train: The Final Journey’s gimmick. The artwork looks amazing, in keeping with the cozy vibes Spirit Train: The Final Journey presents and very Studio Ghibliesk. And I don’t have too many train games. I can pick up one more. Spirit Train: The Final Journey offers pledges ranging from $59 to $179. If you’re interested in Spirit Train: The Final Journey, check out its KickStarter page.
The Monolith Launches on KickStarter
In The Monolith, 3-4 players take on the roles of shaman, leading their warriors in battle against each other, all for the pleasure of the monolith that holds them in thrall.
Each round, players take turns spending hearts to complete actions. These actions allow them to recruit and move warriors, move their shaman and activate any shaman powers, or bid hearts on powerful divination cards
When a player thinks they’ve taken the actions they need for the round, they dump their remaining hearts into the monolith. The sooner they feed their hearts to the monolith, the more actions they will have during combat, but do it too soon, and risk watching the other players change the board state in your absence!
Once all players have put their remaining hearts in the monolith, the monolith is lifted, revealing the combat actions the remaining hearts have been sorted into! Battles are fast and brutal, and only the most clever players will outmaneuver their enemies and boast of their deeds to the sacred stone!
Thank you, Plaid Hat Games, for the description. While I don’t typically care for “dudes on a map” games, The Monolith is another board game with an intriguing gimmick. Having players place their hearts into the titular monolith and then revealing which combat actions are at a player’s disposal gets my attention. Board games need to use cube towers more, and the monolith is a cube tower, sorting player resources. It sounds as if players can manipulate how much they intend to invest in combat. And the quick combat system may be another barrier lifted for me and “dudes on a map.” Most games of this ilk have involved combat mechanisms. The Monolith sports shorter combat times. I’ll give it a shot. The Monolith offers pledges between $69 and $99. If you’re interested in The Monolith, check out its KickStarter page.
Overclock Launches on GameFound
Overclock is a solo 4x game played with 36 cards. Every card has two sides: a network node on the front and a powerful ability on the back. Play it as a node to grow your network and boost production, or sacrifice it for a game-changing program, a permanent upgrade, or a defensive sentinel. You can’t have both, and that choice is at the heart of every turn. Deploy nodes, scan for data, purge corrupted files, and negotiate shaky alliances with factions that get more dangerous every cycle. The Kill-Code never stops deleting, factions hit harder as the game escalates, and your decisions in the first few cycles shape whether you survive the final ones.
Multiple Ghost characters, asymmetric factions, and a modular difficulty system make every game feel different.
Thank you, Made of Dreams, for the description. I like the state of solo games in the board game hobby. Overclock looks like another great example of a solo game with a quick setup, small footprint, intriguing gimmick (multi-use cards), and a great theme. Board games with cyberpunk themes have been springing up lately, but I don’t believe a good solo game with this theme exists. I may be wrong. Let me know in the comments. Regardless, I can’t see Overclock having a large sticker price. Overclock will be launching on GameFound, and GameFound projects don’t always list their pledge levels when their project is in preview mode, but I’m following Overclock. I can’t believe Made of Dreams created a solo 4X game. If you’re interested in Overclock, check out its GameFound page.
The Sinking City 2 Releases
Set in the Roaring ’20s, The Sinking City 2 is a survival horror steeped in Lovecraftian dread. Defy an eldritch deity and explore the drowned alleys of Arkham, stalked by the dead, as you weigh one life against an entire city.
Thank you, Frogwares, for the description. The Sinking City 2 is set in the fictional city of Arkham, so it wears its Lovecraftian DNA on its sleeve. The sequel is a standalone story to the original The Sinking City. You don’t need to play the original to understand everything happening in The Sinking City 2. I never got around to playing the original, but the premise interested me. Players are trying to survive a sinking city. Arkham is literally submerging under water. The Sinking City 2 captures the vibe of Lovecraftian horror. It’s received good to very good reviews. I’m putting this game on my radar. The Sinking City 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Mortal Shell II Releases
Their Flesh Is Your Weapon. Mortal Shell II is a standalone sequel action-RPG with adrenaline-charged, high-stakes combat. Possess warrior Shells, dethrone false gods, redeem a ravaged world.
Thank you, Playstack, for the description. Mortal Shell II is another standalone sequel, where you won’t need to play the first game to understand the sequel’s story. I’ve had Mortal Shell II on my radar for a while now. I love the graphics. Look at the detail above. Wow! Character customization looks great. I’m getting strong Dark Souls vibes. That’s a plus. Mortal Shell II looks like one of those games I could sink countless hours into, trying as many character builds as I can. It’s not on sale (Steam) right now, but I’ve wishlisted Mortal Shell II and will most likely pick up a copy when it does go on sale. Mortal Shell II is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Feed the Scorchpot Releases
Feed the Scorchpot is a dice roguelike about feeding a dragon for twenty years. Roll ingredients, build your island, and fuse absurd recipes into combos that break the score wide open. Miss a meal and you’re next on the menu.
I’ve covered Feed the Scorchpot when it dropped its demo earlier this year. It released this past week on Steam, and I’ve been playing a lot of this one. For now, I won’t say too much about this Balatro meets Catan video game, but there may be a Feed the Scorchpot review in the not-so-distant future. You’ve been warned.
That’s all the geek news we have for you this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Lanterns “Pilot” Review
Happy Saturday, Geekly Gang! The Lanterns pilot episode released this past week, and I’ve had some time to watch the show a few times. I’ve got some thoughts and if Season’s watched the episode, she may have thoughts as well. It’s time for another Geekly review/reaction of Lanterns “Pilot” episode. Before we begin, I’ll warn everyone that there will be spoilers for Lanterns “Pilot.” Okay, that’s out of the way. Let’s get into the show.
Kyra’s Take
Lanterns “Pilot” does everything a pilot episode should do for a series. It does a great job showing us the main characters (Hal Jordan and John Stewart) and their relationship, it creates intrigue (the question that must be answered by the end of the season), and the small town in western Nebraska even becomes its own character. Great work. If Lanterns wasn’t part of the DCU or based on the Green Lantern property, I’d probably give the episode a near perfect score. It is that good. But Lanterns has yet to follow through with two simple and easy genre expectations for a superhero show/movie: costumes and powers.
And this is on the heels of Supergirl (review here if you want to read it), which also featured a superhero who refused to wear her costume for three-quarters of the movie’s runtime. But at least Supergirl used her powers. Lanterns barely shows Hal Jordan using his ring, and John Stewart recounts what he does with the ring to the audience. Bubble wrap would’ve been nice to see. Superhero stories don’t have too many genre expectations, but not meeting either one (costumes or powers) is a little concerning. I’m concerned about Lanterns; we haven’t reached gripe levels yet. I could see saving money on special effects (powers), but you made the Green Lantern costume. Why not show Hal in the costume for more than fifteen seconds? I know. I know. Character reasons, but the DCU already did that with Supergirl. Will this become a trend? But I meant what I said. Lanterns “Pilot” is almost pitch-perfect.
I’m putting the costume/power concerns on the backburner. Lanterns comes out with a bang. The audience can tell Jon and Hal have a long history. I love their opening scene in the car. “Why do your ‘sirs’ sound like f*** yous?” Classic. Both men come from broken homes. Hal’s father died in a plane crash, and we don’t see John’s mother. The two react differently to their circumstances and this shines through their character choices. Jon using the ring for bubble wrap meant he totaled Hal’s car. Something Hal takes offense to. We do hear why Hal no longer wears his costume. Fair. He could’ve worn the costume under a bomber jacket and jeans. Just saying. And that’s where the show shifts to western Nebraska. Like I said, the little town becomes a character, an engaging character.
I like how Hal navigates the small town politics. Again, it’s obvious this isn’t the first time Hal has visited this Nebraskan town. He even mentions that the town is close to where he gained his Green Lantern ring. This town is more than it seems. The sheriff (portrayed by brilliant character actor, Kelly Macdonald) may try to deny it, but aliens regularly visit this Nebraska town. An alien entity has infiltrated this town, and the sheriff’s father-in-law builds a militia to fend Earth from the aliens he believes will colonize the planet. Lanterns has a lot to say about the world’s current climate. Xenophobia runs rampant in parts of the United States, especially parts like rural Nebraska. I can’t wait to see more of this town and its citizens. Lanterns does a great job of creating a fascinating web.
And that’s before we talk about the alien Hal and John encounter. Extraterrestrials do want to infiltrate this Nebraska town. It’s for the power ring. It’s gotta be for the power ring. A conversation between Hal and John in a bar all but confirms these aliens’ intent. And I love the bar scene from Lanterns “Pilot.” Again, we see how these two Green Lanterns tick. John shows far more patience than his mentor. Despite Hal giving John his ring for safe keeping, John refuses to put on the ring. He believes it’s a test. And knowing what little we do about this version of Hal Jordan, it may be a test. But my favorite moment was when Hal counterfeits a $20 to flood the bar’s jukebox with Melanie’s “Brand New Key.” He pisses off the bar regulars, and they fight him. All of this was a ploy to get arrested so he could interrogate the alien the town’s sheriff has in custody. Everyone, including John Stewart, dubs this a stupid plan. So good.
How this little town works could be its own show. Aliens and Green Lanterns are just a bonus. This may be where my disconnect derives. Lanterns “Pilot” is a great episode, but is it a story unique to Green Lantern? We’ll see. Hal’s bizarre behavior deserves more exploration. He frequents this Nebraska town, and the episode ends with his passing and missing his power ring. Uh oh! Again, brilliant way to open a series. I see a handful of flashbacks in the future while John Stewart unearths who has Hal’s ring, because it’s obvious John doesn’t. When he examines Hal’s body, John looks for Hal’s ring and doesn’t find it. Lanterns “Pilot” lays down a stellar opening for the series. This episode leaves us with plenty of questions and some characters that require more digging.
Those are my thoughts on Lanterns “Pilot” episode. Let us know yours in the comments. Looks like I’m on my own this week. Season may catch up for next week’s episode of Lanterns. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Writing Brain Dump: August 2026
Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another writing brain dump. I’m still going through a mountain of edits with my own work, and I’ll share more of that in the coming months. The “Ber” season draws near. The “Ber” season refers to all months ending in “ber.” These are the months I pour more work into my fiction, poetry, and essays. Yes! I love this time of year. Can’t wait. Until then, I’ll leave you with some musings on writing hooks. By my count, each novel has two hooks: an external hook and an internal hook. We’ll discuss these two hooks and why I believe romance may be the best genre to read for crafting an internal hook.
The Two Types of Writing Hooks
Like I said, there are two types of writing hooks: an external and an internal hook. While external hooks are the ones that get readers through the door, internal hooks keep readers going. Let’s use Dungeon Crawler Carl as an example. Dungeon Crawler Carl’s external hook is “A dude in his skivvies and magic toe ring traverses an intergalactic dungeon with his talking cat who hurls magic missiles.” Cool! I love this hook by Matt Dinniman. I reached for this book at the store because of its bonkers premise. External hooks can vary wildly. These are the hooks that need to stand out and grab your readers. But I finished Dungeon Crawler Carl because of its internal hook: I cared about Carl and his talking wizard cat Princess Donut. While external hooks vary, typically, internal hooks revolve around the reader caring for a story’s characters. We need to feel a connection.
While writers should read the genre they intend to write, I believe every writer can benefit from reading romance novels/stories. I don’t know when I cared about Carl and Princess Donut. I gave Dungeon Crawler Carl (and I do the same for stories with great external hooks) more leeway because the book had more to share than “do I care about the characters.” For me, I tend to side with vulnerable characters. Since this is the case, I connected with Carl early on. Princess Donut gaining the ability to talk made her instantly likeable as well, but I’m a cat person. I was going to side with the cat whether she talked or not, but I will say that Princess Donut shined more as a character toward the end. She showed that she cared for Carl. She says as much. I’m sold. But I give romance novels/stories less time, and that’s because of the kinds of romantic hooks.
Why Writers Should Read Romance
Often, a romance novel/story internal hook and external hook are the same. If they aren’t, a romance novel’s external hook doesn’t tend to be as thick as other genres. This makes pinpointing the moment you care about the characters easier to do. I might give Dungeon Crawler Carl a good twenty to thirty pages for its characters to grow on me. I’m not as generous with romance novels/stories. If the main thing is the relationship between two characters, I need to care for these characters as soon as possible. Because of this, I may never write romance. I’m too scared. Every writer swims. Romance writers swim with fewer garments. Eek!
But this makes romance novels/stories easier to read for the craft of writing. I should be able to see how and why a romance writer gets me to care about their characters. Or how and why they fail to do so. I don’t read a ton of romance. If you don’t intend to write romance, I don’t suggest reading a lot of romance either. But if you’re struggling with getting your readers to care about your characters, sprinkle in some romance to your to-be-read pile. Typically, every seventh or eighth book I read is a romance or has strong romantic elements. Reading romance novels can help writers find their internal hooks. These are the hooks that make your reader finish your novel. External hooks are only half the battle.
And I figured I’d mention romance novels and internal hooks this month because I’ve been meeting up with my various writing groups again. After all, Ber Season is right around the corner. Many of my fellow writers–at least the writers in my writing groups–look down at romance. Sure, romance has been a top three genre for most of the past fifty years. It’s a popular genre. Perhaps the most popular genre for about half a century, but that doesn’t mean one should discount popular books.
Perhaps it’s the fact that romance novels/stories put their internal hooks (make the reader care about the characters) near the surface that makes them popular. My internal hook theory is one possibility. There could be plenty more, like the promise of a happy ending. Writers delivering on a promise (with the readers) can be powerful. One shouldn’t deride romance because it’s popular. Since romance is so popular, one should study how and why it has popularity.
That’s my writing brain dump for this month. I should have more progress to report next month (Septem”ber”). Woot! Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
One-Star Reviews: August 20, 2026
1st Movie
2nd Movie
3rd Movie
1st Movie
2nd Movie
3rd Movie
Whatcha Watching: August 2026
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and today, our writers share what they’ve been watching over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching over the past month because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get the post started with what I’ve been watching over the last month.
Kyra’s Movies
Netflix has some true crime documentaries that are wild, and then there’s Maternal Instinct. This may be the most bizarre true crime doc on the streaming giant. Maternal Instinct follows the actions of Taylor Parker. Before the events of this documentary and Parker’s crimes, Parker had two prior children. She wanted a third. Fun fact: Parker had a hysterectomy. She couldn’t get pregnant, but that didn’t stop her from catfishing her fiancé.
Yeah. Maternal Instinct gets strange. Throughout the documentary, I thought she must have had a mental illness. The doc briefly explained she has frontal lobe dysfunction, frontal lobe syndrome, which can cause cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms. But like I said, Maternal Instinct glosses over this fact. Parker would get caught and go to trial. Her legal team didn’t use the not guilty by means of insanity plea. That makes sense. Most insanity pleas get denied. To date, only two people in the United States have ever received a not guilty verdict by means of insanity: one of them is Ed Gein. And in terms of how over-the-top it gets, Taylor Parker’s story sounds a lot like Gein’s.
So, Parker catfishes her fiancé, making him think she’s pregnant. She orders pregnant belly bumps from Amazon. She even springs for one that simulates a baby kicking. But at some point, she’s going to have to “produce” a baby. Months before she “became pregnant,” Parker served as a photographer at Reagan Simmons Hancock’s wedding. The two formed a bond and hung out every month or two after the wedding. Parker knew Hancock was pregnant soon after her wedding. Hancock’s pregnancy coincided with Parker’s fictitious due date. Well, Parker missed her “due date” by a couple of weeks. So, Parker YouTubed how to perform a C-section, drove to Hancock’s house, killed her, and took the baby still inside her womb.
Yikes! Parker’s case is bizarre. I don’t know if I’ve seen a more upsetting Netflix true crime documentary than Maternal Instinct. It’s up there with the most disturbing. But that makes me wonder. If Parker’s defense team chose to plead not guilty by means of insanity, would she have been the third person in United States history to do so? But Maternal Instinct glosses over Parker’s mental impairment. It didn’t factor into the trial. But I say that Parker’s case reminds me of Gein’s because she did things out in the open, in broad daylight. She pretended she “miscarried” the baby she cut from Hancock’s womb. She had to know a doctor would examine her. Her hysterectomy would be in her medical chart. Yikes! Just yikes.
I’m a sucker for small-market professional sports teams, so I follow the Portland Trail Blazers quite a bit. The “Jail Blazers” of the early 2000s were one of the most intriguing teams of that era. They came dangerously close to winning an NBA championship, challenging the Shaq and Kobe-led Lakers. I put the name “Jail Blazers” in quotes because the few members of the team who got in trouble with the law got caught with marijuana possession, which is now legal in Portland. “Jail Blazer” is a harsh term. Even at the time, I wondered if one of Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, or Damon Stoudemire had done anything worse than getting caught with weed. I did like how Untold: Jail Blazers showed the Dave Chappelle clip lampooning Wallace and Stoudemire getting pulled over by the cops. That clip is iconic.
Untold: Jail Blazers was eye-opening. I had no idea what happened to Damon Stoudemire after his encounter with the police that night. Afterwards, they raided Stoudemire’s house. Stoudemire is from the area, and still, Portland treated him like an outsider. Portland was unkind to the trio of players who brought excitement to the Pacific Northwest. They all but chased them out of town, not in small part because the young basketball stars had houses in predominantly white neighborhoods. Untold: Jail Blazers shows these young Trail Blazers as young. They made mistakes because they were young. Some of those “mistakes” of the early 2000s wouldn’t be mistakes today. And yet, the name “Jail Blazer” persists.
Before watching Untold: Jail Blazers, I used to refer to the early 2000s Portland Trail Blazers by that moniker: “Jail Blazers.” I did so out of affection. I never thought they were “Jail Blazers.” The term was a shorthand for remembering a stellar young team that had all the tools to win an NBA championship but fell just short. After watching Untold: Jail Blazers, I won’t refer to the early 2000’s Portland Trail Blazers by that moniker. Stoudemire, Wells, Wallace, and Zach Randolph deserve better. Fortunately, Portland has celebrated its early 2000s team. I don’t blame Rasheed Wallace for refusing an offer to return.
Kyra’s Show
I won’t go into too much detail with X-Men ’97. Season and I have been reviewing the series as it airs. I will say that X-Men ’97 is the definitive X-Men adaptation. While I liked the first season, X-Men ’97’s second season is stellar. Some of the best storytelling in animation. It’s a love letter to the original X-Men: Animated Series. Whenever Geekly does another Top 10 Animated Shows based on Comic Books List, X-Men ’97 will be near the top. I’m calling it now.
Those are the shows and movies I’ve seen this past month. Let’s see what Skye has been watching.
Skye’s Movies
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure has been on my radar for a while. Recently, I inherited a hefty chunk of time to watch whatever I wanted, so I finally took initiative and watched Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Overall, I’d call Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure “lovably goofy.” It’s a nice combination of creative, wacky, sentimental, and mysterious that you don’t find in most other kid’s films. Only once the credits started rolling did I notice I had never stopped smiling, and that’s a sign the movie’s doing something right. While it’s not a film that’ll blow your mind, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is still a fun way to spend an hour and a half.
I’ve had my eye on the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk. Put simply: every year, 50 young men from all 50 U.S. states are selected to participate in a challenge where they’re forced to walk or die. Setting aside the physical impossibility of being forced to walk nonstop for days on end, I found myself invested in the relationships that formed among the walkers onscreen. While some participants were more competitive, others tried forming bonds with their fellow man and make the most of the situation they were forced into. I’m still hung up on the technicalities of The Long Walk, but the film itself portrays brotherhood and companionship in a special way.
I’ve seen Labyrinth several times, but during my time in surgery recovery I was feeling nostalgic. Luckily, I had films like Labyrinth to scratch that itch. Specifically, an itch for something familiar, creative, and odd. It also helped that I ate peaches when I decided to watch it. If you’ve seen Labyrinth, you know what I mean. Even if many of the details about the film don’t add up, Labyrinth is still a movie that offers children an endless supply of food for their imaginations, classic Jim Henson puppetry, unique scenarios, and David Bowie. That last one is very important. If you haven’t seen Labyrinth in a while, pop it in again to relive those memories; and if you haven’t seen it at all, then you’ve got some homework for this weekend.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are the movies and shows our writers have been watching this past month. Let us know what you’ve been watching, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Sweet Emoji: Fantasy Movies 01
Top 5 Superhero Board Games
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Top 5 list, and this one’s a little bit of an update. I shared a similar list over a decade ago. Yikes! It may be time for an updated list. Board games fall in and out of favor, and a decade is a long time for a board game. I’ll share a game’s previous rank in parentheses to show how far a game fell or rose over the past decade. Thousands of new board games are released each year and plenty of them have superheroes as their theme. Let’s see which games made our list of Top 5 Superhero Board Games.
Honorable Mention: DC Deck Building Game & Marvel Legendary (Previously #2)
During the deck builder boom, the superhero game genre saw a ton of deckbuilding games. Every board game theme saw a ton of deckbuilding games. Heck, I backed a Care Bears Deck Building Game last year. Eek! And of course, Marvel and DC Comics received the deckbuilding treatment. Both games have their strengths, weaknesses, and supporters, who will rough you up if you say the wrong thing about their game of choice. For me, I prefer Marvel Legendary’s flow. It held our second spot over a decade ago, but recently, I’ve played Marvel Legendary with 5-players, and never again. It’s borderline unplayable. The DC Deck Building Game offers more of a story. Players feel like they’re playing as a character, but the rules can get clunky.
Again, I prefer Marvel Legendary’s flow, but DC Deck Building Game presents a fun alternative with more of a story.
Honorable Mention: The Reckoners
The Reckoners didn’t quite make the list for one simple reason. I have yet to play it. I’ve watched demos and caught others playing this game, so I know it’s a good one. The Reckoners even has a great score on BoardGameGeek. I had to mention this simultaneous play, fast-action romp of a game. But I haven’t personally played The Reckoners. I could easily see this dice chucking game claim one of the top five spots in the coming years.
One last note before we get started. We’re not including games with a superhero theme if they’re part of a system that didn’t originate with superheroes as its theme. So, systems like Unmatched, which have plenty of superhero options, won’t make the list. And other games like a Marvel Monopoly or 5-Minute Marvel or even a Marvel Codenames, won’t make the list. Funnily enough, that would disqualify Marvel Legendary. The Legendary series of deckbuilding games began with horror franchises like Alien and Predator, which are fantastic by the way.
5: Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition (Previously #1)
Honestly, Sentinels of the Multiverse may have been our number one over a decade ago, but if it wasn’t for a definitive edition, it may have dropped to an honorable mention. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the original, but the original Sentinels had a lot of glut. Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition trims the fat and even fixes some rules issues. Sentinels still offers a unique gaming experience. It’ll always hold a special place for me. But if I’m playing Sentinels, I prefer the Definitive Edition.
The quality of life changes make all the difference. Reminder tokens are just the tip of the iceberg. If you have yet to purchase Sentinels and you’ve always wanted a copy, I’d buy the Definitive Edition. It accomplishes what its name suggests.
4: Batman: Gotham City Chronicles
Relive some of Batman’s most iconic stories with Batman: Gotham City Chronicles. This game’s asymmetric play (the villain player’s turn differs drastically from the hero players’ turns) is a joy. Hero players use dice to control their characters. I like a good dice chucker, and playing as a hero in Batman: Gotham City Chronicles is a fun dice chucker. But I love how the villains’ turn works. The player controlling the villains controls them with a villain deck and an ever-shifting river of villain tokens in the “River.” Activated villains during a turn move to the end of the river, and the further down a villain is from the front of the river, the more action points it costs to activate the villain. This takes careful playing by the villain player. While you could activate Joker on turn one (typically, he begins at the end of the river), it may serve the villain player best to activate a different villain. Maybe Harley Quinn.
Character models are ripped straight from comic book panels. Batman: Gotham City Chronicles even offers a website with uploaded content to take your game further. Is there a new Batman tale you’d like to relive? There may be a fan-created or even a Monolith-designed campaign for that story. Batman: Gotham City Chronicles is a blast to play, but it may be one of the more difficult games to acquire from this list.
3: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures: City Fall and Change is Constant
While I just praised Batman: Gotham City Chronicles for its asymmetric play, Gotham City Chronicles took a lot of inspiration from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past. The game began to show its age, so IDW updated Shadows of the Past with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures series. Both boxes are standalone games, but you can combine the two for double the heroes in a half shelf fun.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures edges out Gotham City Chronicles because it lowers the barrier of entry by just enough to make the game more accessible. TMNT Adventures is by no means a simple game. It offers almost as many story options as Gotham City Chronicles, and you can even customize your heroes, taking advantage of a map’s terrain. I’ve played the opening scenario for this game numerous times and love it. I’ve never progressed that far in the game’s story. I may need to rally my gaming group to finish a campaign.
2: Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Spoiler alert: Marvel takes the top two spots in this list. I can see people flipping the two games at the top of this list. Some will like Marvel Champions more than the next title, but I like the next title slightly more than Marvel Champions. Clearly, both opinions are valid. The two games top this list. I love Marvel Champions’ inclusion of alter ego play. I rarely see superhero-themed games include anything about alter egos. When you play Spider-Man in Marvel Champions, you’ll have to balance his exploits as Spidey and finish his homework as Peter Parker. Brilliant!
Since Marvel Champions is a living card game by Fantasy Flight Games, it offers plenty of story and deck customization. I’d advise players to become familiar with Marvel Champions’ base rules before fiddling with deck construction, but that is another option. If I didn’t go all in with Marvel United (our next entry), I may have done the same with Marvel Champions. My only concern is that I rarely feel like I’m doing what the card says. Usually, I’ll say to my teammate that I have X-amount of blue, and they’ll respond with I have a X-amount of green, and we’ll deal with threats based on color/number. Despite this, Marvel Champions is a lot of fun and deserving of the second or even top spot.
1: Marvel United/United Game System
I love Marvel United. It edges out Marvel Champions for me because it’s easier to onboard players and remember how to play the game. Few games on this list can boast that. I’ve played a lot of Sentinels of the Multiverse, but I’d have to refer to the rules a few times if I were to break out the game again. Marvel Champions has a ton of fiddly rules. I don’t need to do consult the rulebook with Marvel United. The graphic design is perfect. You could look at the symbols and guess what the game wants you to do. Other games on this list function like modern video game consoles in that one must log in, download software, and register products before playing a game, while Marvel United is plug-and-play.
And Marvel United happens to be our only game system on this list, but the system originated with the superhero theme. DC Super Heroes United releases later this year (hopefully), so we should get the chance for some awesome crossover battles between Marvel and DC Comics. Even though CMON Games has yet to announce another follow-up series, my guess would be Star Wars United. That’d be dope. Regardless of which direction the United Game System takes, the United System offers countless hours of play. The only issue I have with this game is that I never know who I want to play. I have so many characters. I placed everyone into a randomizer.
That’s Geekly’s list of the Top 5 superhero-themed board games. We’ll have to see what changes in the next ten years or so. Let us know your favorite superhero-theme board game in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Geekly News: August 15, 2026
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News.
Whisperwood is a bag-building game for 2-4 players of druids harnessing the power of the elements and the natural world to restore a forest. Each round players simultaneously summon magical energy in the form of tokens and plan the incantations they will perform. The players then perform their incantations in turn order, restoring air, water and earth, partnering with wildlife, inscribing runes and awakening the Guardian Golems to perform magical tasks. The land is strewn with corruption and the druids must absorb and purify this corruption to heal the forest – but take on too much corruption and your magical abilities will be compromised!
Thank you, Cardboard Alchemy, for the description. Whisperwood had me at bag building. The game’s production (above is a picture of Whisperwood’s prototype…just the prototype) has me sold. Publisher Cardboard Alchemy has a good track record (Flamecraft and Creature Comforts, anyone?). So, Whisperwood is definitely on my radar. At first, I thought Whisperwood was a cooperative game, but I may like it more as a competitive game. The tiles look amazing. Their irregular shape could yield some interesting maps (if Cardboard Alchemy intends to keep tiles in its final product). I’m a sucker for simultaneous action selection. It doesn’t have the hectic nature of real-time, but it still speeds up play. Whisperwood offers pledges between $99-$249. If you’re interested in Whisperwood, check out its KickStarter page.
The Altered: Anomaly Containment Archives Launches on KickStarter
In The Altered: Anomaly Containment Archives, players serve as Evaluation Commissioners within B.A.R. Playing solo or as a group, they open classified dossiers, examine physical evidence, compare conflicting testimonies, decode hidden information, and reconstruct the lives of individuals known as Signators, each connected to an anomalous event. No game master is required.
Across seven interconnected cases, players must issue binding rulings: who remains human, who has become Altered, and what must be contained. Branching choices and blind-bag token management carry the consequences of each ruling into later cases, while containment breaches are resolved through tactical card play. To win the campaign, the commissioners must resolve the linked investigations and contain the final threat shaped by their accumulated decisions.
Thank you, Tin Universe, for the description. I haven’t seen a deduction/mystery board game with as much hype as The Altered: Anomaly Containment Archives in decades. It’s been a while. Many of my favorite influencers have been promoting The Altered: Anomaly Containment Archives. Personally, I love the fusion of Sci-Fi and Mystery. Yes, please. Mrs. Geekly is a huge Clue (Cluedo) fan, so I may need to pick up a copy. The Altered: Anomaly Containment Archives offers pledges in the range of $56-$238. If you’re interested in Altered: Anomaly Containment Archives, check out its KickStarter page.
My Boardgame Logbook Launches on KickStarter
I love the idea of My Boardgame Logbook. I struggle to keep track of which boardgames I play, so My Boardgame Logbook is a nice addition to my boardgame library. Haven’t played a game in a long while? My Boardgame Logbook will show which games you’ve played the most and least over the past several years. I feel a purge coming. Can you feel it? But My Boardgame Logbook goes one step further. You can catalogue each play of your boardgames. With this book you can say without a doubt that one member of your gaming group wins a particular game more than anyone else. Look at the scoreboard.
While I like the idea of logging in game scores, I’m more interested in logging the games themselves. My Boardgame Logbook may be a good tool to determine which games should stay in rotation and which need to leave. My Boardgame Logbook offers multiple pledge levels $13 to $313. You’re sure to find the perfect logbook for your games. If you’re interested in My Boardgame Logbook, check out its KickStarter page.
Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns Releases
The legendary medieval strategy adventure has returned – enhanced for a new generation of knights. Conquer provinces, raise armies, storm castles, and influence the balance of power through bold strategy and action moments.
The classic Defender of the Crown video game series returns. The series is known for being obtuse (difficult to learn controls and win conditions), and while Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns addresses this issue, the game is still difficult to get into but offers a wealth of strategic goodness. Can you lead your knights to victory? Find out in Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns, available on PC.
Rivage Releases
Rivage is an immersive sci-fi puzzle adventure set aboard the A.R.E.S. space station trapped in a space phenomenon. Wake up as Miranda, forced to explore, solve intricate puzzles to unravel the fate of your missing crew.
Ah! Rivage returns to the roots of a walking simulator. I don’t know if the publisher/developer would think that was a diss, but it so isn’t from me; I even shared a list of great dark walking simulators (I love this genre of game). Miranda is trapped on a space station and must solve intricate puzzles to find her missing crew. Yes, please. I immediately wishlisted Rivage on Steam. This looks like an indie hit Geekly covers. Let us know if you’d like a review. Rivage is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Duskfade Releases
Shatter the shackles of time as you jump, swing, and slash through a fantastic world in this love letter to classic 3D action platformers. Zirian, accompanied by his mechanical Cuckoo, must save his sister from a mysterious Clock Tower that has plunged the land into eternal night.
Platformer video games are not dead. Games like Duskfade prove this to be the case. I love the premise, the action portrayed in the images and videos I’ve seen, and the fact that Duskfade is a world in perpetual night. Duskfade is another game I immediately wishlisted on Steam. But you may not need to wait that long. Duskfade is offering a 20% discount for the next two weeks. Duskfade is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series S/X.
Servant of the Lake Releases
Begin your new job as a servant at the mysterious Vanderboom estate. Solve puzzles, serve the family and uncover their dark alchemical secrets in Servant of the Lake, a single-player point-and-click adventure in the Rusty Lake series.
Servant of the Lake is yet another puzzle-heavy video game, and I’m loving it. Servant of the Lake has received great reviews. I can see it. This is another great entry in the Rusty Lake series. Automatic wishlist. Servant of the Lake gives me mad King’s Quest vibes and I’m here for it. I love that indie games have taken over the video game landscape. I hope more game like Servant of the Lake can dominate sales. Servant of the Lake is available on PC.
That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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