As much as possible, I wanted this blog to be more of me sharing my interests as opposed to heavier, more personal shit that you, distinguished reader, don't give a shit about anyway. However, this has been something I felt the need to discuss for a very long time, and a rant-filled Twitter thread ain't gonna cut it. Most people who know me are aware that I am an atheist. For the most part, they still seem to be accepting of me (that, or they're more duplicitous than I initially thought), but if you are not one of those people, I ask that you humor this blog post before you find out where I live and stone me to death. In the few times that I have made this fact about me known, I either never got to explain why, or did a poor job of doing so. Most people assume it's due to a certain personal tragedy I went through during my childhood. Yes, my father's death was a catalyst, but my path to irreligion started long before I even knew he had cancer. Before I expound on that, let me set the record straight: there's more than one way for a person to reach the atheism conclusion, and to assume that it only happens after something horrific is almost as demeaning to most atheists as straight up telling them to burn in hell (as far as I've observed). I distinctly remember an interaction with a member of a youth church group where, after our polite discourse, requested if he could pray for me. I humored him, and in his prayer, he asks God to a) provide me with evidence (still waiting), and b) that I find some way to rationalize whatever traumatic event caused me to stop believing (I did not tell him about my father). Not only did I find this rather presumptuous, it's also a little insulting to my father's memory that his death is nothing more than an event I had to find some deeper meaning in. I didn't confront the guy over this, however; I found that most people who say stuff like that usually mean well. Anyway, back on topic. My parents are an anomaly in a staunchly Christian country such as the Philippines. We didn't go to church on Sundays. Our Holy Weeks weren't spent visiting churches. Our house has no Christian paraphernalia displayed. No, my family, despite being Catholic on paper, isn't big on the religion game. I'm almost certain my brother and I got baptized just because a) the certificate is a legal document, and b) it's just a thing people did. When I was much younger, I found it rather odd that I was never taken to church, or made to pray the rosary, or whatever the fuck else we used to do at school. My parents have always maintained that being a good person wasn't tied to blindly following traditions, and that morality is more dependent on action. The matter of teaching me right from wrong was more calling me out on my stupid bullshit, or pointing out why something (e.g. shit on the news) wasn't OK, as opposed to reading me Exodus 20:2–17. Aside from their general indifference towards Catholicism, they always encouraged me to approach things from a logical standpoint. My dad would always talk with me about that; he'd tell me not to just accept things as truth just because someone (or everyone) says it is. He'd even go as far as to use religion as an example in these talks. My conversations with him are largely the reason I'm heavy (sometimes unreasonably heavy) on skepticism. For the record, my older, more distant relatives are more God-fearing than most of my immediate family. None of them know I'm an atheist (as far as I know), and they don't seem to mind or care that our family doesn't go to church or whatever. I avoid them for entirely different reasons. Though skepticism was instrumental on my road to atheism, it wasn't quite enough to get me there. Having spent most of my life at a Catholic school, the idea that the lessons I've been fed for a decade may not be conclusive was a terrifying thought to have. It took a book, the one pictured above, for me to overcome that fear. That copy of God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens you see in the image was originally my dad's copy. It's been so long since I first read it, but I had to have read it shortly after he died, because it's likely one of the things they'd brought back from his office. The main point of the book is in its subtitle: How Religion Poisons Everything. It was the focus on this main idea that cemented my decision to become an atheist. Sure, the book goes through the usual motions of "poking holes in religious texts, burden of proof, yadda yadda yadda" to assert that there's no clear evidence to conclusively prove the existence of a deity (or deities), but what really resonated with me was how Hitchens talks about the evils people have committed in the name of religion. Holy wars, the possible harm of childhood indoctrination, hell, even how Mother Teresa wasn't the saint I thought she was.... that shit opened my eyes. All this time, I thought religion was a sort of true north for everyone's moral compasses, and learning that it was fallible was incentive enough for me to stop following it. Another, often untrue assumption people make about atheists is that they're angry at God. I'm not. Yes, I think the Big Bang is the origin of the universe, and yes, I find the Epicurus paradox to be damning, but coming to the conclusion that god likely doesn't exist doesn't mean I'm angry about it, much less angry at God himself. Why would I have a quarrel with something I think isn't real? See, my quarrel isn't with God; it's with religion itself. I'm mad that pedophiles don't get arrested just because they're priests. I'm upset because Sharia law treats women as lesser beings and no one does anything about it out of fear of being accused as Islamophobic. I'm furious that people preach compassion yet demonize people who don't conform to gender norms. Most of all, I can't stand how people get away with this shit just because, long ago, someone decided religion was untouchable. Ask any other sensible atheist why they're "angry at God". I'm willing to bet you'll get a similar answer. I could bore you with more examples, but I'm hoping you get the point. OK, so maybe you get why I became an atheist (at least, I hope so). But why make it known? Why be open with it? You're in luck; this is something I've also wanted to talk about for a long time. Nowadays, the label "atheist" has achieved a similar notoriety as labels like "hipster", or "vegan". People think those who identify themselves as these things are edgy, try-hard contrarians who think they're hot shit because they deviate from the norm. And, in their defense, sometimes they're right. The people who are loudest about being a plant-eating atheist hippie tend to be obnoxiously holier-than-thou about it. I'd like to think that I'm not, or, at the very least, no longer guilty of this. I don't fault anybody (not even a former blockmate who still detests me) for assuming so; I admittedly have a cold, introverted, mercurial demeanor that could easily be summarized as "angsty 14-year-old loner who's probably an edgelord". That's fine. I get that a lot. With that said, I'm gonna set the record straight on this one, too. Like I said before, I studied in a Catholic school for ten years. Now, I don't think my 4th Year Theology teacher would have appreciated me telling him off on his diatribe on abortion, or anything of that nature. In fact, I'm almost certain that doing so would have cost me my graduation. That's the first reason I'm open about it: because there's no longer a direct consequence for doing so. I've had (and still have) issues with not speaking my mind to avoid certain things (punishment, a longer conversation, etc.), and being able to do so, at least when it came to religion, was a burden off my shoulder. The second, more important reason isn't about me. I have the privilege of being open with my atheism, with the only serious repercussions being judgmental looks from people, potentially losing out on jobs, and disappointing a hypothetical fiancée who wants a church wedding. Other people aren't so lucky. Many countries (Pakistan, for example) have blasphemy laws so extreme that, if I ever set foot there, they will behead me without a second thought. That isn't fair to the many ex-Muslims living in constant fear that their government— hell, their own families might kill them just because they reached a different conclusion regarding the existence of a god. They probably think they're all alone in their atheism. Those people are the reason I discuss religion as openly as I do; they need to see that they aren't alone, that there's nothing wrong with thinking there's no god, and that calling out religion on its bullshit is the right thing to do. In the same way many other people embrace their sexuality or ethnicity and discuss it openly, I'd like to think that being open with my atheism is empowering in some capacity. Lastly, I'm open with my atheism in hopes that believers will listen and entertain a different point of view. It's a lost cause to ask people to let go of their preconceived notions (let alone ask them to see the world from someone else's perspective), and I'm certainly not going to shove my views down their throats the way others do, but my stupid ass still hopes that I could get at least one person to reconsider. Religion has gotten away with too many atrocities, and the more people there are to call that out, the likelier it is that things start to change. It's uncharacteristically optimistic for a notorious cynic like me, I know. Perhaps this is a load of shit to you. I mean, wearing the atheist label for others? That sounds fucking pretentious. Probably. I don't care. I'm just here to make it clear as day: I'm not an atheist to look cool and feel morally superior. I wouldn't even say I'm "proud" to be one; it's just a part of who I am. I'm just hoping me being open with who I am can help somebody, if at all. Whether or not my explanation satisfies you is out of my hands. I honestly don't know what this blog post is going to do. Maybe you hate me now. Maybe you hate me more. Maybe you've sent a priest to my house (please don't). Hell, maybe no one's ever gonna read this at all. I don't know. All I knew for sure is that I had to get this off my chest.
The only thing I can hope for now is that if anyone's had similar experiences, or has the same sentiments, but feels alone, just know that you aren't. I could also hope that this post will help anyone who knows me understand me a bit better, or even think about what I said, but I won't hold my breath. As I've come to know, putting my hopes in other people often leads to disappointment. And I know this is a big ask, but I earnestly hope you give God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens a read. I know I write like garbage, so the least I could do is point you in a direction towards someone who knew what they were doing. I've created a new blog category named The Mask of Truth (also a Bionicle thing; look it up) for stupid blog entries such as this, in case I feel a need to write something more personal again. Maybe you'll hope for/request for more entries. Maybe you won't. Maybe you'll ask me to take the entire blog down because this bullshit isn't what you signed up for. Whatever. I'm going to bed. - end -
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Last week, I rambled about 25 comics. This week, I have 25 more to ramble about. Worry not, there's only one more of these blog entries to go. This is Part 2 of the blog miniseries on my comics collection. Go catch up on Part 1 if you must. THE COMICS: FAITH (2016) #1 - Explores the life of Faith Herbert, AKA the hero known as Zephyr, in her new life in Los Angeles after her stint with The Renegades. Charming character, humorous stuff. - Comixology link FF (2010–2012) #16 - Features the Fantastic Four rebuilding New York and the Future Foundation after an attack by the Celestials. Also features Doctor Doom finding something cool... - Comixology link THE FLASH (2016–) #18 - Flash and Kid Flash break into Belle Reve for answers on Reverse Flash. Amanda Waller is not pleased. - Comixology link FURY MAX: MY WAR GONE BY #1 - For the unfamiliar, MAX is the Marvel label for comics of the more mature variety. This particular series features Nick Fury going into an entirely new war after WWII. - This issue on its own isn't on digital, but the collected editions are. Here's Vol. 1. FUTURES END #0 - DC's free title from FCBD 2014. Sets up the Futures End storyline, where Batman Beyond travels back in time to present day in hopes to prevent an apocalyptic event. Features evil robots. - Doesn't seem to be on digital anymore, so here's Vol. 1 of the series. GHOST RIDER (1990–1998) #32 - Guest starring Doctor Strange, who's here to save Ghost Rider from the evil trying to take over him. With another outside threat trying to hunt down Ghost Rider, time is of the essence. - Not on digital, either. HARBINGER (2012–) #0 - A special comic detailing the past of Toyo Harada, one of the most powerful people in the Valiant Universe. Important read for those looking to get into Valiant Comics. - Comixology link HARLEY QUINN: BATMAN DAY 2017 SPECIAL EDITION #1 - One of the comics from Batman Day 2017 (which celebrated Harley Quinn's 25th anniversary). This is a reprint of Harley Quinn (2016–) #11. - The original Harley Quinn (2016–) #11 HARLEY QUINN: HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2015 SPECIAL EDITION #1 - DC's free title from Halloween ComicFest 2015. Features Harley Quinn finding a new place and looking for a job to cover rent. Exciting stuff. - No longer on digital, either. They gotta stop pulling the free shit from the store... HELLBLAZER #102 - Features John Constantine in a shitty place (what else is new?) and returning to the asylum where he was once institutionalized in. - Comixology link HELLBOY JUNIOR #1 - It's everyone's favorite devil... as a child? This comic is a collection of weird-ass short stories featuring the little guy. - Not on digital, as far as I can tell. HOUSE OF M #1 - Like Civil War, this comic event was the talk of the town during my grade school days. It's probably one of the most well-known stories that features Scarlet Witch. - Comixology link THE HUNTRESS (1989–1990) #14 - Huntress tries to move on and have a quiet life, away from any ties to her mobster father, but as usual, trouble finds a way to come to her. - Comixology link INHUMANITY #1 - In this issue, we see Karnak try to come to grips with the destruction of Attilan and the resulting Terrigen outbreak. He... doesn't take it well. - Comixology link JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #653 - Sif's space adventures have her cross paths with Beta Ray Bill. Weird romantic tension is in the air. - Comixology link JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #17 -Blue Beetle gets kidnapped, Maxwell Lord is doing sneaky bullshit again, Captain Atom is in trouble, and Power Girl is super pissed. Eventful. - Comixology link KATANA (2013) #2 - Katana deals with both the Sword Clan and the Soultaker having a mind of its own. She also fights a drunken master of some kind, which was fun. - Comixology link LARFLEEZE (2013–2015) #1 - If you're looking to learn more about the Orange Lantern himself, you're in luck, because he narrates the shit out of his life story in this comic. He also fights the Lord of the Hunt, but that's less important. - Comixology link LEGIONNAIRES (1993–2000) #1,000,000 - A tie-in with the DC One Million storyline, which was a look at what the DC Universe might look like in the 853rd century. Here, you'll meet the Legion of Superheroes from that era. - Comixology link LEGION LOST (2011–2013) #0 - An origin tale focused on Timber Wolf, a classic Legion of Superheroes member. - Comixology link That's it for most of the single issues, but there's five more I want to talk about. You may be wondering what would merit those five getting its own special section. The answer to that is simple: they're five issues of a complete set. PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT (2008) #1-5: - This limited series features Hellcat (one of my favorite not-too-well-known comic book heroines) sent on a mission to Alaska to investigate some mystical goings-on. This is a lovely series with light-hearted writing, great interior art, and cover art so phenomenal, I use them as phone wallpapers sometimes. - Here's the collected edition on Comixology, though you can buy the single issues individually here. I've been having fun rereading these comics and talking about them, even if it's a little time-consuming to do so. I hope you like reading my ramblings about them, and I can only hope you'd check out some of these comics for yourself.
Keep your eyes peeled for the third and final part of this miniseries, coming soon (-ish). - end - The Road to WrestleMania 35 begins, which means two things: pointing at the WrestleMania sign like a doofus, and the Royal Rumble match. No amount of boring or terrible booking can quell my hype for the Royal Rumble, so here I am today, watching a four-hour wrestling show like the loser I am.
We've got a hell of a card this time around, and, as usual, I talk about each match below. Read on if spoilers aren't a concern: And then there were three... I'm down to my last three books for my TPB backlog. This week, I read something from the DC camp with Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Katana. BACKGROUND:
Katana's one of my favorite DC heroes ever. She's got a cool look, has a magic sword, and a rather tragic backstory. Even if she doesn't usually get much in the way of fleshed out characterization (see: the Suicide Squad movie), I'm always excited to see her in action, because heaven knows I love badass swordswomen. This book was a no-brainer purchase for me. THE WRITING: The story begins with Katana flying into the fictional country of Markovia on a personal mission, but as it turns out, the nation is being invaded by the forces of King Kobra and Lady Eve. Katana doesn't quite know the reasons behind the invasion, but she doesn't waste any time helping the citizens fight back. It's a straightforward, by-the-numbers story: hero finds herself in a besieged land, its people beg for help, she goes and saves the day. While that on its own doesn't bother me, the fact that King Kobra is a generic-ass villain works to its detriment. The reason behind his invasion was interesting, but it kinda comes out of left field in a confusing way, and that doesn't do the plot any favors. Although Katana is very much the star of the show, she's not alone on her quest to liberate Markovia. The Suicide Squad, led by Deadshot, also arrive in Markovia. Their mission, incidentally, is to take out King Kobra, which means, for the moment, their interests align with Katana. I think this is the first instance Katana's ever worked with Task Force X (albeit indirectly), which is an interesting consequence of the movie adding her to the roster. Katana herself is a little preoccupied with working to save Markovia, but there are hints of her tragic past strewn about the story. Her tragic past and the backstory behind her mystical sword are the stuff that drew me to her character in the first place, so it's nice to see even a little bit of that here. I do wish she got a bit more in terms of growing as a character, but there's only so much you can do with a basic story. THE ART: One thing that sticks out to me most about the art is the abundance of hatching and cross hatching. It gives everything a rougher, sketchy look, which is neat. Other than that, there's not much to say. There's a good variety of color schemes (ranging from muted to almost psychedelic), character designs look nice, and there's a lot of blood and explosions. Solid art all around. VERDICT: It's not the greatest Katana story ever, but if you're looking for a short read featuring her and some Suicide Squad action, this book may be worth checking out, because let's face it: I don't think you wanna watch the movie again. Read Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Katana on Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Suicide-Squad-Most-Wanted-Katana-2016/digital-comic/417231?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy - end - The Royal Rumble is upon us, but before we get to the most exciting WWE PPV of the year, we've got a NXT Takeover event to kick off the weekend. Per usual, I'll talk about each match on the card below. Spoiler warning should go without saying, but here's a written warning just in case.
The second half of episodes of Kimmy Schmidt S4 just dropped, and that unfortunately marks the end of the series. I've enjoyed this show immensely over the years, and I thought that writing about its final episodes would be a nice way of bidding farewell. Don't worry; no jokes will be spoiled here. The back half of the season picks up right where it left off more than six months ago, with Kimmy fresh off creating The Legends of Greemulax. I was worried I'd forget where the story was at considering the hiatus, but I ended up having no problems recalling anything. Whereas some shows may see a decline in quality as they approach their twilight years, Kimmy Schmidt's final episodes were still very much high-caliber. The mile-a-minute jokes, puns, visual gags, callbacks, and more still come at you with full force, the characters are still hilarious and endearing to watch, and the show still deftly tackles more serious and rather topical subject matters in a humorous manner. Everything I've come to love about this show was still here until the very end. My personal favorite episodes from this batch were E8 (which featured the show's knack for framing seemingly innocuous situations in a strange and hilarious light) and E9 (which was a meaty What If? episode). I don't think they quite beat out that crime documentary parody episode from earlier in the season, though that's just my opinion. Everything is tied up rather nicely by the finale. All the characters find some sort of happy ending, and nothing was really left unresolved. Some plot threads even come full circle in a sense. Though I was still sad that the show was ending, I was more than satisfied with where it ends that I'm not too upset about it. I'm gonna miss this show. I watch a hefty amount of more serious shows like the sad sack of shit that I am, and comedies like this were more than welcome buffers between the stupid shit I usually watch. Kimmy Schmidt has cemented itself as one of my favorite comedies ever, with its cheery vibe, deceptively brilliant humor, and great characters, and seeing it end is quite bittersweet. If you haven't watched it yet, well, what are you waiting for?
Oh, Jon Bernthal's in one of the episodes. That was really bizarre considering I just watched Punisher S2 last week. Just thought I'd give a heads up, in the event someone finds that as jarring as I did. - end - Another Friday, another rewatch. This week, I'm revisiting Winter Soldier. Yeah, I've been waiting the whole week for this one. BACKGROUND:
Ever since Bucky "died" in First Avenger, I figured they'd bring him back in the MCU in some way. When the Captain America sequel was announced to include the Winter Soldier, I was naturally excited (and not just because it was an "I called it!" moment). The anticipation of seeing Bucky's return, along with the introduction of Falcon (I flipped out when I saw him in the trailer) was more than enough to get me hyped. COMICS TO READ:
MY FAVORITE MOMENTS:
THE EASTER EGGS:
THE HERO: This was the movie that not only sold me on Captain America as an ass-kicker, but as well as a character. His moral compass is as strong as ever in this movie, taking a clear stance in the whole freedom vs. security debate the story revolves around. I really appreciate the fact that he was more than willing to break rules and go against orders to uphold his beliefs, which is a far cry from the boy scout, always-follows-the-rules archetype I used to see him as. THE VILLAINS: There's not really a clear-cut villain in this one. Sure, the Winter Soldier is here, but he's more of an enforcer-type character who's mostly here to kick ass; he barely develops as a character, and it's his past with Cap that adds layers to his straightforward role in this movie. You also have Alexander Pierce, who is one of the many heads of HYDRA. I think anyone would've figured he was some sort of bad guy, even from the trailers. Overall, I thought he was pretty average. With all this said, the looming threat of "anybody could be HYDRA" did wonders for the movie in a way that a definitive antagonist never could. It really adds to the spy thriller vibe of constantly looking over one's shoulder, not knowing who to trust. OTHER THINGS:
THE AFTER-CREDITS: The mid-credits scene introduces Baron Strucker, a prominent HYDRA figure in the comics. It's revealed that his division of HYDRA managed to obtain Loki's scepter, and that they're performing experiments with its power. The most important of those experiments turns out to be the Maximoff twins. For the first time, we see Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. As someone who was bummed at the lack of mutants in the MCU and a massive fan of Scarlet Witch, this was the cherry on top of the amazing treat that was this entire movie. The post-credits scene has Bucky on a field trip to the Smithsonian. Nothing major, other than the implication that the man is slowly starting to remember his past. VERDICT: There's a reason I always look forward to rewatching Winter Soldier. It has a fascinating spy thriller plot with a mind-blowing twist, real world themes, incredible action that relies on hand-to-hand combat and gunplay with minimal CGI, a game-changing ending that completely alters the MCU status quo, and it puts over nearly every character hard by making them look completely badass. 10/10 would rewatch again. Tune in next Friday for a rewatch of Guardians of the Galaxy. - end - There are a lot of upcoming games that I'm looking forward to in 2019, but since none of them are out yet, I'll have to settle for a port of a game from 2001. Today, I'm talking about Ikaruga. BACKGROUND:
I'm not sure where I first spotted this game, but I had only heard about it last year, when its Switch port was announced. I watched some gameplay and was immediately sold on the mechanics. I also learned that it was originally an arcade game, which piqued my interest further. The game sat for many months on my eShop wish list, then a sale came along recently that prompted me to finally pick it up. PLOT: From what I can tell, you play as a guy named Shinra, who pilots the eponymous Ikaruga, in order to fight some bad guys or something. I'm not sure. I was too busy trying not to die to figure out the story. Jokes aside, the game has an interesting premise, but you really only get bits and pieces of it as you go along. It'd be nice to have a more substantial plot, but I don't really fault a game originally meant for arcades (let alone a game of this genre) to have an Iliad-scale epic. PRESENTATION: For a game that came out nearly 20 years ago, Ikaruga looks pretty great. 3D games from around this time were still in the early stages of having polished graphics, and it's nice to see that this game aged better than a lot of other games from back then. It also helps that awesome-looking sci-fi ships and robots never really go out of style. I was quite surprised by the amount of sweeping shots and variety of camera angles, especially during stage transitions. These really added a sense of scale to the action, and made the game feel like a bonafide sci-fi blockbuster. Some people may find Ikaruga's display a bit cramped. The actual game occupies only about a third of the screen, with the rest of the space reserved for HUD elements like the score counter. I personally don't mind (older arcade games usually don't use the entire screen) , though I do wish you could switch the backgrounds up. The default grayscale background got boring immediately. This game boasts some killer music. The tracks perfectly complement the frenetic action and the sci-fi epic vibe of the game. The music ebbs and flows as you move from chapter to chapter, or when you arrive at/defeat a boss. It's more prominent in the former, as there are short intermissions before you enter a chapter where the music kind of crescendos until you start the level proper. GAMEPLAY: Ikaruga is a vertical shoot-'em-up (shmup). Think Gradius or Space Impact, but, well, vertical. Like nearly every shmup in existence, the fundamentals stay the same: maneuver your ship to avoid enemies/enemy fire, and kill everything in your path. Easy to understand, incredibly difficult to master. What sets Ikaruga apart from other games in its genre is the polarity mechanic. Whereas most shmups have you constantly weaving in and out of an unrelenting hailstorm of projectiles, this game gives you a fighting chance against your enemies with polarity switching. Enemies usually come in two types. You've got white enemies that shoot out blue-white projectiles, and black enemies that shoot out orange-black projectiles. Your ship can switch between the white and black polarity, and what that allows you to do is absorb projectiles that are the same color as you. It doesn't matter if it's the fucking Death Star beam; if it's white and your polarity's white, you'll survive. Whether or not you switch polarities is the main split-second decision you'll be making in this game, especially when you start getting overrun by enemies shooting projectiles of both polarities. It's no longer a matter of learning enemy patterns and simply dodging fire with deft movement; you now have to take into account your current polarity when weaving through a barrage of enemy attacks. What's usually a game of reacting quickly amidst the chaos is now a deadly dance in a sea of black and white, and it's this semblance of order within the chaos that makes Ikaruga special. You can even try something fun with the polarity switching and attempt a pacifist playthrough where you don't fire your weapons. This is a good way to get a handle of the mechanic, and the game even acknowledges successfully clearing a level this way. Polarity doesn't just affect your chances at survival; it affects your damage output, too. Switching polarities also changes the color of your shots, and enemies that have the opposite polarity as your shots take considerably more damage. Do you take the safe route and maintain your polarity so you survive enemy fire, or do you dare switch back and forth so you can deal that extra bit of damage against the enemy? It's incredible how something that can be summed up as "changing colors" can provide a considerable amount of depth to a rather simple game. The level design showcases the depth of the polarity mechanic pretty well, but I think it's truly exemplified when you face against the bosses. The bosses are able to use both polarities in their attacks, and combined with the myriad of possible attack patterns, they are easily the most formidable challenge in the game. Constantly switching polarities to tank the seemingly endless bullet hell felt thrilling, and surviving long enough to land the killing blow felt cathartic. You can tackle Ikaruga in a variety of ways. First, you have three difficulty settings (easy, normal, hard) that dictate how aggressive enemies fight back. Second, you have two game modes: Arcade, which is essentially the default game, and Prototype mode. Prototype mode is the same game, except you have limited ammo. How do you reload? You switch polarities and absorb enemy fire. It's a clever twist on the base game that further capitalizes on the polarity mechanic. If you've got a competitive itch, this game also features Leaderboards. Your scores are uploaded automatically, plus you can also upload a replay of your last run for others to see. I personally don't care, but if you're into getting the highest score rank, you do have something to compare against. VERDICT: Ikaruga is a crown jewel in the shmup genre. With its one unique mechanic, it was able to add an astounding level of depth to a classic game type. Shmups aren't the most popular genre these days, but if you're looking to get into it, Ikaruga should be one of your first stops. You can play Ikaruga on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/253750/Ikaruga/ - end - If you've been following my weekly series of blog posts where I talk about the comics on my shelf, you'd know that I have a decently sized collection of TPBs and graphic novels. In addition to this, I also have binders holding a bunch of single comics right below it. Compared to my digital comics collection (which number in the literal hundreds), I don't have many of these to go through, so I thought it'd be fun to write a little something about each of them. With that said, each binder contains 25 comics each, so I'm splitting this into a 3-part miniseries where I cover the contents of a single binder. This blog entry is also a trial run for a format I was planning for covering single issues. Very soon, I'll be finished with my shelf backlog, so my succeeding entries in the blog series will likely pull from my digital backlog. Expect those in about a month or so. THE COMICS: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN - Shows you what is essentially a prelude to the recent Amazing Spider-Man run by Nick Spencer. Also contains a recap of Guardians of the Galaxy leading into the big Infinity event of last year. - Read it FREE on Comixology here. AXIS #1 - The big Marvel Comics event of 2014 where Red Skull becomes the Red Onslaught and does evil Red Skull things with telepathy. Features a lot of telepathic fuckery. - Here it is on digital. AZRAEL: AGENT OF THE BAT #98 - Features Azrael (one of my favorite members of the Bat-family) slowly succumbing to madness. - Comixology link DETECTIVE COMICS #27 SPECIAL EDITION - This one came out during Batman's 75 anniversary. Features the original Batman comic from 1939, an awesome retelling of that very comic, and a short comic set in the distant future called "Twenty-Seven". - Also FREE on Comixology. BATMAN ENDGAME: SPECIAL EDITION - The free comic from Batman Day 2015. Features Batman getting the shit kicked out of him by the rest of the Justice League. Also has a sneak peek of Batman & Robin Eternal. - This specific issue isn't on digital, so here's links to Batman (2011) Vol. 7 (the preview to which is this very comic) and Batman & Robin Eternal #1. BATMAN (2016) #1 (SPECIAL EDITION) - Batman Day 2016's free comic. It's essentially a rerelease of Batman (2016) #1 with a different cover. - The original Batman (2016) #1 on digital. BATWOMAN (2011–2015) #18 - In this one, Batwoman kick the shit out of Mr. Freeze. Apparently, she's working for the DEO during this time. I've been meaning to read more of this run. - Comixology link BEFORE WATCHMEN: RORSCHACH #2 - Watchmen is one of my favorite graphic novels, so I had to have some of the prequel comics. Features Rorschach being Rorschach, which is more than enough to sell me on a comic. - Comixology link SECRET INVASION: AFTERMATH - BETA RAY BILL: THE GREEN OF EDEN - Beta Ray Bill saves a bunch of Skrulls who apparently worship him as a god. Features Beta Ray Bill's most memorable line. - Comixology link BIRDS OF PREY (1999–2009) #45 - I bought it because it had Deathstroke on the cover. Considering it has him and Black Canary teaming up against dinosaurs, it's safe to say that I wasn't disappointed. - Comixology link BIRDS OF PREY (1999–2009) #80 - This one is memorable because Huntress was super pissed at Oracle for being a tad manipulative with the missions she assigns to her and Canary. - Comixology link BIRDS OF PREY (2011–2014) #2 - The Birds of Prey and Katana? That's two things I like a lot! Of course I bought it. - Comixology link BLACKEST NIGHT #1 - One of my personal favorite DC Comics events. The Emotional Spectrum is one of my all-time favorite concepts in comics, so it was awesome to see it take center stage in a story of this scale. - Comixology link BLOODSHOT (1993–1996) #8 - I only got into Valiant Comics around the time of its reboot in the early 2010s, so I went to finding classic Valiant stuff wherever I could. This one has Bloodshot take on a mission without his nanite enhancements. - Comixology link BLUE BEETLE (2016) #1 - The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle is one of my favorite heroes to come out of the 2000s, so I had to pick up this new run. It features Jaime working with Ted Kord, and appearances from Doctor Fate, of all people. Might be a hint of the Scarab's mystical origins. - Comixology link BRILLIANT #4 - Brilliant is a comic by Brian Michael Bendis where a group of geniuses in college unlock the secret to superpowers. It goes as horribly as you expect. This issue in particular covers the aftermath of a superpower snafu. - Comixology link CIVIL WAR #1 - The comic that inspired the movie. I have very fond memories of talking about Civil War with friends back in grade school, so I got it for nostalgia's sake. Non-reader fans of the MCU will likely find this drastically different from the movie. - Comixology link FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2016: CIVIL WAR II - Yep, Marvel did another one. This sets up the conflict between Captain Marvel and Iron Man, and instead of the Superhero Registration Act, they fight over a guy who sees the future. Also has a sneak peek for All-New, All-Different Avengers that features Nadia Pym (the new Wasp). - Also a FREE read! DAREDEVIL (2011-2014) #12 - Features Matt on a date (which, given his history, will 100% end horribly) and recounting a tale from his college days. Also has Spider-Man. - Comixology link DC SUPERHERO GIRLS: BATMAN DAY 2017 SPECIAL EDITION #1 - One of the free comics from Batman Day 2017 (AKA Harley Quinn Day). Features the DC Superhero Girls cast doing an art project. It somehow goes wrong. Very much for kids. - Removed from digital, so here's the full graphic novel that this comic is a preview for. DEMON (1987) #1 - Etrigan is another one of those not-so-well-known comic characters that I'm a huge fan of. Features Jason Blood's companion Glenda trying to find answers to Etrigan's origins. Also features Etrigan's signature penchant for rhyming. - As far as I can tell, this comic isn't on digital yet. FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2015: DIVERGENCE #1 - A comic featuring preludes to Batman, Superman, and Justice League that teased the new status quo (back in 2015). Batman saw an unexpected character take the mantle, Superman deals with having his identity outed, and Justice League sets up an impending clash with Darkseid by retelling the birth of his daughter Grail. - Oddly enough, it's not on Comixology anymore. ECLIPSO: THE DARKNESS WITHIN #1 - Of the many "embodiment of wrath/vengeance/rage" characters that exist in comics, Eclipso was probably the one I'm least familiar with. This miniseries established him as one of my favorites. - Not on digital, either, it seems. EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #5 - Remember Peni Parker from that Into the Spider-Verse movie? This is her debut comic. Fun fact: Gerard Way wrote this comic. Yes, that Gerard Way. - Comixology link EXILES (2009) #3 - If you're not familiar with the Exiles, they're essentially a team tasked to fix anomalies in alternate realities and timelines. To use a recent analogy, think of them as Marvel's Legends of Tomorrow. This roster features five of my favorite mutant characters + Black Panther! - Comixology link That does it for Part 1 of this blog miniseries. Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3, where I talk about the contents of the second and third binder.
- end - It's a brand new week, which means I've got a brand new read! This week, I complete the trifecta of Image Comics books on my shelf with Spawn. BACKGROUND:
Spawn is probably one of the most iconic non-Marvel/DC comic book characters of all time, and easily the most recognizable character to come out of Image Comics. Even when I was very young, I knew who this guy was. I unfortunately never got to read much more about him until I got older, and buying this book was a step to rectify that. By the time I bought this, I'd already been exploring many comic publishers outside of Marvel and DC. This, of course, included Image Comics, which prided itself in making sure its creators, not the company, owned the rights to their IPs. I learned that Todd McFarlane (the man behind Spawn, famed artist for several Spider-Man comics, and co-creator of Venom) was one of the founders of the company, and that Spawn was one of the first comics to be published by Image. All that history behind Spawn was further incentive to buy the book. THE WRITING: Al Simmons, a former hired gun for the government, returns from the dead as Spawn after a devil deal gone wrong. Now cursed to serve as an agent of hell, he roams New York City, taking on criminals and supernatural threats. Along with that, he must struggle to piece together his fragmented memories and remember the life he once had. Spawn spends these first few issues trying to remember why he's been resurrected. As it turns out, he made a deal to see his wife again in exchange for his soul. Unfortunately, he made that deal with Malebolgia, a demon from hell who takes advantage of Simmons and turns him into an agent to further his was with God. Even worse, Spawn returns five years after he died, which means everything's changed, including his wife's life. Realizing he can't have his former life, he relents and becomes New York's deadliest anti-hero. Tragic past? Unrelenting violence? Edgy costume? Spawn is practically the poster child of "badass anti-hero". He's very representative of the edginess that dominated the '90s. None of this is a shallow façade, however; Malebolgia's psychological torture of Spawn felt utterly cruel considering what the latter learns about the fate of his wife and the circumstances surrounding his death. With this and the fact that his second life is now tethered to hell, Spawn lives a tortured existence, and it's fascinating to read how he deals with that. The first six issues also introduces a bunch of other characters, like the aforementioned Malebolgia, the Violator (another demon who becomes a frequent adversary for Spawn), Al's wife/widow Wanda, and more. You don't get to spend as much time with them as you do with Spawn, but they're established sufficiently that you want to see and learn more about them. Most of Spawn's adventures at first are more episodic in nature; you won't get any major story arcs with these beginning issues just yet. That isn't to say it's not building to anything, however. Sure, Spawn isn't quite gearing up for an encounter against a big bad quite yet, but the narrative through line of him uncovering his past is enough to tie things together. There are a few cute nods to Youngblood and Savage Dragon, which are also comics published by Image (and, along with Spawn, some of the very first books to be released under the label). I'm a little familiar with these comics, so I appreciated the references. THE ART: Although Todd McFarlane has done his fair share of writing, he is most renowned in the comics industry for his art. The man puts a meticulous amount of detail into everything, and goes the extra mile for facial details, muscle definition, and everything else in between. He also goes all in on character proportions; buff guys look jacked as shit, larger guys couldn't look more rotund, the and the demons look like completely grotesque freaks. If that's not enough for you, the violence is graphic, bordering on sickening. McFarlane doesn't pull any punches when it comes to his art, and Spawn is exemplary of that. Spawn's design still holds up to this day and will likely stand the test of time. Between his unmistakeable face design, his massive, striking red cape, the overabundance of chains and spikes, and the splashes of white on his mostly dark color scheme, you could be as near-sighted as I am and still spot the guy in a crowd. He's a prime example of "too much going on" in a design, but it somehow works. VERDICT: If you're looking into comics outside of the typical Marvel and DC offerings, Spawn should be one of your first stops. It's perhaps the magnum opus of the industry's all-time greats, and its place in comic book history isn't to be taken lightly. Spawn's also perfect for those of you with the darker, edgier persuasion. If you want to experience Todd McFarlane's art, this is also the perfect place to start. You can buy the entirety of the Spawn Origins Collection on Comixology. Here's Vol. 1: https://www.comixology.com/Spawn-Origins-Collection-Vol-1/digital-comic/154719?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy - end - This week, The Punisher's second season dropped, with suspiciously little fanfare and marketing. Forgetting the show's inevitable cancellation for a moment, I spent my day watching through it. Below are my spoiler-free thoughts. The story begins about a year after the end of S1. Frank's trying real hard to move on from his past and finally find some peace. He gets a little taste of it, but trouble eventually finds him, and soon enough, he's back with a gun in his hand. Most of his journey this season is him trying to figure out if he'll ever have the peace he once had and live a normal life, or if being The Punisher is his new definition of "peace". Frank's as compelling to watch as he was in his previous appearances; Jon Bernthal will likely be remembered as the best Punisher to grace the screen, and for good reason. Trouble comes to Frank in the form of Amy, a teenage con artist who managed to attract the wrong, gun-toting kind of attention. She starts off as an annoying shithead whose deal I couldn't figure out, but after a while, she's fleshed out a bit more and develops a good relationship with Frank. I honestly thought she'd be absolutely insufferable, but thankfully, it levels out after a few episodes. Amy, as it turns out, is being hunted by a man named John Pilgrim, a preacher with a terrible past. I spent a good amount of the season not knowing what his deal was, and once I found out, I felt real disappointed. He ends up just being a cog in a larger, asinine conspiracy orchestrated by big bads I couldn't give any less of a shit about. It's a shame, because the show actually did a great job at making the guy seem interesting. I really wish he had a) more character-building stuff, b) less of the half-assed conspiracy angle he was a part of, and c) a narrative where he was actually a central part of and not just a dude Frank shoots at. Fortunately, we still get a good villain out of Jigsaw. Fresh from getting his face absolutely demolished by Frank in S1's finale, Billy Russo returns with... not too terrible scarring, all things considered. I can't say I'm not disappointed that his face isn't completely fucked like it is in the comics, but Billy from a character standpoint more than makes up for it. While his face doesn't look too bad, his mind wasn't spared the mercy. We see his mental state in utter shambles at the start, and the combination of his trauma and his true, unhinged nature made him both terrifying and somewhat sympathetic. In the same way as The Punisher himself, you get where he's coming from, but he does some real fucked up shit that you can't condone. Their stories aren't exactly parallel, but there are enough similarities to make comparing and contrasting a thought-provoking exercise. Now, the problem with having two villains is that they have to fight for screen time. Once Jigsaw is brought back into Frank's radar, the story goes into this start-stop state where it drops John Pilgrim's angle to focus on Frank vs. Billy, and vice versa. Then, once you go back to Pilgrim, you go, "oh, right, he's in this". It felt like I was watching two different Punisher S2 pitches smushed together, with only the most tenuous connections between the two narratives. There was no narrative through line; even though I was clear on what was happening, the season felt like it was all over the place. We also get some great character stuff from returning characters Agent Madani and Curtis. Madani's journey to recovering from Russo's betrayal was enjoyable, while Curtis slowly, but increasingly getting tired of Frank's bullshit pushes his character in interesting places. They, along with Frank, Amy, and Billy, have arcs that close out pretty well by the end. That's nice, considering any prospect of S3 is probably as dead as anything Frank's ever shot at. The action came a-plenty this time around. You get violent brawls and gunplay in all sorts of places, spread out across the entire season, which was exciting. S1 had a pretty slow burn feel to it, so having all this brutality peppered in several episodes was refreshing. I think my favorite fight scene is the one from episode 10. If you were hoping for some sweet MCU tie-ins, a) why do you persist with your unfounded hope?, and b) there's not a lot. You do get a few one-off appearances from other MCU Netflix characters, but the one I want to talk about is Detective Mahoney (who was originally from Daredevil). He's a recurring character throughout S2, and plays a great foil against some of our protagonists. Overall, S2 feels frustrating, because it tries to do two things at once and messes one of the things up. A lot of the character work was solid to great, the action was enjoyable, but the Pilgrim stuff was such a missed opportunity that it hurts. It's a shame it had to play second fiddle to the more compelling Punisher vs. Jigsaw feud, because with a better, more focused, and more fleshed out story, John Pilgrim would've been an interesting antagonist. I still liked this season for other reasons, but the scatterbrained narrative isn't one of those reasons.
- end - This week's rewatch is probably the one fans were least looking forward to. In any case, let's jump into Thor: The Dark World. BACKGROUND:
At the time, my knowledge on Thor wasn't as sharp as, say, my Spidey lore, so this movie was uncharted territory for me. I was pretty excited to see how much more of Thor's mythos they'd explore, and even more excited to see Loki return. I did a good amount of reading before this movie came out in order to sufficiently prepare myself. Fun fact: this was the first MCU movie I watched alone. I'd been going to theaters by myself before then, but I think it was with this movie and Man of Steel that I started doing it regularly. COMICS TO READ:
MY FAVORITE MOMENTS:
THE EASTER EGGS:
THE HERO: You can tell Thor's grown since we saw him last. He thinks more of the welfare of his people and the Nine Realms, he butts heads with Odin's more violent tendencies, is more wary of Loki's bullshit (but still cares about him), and he even crafts a genius plan. He certainly becomes more likeable than how he was in his first appearance. My only gripe is his fixation with Jane. While I won't fault the whole "longing for a lost love" angle, Thor and Jane's relationship is simply uninteresting to me and causes that aspect of his character to fall flat. THE VILLAIN: Malekith is a top contender for "least interesting villain ever." His motivation boils down to "FUCK THE UNIVERSE... for some reason." It's bad enough the stakes escalate to "universe-ending catastrophe" in an unearned fashion, now I don't even give a shit why the villain's doing it. He's dispatched rather easily even with a goddamn Infinity Gem. Such a shame. Kurse manages to be a tiny bit more interesting than his own master. Unlike Malekith, he's an imposing presence, wrecks absolute shit, and actually successfully kills someone. Too bad he's more of an enforcer-type character, so there's really no underlying motivation in what he does. THE LOKI: At this point, Loki's teetering between the good/evil alignment chart, so I'd argue he merits a separate section. Once again, Loki schools Thor in character development. Between his resentment of Odin and Thor, and his love of Frigga, he's got plenty to work with. Coupled with his trademark charisma, his penchant for deception, and glimpses of heroism, he's easily the star of the show. Like many fans, part of me wished they went all in on his death, but overall, I'm glad we got to see more of him after the events of this movie. OTHER THINGS:
THE AFTER-CREDITS: First, the mid-credits scene has Volstagg and Sif visit none other than the Collector. They hand off the Aether for "safekeeping". Volstagg notes that it's "not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together", referring to the Tesseract. The Collector agrees to keep the Aether, and says "one down, five to go." In true "I know too much about comics because I'm a lifeless loser" fashion, I was internally screaming the first time I saw this scene. Explicit confirmation that a) the Infinity Gems are in play in the MCU, and b) the Tesseract and Aether are two of them? I could not be more excited. It meant that the Thanos tease from The Avengers was gonna have a payoff, and that we were one step closer to a film adaptation of Infinity Gauntlet. I watched this movie again just so I can freak out about this scene a second time. The post-credits scene has Thor return to Earth to reunite with Jane. It doesn't really mean anything, other than it places Thor on Earth, ready to rejoin the Avengers in the future. The beast from Jotunheim that we briefly see in the final battle also makes an appearance. Wonder what happened to it. VERDICT: Thor: The Dark World is regarded as one of, if not the weakest MCU movie, and not without good reason. It's got a by-the-numbers story, an uninteresting villain, some missed opportunities, and a lackluster Jane/Thor pairing. Despite this, I still found things to enjoy about the movie, like small character moments from the likes of Odin and Frigga, Thor and Loki's interactions, and even a lot of the humor. It's far from the best, but it's a stretch to say that it's utterly, irredeemably terrible. I'm very excited for next week's rewatch. Oh yes, it's the big one. See you again on Friday for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. - end - The first NES Online update of 2019 has come around, and that means there's a couple of new games to check out. Read on for my thoughts on each game. THE GAMES: BLASTER MASTER: - A difficult platformer where you pilot a tank, but you can also traverse levels by exiting said tank and walking around as a person. It also features a lot of non-linear progression elements evocative of what people associate with Metroidvanias. Pretty revolutionary for its time; I'm surprised it isn't as well known today. ZELDA II: THE ADVENTURE OF LINK: - This is often treated as the black sheep of the Zelda franchise because it's a complete departure from what the series has become known for. You still have the exploration aspect the first game provided, but you're now in a side-scrolling platformer with a ton of RPG elements (e.g. overworlds, random encounters, XP, and more). Though it's not my favorite Zelda game, I'd say it's still a respectable entry in the Zelda pantheon. We also get two SP games this month: GHOSTS 'N GOBLINS SP: - A save state that puts you on the last level. Kinda great, because this game is bullshit hard, but considering you need to beat the game all over again afterwards to get the good ending, it means almost nothing. NINJA GAIDEN SP: - Also a save state, but this one puts you outside the final boss. I actually don't find Ninja Gaiden particularly difficult, so this SP game means nothing to me, but I'm sure the many people who haven't gotten this far will appreciate this. And yes, the final boss is hard. I wouldn't call this a strong start for NES Online's 2019. We only got two new games and two lackluster SP games, and most people would likely not find that impressive. I personally got a kick out of Blaster Master and Zelda II, so I'm not too bothered by this. With that said, I really hope Nintendo steps it up in the coming months. We still need Contra and Mario 2 in the library, plus I'm pretty sure people are getting antsy for something other than NES ROMs.
- end - Weren't expecting a board game-focused entry, were you? I got to play Sequence with some friends the other day, and I thought it'd be nice to get a few more eyes on it. BACKGROUND:
You've never heard of Sequence? That's OK, neither have I, at least not until yesterday. MECHANICS: You can play with a minimum of two or three players. Any more than that and you'll have to split into teams of two or three. The board consists of spaces representing an assortment of playing cards. The object of the game is to place colored tokens on these spaces and connect five of them in a straight line (these are called sequences). Each player is given a hand of playing cards. An individual turn consists of a player playing one card from their hand, putting down their colored token on a board space corresponding to that card, and drawing back to a full hand. You go around doing this until one player/team has formed enough sequences to win the game. The game is as straightforward as it sounds, apart from a couple of special conditions. For one, the corners spaces of the board are essentially "free spaces", i.e. you only need four tokens to complete a sequence if you set up next to them. While majority of the cards do nothing more than indicate where a player places their colored token, jacks are the sole exception to this. They serve as the power-ups of the game, allowing you to place a token freely on the board or remove an opposing player's/team's token from play depending on the jack's suit. The key to winning works pretty much the same way as Connect Four: outplay your opponent by blocking their setups and creating hard-to-block setups of your own. What makes this easier said than done is the fact that your options are limited by the cards in your hand. It's not like tic-tac-toe where you can start wherever. Just like any card game, you'll have to make do with what you were dealt with. VERDICT: Sequence is a rather fun strategy game that mixes the psychological warfare of Connect Four and the luck of the draw card games provide. Although there is a significant luck element with the cards, the randomness doesn't take away from the strategic element of the game. I much prefer playing the game in teams as opposed to playing it alone, though; playing off of your teammate's moves does away with the initial stages of the game where you're pretty much just putting shit down wherever you can. - end - I had a pretty busy/rough day yesterday, so unfortunately, this week's read comes a day later than usual. Nonetheless, I'm keeping my weekly streak going with the first volume of Sex Criminals. BACKGROUND:
A couple of years back, I was able to pick up the first issue of Sex Criminals on digital for free. With a title like "Sex Criminals", I was immediately intrigued and read it as soon as I could. Issue #1 was more than enough to get me hooked. This TPB sat on my wish list for a while, until a sale came along and I was able to buy it. THE WRITING: Suzie's an average girl with a special gift. When she has an orgasm, time stops around her while she moves freely, in a state she calls "The Quiet." From the night she discovered this power as a girl, to her current life as an adult, she's struggled with the solitude The Quiet provided. That is, until she meets a guy with the exact same gift.... The comic goes about telling its story in a slightly non-linear fashion, occasionally going back and forth from flashbacks and present day. Suzie narrates most of what's going on, even breaking the fourth wall at times by appearing as her present self in flashback scenes. Reading about her feelings on past events is interesting on its own, but having her show up in the panels (often looking right at the reader) as everything's happening feels more engaging. This approach endeared me more to her character. If the title of this comic didn't already clue you in, Sex Criminals is risqué as comics go. There's no-holds-barred nudity, sex jokes, and downright kinky shit. Thankfully, a lot of it comes off more as light-hearted and funny as opposed to creepy. A lot of people don't feel comfortable about discussing sexual subjects, but the way the main characters go about chronicling their experiences doesn't feel at all awkward. The humor really helps offset the inherent awkwardness of the subject matter, while not taking away from the more serious points. Speaking of humor, there's plenty of it in here to go around. Aside from the plethora of sex jokes, there's plenty of visual gags that got a good chuckle out of me. A personal highlight of Vol. 1 involved a lengthy meta joke by the writer during a scene where Suzie sings a Queen song. I don't wanna ruin the joke for anyone else, so I'll leave it at that. Even the bonus content (stuff like the creation process of the comic) has humor injected into it. You can really tell both the writer and the artist are having a ton of fun with this comic. When I first read issue #1, it was the idea of The Quiet that really intrigued me. Stopping time isn't an original concept, but the idea of a superpower activated by sex was such a novel concept to me. Vol. 1 goes a little bit into The Quiet's mechanics, but what I found more interesting was what the characters would do with the power. It's a clever spin on the classic "what would you do if you were invisible for a day" question, albeit a tad more sexual. The book also hints that there's a lot more to The Quiet than meets the eye, and that there may be even more people with access to the ability. THE ART: The combination of vibrant colors and clear line art is a tried-and-true winning combination, and it works just as well for Sex Criminals. I especially love the way Zdarsky draws faces; they're incredibly expressive, the hair detail is great, and I even like the super simple eyes. Another highlight of the art comes when The Quiet is involved. Whenever someone enters The Quiet, everything is enveloped in bright, psychedelic wisps of color. It makes The Quiet feel rather magical. While there's a significant amount of sex and nudity in the comic, they (along with a lot of the visuals) don't have absurdly meticulous detail to them. Sure, there's boobs and dicks and actual fucking, but it's nothing one would consider "overly graphic". The art shows more than enough without getting too granular. VERDICT: Sex Criminals is a great adult comic that isn't rated M for the sake of titillating audiences. It's got an interesting concept, likeable (and even relatable) characters, great humor, and fantastic art. There's a ton of sex, sure, but none of it felt like it was in bad taste. Highly recommended for people who want a more... "adventurous" read. Pick up Vol. 1 on Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Sex-Criminals-Vol-1/digital-comic/92759?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy - end - |
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