X-O Manowar #22 Review

X-O Manowar hit a slump during the Unity event, simply because it felt a little unnecessary. The main Unity title was telling most of the story, with X-O filling in blanks in between the next issue. Thankfully the crossover between the two titles is now over, and while this series is nowhere near as good as it once was, there has definitely been a boost in quality which gives me good feelings for what comes next.

X-O Manowar sees Aric reunited with his Manowar armour and freed from jail after the events of Unity. As an added bonus, the US Government has even secured a nice plot in Western Nebraska for Aric and his Visigoths to settle down in. But, as expected, the government isn't doing all of this for nothing. By settling in the USA and accepting Nebraska as his new home-place, Aric has unwittingly put himself in the pocket of the US government. While this new development doesn't do anything ground-breaking in this issue, it should prove interesting in issues to come with moral issues and real-world conflicts bound to play a part somewhere down the line.

Artist Cary Nord ends leaves the book with this arc, however the artwork he produced does not leave the same impact as his work on the opening issues of this series. Due to a different colourist, and what feels like a slight change in style from Nord himself, the art in this arc of the series is nowhere near as good as his previous work. The colouring isn't as defined. The faces aren't as realistic - it's disappointing work from a very capable artist.

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Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #2 Review

I don't need to tell you how much people love Firefly. The short-lived TV show has a huge following of 'browncoats' and I count myself in their numbers. I finished the TV show, and its film spin-off Serenity fairly recently and found myself completely obsessed with getting my next Firefly fix. Naturally, I was excited to see this six-part comic series continuing the story of the beloved crew of Serenity. However, after a promising first issue I have to say I'm disappointed with the second issue of this series. To my fellow Firefly fans I say this: Please don't hate me for this review.

The second issue of "Leaves on the Wind" continues the story of Captain Mal Reynolds and the crew of Serenity on the run from the alliance, and trying desperately to help Zoe who is still struggling after the difficult birth she went through last issue. This story is not the problem, it has potential to show everything that is great and strong about these characters. However, I feel like that potential is not being fulfilled due to some weak scripting from Zack Whedon.

While Whedon's script does capture the basic voices of each crew member, there's something lacking in their interactions. In the TV show, the interactions were witty at times and when jokes were not appropriate you could still feel how close-knit all the characters were. Here though, that sense of closeness has been lost somehow. It feels like the characters we know and love have had 80% of their personalities removed, leaving just their simplest traits to be seen here.
Additionally, the issue just doesn't flow well. Scenes change quite jarringly with no elegance whatsoever in the transitions to each one. It feels like I'm watching events unfold that have little to do with each other simply because everything happens so quickly. It leaves little room for any memorable moments, and makes me think that perhaps this story would have been better off in a different format, or at least a series larger than six issues.

Additionally, I had some real problems with the art in this issue from Georges Jeanty. While in the first issue I had some doubts, overall the art was passable. Here though it has really degraded. Many characters faces change throughout the issue on a scale from "quite a resemblance to the actor" to "who the hell is that even meant to be?" with the latter half of the scale the most frequently used. Even if Jeanty could get a better grasp on the cast's faces, the art is still coming across as relatively unremarkable and I feel a more capable artist could have really helped this series.

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The Wake #6 Review

It feels like it's been a long time since the last instalment of The Wake, but the Vertigo series from Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy finally returns this week with the first issue of "Part 2" of Snyder's epic story. I'm happy to say it is a resounding success. This issue has the daunting task of setting up not just a whole new cast of characters, but also a whole new time period and civilisation and yet somehow it pulls it off. The Wake continues to be some of Snyder's strongest work, and the beautiful art from Murphy doesn't hurt either.

As I said in the intro, The Wake #6 picks up 200 years after the events of the last issue. The savage water-dwelling creatures who terrified the crew of an underground oil rig in "Part One" of this story, have now taken the Earth for themselves with the remaining humans simply learning to live around them. Snyder introduces us to a future that it is immediately clear he has put thought into, establishing such aspects as territories made up of what land remains above sea-level and the people who rule them. As rulers so often are, these people don't seem to be particularly friendly and by the end of this issue we get a clear picture that they will cause a significant amount of bother for our main character Leeward.

Leeward was a character we saw glimpses of in previous issues, but get our first real introduction to the character here. She's your standard future bad-ass punk girl, but adapted to suit Snyder's dystopian future. This means that while she's not yet wildly different from character's we have seen before, she does have an element of uniqueness - and a super-cool dolphin who in his short panel-time has already made a lasting impression on me. Seriously, the dolphin is genuinely cool.

The artwork from Sean Murphy continues to shine in this series as well. His artwork is clear, and his character designs each very different eliminating the problem I get with some books where it is unclear who is talking or present in a scene. Additionally, the fight scenes really stand-out in this issue. It's easy for fight scenes to look disappointingly motionless and static in a comic-book, but here the scenes really flowed and I felt as if I could see the weight of Leeward's punches and kicks which made the fight scenes far more entertaining than if they were done under a less capable artist.

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The Lego Movie Review

The Lego Movie has already become a huge success worldwide, and you've likely already seen many rave reviews of the movie - but just in case you're not convinced just yet, let us add one more to the pile. The Lego Movie is a very fun time for all ages, filled to the brim with jokes, great voice acting, and a touching story. Overall, it is a must see.

I can't say huge amounts about the plot of the Lego Movie without spoiling it, so I'll keep these details brief and vague. The lead character, Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) is an extremely average Lego-man. He follows the instructions to life exactly, and it isn't until he stumbles upon the piece of resistance that he starts to explore his creative side. From here he is taken on a crazy journey with a group of "master builders" that range from original characters such as Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), to well-known faces like Batman (Will Arnett).
The story is full of laughs, surprises and emotional moments and is an absolute blast to behold. With that in mind, I'll say no more. The Lego movie is best watched knowing little about it beforehand.

What I will say however is that the voice cast in this movie is phenomenal. The aforementioned main cast made up of Pratt, Banks, Freeman and Arnett are the core protagonists and all of them do a great job. While some have more comedic experience than others, all of them are naturals in this genre and show some hilarious comic timing and tone. Other stand-outs in the star-studded cast include Liam Neeson as Bad Cop, a role that winks at his new action star status, while still being totally original in itself. Finally, Charlie Day was brilliant as 80s space-man Benny who, while not getting as much screen time as the other characters, is a very memorable and loveable character.

What is really great about this movie, and what separates it from many other animated films is its great messages. While on the surface the main message appears to be about being yourself, and being creative it actually goes a lot deeper than that. Through the use of a surprisingly sophisticated Lego dystopia, the film subtlety encourages the viewer to stand up to the suits and governments of this world, and take an active involvement in our own lives rather than letting the people higher up make our decisions for us. Not something you'd necessarily expect to see in a Lego Movie, but powerful and effective nonetheless.

I tried hard to think of something to fault this movie with, but I really can't do it. I have been criticised before in my review of The Avengers for singing its praises and not criticising it for anything. However, my view is a review is an opinion and when films like The Avengers and The Lego Movie come along - films that I love - that love will be shown in my review.

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US Box Office Top 10: 24th February 2014

In a relatively small week for movies, it is The Lego Movie that comes on top - for the third week running! Pulling in another $30 million this week, the movie has now made over $180 million in the US alone. This is great news for Chris Pratt who needs all the positive coverage possible to make Guardians of the Galaxy appeal to the mainstream. If you are yet to see The Lego Movie, be sure to rectify that! It's a great movie, and if you want to hear more be sure to check out our review that will be on the site soon.

Kevin Costner's 3 Days to Kill manages to enter the top ten at number two, albeit with a fairly lacklustre haul of $12 million. While on the surface this seems fairly unremarkable, the film did have a small budget of just $28 million and so should turn a profit by the end of its run. Although, poor word of mouth might hurt the film, as it is currently getting savaged by critics - a trait it shares with the other new entry of the week, Pompeii.

Pompeii is the latest offering from Resident Evil director Paul W. S. Anderson. The film steals a trick from Titanic, adding a love story to a tragedy, however by most accounts doesn't pull it off quite as well. Met with negative reviews and a debut of just $10 million, the film's $100 million budget looks a long way off.

Here's this week's top ten in full:

1. (1) The Lego Movie - $31.3 million
2. (-) 3 Days to Kill - $12.2 million
3. (-) Pompeii - $10.3 million
4. (3) Robocop - $9.81 million
5. (4) The Monuments Men - $7.91 million
6. (2) About Last Night - $7.53 million
7. (6) Ride Along - $4.62 million
8. (7) Frozen - $4.4 million
9. (5) Endless Love - $3.97 million
10. (8) A New York Winter's Tale - $2.17 million

Let us know what you've seen recently in the comments below, and be sure to come back next week for more box office analysis.

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The Bunker #1 Review

Joshua Hale Fialkov's The Bunker debuted on Comixology some time ago to much acclaim, and despite being a fan of the writer I simply couldn't pick it up as I have no way of buying digital comics. Enter ONI Press, who have very kindly presented a print version of the book for people in my situation. So now the real question is, was it worth the wait? Definitely. The Bunker #1 is the start of a very interesting, if slightly confusing, story and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it develops.

The Bunker follows the story of a group of college students who, when attempting to bury a time capsule, come across an underground bunker filled with information that their future selves have left for them. You see, this isn't just any group of students - this group will go on to wipe out most of the people on the planet. This concept is a very clever indeed, and while it takes some time to wrap your head around, is explained well for the most part by writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, and captured expertly by artist Joe Infurnari. His art style adds a real sense of darkness to the story due mainly to the beautiful colouring which gives the book a shadowy, painted style that looks great.
Although at times I did have problems figuring out which characters were speaking and which were in the scene, these moments were few and far between, and the many breathtaking panels Infurnari brings to life more than make up for these panels.

Speaking of characters, Fialkov's character work shines in this issue. His group of five main characters each have a very different voice, and very different backgrounds. And it is these backgrounds that make it so interesting to see how each character reacts to their respective warning. The stand-out character for me was Billy whose story looks to be the most interesting, with hints being laid throughout the book that disaster is waiting for him in the next few issues.

The only real flaw, I can think of from this issue is that sometimes the story lost me. The book flashes forward, particularly near the end, and then flashes back and I had a hard time figuring out what some scenes meant, and what had happened. However, I'm sure these scenes will be elaborated on more in future issues, and may also benefit from a second read-through.

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Metro 2033 Book Review

Metro 2033 is a very difficult book for me to review, and this is because while it had several features that I loved, it also had several that I disliked. What this does is put me in a very difficult position of trying to weigh up whether the good things can outweigh the bad or vice versa, and that has been a very difficult decison. Either way, I would still say Metro 2033 is worth reading, but be warned it is not an easy read.

Metro 2033 follows the last surviving Russian people who have exiled into the underground train system - the Metro - after a nuclear catastrophe has ravaged and poisoned the land above them. In the metro they have to deal with not just the occasional mutant, but also extremist groups of humans, keeping themselves fed, and keeping out of trouble.
The biggest thing that this book has going for it is how interesting the world is. I found it very interesting how some of the most dangerous things that lead character Artyom encounters are not the mutants, but his fellow humans. It provokes some powerful thoughts on what we become in extreme situations. When the game of survival gets serious, there's no limit to the atrocities a person will commit to stay alive. Additionally, author Dmitry Glukhovsky has clearly put a huge amount of thought into what his future looks like. There is so much history, and so many cultures living in the tunnels - each one is thought out to the last detail, despite the fact that few are significantly spotlighted. This is a testament to how dedicated Glukhovsky is to this book and it's wonderful to see.

Additionally, Glukhovsky has also put a lot of thought into his characters. Despite the fact that Artyom is the only character that stays in the book from start to finish, he may well be one of the least interesting. This is due to Glukhovsky bringing in a new character almost every chapter, developing them and then abandoning them for a new one and so on. However because we only get a small amount of time with each character introduced, it makes them far more interesting leaving some unanswered questions and a desire for more. The stand-out character of the whole book for me was Khan, a man who believes he is the reincarnation of Genghis Khan and has some very intriguing dialogue throughout the book.

While Glukhovsky's world-building and character work is absolutely outstanding, as I said in the first paragraph I did have a few problems with the book as well, and these problems actually made the book quite hard for me to finish. First, while Glukhovsky's future was beautifully thought out, it was also a very sad and depressing future that by the end of the book was genuinely getting me down a little. This I have no doubt was intended as the book has very strong anti-nuclear, pro-environment messages throughout. The whole thing reads as a severe warning that if we send our nuclear warheads to action the outcome could be more disastrous than any previous war. While this is a message that I strongly agree with, and I love the fact that the book has a message and isn't meaningless, by the end of the book I couldn't help but feel a sense of hopelessness of our impending doom.

Also, the book did seem to drag on a little by the end. While it was interesting to see the cultures of Glukhovsky's creation, by the time I was around 3/4 of the way through the book, I really just wanted it to end. This may be due to the aforementioned depressing feeling that accompanies Glukhovsky's future, but it wasn't helped by the huge word count of the book. Metro 2033 is deceivingly long. While at first glance the book appears a fairly average length, when you open the book and see the size of the text and the very filled pages you will be able to understand that the book is not going to be a quick, nor an easy read.

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She-Hulk #1 (2014) Review

All-New Marvel Now has been a mixed bag thus far with books like Loki: Agent of Asgard hitting, and books like The Punisher not so much. It's because of this that I approached She Hulk #1 with some degree of caution, after all Charles Soule's ridiculously high level of output has got to crash at some point, hasn't it? Apparently not. She-Hulk #1 is a fun debut, reminiscent of Mark Waid's Daredevil and as a result has some suitably fun moments.

Straight from the offset, you can see that the man behind this new series is Charles Soule. The writer shares a day job with She-Hulk, as the pair of them are lawyers and as a result this series suits him down to the ground. You can tell from the well-written dialogue that the man has a level of expertise in his field, as the legal aspect of the character shines through more here than ever before. And if you're the type who isn't interested in legal drama than do not be discouraged, Soule mixes in a nice amount of humour to keep things interesting.
This is helped largely by Javier Pulido's artwork which I was pleasantly surprised with here. The man's simplistic, nostalgic style is truly charming. I still don't believe that this style works with all titles, but here - and combined with Muntsa Vicente's bright colours - it definitely adds something fun to the book. Not to mention Pulido has some interesting panel layouts in this book which really work to not just add to the story, but also absorb the reader into what She-Hulk is experiencing.

However, while this book was entertaining, it wasn't phenomenal all the same. The story was fun, but was in the end just a one-shot tale that sets up the status quo of the series, and gives us an idea of what we can expect going forward. It would have been nice to see some longer-term threads begin being sewn here - if only to squash any fears it will end up being one-shot after one-shot with no real direction as Nathan Edmonson's Black Widow seems to be - however I can understand why Soule would want to spend his debut issue introducing us to his She-Hulk.

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Necronomicon: Review in Progress

HP Lovecraft has long been regarded as a master of literary horror, with his many notable works which include the Call of Cthulu and At The Mountains of Madness, still very relevant and influential to modern horror stories. The man inspired the likes of Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman and recently I picked up his 1,000 page bibliography of short stories: The Necronomicon.

Initially I was going to wait until I had read the entire book and then review the whole thing, however with so many pages and stories I knew I would forget some of the key points by the time I had gotten round to finishing the book. And so instead you have this, a review in progress. I will update this post after I read each short story, and will give each story a score out of ten. This will culminate in a few months time in an overall score for the book, once I have read all the stories.

Now, without further ado let's start talking about the stories.

Story No. 1: Dagon

The first story in this anthology is titled "Dagon" and is the last accounts of a man driven mad by his encounters in the middle of a hellish, dried-up ocean. Ship-wrecked and on his own, he saw a creature that he insists was horrific beyond imagination, however I have to say this story doesn't quite have a grasp on the horror its main character was subjected to. While the story is entertaining and an interesting insight into how a man can be driven mad by unexplainable phenomena, it was not what I would call scary and this caused some of the descriptions to seem more tedious than terrifying.

Story No. 2: The Statement of Randolph Carter

The Statement of Randolph Carter was a much stronger story than the first in the book. It is in this story that a traumatised Randolph Carter gives us his account of the events that occured between him and Harley Warren at the ominously described Big Cypress Swamp. Lovecraft's story-telling skills are put to much better use here, as he describes through Carter the feeling of fear and isolation felt as Warren met his fate that night. This story has no description of any hellish creatures, but this works in the story's favour as rather than long-winded and slightly ineffective descriptions as seen in "Dagon," the description of the beings found in the hole of the pair's creation is left only to the vague and terrified cries of Warren himself.

As a story-telling device this works much better than a standard description, as Lovecraft instead leaves the reader's mind to wonder what horrors could be causing this terrified reaction. Add a chilling ending and you have a story that is the strongest Lovecraftian tale yet and, despite being only four pages long, leaves a lasting impact on the reader for nights to come.

Story No. 3: The Doom That Came to Sarnath

The third story in the Necronomicon, The Doom That Came to Sarnath was a little disappointing, and quite frankly bizarre. Lovecraft spends a long time describing Sarnath - the once magnificent city that was completely destroyed years after the men of the city slaughtered the strange beings of Ib - but never really builds any sense of tension. The beings are slaughtered, the town is described, the town is destroyed. There are some moments of creepy imagery thrown in, but these moments are rare. Overall, this story does not seem representative of Lovecraft's best work, and appears to be a simple morality tale of "What goes around, comes around."

Story No. 4: The Cats of Ulthar

 

The Cats of Ulthar is another morality tale, this time explaining why it's against the law to kill a cat in the land of Ulthar. This story, while still not one of Lovecraft's best, is more entertaining than The Doom That Came to Sarnath for many reasons. First, Lovecraft has omitted the unnecessarily detailed descriptions that bogged down the Sarnath story, and as a result the entire tale is shorter but still manages to leave more of an impact than the previous story. Lovecraft explores human evils in this story, while keeping in touch with his mysterious side particularly at the end. While this story isn't outstanding, it was certainly more entertaining than the previous story in the book and overall an interesting read.

Story No. 5: The Nameless City

The fifth story in the Necronomicon is another leap in quality, even if we're yet to reach the very impressive, "Statement of Randolph Carter" standard. The Nameless City sees a lone explorer wandering through the remains of a long abandoned city of mysterious origin. Who - or what - once lived here? What is it that they did? Why did they leave? These questions are answered to varying extents within the story, however the lack of answers is made up for in the nice build-up of tension and eerie descriptions throughout. This is the first story since "Randolph Carter" that I found genuinely creepy, which was great to see.

Unfortunately, the story does have a slightly anti-climatic ending which tainted the tale just slightly for me. Additionally, the ending wasn't even particularly well explained so I left the story more puzzled than frightened. However, overall this was an enjoyable read and a promising sign that things are looking up for this so far disappointing compilation.

Story No. 6: Herbert West - Reanimator

 

By far the longest story in this compilation so far, Herbert West - Reanimator is also by far the strongest. Lovecraft tells the chilling tale of Herbert West from the perspective of his research partner. West is a man whose research involves bringing people back from the dead through the use of a medical serum, but soon this research becomes a grotesque obsession and West slowly descends into madness.

My previous experiences with longer Lovecraft tales has been very negative, and so honestly I was dreading having to read through his longer stories. However, Herbert West has squashed that dread and replaced it with optimism as Herbert West was actually very easy to read - a trait I wouldn't give to many of Lovecraft's other stories. Not only was it easy to read but it was also quite unsettling, with many creepy and tense moments.

While I did feel it started to lag slightly towards the end, for the most part Herbert West - Reanimator is a beautifully written, well-paced and scary ride through a world of weird science and the dangers of playing God.

Story No. 7: The Music of Erich Zann

 

Story number seven in Lovecraft's anthology I am delighted to say is another hit! The Music of Erich Zann is a story from the perspective of a man disturbed by the sound of Erich Zann's peculiar music, and the experiences that have accompanied it. In this story Lovecraft creates a very eerie tone which escalates into a truly chaotic and heart-stopping climax. Additionally, Lovecraft describes the abnormal street of Rue d'Auseil expertly, and in a way that is very easy for the reader to understand even 100 years after it was written.

The Music of Erich Zann is one of my favourite Lovecraft tales yet for how tense and enthralled it made me feel. I just hope that the impact of these shorter stories are not lost as Lovecraft makes the transition to far longer stories later in the anthology.

Story No. 8: The Lurking Fear

After taking a break from Lovecraft's stories these past couple of months, I wasn't sure what to expect as jumped back in to the Necronomicon with story number eight, The Lurking Fear. Surprisingly though, I found my transition from modern books back into Lovecraft's stories very easy, thanks to The Lurking Fear being one of the most compelling stories yet in this compilation.

The Lurking Fear follows the story of a man attempting to uncover the mystery behind the being that has been terrorising villages surrounding Tempest Mountain, leaving gruesome murders in its wake. He also aims to find the link the being has to the ill-fated Martense family that once lived in a mansion house atop the mountain. The story was gripping, once I had begun I struggled to put the book down as each chapter in the tale ended on a more haunting note than the previous one. While Lovecraft's descriptions of the geographical aspects of the Mountain and its proximity with local villages was at times confusing, his firm grasp on his main character and the ominous descriptions of the body's left by the Lurking Fear more than made up for this.

Ultimately where The Lurking Fear falters is the ending. This is something I have noticed with a few of Lovecraft's tales now, that often the endings leave me feeling unsatisfied. Here it was again a case of some confusing descriptions, and a feeling that nothing was explained to the extent that I would have liked. However, perhaps I am missing the point of Lovecraft's stories as he aims to bring to life horrors that simply cannot be explained. Even with the disappointing conclusion and some confusing descriptions this was still a very entertaining read and another great story in this anthology.

 

Story No. 9: The Hound

 

I'm unsure of exactly how long it has been since my last venture into Lovecraftian territory, but I would hazard a guess of around a year and a half. Maybe longer. Either way my extended break from this iconic writer had made me forget just how intense a good Lovecraft story can be. The Hound ranks as one of my favourite entries in the Necronomicon to date. Telling the story of two men who, dissatisfied by what life had offered them, were driven to the unspeakable act of grave-robbing this is a brief story which packs a real punch.

 

The brevity of the tale allows Lovecraft to adopt a fast pace, as the unnamed narrator reveals just why he is mere moments away from killing himself. The reveal of what exactly he and his companion (known only as St John) uncovered in that fateful grave in Holland, is as thrilling as it is terrifying with Lovecraft's vivid descriptions painting the most horrid of pictures in the reader's brain.

 

So far, it has been the Necronomicon's shorter offerings that have truly left a mark on my mind, and so I'm intrigued to reach the longer tales of terror that await me and see if they affect me in the way they have so many readers before me. It's been a long time Mr. Lovecraft, but if the quality stays this high then I'm glad to be back.

 

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The Punisher #1 (2014) Review

I was a huge fan of Greg Rucka's Punisher run. It took a character that was on the brink of falling into a pit of audience fatigue, and completely revived him making him a character that people once again were excited about. After the tragic cancellation and subsequent neglect that the series was handed, I wasn't sure if I was ready for a new Punisher series, especially one from an unfamiliar creative team. Unfortunately, after the first issue I'm still not sure if this series will be good for the character. As a debut it's solid, however I question Nathan Edmonson's understanding of the character who is represented so wildly different here than in the last run that I felt like I was reading a different character.

Now I'm not saying that new interpretations of characters is a bad thing - take Mark Waid's Daredevil for example - Waid took a previously dark and unhappy character and turned him into one of the most fun characters on the market. However, that series was a result of a status quo change in the Daredevil universe. Additionally Waid has gone on to explore the darker sides of Daredevil's life which are still present, if less prominent.

Here though, The Punisher has gone from a dark and brooding loner, to a social character whose conversation is so interesting he manages to get the potentially romantic attention of one woman after a short 2-minute conversation over breakfast. That's without mentioning that Frank Castle would never get romantically involved with another lady after his wife and children were viciously murdered - despite what Daniel Way's bland Thunderbolts run would suggest. Edmonson's inner monologues are more reminiscent of the Frank I know, but are used sparingly and not to great effect.

This lack of understanding is worrying but thankfully the story shows some promise, with the foundations of a supporting cast, and foe for Frank to face off with already settling. Meanwhile Mitch Gerads artwork is a mixed bag with some panels looking very nice indeed, and others looking messy.

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