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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Happy New Year

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish any of my readers out there a Happy New Year. I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog and that you'll stop by in the future.
 Next year, I shall strive to do my best to keep this place updated a bit more frequently.
See you in 2016, everybody.

My Villains of the Year

Warning: This post will contain some spoilers. You've been warned.

Fictional villainy of any kind is a recurring theme on this blog and with 2015 drawing to a close, I thought It'd be fitting to write about whom I consider to be my favorite evil-doers to appear in media this year. Before we begin, I'll point out that this is strictly my opinion and if there's a villain from this year that doesn't appear here, its most likely because I'm not familiar with them. And so, without further ado, I give you (in no particular order) my favorite villains of 2015:



Toffee (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)



Its my personal opinion that Toffee's appearance caused Star vs. The Forces of Evil to go from being a good show, to a great show. You see, for most of its first season, the main antagonist of Star vs. was a fellow named Ludo and while Ludo was an entertaining enough character, he wasn't very good as a villain. Basically, he was your typical bumbling, comedic bad guy and his strategy (I'm using the term loosely) consisted of having his minions attack Star heads on, with predictable results. Needless to say, it got old pretty fast.
Than, in the second half of the season. Toffee made his entrance and it was clear from the moment he first appeared that this guy was on a completely different level from the enemies Star and Marco had tangled with in the past. Voiced by Michael C. Hall, Toffee was originally hired by Ludo as an evil efficiency-expert, impressing the wanna-be conqueror by coming up with a genuinely clever plan, which resulted in Ludo almost getting his hands on the wand. From there on out, Toffee proceeded to work in the shadows, subtly undermining Ludo's authority until his henchmen turned on the little guy and kicked him out of his own castle.
In the season finale, Toffee revealed himself to Star, forcing her to destroy her wand in order to save Marco's life, which had been his goal all along.

Manipulative, mysterious and ruthless, Toffee is a villain that that I really want to see more of. Especially since there are still so many things about him that we don't know: How did he know about the whispering-spell? What's his connection to Star's family? How did he loose his finger? Hopefully, we'll get an answer to some of these questions in the next season. Yes, I'm aware that Toffee seemingly perished in the explosion that destroyed Ludo's castle, but considering how he had already demonstrated the ability to regenerate lost limbs, I doubt that we've seen the last of this evil lizard-man. After all, the Toffees of the world always survive.



Flowey (Undertale)





Who would have thought that a talking flower would make for such a diabolical and freaky video-game villain? Flowey is the first character you encounter in Undertale and while at first he seems friendly and helpful, it doesn't take long for him to drop the act and reveal his true nature as a murderous sadist. If I had to pick one thing that makes Flowey stand out as a villain, it would be how personal he is. Sure, other villains in games have taunted the player (or the player's character), but I can't recall any who has done it on the same level as this guy: You accidentally killed Toriel on your first play-through? No problem, just re-load the game and it will be as if the whole thing never happened, right? Wrong! Flowey knows exactly what you did and will rub your face in it. As icing on the cake, Flowey's backstory, once its revealed, is genuinely tragic, without undermining his villainy in the slightest. This chlorophyll-filled bastard definitely belongs on any short list of gaming's greatest villains.

Starlight Glimmer (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)




I've mostly enjoyed the previous main villains of Friendship Is Magic. but there's no denial that they were all cut from the same cloth: Ancient evil beings, who make no secret about their desires to corrupt, dominate and destroy anyone foolish enough to stand  in their way. As such, it was quite refreshing when the show's writers decided to go down a different route with the villain of its fifth season. Enter Starlight Glimmer; she's no chaotic spirit or parasitic shape-shifter. No, she's a seemingly regular unicorn, looking no different from any other member of her kind. Oh, and she also happens to be a cult-leader, who plans to use her ability to remove a pony's cutie-mark and with it their special talent, to spread her twisted version of equality across Equestria.

In her first appearance, Starlight was, in terms of raw power, the least powerful major villain, the mane six had ever faced, relying mostly on propaganda and brainwashing to achieve her goals. After her plans were thwarted, Starlight ran off, but returned in the season finale (making her the first villain to serve as the antagonist in both the season opener and finale), armed with a set of new magic abilities and with a plan for vengeance. Said plan involved going back in time to prevent the Mane Six from ever getting their cutie-marks in the first place, something which would have dire consequences not just for them, but the entire World.
Although I felt that her back-story could have been expanded on, the sheer scope of Starlight's plan coupled with her vindictive, obsessed and hypocritical personality made her a truly memorable villain, one of the most interesting this show's ever had.

Mike Milligan (Fargo)




The first season of Fargo gave us one of the greatest villains I've seen in a live-action TV-show: Lorne Malvo, played by Billy Bob Thorton. It shouldn't come as a surprise than, that I was interested in seeing whether or not season 2 would give us a villain of the same stature. Enter Mike Milligan, played by Bokeem Woodbine. Milligan is an enforcer for the Kansas City Mob, sent to Fargo to help facilitate the syndicate's take-over of the local underworld, which at the beginning of the season has been in the control of the Gerhardt family for generations.
Personality-wise, Mike Milligan is one of those villains who manages to be both funny and genuinely menacing at the same time, something I always appreciate. There's just something about a villain who manages to be disarmingly likable even as he does awful things, like say, torturing a guy with a type-writer.

Its interesting to compare Milligan to his predecessor in the show, the aforementioned Lorne Malvo, both of them being highly competent and effective killers. However, that's where the similarities end: Malvo was basically an avatar of chaos (or maybe even the Devil himself, if some of his lines were any indication), taking enjoyment out of spreading discord and corrupting people, seemingly for the sheer hell of it. Milligan on the other hand, is motivated primarily by greed and a desire to move up in his chosen field. I think a meeting between these two characters would be interesting to see: Would they figure that the other one was to dangerous to leave alive and tried to kill each other? Or would they develop a mutual form of respect? (come to think of it, a mix between the two seem likely). Oh, well, that's what fanfiction is for.

Pablo Escobar (Narcos)




At first, I wasn't sure whether or not to include this guy. After all, unlike all the other evil-doers seen here, Pablo Escobar was a real person, whose crimes affected real people. However, in the end, I still decided to give him a spot on the list, on the basis that the Escobar in the show is not the actual guy, but a fictionalized representation of him. Exactly how accurate the show's version of Escobar is in terms of personality, I can't say, but in the end, does it really matter? The portrait Narcos paints of the notorious drug-czar, brought to life by actor Wagner de Moura, is a fascinating one; depicting a man who came from nothing and sees himself as a man of the poor and champion of the downtrodden, all while living in luxury and committing mass-murder without batting an eye. I really enjoyed Narcos as a series and it was never better than when the camera was focused on this guy.

Wilson Fisk (Daredevil)




Yes, I'm aware that the Kingpin has been around for decades, having made appearances in comics, shows and movies over the years. However, I'm specifically talking about the version of the character seen in the Daredevil live-action show on Netflix. Played by Vincent D'Onofrio, Fisk is introduced as a shadowy crime-boss, pulling the puppeteer-strings. However, as Daredevil goes on, we get to see more an more glimpses of Fisk's more human and vulnerable side, fleshing out the man to the point that he is just as much of a protagonist as his nemesis, Matt Murdock. I also found it interesting that this version of the character views himself as a social reformer of sorts; seeing the crimes he commits as a necessary evil to improve things in Hell's Kitchen. All in all, an excellent portrayal of this classic Marvel-villain.

Danny Rayburn (Bloodline)



Last but not least we have Danny Rayburn, the ostracized oldest son of the Rayburn family, as played by Ben Mendehlson. Honestly, I can't think of much to say about this guy that I didn't already say in my post on Bloodline awhile ago, so if you're curious, I recommend that you check it out.

Well, there you have it, folks: These were my favorite villains to come out of media this year. I only included new villains (making an exception for Kingpin, since its a specific version of the character). If I had decided to include characters from older works that I consumed for the first time this year, than Pompeii from Duncan the Wonder-Dog and the Eraser from Mind MGMT (the fifth volume of that comic actually came out this year, but she had been around before that) would have been shoe-ins for this list.
Can't think of anything more to write, so I'll just sign off here. Be seeing you.














Friday, December 11, 2015

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant

If there's one type of story I've always had a great deal of affection for, its the historical adventure-story. Many of the authors who have had an influence on me over the years, such as Alexandre Dumas or George MacDonald Fraser, wrote in this genre. Small wonder than, that Tony Cliff's comic, Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, would catch my interest, the moment I first heard of it.


Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant (and from hear on out, I'm just going to call it Delilah Dirk, for the sake of brevity), begins in Constantinople in the year 1807. Here we meet Erdemoglu Selim, a young lieutenant in the Sultan's Janissary Corps, a man whose sole desire is to live a peaceful life with plenty of opportunity to cultivate his chief-talent; making delicious tea. However, all that is about to change.Near the beginning of the story, Selim is tasked with interrogating a prisoner, who was caught trying to break into the palace to steal a collection of priceless scrolls. Said prisoner being none other than the international adventuress and globe-trotting troublemaker, Delilah Dirk. Through circumstances, Selim finds himself implicated in Delilah's escape and so, have no choice but to join her as her travelling companion, assisting her in her plans to steal a treasure right from under the nose of the feared pirate-captain, Zakul.



Delilah Dirk's greatest asset is, without a doubt, its two protagonists; both of whom are very engaging and likable characters. Delilah in particular is a splendid creation; a larger-than-life heroine, always ready to jump into the fray with a smile on her lips, armed with her quick wits and impressive martial-arts and sword-fighting skills. Selim, meanwhile, is the more down-to-earth character. The regular-guy, who discovers within himself greater courage and resourcefulness than he thought he possessed. During the course of the comic, Selim find himself increasingly more drawn to the new and dangerous, but exciting, life, he's been dragged into. The two of them have great chemistry and I really enjoyed seeing them brave various dangers together.

With Delilah Dirk. Tony Cliff has created a splendid adventure-comic, one that I'd recommend to any fan of the genre. A sequel titled Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling is slated for release in 2016 and I for one forward to new adventures in the company of Miss Dirk and her Turkish lieutenant, once more.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Blood Blockade Battlefront

Though I forgot to mention it, one of the shows I've been watching lately is Blood Blockade Battlefront and since I recently finished it, I decided that I should share my thoughts on the show, in some detail. Blood Blockade Battlefront (or Kekkai Sensen in original), is an anime based on a manga by Yasuhiro Nightow, creator of Trigun. I had read positive and negative reviews of the show on-line and thinking that the concept seemed interesting, I decided to check the show out myself. So, what did I think about it? Well, you'll just have to read on in order to find out.



Blood Blockade Battlefront is set in Hellsalem's Lot, which is actually New York City, a few years after dimensional rift opened up and creatures from another dimension decided to set up shop there. To this metropolis comes our main character, Leonardo Watch; a kid blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with a pair of magical eyes, on a quest to find a cure for his sister's blindness, which he feels responsible for. Due to circumstances, Leonard becomes a member of Libra, a secret society that protects Hellsalem's Lot from various dangers. He also end up befriending White, a girl who claims to be a ghost and her twin-brother Black, who was born with strong psychic powers.
That's the basic gist of things, as far as plot goes. Now, on to the actual, you know, review-portion of this review.
Let's start with the positives first, shall we? Blood Blockade Battlefront is an immensely, almost obscenely pretty show. The visuals are pure eye-candy and they do a great job at bringing the setting to life. Speaking of the setting, it deserves mention as well. Hellsalems' Lot makes for a great backdrop to Leo's adventures, while also feeling like a city where a million stories could be told, completely unrelated to anything that goes on in the actual show. In short, Hellsalem's Lot is, in my opinion, as much a character in the show as any of the people walking its streets. The soundtrack is similarly of a high quality and suits the tone of the show perfectly.



So, far, so good. But, what about the stuff that's really important? Namely, the writing. Unfortunately, this is where my gushing over the show stops, because quite frankly, the writing of Blood Blockade Battlefront is nowhere near as good as the above mentioned aspects. The characterization in particular is lacking with several members of the cast failing to leave a lasting impression. Libra as a whole is particularly bad in this regard; aside from Leo (who is after all, the main character) the only members of the organization in possession of distinct personalities are Klaus and Zapp and even than, they aren't exactly the most compelling characters. As for the other members; most of the time, they are just there. The only one whose name I can be bothered to remember is Chain and even she isn't really more memorable than say, the butler (at least I think he was a butler) with bandages covering his face. Honestly, it says a lot about the show that its best episode is the penultimate episode, which doesn't feature Libra at all. Instead this episode focuses on Black and White, their backstory and their connection to the show's big bad, a fellow who goes by the ominous moniker; "The King of Despair". I genuinely liked this episode and it gave me great hope that the show would gain a satisfying conclusion, unfortunately that was not the case: The final episode turned out to be a disappointment, to say the least. Despite the fact that there's an apocalypse of sorts going on, I never felt like the characters were in any danger or that the stakes really mattered.



As for the other episodes; some of them are fine (I quite liked the one in which Leo befriends the mushroom-guy, for example), but none of them really stand out.

I really wanted to like Blood Blockade Battlefront a lot more than I ended up doing. The show does a great job at sucking the viewer in, with its rich visuals, great music and interesting setting. Unfortunately, the show is too flawed in every other regard for me to recommend it. A shame, because it definitely had potential.



Friday, November 13, 2015

What I've Watched 4

Time for another one of these. This time, I don't actually have anything really negative to say about any of the shows that I've been watching lately. Feels good, because I'm much happier when I get to praise something than when I have to pan it (not that tearing something I didn't enjoy apart can't be cathartic, of course, but I digress). Anyway, on with the shows:


Steins; Gate

I wasn't too impressed with Steins; Gate at first, but I have to admit that it improved radically in its second half. The characters have become more fleshed out and the poor attempts at humor have been toned down in favor of genuine suspense, stakes that matter and some truly effective emotional moments. A small part of me wishes that the show could have gotten to this point a bit earlier in the game, but, hey; better late than never. I'm not yet done with Stein;s Gate, but now, I'm definitely interested in seeing how it ends.

Cybersix

I actually watched the first two episodes of this show years ago, but for some reason I put it on-hold and didn't watch the rest, until now. No idea why, since this is actually a pretty good show. Cybersix herself makes for a really cool and engaging heroine and she's backed up by a strong supporting cast. I also find it interesting that her secret identity is that of a man, which I daresay is pretty unique among super-heroines.On another note, I really dig the character-designs and the opening theme is great as well. Cybersix is not a show without its flaws though. For example, the heroine and her brother, Data 7 are the escaped experiments/creations of the big bad, von Richter. This back-story has a lot of potential and I would really have liked the show to explore it in more detail. Unfortunately, most of the time, the show contents itself with being your typical "monster-of-the-week" show, which gets a bit formulaic after awhile. The first and last episode are by far the strongest, with the former doing a great job of introducing us to all the most important players and the latter wrapping things up to a satisfactory conclusion, while also leaving room for more episodes to be made. That said, none of the episodes are bad. If you're in the mood for a well-made, entertaining superhero cartoon, I recommend checking Cybersix out.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Re-watch)

Recently decided to re-watch this one. What can I say about it? How about the fact that Tinker, Tailor... is one of the greatest mini-series ever made and arguably the greatest espionage-themed show made as well? Oh, and the casting is pretty much perfect with Alec Guinness excelling in the role of George Smiley. Seriously, this is British television at its finest, I'll just leave it at that.

Rectify, Season 2

Although I still have a few episodes left, the second season of Rectify is definitely living up to the standards set by its predecessor. The story of Daniel Holden and his attempts to return to a normal life after having spent a huge part of his life on death row, continues to engage. This season has also took its time to flesh out some of its supporting cast. For example, the sheriff who was mostly just an antagonistic asshole in the first season is revealed as a a much more well-rounded character, who takes his job seriously. In fact, the strong characterization of nearly the entire cast is one of this show's many assets.

The Amazing World of Gumball

Let's conclude this What I've Watched with something light-hearted. Gumball's greatest assets lies in its visuals and cast of characters. Visually, the show is very interesting, blending various styles of animation together; its a show that takes full advantage of its medium. As for the characters, they are a lot of fun to watch with their various quirks and eccentricities (I feel that Richard is the weakest of the main cast, but that's mostly because the whole "bumbling idiot dad"-thing has been done to death at this point). If you want something that's just plain fun, The Amazing World of Gumball is well worth a watch. Personally, I'd recommend starting with the second season (there's no over-arching plot, so don't worry about missing anything), which is where the show really hits its stride, in my opinion.






  


The Iliad at the Almeida

Somehow, I managed to miss the Almeida Theatre's live-reading of The Illiad when it was first streamed, but fortunately, the whole thing is still available on their site until 2016. I strongly recommend giving it a listen; the various readers (which include among others Brian Cox and John Simm) does a great job at bringing this great work of literature, with all its passions and intensities, to life.
Here's a link

Friday, October 30, 2015

Last Days Of An Immortal

Despite the fact that I haven't read nearly all of his work, I feel confident in saying that the French comic-writer Fabien Vehlmann, has quickly become one of my favorite people currently working in the medium. The first thing I read by Vehlmann was The Isle of 10.000 Graves, drawn by Jason; a really good comic which was followed by Beautiful Darkness, drawn by Kerascoët (I'm going to point out that both Jason and Kerascoët are pseudonyms, just in case you were wondering). Oh, and I can think of few comics that live up to its title as well as Beautiful Darkness does. Kerascoët's water-color drawings are indeed beautiful to look at and as for the "darkness" part of the title? Well, let's just say that the comic features enough death and callous cruelty for it to qualify as dark by any definition of the term.
That said, while both of the above comics are well worth reading and come highly recommended, my favorite title that I've read from Vehlmann so far is Last Days Of An Immortal, which (surprise) is the subject of this post.



Last Days Of An Immortal takes place in the very distant future. Humanity has long since travelled through the distant stars and are now living side by side with various alien species. In addition, mankind now possesses the technology to create 100% complete copies of an individual. These copies, called echoes, retain all the personality-traits and memories of the original. Once the echoes have finished carrying out their task, they merge with the primary body, which gain all the knowledge and memories that the echoes have acquired. Oh, and if the primary  should happen to die, than one of the echoes can be turned into a primary body, meaning that humans have basically become immortal. There is a catch to this however, whenever a person creates an echo they loose some of their oldest memories. In addition, Elijah, the main character of the comic is a member of the Philosopher-Police, an organization dedicated to resolve what ever conflicts or cultural clashes that will inevitably occur when humans and aliens interact with one another. The plot of the comic revolves around Elijah being put in charge of investigating a murder that occurred many centuries ago, but is now causing conflict between two vastly different alien-species, both inhabiting the same planet.



While the plot and characters are really good, what truly stands out in this comic, as far as I'm concerned, is the setting. The various extraterrestrial civilizations presented to the reader are especially fascinating. Most of them do indeed come off as a completely alien, with customs and traditions totally different from those on Earth. For example, there's one civilization whose entire culture is basically a gigantic play, with each citizen receiving a script, which assigns them their status, sexual orientation, etc. There's another whose members communicate by taste and those are just some examples.
Finally, a few words about the art-work. The artist, Gwen de Bonnevall does a great job at bringing life to this world and its inhabitants, humans as well as alien. At first glance, Bonnevall's artwork may seem sparse, but there's an elegance to it that I find appealing. He's also very good at conveying the emotions of the characters; whether its sadness, joy or rage.





All in all, Last Days Of An Immortal ranks for me among the best works the genre has to offer. If you want a truly engrossing piece of science-fiction mystery, set in a creative and visually interesting setting and featuring a highly engaging protagonist, I strongly urge you to check it out.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Favorite Adventure Games

Ever since a cousin of mine introduced me to Day of the Tentacle, back when I was a child, the graphic adventure (or point & click adventure, as it has also been called), has been my favorite type of game, rivaled only by the RPG. As such, I thought it high-time that I paid some tribute to this genre, by showcasing what I consider to be some of the best games it has to offer. Are you ready? Well, than, let's jump right in.


Day of the Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)


Seeing as how this was the first graphic adventure I played from start to finish, its only fitting that Day of the Tentacle kicks off this list. However, its not just sentimentality that makes this game earn a place on it. While Day of the Tentacle may no longer be my favorite game (or even favorite adventure-game, for that matter), I can not argue with any list who puts it in the top-spot. Day of the Tentacle is one of those games that does pretty much everything right; everything from the cartoony graphics, to the puzzles, to the humor of the game are terrific. Created by LucasArts. the uncrowned king of the genre at the height of its power, Day of the Tentacle is, in many ways, what all adventure games should strive to be.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (LucasArts, 1991)


No list of great adventure-games is truly complete without at least one Monkey Island title on it and while everyone has their own favorite game in this series; LucasArts' flagship title, which focused on the adventures and misadventures of Guybrush Threepwood ("Mighty pirate!"), I'd have to go with the second one. LeChuck's Revenge is everything a worthy sequel should be, being bigger and better than its predecessor, with more locations to visit, more puzzles and more characters. The second (and longest) part of the game, where you are free to travel between various islands in order to find all the map-pieces is pure adventure-bliss that anyone interested in the genre should experience at least once. Also, this game features one of the most memorable endings of any game I can think of.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (LucasArts, 1992)


Easily as good as Raiders of the lost Ark and better than any of the subsequent movies, Fate of Atlantis has everything that a fan of everyone's favorite whip-wielding archaeologist/grave-robber could want from an Indiana Jones game. As Indy you have to race to stop the Nazis from exploiting the ancient technology of Atlantis for their own nefarious purposes. There are three different paths you can take in order to reach the lost city; one path puts the focus on traditional puzzle-solving, the second on action and the final one has you collaborating with the game's heroine, Sophia Hapgood (who rivals Marion as the best female character in the franchise). Regardless of which path you choose, Fate of Atlantis is a great game. Seriously, screw Crystal Skull. For me, this game will always be the real Indiana Jones IV.

Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1998)


The last truly great adventure-game to come out of LucasArts and in many ways the company's magnum opus. Although the new keyboard-controlled interface could take a bit of time to get used to, compared to the old "point & click"-ways, the richness of the plot and the characters more than make for any of that. In fact, Grim Fandango in my opinion, has the best plot of any LucasArts' game and its set in a brilliantly realized world influenced both by Mexican tradition and classic film-noir tropes. If I have any complaints about this game, I guess it would be that the last half of it isn't as interesting as the first one (a flaw it shares with Monkey Island 2, by the way). However, that's small stuff. everyone should experience the after-life with Manny Calavera as their tour-guide, at least once before they shuffle off the mortal coil for real.

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra, 1993)


Back in the genre's heydays, Sierra Entertainment was LucasArts' rival for the much coveted "King of Adventure Games" -title and although the quality of Sierra's products tended to be more inconsistent than those of its rival, when they were good, they were damn good. The finest game to come out of Sierra was Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, the first in a trilogy by Jane Jensen. Like its sequels, Sins of the Fathers was a mature game in all the right ways, featuring believable characters and a gripping, complex plot that dealt with themes like revenge, guilt and redemption. The two sequels are also good (a rather infamous puzzle in the third game not withstanding), but the first installment is my favorite. Had this been the only game featuring Gabriel and his assistant Grace Nakimura she had made, Jane Jensen would still have earned her place among gaming's great storytellers.

Quest For Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (Sierra, 1994)


Next to Gabriel Knight, my favorite series to come out from Sierra would be Quest For Glory, an adventure/RPG hybrid created by husband-and-wife team Lori Ann and Corey Cole. The best game in the series, in my opinion, is the fourth one, Shadows of Darkness which takes place in the land of Moldavia, a land which the forces of evil has a strong grip on. There are several reasons why Quest For Glory IV is one of my favorite adventure-games; the plot is the best one in the series, with influences from both Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft, as well as Russian folklore. The characters are memorable, including the antagonist, who is one of the best in all gaming and it features John-Rhys Davies as the narrator, what more could one possibly want?

Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive (Access, 1996)


Under A Killing Moon, the third game in Access' series about Tex Murphy, the down-on-his luck P.I., who continually gets caught up in cases in which it turns out that the World itself is at stake, was an innovative game in many ways; featuring an immersive 3-d environment. in which the player could hide behind doors, look for clues underneath desk-drawers, among other thing. However, it was also held back by some amateurish acting (Chris Jones would improve in later games) and a pretty cheesy plot, with a villain whose plan was lifted from Moonraker. of all things. Its sequel, The Pandora Directive took everything that was good about Under A Killing Moon and improved upon it. One of the most interesting aspects of the game was the opportunity to lead Tex down various paths, leading to several different endings, some of them happy, others less so.

The Last Express (Smoking Car Productions, 1997)


Jordan Mechner may be most famous for having created the Prince of Persia series, but in my opinion, his finest work is this game. The Last Express puts the player in the role of Robert Cath, a doctor, who finds himself aboard the Orient Express at the dawn of the first World War.
One of the most unique things about The Last Express is the fact that the game takes place in real-time with all the characters you meet having their own schedules. This means that you have to choose carefully what you're going to do next, whether its to meet a character in order to dig out information from them or wait until the character is gone order to go through their stuff, among other choices. The plot of the game is also very strong, being a mystery in true Agatha Christie-fashion, which successfully uses the political upheavals of the time as a back-drop. Oh, and did I mention that the characters all speak in their own native language, with the Russian passengers talking Russian and so on? How often do you see that? Not just in games, but media in general? The Last Express is by far the classiest adventure-game I've played.

The Wolf Among Us (Telltale, 2013)


Last but not least, we have The Wolf Among Us. I've actually written about this game before, so, I recommend reading my old review of it if you want more details. While The Walking Dead: Season 1 was the game that truly put Telltale on the map, this is my favorite out of the ones I've played from them, so far. Here's hoping we get a sequel at some point.

*****

Well, that's it for now.  If you haven't already played any of these games, than I hope I've made you interested in checking at least one of them out. Most of them are available via Good Old Games or Steam, so they're quite easy to get ahold of.
Until next time, dear reader.






Thursday, October 8, 2015

What I've Watched 3

Don't really have anything to say, so let's just jump straight into the fray, shall we?

True Detective Season 2

In my first WIV. I wrote that hopefully, the second season of True Detective would pick up the pace and improve in its second half. So, did it? To be frank, not really. Granted, I did actually enjoy the penultimate episode of the season and it gave me some hope that at least there would be a satisfying conclusion to the whole thing. Ultimately, though, this was a dreary season, revolving around a group of characters I didn't care about most of the time, getting involved in a plot that failed to captivate me. Will I watch an eventual third season of this show? Probably, but I'll be going into it with much lower expectations than I had for this one.

Here's hoping season 2 of Fargo doesn't turn out a disappointment as well. The trailer at the very least has me hopeful.

Star vs. The Forces of Evil

The first season of Star vs. was enjoyable. Star and Marco both made for entertaining protagonists and they played of each other really well. The show is for the most part focused on fun, lighthearted escapades in the vein of early episodes of Adventure Time or Steven Universe, which actually serves to make the more serious season finale, in which Star finds herself up against a far more competent and dangerous villain than her usual nemesis, all the more effective. The finale ended with a lot of questions unanswered and I'm definitely looking forward to next season.

By the way, in case you were wondering, my favorite character is Toffee. How can you not love an evil lizard-man voiced by Michael C. Hall?

Mister Robot

I've only seen the first two episodes of this one (I'm watching it on SVT Play and they haven't put up the third episode yet), but so far, I'm enjoying it. Rami Malek, who I can't recall having seen in anything else, does a good job as the main-character Elliot, a genius hacker who finds himself the target of interest of both the world's largest corporation, E-Corp as well as a group of hackers determined to bring E-Corp down. The whole show has a strong Fight Club vibe to it, but it remains to be seen if Mr. Robot goes down the same road as that movie.

Stein:s Gate

Stein:s Gate is one of those anime that I've seen appearing on several "best anime"-lists, so naturally, my expectations going in were quite high. Judging from what I've seen thus far (nine episodes), I can't say I'm all that impressed. Granted, the time-travel stuff is pretty interesting and Okabe makes for a fairly unique protagonist (I can't think of any other lead quite like him in a Japanese cartoon, at least not off the top of my head). However, this is undermined by the fact that every other character in the show is some kind of anime stereotype: There's the pervy otaku-nerd, the tsundere, the moe-blob (who refers to herself in third person for maximum amounts of saccharine) and the cross-dresser. Its not exactly a bad show (if it were, I would have given up on it long ago), but I've yet to see anything that justifies the amount of praise this anime has received. Still, I'll keep watching and hopefully the show will get more interesting as it continues.

Brideshead Revisited

A high-quality mini-series of the kind I've come to expect from Britain. I must confess that I haven't read the original novel by Evelyn Waugh, but the mini-series has definitely made me interested in checking it out (that's something all adaptations should do, in my opinion; raise interest in the source-material). Jeremy Irons is great in the role of the main-character and narrator, Charles Ryder and the rest of the cast, which include among others, John Gielgud, is terrific as well. It doesn't hurt that I could listen to Irons narrating stuff all day.
Speaking of Irons, I'm so used to see him play villains, that it took me some time to get used to him portraying an ordinary, every-man sort of character like he does here.


That's it for now. Be seeing you.






Saturday, September 26, 2015

Comics That Should Be Translated: Ibicus

Russia, 1917, Simeon Nevzorov was once told by a fortuneteller that during a time of great upheaval, he would be rich. Now, the revolution is here and the czarist regime is about to be swept away forever. Its the moment Simeon's been waiting for! Believing wholeheartedly in the fortuneteller's prophecy, he embarks on a quest for the wealth and power that he believes is his destiny to obtain.



Ibicus is an adaptation of the novel written by Alexei Tolstoy, made by french cartoonist and movie director, Pascal Rabaté. Rabaté bought the book, thinking that it was by Leo. When he discovered his mistake, Rabaté put the book aside, to save it for a time when he was out of things to read. Naturally, such a thing occurred eventually, and soon Rabaté found himself reading the book he had bought by mistake. He ended up liking Ibicus so much, that he decided to adapt into a comic.
Having not read the original novel, Ibicus (in fact, before discovering the comic I had never heard of it, nor of Alexei Tolstoy for that matter), I can not say how faithful the adaptation is to the source-material. On the back of the first volume (which is also where I got the above information from), Rabaté states that its a free adaptation, but that he has tried to respect the spirit of the author. I can say, that it made me curious about checking out the novel, though, if I can manage to get a hold of a copy.



The first thing that strikes a reader upon opening the first volume of Ibicus is Rabaté's artwork.  I must admit that it took me awhile to get used to the style used by Rabaté for this comic, which is strongly influenced by impressionistic painting, but it soon grew on me. Rabaté is especially good at using light and shadow to convey atmosphere and there are certain scenes and panels in Ibicus, that, in my opinion, has a cinematic quality to them. That said, the artwork of Ibicus is definitely an acquired taste, but than again, can't you say that about pretty much everything?

That said, at the end of the day, yours truly is a plot-guy more than an art-guy (even if he obviously appreciates good art, comics is a visual medium, after all). So, what did I think of the story? Well, I doubt that I will surprise many of you, if I revealed that I found the writing of Ibicus to be great. Once again, I can't say how much that is thanks to Tolstoy and how much of it is Rabaté (once I've read the novel, I should write something about it, in order to compare it with the comic). but the plotting and characterization is both of a consistently high quality and succeeds both at the big, suspenseful moments and the quieter, more character-focused scenes.

The best thing about Ibicus though, at least writing-wise, is its central character. Simeon Nevzorov makes for a great protagonist. Like most anti-heroes, his character is stained with flaws, among which we may count greed, opportunism and pretentiousness (he styles himself as count Nevzorov, a title no-one buys; at one point, another character mockingly says "Count? Why not Czar while you're at it?"). In short, he's the type of character that you probably wouldn't want to be around in real life, but who is very interesting to read about.

In the end, regardless whether its faithful to its source-material or not, Ibicus remains a great comic and one that is definitely deserving of getting an English translation.

Monday, September 21, 2015

What I've Watched 2

Welcome, dear reader, to another installment of What I've Watched, where I will share some brief thoughts on the shows and sometimes, movies, that I've focused on recently. Before we begin however, there are a few things I believe I forgot to mention last time. First of all: I will only do a write-up if I feel that I have something to say about the show/movie in question. Second of all, while I try to keep spoilers to a minimum, sometimes they're pretty much inevitable.
That's all, thank you for reading this. Now, on to hopefully more interesting stuff:


Ripper Street Season 2

I've only seen the first two episodes of Ripper Street's second season, but so far, its shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to the first one. This season has a more serialized feel than its predecessor, thanks in no small part to the introduction of our first seasonal big bad in the form of the diabolical Jedediah Shine, who makes a worthy foe for Reid, Bennett and Jackson. Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, appears a supporting character in these episodes and his bravery and compassion for others stands in sharp contrast to Shine's loathsome evil. Merrick also gets what has to be the most emotionally powerful scene the show's had, so far, in which he manages to persuade another man not to commit murder-suicide with his infant son. I confess that I got something in my eye during that scene.
On a more negative note, there was one moment in the first episode that made me groan audibly: Its the scene where Reid tells Shine that they have a witness against him. Said witness being Shine's hospitalized partner-in-crime. Naturally that leads to Shine murdering the witness, while casting suspicions on Reid in the process. Yeah, that struck me as an uncharacteristically dumb move on Reid's part. 

Mind Game (Re-watch)

The first time I watched Mind Game, I adored it. This time, however, my feelings for it have cooled somewhat. Visually, the movie is very interesting and its message; that you should live life to its fullest and follow your dreams is certainly a worthwhile one. That said, not all the weirdness of the movie clicked with me and there are some sequences that I felt went on for too long. Its an interesting movie and one that I think every fan of animation should watch at least once, but I wouldn't consider it the best among Yuasa's work.

The Singing Detective

I finally got around to watch this classic mini-series by Dennis Potter and I wasn't disappointed. The Singing Detective is the story of Philip Marlow (excellenty portrayed by Michael Gambon), a writer of mystery-fiction, who is undergoing treatment for his psoriatic arthritis . In order to find some means of escape from the hospital-bed that he's confined to, Marlow imagines himself as the hero of one of his novels: The Singing Detective. The show blends the real-world setting of the hospital with Marlow's hardboiled-detective fantasies, as well as flashbacks to his childhood during World War 2 and the events that shaped him into the man we see in the present.
The Singing Detective is one of those shows that defy easy categorization: It is at once a mystery-story, a character-study a musical with some dash of autobiography (Potter himself suffered from the same ailment as his protagonist) thrown in for some good measure. I enjoyed it immensely, my only minor complaint is that I sort of wished that the actors would have actually sung the songs instead of miming to old recordings.


The Leviathan Chronicles Season 1

I'm cheating a bit here (as much as you can cheat on your own blog) because technically there's no way to watch The Leviathan Chronicles. You see, its neither a movie nor a show, but an audio-drama. However, its easily as good as any show I've listed here (and in certain cases even better than some of them) and ranks among the best audio-dramas I've listened to. The voice-acting and sound-effects for this drama are top-notch and the plot, revolving around a young scientist, who learns that she's a member of a race immortals is well-told and engaging. The entire show can be found here, I strongly suggest that you give it a listen.

Rectify Season 1


Another excellent show. Rectify is about Daniel Holden, a man who spent twenty years on death-row for the murder and rape of his girlfriend, but is released when DNA evidence is revealed that points to his innocence. The show then focuses on Daniel getting reunited with his family (including some new family members) and his attempts to a re-adjust to a normal life, all while resentment against him keeps simmering beneath the surface, because not everyone is convinced of Daniel's innocence.
Let me say this, if you go into Rectify expecting there to be some hint as to "who-done it", toward the end of the first season, you're going to end up being disappointed. This show is not so much a mystery as it is a character drama, something it excels at.

Rick & Morty Season 2

I really liked the first season of Rick & Morty and the second has definitely lived up to my expectations, so far. My personal favorite episode, not just of this season, but the show in general, was the one with the alien parasites. If Rick & Morty continues to uphold this level quality it might well end up being my favorite western-cartoon for adults since The Venture Bros.

Shirobako


Here's something I haven't seen before: An anime that's actually about making an anime and the work that goes into it. Its also the story about Aoi and her childhood friends and their struggle to break into the anime industry, whether its as producers, animators, voice-actors or what have you. This show definitely has potential to become one of my new favorites; the characters are by and large likable and interesting, making it easy to root for them to succeed and as a layman, I find the work-related aspects of the show to be very interesting and informative as well. All in all, an excellent slice-of-life series.



Well, that's it for this time. One final thing: I've decided to drop Yuri Kuma Arashi (or at least put it on hold for awhile). I only have three episodes left, but right now I just can't be bothered with the show anymore. Its not that I think its bad per-se, I just don't feel that it offers me anything that I couldn't get from watching any of Ikuhara's previous shows, like Utena or Penguin Drum again. Those shows also featured much more interesting characters. Sure, you could argue that since Utena had 39 episodes and Yuri Kuma only has 12, the former had more time to develop its cast. However, I'd like to offer a counter-argument to that: Utena didn't need twelve episodes to make its characters interesting.










Monday, September 14, 2015

Favorite Movie Villains

Alfred Hitchcock once said that the more successful the villain is, the more successful is the movie (or something like that) and while a movie doesn't necessarily require a villain in order to be a great, its true that the presence of a great villain can take an already good movie to new heights. With that in mind, here are some of my favorite cinematic bad guys (and girls) presented in no particular order. I hope you enjoy this list and that it will make you curious to check out the movies these evil-doers hail from, unless you haven't already.
Oh, yes, there will be some spoilers here. Although to be fair, some of these movies are so old that the spoilers are pretty much public knowledge and the movies presented here are good enough that knowing some plot-points really shouldn't take away from the enjoyment of the movie in question.


Frank (Once Upon A Time in the West)



My favorite Sergio Leone villain and my favorite villain in a Spaghetti-Western. It was a true stroke of genius on Leone's part to cast Henry Fonda, an actor mostly know for playing morally upright heroes, as the arch-villain of this movie. I can only imagine the surprise of the audience at the time when they witnessed Frank and his henchmen murdering an entire family in cold blood (including shooting a kid in the back) only for the camera to reveal that the man behind this mayhem is none other than Juror #8 himself. Has there ever been a better example of casting against type?

Lady Kaede (Ran)



I've written about her before. Akira Kurosawa's Ran may have been based on King Lear, but Kaede, the wife of Taro, eldest son of Lord Hidetora, leader of clan Ichimonji, doesn't really have a counterpart among Lear's rogues-gallery. After Hidetora relinquishes power to his three sons, Kaede wastes no time convincing Taro to claim sole leadership of the clan plunging the region into civil war. So, she's a Lady MacBeth character, then? Not really, because unlike the Thane of Cawdor's wife, Kaede is motivated not by power (or what she believes is best for her husband), but by a thirst for vengeance: Her family having been killed during Hidetora's conquests, Kaede seeks the complete annihilation of clan Ichimonji. The fact that this would also mean the deaths of hundreds of innocent lives is not something that bothers her very much. Manipulative, cold-hearted and bloodthirsty, Lady Kaede is one of cinema's great villains.

Harry Lime (The Third Man)



Sometimes, a villain can dominate the plot of a movie without appearing that much in it. Case in point; Harry Lime in The Third Man. Lime doesn't get many scenes, but every scene he's in is memorable, from his entrance to his dialogue with former childhood friend Holly Martins aboard the Ferris-wheel, they all count among some of the finest moments in cinema. Personality-wise, Lime is a trickster-character. He's so affable and fascinating that its quite easy to forget that underneath the charm, Lime is utter scum; A racketeer who cares for no-one but himself and the profits he can make. The radio-drama, The Lives of Harry Lime, softened the character somewhat, making him into more of an anti-hero, but its as the villain of The Third Man that Lime will always be remembered.

Phyllis Dietrichson (Double Indemnity)



Well, what can one say? Pretty much the archetypical film-noir femme fatale.

Dr. Mabuse (Dr. Mabuse the Gambler and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse)



I admit that I have a soft spot for the criminal mastermind type of villain and in that category, you can't do much better than Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse wants world-domination (it comes with the job), but unlike most villains of his type, watching him you can't help but feel a bit worried that he might actually achieve it.  In the second movie, Mabuse has spent ten years in a mental hospital following his breakdown at the end of the first, but that doesn't stop the good doctor from sowing more chaos. Yeah, this guy is pretty much my favorite cinematic super-villain.

Hans Beckert (M)



Right below Mabuse, we have another villain from a Fritz Lang movie; Hans Beckert, the first, but certainly not last villain-protagonist to appear on this list. Hans is not the most formidable villain, in fact, he's pretty pathetic. However, he makes up for this being a genuinely interesting character, one that evokes both disgust and pity at the same time. One of the best examples of a tragic monster in film.

Lope de Aguirre (Aguirre: The Wrath of God)



Klaus Kinski was an actor who was pretty much born to play villains and I had a hard time choosing between his role as the eponymous character in Aguirre and that of Tigrero/Loco in The Great Silence. As you can see, the former won out in the end. Aguirre is a terrifying character,whose thirst for gold and power causes him to slip further and further into insanity. At the end of the movie, he keeps ranting about the dynasty he's going to form (by marrying his own daughter nonethless). Unfortunately for Aguirre, the only ones who can still hear him are the monkeys.

Louis Cypher (Angel Heart)



The Devil as played by Robert De Niro. Never has the simple act of eating a boiled egg come across as more sinister.

Antonio Salieri (Amadeus)



By all accounts, the real-life Salieri was not that bad a guy, he thought several young singers and compositors (one of his more famous pupils was Ludwig van Beethoven) and all but his wealthiest students received their education for free. The Salieri seen in Amadeus on the other hand, is a petty and murderous schemer, motivated chiefly by envy. However, what makes Salieri such a great villain is his complexity; while he despises Mozart, he clearly recognizes the latter's brilliance and acknowledges his genius. Which of course only furthers Salieri's resentment and underlying self-loathing, knowing that he's doomed to forever live in the shadow of his younger, more talented rival. Odd as it may seem, there were times in watching the movie when I felt for the guy.

Colonel Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)



Quentin Tarantino's filmography contains its fair share of memorable villains. My personal favorite is Hans Landa, the Nazi-villain of Inglorious Basterds. Easily the best character in the movie, Landa is quirky and affable, while also being ruthlessly effective at carrying out his task of hunting down escaped Jews. What's interesting about Landa is that he doesn't care about the Third Reich or Hitler, having no problem in selling them out when opportunity presents itself. This begs the question: What's more horrible? To fully believe in a system or ideology that commits numerous atrocities, including genocide, or to use said system to sate your own greed and opportunism?

Harry Powell (The Night of the Hunter)



Or "Preacher Harry Powell" as he insists upon calling himself (wonder if that's where the makers of Pirates of the Caribbean got the idea of Jack referring to himself as "Captain Jack Sparrow" from?). The handsome (Robert Mitchum, natch) but incredibly sinister Powell hunts his two step-children (after disposing of their mother) in the hopes of getting the money that the kids' biological father, Harry's cellmate, hid inside his daughter's doll. The Night of the Hunter is a movie that at times has a strange, dreamlike quality to it. However, this self-proclaimed preacher doesn't waste time turning the dream into a nightmare.

Michael Corleone (The Godfather Trilogy)



What's there to say about Michael Corleone? When we first meet him, he's the white sheep of the Corleone family; a war-hero who wants nothing to do with the family business. Unfortunately for Michael, events conspires against him and he's eventually forced to become the next Don, gradually transforming into a ruthless villain. Has there ever been a better portrayal of a man's fall from grace in cinema?

Ryonosuke Tsukue (Sword of Doom)



Out of the evil leads on this list, Ryonosuke is arguably the most evil (though Aguirre comes close). A master-swordsman, Ryonosuke travels the Japanese countryside, using his talents with the blade to indulge in various villainous deeds, mostly for his own amusement. Cruel, violent and ultimately self-destructive, this is one man for whom the term Bushido, simply doesn't exist.

So, there you have it: These were some of my favorite movie-villains. I hope that I succeeded in making you interested in checking out some of the movies these horrible, yet fascinating men and women appear in. Below are a list of honorable mentions; villains that I like, but I didn't write about in detail, because I felt the list was long enough already:

Roy Batty (Blade Runner) - Only not on the list because I'm not sure if he's a villain, as opposed to being "merely" an antagonist.
Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)
Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men)
Capitan Vidal (Pan's Labyrinth)
Archibald Cunningham (Rob Roy)
Noah Cross (Chinatown)
Pretty much everyone except Alais (The Lion in Winter)
Claudandus (Felidae)
Dudley Smith (L.A. Confidential) - Better in the books, but still a good villain.
Col. Kurtz (Apocalypse Now)
Oh, and the following Disney-villains: Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), Prof. Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective) and Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
And many more.










Thursday, August 27, 2015

Things I'm Looking Forward To

There's a saying that goes "the person who waits for something good, never waits too long". Still, there are times when it seems like you've waited forever for the next installment of your favorite series/franchise. With that in mind, this post will focus on a few works of fiction that I'm eager to get my hands on. Here goes:

The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin

I may have made the decision not to watch anymore of Game of Thrones, due to not appreciating the direction the show has taken, but I still remain a fan of the original books and am looking forward to the next installment in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy saga. I want to see Sansa come into her own as master-manipulator under the tutelage of Littlefinger. I want to see what Tyrion's been up to and most of all, I want to see Stannis defeat Ramsay, completely and utterly. Whether or not any of these wishes will come true, I do not know, but I'm confident that whatever Martin chooses to do with his story and characters, it can't be worse than what Benioff & Weiss have done with them.


Duncan the Wonder-Dog Show Two by Adam Hines

I discovered Duncan the Wonder-Dog thanks to the excellent comic-review site Good OK Bad and since its definitely the most obscure out of the works mentioned here and I've never mentioned it on this blog before, a brief introduction might be in order. Duncan the Wonder-Dog is a comic which revolves around the simple concept: What if humans and animals could communicate? From this idea, Adam Hines has crafted a vast and ambitious tale. The first volume in the series, titled Show One, originally came out in 2010 and took Hines seven years to complete. No idea whether Show Two will take as long, but I have little doubt it will be worth it.

Note: Read the entirety of Show One for free, here.


Fargo Season 2

I was skeptical to the Fargo TV-Show going in, but the first season more than exceeded my expectations, being a truly excellent piece of television that captured the spirit of the original Cohen Brothers' movie, while also being its own thing. Plus, it featured some great performances from Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman and Martin Freeman. Season two is apparently going to take place in the 70's and focus on Lou Solverson, the father of Molly, the heroine of the first season. I liked Lou's appearances as a supporting character in season 1, so I'm looking forward to see how he does in the role of protagonist. The thing that has me the most excited about the second season, however, is that Nick Offerman is going to be in it. I only know him from comedic shows like Parks and Recreations, so it will be interesting to see how he does in a more dramatic series.

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

The final volume in Hilary Mantel's trilogy centered around Thomas Cromwell. The previous installments in the series; Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies are among my favorite  novels and the recent BBC mini-series was brilliant as well. Out of all the works listed here, this is the one I'm personally looking forward to the most.


Berlin: City of Light by Jason Lutes

The final installment in Lutes' trilogy about Berlin during the years of Weimar Republic, its downfall and the rise of the Nazis as seen through the eyes of various characters. Drawn & Quarterly have actually published the first three issues of this volume (though issue 17 the one that kicks it off is apparently out of stock), but I'd rather wait until I can read the whole thing in one sitting.











Thursday, August 20, 2015

District 14, Season 2



When I reviewed the first season of District 14 back in February, I heaped a lot of praise upon it. I loved the world that writer Pierre Gabus and artist Romuald Reutimann had created and the rich cast of characters they populated it with. As such, I was of course eager to read the second season of the comic, to see if it would live up to the standards set by its predecessor.
For those of you who haven't read my review of season 1, a brief introduction might be necessary: District 14 (original title: Cité 14) is a French comic which takes place in the eponymous district; a place populated by regular humans, anthropomorphic animals, aliens and even a superhero. The first season introduced us to this setting through the eyes of newly arrived immigrant, Michael Elizondo, a pachyderm who had left his homeland, due to circumstances which were revealed at the end of the season. Upon his arrival in District 14, Michael almost immediately ended up saving the life of journalistic beaver, Hector McKeagh, leading to the two striking a partnership, working as investigative reporters for one of the district's newspapers.


Season 2 begins where its predecessor ended; Michael's sickness has deformed him and causing him to grow increasingly violent. He has fallen into the thrall of a father-son team of monkeys, who knows about his past and forces him to steal for them in order to receive the leaves that can be used to slow down the progress of the sickness. At the same time, Hector, sets out to make peace with his past; first by investigating the rumors of contaminated water in the Covington Neighborhood, the part of the district where most of its alien inhabitants live, and second of all to spring Cloxm, one of the aliens' political leaders and the person Hector's dead wife, Belinda, left him for, out of prison.

As was the case with the first season, season 2 of District 14 sees Gabus juggling several plot-lines of varying importance and it it's a testament to his skill as a storyteller that he constantly kept me invested in what would happen next, no matter whether the focus was on Michael, Hector or any other character.
Speaking of characters, all the ones introduced in season 1 are back for this round (except for those who died during the course of that season's events) and several of the old characters, who only had walk-on roles in the first season, get fleshed out in this one. New characters are also introduced, among the more interesting are Bill and Joe, a couple of old-timers, who set out to avenge the death of an old friend (said friend was mentioned briefly in the first season) at the hands of the most powerful man in the city. Another memorable new introduction is the affably evil, bunny hit-man, Walter Lipoda.



As for Reutimann's artwork, I can't think of much to write about it. It continues to be very appealing to look at, and suits the overall tone of the comic very well, in my opinion.

Do I have anything negative to say about District 14's second season? Well, maybe there's the fact that at it ends with several plot-threads still left hanging. That said, I enjoyed my second visit to the District immensely and am looking forward to the upcoming third season.



Sunday, August 9, 2015

What I've Watched

Dear reader(s), it is my pleasure to bid you welcome to, what I plan to turn into a new feature on this blog. Under the header What I've Watched, I'm going to talk about the shows I've been watching lately; old and new, live-action and animated and my impressions of them. I don't have much more to say, so let's cut to the chase:


True Detective (season 2)

The first season of True Detective was some truly excellent television, featuring great directing and cinematography courtesy of Cary Joji Fukunaga and outstanding performances from Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. Naturally, I was greatly looking forward to the second season. Well, season 2 is here and I'm half-way through and I have to say that, so far, its not living up to the standards of its predecessor. I knew that the new season would feature a completely different plot and cast of characters and I have no problem with that. However, I must admit that I find it increasingly hard to care about the various plots and sub-plots in this season. About the only time that the show has really clicked with me was at the end of episode 2 and the beginning of episode 3. Still, I'll keep watching, hopefully the show will improve in the second half.
The opening is great though.

Sonic Boom

This show, I must say, has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Its pretty formulaic (almost every episode I've seen boils down to Eggman hatching some scheme, usually involving robots, and Sonic and friends putting a stop to it), but it compensates for that by being genuinely funny. Its not Steven Universe or anything, but its an amusing series that I don't mind watching every now and then.

Garo the Animation

Another show I'm enjoying. Garo the Animation may not break new ground among fantasy anime or take the genre to new heights (at least not from what I've seen), but so far, its a solid show that does what it does very well. The cast  may not count among the most memorable the medium has offered us, but the characters are engaging and I'm interested to see what's going to happen next.

Yuri Kuma Arashi

Not sure what to think of this one yet. It has all the weirdness, visual richness and symbolism that I've come to expect from Ikuhara's work, but it hasn't really grabbed me the way that Utena or Penguin Drum did. So far, my favorite episode was the one focused on Lulu and her past. I must admit, I got a chuckle out of her repeated efforts to kill her little brother. On another note, the absence of a lengthy musical interlude, like the above-mentioned shows had, is somewhat disappointing.

Ripper Street (season 1)

I've saved the best for last. Ripper Street is a crime-series set in London, shortly after the Whitechapel Murders and its absolutely brilliant. The three main-characters are well-drawn and expertly portrayed by their actors (including Jerome Flynn, who you may recognize as Bronn from Game of Thrones) and they are backed-up by a strong supporting cast. The show also does a great job of depicting Victorian London and many of the cases, involves the social, political and economical conflicts of the time-period. This is one show that I recommend without any hesitation and I'm really looking forward to watching season 2.

Well, that's it, for now. If you have any suggestions or recommendations for me, please, feel free to post them in the comments.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

My Name is Red

One of my favorite novels is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. For those of you not familiar with this novel, The Name of the Rose is a murder-mystery set in an Italian monastery in the 14th Century. The novel was also adapted into a really good movie starring Sean Connery as its mystery-solver, William of Baskerville.
Why am I mentioning this? You wonder. Because I recently read My Name is Red, by Turkish author and nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and during my read of this novel, I was frequently reminded of Eco's masterpiece.

My Name is Red takes place in Istanbul in the year 1591. The Sultan Murad III has secretely commissioned an illuminated manuscript drawn in the new Venetian Style, a blasphemy in the eyes of many Muslims, particularly religous fundamentalists such as Hoja of Erzurum. As the novel begins, one of the miniaturists who worked on the manuscript, Elegant Effendi has been found murdered. Soon, the master of the miniaturists, Enishte Effendi is killed as well. Enishte's daughter, Shekure enlists the miniaturist known as Black to find her father's killer. If Black succeeds, Shekure will give him what he has always longed for: Her hand in marriage. However, it soon becomes clear that the murderer is one of the miniaturists himself.

From this short and limited glimpse of the plot, I'm sure that you, dear reader, can understand why I was reminded of The Name of the Rose. Both it and My Name is Red are essentially murder-mysteries set by a historical backdrop, with faith playing an important part in the proceedings. However, this doesn't mean that Pamuk has copied Eco (for all I know, Pamhuk may not even have read The Name of the Rose). The differences between the two novels far eclipse any similarities the two may share.

Take the setting for one: The Name of the Rose takes place entirely in a monastery and its surroundings. My Name is Red takes place in a bustling metropolis, the very heart of the Ottoman Empire. Another difference is the amount of narrators. Eco's novel features one narrator, the young monk Adso, who plays the Watson to William of Baskerville's Sherlock Holmes. My Name is Red features a different narrator in each chapter and what a plethora of narrators it is, dear reader. Aside from the obvious ones such as Shekure and Black, we also get to hear from the dead Elegant Effendi, his murderer and many others. Some of the narrators aren't even human; a dog, a horse, a coin and even Satan himself are among those who get to share their opinions and view-points with the reader.

My Name is Red is a work of great richness, I found it to be a fascinating read and will definitely check out more of Orhan Pamuk's work in the future.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

The Desert Peach

The Desert Peach by Donna Barr tells the story of a small unit of the Afrika Korps, headed by Manfred Pfirsich Marie Rommel, the fictional younger brother of the famous Desert Fox. However, there's not much of a resemblance between The Desert Peach and his brother; for one, Pfirsich is homosexual and his unit mostly serves a haven for various misfits that don't really fit into the new Germany but nonetheless were called upon to do military service. Among the more prominent and colorful members of this unit are Pfirsisch's fiance, Rosen Kavalier (real name Melvin Gonville Ramsbottom); a scoundrel completely lacking a heart of gold, but who remains strangely likable. Kjars Winzig, the unit's self-appointed political commissioner, bristling with patriotic fervor and dedication to Das Vaterland, and finally, Pfirsich's orderly, Udo Schmidt. Udo is the only member of the unit who is a card-carrying member of the Nazi-Party (since even hardcore Hitler-fanboy Winzig was to cheap to pay the membership-fee). He's also secretly Jewish, his real name being Isador Gülphstein.



From the above description it may seem as if The Desert Peach is pure farce. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Sure, there's plenty of comedy to be had, but also lots of drama as well. Barr never allow the reader to forget that her comic takes place during one of the darkest times in the history of mankind; the horrors of the war and the evils of the Holocaust are never far away. Barr frequently uses the comic to tackle heavy and difficult subjects, such as rape and child-murder and she does this very well.
Barr's greatest strength are her characters, all of the ones I mentioned above reveal themselves to be complex and fleshed-out people, capable of both good and bad. Pfirsich himself is one of my favorite protagonists in any comic, while at first he may seem like a complete air-head, it soon becomes clear that he's a brave, honorable and intelligent guy, who cares deeply for the men under his command.



Another thing I like about the comic is its time-span, it would have been easy for Barr to have the entire comic take place in North Africa during World War 2, but instead she chooses to move forward in time: We get to see learn the fate of characters like Udo and Winzig after the war and we see Pfirsich and Rosen as old men, still living together.

On the artistic side, Barr's artwork goes through some changes during the course of the comic (as one would perhaps expect): In the early issues, she draws in a very clean and realistic style, but as the comic goes on, her art become stylized and dense, sometimes resembling woodcuts. Which one's better is, of course, a matter of taste, personally I prefer the later style and part of that is because I get the feeling (though this is pure speculation on my part) that Donna was more comfortable with it.

With its flawed, deeply human characters, excellent blend of comedy and drama and engaging plots, The Desert Peach is a comic that I heartily recommend. Not just to those with an interest in World War 2, but to anyone with an interest in great comics.


Saturday, June 27, 2015

Simoun

Simoun is a 2006 anime made by Studio Deen and directed by Junji Nishimura. It takes place on the planet Daikariu, a world in which everyone is biologically born female. When they reach the age of seventeen, the denizens of this world embark on a pilgrimage to a holy spring, where they are given the opportunity to either stay female or become male. One of the nations of this world, the theocracy Simulacrum, has grown to prosperity thanks to its monopoly on the advanced helical technology. As a consequence of this, Simulacrum is under attack by the allied forces of the nations Argentum and Plumbum, both of which wants to steal this technology for their own uses. Simulacrum is defended by priestesses known as Sibyllae, who flies into battle in advanced airships called Simoun. The anime follows one fleet of Simoun; Chor Tempest, as its members deal with the war as well as their relationship with each other.



Simoun's biggest asset is without a doubt its cast of characters. The members of Chor Tempest all have distinct personalities, their quirks and foibles are portrayed well and they are, all in all, easy to get attached to. I think my favorite character was Mamiina, she starts out as a pretty dislikable character, but even then I thought she was interesting. Her resentment towards Rodoraemon and her willingness to do whatever it took to get ahead while not justified, are at least somewhat understandable once her backstory comes to light. Point is, Mamiina is not a jerk just for the sake of being a jerk and as the show progresses, Mamiina's more positive traits becomes more and more apparent and she ends up being what is probably Simoun's most empathetic character. That said, I could easily have picked Neviril, or Rodoraemon or Paraietta as my favorite. As I said, the characterization on this show is very good.



On the visual side of things, Simoun may not be as exciting as some other anime I've seen, but I still thought the visuals were good: I found the aerial-sequences to be thrilling and the character-designs appealing. As for the soundtrack, its of a consistently high quality, with the music reflecting the mood of what's happening very well.
If I have any criticisms against Simoun, I guess it would be that the actual plot evolving the war is not quite as interesting as the characters or the setting of the show. Don't get me wrong, the plot isn't bad or anything, but its not exactly amazing either.

Some of the characters who are identified as male are clearly voiced by women. I think I understand the reason for this, but it was still pretty distracting at first.
A word of warning: There's a lot of kissing going on in Simoun. So, if you have a problem with that, I wouldn't recommend watching the show.

To the rest of you, though, Simoun comes warmly recommended. If I ever do an expanded version of my Top Animated Shows list, it'd definitely be on it somewhere.