Merry Christmas

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading the blog and hopefully, I'll see you around.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kaamelott

Over the centuries, the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table have been told and re-told countless times in pretty much every medium. The quality of these stories have varied strongly, from the truly excellent to the ungodly awful. In this post, we'll take a look at one of my own personal favorite takes on the Arthur-legend: Kaamelott.

In case you haven't heard of it, Kaamelott is a French TV-series which lasted six seasons (or books as they're called) and ran from 2005 to 2009. The series is the brainchild of Alexandre Astier who, aside from serving as the show-runner, also composed to music and plays the role of King Arthur.

The outline of Kaamelott: Arthur has been crowned the king of Britain and now seeks to unite all the squabbling, smaller kingdoms of the realm into one, using the quest for the Holy Grail as a pre-text. However, said goal is not an easy one since the king has to content only with outer enemies, but also with the general incompetence of his men, not to mention his father-in-law Leodagan, who regards Arthur's unorthodox ideas about democracy and abolition of torture with a skeptical eye.


One of the most interesting things about Kaamelott is the way the show evolved during its tenure. The early seasons are pure comedy; there's no story-arc to speak of and the short (2-3 minutes) episodes can be watched in pretty much any order. Eventually, a plot starts to take form, dealing with the falling out between Arthur and his greatest knight, Lancelot. Lancelot, being one of the few knights who knows what he's doing eventually gets fed up with the general ineptitude of his fellow knights and decides to strike out on his own, as a knight-errant. The conflict between Arthur, the democratically-inclined king and Lancelot, the knight who believes that the Grail-Quest should be reserved for the elite is what drives the plot of the show in the later seasons.

The biggest change though, comes in season five. Here the tone of the show changes drastically; what began as a comedy, now turns into a serious drama. Although, the comedic elements are still present, though not as much as they used to be. Personally, I liked the direction the show took in its final two seasons, not only did I find the transition from comedy to drama well-made, but the characters also gain more depth, which can only be a plus. The final season is a prequel, which takes place fifteen years before the series began and focuses on Arthur's youth in Rome.

Character-wise, Kaamelott features quite a large cast of characters, taken from Arthurian lore. From the childlike and naive (though surprisingly insightful at times) Perceval, to the scheming king Loth, who always has a (faulty) Latin quotation at times to justify his treacherous behavior.

Of course, since Kaamelott began life as a comedy, some of the characters are quite different from how they're usual portrayed. For example, the wise and powerful Merlin is portrayed as a largely inept druid.

As great as the supporting cast is, the heart of Kaamelott is Arthur himself. Alexandre Astier's portrayal of the legendary king is nothing short of brilliant: His Arthur is a complex, flawed indivudal who cheats on his wife (something that comes back to haunt him in the end), can be pretty rude and sarcastic at times and, as the series slips into darker territory, becomes more and more plagued with self-doubt. That said, despite these flaws, Arthur remains at his core a heroic figure who strives to do what's best for his kingdom and his subjects.

Like many successful shows, Kaamelott has also given birth to its share of merchandise. Among them a comic-book. However, I haven't had the opportunity to read the comic yet and so am unable to vouch for its quality.

The series itself ended on something of a cliffhanger with the promise that Arthur would soon once again become a hero. However, it's been disconcertingly quiet about since then. Word has it that Astier has been planning both a seventh season titled Resistance, as well as three movies. Alas, these projects seem to be stuck in development-purgatory.

Until then, we'll have to enjoy the six seasons we already have. So let's go to Kaamelott, it may be a silly place, but it's well worth a visit.

Comics That Should Be Translated: Rebecca

Recently, I decided to re-read an old comic which had been gathering dust on my bookshelf ever since I last read it, many years ago. Upon reading it, I was struck almost from the page what a great read it was and so, I decided to make it the subject for the second post in my Comics That Should Be Translated series. The comic in question is Rebecca (but of course, you already knew that, having read the title of the post) by Anna Brandoli (art) and Renato Queirolo (script).

Rebecca takes place in Italy at the end of the 15th Century,  the story begins with the street-singer Mercutio fleeing through the snow, he's being pursued by two city-guards who took offence to one of his songs. Mercutio soon happens upon a cave, where he meets the comic's eponymous character; the gypsy-woman Rebecca. After she has helped Mercutio to get rid of the guards (I won't tell you how), Rebecca enlists the singer as her partner-in-crime (so to speak): She has found a hidden stash of weapons which she aims to sell in the city of Como. Once there, the duo soon finds themselves involved in a conspiracy cooked up by the local inquisitor to have a Jewish moneylender accused of witchcraft so that the church can confiscate his fortune.

One of Rebecca's chief strength is the very believable portrayal of Italy during the Renaissance.  Brandoli and Queirolo does not shy away from showing the injustices of the time, from the corruption to the religious oppression. The protagonists are hardly perfect, but they do come of as saints (or almost) when compared to the villains. Another thing the comic has going for it is it's cast of memorable characters. Aside from our two leads, Rebecca and Mercutio, this also includes (among others) the orally-gifted and intellectual miller Mennochio, who becomes one of the duo's allies as well as Filippo da Cesena; a leper who roams the countryside telling the tale of the crimes he committed when he was in the service of a generous but naive nobleman.

Incidentally, Filippo's story is perhaps my favorite segment of the comic. Covering only ten pages, it paints a fascinating portrait of a man who doesn't shrink from the blackest deeds in order to fulfill his thirst for wealth and power.

The comic is helped immensely by Anna Brandoli's artwork, which really sets the mood. Brandoli is another artist who has clearly mastered the use of black-and-white, much like her fellow countryman and colleague, the great Hugo Pratt.

There is a sequel to Rebecca called I Testamenti di Sant' Ambrogio (The Testament of St. Ambrogio), in color. I've read the first part of it in French and enjoyed it well-enough. However, the original Rebecca still stands out as one of the finest examples of its genre and a comic that definitely deserves to be translated.

Kill My Mother

I mentioned in my last post that during my trip to NY, I bought quite a lot of books. One of those books was Kill My Mother, a graphic-novel by renowned cartoonist Jules Feiffer.

I should perhaps start by saying that I'm only passingly familiar with Feiffer's work. I know who he is and I've seen a few of his drawings as well as his animated short-film Munro, about a four-year old who gets drafted into the US army, but that's as far as it goes. However, the cover of Kill My Mother, featuring a woman holding a smoking gun, as well as the enticing front-page blurb by Neil Gaiman, convinced me to shell out the bucks for it. Was it worth the prize? Short answer: Yes.

Kill My Mother is, according to Feiffer himself, a love-letter to the noir-films  and the classic adventure comic strips of yesteryear; those drawn by great artists like Milton Caniff or Will Eisner. The story begins in Bay City in the 1930's, it's here that we meet Elsie, the widow after a cop who was murdered during the Prohibition. Elsie now works as a secretary for her late husband's friend, Neil Hammond; a perpetually inebriated private-detective, in the hopes that the job will enable her to one day track down her husband's killers. We also meet Elsie's daughter, Annie, a rebellious teenager who harbors a schoolgirl-crush on Neil and resents her mother, believing that Elsie has effectively abandoned her. One day, a tall blonde by the name walks into Neil's office. She wants his help to find her old drama-teacher who has vanished without a trace. Neil suspects that there's something fishy going on, especially since the woman in the photo bears an uncanny resemblance to his client. Still, he needs the money, so he agrees to take the job.

I'll stop there, since I don't want to risk spoiling anything for those of haven't read Kill My Mother yet. Suffice to say that Feiffer tells a highly engaging story, one that takes many twists and turns and involves a large cast of characters. Speaking of which, the characters in this story are all memorable, whether it's the major characters like Annie and her boyfriend Artie or minor ones such as the communist liquor-store owner, I found them all to be interesting in their own ways.

On the artistic side, Feiffer draws in a sketchy style that may take some getting used to and may perhaps even put off some readers, which would be a great shame. Personally, I liked the artwork, it's very energetic with characters that sometime seem like they could leap out of the panels. In fact, this would make for an interesting animated movie.

All in all, Feiffer has certainly succeeded in creating a homage to the comics and movies of his youth. If you are a fan of the works of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler (to mention a few names), I'd suggest giving Kill My Mother a go.

Viktor Takes Manhattan

I seldom write about my personal life on this blog, mostly because I rarely feel that my personal life is worth writing about. That said, I did recently get back from a one-week trip to New York (accompanied by my parents and my younger sister) and so, I thought I'd write a bit about my stay there.

The first night we spent on Long Island, at the home of my dad's cousin (who immigrated to the States at a young age) and his wife. Both of them were nice people and in the off-chance that they might read this, I'd like to take an opportunity to thank them for their hospitality. The next day, we took the train to Manhattan and the hotel we had booked. For the duration of our stay, we mostly did typical tourist-stuff: We went to museums (such as the Guggenheim), took the Staten Island Ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty (though we didn't go up in it, maybe next time), ate at some really good restaurants (including a Brazilian one, my first time eating Brazilian food) and so forth. Of course, I also made time to buy a few books, some of which I will no doubt review on the blog in the future.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed my trip to New York (well, the parts of it we visited, which was mostly Manhattan) and wouldn't mind going again some other time. That said, it's nice to be home and able to sleep in one's own bed.

Inferno Cop

When it comes to anime, I'd say that 2013 was Studio Trigger's year. That year, the former Gainax employees released three great works; Kill La Kill, which almost made it onto my favorite animated shows of 2009-2014 post. The Little Witch Academia short, which was awesome and practically begs to be adapted into a full-length series and last, but not least; Inferno Cop, which I watched recently.

There are two things I'd like to make clear for those of you haven't watched this show: Do not go into Inferno Cop expecting eye-poppingly gorgeous animation, or great storytelling. The animation is extremely limited, bordering on the non-existend and although there is a plot, it mostly serves as an excuse to get the hero into various situations, one more bizarre than the other. So, if neither the animation nor the plot is anything special, why should you watch Inferno Cop? Well, for one thing, it's immensely entertaining; Landon of Mecha Guignol, put Inferno Cop at #1 on his best of 2013 list stating that "it's the anime equivalent of someone smashing action figures together, making up shit as they go" and therein lies the charm of this series: Inferno Cop operates completely under its own logic and it's hard not to get swept up by the sheer, anarchic enthusiasm of it all. The world of Inferno Cop is one were basically everything can happen and as a viewer all one can do is sit back and enjoy the ride

Another thing I liked about this show were the visual references to things that usually don't get shout-outs in anime. For example, Inferno Cop with his flaming skull is clearly based on Ghost Rider and the final villain seem to have raided The Scarlet Witch's wardrobe, just to name two examples.

All in all, if you have a few minutes over (this is a very short series, with most episodes being slightly over two minutes long), I'd recommend watching Inferno Cop, there are certainly worse ways you can spend your time.

MacBeth

I'm by no means an opera-buff, but lately I've begun to take an interest in this art-form. It all started last year, when the local cinema began broadcasting live-performances from the Metropolitan in New York. I went to see Puccini's Tosca and enjoyed it immensely. this Saturday I saw MacBeth, Verdi's Opera, based on one of my favorite Shakespeare-plays.

MacBeth is my first Verdi-Opera and having seen it, it's no wonder why Verdi is regarded as one of the greatest composers. The music and singing was excellent, from the fast-paced tunes of the witches' chorus, to the dark and intense melodies highlighting the evil deeds of MacBeth and his wife and their respective descent into their own self-created Hell.

All in all, an evening well-spent.

Comics That Should be Translated: Les Sept Vies de l'Epervier

I'm an avid reader of comics, no matter what format or genre (though obviously there are some genres I favor over others) and it just so happens that several of the comics I read happen to be in French and haven't been translated into English. As such, this will be a recurring series of post in which I will write about some of these comics that I feel deserve to be translated into English. The first such comic I've chosen to write about is Patrick Cothias' and André Juillard's masterpiece Les Sept Vies de l'Epervier.

In order to talk about this comic, we first need to talk about another one; Masquerouge (Redmask, yes it's supposed to be written as one word), which was a comic created by the team Cothias-Juillard for the children's magazine PIF Gadget back in the early 80's. Masquerouge took place in France during the reign of Louis XIII and starred a masked avenger clad in a red mask, who fought against corruption and injustice, as masked avengers tend to do. Somewhat unusual for the time was the fact that the person under the red mask was a woman, the young baroness Ariane de Troïl. Now, I haven't actually read Masquerouge so I can't vouch for it's quality, but everything I've read about it make it seem like a competently made, but fairly standard adventure-comic.

Anyway, in 1982, Cothias got the idea of making a prequel to Masquerouge, focusing on the origin of his heroine. Unlike it's mother-series, said prequel was meant to be for an older audience, with greater depth to the characters and everything that entails. This comic, which would soon come to completely eclipse Masquerouge in terms of recognition, was given the title Les Sept Vies de l'Epervier (or The Seven Lives of the Sparrowhawk).

The story begins with the birth of the future king Louis XIII. Meanwhile, a pregnant woman is running through the woods, she's being tracked down by her husband, Baron Yvon de Troïl and her husband's brother, Gabriel, with whom she's been having an affair. She tries to cross a frozen lake, but the ice is to thin and she breaks through. The woman manages to get to dry land and mere moments later gives birth. She wraps the newborn baby in her clothes to protect it from the cold and is found later by Yvon and Gabriel, frozen to death.

Furious, Yvon blames his brother for the death of his wife and banishes him from his sight. While riding through the woods, Gabriel encounters a strange blind woman who presents him with two birds; an owl and a sparrowhawk. She tells him that his destiny will be linked to one of the two birds and urges him to choose: The philosophical owl or the bold sparrowhawk..

Meanwhile, Yvon decides to raise the infant as his own and eight years later, the child has grown up into a strong-willed young woman named Ariane. One day, a mysterious man wearing a red mask appears in the church and challenges Yvon's closest neighbor; the despicable Count Thibaud de Bruantfou to a duel. Naturally, Ariane becomes fascinated with the masked-man's heroism and strong sense of justice and decides to seek him out, much to the concern of her supposed father and brother, Guillemot.

From what at first seem to be a rather simple tale, Cothias crafts a complex, elaborate plot which spans over several years and involves a multitude of characters, some of them fictional and others taken from the pages of history. Characterization is really the strongest point of this saga, with each character from Ariane and her family, to the french king Henry IV and the mysterious Léonard Langue-Agile (basically, quick-tongued or sharp-tongued) emerging as some of the most memorable and well-crafted characters I've encountered in comics.

I should warn any potential reader that Les Sept Vies de l'Epervier is not for the squeamish. Cothias doesn't shy away in the slightest in showing the cruelties and injustices of the age, an age where the strong ruled over the weak and local provincial lords could pretty much as they pleased. Not that all members of the aristocracy are presented as bad, both Yvon and king Henry himself are both depicted as flawed, but sympathetic characters. On the flip-side however, we have the scheming Concino Concini and the Count de Bruantfou, the latter which seem to embody the worst cruelties and excesses of the ruling class. In short, this is not a comic in which the majority of the cast, whether good or evil, gets away unscathed (or even alive).

I've talked a lot about the story, what about the art? After all, the ninth art-form is a visual medium and while I can forgive a comic whose artwork is less than stellar if the story is good enough, the ideal is of course to have both a great story and great artwork. Thankfully, Les Sept Vies de l'Epervier does not disappoint in that regard. André Juillard is one of the finest artist working in comics and he does an excellent job portraying the characters and the period they live in. Of course a picture is worth more than a thousand words and so, at the end of this post, I've included some samples of Juillard's work so that the reader can see what I mean.

To sum it up, Les Sept Vies de l'Epervier is undoubtedly a masterpiece, one of the finest works produced in the medium in my opinion and a comic that's well deserving of being translated.

Artwork:

The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge

Although I like owning physical copies of books, I'm not all averse to reading books in electronic format, which is one of the reasons I bought an ipad. Now, one series of books that I've been interested in for some time, is Stephen Donaldson's Gap Cycle and when I discovered that there was an ebook version that collected the first two books in the series available at an affordable price, I decided to jump on it. Having now read both books; The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge respectively, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on them.

The setting for The Gap Cycle should be familiar to anyone who has read or watched any Science-Fiction and/or Space Opera: Mankind has colonized space, encountered at least one alien race and so forth. As the first book opens, we're introduced to our three main characters; the repulsive and villainous space-pirate Angus Thermopyle, his beautiful and helpless captive, Morn Hyland and finally the dashing Nick Succorso, another space-pirate and Angus' rival. A classic setup for a story, wouldn't you say? Naturally, it doesn't take long until Nick has rescued Morn from Angus' clutches and is riding of into deep space with her, while the villain gets his just desserts. All's well that end's well.
The end? No, this is not the end, this is just the beginning.

One of the most interesting things about the Gap Cycle is the way Stephenson takes three characters, all who fits into a specific archetype; hero, villain and victim respectively and gradually have them switch roles. Take Angus for example; when we first meet him, he simply comes across as representing all of humanity's worst, most awful traits. In short, he's as pure a villain as you can meet in fiction. However, as the story progresses, we get more insight into Angus' character and the events in his life which shaped into becoming the monster he is when The Real Story begins. Turns out that Angus' chief motivation is fear. Simply put, Angus spent most of his childhood being a victim of abuse and his fear of ending up in that situation again, is so great that he will do anything to prevent it from happening - including victimizing others. Of course, due to the way Donaldson structures his story, Angus eventually ends up in the victim's role again and I have to say that some of the treatment he undergoes at the hand of the corrupt and seemingly all-powerful United Mining Companies Police, made me feel genuinely bad for a character for whom I at first had felt nothing but loathing.

I've talked a lot about Angus in this review and mostly that's because I found him to be the most fascinating out of the three main characters. That said, Nick Succorso and Morn Hyland are certainly no 2-dimensional cardboard-cutouts either. Morn, for example, may start out as a simple damsel-in-distress, but soon reveals herself to be far braver and more resourceful than she may have seemed like at a first glance. As for Nick, well, it turns out that he underneath his charismatic swashbuckler persona, he possesses a cruel and vindictive streak a mile wide.

Amusingly, although the first book is titled The Real Story, it's not until Forbidden Knowledge that one gets the feeling that the real story of The Gap Cycle has begun in earnest, with the first book serving as a prologue of sorts. Forbidden Knowledge adds more characters to the mix, such as the members of Nick's crew and the alien-race called the Amnion among others.

In his afterword to the first book, Donaldson mentions that The Gap Cycle is loosely based on The Ring Cycle. I've never seen Wagner's opera, but I am familiar with the story and it's quite interesting to see which of Donaldson's characters corresponds to the ones in the opera. For example; the character of Warden Dios with his cybernetic eye is clearly meant to reference Wotan/Odin, who gave up one of his eyes in exchange for knowledge.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed both The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge and will definitely read the other books in this series. Reading them has also made me eager check out more of Donaldson's work. I do remember trying to read the first book in his The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series as a kid, but couldn't get into it. I think it's time I gave it another shot.

The Wolf Among Us

Ever since I was a kid, I've been a huge fans of the adventure-game genre and I've spent many hours playing the classic adventure-games such as Gabriel Knight, Day of the Tentacle and The Last Express, to name just a few gems that this genre has to offer.

The Wolf Among Us, is the latest adventure-game from Telltale Games and like most of the games in Telltale's stable, it's based on pre-existing property: Namely, Bill Willingham's comic-book Fables. Now, before we go any further I should point out that I've never actually read Fables, I've been aware of it's existence for many years and I've been meaning to read it, but haven't got around to it yet. That said, you don't really need any previous knowledge of Fables in order to play The Wolf Among Us, since the plot of the game takes place before the first issue of the comic.

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with Fables, the concept behind the comic is that (almost) all the fairy-tale characters (called Fables) have been driven out of their own world by a mysterious enemy known only by the ominous moniker, The Adversary. The refugees now live in a part of New York called Fabletown, with the non-human Fables using a magic known as glamour to hide their true appearance (those who can't afford glamour are exiled place called The Farm).

In The Wolf Among Us, you take on the role of Bigby, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf, who serves as Fabletown's sheriff in order to make up for his unsavory past. The game begins with you rescuing a prostitute from The Woodsman (of Red Riding Hood fame). Your actions are in vain however, because it's not long after that the girl's head literary appears on your doorstep. Naturally, it's up to you to track down the killer, before he/she strikes again and of course, what starts out as a fairly straight-forward murder-mystery soon evolves into something far more complex and sinister.

Gameplay-wise, The Wolf Among Us is similar to another comic-based game from Telltale; The Walking Dead. Much like that game, The Wolf Among Us focuses mainly on the interaction between characters as well as what choices you make in order to progress further into the game. Each choice you make has a consequence, as it should be. Try as you might it's impossible to make everyone happy and I guarantee that you'll piss off at least a few characters before your search for the killer has come to an end.

Aside from gathering clues and interrogating suspects, the game also contains several action-sequences (what you just heard was the sound of several adventure-game fans moaning and gritting their teeth). However, these are all fairly easy (whether that's a good or bad thing, I leave up to you to decide) and trust me, this is coming from someone who is not exactly quick on his reflexes.

I'm not going to write much about the graphics in the game, since the screen-caps pretty much speak for themselves. Suffice to say that I found the graphics to be excellent; being very detailed and making great use of color to make the game more atmospheric.

The game's voice-acting is also very good. I can't say I've heard about any of the voice-actors (though a quick check revealed that they have portrayed characters in other games from Telltale), but they all do a good job. Adam Warrington, who voices Bigby deserves special mention; I got a bit of an Eastwood -vibe from his performance, which fits Bigby's character perfectly.

To sum it up: If you're looking for a good adventure-game, with great graphics and superb voice-acting, I highly recommend giving The Wolf Among Us a shot.

Random Thoughts

- The first two episodes of Gravity Falls' second season have now aired and they definitely lived up to my high expectations from season 1. Here's hoping that the rest of the season is this great.

- Still haven't gotten around to season 3 of Korra yet, not sure when I will. Granted, the presence of Zuko as well as the fact that the main villain is voiced by Henry Rollins have me intrigued, but right now, there are other shows I choose to prioritize over it.

- Finished The Wolf Among Us, am thinking of reviewing it.

- Speaking of which, I really should do something about my huge backlog of unfinished games.

Favorite Animated Shows (2009-2014)

As the title indicates, in this post I'm going to list my favorite animated shows created in the past five years. Before you start reading however, there's one thing I like to make absolutely clear:

This list is entirely subjective, naturally. It only includes shows that I've seen and, more importantly, liked. If a show isn't on the list I haven't seen it, or it simply wasn't my thing.

Now, with that of the way, let's get to the interesting stuff. Enjoy!

 Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated - I've already written about this show here , so if you want a more detailed review of it, I recommend clicking the link. Suffice to say that this is Scooby Doo made for those of us who like our cartoons with character development and on-going story-arcs. The first half of season 1 was dragged down a bit by a really unnecessary and bizarre love-triangle between Shaggy, Scooby and Velma, but aside from that unfortunate subplot, Mystery Incorporated was a great series. I especially enjoyed how the show starts out much like any Scooby Doo show with the gang solving mysteries involving guys dressed up as monsters and such, only for the stakes to gradually become much higher, until, the finale in which our heroes has to prevent the apocalypse. All this and the fact that this show gave us Prof. Pericles, one of the best villains I've ever seen in an animated show, is enough to make me declare Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated as the high point of this long-running franchise and frankly, I doubt that will change anytime soon.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - I avoided this show for the longest time, mostly due to all the massive hype it got, but also because, well, it's My Little Pony and that's a franchise I've never been into. However, eventually, I decided give the show a chance and I don't regret it. Friendship Is Magic could easily have been crap; an insipid show designed only to sell toys to young girls. Fortunately, it's anything but. The show is cute without being saccharine, doesn't talk down to it's target audience and, most importantly, is genuinely funny. In other words, it's everything a good kid's show should be.

Gravity Falls - Hands down my favorite Disney cartoon since Gargoyles. Gravity Falls is basically  kids-friendly version of Twin Peaks or The X-Files. It has a great mix between stand-alone episodes and an on-going story-arc/mystery and it features what is by far my favorite opening-sequence of any show on this list. The second season airs on August 1st and I for one can't wait.

Archer - This list isn't really in any particular order. However, if it was, Archer would almost certainly take the top spot.It's my favorite animated comedy series since The Venture Brothers.In fact, the two shows do share certain similarities, such as continuity between episodes and a cast of characters that somehow manages to be both complete fuck-ups and surprisingly competent, sometimes at the same time. The main character himself is perhaps the best example of this; Sterling Archer is pretty much James Bond with all of Bond's less appealing traits cranked up to eleven for comedic value, and yet, he's also a genuinely good field-agent. Something which makes him more interesting a character than if he was only a deluded nitwit. Here's hoping we get to follow Sterling and the rest of the misfits in ISIS for at least a few more years.

Armed Librarians: The Book of Bantorra - If there was any show on this list that I think deserves to be more well-known it would be Bantorra.Not only is the premise behind the show interesting, but it's also one of the rare anime I've seen in which a character appearing in the OP is not necessarily a guarantee for said character's survival. In short, Bantorra is a show that's not afraid to take risks or shake things up, which is always a plus in my book. Add to that the presence of a great anti-hero in Hamyuts Meseta and you have a highly underrated series.

Adventure Time -Landon of Mecha-Guignol once described Adventure Time as David Lynch and H.P. Lovecraft by way of Max Fleischer. That's pretty much the most apt description I've seen of this cartoon. Adventure Time is just filled to the brim with weird, surreal and creepy imagery, all of which I'm sure has kept at least a few kids (and possibly some adults) up at night. I also like the development given to some of the characters, such as Marcelline and The Ice-King, not to mention the fact that the show takes place post-apocalypse. I haven't watched all of Adventure Time, but what I've seen of the show has impressed me enough to earn it a place among my favorites.

Young Justice - Another great cartoon from the mind of Greg Weisman. Although not quite at the same level as some of his previous shows like Gargoyles or Spectacular Spider-Man, this was still a damn fine superhero-show. It's a rotten shame it got canceled after only two seasons.

From the New World - I should warn the reader that although the main characters in From The New World start out as children, this is not for the faint of heart. In fact, this is probably the darkest show on this list, being as far from Friendship is Magic as you can get. iI's also the most well-plotted (which may have something to do with the fact that it was adopted from a novel) with a great, suspenseful story set in an intriguing world, whose secrets are revealed gradually to the viewer. If there's anything negative I can say about this show, than it would be that the animation quality is pretty uneven, but the quality of the plot makes up for it.

Wakfu - Video-game adaptions tend to be rather hit and miss (with the misses far outstripping the hits, to be perfectly frank). One exception to this rule, however, is Wakfu. Now, I haven't actually played the game the show is based on (according to Wikipedia, it's a MMORPG), but that did not in any way take away from my enjoyment of the show itself. Wakfu is simply the best 'group of strangers band together in order to save the world' adventure series I've seen since Avatar: The Last Air-Bender. The characters are great, especially the antagonist of the show's first season, Nox, who is as compelling as any villain I've seen in fiction. The first few episodes after the two-part introduction can be a bit rocky (I recommend skipping the Miss Ugly episode entirely), but as a whole Wakfu is an immensely enjoyable series.

Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine - The most recent series in the Lupin III franchise, this time focusing not on the master-thief himself, but instead on his female colleague/rival, Fujiko Mine.Stylistically, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine looks completely different from any other Lupin III series and some people may find the sketchy art-style the characters are drawn in  to be off-putting. Personally, I loved it. This show is a great example of how you can revitalize an old franchise and make it fresh while still keeping all the ingredients that made it a success in the first place.

Regular Show - To be perfectly honest I can't think of much to write about Regular Show. It pretty much speaks for itself and you either like it or you don't (obviously, I'm in the first camp). The show can be a bit formulaic at times, especially in the first season. However, it is consistently funny and definitely one of the better Cartoon Network shows I can think of at the moment. That said, I do have a slight preference for the episodes that break away from the usual "Mordecai and Rigby screw things over due to their habitual laziness" -shtick.

Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z Hen - I'm not as into mecha/giant robot anime as I used to be, but there are a few shows in that genre that I still enjoy, one of those shows is Giant Robo, which still stands out as one of the best OVA ever made. Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z Hen is from the same guy who directed Giant Robo and it shows. Both series operate on a vast, almost mythological scale, with larger-than-life heroes and villains battling each other in order to decide the fate of the world. However, Mazinger has one thing that Robo did not; Baron Ashura. Kojiro may be the nominal hero of the show, but it's really Ashura who drives the plot. In the end, Shin Mazinger is his/her story and I've always had a soft spot for stories that focused on the villain. That and the ending is one of the most memorable ones I can think of in an anime. If you've seen the show, you know what I mean.

Psycho-Pass -  One of two Gen Urobuchi shows on this list and to be honest, much as I enjoyed Madoka, I must admit to having a slight preference for this one. This is i largely thanks to Akane, whom I found to be a far more interesting protagonist than Madoka. She's not the only reason Psycho-Pass is here though; the rest of the cast does a great job as well. Particularly the antagonist, Shogo Makishima, who does make some legitimately good points about how massively screwed-up the system is, even if his methods are heinous. If you are in the mood for a really good cyber-punk police-show/conspiracy thriller à la Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex, than Psycho-Pass is a must-watch.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - To be honest, I'm no expert when it comes to the magical girl genre. I watched Sailor Moon as a kid, read some issues of W.I.T.C.H. and tried a few episodes of Princess Tutu, but ended up dropping it, since I found it to be to repetitive (I might give it another chance though). As such, I'm not really qualified to say if Madoka is a ground-breaking work that changed the genre (the Evangelion of magical girl anime, if you want) or not. That said, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is definitely among the best anime I've seen recently; featuring a strong plot which rapidly goes into pretty dark territory, without it feeling gratuitous and some really great visuals (the witches and their labyrinths are particularly interesting to look at, being surreal and nightmarish, as they should be). The only criticism of the show that I can think off-hand is the fact that I didn't find Madoka herself to be all that interesting, until the end of the show that is. Thankfully, the supporting cast more than make up for her. Kyuubey in particular is a great creation being a subversion of the typical magical girl-pet á la Luna of Sailor Moon fame. His adorable look and cute demeanor becomes more and more disturbing as the truth behind him and his plans for the magical girls are revealed to both the characters themselves and the viewer.

So, there you have it. I may make a sequel to this post where I talk about the shows that almost made it, but were left out for one reason or another. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think in the comment-section.

My Favorite Villainesses

Ever since childhood I've always been a huge fan of the villains in fiction; whether it's the morally ambiguous villains that one can understand and sometimes even sympathize with, or the truly diabolical fiends. As such it should come as no surprise that villains will be a recurring topic on this blog. For my first villain-related post I've decided to write about some of my favorite female villains: It's been said that the female of the species is deadlier than the male, and these bad girls do their best to prove that saying right.

(Please note that while I've tried to keep spoilers to a minimum, sometimes they're unavoidable. Thread carefully).

Maleficent

Let's start with someone obvious. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty is pretty much the ultimate villain in the Disney Animated Canon. Her design and her voice (provided by Eleanor Audrey who also voiced Lady Tremaine in Cinderella) both ooze with stylish wickedness and to top it off, she can turn into a dragon, something which always gives you points in my books. Disney has provided us it several great female villains over the years, but Maleficent is a cut above the rest. Truly, she lives up to her self-proclaimed title as Mistress of All Evil.

Azula

Another obvious choice: Princess Azula of the Fire-Nation was the most tenacious and formidable villain on Avatar: The Last Air-Bender. Cunning, powerful and smug; I loved to hate Azula and later, as more of what made her thick was revealed, I came to pity her as well. Firelord Ozai may have been the big bad of the series, but his daughter was by far its best bad.

Milady de Winter

One thing I've noticed in fiction is that when we have a female villain working for, or with, a male colleague, she tends to be the less evil of the two. Not so with Milady de Winter from The Three Musketeers; Cardinal Richelieu's mysterious and seductive spy/assassin who is by far the most evil character in the novel, completely outdoing her Magnificent Bastard of a boss in terms of sheer wickedness. Of course, the musketeers themselves aren't exactly saints, but Milady goes that extra mile. Her finest moment? Locked up she manages to not only seduce her jailer into freeing her, but also convinces him to carry out her assassination-mission, leaving the poor sap to be hauled off to the gallows. Damn.

Vermouth

Not just my favorite female character in Detective Conan, but quite possibly my favorite villain in the series as well. Vermouth aka Sharon Vineyard is a character that can best be described as an enigma wrapped up in multiple questions: She's a member of the Black Organization, yet she seems to enjoy a great deal of autonomy, she knows the true identities of Conan and Haibara, but for some reason she hasn't told her boss or fellow members and of course, there's the fact that she apparently hasn't aged a bit in twenty years. All in all, the many mysteries surrounding her helps make Vermouth into one of the most intriguing characters in the Detective Conan franchise.

Lydia Gwilt

One of the more obscure characters on this list, Lydia is the main villainess of the 19th century novel Armadale by Wilkie Collins and easily the best character in it. Collins wrote some of my favorite female characters of his era and Lydia is no exception; an adventuress and murderess with a stormy past whose machinations are at the core of the novel. The epistolary-format of Armadale also means that we, the readers, get a lot of insight into what goes on in Lydia's head, via her letters and exceprts from her diary. A wonderful character from one of my favorite authors.

Evelyn Crow

The villainess of The Rainbow Orchid, like Princess Azula, Evelyn is not the big bad of this great adventure comic, but she serves as the primary enemy of the heroes. Evelyn, with her Louise Brooks-haircut and ruthless personality was definitely my favorite character in The Rainbow Orchid. Tasked by shady tycoon Urkaz Grope to prevent hero Julius Chancer and his friends from recovering the eponymous flower, Evelyn goes about her mission with a commitment and efficiency that I couldn't help but find admirable. If Garen Ewing ever makes a sequel to The Rainbow Orchid, I hope we get to see her again.

Lady Kaede

The villainess of Ran, the movie itself may be Akira Kurosawa's take on King Lear with the genders reversed, but Kaede owes more to Tamora or Lady MacBeth than she does to Edmund. Kaede is a woman driven entirely by vengeance; when she was a child her entire clan was killed by the warlord Hidetora and now she seeks revenge. Understandable and yet, the lengths Kaede is willing to go in order to achieve her vengeance unquestionably makes her a villain, at least in my eyes. She also gets one of my favorite death-scenes in all of cinema.

Phyllis Dietrichson

Not much to write about Phyllis Dietrichson from Double Indemnity, except that she's pretty much the film-noir femme fatale. Oh, and the movie itself great, if you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you check it out.

Rosemary Applefield

I've talked about Ashita no Nadja before so I'd recommend you follow the link if you want to know my opinion about this unjustly obscure shojo anime. I'll say this though, Rosemary was without a doubt my favorite character in it. When she appeared, the plot kicked into high-gear, she was the real mastermind behind Herman Preminger's schemes and was so fabulous that although I hated the things she did, I could never hate Rosemary herself. I wasn't even mad when she got away scot-free at the end, and since I normally hate that sort of thing, it should tell you what an awesome character Rosemary is.

Mrs. Iselin

The villain of The Manchurian Candidate played by Angela Lansbury. Mrs. Iselin is a woman who desires power over any cost, no matter what she has to do get it, even brainwashing her own son into becoming an assassin and partaking in a Communist plot to take over America. Of course, once the take-over is succesful, Mrs. Iselin has no intention to share the power with anyone. Who would've thought that Mrs. Potts could be so evil?

Snoop

Along with Chris Partlow, Felicia Pearson a.k.a. Snoop is Marlo Stanfield's top-lieutenant in his bid to take control of the Baltimore drug-trade. Do not get fooled by her small stature and cute looks, this woman is an extremely efficient and brutal killer. Probably my favorite female character in The Wire.

Livia Drusilla

Most of these ladies are, thankfully, the product of fertile imagination. However, here's one villainess who actually existed in real-life, though whether she was as bad as her portrayal in I, Claudius make her out to be is highly unlikely. Not it matters though, because the Livia written by Robert Graves and later portrayed by Sian Philips in the 70's mini-series is an awesome villain, being brilliant, ruthless and funny. The last one may come as a surprise, but Livia's one-liners are a great source for really black humor in both the book and the show.

Mags Bennett

The matriarch of the Bennett clan in Justified and the big bad of the show's second season. Mags was a terrific character and Margo Martindale did a great job portraying her. Whether she was poisoning a competitor with some of her special 'apple pie', getting the denizens of Bennett county riled up against Black Pike or simply smashing on of her son's hands with a hammer for being an idiot, Mags was always riveting to watch.

Ravel Puzzlewell

The Night Hag who made The Nameless One immortal, Ravel doesn't get much screen-time in Planescape: Torment, being only present for a single conversation and a boss-battle, but she definitely makes the most of the time she gets. The conversation with Ravel is one of the game's high-points and reveals a ton about her character and her relationship with The Nameless One, among other things. Creepy, obsessive and tragic among other things, Ravel was an engrossing and fascinating character in a game filled with them.

SHODAN

The AI that becomes self-aware and turns evil has been a staple of the Sci-Fi genre for a long, long time. One of the best of these rogue AI is SHODAN of System Shock 1 & 2 fame, who is one of the scariest and most formidable villains in video-game history. One of the things that make SHODAN so great is her omni-precense; throughout the game, she's constantly taunting you,daring you to challenge her bid for Godhood. Good luck, you'll need it. After all, what could you possibly do against a powerful, immortal machine?

Balalaika

Black Lagoon is one of those series in which basically the entire cast  consists of villains. However, if I were to pick one character that towers above the rest, it would be Balalaika. Balalaika is the head of Hotel Moscow, the biggest and most powerful gang in Roanapur, the fictional city in which Black Lagoon takes place. Hotel Moscow consists entirely of Balalaika's old squad from her days as a soldier in the Afghan War and she runs it with military efficiency. Although she rarely acts an antagonist to the Black Lagoon crew, there's no denying that Balalaika is an extremely frightening woman, whose path you'd best not cross if you value your life.

Demona

If Maleficent is the ultimate female villain in the Disney Animated Canon, than Demona holds that title when it comes to Disney's animated TV-shows. Frankly, there's not much I can say about this genocidal gargoyle that other people (like GregX) haven't said already. Suffice to say that Demona is one of the most fully-realized and complex characters ever seen in a cartoon and let's leave it at that.

                                        Kreia

Another villain written by Chris Avellone. However, unlike Ravel, Kreia is present in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II from beginning to the end, making her a much more detailed character. Throughout the game we learn about a lot about Kreia, so that by the end it feels like KOTOR II is her story, just as much (if not more) as the main character's. Kreia is one of the most well-written and complex characters I've seen, not just in the Star Wars franchise, but in videogames in general. Personally, I found her to be much more subtle and complex in her villainy than Palpatine and Vader.

 

Ren Gyokuen

Magi is one of the best shonen manga in recent memory and one major reason for that are the characters, which are all very well-handled, including the major villains. When we first meet Gyokuen she seems like the perfect picture of a kind and loving mother. However, nothing could be farther from the truth (naturally, since she's here). Gyokuen is a cruel and deceitful women, willing to kill anyone who stands in the way of her goals, including her husband and children. She's also the leader of Al-Thamen, the evil organization that's behind the most of the bad shit in Magi's universe. Aside from being a great love-to-hate villain, Gyokuen also gets major points for being a rare example of a female big bad in a shonen series, something we don't see often.

So, there you have it. Other evil women worthy of mentioning are: The aforementioned Lady MacBeth and Tamora from MacBeth and Titus Andronicus respectjvely. Cirin from Cerebus, Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke, Gretel from The Milkweed Triptych, Dunya Musta'sim from Magi, Eve Harrington from All About Eve and several others.

 

The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard

Everybody knows Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the genius who created Sherlock Holmes. Many know him also as the creator of the extremely self-absorbed professor Challenger (who was Doyle's own personal favorite). However, Doyle also created another character, a character who although decidedly more obscure than the detective and the professor, is just as brilliant a creation as they are. His name:
Etienne Gerard.


The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard are narrated in first-person by Gerard, now an old man, looking back at his career as an officer in Napoleon's army. The stories range from light-hearted to dark and dramatic, but they all rank among the finest adventure-stories I've read and really shows Conan Doyle's mastery of the short-story format.

By far the best thing about the Brigadier Gerard stories are Etienne Gerard himself; a man whose conceit is only matched by his naiveté, Gerard would be a purely comedic character, if not for the fact that he really is as courageous, dashing and gallant as he claims to be. In his foreword to the collection, George MacDonald Fraser describes Conan Doyle's brigadier as "embodying the brightest in the human spirit". I, for one, agree wholeheartedly with this description.

To sum it up: If you want to read some top-notch adventure stories featuring a very engaging and likable protagonist, I'd definitely recommend getting acquainted with Brigadier Gerard.
Vive L'Empereur!

"I have a slight flaw in my character"

I recently revisited one of my favorite novels: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and it occurred to me that it would make a great subject for my blog. In case you haven't heard of it, Bridge of Birds is a fantasy-novel set in (to quote directly from the cover) "an ancient China, that never was". Our narrator is Yu Lu, better known by his nickname; Number Ten Ox. When the children in his village are afflicted by a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox seeks out a wise-man in order to save them. The wise-man he finds is a certain Li Kao, a sage with (as he himself puts it) "a slight flaw in my character". Together, the duo embarks on a quest to find the Great Root of Power, the only thing that can save the children. Of course, doing so turns out to be easier said than done.

In case you haven't read Bridge of Birds yet, I insist you go find yourself a copy. The book itself is quite short, clocking in at under 300 pages. However, it's so filled with adventure, excitement and a sense of wonder that it puts plenty of doorstopper-novels to shame. Li Kao and Number Ten Ox are both great characters that compliment each other beautifully, with the latter pretty much playing the Watson to the former's Holmes.

The comparison between Li Kao and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective is not as random as it may seem, for Bridge of Birds is not only a fantasy but a mystery-story as well. Our heroes' quest soon involves them in a crime which once shook the very foundations of Heaven itself and leads them to having to confront China's true ruler; the immortal Duke of Ch'in.

Barry Hughart also wrote two more books featuring Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. I haven't read them so I can't say if they live up to their predecessor. However, one thing is for sure; Bridge of Birds is enough to establish Hughart as one of my favorite authors.

Templar

Written By: Jordan Mechner, 

Art by: Leuyen Pham and Alex Puvilland

First Second, 2013

My first encounter with Templar was back in 2010, when it was called Solomon's Thieves. Originally, the idea was for the story to be published annually in three volumes, Solomon's Thieves being the first. This idea was later scrapped and First Second decided to publish the entire story in one gloriously thick volume instead.

The Story of Templar begins in the year 1307 when the entire order of The Knights Templars are arrested on trumped-up charges by order of the king of France, who wants to use the order's accumulated wealth to line his empty coffers.

The main character, Martin, narrowly escapes and upon learning that the treasure of the order has been hidden away in a secret location, rallies a band of surviving Templars to find the treasure and smuggle it out from under the king's nose.

Jordan Mechner, creator of the Prince of Persia games as well as one of my favorite games of all time, The Last Express, has crafted an immensely enjoyable tale of adventure, fraught with perils, swordfighting, chase-scenes, scheming and even some romance. In short, Templar is just the kind of comic I enjoy the most.

I found the characters of Templar, historical as well as fictional, to be well-written and interesting. Our band of heroes are all deeply flawed and yet despite their flaws (or perhaps because of them?), they're very easy to like, sympathize with and root for. Out of all the characters in Templar, my absolute favorite would have to be Cassim, a saracen who converted to christianity and became a member of the order but now finds himself an outcast in both worlds. That said, all the characters are good.

The artwork by Pham and Puvilland is a great mix between cartoony and realistic. They are especially good at the more action-filled scenes, (such as Martin's swordfight with Nogaret's right-hand man), which are very exciting and dynamic. Why yes, I would like to see an animated movie based on this comic, thank you.

To sum it up: If you want a ripping good yarn in the spirit of Alexandre Dumas' work, I definitely recommend checking Templar out.

My Favorite Creators

For my first real post I thought I'd take a page from other  bloggers and make a list of my favorite creators of fiction, whether movies, comics, books, games etc. The list is an alphabetical order and is by no means complete, since I'm bound to forget someone (I may go back and add new names to it, depending on how I feel). Anyway, these are the men and women whose work have inspired and enchanted me over the years. How many of them would be on your list?

Adam Hines

Agatha Christie

Akira Kurosawa

Alan Burnett

Alan Furst

Alan Moore

Alexandre Dumas

Alfred Bester

Alfred Hitchcock

André Franquin
Andreas Martens
Andrew Miller

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Barry Hughart

Bernard Deyriés

Brad Bird

Bruce Timm

Carl Barks
Charles Dickens

Chiaki J. Konaka
China Mieville

Chris Avellone
Clark Ashton Smith

The Coen Brothers

Colleen McCullough
Cormac McCarthy

Dante Alighieri
Dashiell Hammett

Dave Sim
David Lynch
David Milch
David Simon
Dennis Potter
Donna Barr
Dorothy Dunnett
Eddie Campbell
Edward Whittemore
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar P. Jacobs
Eichiro Oda
E.R. Eddison
Fabien Nury
Fabien Vehlmann
Floyd Gottfredson
Fred
Fritz Lang
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gen Urobuchi
Gene Wolfe
Geoffrey Chaucer
George MacDonald Fraser
George R.R. Martin
Georges Simenon
Gianfranco Manfredi
Gosho Aoyama
Goseki Kojima
Graham Greene
Graham Yost
Greg Weisman
Guillermo Del Toro
Guy Davis
Hayao Miyazaki
H.G. Wells
Hector G. Oesterheld
Hergé
Los Bros Hernandez
Hilary Mantel
Hirohiko Araki
Homer
Hugo Pratt
Ingmar Bergman
Jack Pulman
Jack Vance
James Ellroy
Jane Austen
Jason Aaron
Jean Chalopin
Jean Giraud
Jean Van Hamme
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jim M. Thompson
Jim Woodring
John Le Carré
John Milton
J.R.R. Tolkien
Jordan Mechner
Jorge Luis Borges
Katherynne M. Valente
Kazuo Koike
Keiko Nobumoto
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Lauren Faust
Len Deighton
Luc Brunschwig
Makoto Yukimura
Mark Twain
Martin Scorcese
Mary Shelley
Masaaki Yuasa
Matt Kindt
Maurice LeBlanc
Mel Brooks
Mervyn Peake
Michael Chabon
Michael Curtiz
Michael Ende
Michel de Montaigne
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Mike Carey
Mike Mignola
Mitsuru Adachi
Monty Python
Nancy Pena
Naoki Urasawa
Neil Gaiman
Noah Hawley
Orson Welles
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Dezaki
Paul Feval
P.G. Wodehouse
Philip K. Dick
Pierre Gabus
Ray Bradbury
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Macherot
Robert Graves
Robert Louis Stevenson
Romuald Reutimann
Ross MacDonald
Rumiko Takahashi
Serge Le Tendre
Sergio Leone
Shigeru Miyamoto
Shinichiro Watanabe
Sigrid Undset
Sophocles
Stan Sakai
Stanislaw Lem
Takeshi Shudo
Tim Powers
Tove Jansson
Umberto Eco
Ursula Vernon
Vince Gilligan
Virgil
Walt Disney
Wilkie Collins
William Faulkner
William Shakespeare
Yoshihiro Togashi
Yoshiki Tanaka

A Quick Introduction

Hello and welcome to my so-called All-Purpose Blog. I plan to write about whatever comes to mind, mostly about various works of fiction I've consumed and perhaps I'll post some work of my own as well.

That's it for now. Enjoy your stay.