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.

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.

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.