The Wolf Among Us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Random Thoughts

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

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

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

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

My Favorite Villainesses

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

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

Maleficent

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

Azula

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

Milady de Winter

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

Vermouth

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

Lydia Gwilt

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

Evelyn Crow

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

Lady Kaede

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

Phyllis Dietrichson

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

Rosemary Applefield

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

Mrs. Iselin

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

Snoop

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

Livia Drusilla

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

Mags Bennett

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

Ravel Puzzlewell

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

SHODAN

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

Balalaika

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

Demona

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

                                        Kreia

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

 

Ren Gyokuen

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

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

 

The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard

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


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

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

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

"I have a slight flaw in my character"

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

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

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

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

Templar

Written By: Jordan Mechner, 

Art by: Leuyen Pham and Alex Puvilland

First Second, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Favorite Creators

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

Adam Hines

Agatha Christie

Akira Kurosawa

Alan Burnett

Alan Furst

Alan Moore

Alexandre Dumas

Alfred Bester

Alfred Hitchcock

André Franquin
Andreas Martens
Andrew Miller

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Barry Hughart

Bernard Deyriés

Brad Bird

Bruce Timm

Carl Barks
Charles Dickens

Chiaki J. Konaka
China Mieville

Chris Avellone
Clark Ashton Smith

The Coen Brothers

Colleen McCullough
Cormac McCarthy

Dante Alighieri
Dashiell Hammett

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