“Mr. Murder” Proves Good Comics Aren’t Dead Yet

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Christopher Baggett

Mr. Murder Is Dead

“Mr. Murder Is Dead”

Writer Victor Quinaz

Artist Brent Schoonover

Colors Mark Englert

Rating:

Today, you’re all likely moping about that one big thing by that one big company, but why? There are still plenty of great books by small press and indie publishers on the shelves, such as Mr. Murder Is Dead, which hits shelves today.

In short, imagine a comic strip, pulp detective akin to Dick Tracy. Now imagine he’s pushing 70, depressed, lonely, and usually drunk. You’ve got a rough image of the book’s star, Gould “The Spook” Kane, a world-famous detective who’s fallen into obscurity following his retirement, unable to let go of the past. But when his nemesis, the elusive Mr. Murder, shows up dead under mysterious circumstances, Kane stirs from retirement to find out just who killed his arch nemesis.

The book does evoke memories of Archaia’s previous noir outing, Tumor, but Mr. Murder Is Dead manages to differentiate itself with an almost twisted black humor and unique, vibrant art style, interjecting old style newspaper strip art with modern age jaunts. Schoonover’s art is truly amazing, complemented perfectly by Englert’s colors, giving everything a classic feel perfectly suited to the mood and mindset of the story, while Quinaz’s writing is dripping with sarcasm, each character given their own unique voice and motivations, creating a unique tale full of twists that will keep readers guessing up until the very last page. The creative team has nailed the decades spanning story in every regard, pulling all three together to tell a fantastic tale.

Archaia, teamed once again with Before The Door (who also did the equally great Lucid) have another clear hit on their hands, and in the wake of that controversial relaunch, wouldn’t you rather support an amazing indie book than sink more money into something you’re not sure of? Mr. Murder Is Dead, on shelves today, is for mature readers only.

On The Cover: Flash #1 (Variant)

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Christopher Baggett

Yesterday, among the flurry of reveals of DCnU spoilers, teasers, and general “buy our books!” sales tactics, we got a sneak peek at some really cool things. We also got a first look at the variant cover to the upcoming The Flash #1, kicking off Volume #I-Don’t-Really-Know-Anymore-They-Reboot-The-Flash-Every-12-Issues-Now. And I really feel that it’s this cover that highlights a lot of what I don’t like about DCnU.

The Flash #1 (Variant by Ivan Reis and Tim Townsend)

Now, hear me out, because you’re going to want to write this off as me being a whiny fanboy, but I feel through all this I’ve proved I’m not. Here we go: I really, really hate this weird, Power Rangers-esque costume sequence they’ve got going for The Flash now.

No! Stop! I made you promise to hear me out.

Since the introduction of Barry Allen in the Silver Age, one thing has always been cool about The Flash: despite the bizarre, supernatural nature of his powers, it was always grounded in reality. Barry’s ring was never a magical, unheard of device that just pooped out costumes when he needed one. It was his own creation, based on the same concept as inflatable rubber rafts. Now, globs of red fabric-like goo seem to pop out of his ring, which somehow expands to become his chest emblem.

WHY?

I don’t ask this because “Oh man, it’s different, now it sucks”. I ask this because what is the point of this change? What depth does this possibly add to the character? It looks cool? That’s not good enough. It’s more visually interesting? I found the old costume sequences way more exciting than running through strips of red cloth.

I’m trying to keep an open mind about the DC reboot, relaunch, whatever, but things like this make it really hard to believe the creators have the best interest of our favorite characters in mind.

Good bye, DCU. Hello, DCnU.

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Christopher Baggett

It’s now just past 10:30PM. In less than 90 minutes, the DC Universe you have grown up with ceases to exist, replaced with Jim Lee’s updated costumes and a slew of on-goings that most don’t care about, as this week DC releases Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1; the only two books being released this week, and the beginning of the DCnU.

I’ll be unable to make a midnight launch, sadly, but I wish I could. We’ve tried to stay open-minded about DCnU here, and I still will, but I’m eager to get my hands on the books to see just how I’ll feel about the changes.

There have already been some spoilers out about Flashpoint #5 that left a bad taste in my mouth; I won’t post them here, but you can find them. Either way, the end of an era in 90 minutes.

We’ll continue pushing our coverage of DCnU. Hoping to have reviews of both books later, but for now we’ll leave this here, with an open comment box. Leave us your thoughts, your comments, and let’s have a little web-based candle light vigil for great stories and great characters that have (hopefully, just for now) been pushed aside.

Me, the Otaku: Astarotte’s Toy

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Sam Benzie

Astarotte’s Toy! (アスタロッテのおもちゃ!, Asutarotte no Omocha!) is an anime adaptation of the manga series Lotte no Omocha! which aired in Japan between April and June this year and was simulcast by Crunchyroll (the episodes are probably still up). The manga, which is still ongoing, is written and illustrated bu Yui Haga and started in 2007. It’s serialised in Dengeki Maoh, with ASCII Media Works publishing collected volumes. I’m not certain, but I think none of the manga have, as of yet, been released in English.

Astarotte, with dolls of the other main characters

The story is… Well, let’s say the story is interesting. It is incredibly ecchi (full of sexual references and suggestions), as you might have guessed from the above picture of Princess Astarotte of the kingdom of Ygvarland. She’s a succubus. Not a mature one (she’s 10), but she’s getting to the age where she needs to start consuming Sauzfryma (I am not saying what that actually is, just guess) and thus needs to form a a male harem.

BUT! Astarotte really does not like men. It borders on hate. Thus, she states that she’ll only start a harem if a human male joins, humans being non-existent in Ygvarland or, indeed, anywhere in Alfheimr, the medieval fantasy world in which the story is set. Unfortunately for her, her followers manage to open up a route into the human realm, manage to snatch a guy named Naoya, and present him to Astarotte.

Astarotte, again

Naturally, Astarotte is annoyed, but she goes with it. As eventually turns out, Naoya has a sister (cough), Asuha, who ends up tagging along. She’s ten years old and has a distinct dislike of underwear. So yeah.

Despite all the ecchi things nothing explicit is ever shown, it’s only spoken about or heavily implied. It all adds into the amazing humour of the series. The voice actors are all amazing as well, such as Lotte being voiced by RIE KUGIMIYA <3 (She voiced Taiga in Toradora, amongst many others, remember?), or Yui Horie (Toradora!, Pani Poni Dash, Fairy Tail) voicing Effie, one of Lotte’s staff.

The story! OH LORD THE STORY. It is a fantasy/harem/romance anime and it is amazing and sweet. It’s also full of plot twists about everyone. It’s a must watch, though you do have to get over the sexual innuendo.

On The Cover: Daken: Dark Wolverine #17

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Christopher Baggett

I mean….holy crap, come on. Did you actually expect THIS to happen in the pages of a book like Daken: Dark Wolverine?

DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE #17
Written by ROB WILLIAMS
Penciled by MATTEO BUFFAGNI
Cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI

“PRIDE COMES BEFORE IT” PART 2

GUEST-STARRING THE RUNAWAYS! Daken’s Hollywood empire has been ripped to pieces and, with his healing factor still damaged, he’s desperate and running for his life. The Pride appears to have returned to Los Angeles, but who’s gotten the band back together?

32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$2.99

I absolutely LOVE The Runaways. They’re one of Marvel’s little gems that, for some reason, they never use and it’s irritating as hell. We haven’t seen them in a year or so, since they’re thrice-rebooted series came to a close. I don’t think they even showed up during SIEGE, which is odd since they’re fan favorites that usually sell on their own pretty decently.

It’s worth noting that a final version of a script for The Runaways as a feature film has been approved by Marvel, but sources indicate they’re “in no hurry to produce it”. Sigh.

Matt Hardy Arrested For DWI, RELEASED From TNA!

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Christopher Baggett

Is there a bigger screw up in wrestling than Matt Hardy? Yes, his brother Jeff. Okay, and probably many more, but The Hardy Boys have quickly become infamous for all the wrong reasons with their constant whining and very public battles with substance abuse. But while Jeff (currently still waiting to go to trial on drug trafficking charges, a case which has received nearly two years of extensions) has been fairly quiet since he lost the TNA Heavyweight Championship in the now infamous 30 second match a few months ago at Victory Road, it’s Matt who’s making the news.

According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, a trooper arrested Matt after he drove his car off the road and struck a tree. Matt wasn’t injured, but the officer noted he was “observing signs of impairment”. Many sources are reporting a blood test is pending, but TNA is having none of it; the company has already FIRED Hardy from the company.

Matt had only been with TNA since January 9th and only had one title shot against Sting, but failed to capture. On June 20th Hardy announced he was taking a few weeks off, but in actuality he was suspended by TNA because he was constantly late to events. As mentioned before, Jeff has been off TV since he appeared in a match against Sting at Victory Road 2011 and appeared to be under the influence. I hate to see them fall this far; I remember being a big fan of The Hardy Boyz back in the WWE, and they had a lot of really great tag matches…but both have fallen far into complete jackass territory, be it whining about old girlfriends and co-workers or ranting about what fans say about them online, so it is hard for me to feel sorry for them. Hopefully we’ll see the duo rebound, but that’s years away if even possible.

It’s worth noting that despite being off TV since March and his on-going drug trafficking court case, Jeff Hardy remains in the employ of TNA/Impact Wrestling, and is still listed on their roster page.

Check Out The New GHOST RIDER Trailer!

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Christopher Baggett

I didn’t hate the first Ghost Rider film. I didn’t love it either. It had a lot of good things, and a lot of bad things too. The trailers, though, were definitely awesome, with a sci-fi twinged western feel to them. Now we’ve got a trailer for, astonishingly, a sequel: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which seems to have ditched the western feel in favor of high-octane action. Not terribly surprising, seeing as how it’s being done by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who made the balls to the wall awesome Crank: High Voltage.

I’m really kind of baffled how this film gets a sequel, while the much better and more deserving Daredevil has to be rebooted. Crying shame that. But if you can handle this trailer, with Nic Cage pissing fire, then you’ll probably be excited to know that Spirit of Vengeance hits theaters February 17th, 2012, and also stars Idris Elba and Christopher Lambert.

Me, The Otaku: Toradora!

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Sam Benzie

Toradora! is a romantic comedy light novel series/manga series/anime show that follows Taiga Aisaka and Ryuuji Takasu as they initially dislike each other, to helping each other with their respective crushes, to finally realising who they actually like. The light novel series was done by Yuyuko Takemiya and illustrated by Yasu and was released between March 10th 2006 and March 10th 2009 for ten volumes. As far as I know, none of them have been translated into English, much to my chagrin. There’s also a spin-off light novel series called Toradora Spin-Off!, also by Takemiya and Yasu.

The manga has been running in Dengeki Comic Gao! from September 2007 March 2008 and has continued in Dengeki Daioh since May 2008. It’s done by Yuyuko Takemiya and illustrated by Zekkyou The first volume was released in February 2008 by ASCII Media Works in Japan. Four have been released so far. Since March 2011, Seven Seas Entertainment has released two volumes of the manga in English, though you can get the first four volumes with furigana (in Japanese, but the kanji have their pronunciation in hiragana or katakana (normally hiragana) above them).

The anime itself ran between October 2nd 2008 and March 26th 2009. It was done by J.C. Staff, who also did Azummanga Diaoh and ran for 25 episodes.

Toradora

The title is a pun on the names of the main characters. ‘Taiga’ sounds like ‘tiger’, for which the Japanese is ‘tora’ (とら), which becomes the first part of the name. Ryuuji means ‘son of dragon’. A transcription of ‘dragon’ into Japanese is ‘doragon’ (ドラゴン), the first part of which is the second part of the name. Thus: Toradora! (とらドラ！)

It’s a really good show. I’m not really sure how else to describe it. The characters are brilliant and all get at least a little character development (although the minor characters have to wait a bit), with the main ones seeing the most, which makes sense. For example, Minori seems like your typical genki girl, but turns out to be so much more than that as the story progresses.

The story itself is as fantastic as the characters. At the start we see Ryuuji entering his second (I believe) year of high school, where he runs into Taiga. After being beaten up by ‘the Palmtop Tiger’ (because she’s small and fierce), they find out they live next to each other. They decide, after a time, to help each other with their relationships. Ryuuji admits to being in love with Minori and Taiga admits to liking Kitamura. As it happens, Ryuuji’s best friend is Kitamura, and likewise for Taiga and Minori. Thus the fun begins. As it goes on there are hints at Ryuuji and Taiga liking each other but nothing actually happens for a few episodes. After around episode 16 things start to get more serious and a large amount of the comedy goes in favour of drama and angst, though it’s still present.

The Palmtop Tiger

If I gave shows a rating in this… What is this, anyway? Column? Article? If I gave shows a rating in my thing I write, I’d be giving this a good 10/10. Packed with humour but at the same time addressing the characters relationships, it manages to thwack you over the head with a massive explosion of drama one minute and making you laugh yourself silly the next. It doesn’t even end like a typical romance show (you know, ‘and they lived happily ever after’ or something along those lines).

Also, if you do watch it, when you get to episode 25, watch until after the credits because otherwise you will not get the proper experience from it.

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Monthly Archives: August 2011