Tuesday 4 December 2012

Ebonrook Reviews Star Trek DAC



Review of Star Trek DAC

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Monday 26 November 2012

Ebonrook Play's Guild Wars 2 Episode 12



I've decided to do a more regular release schedule. It's a little up in the air at the moment. I'm thinking "MMO Mondays" has a nice ring to it though. So GW2 and any future MMO Let's Plays will be released on Mondays. I think Friday is a nice time to do other Let's Plays (to kick off a weekend) so the next Assassin's Creed 3 video will be there! During the regular weekday will be other videos, reviews etc. Hope you are looking forward to them!

Sunday 25 November 2012

Thursday 22 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Assassin's Creed 3 Multiplayer Episode 1



Happy Thanksgiving! The last of our Thanksgiving videos is up, hope you had a great day!

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 11



A slight deviation in our Thanksgiving celebration, a return to our adventures in Guild Wars 2!

Ebonrook Plays Assassin's Creed 3 Episode 2



Episode 2 of Assassin's Creed 3 continuing our Thanksgiving Special!

Ebonrook Plays Assassin's Creed 3 Episode 1



Episode 1 of our Assassin's Creed 3 Let's Play and Part 1 of today's Thanksgiving Extravaganza!

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 10




Episode 10 of our playthrough of Guild Wars 2! A benchmark if I do say so myself!

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 9




Thanks to a recent patch the game doesn't play as well as it used to.

Monday 19 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 8




The game is coming close to being interesting. Maybe it will stop being boring soon!

Saturday 17 November 2012

Thursday 15 November 2012

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Monday 12 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 3




In episode 3 I discuss some comments I received about my previous videos. I also make a promise about the future of the series.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 2



 Episode 2 of Guild Wars 2 where I elaborate a little on why I find it boring.

VLog : Skyfall




In which the wife and I discuss the new Bond film, Skyfall. BEWARE, my wife is the Queen of Spoilers!

Friday 9 November 2012

Ebonrook Plays Guild Wars 2 Episode 1




In which I play Guild Wars 2 and become bored incredibly quickly!

Monday 1 October 2012

More Season 1 Covers! Edge of Destruction to The Aztecs!

Just got some more covers done, some I am pleased with others I'm not so pleased with. Either way I thought I would share them.







Sunday 30 September 2012

Suicide Saves the Day! Angels Take Manhattan.


So finally the "Ponds" are gone. I know that there are people, who for what ever inexplicable reason, liked Amy. For the life of me though, I can not understand why. She was totally 1 dimensional, and please, do not assault me with "oh but she was." I've heard all the arguments before from her fans, and the truth is, a couple of times she's been well written by writers other than her creator. That does not save the character over all though. Worse still, I've always felt like she was designed (not intentionally) as a side-companion, an extension of the better companion Rory. Rory, who dies constantly, comes back to life, has lives 2000 years. Yes, he is far more interesting than Amy ever has or would have been. Amy was a character designed to be flirty, and abrasive. I don't know why anyone is going to be sorry to see the character go but I will act as if I do. You see, I think Angels Take Manhattan betrayed that fan group. I am sure they will disagree with me now that I've said I dislike her, but hear me out.

For starters, the episode has no real plot. Similar to last weeks Power of Three which had no real narrative, a bland plot with no real resolution. It had character development. Which is not a problem, of course pretending to have a plot is a bit silly, but regardless Power of Three develops the characters a little better than some of the previous episodes. We learn about how the Doctor misses them when they're gone, how Amy and Rory have to cope with two lives. It's quite good in that regard.

Angels misses that mark though. We have a few crowbarred in lines to suggest they are older now, we have some painfully cheesy stuff to do with River and the Doctor. There is nothing developmental for them. Worse still we have something quite annoying, Rory dyeing, again. Oh wait no, he dies, again. Hey wait, what! He dies again! Three, that's three times in the episode. Seriously, in the final goodbye episode of these characters we're reminded of one of the biggest jokes of the tenure! It totally destroys any meaning in what they do. Also, I'm amazed that Moffat who is the writer who loves playing with time-travel and changing time, wrote out his beloveds with a story about the inability to change it.

Oh and no. I did not mind that Rory decided to commit suicide. I was kind of annoyed that he faltered  It was a little out of character I think, we've seen him act rather quickly before, and be the hero. So I expected him to just say his good-byes and step off. I am amazed the BBC green-lit it though. There are going to be so many parents out there who are dumbfounded and will complain that they have a story that just said that suicide will fix everything.

In all honesty, I think the story would of been far more memorable if the two had died there and then. Yes the paradox destroys the Angels, but they stay dead. It would of been more devastating to the Doctor than Adric. Why do I think this? Ok he can't go to the Year that they arrive because of the problem with the time-line. Specifically Manhattan. Ok. Go to 1938 New Jersey, take a train or a cab.
Goto 1939. You know they live to their 80s. That's a bit of a plot hole I think, that the Doctor, who has done the so called impossible before, just can give up on them when so many ideas appear whilst typing this. Ah well.

To make matters worse, I feel like Moffat is often proud of when he does silly, verging on stupid things in his writing. Drawing attention to them and rubbing them in peoples faces. A rather childish and silly reaction to have to criticism isn't it? If memory serves, Terry Nation responded to critics by writing Genesis of the Daleks. Maybe Moff should take a cue from him.

I was almost surprised when we didn't get a mention of The Singing Towers. In fact I half expected when the Doctor asked her to travel with him that she'd set the co-ordinates and say something like "It looks like we're going to the Singing Towers of Darillium, sweetie." So that we know that between now and Christmas would be their last time together. Why do that? Because the Ponds are over. River Song is a Pond! Of course we know that Moffat is in love with the character so not really that surprised...

Over all Angels Take Manhattan was not a very good episode, very little really happens despite it being the departure of a companion. Knowing Moffat hates to hear this line but he really should watch the Classic episodes. Dragonfire has a more depressing exit from Mel than this has for Amy. Resurrection of the Daleks and Earthshock are more dramatic! Lest we forget Dalek Invasion of Earth and leaving Susan behind! As companion departures go, I do not think this one will go down in peoples memories for long. Which is unfortunate for those who truly loved the character.

Let us hope that the new companion is better.


(Oh and those glasses were clearly meant for the Doctor, no way were they Amy's haha!)

New Cover Styles. Unearthly Child and The Daleks.

I've recently been working on a new cover style idea. They probably would work best as new (Target) novelisation covers. I'm thinking of doing a whole set. First is An Unearthly Child;


A lot of people have pointed out this and yes it is the NuWho Tardis. I never pretended that it wasn't. It's just very hard to find a very hi res shot of Hartnell's one to work with. I was tempted to do something to do with skulls, but thought as the first story, this worked best. After that I worked on The Daleks;


Again, this is actually a Nu Who Dalek (RTD Era), but it's so hard to find hi res classic photos to work with. I went for the petrified forest as the fous of this cover. Am going to be working on others as time goes by. I think this could be something quite fun to do a set for.

Feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

Wednesday 19 September 2012

The 12th Doctor; Wishful Thinking.

Just a little bit of wishful thinking I know, but surely you agree. For starters it will be more convincing once again not to have some one younger than so much of the audience as the Doctor. It would also be nice to have some one who is a little more convincingly intelligent in the role, not that I dislike Matt, or think he's stupid. I just think Stephen here would be such a brilliant Doctor.

He'd be so excellent because of his attitude, his ability to be incredibly intelligent, yet incredibly humorous at the same time. He can be sincere and dramatic and comedic at the drop of a hat. A lot of people claim that we can have an older actor take on the role, I think you'll find Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Christopher Eccleston (who were all older than their predecessors) would highly disagree with you.

Sunday 16 September 2012

Morality Flip-Flops, A Town Called Mercy.


So Series 7 has surprised me so far. Asylum of the Daleks was very predictable and the ending was cringe worthy, but otherwise was a fun episode. Of course there were problems, it was a Steven Moffat episode, so there were plot holes as narrative all over the place. Unlike some of his previous episodes though, Asylum worked well and wasn't annoyingly bad. Even for it's flaws. Then there was Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. When I heard that title I cringed, yet it turned out well. A little silly in places, but it worked, every character was fleshed out and different. Chibnall managed to write a powerful female character in Nefertiti who wasn't all sarcasm, rude quips and sex. Though there was a lot of it. It certainly wasn't as annoying as Moffat's version of women (you know they're all the same). Which is why it was most interesting how Chibnall made Amy work well in Dinosaurs! Some of the more peculiar issues of her character were almost parodied in the episode, making light of the fact that she is almost a "super-companion" at times. Even better, Chibnall seems to remember that the Doctor does kill people and aliens. Two good episodes in a row (of course there are flaws but they were good just the same). Then along comes A Town Called Mercy.

On my first viewing I didn't think it was bad. There was just a niggling sensation at the back of my mind, like there was something off at every turn. Like with Asylum the story was very predictable, it's difficult to come up with different concepts for the ahistorical stories I'm sure, but this was essentially The Curse of the Black Spot. Alien interferes with history. (Isn't that every episode?) It was interesting at first how they tried to imply that the alien that was the evil character was in fact the good character. Yet this just went in a very annoying way.

For starters, it results in a totally pointless discussion about how they should handle the situation. I say totally pointless because, the discussion goes no where. The character is a war criminal, a horrific, beyond the Nazis style war criminal. Sacrificing him to the good, misunderstood character, would save everyone in the town, women and children included. Rory suggests doing it, the Doctor even thinks about it. Even better, the Doctor goes to do it, at gun point. Why is this good? He even says why; people die because he lets the evil ones live. Now let's be honest, the ones he mentions? Only one of them (The Master) does he ever not kill.

So just after an episode in which the Doctor killing someone, someone who killed a ship full of Silurians, and an on screen dinosaur, is treated as heroic and amazing. We get treated to an episode that says "No Doctor, you never kill." Now, that's just bad episode planning surely? Perhaps this episode would of been a bit better later on, when we'd perhaps seen him kill people in every episode up to this one? Instead we've seen him fight Daleks (who it's just fine to kill I'm sure) and an old crippled man, who he definitely killed. In fact, if memory serves he mocked the old man as he did it. I don't think Amy batted an eyelash at that though.

Yet it's the way that it's handled so quickly, and so rushed that makes it far worse. Going beyond the fact that the show flip-flopped within the week on morality with its titular character. The Doctor pulls a gun on the evil war criminal to exile him out, to his death. Not that we've seen him do something like hold a gun and threaten some one 'helpless' before.


Then Amy pulls a gun on the Doctor. He immediately points out the plot-hole for us that she won't shoot. So there's no tension there. Her point about him changing because he travels alone is insultingly bad. For starters, he hasn't really changed. Ignore the Classic (argh I hate saying that), pretend that it's only Nu Who for a moment. He killed the "bad" (even if they weren't really bad) in;

 Rose, The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London, The Long Game, Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways (kinda), Tooth and Claw, School Reunion (he sacrifices his best firend!), The Girl in the Fireplace, Rise of the Cybermen, The Idiot's Lantern, The Impossible Planet, Love & Monsters, Army of Ghosts, The Runaway Bride, Smith and Jones, Daleks in Manhatten, The Lazerus Experiment, Human Nature (he does worse than just kill them), Blink (worse than kill again), The Fires of Pompeii, The Sontaran Stratagem, The Unicorn and the Wasp, Midnight, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time, The Time of Angels, The Vampires of Venice, Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, Day of the Moon, The Doctor's Wife, The Almost People, The God Complex, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song, Asylum of the Daleks, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.

A lot of them isn't there? Most of the series in fact. Even better is the fact that The Wedding of River Song isn't really The Doctor killing the big bad. Instead it was Amy who killed her. I know it's a struggle for the show to maintain continuity between Classic and Nu Who, but surely it can maintain continuity between it's own seasons with the same characters? Amy killed some one, yes it was over her child being kidnapped, but she still killed some one. Yet she stands pious against killing a war criminal? The morality of the show flip-flopped between this and last week and it's just poor story telling. Which is a shame. 2 out of 3 episodes isn't bad. Hopefully Power of Three will be a good one too!

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Nu Who Classic Covers

It's not a totally new concept, to create DVD covers for stuff. It's not even an original idea to create covers for Nu Who episodes in the Classic DVDs style. This is my take on it however, you can download the full versions on my deviantART page.


That is all of Series 1 (of Nu Who). Notice that I do not do an individual cover for both halves of a two-parter. In Classic style I decided that they constitute one story! I've also made a start on Series 2.


They're all the ones I have done so far, like I said you can find them on my deviantART page to download if you want to use them. I will be doing reviews of Series 7 episodes starting shortly. Enjoy guys!

Monday 9 July 2012

Testing the Wife #2 Grandville



In this episode of Testing the Wife, we re-visit Bryan Talbot's Grandville. Lindsay has read at least one volume, as she read it before I did. Will she remember that though? Next week it's Fables Vol. 1, 2 and 3.

Friday 6 July 2012

Ebonrook Plays Quantum Conundrum Part 1



The first Let's Play in a while. A great game by great minds. Sorry about the sound, am going to invest in
a new mic for part 2!

Wednesday 4 July 2012

New Comic Day Overview, July 4th 2012



New Comic Day. Happy 4th!

VLog : Amazing Spider-Man

No Spoilers.


Spoilers.


Just saw Amazing Spider-man last night. Got up early to do this whilst it was still fresh. Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Monday 2 July 2012

Testing the Wife #1



First episode of Testing the Wife #1 in which I quiz my wife on things.

Sunday 1 July 2012

Ebonrook Presents; Top 5 Batman Stories



Our very first episode, forgive the quality, was contending with Air Conditioners, damned summer. Had to try and do some manual editing to fix it.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

New Comic Day June 27th 2012 Overview

Slightly more DC oriented this week, speaking of which, does anyone know if this Zero Month thing is them restarting again or if it's just going to be a selection of special zeroth issues? Let me know if you have any ideas.

Superman #10
Carrying on from the previous issue, "Anguish" isn't that interesting a character to be perfectly honest. Her powers are inexplicable, her body naturally allowing stuff to pass through it with out her control. Yet rain still hits her? Either way we see a little bit of what Supes is all about in this issue, that he has the ability to think and feel. Going beyond just being a super-powered wrecking ball.

We also gain a little more insight into the fact that Kal doesn't let on that he has a secret identity. A fact that I like, it builds on his intelligence. Lois and Jimmy are also built on quite nicely this issue. Jimmy wholeheartedly has faith in Superman and what he is. We also see Lois' ethical side. It's nice to know that she is a block-headed journalist who at least believes that a story should be true.

The art is good in this issue and overall it's not terrible.


Green Lantern: New Guardians #10
There is no denying that I am a fan of this comic. It's clearly for fan service still coming off of the success of Blackest Night, but honestly? Who the hell cares!

I'm a little anxious, it feels like there are some big sweeping changes going on in the Green Lantern world right now, and we have yet to see if they are for the better. Akrillo becoming the true 'Yellow Lantern' is a nice step forward, coming off of Sinestro's betrayl of his corps.

I'm a little worried about the direction they are taking the Blue Lantern Corps. though, it feels like they are going to do some serious harm to my favorite GL character (Saint Walker).

The story is, going strange places for me, but tied in with the fact that the art continues to be great? I still think that New Guardians is well worth picking up.

The Flash #10
This probably is the most difficult to like comic I got today. Even then it's not totally terrible. I just found the story for the most part to be quite boring. The Weather Wizard really doesn't feature as much as the cover tells us he will, even then he's not really a villain for this issue.

Maybe the comic is trying to be too fast paced? I don't know but nothing really seemed to happen. Worse still, Flash doesn't actually do what he sets out to do. He changes his mind randomly at the end.

The art is great in the issue, the scenes with Flash and the torrent of water are especially well drawn. I also especially like the cover of this issue.

Hopefully future issues will pick up better than this one though.



Justice League #10
I am truly in split minds about this issue. Which is never a good thing. Let me start with the art this time around. It's great, most of the time. In a couple of places I couldn't really tell exactly what I was supposed to be looking at. Especially towards the beginning.

The story is still interesting as a whole, a character who feels "betrayed" by the League on an almost religious scale. Graves has investigated many characters (not in the confines of the comic mind) to be able to find out as much as he can about them, weaknesses etc.

I will admit I liked the scene in which Cyborg claims "Batman trusts no one on this team." Superman's retort of "Batman trusts me." It just made my day. I have always been a Batman/Superman team-up fan. They are easily my two favorite heroes, especially if we are confining to DC.

Big problem with the comic this week though? I was immediately reminded of Cry for Justice with how lame the fight was! Prometheus flash-backs abound when each of our heroes is taken down in single panels.

The Shazam story continues to be great. With the incoming Shazam #0 I am curious to see if DC is starting from scratch again or simply going to begin a new volume. Regardless it continues to be a draw to the comic.

Amazing Spider-man #688
So here we have a prime example of how covers lie in modern comics. Of course we know that Spidey is not going to get munched on like that in the issue. Granted it's a cool cover and the art is pretty decent, but I remember the days when cover-artists didn't just mislead you.

This issue carries on almost directly off of Ends of the Earth, in a totally non-linear way. We open with Spidey fighting Lizard and the fight lasts the whole issue. Problem? None what-so-ever, the fight is intermingled with scenes from earlier in the day.

It is interesting that they are releasing a Lizard story this early to the movie. I understand it as a tie-in or promotional sales idea. People will pick up this comic after seeing the film. The thing I don't get though is why risk it when the Lizard in the comics is far more menacing and Lizard like than any of the images we have had released from the film?

Ah well, Spider-man continues to be cool and is still worth picking up!

Spider-men #2
Well I suppose if I was going to buy six comics today, one of them was bound to turn out badly. I gave Spider-men a break last issue because it was only starting out. I let it slide that the crossover didn't even begin until that last panel. Here? The cross-over is on, but there is no team up until the last panel again. I'm not even kidding. Nothing really happens.

The two Spideys fight for most of the issue. Miles annoys me because I still hate the Ultimate universe and this just fuels that. I don't like this kid being able to go toe-to-toe with my Spider-man, sorry. The kid is smaller, has fewer abilities it seems and has no common-sense.

Oh and having Peter call Miles' costume cooler? Black costume does not equal cooler. Oh, look at that it's written by Brian Michael Bendis, I wonder what else he works on. Oh Ultimate Spider-man?
Sorry my friend, but Peter is still cooler.

This is Marvel letting this guy just write his own personal fan-fiction in which his made up, lame version of Spider-man gets to meet the real one. In this fan-fiction this lame Spider-man suddenly is as good as/better than the real one. It's pretty lame writing to be honest. So far nothing has really happened. Who knows maybe we'll get lucky and Mysterio and Spider-man (the real one) will accidentally (on purpose) destroy the Ultimate universe? We can only hope...

Monday 25 June 2012

Ebonrook Picks: Grandville

I thought it was time for a new article concept, and in 'Ebonrook Picks' I will be discussing some of my personal favorite comics, films, books and games. I will try to keep a weekly schedule, but this isn't a definite thing yet. If anything it's just an excuse to be able to discuss one of the best graphic novels I have ever read; Gradville by Bryan Talbot.

Bryan started working in comics in the late 1960s, and has worked with notable companies, authors and artist, including working with 2000AD's Judge Dredd, Sláine, Torquemada and Nemesis the Warlock (not counting Future Shocks!). He's worked with Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman too! On Sandman no less! He has worked on Batman, Hellblazer and Fables. So if you haven't read something by Bryan by now, you probably don't read comics.

Grandville is easily one of the best graphic novels I've read, and definitely my favorite of anything recent. Yes, that includes collected editions of comics such as Return of Bruce Wayne or All-Star Superman. Grandville and Talbot really do come up trumps. Part of Grandville's brilliance is the fact that its easy to understand but almost impossible to clearly define. Bryan even explains it in a small authors note. Explaining his many inspirations; J. J. Grandville, for which the story is named, the French caricaturist who could be blamed for the Furry Generation. Albert Robida a French science fiction illustrator from the 1800s. Arthur Conan Doyle, Rupert the Bear and Quentin Tarantino are all mentioned. Naturally so, as it is clear how much influence all of these elements had on Talbot's writing of Grandville. There is so much more though. More than a passing reference to the famous works of Hergé in characters such as the 'doughfaces' and more. Elements of Wells and Verne are strong felt. Historical and cultural points are used well to great strength. Language is spectacular, if not a little confusing.* What's more all of these ingredients are seamlessly mixed. If Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (another story that mixes many recognisable elements) were as an English Breakfast, then Grandville would be as Gâteau.

You see the English Breakfast is delicious. Everything you could ever want for breakfast is right there in heaped quantities is right there for the taking. The only thing is, you know exactly what is there, you know exactly what you're eating and you can see each ingredient all on it's own. Now for a lot of people (myself included) that can be a great thing. Many people want to be able to see exactly what they are getting, they like to play it safe like that and they don't like to take the risk. Too many extra calories is a dangerous thing for some people, after all!

Then there is Gâteau. You can't really always tell what you're getting with gâteau. You recognise many of the flavors, and you can sometimes see bits that you are positive you know. There are secrets in the gâteau, calories that you know you don't want, ingredients that you have never tasted before. Secret flavors and secret experiences. You aren't always sure what you are getting, but you take the risk because it all tastes so great together, and that sums up the great thing about Grandville. All of the elements, all of the ingredients, they come together perfectly for the experience of a lifetime!

It should be mentioned that there are clear elements, almost unsubtle elements, of inspiration taken from the War on Terror and the September 11 Attacks. Some people might take offence to that. Some people might take offence to how it is used in the story. My response to that is, grow up, this is fiction and if you have an issue with current or recent events being utilised in this way, you have enough issues that you probably shouldn't be reading comics. If you are capable of reading anything like that though, with out being "offended" for some one, then you will find it only adds to the depth and complexity of Grandville

I now realise that I haven't yet defined it, the plot, the art. It's so difficult to do with out giving away spoilers. I will however try. Grandville is a Science Fiction-Detective-Steampunk-Alternate History-Fantasy-Spy-Thriller in the mixed style of 19th century caricaturists, 20th century crime novelists and 21st century independent film directors. The art is lovingly crafted, with attention to detail being obvious panel after panel. The story and characters are carefully built, with strong motivations and personalities that extend beyond the confines of the pages. In being a multitude of things, it becomes one truly great thing. If you have never read Grandville then you really are missing out. If you enjoy Sci-Fi it's for you, if you enjoy English literature and classics, it's for you, if you enjoy Steampunk, it's for you. In general if you enjoy comics or reading, then really you have no excuse for not having picked up Grandville a long long time ago. I suggest you go grab your copy now. Be quick though, Bete Noir is incoming. In addition find Bryan's fanpage here.


*A note on the language. The dialog is very colloquially English (British), yet it is mentioned in story that English is a dead language. Meaning they are speaking French. I'm not up to date on my French, but I am almost sure that they don't really speak in the same way we do. I could be wrong though. It's not a complaint though, it just adds more to the character of the novel!

Friday 22 June 2012

My New Comic Box W.I.P

So as much as I like looking through Previews, by the end of the month (not even that) it gets to be pretty useless and takes up a lot of space. So I got to thinking, many of us, or at least those who shop where I do, get Previews for free. So why not utilise that free catalog of images?


There are still a couple of white patches but I am please so far. Next month when I am sure there is nothing in Previews left of use I will add more to it. Eventually doing the whole box.

I am please overall so far, what do you guys think? A comicy box to contain my many comics. Opinions? Should I be "saving" my Previews? I personally think it's just a catalog. Are there people out there that save them like their comics? Enjoy guys!




Thursday 21 June 2012

Astonishing X-Men #51

Ok I am going to preface this again, because naturally people may start to discuss the whole Gay Wedding thing etc. I already said this in my weekly overview; I am straight, I am married, I love my wife. I also support the gay rights movement and their right to marry. I do however hate the term "Gay Wedding" because I believe that it should just be a wedding. I didn't get "Straight Married" after all. That being said I also believe that regardless of any negative points to this comic, supporters should demonstrate that support by buying the issue. Marvel have truly made me proud to be a comic book reader by demonstrating that they are forward thinking! Good job Marvel!

Astonishing

I should say that Astonishing X-Men are not my team, I do not regularly read them. Everything I am going to say is based purely on this one issue. If I seem to think the characters are behaving incorrectly when they are actually doing exactly as you would expect. Please do tell me.

We open with Northstar getting ready for the wedding, still in badages from his last fight one week ago. The first thing I have to say is, the art really flip flops in this comic. On the second page we get a close up of Northstar smiling saying "This is the happiest day of my life." The picture is just scary, I mean it kinda looks like he is forcing the smile, which he might be, but the eyes just look weird and the smile with that makes it creepy.

I will also say that it's interesting that they went the nervous route for Northstar. I can say that without a shadow of a doubt, public speaking makes me nervous, yet I was not even a little bit flittery on my wedding. Northstar is a superhero it's peculiar that they made him act nervous for his wedding. It seems a little odd, and a little forced but either way it doesn't detract from the overall theme.

What does detract is the flashback to the fight with Karma, just to force in a little bit of action. It feels totally crammed in and unnecessary. Also more bad facial art for Northstar, the panel in which he says "together" looks more constipated than anything. Rather unfortunate.

We continue the flash back with the scene of them healing later, this is a little more relevant as it shows us Kyle saying yes to the wedding. This flashback on it's own would of been better than having the fight for no reason. A slight expository caption "After Karma's betrayal.." would of been better.

Then we get to the wedding and that's when things start going down hill. I've already said I don't really agree with making a superhero nervous, but that's fine, it's an ok move just an odd one in my opinion. Then we have Warbird declare matter-of-factly that she doesn't recognise the validity of the ceremony, that she won't attend. A few people have suggested to me that this is because she is Shi'ar, that they may just not view any wedding as valid. Ok that might be true, but the big issue I have with her attitude is that Northstar says, and I quote; "Stay. Please stay. As my friend and teammate." The Shi'ar are a warrior culture, Warbird is an X-man. You'd think somewhere in that dense honor code warrior culture's have there is something about not acting like a dick on you're friends important days. She simply ignores his held out hand and walks away.

Yet, arguably she could be acting in character, as stated above. I mean it leads into Logan giving genuinely good advice. The one character I could of seen acting like a dick at a wedding, any wedding gay or otherwise, and he's probably one of the few characters who doesn't. Beast isn't really being a douche about anything, he's just being fastidious, but when you consider that Aurora, Northstar's sister, starts giving "you can just leave now" advice? Logan winds up being the only kind-hearted good guy there!

We do get some touching scenes between Kyle and Northstar though, where we find Kyle isn't nervous. Seriously good stuff, the art is a little weird here and there but by this point I figure that Northstar just doesn't have bones underneath his face anymore. We also see some better stuff in the background than in the front. Maybe it is a satire on the two polarisations, the anti movement forcing their way to the forefront, being lound and vocal, the pro movement being quiet and respectful in the background. Essentially Marvel might be saying bigots shout loudest.

Yet I doubt it's that clever, it still is nice to see some nice stuff in the background though, like Iceman making sculptures for them.

Then we hit the stuff that really, really bugs me. Puck and Havok. A guy who is 3' after being 6' and a Mutant. Ok maybe Puck could be a bigot, but Havok? It makes no sense to me to have any mutant be homophobic, even slightly. It goes against everything that the Mutants and the X-men stand for. Seriously going to go this route with them? It's just ridiculous.

All ends well though, they are happily married, people are having fun and dancing. Wolverine flirts with Storm, because she is married, yeah that's back to normal for him. Oh and then Wolverine explodes.

Wait...

Yeah it ends on Wolverine's stomach exploding. Implied that it is Karma's doing. Interested to know how, regardless he's not dead.

Side note, glad to know that Wolverine can take time out of hunting down Hope and the Phoenix Five to attend the wedding. Glad to know Puck can jump back into his superhero outfit to attend a wedding even if he's in south america, in hospital, after fighting Mayan Gods. Continuity eh?

Honestly, this comic sucks, not because of the subject matter, but because of the art and how the subject is handled. Characters act strange, they are drawn worse than strange and it feels like the wedding of the pod people more than Kyle and Northstar. Regardless I would recommend buying this small piece of Comic History. The first "Gay Wedding" (sigh) in comics is not something to be missed! Be forward thinking and buy it.

New Comic Day June 20th 2012 Overview

The overview for my reservations this week. May contain minor spoilers. Certain issues will be reviewed in detail shortly.


Avengers vs X-Men #6
The battle continues in AvX Round 6, but it takes a turn for the peculiar. After last issue when the Phoenix Force splintered into the Phoenix Five; Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik and Namor, there were a lot of excited short gasps. So many questions were raised. Were they answered? Not really.

It's not secret that I am siding with the Avengers in this fight. I always considered myself and X-man (for reasons explained shortly), and for some reason I just can not believe that Scott would be so, so freaking careless. Yes ok there is an issue saying that now but still he risked everything, every living thing in the world, just for a couple of hundred. He would never have attempted to sacrifice the majority for the minority in the past. Yes he's been through a lot, that doesn't mean he's right, that mean's he's now a super villain. The issue makes you doubt that the Avengers are the good guys until the end. Granted subtle hints and Phoenixclops anger issues pop up occasionally and their general disposition towards people. Yet the Avengers act on impulse and attack purely because they were fighting to begin with. Beast and Black Panther are the only two Avengers who stop to think about it.
Oh and the question of Cyttorak and Colossus? Ignored here and in Uncanny. I guess we're going to have to wait if he continues to be the Juggernaut. Also, I won't lie, I do not wait with baited breath for what I am sure will be a steady stream of character deaths starting next issue.


Uncanny X-Men #14
This AvsX tie-in issue, doesn't really tie-in. It follows Mr. Sinister in his underground kingdom, with his own civilization. "Sinister London" is quite awesome, some how Steampunk and Cyberpunk all at the same time. It really is enjoyable to read. Despite this, I feel like the "tie-in" element, Sinister's discussion on how he will defeat the Phoenix, won't actually come to fruition. I feel that this was more a set up for Uncanny X-men later on and not really to do with AvsX. I could be proven wrong, I just doubt Sinister will show up in the main arc and save the day.

Overall though, I did enjoy the comic, the art was great and the story fun. Plus I am a big Mister Sinister fan. Of course being British I have a soft spot for genetic super-geniuses from England in my comics.


Astonishing X-Men #51
My first and only issue of Astonishing X-Men. Comic book history was made yesterday in this issue. It features the wedding of Jean-Paul "Northstar" Beaubier and his boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu. I should now clarify this will be my only issue of Astonishing X-Men because I read Uncanny, not because of the wedding.

I bought the issue to show my support for Marvel having the guts to make this move. Yes we all know DC made Alan Scott gay, but going ahead and doing the wedding was a great move and shows true support. We can't get away with out discussing my opinion on this so before I get onto the comic itself I will say; I am straight, I am married and I love my wife. I however totally support "gay weddings." I do however hate the term, I think there shouldn't be an issue and that it should just be a wedding. People should marry who they want when they want. That is all I will say.

This issue will get a big review soon so I won't say too much, but overall it's not awful but it feels like there are some major problems with it. Still if you are a supporter of the wedding buy it regardless of flaws!


Hulk #54
Ah Red Hulk, you are so peculiar. This issue starts off surprisingly slow from last issue. Luckily it does pick up about half way. This Mayan thing is a bit weird. They are claiming they are gods, they seem to have the ability to travel around the world and imply that they are going to take over the world. Are they about to suggest that they used to rule the world? That wouldn't fit with world history would it? I mean there are parallels between Greek and Roman gods, but are there any between the western classical period and the Mayan gods?

One major issue I have with this is the Mayan names, they are seemingly authentic but because of that they are very hard to pronounce and therefore become easily forgotten. Another big problem is the art on two of the Mayans. One is some sort of "Nature God" who is very tree like, it's hard to make head nor tail of where he is but it's not as bad as what can only be described as the Balrog God. "Shadow and Flame" work good as an idea, but when drawn on big full page spreads, two next to each other, it makes it hard to really look at. In fact I almost read it as a double page spread until I noticed the art didn't line up properly.

Overall though, the story is still interesting enough for me to still want to see what happens next. Granted that is because Red Hulk just kick's major (Mayan) ass!

Stay tuned for more detailed reviews, especially of Astonishing X-Men #51.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Bruce Wayne, Private Eye (Arkham Horror)

Getting back into Arkham Horror but maintaining my very comicy theme on my blog, allow me to introduce Bruce Wayne Private Eye. From the Return of Bruce Wayne, he's falling through time and he's landed in Arkham. Can the Dark Knight prevent the eldritch horrors from destroying the world? We can only hope!


You can get the full size character sheet here and the full size character marker here. He hasn't been play tested yet. To be honest I doubt he will work well as a character. He might be a bit over powered, but he is Batman. I feel like he should be even more overpowered. Though Strange Eons plastered "Unbalanced" when you do that hehe.

Series 5 Avatars

I fully intend to review the latest episodes before the next one.
For now though I think it would be interesting to share some avatars I have made from Series 5.

The Eleventh Hour
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The Beast Below
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That should do for now until I write up some reviews.