title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Tennessee stunned the heavily favored Ravens, who had the NFL's best record and had finished the year as the league's top scoring team, while also setting a new record for rushing yards in a season. Once again, Titans running back Derrick Henry accounted for most of the Tennessee offense, accounting for 205 of their 300 total yards. Meanwhile, Baltimore racked up 530 yards, but their three turnovers and four failed fourth-down conversion attempts proved too much to overcome. As a result, Baltimore became the first number 1 seed in the playoffs to lose to the number 6 seed since the New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets in 2011.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: On the Ravens' first drive of the game, Lamar Jackson threw a pass that bounced off the hands of Mark Andrews and was intercepted by safety Kevin Byard, who returned it 31 yards, with an unnecessary roughness penalty against Jackson for a horse-collar tackle adding another 15 yards and giving Tennessee a first down on the Ravens' 35-yard line. Henry then carried the ball 4 times for 22 yards on an 8-play drive that ended with Ryan Tannehill's 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jonnu Smith, who made a leaping one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. After getting the ball back, Baltimore drove to a fourth-and-1 on their own 45-yard line. Jackson attempted to convert with a quarterback sneak, but he was tackled by linebacker David Long Jr. for no gain on the last play of the first quarter. On the next play, Tannehill gave the team a 14–0 lead with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond. Following a punt from each team, Jackson completed a 30-yard pass to Marquise Brown and a 16-yard pass to Andrews, setting up Justin Tucker's 49-yard field goal to make the score 14–3. Then after a Titans punt, Jackson completed a 26-yard pass to Seth Roberts, as well as two completions to Brown for gains of 16 yards and 38 yards on a 91-yard drive. Tucker finished it off with a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the half, making the score 14–6 at halftime.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Baltimore took the second half kickoff and drove to a fourth-and-1 on the Titans' 18-yard line. Jackson again tried to convert with a run, but was stopped for no gain by linebacker Harold Landry. Two plays later on third-and-1, Henry took a handoff through the middle and ran for a 66-yard gain, to the Ravens' 6-yard line. Then when faced with third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Henry took a direct snap out of wildcat formation and threw a jump pass to Corey Davis for a touchdown. This gave Tennessee a 21–6 lead and made Henry the first running back to throw a touchdown pass in the postseason since Allen Rice in the 1987 season. On the first play of the Ravens' next possession, defensive end Jurrell Casey forced a fumble while sacking Jackson, which Jeffery Simmons recovered for Tennessee on the Baltimore 20-yard line. From there, the Titans drove to a 28–6 lead, scoring on a 6-play drive that ended with Tannehill's 1-yard touchdown run. Baltimore responded with a drive to the Titans' 36-yard line, only to lose the ball again with a Jackson pass that was intercepted by safety Kenny Vaccaro. After forcing Tennessee to punt, the Ravens finally managed to score a touchdown, moving the ball 83 yards in 10 plays, the longest a 27-yard run by Jackson. Jackson finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hayden Hurst, but his subsequent two-point conversion pass was incomplete, keeping the score at 28–12. Tennessee's defense then pinned down Baltimore for the rest of the game, forcing a turnover on downs on the Ravens' final two possessions.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Henry finished the game with 30 carries for 195 yards, while also catching two passes for 7 yards and throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass. He became the first player to rush for over 180 yards twice in the same postseason. Tannehill completed 7 of 14 pass attempts for 88 yards, and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 13 yards and a touchdown; Casey had four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Jackson completed 31 of 59 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, while also rushing 20 times for 143 yards. This made him the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in a playoff game. His top receiver was Brown, who caught seven passes for 126 yards.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: On May 22, 2019, the league announced that the divisional round games played on the Sunday would be moved from their traditional 1:00 p.m. (ET) and 4:30 p.m. (ET) start times to 3:00 p.m. (ET) and 6:30 p.m. (ET), respectively. Similar to the 2002 changes made to the start times of the Conference championship games, this would allow teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones to play in the early Sunday game at a reasonable hour instead of at 11:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m. local time.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: After falling behind 24–0, Kansas City came back with an NFL playoff record seven consecutive touchdowns and a field goal over their next eight drives, including a run of 28 points in the final 10 minutes of the second quarter.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: On the opening possession, Houston mounted a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in Deshaun Watson's 54-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills on third-and-1, giving the Texans an early 7–0 lead. The Chiefs then went three-and-out on their first drive, with tight end Travis Kelce dropping a potential first down pass on third down. Dustin Colquitt's ensuing punt was blocked by Barkevious Mingo and recovered by Lonnie Johnson Jr., who returned it 10 yards for a touchdown that put the Texans up 14–0 less than five minutes into the game.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: After both teams punted on their next drives, Chiefs returner Tyreek Hill muffed the ball inside his own 10-yard line which was recovered by Keion Crossen for Houston. Two plays later, Watson found tight end Darren Fells in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown and a 21–0 lead late in the first quarter.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: The next time Houston got the ball, they drove 48 yards in nine plays to a fourth-and-inches on the Chiefs 13-yard line. The Texans lined up to go for it. However, after having to call a timeout with the play clock running down, Texans coach Bill O'Brien changed his mind because he did not like their play call. So, rather than risk a potential turnover on downs, the Texans settled for Ka'imi Fairbairn's 31-yard field goal to go up by 24 at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter. This would be the extent of their success, as the Chiefs went from being down 0-24 as late as 10:05 remaining in the 2nd quarter, to trailing 14–24 at the 8:05 mark, then 21–24 at 6:31, and finally taking the lead 28–24 at 0:44 remaining in the first half. The scoring would go on to be 51–7 in favor of the Chiefs from that 10:54 point in the 2nd quarter. First, Mecole Hardman returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to Houston's 42-yard line. Patrick Mahomes then threw a 25-yard pass to Kelce to get in the red zone before hitting running back Damien Williams for a 17-yard touchdown. After Houston went three-and-out on their next drive, they attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-4 with a direct snap to Justin Reid who was tackled by Daniel Sorensen two yards short, giving Kansas City the ball at the Texans 33. Johnson was then called for pass interference to put the ball at the five before Mahomes hit Kelce in the end zone to cut the deficit to 10. On the ensuing kickoff, DeAndre Carter fumbled the ball due to a hit by Sorenson, and it went right into the arms of Kansas City's Darwin Thompson, who returned it to the Houston 6-yard line. Mahomes then threw his third touchdown pass in less than four minutes, and his second to Kelce, to make the score 24–21.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Taking possession at their own 10 with 2:47 left in the quarter, the Chiefs went on a 90-yard drive that included another pass interference on Johnson, while Mahomes rushed twice for 35 yards and completed a pair of 20-yard passes to Hill and Kelce. Finally, with 44 seconds left in the half, Mahomes threw another five-yard touchdown to Kelce to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game, 28–24. Mahomes' four touchdown passes in the second quarter tied an NFL postseason record set by Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXII. Fairbairn missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired in the half as the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to fall behind by as many as 20 points in the first half but still lead at halftime.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: The Chiefs would extend their lead on the opening possession of the third quarter, going 85 yards in seven plays, the longest a 48-yard catch by Sammy Watkins. Williams ran the ball in from the goal-line, increasing their lead to 34–24 after Harrison Butker missed the extra point. After forcing another Texans punt, the Chiefs took advantage of another pass interference penalty against Houston and a 28-yard completion from Mahomes to Kelce, scoring on their sixth straight possession with another Williams touchdown run to give them a 41–24 lead with 4:39 left in the quarter. Houston finally snapped Kansas City's 41-point run when Watson completed 4 passes for 80 yards and finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, making the score 41–31 with 24 seconds left in the third quarter.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Kansas City would make it seven touchdowns in a row, setting a new postseason record, on a drive that included a 23-yard pass to Kelce and a 28-yard completion to Watkins, putting the ball at the Houston 8. Mahomes then found Blake Bell in the end zone, making the score 48–31. On Houston's next drive, they turned the ball over on downs at the Chiefs 42. A pair of runs by Williams for gains of 11 and 26 yard to set up Butker's 24-yard field goal with 8:06 left to put Kansas City up by 20. Houston then turned the ball over on downs on their final two possessions, the last coming when Frank Clark sacked Watson for a 17-yard loss on fourth-and-8 from the Kansas City 8-yard line.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Mahomes finished the game 23/35 for 321 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He was also the leading rusher with 53 yards on seven carries. Kelce had 10 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns, tying a Super Bowl-era postseason record. Hardman had six kickoff returns for 142 yards. Williams rushed for 47 yards, caught two passes for 21 yards, and scored three touchdowns. Watson threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns, while DeAndre Hopkins had 118 yards on nine catches. Kansas City's 24-point comeback was the fourth largest in postseason history.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Despite being nearly even in total yards (375–344) and both sides avoiding turnovers, the Packers built a 21–3 halftime lead and withstood a Seattle second-half comeback to earn their fourth trip to the NFC title game under quarterback Aaron Rodgers.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Green Bay got the ball first and on their first play, Aaron Jones ran for a 23-yard gain to the Packers 48-yard line, beginning a drive that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Davante Adams. Later in the quarter, Seattle receiver David Moore's 10-yard punt return gave the Seahawks a first down on their own 42. Russell Wilson's subsequent 28-yard completion to Tyler Lockett set up a 45-yard field goal by Jason Myers that made the score 7–3.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Rodgers then completed 4/5 passes for 52 yards on a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Jones finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Green Bay a 14–3 lead in the second quarter. Then, after Myers missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, the Packers got the ball on their own 40. Receiver Tyler Ervin opened the drive with an 18-yard run on an end around play. Nine plays later, Jones finished the drive with his second 1-yard touchdown run, increasing Green Bay's lead to 21–3 with 1:30 left in the half.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: On the opening drive of the second half, Wilson ran for a 24-yard gain and completed a 24-yard pass to DK Metcalf as the Seahawks drove 69 yards in 10 plays to score on Marshawn Lynch's 1-yard touchdown run, cutting their deficit to 21–10. However, Green Bay stormed right back in just five plays, as Rodgers completed a 27-yard pass to tight end Jimmy Graham before throwing the ball to Adams for a 40-yard score, putting them back up at 28–10. Seattle responded with Wilson completing 5/6 passes for 48 yards and rushing four times for 26 on the way to a 28–17 score on his 7-yard touchdown pass to Lockett with 39 seconds left in the quarter.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: After a Green Bay punt, Wilson completed four consecutive passes for 68 yards on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by Lynch, making the score 28–23 after a failed two-point conversion try. But the next time they got the ball, Seattle had to punt with 2:41 left on the clock. Green Bay was able to run out the time with their ensuing possession, picking up two key first downs on third down completions. When faced with third-and-8 after two plays, Rodgers completed a 32-yard pass to Adams. Then when faced with third-and-9, Rodgers' 9-yard pass to Graham picked a first down that enabled the team to run out the rest of the clock.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Rodgers completed 16/27 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 14 yards. Adams caught eight passes for 160 yards and two scores. Green Bay defensive ends Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith each had two sacks. Wilson finished the day 21/31 for 277 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 64 yards. Lockett was his top target, with nine receptions for 136 yards and a score.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: This was the first AFC Championship game since not to feature the New England Patriots. It was also the first AFC Championship game since , and only the third of the 21st century, not to feature Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger as a starting quarterback.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: For the second week in a row, Kansas City came back from a deficit to defeat a team that had beaten them in the regular season, this time recovering from an early 10–0 hole to earn their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years. The Chiefs outgained Tennessee in total yards 404–295, while holding their explosive running back Derrick Henry to just 61 yards from scrimmage, with negative yardage in the second half.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Tennessee took the opening kickoff and converted Ryan Tannehill's 37-yard completion to A. J. Brown into a 30-yard field goal by Greg Joseph. Kansas City went three-and-out on their first drive, and Kalif Raymond returned their punt 9 yards to the Titans 42-yard line. Tennessee then drove 58 yards in 9 plays, including a 3-yard catch by Adam Humphries on fourth-and-2. On the next play, Tannehill completed a 22-yard pass to Jonnu Smith on the Chiefs 4-yard line. Then Henry took a snap from wildcat formation and ran into the end zone for a 4-yard score, giving Tennessee a 10–0 lead. This time the Chiefs were able to respond, driving 69 yards in 10 plays, the longest a 26-yard completion from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill. Hill's 8-yard touchdown catch on the last play made the score 10–7 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: The Titans struck back with a 15-play, 74-yard drive that took 9:07 off the clock. Tannehill finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to offensive tackle Dennis Kelly on a tackle-eligible play that put the team back up by 10 points. Mecole Hardman returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to his own 35-yard line. From there, Kansas City drove 65 yards in 5 plays, the longest a 24-yard completion from Mahomes to Demarcus Robinson. On the last play, Mahomes threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Hill, cutting their deficit to 17–14. Then after a punt, Mahomes completed 4 passes for 41 yards and rushed for 7 before taking off for a 27-yard touchdown run in which he evaded five Titans players on the way to the end zone. This gave the Chiefs a 21–17 lead with 23 seconds left in the half.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: After a pair of punts to start the second half, Kansas City drove 73 yards in 13 plays to go up 28–17 on Damien Williams' 3-yard touchdown run. On their next drive, the Chiefs put the game completely out of reach with Mahomes' 60-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins, giving them a 35–17 lead with 7:44 left on the clock. Tennessee responded by driving 80 yards in 8 plays, including a fake punt in which punter Brett Kern threw a 28-yard pass to Amani Hooker. Tannehill finished the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Firkser, making the final score 35–24, and sending the Chiefs to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1970.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Mahomes completed 23/35 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns, while also leading Kansas City in rushing with eight carries for 53 yards and a score. Watkins caught seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Tannehill completed 21/31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 11 yards.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: San Francisco lost starting running back Tevin Coleman to injury for most of the game, but this proved to be a non-issue as Raheem Mostert ran wild over the Packers with a franchise record 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns, both the second highest totals in NFL postseason history.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: On the 49ers second possession of the game, Jimmy Garoppolo completed a pair of passes to Deebo Samuel for gains of 16 and 30 yards before Mostert stormed into the end zone on a 36-yard touchdown run. Green Bay was soon forced to punt, and Richie James returned it 26 yards to the San Francisco 49-yard line, setting up Robbie Gould's 54-yard field goal to give the team a 10–0 lead.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: In the second quarter, a sack by K'Waun Williams forced a fumble. Green Bay recovered the ball, but lost 10 yards and had to punt from their own 14. J. K. Scott's 23-yard kick gave the 49ers great field position on the Packers 37. San Francisco then drove 37 yards in 6 plays to take a 17–0 lead on Mostert's 9-yard touchdown run. The Packers responded with a drive to the 49ers 25-yard line, only to lose the ball when quarterback Aaron Rodgers fumbled a snap, which was recovered by San Francisco lineman DeForest Buckner. The 49ers went on to drive 60 yards in 8 plays, including a 34-yard burst from Mostert. Gould finished the drive with a 27-yard field goal, increasing the team's lead to 20–0 after the two minute warning. Then Rodgers threw a pass that was intercepted by Emmanuel Moseley, who returned it 9 yards to the Green Bay 30-yard line. Mostert then took the ball to the end zone with three straight carries, the last an 18-yard touchdown run that gave San Francisco a 27–0 lead with 16 seconds left in the second quarter.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Green Bay managed to cut the score to 27–7 on the opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 80 yards in 11 plays. Rogers completed 9/10 passes for 75 yards on the drive, the last a 9-yard touchdown throw to Aaron Jones. But the 49ers stormed right back, with a pair of runs by Samuel for gains of 11 and 32 yards aiding a seven-play, 79-yard drive that ended on Mostert's 22-yard touchdown run. This gave the 49ers a 34–7 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter. Green Bay responded by going 80 yards in 10 plays, including Rodgers' 4-yard pass to Allen Lazard on fourth-and-2, and a 42-yard completion from Rodgers to tight end Jimmy Graham. On the next play, Jones ran for a touchdown that made the score 34–13 after a failed two-point conversion attempt. Then after a punt, Rodgers completed a 65-yard pass to Davante Adams on the 49ers 22-yard line. Three plays later, his 8-yard touchdown pass to Jace Sternberger made the score 34–20 with just under six minutes left in the game. However, San Francisco crushed any hope of a comeback with their ensuing 10-play, 44-yard drive, starting with Garoppolo's 19-yard completion to George Kittle. Gould completed the scoring with a 42-yard field goal to put the 49ers up 37–20 with 3:36 to play, before Richard Sherman intercepted a pass from Rodgers that enabled San Francisco to run out the rest of the clock and earn the franchise's seventh trip to the Super Bowl.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: Mostert had 29 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns, along with two receptions for 9 yards. Garoppolo set an NFC championship record for fewest pass attempts, completing 6/8 passes for 77 yards. Williams had seven solo tackles and a sack. Rodgers completed 31/39 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Adams had nine receptions for 138 yards.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: This was the first time the Chiefs and 49ers have faced each other in the Super Bowl. Their last regular season meeting ended in a 38–27 Chiefs victory at Arrowhead Stadium on September 23, 2018. The 49ers led the all-time series 7–6.


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: The teams traded a touchdown and a field goal in the first half, going into halftime tied 10–10. The 49ers took a 10-point lead in the third quarter. The Chiefs then went on to score 21 unanswered points in the final 7 minutes to win the Super Bowl 31–20. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has now been outscored 46–0 in the 4th quarters and overtime of the two Super Bowls he has been a part of (the other being Super Bowl LI with the Falcons).


title: 2019–20 NFL playoffs

text: ESPN produced coverage of the Saturday afternoon Wild Card game for the sixth consecutive season, and ESPN simulcasted it on ABC for the fifth consecutive season. For the second straight season, NBC aired the late afternoon Sunday Wild Card game as a lead-in to its coverage of the Golden Globe Awards. CBS then televised one of the AFC Wild Card Games, and Fox had one of the NFC Wild Card games. Coverage of the NFC Divisional games were split between Fox and NBC. CBS had exclusive coverage of both AFC Divisional games and the AFC Championship Game. Fox had exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LIV.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in "The Good Companions" (1929), which first brought him to wide public notice. Many of his plays are structured around a time slip, and he went on to develop a new theory of time, with different dimensions that link past, present and future.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1940 he broadcast a series of short propaganda radio talks, which were credited with strengthening civilian morale during the Battle of Britain. In the following years his left-wing beliefs brought him into conflict with the government and influenced the development of the welfare state.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley was born on 13 September 1894 at 34 Mannheim Road, Manningham, which he described as an "extremely respectable" suburb of Bradford. His father, Jonathan Priestley (1868–1924), was a headmaster. His mother, Emma ("née" Holt; 1865–1896), was a mill girl. She died when Priestley was just two years old and his father remarried four years later. Priestley was educated at Belle Vue Grammar School, which he left at 16 to work as a junior clerk at Helm & Co., a wool firm in the Swan Arcade. During his years at Helm & Co. (1910–1914) he started writing at night and had articles published in local and London newspapers. He was to draw on memories of Bradford in many of the works he wrote after he had moved south, including "Bright Day" and "When We Are Married". As an old man he deplored the destruction by developers of Victorian buildings in Bradford such as the Swan Arcade, where he had his first job.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley served in the British army during the First World War, volunteering for the Duke of Wellington's Regiment on 7 September 1914 and being posted to the 10th Battalion in France as a Lance-Corporal on 26 August 1915. He was badly wounded in June 1916 when he was buried alive by a trench mortar. He spent many months in military hospitals and convalescent establishments and on 26 January 1918 was commissioned as an officer in the Devonshire Regiment and posted back to France in the late summer. As he describes in his literary reminiscences, "Margin Released", he suffered from the effects of poison gas and then supervised German prisoners of war before being demobilised in early 1919.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: After his military service Priestley received a university education at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. By the age of 30 he had established a reputation as an essayist and critic. His novel "Benighted" (1927) was adapted into the James Whale film "The Old Dark House" (1932); the novel was published under the film's name in the United States.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley's first major success came with a novel, "The Good Companions" (1929), which earned him the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction and made him a national figure. His next novel, "Angel Pavement" (1930), further established him as a successful novelist. However some critics were less than complimentary about his work and Priestley threatened legal action against Graham Greene for what he took to be a defamatory portrait of him in the novel "Stamboul Train" (1932).


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1934 he published the travelogue "English Journey", an account of what he saw and heard while travelling through the country in the depths of the Great Depression.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley is today seen as having a prejudice against the Irish, as is shown in "English Journey": "A great many speeches have been made and books written on the subject of what England has done to Ireland... I should be interested to hear a speech and read a book or two on the subject of what Ireland has done to England... if we do have an Irish Republic as our neighbour, and it is found possible to return her exiled citizens, what a grand clearance there will be in all the western ports, from the Clyde to Cardiff, what a fine exit of ignorance and dirt and drunkenness and disease."


title: J. B. Priestley

text: He moved into a new genre and became equally well known as a dramatist. "Dangerous Corner" (1932) was the first of many plays that would enthral West End theatre audiences. His best-known play is "An Inspector Calls" (1945). His plays are more varied in tone than the novels, several being influenced by J. W. Dunne's theory of time, which plays a part in the plots of "Dangerous Corner" (1932) and "Time and the Conways".


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1940 Priestley wrote an essay for "Horizon" magazine in which he criticised George Bernard Shaw for his support of Stalin: "Shaw presumes that his friend Stalin has everything under control. Well, Stalin may have made special arrangements to see that Shaw comes to no harm, but the rest of us in Western Europe do not feel quite so sure of our fate, especially those of us who do not share Shaw's curious admiration for dictators."


title: J. B. Priestley

text: During the Second World War he was a regular broadcaster on the BBC. The "Postscript", broadcast on Sunday night in 1940 and again in 1941, drew peak audiences of 16 million; only Churchill was more popular with listeners. Graham Greene wrote that Priestley "became in the months after Dunkirk a leader second only in importance to Mr Churchill. And he gave us what our other leaders have always failed to give us – an ideology." But his talks were cancelled. It was thought that this was the effect of complaints from Churchill that they were too left-wing; however in 2015 Priestley's son said in a talk on the latest book being published about his father's life that it was in fact Churchill's Cabinet that brought about the cancellation by supplying negative reports on the broadcasts to Churchill.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley chaired the 1941 Committee and in 1942 he was a cofounder of the socialist Common Wealth Party. The political content of his broadcasts and his hopes of a new and different Britain after the war influenced the politics of the period and helped the Labour Party gain its landslide victory in the 1945 general election. Priestley himself, however, was distrustful of the state and dogma, though he did stand for the Cambridge University constituency in 1945.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley's name was on Orwell's list, a list of people that George Orwell prepared in March 1949 for the Information Research Department (IRD), a propaganda unit set up at the Foreign Office by the Labour government. Orwell considered or suspected these people to have pro-communist leanings and therefore to be unsuitable to write for the IRD.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1960 Priestley published "Literature and Western Man", a 500-page survey of Western literature in all its genres from the second half of the 15th century to the present. (The last author discussed was Thomas Wolfe.)


title: J. B. Priestley

text: His interest in the problem of time led him to publish an extended essay in 1964 under the title of "Man and Time". (Aldus published this as a companion to Carl Jung's "Man and His Symbols".) In the book he explored in depth various theories and beliefs about time as well as his own research and unique conclusions, including an analysis of the phenomenon of precognitive dreaming, based in part on a broad sampling of experiences gathered from the British public, who responded enthusiastically to a televised appeal he made while being interviewed in 1963 on the BBC programme "Monitor".


title: J. B. Priestley

text: The University of Bradford awarded Priestley the title of honorary Doctor of Letters in 1970 and he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Bradford in 1973. His connections with the city were also marked by the naming of the J. B. Priestley Library at the University of Bradford, which he officially opened in 1975, and by the larger-than-life statue of him, commissioned by the Bradford City Council after his death and which now stands in front of the National Media Museum.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley had a deep love for classical music, especially chamber music. This love is reflected in a number of Priestley's works, notably his own favourite novel, "Bright Day" (Heinemann, 1946). His book "Trumpets Over the Sea" is subtitled "a rambling and egotistical account of the London Symphony Orchestra's engagement at Daytona Beach, Florida, in July–August 1967".


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1941 he played an important part in organising and supporting a fund-raising campaign on behalf of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which was struggling to establish itself as a self-governing body after the withdrawal of Sir Thomas Beecham. In 1949 the opera "The Olympians" by Arthur Bliss, to a libretto by Priestley, was premiered.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley snubbed the chance to become a life peer in 1965 and also declined appointment as a Companion of Honour in 1969. But he did become a member of the Order of Merit in 1977. He also served as a British delegate to UNESCO conferences.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley was married three times. He also had a number of affairs, including a serious relationship with the actress Peggy Ashcroft. Writing in 1972, Priestley described himself as "lusty" and as one who has "enjoyed the physical relations with the sexes[...] without the feelings of guilt which seems to disturb some of my distinguished colleagues".


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1921 Priestley married Emily "Pat" Tempest, a music-loving Bradford librarian. Two daughters were born: Barbara (later known as the architect Barbara Wykeham) in 1923 and Sylvia (a designer known as Sylvia Goaman following her marriage to Michael Goaman) in 1924. In 1925, his wife died of cancer.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In September 1926 Priestley married Jane Wyndham-Lewis (ex-wife of the one-time 'Beachcomber' columnist D. B. Wyndham-Lewis, no relation to the artist Wyndham Lewis); they had two daughters (including music therapist Mary Priestley, conceived in 1924 while Jane was still married to D. B. Wyndham-Lewis) and one son, the film editor Tom Priestley. During the Second World War Jane ran several residential nurseries for evacuated mothers and their children, many of whom had come from poor districts. For much of their married life they lived at 3, The Grove in Highgate, formerly the home of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: In 1953 Priestley was divorced by his second wife and then married the archaeologist and writer Jacquetta Hawkes, with whom he collaborated on the play "Dragon's Mouth". The couple lived at Alveston, Warwickshire, near Stratford-upon-Avon, later in his life.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: His ashes were buried in Hubberholme churchyard at the head of Wharfedale in Yorkshire. The exact location of his ashes has never been made public and was known only to the three people present. A plaque in the church just states that his ashes are buried 'nearby'. Three photographs exist showing the ashes being interred, taken by Dr Brian Hoyle Thompson. He and his wife were two of the three people present. The brass plate on the box containing the ashes reads J. B. Priestley and can be seen clearly in one of the pictures.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: Priestley began placing his papers at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin in 1960, with additions being made throughout his lifetime. The Center has continued to add to the collection through gifts and purchases when possible. The collection comprises 23 boxes , including original manuscripts for many of his works and an extensive series of correspondence.


title: J. B. Priestley

text: The University of Bradford Library holds the J. B. Priestley Archive as part of their Special Collections. The collection includes scripts, journal articles, lectures, press cuttings, correspondence, photographs and objects such as Priestley's iconic pipe. Most of the material in this collection was donated by the Priestley Estate.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Infinite" was announced during Sony's PlayStation Experience event in December 2016. Capcom initially lost the use of the Marvel license in 2012, after The Walt Disney Company decided to focus on self-publishing its own gaming titles; however, Capcom was able to reacquire the license after Disney dissolved its console publishing division. "Infinite" was designed to be more accessible than previous "Marvel vs. Capcom" games, resulting in several changes to the series' traditional mechanics. The game also features a larger emphasis on storytelling with the series' first cinematic story mode. The plot follows the heroes of the Marvel and Capcom universes, who must work together to save their merged worlds against a new threat, Ultron Sigma.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Infinite" was released in September 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game received mixed to positive reviews; critics praised its new gameplay elements, but criticized its presentation (particularly its art direction) and character roster. The game also underperformed commercially. Capcom originally expected the game to sell two million units; however, it missed its sales target, selling approximately one million copies by the end of December 2017.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Like its predecessors, "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" is a 2D fighting game in which players compete against each other in tag team combat using characters from both the Marvel Comics and Capcom universes. Players must knock out the opposing team by repeatedly attacking the opponent and draining their health bar. "Infinite" features two-on-two partner battles, similar to "" and earlier installments in the franchise. Unlike past entries, the game does not allow players to use traditional call-in assist attacks from off-screen characters; instead, "Infinite" utilizes a "free-form" tag system, known as "Active Switch", which shares similarities with "" "Team Aerial Combo" system and "Street Fighter X Tekken" "Switch Cancel" system. Players can immediately switch between their team members at any point, even while mid-air or during attack animations. This provides players with the abilities to create their own offensive or defensive assists through the tag system and form continuous combos between their two characters.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: As with previous "Marvel vs. Capcom" titles, players will charge their "Hyper Combo Gauge" as their characters deal or receive damage during the fight. Players can then expend the accrued meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge to perform "Hyper Combos", cinematic attacks which deal larger amounts of damage to the opponent. Alternatively, players can sacrifice meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge to perform the newly introduced "Counter Switch" mechanic, which tags in their partner character while the opponent is attacking them. This provides players with the opportunity to counterattack and free the character trapped in the enemy's combo. The Hyper Combo Gauge in "Infinite" is limited to four bars of meter, as opposed to the five-bar maximum used in "" and "3".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Infinite" moves away from the button layout previously used in "Marvel vs. Capcom 3", and instead employs a control scheme more similar to "Marvel vs. Capcom 2", which includes four attack buttons, consisting of two pairs of light and heavy punches and kicks, and two additional buttons used for swapping characters and activating Infinity Stone powers. To improve accessibility, the game includes an "auto-combo" system which allows players to repeatedly press the light punch button to automatically perform both ground and air combos. In addition, certain Hyper Combos can now be activated by simply pressing the two heavy attack buttons, as opposed to the specific joystick and button combinations required in previous titles.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Infinite" also implements the Infinity Stones as a gameplay mechanic, similar to "Marvel Super Heroes", where each stone grants unique abilities. Before the match begins, players select one of the six Infinity Stones. Each Infinity Stone bestows one ability that can be activated at any time, known as the "Infinity Surge". For example, the Power Stone produces a knockback effect when used, while the Space Stone pulls an opponent closer to the player character. A second, stronger ability called the "Infinity Storm" can be activated after players fill their Infinity meter at least halfway, giving them a significant boost for a limited time, similar to the X-Factor system from "Marvel vs. Capcom 3". The boost is determined by the chosen Infinity Stone; for example, the Power Stone increases the user's damage output and combo ability, while the Space Stone traps an opponent within a confined area that severely limits their movement.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: The game offers various offline and online single-player and multiplayer game modes. The offline features include Story Mode, a two-hour cinematic story campaign; Arcade Mode, a classic arcade game experience where players fight against several AI-controlled opponents before confronting the final boss characters Ultron Sigma and Ultron Omega; Mission Mode, where players can complete tutorial missions and character-specific challenges; Training Mode, where players can practice their fighting abilities and adjust various training field parameters; Versus Player 2, where two players can battle against each other locally; Versus CPU, where players can battle solo against an AI-controlled opponent; and Collection Mode, where extras unlocked through gameplay are stored, including story cutscenes, character and stage information, concept artwork, and audio tracks. Online multiplayer includes ranked and casual matches, global leaderboards, replays, and eight-player lobbies with spectating. The online mode also introduces the Beginners League, a special league designated for low-ranking players to compete for graduation into higher ranks.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" features a base roster of 30 playable characters, consisting of both new and returning heroes and villains in the "Marvel vs. Capcom" series. Six additional characters were also released post-launch as downloadable content (DLC).


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Death is visited by Jedah Dohma, who proposes an alliance to achieve equilibrium between life and death on both their worlds. Needing the six Infinity Stones to do so, Death deceives Thanos and Ultron into aiding her, granting Thanos the Space Stone and sending Ultron to retrieve the Reality Stone from Abel City. Sigma intercepts Ultron, and the two forge their own alliance. They betray the others and use the Space and Reality Stones to merge the two dimensions and fuse themselves into a single being named "Ultron Sigma". To wipe out biological life, they begin unleashing an evolved form of the Sigma Virus that turns organic creatures into synthetic beings under their control. An alliance of heroes from both worlds is then formed. They manage to keep Ultron Sigma at a stalemate until they rescue Thanos from Ultron Sigma's prison and secure him in a containment field at Avengers Tower. To gain their trust, Thanos reveals the locations of the remaining four Infinity Stones, and teams of heroes are dispatched to find them.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Ryu, Chun-Li, Captain America, and Hulk travel to Valkanda to obtain the Time Stone. Despite Captain America's warnings, Black Panther, the ruler of Valkanda, refuses to surrender it. Ultron Sigma's drones arrive and spread the virus, infecting a Dah'ren Mohran. After Ryu and Hulk defeat the creature, Black Panther agrees to give them the Stone. Next, Dante, Morrigan, Ghost Rider, Arthur, and Doctor Strange travel to the Dark Kingdom, where they encounter Jedah, who is using the Soul Stone to feed souls to a Symbiote creature, hoping to use it against Ultron Sigma. While the heroes battle Dormammu and Firebrand, Jedah escapes with the Stone. Meanwhile, Iron Man sends Spider-Man to assist Chris Redfield in infiltrating an A.I.M.brella facility. There, they find Frank West and Mike Haggar, and discover M.O.D.O.K. turning people into bio-organic weapons, infused with Symbiotes at Jedah's demand. The heroes defeat M.O.D.O.K.'s enforcer, Nemesis, and retrieve the Mind Stone. However, they are soon attacked by Jedah and his giant Symbiote. On Knowmoon, Captain Marvel, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Nova, Strider Hiryu, and X defeat Ultron Sigma's ally, Grandmaster Meio, and rescue Zero from his control. Upon taking the Power Stone, the station ejects its core, which falls towards New Metro City carrying a massive Sigma Virus payload.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: While Doctor Light, Iron Man, Nathan Spencer, and Hawkeye build a weapon to harness the Infinity Stones, Ultron Sigma attacks Avengers Tower. In the chaos, Thanos is released and attacks Ultron Sigma, cracking the Reality Stone and forcing them to retreat. The heroes use their Stones to destroy the Symbiote and the falling core, but are infected in the process. The infected heroes then head for Xgard to infiltrate Sigma's laboratory to finish their weapon, the Infinity Buster. When Thanos learns of Death and Jedah's partnership, he becomes enraged and betrays the heroes, creating a mechanized gauntlet that absorbs Ryu's Satsui no Hadō before departing for revenge. After reclaiming the Soul Stone from Jedah, Dante arrives in Xgard and pretends to surrender the Stone. Since they have no souls, Ultron Sigma is overwhelmed by the Stone and transforms into Ultron Omega. The Infinity Buster is installed into X, who uses it to destroy Ultron Omega.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: In the aftermath, the virus is neutralized, but since the Reality Stone was cracked, the universes cannot be separated again. The heroes agree to protect the new world and split the Infinity Stones between them to keep them safe. In a post-credits scene, Jedah tells Death that he has another plan, but Thanos arrives seeking vengeance against them. Believing the Satsui no Hadō is capable of killing immortals like Death and Jedah, he prepares to attack them with a Gohadouken.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Following the release of "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3" for the PlayStation Vita in 2012, Marvel's new parent company, The Walt Disney Company, which acquired Marvel in 2009, chose not to renew their licensing deal with Capcom, instead opting to move its viable properties towards their self-published game titles, such as "Disney Infinity"; this resulted in "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3", "" and "Marvel vs. Capcom Origins" being delisted from the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in 2013.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: However, in May 2016, Disney announced its decision to discontinue self-publishing efforts and switch over to a licensing-only model, allowing third-party game developers, including Capcom, to negotiate licenses with Marvel once again. The same year on December 3, "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" was officially unveiled during Sony's PlayStation Experience event; its first gameplay footage debuted on the same day following the conclusion of Capcom Cup 2016. Norio Hirose, a programmer who had previously worked on "X-Men vs. Street Fighter", "Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter", and "", as well as other Capcom fighting games, such as "Project Justice" and "", served as "Infinite"s director.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Game development involved Capcom Japan, Capcom USA, and Marvel Games. According to Mike Jones, Executive Producer at Marvel Games, "Infinite" was designed to be a "more elegant and simplified" game which remained as "complex and hardcore" as past "Marvel vs. Capcom" installments. While the developers sought to keep the core elements of the series intact, such as air combos, they also wanted "Infinite" to push away from its predecessors, resulting in several changes to the series' traditional formula. The decision to change the three-on-three battle system used in "Marvel vs. Capcom 2" and "3" was considered for a long time before ultimately settling on two-on-two fights for the sake of accessibility. Producer Mike Evans hoped that introducing a more manageable two-character system would give casual "Marvel vs. Capcom" fans the ability to play the game without becoming overwhelmed.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: To offset the streamlined character select system and removal of call-in assist attacks, the six Infinity Stones were implemented to provide teams with additional customization options and increase gameplay depth. Marvel and Capcom compared the Infinity Stones to the "Groove System" used in "Capcom vs. SNK 2". The primary goal with the Infinity Stones was to create a level playing field by acting as a comeback enabler, and allowing players to compensate for their characters' deficiencies and enhance their strong points. According to developers, the inclusion of the Infinity Stones and the theme of "infinite [gameplay] possibilities" influenced their decision to use "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" as the game's title, rather than "Marvel vs. Capcom 4". To further differentiate "Infinite", the developers opted to use the Unreal Engine 4 to develop more cinematic and modern visuals, as opposed to the stylized art direction used in "Marvel vs. Capcom 3".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: The budget provided for the development of "Infinite" was reportedly little more than half the amount used to develop DLC content for "Street Fighter V"; as a result, developers re-used assets from older games, including "Marvel vs. Capcom 3", to save time and money.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: According to Producer Evans and Associate Producer Peter Rosas, the development team examined the strengths and weaknesses of each returning character and adjusted them by providing new moves and abilities, hoping to make every fighter viable. In terms of roster selection, characters were chosen based on two aspects: their potential interactions within the story and their gameplay style. The developers sought to include a variety of different character archetypes, from small, nimble characters, such as Strider Hiryu, to large, brawler-type characters, such as the Hulk. The Marvel characters' designs were proposed by Capcom's research and development team in Japan, who took inspiration from both the characters' comic book and film appearances. Marvel staff members worked closely with the team, providing feedback to maintain the authenticity of their characters' portrayals. While speaking at E3 2017, Evans explained how they picked the roster based on which characters Marvel was currently pushing or planning to push in the future.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Beyond appealing to genre and series fans, Capcom sought to target a diverse audience with "Infinite" and bring in casual players who were fans of Marvel's movies, comic books, and television shows. To this end, the developers wanted to introduce a more robust, cinematic story compared to previous "Marvel vs. Capcom" titles. Bill Rosemann, Creative Director at Marvel Games, stated that "Infinite"s increased emphasis on storytelling was influenced by Marvel's story and character-centric approach to their recent projects in games, film, and television; Rosemann and Jones cited Insomniac Games' "Spider-Man" video game and Telltale Games' "" title as examples. While speaking at the 2017 D.I.C.E. Summit, Rosemann also explained that Marvel Games would not force its development partners to tie their games into existing storylines throughout Marvel's universes, giving them more freedom to craft their own original stories and create new visions for their characters. "Infinite"'s story mode script was penned by writer Paul Gardner, with oversight from Rosemann and Marvel's gaming division. Gardner first became involved with the project beginning in 2015 and finished writing the script in 2016. Marvel provided feedback to Capcom on the revisions, animations, music, and presentation of the overall story mode experience. Frank Tieri, the lead writer for "Marvel vs. Capcom 3", has also confirmed his involvement with "Infinite".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: According to developers, Capcom's struggle with the launch of "Street Fighter V" influenced several decisions during "Infinite"s development. The heavy criticism towards "Street Fighter V"s lack of content prompted Capcom to promise a larger variety of single-player and multiplayer content for "Infinite" upon release. As a result of "Street Fighter V"s initial online multiplayer server issues, the developers plan to forgo their own servers in favor of dedicated servers by Sony and Microsoft, aiming to provide more stable online play for "Infinite". The game does not feature cross-platform play, with Evans citing Capcom's trouble with implementing the Capcom Fighters Network cross-platform structure into "Street Fighter V". "Infinite" also does not include any currency systems similar to "Street Fighter V"s "Fight Money".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" was released for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, on September 19, 2017, in North America and Europe, and September 21 in Japan. The game was available in three editions: a standard edition, a "Deluxe Edition", and a "Collector's Edition". Pre-orders for the standard edition include the Evil Ryu and Warrior Thor alternate in-game costumes. Pre-orders for the "Deluxe Edition" include the Evil Ryu, Warrior Thor, Gladiator Hulk and alternate costumes, in addition to the "2017 Character Pass". The "Collector's Edition", which includes the "Deluxe Edition" and its pre-order incentives, features four character dioramas of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Mega Man X and Chun-Li by TriForce, and a case filled with six LED-powered Infinity Stone replicas. The Major Carol Danvers alternate costume was also packaged exclusively with the PlayStation 4 version. A story mode demo was released on June 12, 2017, following Sony's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. In February 2018, "Infinite" was listed on the Microsoft Store as an Xbox Play Anywhere title.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: To coincide with the game's release, Capcom announced their first global tournament series for "Infinite" called "Battle for the Stones". In addition to extending special invitations to the Evolution Championship Series' seven "Marvel vs. Capcom 3" champions, Capcom selected six community events to act as "Infinity Stone Tournaments". The winner of each event, in addition to qualifying for the "Battle for the Stones" finals, received an Infinity Stone that could be used to gain a unique advantage during the competition. For example, the Space Stone allowed its bearer to swap their position within the tournament bracket to face a different opponent, while the Mind Stone allowed its bearer to pick their opponent's team. Fellow competitors could steal Infinity Stones by successfully defeating their current owners. Capcom also held three regional online tournaments to fill out the remaining bracket spots. The finals were held in Anaheim, California on December 9–10, 2017, and included a prize pool. The winner of the tournament was Jonathan "Cloud805" Morales, who received and an Infinity Gauntlet trophy.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: The "2017 Character Pass" includes six DLC fighters: Black Panther, Black Widow, Monster Hunter, Sigma, Venom, and Winter Soldier. Black Panther, Monster Hunter, and Sigma were released on October 17, 2017, while Black Widow, Venom, and Winter Soldier were released on December 5. Players could also obtain the Superior Spider-Man alternate costume by pre-ordering "" through the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One online stores before October 24, 2017. On October 17, Capcom released three themed costume packs, each containing six outfits: the Avenging Army Pack (Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, Dante, Spencer, Arthur), the World Warriors Pack (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Chris, Ryu, Chun-Li), and the Mystic Masters Pack (Doctor Strange, Dormammu, Ghost Rider, Morrigan, Firebrand, Nemesis). The costumes can also be purchased individually or altogether with the "Premium Costume Pass". The Premium Costume Pass gives players additional access to the Stone Seekers Pack (Spider-Man, Ultron, Thanos, Jedah, Frank, Haggar) and the Cosmic Crusaders Pack (Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Nova, Strider Hiryu, X, Zero), which were released on December 5.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: In February 2017, Hasbro announced a "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" toy line during their presentation at the American International Toy Fair. Later in May, Marvel announced a series of "Marvel vs. Capcom"-themed comic book variant covers, which became available in comic stores throughout August. In September, Marvel revealed a new wave of Funko Pop! collectibles, featuring the playable cast from "Infinite" in their premium alternate costumes. The collectibles were released in November 2017.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: In pre-release coverage, "Infinite"s departure from some of the series' long-standing gameplay mechanics, namely three-on-three battles and character assist moves, for the sake of accessibility was met with mixed reception. Suriel Vazquez of "Game Informer" and Wesley Yin-Poole of "Eurogamer" stated that "Infinite" could end up being a divisive game, especially to the hardcore audience, since both mechanics had defined the "Marvel vs. Capcom" series for nearly two decades. The issue was mirrored by "IGN" Daniel Krupa, who mentioned that the shifts in the series' formula could lead to a feeling among fans that their game was being "diluted" for newer players. Vazquez and Krupa, however, appreciated the changes, with Vazquez saying that he preferred the series "go for broke", rather than play it safe. "GamesRadar" David Houghton and "Kotaku"'s Ian Walker gave positive remarks in their impressions of the press preview build, with both praising the development team's attempt to create an accessible environment for newcomers while also pleasing the competitive community.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Early criticism was directed at "Infinite" less stylized art direction. Alex Donaldson of "VG247" stated that "the art style just feels off — or at worst, unfinished...as it stands right now the art style is a mistake when compared to "Marvel vs. Capcom 3"". Sergio Figueroa of "Gamereactor" and Nick Valdez of "Destructoid" also expressed disappointment with the visuals, particularly the in-game character models and the HUD. Figueroa wrote that "the developers have chosen a simplistic and, in our opinion, insufficiently detailed character design that we think diminishes the fighters' personalities". The release of the story mode demo was also criticized. "Polygon" David Cabrera felt the demo was a "squandered opportunity" by Capcom that "actively [hid] the good points of the game and [highlighted] its failings", such as unpolished character models and awkward voice acting, while "Game Informer"'s Ben Reeves thought the demo lacked entertaining moments and failed to showcase Marvel and Capcom's "dream matchups" in any meaningful or creative way. Following complaints about the quality of certain character models, particularly on the Capcom side of the roster, the developers announced plans for a day-one patch that would focus on artistic improvements.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" was released to mixed to positive reviews, according to "Metacritic", which provided aggregated scores of 77, 72, and 69 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows versions, respectively.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: The game received praise for its gameplay, including its changes to the series' traditional tag team system and the addition of the Infinity Stones. "GameSpot" Tamoor Hussain complimented the developers for simplifying tagging without sacrificing gameplay depth. He appreciated the game's more open-ended fighting systems, comparing "Infinite" to "a blank canvas" and its mechanics "as the brushes for painting your unique superhero squad". "Polygon" Chelsea Stark and Jeff Ramos also praised the revised core mechanics, saying that the new tag system opened more options for clever combo creation. Similarly, "IGN" Darry Huskey was impressed by the game's willingness to "completely [upend] traditions fans have known since "X-Men vs. Street Fighter" in 1996" by overhauling time-honored game mechanics, such as the assist system. Additionally, Huskey described the decision to replace each team's third character with an Infinity Stone as the "crown jewel" of "Infinite"'s design, claiming that it "works so well, it makes the very idea of a three-character team now seem like old news". "Game Informer" Ben Reeves wrote that the streamlined fighting system and the inclusions of automatic combos and simplified super attacks would allow newcomers "to feel right at home".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: Reviewers largely criticized the game for its presentation. Huskey labeled the character design as "distractingly bad and stiff", and found the orchestral soundtrack to be "forgettable and easily ignored". Stark and Ramos proclaimed that the aesthetics were "the stalest the franchise has ever seen", and compared the user interface to "placeholder graphics that were never changed for the final product". "Destructoid" Chris Carter also loathed the visuals, describing the art style as "a crime against humanity". "GamesRadar" Sam Prell felt that "Infinite"'s presentation, in comparison to "the flashy cel-shaded art direction and over-the-top tone of "Marvel vs. Capcom 3"" and "the silky smooth sprites and technical precision of "Marvel vs. Capcom 2"", made the game fall "hopelessly short...in the shadow of its own pedigree". "Eurogamer" Wesley Yin-Poole reproached the art style, calling it a "desperate attempt to appeal to fans of Marvel's all-encompassing cinematic universe" and "an abomination of a look that neither appeals to movie nor comic book fans".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: "Infinite" was also criticized for its playable roster, which was smaller than the previous installment, "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3", and recycled many of its characters. "VentureBeat" Mike Minotti expressed his disappointment with the game's smaller selection of fighters, especially compared to its predecessors, and the meager amount of newcomers. Yin-Poole noted the lack of diversity in the roster, particularly the lack of playable female characters. The omission of characters from the "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" franchises was also chastised by critics, who speculated that the then-ongoing legal dispute between The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios, and 20th Century Fox over their film rights was the main motive behind their exclusion. Prell and Yin-Poole both lambasted the lack of "X-Men" characters, pointing out the franchise's significance in establishing the "Marvel vs. Capcom" series with "X-Men vs. Street Fighter". The latter declared their omission as "a dagger in the heart of every ["Marvel vs. Capcom"] fan - one that there is no recovering from".


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: The game was nominated for "Best Fighting Game of E3 2017" by the Game Critics Awards, but lost to "Dragon Ball FighterZ", another game with similar gameplay to the "Marvel vs. Capcom" series, in which "Infinite" was negatively compared to and overshadowed by. It also received "Best Fighting Game of 2017" nominations by "IGN", The Game Awards, and the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, but lost to "Injustice 2". In addition, it received nominations for "Control Precision" and "Game, Franchise Fighting" at the 17th Annual National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, but lost to "Cuphead" and "Tekken 7", respectively.


title: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

text: According to their sales plans for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2018, Capcom expected "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" to sell two million units worldwide. The game saw poor first-week sales in the United Kingdom, debuting at #12 on the all-formats chart. The PlayStation 4 version peaked at #16 in the individual formats chart, while the Xbox One version failed to reach the Top 40. In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version ranked #8 on the Media Create sales chart after its first week, selling 8,273 copies; the Xbox One version did not make it into the Top 20. This marked a significant drop from the 80,966 units "Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds" had sold in a similar time period. The game reached #6 in Australia and #7 in New Zealand for its first week. It ranked #6 in the United States' list of top-selling games for September 2017, and #19 in the US PlayStation Store's September download charts. In its first half report of the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2018, Capcom reported that over 900,000 units had been shipped in the period ending September 30, 2017. In its third quarter report of the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2018, Capcom disclosed that "Infinite" had sold one million units as of December 31, 2017, missing its initial sales target. In their 2018 integrated report, Capcom described sales for "Infinite" as weak, stating ""Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" delivered a certain level of sales, primarily


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: Home Movies is an American television sitcom created by Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard. The show centers on an eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker, also named Brendon Small, who makes homemade film productions in his spare time with his friends Melissa Robbins and Jason Penopolis. He lives with his divorced mother Paula and his adopted baby sister Josie. He develops a skewed father-son-like relationship with his alcoholic, short-tempered soccer coach, John McGuirk.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: "Home Movies" premiered on UPN on April 26, 1999. UPN cancelled the series after only five episodes due to low ratings, but Cartoon Network purchased the rights to the series, seeing potential in it; the show premiered as the first original program on their nighttime adult-oriented Adult Swim block on the night of the block's launch on September 2, 2001. The series ended on April 4, 2004, with a total of 52 episodes over the course of four seasons.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: "Home Movies" developed a cult following during its run, and is still considered a renowned cult show, having been well-regarded by critics in the years since its run. Co-creator Small later helped create the Adult Swim animated series "Metalocalypse" and Bouchard later created the animated series "Bob's Burgers" for the Fox network, casting H. Jon Benjamin (the voice of Coach McGuirk, Jason, and Perry) as the voice of Bob.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: Animated in Squigglevision and heavily using retroscripting, the first five episodes aired on UPN in 1999. The show introduced the main characters in this season, and mainly consisted of episodes revolving around Brendon's movies. Much of the style of the writing is loose and improvised. The season ends with Brendon saying hello to his erstwhile absent father on the phone.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: Now animated in Flash, this is the first season commissioned by Cartoon Network as a result of mixed ratings of season one reruns. The episodes are now heavily scripted, but the creators now have much more freedom, allowing for creative episodes (“History”), introducing new characters (Fenton Mulley, the Adelbergs) as well as a multiple-story season arc, which includes:


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: The show also develops a writing device that carries through the next seasons, in which the plots of one episode usually all have an underlying theme. Emphasis on Brendon's movies becomes key here, and the subtext of their creation is finally discussed.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: A bit looser than season two, the show loses the idea of a seasonal story arc, and many of the episodes air out of order. The episodes become racier, with more resounding sexual themes and cursing than before. Secondary characters, such as Fenton and Duane, are given more screen time, relative to the prior seasons. Another aspect is that the show begins to acknowledge actual movies more often than it had previously, and starts parodying them heavily. The season ends with Brendon's stepmother Linda having a child, but afterwards she and Andrew no longer make appearances in the show.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: The final season: the creators apparently knew they were getting canceled throughout the entire production of the final thirteen episodes. Many of the episodes are straight parodies of movies, including three allusions to Hitchcockian thrillers. The bulk of the episodes consist of plots that involve Brendon doing something other than making films. Part of this revolves around Brendon trying to figure out whether he still enjoys making movies, or if it is becoming more of a chore. An entire episode ("Curses") dealt with swearing and adult themes. The loose dialogue and long conversations lessen for humorous plot devices and a speedier delivery at jokes and gags. The final episode ("Focus Grill"), was made in mind as a series finale, and brought back the long conversations and loose dialogue, as well as a resolution to the series as Brendon, Jason and Melissa finally make a conclusion to their first film, declaring their friendship before they come to the conclusion that their movies are not as good as they had always believed. Brendon accidentally drops his camera from a moving car while filming scenery in the final sequence and watches in distress as it gets run over, but is thereafter distracted from his grief by a discussion of fast food prompted by his mother and Coach McGuirk.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: In its first season, "Home Movies" utilized Soup2Nuts' Squigglevision animation but later abandoned that for the cheaper, more malleable Macromedia Flash animation. The switch was initiated for several reasons, including scattered negative response to Squigglevision from both critics and viewers, limitations in regard to movement (fluid motion is rare in Squigglevision), and the producers' view that since Squigglevision was inherent to "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist", "Home Movies" should develop its own unique style.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: The dialogue of "Home Movies" initially relied upon spontaneous or "ad-lib" creation by the actors. The scripts were purposely left vague, with the plot of a particular scene merely outlined, and the dialogue improvised by the actors, with the animation then created and matched to the edited soundtrack. Bouchard referred to this process as "retroscripting," a technique he had developed on "Dr. Katz"." The first episode was entirely improvised. Though retroscripting was used officially in only the first season, the dialogue in the following three seasons remained heavily improvised, with the written script serving mainly as a guide to fall back on for jokes if needed.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: The soundtrack for "Home Movies" was released May 16, 2006 and includes fifty-two songs which were featured throughout the series. The CD comes packaged with the DVD release of the show's fourth season box set. All music was written by Brendon Small.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: Shout! Factory, through Sony BMG Music Entertainment, released DVDs of "Home Movies" seasons, each on three-disc box sets. Each DVD has numerous special features and easter eggs. Shout! Factory later on released all of the Home Movies episodes on Amazon Video on Demand. Seasons 2 through 4 are available for free streaming with a public library card on the Hoopla app and website in the United States. Some episodes are able to be streamed through the Adult Swim official website and app on a rotating basis. The series also joined HBO Max on May 27, 2020.


title: Home Movies (TV series)

text: The series has been highly regarded by critics upon and since its release. In 2009, IGN included it on their list of the top 100 animated series of all time. While reviewing the first season, "PopMatters" noted that "The animation serves one of the most impressive aspects: the fact that it was largely improvised", while "Variety" praised the show's dialogue and humor, saying ""Home Movies" manages to set itself apart, offering clever dialogue and sharp social commentary."


title: Bone (comics)

text: Bone is an American independently-published graphic novel series, written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004. The series was self-published by Smith's Cartoon Books for issues #1-20, by Image Comics from issues #21-27, and back to Cartoon Books for issues #28-55.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Smith's black-and-white drawings, inspired by animated cartoons and comic strips, are singularly characterized by a mixture of both light-hearted comedy and dark fantasy thriller. The author, Jeff Smith, describes the comics as "a fish-out-of-water story. There are three modern characters who happen to be cartoons in the mold of Donald Duck or Bugs Bunny, and get lost in a fairy-tale valley. They spend a year there and make friends and enemies, finding themselves caught up in the trials and tribulations of the valley, and even a war".


title: Bone (comics)

text: The first volume of the series ("Bone: Out from Boneville)" follows Fone Bone and his two cousins, Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone and Smiley Bone. When Phoney's campaign for mayor goes awry, Phoney is run out of their hometown of Boneville (Fone Bone and Smiley helping him run away). After crossing a desert, Smiley finds a hand-drawn map that they use to navigate their way across the fantasy landscape. The cousins are separated by a sea of locusts and individually end up in a mysterious valley. Their journey is made more difficult by the rat creatures that are pursuing them on their travels. Eventually, they joyously reunite at a local tavern called Barrelhaven, where they are taken in by a mysterious girl named Thorn and her even more enigmatic grandmother. Fone Bone instantly develops a crush on Thorn and repeatedly attempts to express his love through poetry. As they stay longer in the Valley, they encounter humans and other creatures who are threatened by a dark entity, the Lord of the Locusts. The Bones, trying to escape to Boneville, are quickly drawn into the events around them, compelling them on a hero's journey to help free the Valley.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The rest of the series is made up of similar quest stories, but with varying settings and plot lines. All of the comics maintain the elements of fantasy and humor that Smith employs in "Out from Boneville", as well as the intensity of an adventure story.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The "Bone" comics are a series of fictional graphic novels, that tells stories of mystery, romance and adventure. Smith claims that the stories were not originally written for an adolescent audience; however, it is this age group that has supported the series most. The novels are written as fantasy stories, following a hero on their quest. They are also meant to be read as a comedy, with elements of sarcasm and exaggeration.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Smith is the author of a few suspenseful mystery novels, but he mainly produces graphic novels. Over the years he has published other graphic novels, written comics for DC Comics and created other comic book series. He is most famous, however, for "Bone".


title: Bone (comics)

text: The author and illustrator, Jeff Smith, made the decision to create "Bone" in the classic black-and-white comic book style. Critics speculate that he did this so that he could maintain the clear lines that allow for exaggerated characters that contrast their subtle, detailed backgrounds.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The background of the story is mainly set in the Valley but Boneville is mentioned throughout. Boneville, although never actually shown, is implied as technologically contemporary: Fone refers to its extensive downtown and has comics for Smiley and a copy of "Moby Dick" in his pack, Phoney carries dollar bills, and Smiley refers to a PizzaInACup™ and a CornDogHut™. In contrast, the Valley is depicted as somewhat medieval, inasmuch as its citizens employ a barter system, weapons, and modes of transportation similar to those of the Middle Ages, and Phoney persistently refers to the valley people as "yokels".


title: Bone (comics)

text: The series centers on the Bone cousins, bald cartoon characters. The group includes avaricious Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone, goofy cigar-smoking Smiley Bone, and everyman character Fone Bone. Smith describes the characters in the comics as "modern" even though they possess the "timeless task of combating evil, in order that goodness may triumph".


title: Bone (comics)

text: The comics take place in a fantasy world. They are known for their adventurous story lines and their humor, but they are also said to have a "darker subtext about power and evil".


title: Bone (comics)

text: Author of the "Bone" comics, Jeff Smith, created the first sketch when he was about five years old, when he drew what looked like an old C-shaped telephone handset receiver. This original drawing, a frowning character with its mouth wide open, resembled characteristics of Phoney Bone, the grouchy cousin to Fone Bone. In 1970, when Smith was ten, he began making these drawings into comics.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The comics had many major influences throughout their creation. For example, Smith tried to pattern "Bone" structurally around Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn". He enjoyed how it was a story which "start(s) off very simple, almost like children's stories ... but as it goes on, it gets a little darker, and the themes become a little more sophisticated and more complex". Smith was also taken by Carl Barks' character Scrooge McDuck. Smith said that he "always wanted Uncle Scrooge to go on a longer adventure. I thought, 'Man, if you could just get a comic book of that quality, the length of say, "War and Peace", or "The Odyssey" or something, that would be something I would love to read, and even as a kid I looked everywhere for that book, that Uncle Scrooge story that was 1,100 pages long".


title: Bone (comics)

text: Other influences in this regard include the original "Star Wars" trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and the classic fairy tales and mythologies that inspired those works. "Moby Dick", Smith's favorite book, is cited for its multi-layered narrative and symbolism, numerous references to it are placed throughout "Bone". "Bone" was also informed by other comics including "Peanuts" and Walt Kelly's comic strip "Pogo".


title: Bone (comics)

text: While Smith attended the Ohio State University, he created a comic strip called "Thorn" for the student newspaper, "The Lantern", which included some of the characters who later featured in "Bone".


title: Bone (comics)

text: After college, Smith and his friends produced animation work on commission in their studio, Character Builders Inc., but Smith eventually came to decide that it was not the type of cartooning he wished to do. Drawn to the idea that he could produce his own animated-type story but in the comics medium, and convinced by Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" and Art Spiegelman's "Maus" that a serious comic book with a beginning, middle and end structure was both artistically and commercially viable, Smith decided to produce "Bone".


title: Bone (comics)

text: In 1991, Smith launched his company, Cartoon Books, to publish the series. Initially, Smith self-published the book, which meant that he did all the work required to both produce and distribute the series as a business himself, including answering letters, doing all the graphics and lettering (which he did by hand), sending the artwork to the printer, handling orders and bookkeeping. This made it difficult to focus on writing and drawing the book, and as a result, he fell behind in his production. To remedy this, he asked his wife, Vijaya, to quit her lucrative job at a Silicon Valley startup company to run the business side of Bone as the President of Cartoon Books. As a result, Smith was able to refocus on drawing, and sales improved. In 1995, Smith began publishing "Bone" through Image Comics. Smith believed this would be a temporary arrangement, and to maintain the book's place in catalogs, the collected volumes remained under the Cartoon Books label. During the title's time at Image, the first 27 issues were reprinted by Image with new covers, which are distinguished by the Image logo in the upper left-hand corner of the cover. The Cartoon Books printings have black back covers, inset with a single panel reprinted from inside. First printings can be distinguished from later printings by changes in the color of the logo on the front cover. The comic and its story ended with its 55th issue, dated June 2004. The back cover has, in place of the usual comic panel, a black-and-white photo of Smith in his studio drawing the last page on May 10. In an interview on "Attack of the Show", Smith revealed that he drew the last page before working on the first issue. The 55 issues have been collected into the following volumes.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Other books published in the color series but not part of the main storyline are the prequel "Rose", illustrated by Charles Vess; the "Bone Handbook"; and "Tall Tales", which has a new story surrounding reprints of the Big Johnson Bone story, the "Disney Adventures" story, and a few new tales.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Issues from the "Out from Boneville" collection were also reprinted in the digest-sized children's magazine "Disney Adventures", first in 1994 and later in 1997 through 1998. The issues usually consisted of 7–9 pages a month and were colored. The pages were also censored to remove smoking and drinking references and any innuendo involving Thorn and Fone Bone. There was also an exclusive story for "Disney Adventures" by Smith, featuring Fone and Phoney following a "treasure map".


title: Bone (comics)

text: The series was split into three-story arcs, each having two names, one being the original arc name, the other being the name used in the one volume edition, respectively as follows. The first arc lasted from issues #1–19 (volumes #1–3, June 1991 – August 1995) being named Vernal Equinox, or The Valley. It was the longest running arc (in terms of time) running for four years and one month. The main story in issue #13.5, ""Up on the Roof"", was reprinted as chapter six in "The Great Cow Race" collected edition, therefore making it part of "Vernal Equinox". The second arc was named Solstice, or Phoney Strikes Back. The arc lasted from issues #20–37 (volumes #4–6, October 1995 – August 1999). It is tied as the longest running arc in issues with the third arc (lasting 19 issues). The third arc, Harvest or Friends & Enemies, lasted from issues #38–55 (volumes #7–9, August 2000 – June 2004).


title: Bone (comics)

text: From February 2005 to January 2009, Scholastic Inc. (through its new Graphix imprint) began reissuing in both hardcover and paperback the individual volumes in full color by Steve Hamaker. In 2006, HarperCollins began publishing the full color editions for the UK market.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The series was also reprinted in color under HarperCollins Children's Books, the fourth individual reprinting for the first three volumes and the third individual reprinting for the last six volumes. The first three volumes have been published in 2005, 2007, and 2009, respectively, though it is unclear whether the last six volumes will be reprinted.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The special 1,332-page, one-volume edition () was released originally for $40 (USD) through Jeff Smith's Cartoon Books imprint in a paperback volume. This special print of the entire adventure was to celebrate the end of the series and the commencement of every collection in the series being reprinted in color through Scholastic Press. First released in 2004 and promoted as only a limited print run being available, this edition has had several reprintings to keep it available.


title: Bone (comics)

text: In addition to the one-volume paperback, a signed limited edition hardcover edition of the one-volume book was issued. The deluxe hardcover featured gold embossed lettering on the cover, gilded edges, and a cloth ribbon bookmark. The end pages are printed with a map of The Valley and it comes with a full-color signed and numbered bookplate. This limited edition pressing of the book originally sold for around $125 (USD) and was initially limited to 2,000 copies. The series has been reprinted 13 times, also featuring a signed limited edition of the 13th pressing version sold during November 2009.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The collection won the 2005 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album-Reprint, and was listed at No. 3 in "Time" magazine's "Best Comix of 2004". Reviewer Andrew Arnold said of the collection, which was published at the conclusion of the monthly series: "As sweeping as the "Lord of the Rings" cycle, but much funnier ... Smith imbues even simple dialogue panels with animation. Now that it's finished "Bone" should join the ranks of "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" in the young adult pantheon".


title: Bone (comics)

text: In November 2011, for its 20th anniversary, a full-color, one-volume edition was released. It has a special section in the back with a cover gallery of the original comics, an illustrated timeline of Bone's 20-year history, and an essay by author Jeff Smith. A special edition was also released that included the book, a signed print by Jeff Smith, a Phoney Bone gold coin, three pewter bone figures of Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, a copy of "The Cartoonist" documentary DVD, a miniature facsimile of the original "Bone" comic No. 1 and a big red box with a picture of Fone on it to hold it all.


title: Bone (comics)

text: This was a Hero Premiere Edition bundled with "Hero Illustrated" magazine. It includes a short story where the Bone cousins celebrate Winter Solstice, and also a Jeff Smith interview and sketches. It is featured in the "Crown of Horns" collection and the final issue of the series.


title: Bone (comics)

text: This was a free comic book mail-in offer through "Wizard" magazine. As was also common with "Wizard" magazine comic offers, there was a special gold foil cover variant where the Bone title on the cover is embossed in gold foil. It came in a rigid mylar sleeve and a certificate of authenticity. There is a short story that fits in between No. 13 and 14 of the regular series, and is included in "Bone" Vol. 2: "The Great Cow Race". This special also includes a Jeff Smith interview and sketches.


title: Bone (comics)

text: This was a free promotional book given out at 1995 San Diego Comic-con and it also polybagged with "Wizard" magazine. This sourcebook was published to celebrate the move of the "Bone" series from self-publishing to Image Comics, where it stayed for only 7 issues before Jeff Smith took it back to self-publishing.


title: Bone (comics)

text: To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, a special color edition of "Bone" No. 1 was released with a free collectible Fone Bone PVC figure and a full color Phoney Bone Gazillion dollar bill. This special edition included a new cover, a new afterword by Jeff Smith, and an illustrated eight-page commentary by comics historian R. C. Harvey, and the original artwork was digitally remastered in full color.


title: Bone (comics)

text: To celebrate its 25-year anniversary, Cartoon Books released "Bone: Coda", a 120-page graphic novel that includes a 32-page short story featuring the Bone cousins returning to their home town of Boneville after the events of the last issue of "Bone" series.


title: Bone (comics)

text: His name is derived from Fonebone, the recurring surname that Don Martin gave to many of the characters that appeared in his "Mad" magazine strips. "Wizard" magazine ranked Fone Bone as the 28th-greatest comic book character of all time. "IGN" also ranked Fone Bone as the 60th-greatest comic book hero of all time, stating that "his good nature and his unrequited love for his ally Thorn make Fone the heart and soul of this fantastical book."


title: Bone (comics)

text: Seemingly a simple farm girl, it is soon revealed that she is heir to the throne of Atheia. She is also a "Veni-Yan-Cari" (the awakened one), one who can see into the "dreaming", a kind of parallel existence, or "spirit world". Thorn has excellent courage as well as fantastic powers, such as escaping through a landslide blindfolded, flying, and jumping a castle wall without injuring herself. In a sense she can do anything if she can "concentrate her dreaming". Fone Bone falls in love with her at their first meeting.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Thorn's grandmother, a tough-as-nails farmer who races against cows on foot as a hobby, and always wins. An immensely strong person, it is revealed that she is the former Queen of Atheia who escaped to Barrelhaven with Lucius Down to protect and safeguard Thorn.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A large, gruff, older man who was described as over seven feet tall and over 300 pounds. Lucius was so powerful he could scare even Euclid into submission. He runs the Barrelhaven Tavern, and was the foil for almost all of Phoney Bone's schemes. In the later books we find that Jonathan Oaks was like a son to him. He was previously Captain of the Queen's guard and it was hinted he had a history with Gran'ma Ben, only to reveal later that he had 'picked the wrong girl', instead falling in love with her sister, Briar, whose motive in the affair was to hurt Rose. He was later in love with Rose Harvestar. Before the Rat Creatures destroy his tavern, he relocates to Old Man's cave, where he becomes Captain of an ill-equipped infantry of Barrelhaven farmers. After the volcano erupts, he leads the farmers and Veni Yan south, arriving in time for the battle on Sinner's Rock. When the Hooded One prepares to kill Rose, Lucius grabs onto her just as she is destroyed; the resulting surge in power kills Lucius. His body is later taken north and buried behind the rebuilt Barrelhaven Tavern.


title: Bone (comics)

text: The son of the great dragon Mim, The Great Red Dragon is often Fone Bone's last-minute savior. The Red Dragon appears when he is most needed. Gran'ma Ben does not trust him, regardless of how many times he has saved her or her friends from harm. The Great Red Dragon seems to be incredibly ancient. In a sequence that shows the land during the Dragons' reign, supposedly the beginning of time, the Great Red Dragon can be seen fighting Mim along with other dragons. As said in the prequel "Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails", he is Mim's son and he was part of the group that trapped her in stone when the Valley was made. He took care of Thorn during the Great War while Rose searched for a place for them to hide. He is also seen at the end of "Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails" during the time of Boneville's founding by Big Johnson Bone. Fone Bone indicates that he has a baritone voice.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A small, often outspoken villager who works for Lucius at the Barrelhaven, and views Lucius as a hero. He was saved from an ambush from the rat creatures in "Old Man's Cave" after being wounded severely. It was then thought/hinted largely that he did not survive the wounds in "Ghost Circles", but in "Treasure Hunters" it is mentioned he possibly did survive.


title: Bone (comics)

text: One of Lucius' tough "bar-room boys" and the tinsmith of Barrelhaven. Outspoken in the early issues (he and Euclid have more than once threatened to trounce Phoney Bone), he becomes more introverted once the reality of the war presents itself. He often changes sides and his mind. He goes from hating the Bones and stick-eaters to following them, then hating the Bones again. He seems to be a powerful ally to have in his village and is often followed by the villagers when he changes sides. Despite his skinny appearance, he is implied to be just as strong as Euclid.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Along with Jonathan and Wendell, one of the "bar-room boys". He is depicted as very large and muscular, and often wishes to resort to physical force to solve problems. He is consumed by a ghost circle after the volcano explosion, but returns after Thorn destroys the ghost circles.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A third bar-room boy. Is almost always present near Wendell, Euclid, and Jonathan, but rarely speaks. None of his comments give much of a hint to his personality. It is implied that he is a total follower with little or no influence.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A helpful "Acanalonia bivittata", or planthopper, who appears as a recurring supporting character. Often mistaken for a leaf, Ted is the first creature Fone Bone encounters when he enters the valley and the two become fast friends. He harbors a strange link to the Red Dragon and has an older brother who is several hundred times his size. He is able to perform magical enchantments and has the ability to detect Ghost Circles.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A female opossum who is the mother to the three possum kids, she is likewise a caring, motherly figure to everyone in the valley. She often has something to give to Fone Bone when she sees him, such as sealing putty, which Fone mistakenly eats a little of.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Three young opossums with a thirst for adventure. They have a knack for getting into trouble which then Fone Bone saves them from, but they are resourceful and cunning, and play a significant part in "Rock Jaw". The possums look suspiciously like Pogo the possum from Walt Kelly's comic strip.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Servant of the Lord of the Locusts, Kingdok's superior, and the main antagonist. It is implied that The Hooded One is a former Veni Yan warrior, as she wears a similar robe and hood. It is later revealed that the Hooded One is Briar Harvestar, the elder sister of Gran'ma Ben and the grand-aunt of Thorn. It is heavily implied that her antagonism is based on nothing more than jealousy of Rose, who was apparently her mom's favorite between the two and had the affection of Lucius. When the Rat Creatures invaded in the great war, she betrayed the Royal family by showing the Rat Creatures the secret escape passage Thorn had used to escape the palace. When the King, Thorn's father, learned of this betrayal, he cut her in half with an abandoned harvesting scythe, which the Hooded One now carries as a weapon that can now cut through steel and rock. Briar was possessed and resurrected by a swarm of locusts. She is killed when her master, the Lord of the Locusts, is destroyed. It is suggested by some of her actions throughout the storyline that being the servant of the Lord of the Locusts drove her insane.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A giant rat creature, ruler of the horde of rat creatures and lackey of the Lord of the Locusts. Although he is ego-maniacal and cruel, he is prone to superstition and easily manipulated by The Hooded One. He carries a golden spiked club around with him, until Thorn cuts off his right arm. Roque Ja at one point attacks Kingdok and rips out his tongue, which he keeps as a trophy. A possible continuity error is that while Roque Ja is bragging about owning the tongue, Kingdok cannot speak, but later speaks clearly to the Hooded One; after that, he attempts to say "kill you", and it comes out "gill yoo", just as one would speak without a tongue. This may be an effect of the Hooded One's power; while the Hooded One is alive he can speak, but after she is destroyed he cannot. Afterwards, Kingdok spends most of his time lumbering about underground to reach the Crown of Horns. At the end of the novel, he faces Thorn before she can touch the Crown of Horns. Having been stripped of his authority, dignity, and physical health over the course of the series, he demands that Thorn face him in a life or death battle. He reveals that he had been the one to kill her parents by eating them, and proceeds to bite Thorn's leg when she tries to get around him. He dies when Thorn stabs him shortly thereafter.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Two rat creature soldiers, one blue, one brown, who have a particular interest in devouring the Bone cousins, and Fone Bone in particular. The two are rather incompetent, once deserting the army after their disobedience costs Kingdok his arm and later allying with the Bones briefly before returning to their own side. They address each other as "comrade". Fone Bone is the one who dubs the two "Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures", most commonly when they are hanging off the side of a cliff. Occasionally other characters also refer to them as such. Fone Bone is also usually credited with coining the term "Rat Creatures" itself; however, he actually got the name from the possum kids.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A purplish baby rat creature found by Fone Bone and adopted as a pet by Smiley Bone (who also gave him his name). After the Bones' first encounter with Roque Ja, Bartleby returns to the fold of the Rat Creatures, though is out of place there and returns to the Bones later after growing a little. He became a good friend to Smiley and when they left for Boneville, he went with them. Bartleby was named by Shaenon K. Garrity, for the title character in the short story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville. Unlike the other Rat Creatures, Bartleby has round ears. He explains that the Rat Creatures are supposed to get their ears cropped and that he ran away before they could do that to him. Bartleby also explains that the first time he ran away from the Rat Creatures was after he got his tail chopped off. He states that all Rat Creatures are born with beautiful, long, hairless tails, but all the Rat Creature cubs have their tails chopped off around the time they turn one year old. This is due to their belief that a sort of boogie man named 'The Jekk' will drag them away in their sleep by their tails. In the prequel book "Stupid, Stupid, Rat-Tails", we learn that the Bone cousins' forefather 'Big Johnson Bone' is the fabled boogie man they fear, having come to the Valley hundreds of years earlier and fighting the Rat Creatures by swinging them around by their tails. In a sequence depicting the land during the Dragons' rule, Rat Creatures with long tails can be seen in the distance.


title: Bone (comics)

text: A huge mountain lion and an adversary to Kingdok who views himself as neutral in the conflict between the humans and the Lord of the Locusts despite lopsided affiliations. He is the guardian of the Eastern Border. His personal views are that there is no such thing as "good" and "evil", only that power matters above all and that friendship and love are meaningless. He despises both Dragons and Rat Creatures but works for the Hooded One in exchange for land and spoils of war. His name is mispronounced as 'Rock Jaw' by the Bone cousins. His size also varies in the books sometimes being smaller than Kingdok to being large enough to fill a huge gap in the mountain side.


title: Bone (comics)

text: Roderick is a young raccoon whose parents were killed and eaten by the two stupid rat creatures. He is the leader of a large group of orphaned animal children living in the mountains. Roderick is the only one named, and the complete group consists of a beaver, a boar, a second raccoon, two birds, a rabbit, a porcupine, a turtle, two snakes, a squirrel, and a chipmunk. Roderick the Raccoon is a main character in the Quest for the Spark, though he is now older and friends with Tom Elm, another main character in the trilogy.