Review – Batman and Robin: Year One #7
Ray: Waid and Samnee continue to take us into a chapter of Gotham we really haven't seen before. While the core of this series is based around the new partnership between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in the field, it's as much about the way the villain ecosystem has changed. Batman has a partner now, and it's getting harder and harder for the villains to pull off their scheme. Into this dynamic straight from Miami comes the Grimaldi clan, a more ruthless crime family that has wasted no time putting most of the city's other families under their thumb. While the mob dominates this story, several other supervillains come in and out – including Two-Face, and the first Clayface, Matt Hagan. More a cunning master of disguise than Basil Karlo, he's been assassinating prominent citizens around Gotham and replacing them to embezzle their holdings – as happened to an old friend of Bruce Wayne's last month. Judgement Day. Via DC Comics.
This cloak-and-dagger storytelling is nicely contrasted with the ongoing story of how Bruce and Dick continue to grow as partners, and as father and son. They're syncing up better in the field, and Bruce is learning to trust Dick more each issue. In the everyday world is a different story. Dick's activities as Robin are raising some red flags when he shows up to school with injuries, and his circus background makes him a target for a middle-school bully. Those two subplots come together in hilarious fashion when we see just how far Dick will go to protect his secret identity. This issue feels more like a breather story between the bigger-scale stories going on, like last issue's murder and the coming gang war, but between Samnee's excellent art and the great character work, it's a fantastic read. Between this and Lemire/Nguyen's upcoming Jason Todd story, Batman's early days are getting some great coverage.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
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Geek Dad
39 minutes ago
- Geek Dad
The Play's the Thing With the Polycade Sente Modular Arcade
Ultra high quality powder coated steel cabinet Ultra high quality components Gaming grade PC lets you play retro games & modern games Modular controls Modular computer Modular attachments Magnetic decals LED back lights Upgradable Commercial & pay-to-play options Polycade sent me a Sente in white, along with a matching stand, marquee, and two additional controllers: a Trackball Arcade Controller, and a Retro (4-Way) Arcade Controller. There were also a couple of magnetic decals and light guns to be included in the order, but due to a supply chain issue, those will be arriving later this Fall. Everything was sent by a shipping company on a pallet. A large shipment arrives. Image by Paul Benson. There's a lot of attention to detail and sense of the importance of play with the Polycade Sente. You'll see this mostly in the machine itself, but this is also prominently on display with the shipping boxes. In a nice touch, the Polycade Sente boxes are designed to be something for the kids to play with and enjoy while the parents put together their arcade machine. I don't have young kids of my own, but my neighbor was throwing a birthday party for one of her grandkids, so the empty boxes found a perfect new home. Ready for the neighbors to enjoy some analog play! Image by Paul Benson. The Polycade Sente comes standard with a bracket to mount it onto a wall. However, as I don't have a dedicated game room in the house, or even a dedicated wall to mount it on, I needed something a little more mobile. So the first thing that I would be putting together would be the stand. Like the Polycade Sente itself, the stand is made of powder-coated steel. The good news? It's easy to assemble. The bad news? It's super heavy, so you'll definitely want to have two people for the assembly. The assembled stand. Image by Paul Benson. There are heavy-duty wheels you can optionally attach at the bottom back of the stand, as well as a handle. To move the Polycade Sente once it's on the stand, you'll tilt the stand and wheel it around much like you would a dolly. The handle on the back of the Polycade stand. Image by Paul Benson. The Polycade Sente is securely shipped in its own box, wrapped in protective plastic and foam. Removing the Polycade Sente from its box. Image by Paul Benson. Once the arcade machine is freed from its packing materials, it simply gets hung onto the stand. The Polycade Sente mounted on the stand. Image by Paul Benson. As I had the optional light-up RetroGlow marquee, the next step would be attaching that to the stand. This is a fairly easy process; you just have to be careful and connect it properly to the control board as shown in the instructions. With the marquee installed. Image by Paul Benson. The Polycade Sente comes with an already-installed sound system, power supply, and control board. You have to either install your own Mini PC, or the one that you can purchase with the Sente when you order. The Mini PC that Polycade sent is a gaming PC, with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U CPU, 16GB Ram, 1TB SSD, Radeon Vega 8 graphics, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Installing the Mini PC involves simply mounting it onto the keyholes at the back of the Sente, and then connecting all of the cables. The gaming PC mounted at the back of the Sente cabinet. Image by Paul Benson. The Sente also ships with a branded tenkey-less gaming keyboard and mouse, which can be hooked up to the USB ports on the keyboard tray inside the cabinet. The keyboard and mouse set up on the keyboard tray. Image by Paul Benson. Once all that's set up, it's time to plug in the Polycade Sente and power it on! It's alive! Image by Paul Benson. Using the Polycade Sente The Polycade Sente comes with the Polycade AGS, or 'Arcade Gaming Software,' pre-installed, if you're getting a unit that includes the mini-PC. This free software, which is downloadable on any PC, provides a framework for playing games from multiple platforms. The game stores currently supported are: There's also pre-configured ROM emulators in AGS included for: Arcade (MAME) NES SNES Sega Master System Sega Genesis Atari 2600 Gameboy Advance TurboGrafx-16 Add additional emulators yourself! The AGS has a built-in game store, which is the easiest way to automatically add new games to the Polycade Sente. A look at the AGS software in action. Image by Paul Benson. Installing from other sources like the Steam store are also easy to accomplish. Part of the point of the Polycade AGS is to make the process as simple as possible for the user, so that you can just focus on the enjoyment of playing games on the machine. This philosophy is further exemplified in the way that the modular controllers work with the system. Here's a look at the main controller for the system, when it's not hooked up: This is the controller that ships standard with the Polycade Sente. Image by Paul Benson. To attach a controller, you simply connect one of the USB cables inside of the Polycade Sente to the back of the controller, and then slot the controller into the machine. There are also screws to secure the controller to the Sente, but those are optional and really only needed if you're concerned someone might steal one of the controllers. The main controller panel has two sets of arcade-quality JLF joysticks and Sanwa buttons, providing enough controls to play many of the arcade games out there. There are even two side 'flipper' buttons, so that you can play pinball games on the Sente. You simply slide the main controller into a secondary position that exposes the buttons, as seen below: Ready to be a digital pinball wizard. Image by Paul Benson. As I mentioned previously, my Sente order shipped with a couple of additional controllers, the Trackball Arcade Controller and a Retro (4-Way) Arcade Controller. Each of these controllers is half the width of the main controller, so you can have any two controllers connected at one time. As with the main controller, you attach the USB cord to the back of a controller, slot it in, and you're ready to play. These controllers features arcade-quality components, just like in the main controller. The trackball certainly brings back the muscle memory of being a teenager feeding quarters into Centipede and Missile Command. An alternate control scheme. Image by Paul Benson. If you're familiar with classic arcade games, you'll know that there are certain games that require specific controllers in order to play them. For example, if you enjoy games like Centipede and Marble Madness, you'll definitely need a trackball. Want to play Robotron in the same way as in the arcades? You'll need the Dual Stick Arcade Controller. Of course, flexibility is the name of the game with the Polycade Sente. The buttons on the Polycade Sente are recognized by the computer as Xbox buttons. So want to use an Xbox controller with the machine? You can hook it up either through USB or via Bluetooth, and it will work just fine. There are also button magnets included with the Sente if you need easy reference for which Xbox buttons are equivalent on the main panel. And because the Sente controllers are built with the same steel as the Sente itself, the magnetic decals are easy to attach and remove at will. One of the two button magnets in place. Image by Paul Benson. The Polycade Sente ships with several officially licensed retro and modern games. However, these by no means cover the gamut of all the arcade and console games that have ever existed! I tried various ways to add games, from using the AGS store, to installing Steam on my Sente and purchasing games through that platform, to adding individual game ROMs. All of these methods were quite easy to accomplish, though the ROMs do have to be compatible with the emulators installed on the Sente, so some trial and error was necessary for those. It is also possible to add additional emulators, but that's not an officially supported process at this time. Adding a ROM to the game library. Image by Paul Benson. Here's a look at the AGS in action, along with a few attract screens of different games installed on my Sente: Polycade Sente – Final Thoughts Let's face it- as much as we may fantasize about it, not many of us have the space in our homes or the money for a dedicated arcade with multiple machines on the floor. With the Polycade Sente, you can get a classic arcade experience, with just a single machine. The included mini-PC has more than enough power and hard drive space to load up and run hundreds of arcade titles. And the sturdy construction and high quality components of the Sente will allow you, your family, and your friends to play just like you did in the arcades. The modular design ensures that you will be able to play your favorite arcade games, using the same controller type that you remember from the arcades. The different controllers are quick and easy to exchange in the Sente, and combined with the responsiveness of the well-designed AGS, you can switch between different games in a heartbeat. Getting ready to play an arcade classic from '82. Image by Paul Benson. In addition to the controllers that shipped with my Sente, there's also a Spinflight controller which has both a joystick and a spinner, for games like Tempest or Tron . There's even a Buttonmash controller, for button-only arcade classics like Asteroids and Space Invaders. Polycade is in the process of developing and testing other modular controllers for the Sente, including a Driving controller for games like Pole Position and Cruisin' , and a 4-player controller for games like Gauntlet and X-Men. While those controllers are being developed in-house, Polycade also has partnered with Sinden, who manufactures some of the best light guns available for home arcades. As mentioned earlier, I'm currently waiting on my light guns and magnetic decals to arrive later this Fall. So expect another look at the Polycade Sente and those accessories when I receive them…and possibly even a hands-on look at some of the other controllers that Polycade has been working on. Here's the bottom line: yes, the Polycade Sente is not exactl what you'd call inexpensive. But it's an investment into not just a very high quality arcade system, but a gaming ecosystem. The Polycade Sente is designed by gamers, for gamers, and it shows in both the quality of the build and the ease of use. It's also built future-forward (if you can say that about a retro gaming machine?) with its modular design. It's simple to swap out controllers, computers, or even hook up a gaming console to the Sente. And with its backlighting, optional marquee, and silhouette, it's an attractive addition to your home. So if you're looking for that one arcade machine to rule them all, definitely take a look at the Polycade Sente. For more information or to purchase a Polycade Sente, head to the Polycade website. Polycade provided a Sente for evaluation but had no input into this review.
Globe and Mail
39 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Disney Stock Before Q3 Earnings: Buy Now or Wait for Results?
The Walt Disney Company DIS is slated to report third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Aug. 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $23.67 billion, suggesting modest growth of 2.23% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings has moved south by a penny to $1.47 per share over the past 30 days, indicating growth of 5.76% year over year. In the last reported quarter, Disney delivered an earnings surprise of 22.88%. The company's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.38%. The Walt Disney Company Price and EPS Surprise The Walt Disney Company price-eps-surprise | The Walt Disney Company Quote Earnings Whispers for DIS Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Disney this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. DIS has an Earnings ESP of -0.61% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Factors Shaping Upcoming Results As Disney approaches its third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings report, several compelling positive factors suggest that investors should anticipate strong results that build on the company's exceptional momentum from recent quarters, creating a buy opportunity ahead of results. Disney's Entertainment segment demonstrated remarkable resilience in the fiscal second quarter, with the segment generating $1.3 billion in operating income, representing a substantial 61% increase year over year. This momentum is expected to have carried forward into the fiscal third quarter as Disney+ launched its always-on perks program in May 2025, providing exclusive offers designed for subscribers and enhancing the customer value proposition. The company's direct-to-consumer segment generated $336 million in operating income in the fiscal second quarter, up dramatically from $47 million a year earlier, with this profitability trend expected to accelerate through the quarter under review as integration efforts between Hulu and Disney+ delivered enhanced user engagement and reduced churn rates. Our model estimates for Entertainment revenues (which include Linear Networks, Direct-to-Consumer and Content Sales/Licensing and Other Revenues) are pegged at $10.84 billion, indicating an increase of 2.5% year over year, driven by continued streaming subscriber growth and improved monetization strategies. Disney+ gained 1.4 million subscribers in the fiscal second quarter while Hulu added 1.3 million subscribers, establishing positive momentum that carried into the to-be-reported quarter amid successful content releases and enhanced user experiences. The Sports segment benefited from ESPN's domestic advertising revenues growing 29% year over year in the fiscal second quarter, with preparations for the ESPN direct-to-consumer flagship service launch creating additional revenue opportunities. ESPN's SportsCenter launched its ambitious 50 States in 50 Days initiative, driving viewership and advertiser engagement that is expected to have enhanced fiscal third-quarter performance. The Experiences segment positioned itself for exceptional third-quarter results following Disney's groundbreaking announcement in May 2025 of its seventh theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, representing the company's first Middle East expansion. This waterfront resort on Yas Island will combine Disney's iconic stories with Abu Dhabi's vibrant culture, accessing one-third of the world's population within a four-hour flight radius. Disney Parks generated nearly $67 billion for the U.S. economy while supporting more than 400,000 U.S. jobs, demonstrating the segment's robust economic impact and growth potential. Our model estimate for the Experiences segment (renamed from Disney Parks, Experiences and Products) revenues is $8.4 billion, indicating marginal growth of 0.3% year over year. Disney delivered strong consolidated second-quarter fiscal 2025 results with 20% growth in adjusted earnings per share and 7% growth in revenues to $23.6 billion. Management's optimistic guidance for high-single digit adjusted EPS growth for fiscal 2025 appears increasingly achievable given the multiple positive catalysts converging in the fiscal third quarter, positioning DIS for another quarter of robust financial performance across all business segments. Price Performance & Stock Valuation Shares of Disney have returned 4.7% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector's growth of 6.3%. Disney operates in a fiercely competitive streaming market dominated by the likes of Amazon AMZN -owned Amazon Prime Video and Netflix NFLX, as well as the growing prominence of services from Apple AAPL, Peacock and HBO Max. While Apple and Amazon has lost 19.2% and 2.1% year to date, respectively, shares of Netflix have returned 30%. Disney's Year-to-Date Performance Valuation-wise, Disney trades at a forward P/E of approximately 18.61x despite achieving streaming profitability and executing massive expansion plans, notably below the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry average of 20.25x. DIS' P/E F12M Ratio Depicts Discounted Valuation Investment Considerations Ahead of Q3 Results Disney presents a compelling buy opportunity ahead of third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings, trading at an attractive discount despite multiple catalysts driving growth acceleration. The company's streaming profitability surged to $336 million in operating income, a groundbreaking Abu Dhabi theme park expansion, and access to one-third of the global population, and $63 billion licensing dominance positioning Disney advantageously against the competition. While rivals struggle with streaming losses, Disney's integrated ecosystem of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN creates sustainable competitive moats. Strong second-quarter momentum with 20% adjusted EPS growth, robust theme park performance, and ESPN's advertising revenues surging 29% establishes powerful fundamentals supporting significant upside potential at current valuations. Final Thought Disney's convergence of streaming profitability, international expansion, and robust operational momentum creates an exceptional investment opportunity at current valuations. With multiple growth catalysts accelerating and fiscal third-quarter results positioned to exceed expectations, investors should capitalize on this discounted entry point before markets fully recognize Disney's transformed business fundamentals and earnings potential. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? 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National Post
39 minutes ago
- National Post
Huge brawl breaks out in crowd at WWE SummerSlam in viral video
Punches, elbows, shoves and hair-pulling are all things that you would expect to see in the ring at a professional wrestling event of any kind. Article content But during WWE SummerSlam, that action took place in the stands as fans engaged in a wild brawl at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday. Article content The melee kicked off during the second night of the two-night extravaganza, which serves as one of WWE's biggest events of the year. Article content In the clip, which has been viewed more than a million times on social media site X, the melee kicks off between a group of at least six fans – four women and two men – in the front row of the bleacher area at the stadium. Article content Article content 'Oh they're scrapping for real,' the fan filming the action can be heard saying. Article content The clip shows a woman in a black T-shirt appearing to grab and throw a woman in a white tank top, who retaliates by throwing elbows towards the first woman's head. Article content A woman in a red skirt who had been tussling with a man in a black shirt and hat then got in between the two and grabbed the first fan by the hair, giving it a brief yank for good measure. Article content The first woman in the black shirt attempted to retaliate by throwing punches at the woman in the red skirt's body before several members of security stadium arrived. Article content Several other fans in the immediate vicinity were seen attempting to grab and separate the combatants. Article content That didn't stop the woman in the red skirt from trying to get in one final shot, however. Article content 'Oh, look at that cheap shot!' the person filming the incident said after the woman in the red shorts threw a kick at a man while being separated by security. Article content It was unclear what sparked the action in the crowd and if there were any further consequences for those involved.
