Archive: Author: Svetlana Fedotov

Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Can you believe zombies are still a thing? Walking Dead is currently on its eighth season, Fear of the Walking Dead just wrapped up its third, and while the theaters are finally free from the zombie apocalypse, plenty of small companies are still pumping out movies and games and god knows what else. So what can a comic book do when it’s trying to break into the oversaturated market of the undead while attempting to bring new life into the genre? Why, the tried and true method of adding a dog! It worked for basketball and space, how can it go wrong? Well, let me tell you, Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog can’t even make that interesting. What could’ve been a fresh perspective on the zombie apocalypse, adding depth by seeing the horrors unfold through the eyes of our most loyal companions, instead becomes another story about some idiots bickering while getting killed off and oh, there’s also a dog. But, if you like the same places that other comics have gone before, Good Good Dog is at least fast paced and full of loonies, so there’s a bit of a kick before realizing that the dog plays so little a part in it. But damn, that dog is pretty great!

Based on the award winning board game Dead of Winter, Good Good Dog focuses on a group of survivalists that band together and attempt to scrape a living while fighting hordes of the undead. Among the survivors is a golden retriever named Sparky, a former movie actor turned hero dog who wears a red cape everywhere he goes. Cute, right? As the humans are forced to go further and further out for supplies, Sparky joins whichever ragtag crew draws the short straw and acts as a defacto bodyguard since animals cannot be infected by the zombie virus. As the newest hunting crew (made up of tough guy, a tough lady, and a new lady who also ends up being pretty tough) head out to the nearest grocery store, they are quickly attacked by an unknown assailant. Without a car and out of food, they end up wandering the surrounding woods, running into old companions and new enemies, while being surrounded by hordes of shambling corpses. Thank goodness Sparky is there to help even things out but even he can’t do much against their biggest adversary, a deranged cop with nothing to lose.

I know I keep getting stuck on the dog thing, but I was REALLY hoping for more dog. What I imagined was going to be like Beasts of Burden (or even Beverly Hill Chihuahua) meets Walking Dead ended up being just more Walking Dead. The cover offers a tantalizing image of a red caped dog standing against a horde of zombies and inviting the reader in to see the end of the world through the eyes of a dog, but it’s just not there. It’s the same characters doing the same shit and talking about what they lost when the apocalypse came and how sad they were. Of course you’re sad, you’re in the goddamn zombie apocalypse! You know who else is sad? That dog! He lost his owners and everything he ever knew and is still willing to fight to the end for his new friends, I mean, what’s that all about? I want his story. The characters themselves were relatively non-descript, each one hardened from their circumstances, but they do break the mold when the inevitable emotional speeches show up two-thirds through the book. The only real stand out character was the cop, though I suppose if you’ve seen any movie about a misguided and crazy police officer, you pretty much got his personality down. He’s a single minded killing machine who only exists to punish those he deems to have broken the law, much like any low-budget 80’s horror about good cops going bad.

Perhaps the only real good thing about Good Dog is that it’s relatively fast paced and is well fleshed out for its 110 page read. The writer knew the story he wanted to tell and had everything planned out, so it never gets bogged down with page-fillers. Also, I love how Sparky is equipped to pretty much handle any weapon, even a katana! That’s right, Sparky cuts down a group of zombies while brandishing a goddamn katana in his mouth and it’s amazing. That scene alone made the read worth it and, despite my complaint on his lack of first person development (okay, there’s a little bit of it around the end and it’ll make you tear-up), Sparky is a great character and really is a Good Dog. I would love to have a Sparky in my corner when the undead start coming around. The writer sincerely loves dogs and put all that love into Sparky.

The art of Good Dog is good for what it is and has a bit of a cartoony vibe that actually works well with the comic. It gets a little choppy in a few areas, but the thick lines and solid color work help reel in potential disasters, making the work visually uncluttered.  Sparky himself is drawn in all his floppy, happy, doggy glory, so he at least feels like the main character that he is and you can’t help have your eye attracted to him in every panel. He’s just so damn adorable.

All in all, Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog isn’t anything you haven’t read before and really feels like they missed a big opportunity not having Sparky be the visual marker, but it’s fun and quick. Long time dog lovers and zombie lovers will get a kick out of it and is a good starting point for those just dipping their toes in the undead genre.

Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog is out on stands and for only $15, you could do a lot worse!

 

Ninja Scroll (1993)

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

As mentioned in my previous article about the cult hit anime Perfect Blue, there was once a strange and dark time where most anime fans didn’t seek a particular film or series; they merely stumbled upon them like a moth flying into a flame. And, much like Perfect Blue, some of the movies were less than appropriate for the Western cartoon-watching audience, such as the influential and oft-mentioned Ninja Scroll. Part ninja action, part monster horror and part political thriller, Ninja Scroll became one of the most popular animes outside of Japan in the mid-90s and a frequent midnight feature for geeky teens everywhere. It’s a pop art of grotesque violence in an otherworldly feudal Japan that, while visually stunning, doesn’t offer much in the way of a comprehensible plot and mostly spends its time ham-fistedly adding in some pretty sweet fight scenes. In other words, come for the titties, but stay for the gore.

The movie is set in the ultra-violent world of feudal Japan somewhere around the Edo period. The lead character, Jubei, is a wandering samurai who picks up jobs where he can whilst running from a secretive and destructive past. One day, he saves a member of the Mochizuki Koga ninja team, Kagero, from getting raped and quickly finds himself embroiled in a world of politics and death. You see, a former associate of Jubei, Himuro Genma, has somehow crawled his way out of the afterlife and is now working on behalf of the Shogun of the Dark: at his disposal are a group of specially trained ninjas named the Eight Devils of Kimon. Genma uses the Devils to extort money and gold from the populace, intending to buy up weapons from the Portuguese and take over all of Japan himself. With his demon ninjas and immortality, it seems like there is no one to stop him from taking over the country, unless a certain samurai steps up to the plate. Cue dramatic music!

Despite appearances, Ninja Scroll does have a smidge of a plot, just enough to get the lead character out and about killing demon ninja monsters. In fact, the whole thing plays out like an old school video game: Jubei kills ninjas until he reaches the mini-bosses and kills the mini-bosses until he gets to the big boss. The story seems to only exist to keep him moving from one fight to the next and even he ends up being reluctant to do it (in the movie, he gets poisoned and is promised the antidote if he fights). It’s a pretty by-the-numbers action narrative which is only exacerbated by the tropey characters. The female lead Kagero merely exists to show off her tits, fall in love with the lead and die, which leads to Jubei’s only emotional scene right before his big fight with Genma. She’s got a tough exterior and a wounded heart, but in just two days, love is in the air for this buxom babe! Jubei doesn’t fare much better. He’s your typical John Wayne tough-guy lone wolf with an unprecedented amount of sword fighting skills, but only if his hand is forced. After 25 years, it just doesn’t age well.

So with all this in mind, what exactly makes Ninja Scroll ‘one of the greatest animes of all time’? Honestly, it’s probably the animation. The film has a beautiful fluidity to it and a rich color scheme that plays well in the disparity of the movie’s landscape. The character design breaks out of the popular big-eyed illustration style and instead makes the characters (sort-of) more grounded in realism. Granted, they all kind of look like dudes and the chins are out of this world, but it’s definitely more of an aesthetic choice than a poorly constructed idea. And the fights, oh boy, the fights! Ninjas hopping in trees, limbs getting ripped off, snakes pouring out of a woman’s body; it’s the erotic grotesque action adventure of your dreams! Every Dark Ninja has his or her own fighting speciality, forcing Jubei to cleverly think his way out of each trap (or in some cases, become somehow indestructible). The action sequences are done in full gory detail, leaving little to the imagination, while offering a couple of surprises along the way. Ninja Scroll is best seen as akin to Predator: the fights are where it’s at.

All in all, I wouldn’t say that Ninja Scroll is the best thing ever; hell, it’s not even like the twentieth best thing ever, but it’s definitely a classic must-watch for anime and animation fans. Also, it’s streaming right now, so it’s not like you have to go anywhere to watch it. Check it out if you have a couple of hours!

Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis by Yoshikazu Takeuchi

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

For a lot of fans growing up during the VHS anime era of the mid-to-late 90’s, getting a hold of a copy of your favorite show was a frustrating experience. You either had to buy wall-length VHS runs, borrow from your friends or movie store, or, god help you, tape them off the TV whenever the SyFy channel or Cartoon Networks Toonami was on, much like the early days of cassette trading. If you were real lucky, your local theater might have a one night showing of a movie, mostly ranging from Studio Ghibli hits to Ghost in the Shell or Akira. It was during this tumultuous era in animated entertainment that the notorious cult hit Perfect Blue began to make the rounds.

Released in 1997 by the late Satoshi Kon, Perfect Blue was what Texas Chainsaw Massacre was to horror fans; deemed to be one of the most intense and violent works at the time (and some argue, still now), it basically came out of nowhere. The story focused on popstar-turned-actress Mima Kirigoe who decides to re-invent herself into a more mature idol, which includes performing some pretty sketchy scenes in her first acting work. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy to see her change, highlighted by an online stalker named “Me-Mania” who quickly begins to terrorize her life, leading her to a schizophrenic breakdown of EPIC proportions. Throw in some dead bodies, a smidge-too-long rape scene, and a whole lot of crazy, and you got yourself Perfect Blue. That’s not say the movie doesn’t have any merits. The work is beautifully animated and offers a scathing critique of pop-culture consumption as well the depths and depravity of the human psyche and the immense demands of success. The movie launched Satoshi Kon’s career and received high praise from critics and fans alike.

Perfect Blue, which came out at a time when parents were letting their kids rent adult anime because “it’s just cartoons,” was a turning point in both animation and nightmares, but what most fans didn’t know was that it was first a book. Released in 1992 as Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis and re-released in English a mere month ago, I have just recently had the pleasure of reading the book that inspired the cult film, and strangely enough, it’s different from the movie adaption. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty grotesque, but it’s a whole different kind of grotesque. Penned by self-proclaimed ‘pop-idol superfan’ Yoshikazu Takeuchi, the novel deals with the same heavy subjects of idol-obsession and mental illness, but the only real thing it shares with the movie is some of the characters.

In the book, Mima is a solo pop-idol singer who decides to reinvent her image by releasing a risqué photobook in succession with her newest hit. When news hits the ears of her fans, one obsessive fan, who had already been harassing her with phone calls, decides that he needs to ‘save her’ from making the photobook. Despite persistent phone calls and hand delivered letters warning her of the consequences, she proceeds to release the book anyway and throws the fan into a suicidal spiral who decides that the best course of action to kill them both. On top of the fan, Mina also has to deal with a rival popstar who determined to smear her name, culminating in a test of Mina’s mental strength as well as her perseverance in the face of open hostility.

As stated, the movie and book share similar themes, but the overall story is markedly different. In the book, Mina retains her sanity throughout the ordeal while movie Mina loses her shit pretty damn quick, which further pushes the movie’s plot away from human threat to one inside Mina’s mind. In the book, the threat is very real, unlike the bizarre and unstable nightmare of the movie’s world. Also, in the movie, the stalker is kept under wraps until the final ending, while in the book the stalker (an original and different character only mentioned in the movie as a ‘fever dream’) is not only openly revealed in the first few pages but is an integral part of the story. The book frequently bounces back-and-forth between Mina and her super-fan, giving the reader a deeper look at the untethered workings of his madness. Finally, there aren’t nearly as many people being bumped off in the book, but the ones that do get killed get really fucked up in a psychosexual orgy of violence and depravity. I definitely found myself making faces at some of the more…descriptive parts. Despite what the “older teen” tag on the back of the book, this is not a Y book, don’t give it to your teens.

Of course, the real question is: is it good? Well, sort of. The first thing the reader notices when opening the book is the layout of the print. It’s huge! It’s already a relatively short book, coming in at only 208 pages, but with the Harry Potter-size text, the work can easily be read in a few hours. Because it’s such a quick read, the writer crams as much action and insanity as he can which doesn’t leave a lot in terms of character development. Granted, that’s fine when it comes to the stalker, especially since the book mostly focuses on his thoughts about Mina and how he wants to kill her, which makes him even creepier as he was most likely just born a nutjob, but it leaves a lot of questions about the other characters. Why is Mina so calm in the face of increasing death threats? Why is her popstar rival, Eri Ochiai, so determined to bring specifically her down? Why is her assistant Rumi, a failed singer herself, so loyal to Mina that she’s willing to die for her?  The books simply plows through with a “that’s the way it is” attitude, choosing to focus on the action side of the work.

But the book, much like the movie, does provide an all-access to look at the behind the scenes of pop stardom. The schedules, the compromises, the frequently uncomfortable situations that idols find themselves in. There are millions of nuances that need to go through an idol’s mind; if not handled properly, each one can be easily used as a way to end their career. The work really shows how tough it is to be a Japanese idol and how obsessive some fans can be, something that is an actual problem for many celebrities, especially in the male-fan dominated world of J-Pop. Though most won’t go to the extreme as the killer in the book, it does get pretty dicey sometimes, and death threats aren’t that uncommon.

Another interesting, if not perverse, angle of the work is the lengths the writer goes in describing the murder and torture scenes. If you’re into that stuff (I’m not judging), it gets pretty damn intense and very original. This is like gore-porn the book; it goes hard for the shock angle and never really lets up. Hell, the first few pages focuses on the stalker kidnapping a little girl, and though we never learn what he does with her, we get some clues later on in the book. This sets up a steady increase in violence and obsession, building toward an end scene of cat-and-mouse goregasm until the book just kind of ends. I guess what I’m saying is, don’t expect much, but your perverted ass will be entertained.

If I have sold you on this strange tale of obsession and murder-most-foul, the book is available pretty much everywhere. I got my copy off Amazon, but I’m sure you can find it in a book or comic book store as well. The movie Perfect Blue has been readily available for years and comes in different DVD formats, though it does seem overdue for another release, as the DVD’s prices range from double to triple digits depending on what copy you want. Just whatever you do, be prepared for a crazy ride, and don’t watch it with your kids.

Lucy Dreaming #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Remember when you were a teenager and all you had in life was your books, your sarcasm, and crushingly low self-esteem about your soft torso? No? Come on, I can’t be the only one. Well, either way, they say it’s supposed to get better, that your school years are far from the best times of your life. For Lucy of BOOM! Studio’s Lucy Dreaming, it seems like it’ll never get better. That is, until she gets caught in an interstellar war, you know, like all of us do at one point or another. Made of teen dreams and mean queens, Lucy Dreaming is the comic for that insufferable teen angst inside of us and what happens when our world suddenly grows in leaps and bounds. While the comic does have perhaps the most annoying main character in existence, it also has a lot of fun with “the one” archetype while building a unique segue between the ‘real’ world and the ‘fantasy’ world.

Lucy Dreaming starts off with our main character Lucy, a girl who is addicted to her books and believes she’s intellectually superior to the people around her, despite never going out of her way to talk to anyone. As she slogs through her days monologuing about some sort of puberty-driven garbage, she one day notices her eyes turning yellow in the mirror. Confused but ultimately unworried, she goes on, only to awaken in a dream where she is suddenly the last stand in an intergalactic war, teetering between defeat and victory. Quickly things heat up and as the bodies begin to stack up, she’s finally convinced that she’s not actually dreaming, especially when her enemy is the only one who seems to understand her position. Will Lucy ever wake up from this nightmare or is she stuck fighting, like the dead man before her?

Lucy Dreaming (get it, lucid dreaming? Hur hur hur) is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I’m a sucker for a coming-of-age story that has fantasy or horror elements in it. I’m digging the outer space theme, especially how Lucy can travel in her dreams, and through alien violence, she quickly learns about life and endurance. Even this early in the comic, moral lines are already being crossed and lessons are being learned, especially since Lucy’s dream avatar is a grown-ass woman who has to deal with her partner’s eye-rolling attempts at flirting. I also love the mocking of standard sci-fi tropes: the rogue Han Solo, the tough-talking commander, the dark and evil warlord. They were obviously handled in a mocking fashion, at least at first, and make for a light read until the warlord reveals his true face. Then things get real. It’s a solid mix of laughs and shocks that are perfect for a finicky teen audience.

Unfortunately, I already cannot stand the lead and I can’t tell if that was the point. At first, I found her attempts at ‘intellectual sparring’ and unnecessary angst to be kind of annoying. She’s as trope-full as the sci-fi elements with her over-the-top grumpy personality despite having both her parents and being an only child. I just can’t take her seriously. Perhaps it’s the bane of being an eternal 13 year old; you’re just going to hate everything and think you’re better than everyone. Which, as stated, makes me wonder if that wasn’t point of her character. Maybe I’m supposed to find her annoying and insufferable so when she has to start confronting the realities of the war, it’s more satisfying to watch her change herself for the better. I mean, this is a ‘coming-of-age’ story; the character needs to age out of something. But I just can’t tell if she’s that way on purpose or if the writer mistook her for a rounded-out character? I suppose the only way to find out is to keep reading.

Speaking of writing, the comic was written by Max Bemis, the singer of Say Anything. Though primarily a musician, Bemis has written for Marvel, Avatar, and Dynamite, along with BOOM! Studios fan-favorite comic Polarity. With so much expertise under his belt, he has a good eye for the journal-style writing that is heavily used in this comic, giving the reader a deep look into Lucy’s world through her own words. As stated, I don’t know how seriously we’re supposed to take the main character, but the ‘Dear Diary’ approach is a good way to introduce her and her world, both inside and out. Personally, I think it’s the art that really stands out. It’s fun and straddles the line between pop-art and true comic work, giving it a unique style all its own. I also enjoy how his shadow work isn’t simply just blobs of black shadows or scratchy, pencil shading, but cleverly placed colors that help give is his work depth, almost like a newspaper comic. It give everything a very cohesive look.

If you’re interested in some pretty alright teen sci-fi, look no further than Lucy Dreaming. Just try to look past the main character for now.

Labyrinth: Coronation #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

What can I say about Jim Henson’s classic 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth that hasn’t already been said? No really, what can I say? Labyrinth is one of those movies that almost everyone has seen. Even if you haven’t seen it, you’ve heard about it, or at least about David Bowie’s outrageous bulge during Dance Magic Dance. It’s the perfect hero’s journey/coming-of-age tale where a few good friends and a brave soul is all you need to defeat the dark. It’s a movie that doesn’t need a sequel, at least, not in movie form – yet thanks to BOOM! Studios imprint Archaia, it seems like there’s more to the story of Labyrinth, particularly to Bowie’s iconic singing bad guy Jareth the Goblin King. Though the first issue is a simple build-up to the twelve issue epic and doesn’t offer too much in puppet weirdness, there is promise of something wicked coming right around the corner, which should leave fans eager to see what’s next.

 The story picks up in the middle of the movie, in fact; right after a solid song-and-dance sesh filled with floating orbs and laughing puppets. Jareth, for once in high spirits, overhears one of his underlings mumble about how the lead Sarah was getting closer. Suddenly, Jareth’s mood turns sour as he remembers another time when a girl came looking for a baby and promised to “never give up.” This here is our tale. His story opens up on a dancing couple in 18th century Venice. The woman is a beautiful, clever girl and the man sports some of the most fantastic eyebrows this side of the Renaissance. Quickly, word reaches the man that old enemies have turned up at his door and, dropping all pretences, rushes to flee the country. Of course, it’s not just old human enemies that are coming for him, but some of the more “goblin-ish” variety, stalking his shadow and whispering in his ear, and they want him to be their king. Desperate to escape their presence, he is forced to give up someone in his place: his son, Jareth. But little does he know the lengths his wife will go to rescue him, and the true price of his selfishness.

 As stated, there’s not much to the first issue, but what it does give you makes you want to keep reading. Right now, it’s simply building up the background of Jareth’s story and focuses more on his parents and their relationship to each other (which has a few surprises of its own). A lot of talking heads, aghast Europeans, that whole thing. That being said, it’s paced really well and has a couple of twists and turns that kept me reading. Personally, I love that they’re doing a Jareth backstory. It’s a little like the Star Wars prequels; you don’t NEED to know what Darth Vader’s deal is, but you’re happy for the extra depth on the character (and finally seeing what happened to the Jedi). Jareth goes from an interesting but ultimately unknown villain to someone with some depth and, knowing that he stays in the labyrinth in the movie, you already feel bad for him knowing that his mother is going to fail. It really feels like a proper prequel and builds a lot of sympathy for the lead.

The writer Simon Spurrier does a beautiful job with original characters. Jareth’s mother clearly reflects the movie’s protagonist Sarah, which helps shed light on why Jareth is so obsessed with Sarah in the first place. She’s smart and stubborn, and refuses to let go of her son even when all things seem impossible. His father, on the other hand, is a desperate and greedy man, willing to do anything to get his way, which is also reflected in Jareth’s determination to not let Sarah or her brother ever leave his kingdom. He’s basically a walking, talking Freud analysis. On top of the psychoanalytical intrigue, Spurrier also creates a both a physical and emotional world filled with labyrinths, hinting that even as a toddler, Jareth was always trapped in some sort of maze. His parents’ relationship to him and to themselves is filled with lies and false facades which Spurrier cleverly reflects in 18th century Venice by creating a megalopolis of dead ends and winding streets. Spurrier attention to detail is incredibly impressive and makes me eager to see the rest of the series.

Daniel Bayliss’s art is beautifully adapted to the story and somehow manages to make Jareth look even sexier. In fact, everyone looks sexy! It’s pretty great! I also adore how he lays out the panels when the goblins start following Jareth’s father around. Each panel is surrounded by hordes of goblins peeking into the panel as if they were looking into a window while their victim could do nothing but listen to their voices. Perhaps inspired by the playful nature of 1980’s fantasy movies, Bayliss really seems to have fun drawing everything out and manages to capture that unique Henson magic that made its predecessor so popular.

If you’ve ever wished there was more to the story of the Goblin King or just a further expansion of the universe itself, Labyrinth: Coronation is definitely the book for you. Issue one on stands now!

Gideon Falls #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

I have a theory that if you’re ever looking for a good comic, your best bet is to read anything written by an author who has worked on Swamp Thing. Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Mark Millar, Brian K. Vaughn, the list goes on and on. Every writer who has worked with the anthropomorphic pile of leaves always goes on to find great success, including the New 52 Swamp Thing writer, Jeff Lemire. Having handled both his own creations and company-owned work, Lemire has climbed the ranks of talented comic writers and is on everyone’s “who’s who” list of writers to watch. Gideon Falls is no exception. A bizarre story of obsession and possession, his newest horror work scratches deep into the recesses of human experience and brings back all those strange little things we tried to hide. Trust me, you’re going to want to add this to your comic box.

Gideon Falls revolves around two men who have yet to meet. One is a reclusive, ex-mental patient who spends his days collecting various nails and pieces of wood around his city. Convinced that they are a message from God, he keeps everything he collects in glass jars, hoping that in time, the answers will come to him. The second man is Father Fred, a down-and-out priest who gets assigned to the small town of Gideon Falls after the town’s pastor mysteriously dies. While the two men have no idea the other exists, bizarre visions begin to plague them both, culminating in a shared vision of a strange Black Barn that brings madness where ever it goes.

Gideon Falls is an interesting read. Much like Lemire’s other work, it doesn’t simply sit on the surface of a story, happy to tell a straight tale about a weird barn and some sad guys. Even at this early stage of the work, Lemire is already establishing a world as deep and unsettling as our own. Norton, the recluse, struggles with a very obvious mental disorder, but Lemire makes you wonder, how much of it is insanity and how much is really a vision from God? It’s interesting the connection he establishes between being a crazy and being a saint, something that very well could’ve gotten Norton’s image engraved in church windows for the rest of eternity if it wasn’t for a doctor telling him he was batshit nuts. This point is only further illustrated by Father Fred, whose faith is only made up by how much liquor is in his scotch bottle. Together, they prove that madness and faith sometimes goes hand-in-hand, much like the man on the corner screaming about the end of days.

On the illustration end, Andrea Sorrentino re-joins Lemire after working with him on Green Arrow and Old Man Logan. The art is appropriate to the story but it’s not very interesting visually and seems to lack that certain pop that would really drive the work home. There’s no real sense of refinement, almost as if he stopped short of filling in the last details, and the character faces all share a dreary, slightly open-mouthed expression of boredom. That’s not say it’s all bad though. There are some various interesting panel layouts with Sorrentino frequently putting one of the leads upside down in reflection of them connecting across a thousand miles. But, aside from interesting angle choices, there’s not much to write home about. It feels like Lemire is doing a lot of the heavier lifting on this particular comic.

But, despite any illustration short-comings, this is a great read and at least deserves a looking at. Out now from Image Comics!

100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call (1999)

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

You know how everyone has got a ‘must’ list? Must-watch horror movies, must-play video games, must-cook food of ancient Atlantis? Well, 100 Bullets is the epitome of must-read comics, side-by-side with such greats as Watchmen and The Sandman. A brilliant noir crime work written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso, 100 Bullets starts off telling self-contained revenge stories before becoming something much, much bigger. Not only has the series been credited for helping re-invent DC/Vertigo from the light fantasy of the late 90s to a darker, more serious imprint, but it also won both the coveted Eisner and Harvey awards for being pretty damn good. Luckily for me, I finally managed to tear myself away from the must-play Zelda: Breath of the Wild and sat down with the first 100 Bullets story arc, First Shot, Last Call and let me tell you, it really is pretty damn good.

The comic starts off with Isabelle ‘Dizzy’ Cordova, a 23-year old convict who’s finally set free from an eight year stint in jail. Still grieving the loss of her son and husband from seven years ago (yes, when she was sixteen), Dizzy is not completely excited to re-enter her old life in the crime-ridden streets of Chicago; that is, until a mysterious man named Agent Graves offers her a chance at revenge. Graves hands her a hundred untraceable bullets, a gun, and complete immunity to get her revenge on the people who killed her family, but leaves it up to her to make the final decision. As she wrestles between her desire for blood and her new found faith, she quickly learns that much has changed in the streets since she’s been locked up and none of it is for the better. Will our heroine turn away from God and kill her enemies in cold blood or will she keep on the straight and narrow, especially when everything she thought she knew turns out to be a lie?

In short, I am IN LOVE with this comic! One of the most appealing parts of 100 Bullets, especially the introduction arc, is how grounded it is. Maybe not the ‘revenge with untraceable bullets’ part, but the rest of it. The down-and-out drug addicts, the young mothers, the gang-bangers. The explosive violence on the streets hair-triggered by a wrong look or a perceived insult. Azzarello handles the subject with care and is careful to not to go over-board and turn it into an exploitation work. He allows the reader to take a look into a world that many suffer but few rarely see, a place where money comes dirty and life expectancy is short. As the reader follows Dizzy in her day to day life, you almost want her to kill her enemies, not for any grim reasons, but for the pure justice of it. She deserves it. I’m excited to see how the other players in the series play out and what they choose to do when they get their chance.

Azzarello not only keeps the authenticity of the streets through action and story-telling but also with speech pattern. He easily inserts a colloquial tone into the work through the spoken words without going over-the-top with it, giving the whole work a very familiar feel. His ear for street noir speaks of a writer who’s in tune with the changing English language, something quite surprising from a man primarily raised in the suburbs of Ohio. Perhaps, in time, there will be discussions (maybe even controversy) about his use of adapted linguistics in his work, but as of now, he has tapped into the wild streets of the city and knows exactly how to carry it over into the written word.

As is common with comics, it’s rare that a writer can single-handedly carry an Eisner-winning work, and Azzarello’s partner, Eduardo Risso, was the perfect artist choice for the comic. His artwork is outstanding! From the panel layouts to the distinctive faces to the well-placed shadows and silhouettes, his illustrations stand far-and-out from his contemporaries. He creates a diverse collection of characters that vary in facial expression as much as their clothes and attitudes. His use of silhouettes is very reminiscent of Frank Miller and is a clever way to express tension and be ready for when shit goes down. 100 Bullets could not have been done better.

If I have sold you on at least reading the first graphic novel of 100 Bullets, you can pretty much grab it anywhere books and comic books are sold or rented (use the library, you heathens!). The entire 100 (heh) issue run is collected in a thirteen book collection or, if you feel like cramming the whole thing down in five sittings, also comes in a five Deluxe Editions. By the way, there’s also a rumor of a movie with Tom Hardy starring in it but there hasn’t been much news since 2015, so don’t get your hopes up. But, at least read the comic. Trust me, it’s worth it!

Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017)

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

A lot of brilliant animators and creators have emerged from the Studio Ghibli workshop, but very few have attempted to capture the magic of Ghibli or make it their own as much as producer Yoshiaki Nishimura. Founder of Studio Ponoc, a contemporary to Studio Ghibli, Nishimura took several members from the Ghibli arthouse and launched their first of many animated movies to come, Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Originally released in Japan in 2017, the film tells the story of a young girl who finds a flower that grants her magical powers for one night and the chaos the blooming of said flowers brings to the magical world. While visually beautiful and definitely invoking that old hand drawn Ghibli wonder, it falls short of being truly original however, with a choppy plot full of half-answered questions.

The movie is exactly what would you expect from a former Ghibli worker. As the title implies, it stars Mary, a red-headed newcomer who can’t do anything right, who lives with her great aunt in an inexplicably large house in the British countryside. One day, eager to explore the surrounding area, she meets a couple of cats who take her to a magical flower called a Fly-By-Night; one, when squished between the palms of her hands, grants her magical powers. Before she knows it, she is smack dab in the middle of an adventure: an old broom arrives and takes her to a place called Endor College, a secret school of magic. But, when knowledge of the Fly-By-Night reaches the ears of those with nefarious purposes, her magic isn’t the only thing that’s going to need protection.

The plot for Mary and the Witch’s Flower is not especially original, especially when the source of the script is the same as many other Ghibli-esque works: mid-70s British kids’ lit. Personally, I adore this very specific genre – one where children run wild in flowery fields and lick toads for magic power while tripping through a world of talking rocks – so it did feed my childlike excitement to see some over-the-top creatures here. I love the idea of a flower that gives a person magical abilities and that, just beyond the veil, a world of fantasy and wonder exists. Unfortunately, the script falls short of any real immersion and it seems to miss some wonderful opportunities to provide answers. Perhaps the strangest part of this story is the Endor College of Magic, which seems to be the only magical setting that she visits. The school itself doesn’t belong to any village or similar, instead simply floating solo in the sky, which takes something away from the wonderment of being in a magical world. Everything is contained and made obvious, instead of letting Mary find it for herself: this dilutes the real magic of the work, her exploration of the world. In the end, it’s less about ‘the Witches’ and more about ‘Mary.’ Also, there are plot holes in the story (ones that would give away the plot if I mentioned them) that don’t necessarily need to be there, and would’ve had an easy fix if the writers didn’t pick the first draft that came to their heads. The movie seems like it lacks a fine polish and is more focused on the visuals than being really script-driven.

But, of course, coming from Ghibli alumni, the animation and visual shots are pretty damn spectacular. Everything is there! The bubbling magical creatures, the robotic-slash-organic servants, the flappy hair that seems to have a life of its own. The animators put in wonderful little surprises, like the little blue firework show that bubbles forth from the Fly-By-Night when planted, or the sparks from the witch’s broom as Mary flies through the skies. The backgrounds are a panoramic wonderland which demand just as much attention as the moving characters on the screen. Believe me when I say it is a visual wonderland and very reminiscent of its Ghibli heritage – maybe a little too much at times. A lot of the character designs and movement almost seem lifted from other works, which is something that’ll either excite you or annoy you, depending on how much you love old Ghibli works. Either way, the animation is still pretty awesome and it’s fun to see a new Ghibli-inspired work grace the big screen.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is out in select theaters now.

Hungry Ghosts #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Anthony Bourdain is the coolest guy on the planet. He travels, he eats, and he tells Andrew Zimmern to shut up. He looks like what a good brandy tastes like. He’s what I imagine that bad-ass guy from the neighborhood grew up to be instead of peaking in high school and having a kid way too early. So, in keeping with being so damn cool, Bourdain has just released his second comic series through Dark Horse, entitled Hungry Ghosts. Playing on the old Japanese Samurai tradition of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, translated as A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales, the comic collects a series of one-shot horror stories each featuring some sort of dish. If you have read any of Bourdain’s other works, it should come as no surprise that the comic would revolve around food, but with a clever sprinkling of Japanese lore and Lovecraftian weirdness, Hungry Ghosts dishes out some real scares (and unintentional laughs) as well!

Perhaps in throwback to older horror collections, Hungry Ghosts opens up with a traditional horror host, this one being a female yurei by the name of Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu. She serves as the introduction to a larger story featuring a Russian billionaire with a taste for expensive food. Finding himself in need of entertainment after a night of luxurious foods, he asks his guests if they would be interested in playing a game of Kaidan. Every guest is asked to tell a story until one hundred scary stories are told and one hundred candles are extinguished. He informs them that, according to legend, on completion of all one hundred stories, the evil spirits in the stories will rise up and possess anyone who is in the room. This leads into the first two of several horror stories to be featured in the comic series. The first one revolves around a restaurant owner who would not feed a homeless man and the dire consequences of turning him away. The second one is about a woman whose rescue from drowning comes with a heavy price but little do her rescuers know that it’s themselves who will be paying it.

I really liked Hungry Ghosts and I think part of the reason is that Bourdain ended up sharing writing duties with Joel Rose, who is an editor at DC Comics. I’ve read both fiction and non-fiction by Bourdain and his writing tends to get a bit sidelined, so it’s nice to see his ideas get reined in by someone from the professional sector. I also adore that the two writers chose to write about Japanese horror, a personal passion of mine, which follows a cultural trend set by Bourdains previous comic, Get Jiro. The man loves his Japanese culture and with each work, he allows himself to get more and more into the lore, especially with Hungry Ghosts. The Kaidan game, the yurei hostess,  and the monster at the end of the first story are all characters from traditional Japanese horror and he handles each icon with utmost respect. I’m genuinely excited to read the rest of the stories and see how he handles other horror legends or if he even goes a bit more modern and starts diving into urban legends!

That being said, the second story is not actually based on Japanese horror and instead goes for a Weird Tales vibe, which somehow ends up being hilarious. I don’t want to give the story away but there’s a human lobster involved and men’s testicles getting clipped off. It was probably supposed to be actually scary, but it came off more absurd than anything else though I still dug it. The art duties are shared by Alberto Ponticelli, who illustrates both the prelude and the first story, and Vanessa Del Ray, who illustrates the second one. Both do a wonderful job of bringing their tales to life and share similar, scratchy styles that work well with the horror stories. While the illustrations fit the narrative, it would’ve been more interesting to see the Japanese tale mirror the ukiyo-e print style that made the original tales so gruesome or even commission a Japanese manga artist to put their take on it. Still, it definitely didn’t suffer in quality for it and was a great read from beginning to end.

Pick up your copy now!

Retro Review: Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a sucker for a good Schwarzenegger film. I’ve seen the gamut of his notable works, from the barely-able-to-speak-English Conan the Barbarian, to three-tittied-woman vehicle Total Recall, to his oft overlooked, underappreciated comedy career: Kindergarten Cop, Junior, and Twins (the latter two also starring my favorite, Danny Devito). That being said, I’m one of the very few people who had never seen Terminator 2. Hell, I’ve never even seen Terminator, let alone its better received sequel, and my shame has gone on too long! So when Hulu began streaming the cyborg thriller, you bet your last strudel that I hopped on that movie as soon as I could and boy oh boy, let me tell you, that movie was the definition of action packed! Two hours and thirteen minutes of shooting, explosions, car chases, and one-liners! Whole warehouse blew up! A cyborg was stabbing people! A Guns and Roses soundtrack! It was by far one of the most fun and kind of ridiculous movies I’ve seen in a long time and, if you haven’t checked it out, you definitely should.

Though I hadn’t seen the first Terminator, I was assured that the only thing necessary to understand the sequel is that there is a woman named Sarah Connor who was locked up in a mental institution for killing a time-travelling cyborg who was going to kill her son John to prevent a human resistance movement sometime in the future. That son has now grown up to be Eddie Furlong and the movie opens up to him living with a foster family and being a motorcycling, badass pre-teen. Unbeknownst to him, he’s still a target for the cyborgs who, instead of re-sending the same Terminator model (the T-800) as before, has now sent the new and improved T-1000 to hunt him down. A second cyborg, Schwarzenegger playing a standard T-800, is also sent back but this time, to protect John and Sarah from getting their faces blasted off. Cue a couple hours of blowing shit up until (spoiler alert) he succeeds in killing the T-1000.

Critics have been hailing this as one of the best action films on the market since its release in 1991, and it’s easy to see why. There’s never really a point where the movie slows down, and even when it does, it’s still tense with anticipated action, and tough-as-nails characters ready to fight. When the action does come, it’s done on an immense scale, which is expected of James Cameron, who had directed Aliens and went on to do Titanic and Avatar. We frequently see characters going full speed down highways and empty water tunnels or blasting through an entire warehouse just to kill the T-1000. The movie allows Schwarzenegger to flex his action muscles by smartly choosing to play a character known for its size and efficiency. I mean, he’s not exactly Van Damme-ing around the set, but he plays to his strengths as a big man.

Another great thing about the movie, which is a common association with Cameron films, is his choice for a female lead in Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor. While it’s not as uncommon now to have a woman in a central role in a high-budget action movie, it’s thanks to film makers like Cameron that beat that path for modern films. Perhaps it helps that Schwarzenegger was there to help balance out the gender aspect (and also the no-bra/t-shirt combo), but Cameron took a chance knowing that it could isolate some of his audience and he rolled with it anyway. That’s pretty damn cool. It also should be noted that the Sarah Connor character is treated realistically; she’s deeply flawed as well as being a bad-ass, kind of like a modern day Punisher. Cameron recognized the emotional toll that having to protect a child from getting killed by cyborgs would have on a person, another move that helped set the mood for the movie. The script treats her like a person and allowed her to feel the full gamut of a desperate and trapped parent. She does what any parent would in her situation and does her best for John, even if it means having him taken from her. It’s that kind of attention to detail that helped move the movie along when things weren’t getting set on fire.

Technically, there are a lot of notable achievements that are still pretty impressive today, despite the movie having come out before grunge killed hair metal. T2 broke new ground for CGI: it was the first movie to use natural human motion for a CGI character (essentially, motion capture), and the first to use a partial CGI main character in the T-1000’s liquid-alloy mode. Even now, it’s still pretty good and easily blends into the movie without breaking immersion. For a new technology, the actors manage to interact with the effects really well, and I like that when it could the movie chose to go the practical effects route, rather than doing everything CGI. That being said, I do wish I’d got to see this movie in its heyday, or at least before overuse of CGI was the norm in action movies, so that my mind could’ve been blown away like the original audiences was.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. It makes the most of the technological possibilities that were available at the time, and helped set the tone for the modern action film. It has a strong lead, a fun story, and just the right amount of humor to help ground the work. Sure, T2 is a little cheesy now looking back on it, but it’s one of the movies where, at the time, there was nothing like it. It did what The Matrix did for sci-fi or Texas Chainsaw Massacre did for horror: it changed the game, and it only seems cheesy because of the tropes it itself created (also known as the Seinfeld is Unfunny trope). Still, as a first time watch, it’s awesome! It’s a great starter movie for those just getting into action or sci-fi or for those who simply want a no-frills movie with a great nostalgia perk. Plus, shit gets blown up! How do you not want to watch that?

If you haven’t seen it yet, there are plenty of ways to check it out, the easiest being on Hulu. Otherwise, I’m sure you can get a basic DVD on the cheap somewhere or simply borrow the Blu-Ray from your movie-obsessed friend. You know they got a copy. Either way, definitely watch or re-watch it, you won’t regret it. Hasta La Vista, BABY!

Judas #2

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

When we last left Judas Iscariot, he was burning in the pits of Hell for turning his back on Jesus. I’m sure you know the official story: Judas, one of the thirteen apostles of Jesus Christ, betrayed our Lord and Savior to the Romans and had him crucified for the sins of humankind. The comic Judas, though, seems to tell a different tale. In Judas #1, our anti-hero questions his purpose in the Jesus’s grand scheme; and if Jesus was all-knowing, then surely he must have known that Judas wasn’t exactly sold on the whole Christianity thing. So why did he allow him into his clique in the first place? What is his deal anyway? These questions and more underline the hottest theological comic on the stands since Preacher, and issue two keeps on keeping on with the why-and-what if’s of everyone’s favorite Savior! Combined with stunning art by Jakub Rebelka, this hard-hitting comic will have you at the edge of your philosophical seat.

In the second issue, we are finally introduced to Judas’s new friend in Hell, Lucifer Morningstar. On first reaction, Judas immediately blames the fallen angel for his mistrust in Jesus, but Lucifer assures him that, despite any claims, his lot in life is to not tempt men. He claims that he and Judas have suffered the same; that they were made into villains by a vain and petty God who needed adversaries to firm his hold on the world. Though still dubious, Judas can’t help but see the connection between himself and other ‘villains’ in the Bible, how they were used, tricked, and tossed aside. Lucifer continues to tell him of his time in Heaven and how he, just like Judas, simply wanted more from God and got banished for it. Is Lucifer really telling the truth as he claims, or is the surprise witness he brings to hammer his point home a simple illusion from the Prince of Lies?

This issue, like most second issues, is a lot more filler than action, so unfortunately there are no giant angel monsters or the crawling dead of Hell. That being said, writer Jeff Loveness handles the filler really well, and almost takes a note from the Hellboy playbook by doing a show-and-tell type of work. As Lucifer and Judas speak, the comic will cut back to different places in the Bible and illustrate the points Lucifer is making. It’s a breezy way to help gain sympathy for Judas and Lucifer, especially when Lucifer starts scrolling off the names of other villains, allowing Judas to realize that he’s not alone as he thought. That brings up another armchair theology point: if Judas is simply a pawn in God’s plan, what about Jezebel, Goliath, Lot’s Wife, or even the Pharaoh, who wasn’t actually that bad until God ‘hardened his heart’ to Moses? Why would God purposely ask for sacrifices from his followers and harden his enemies? This leads to the very first question that Judas had: if God is all powerful, why does he let bad things happen? Lucifer suggests that it’s all part of God’s plan, something echoed by many Christians today, but little do they know how dark God’s plan is. It’s interesting to watch Judas come to terms with his own abandonment and try to figure out if Lucifer is telling the truth at all.

Much like the first issue, perhaps the greatest strength is that despite the disapproving take on God’s choices, the comic never mocks Christianity. It still handles the religion with respect while asking questions about the biggest players in the Bible. It almost reminds me of a person struggling with their faith; not just Judas, but anyone who has ever been deeply involved in a religion. You still believe the basic ins and outs of the ideology, but when you dig deep, the details seem to fall apart. The comic forces the reader to wonder if they can still have faith when their Creators aren’t all they appear to be. How close can you look at your God and still believe in him? Maybe Lucifer really did get into Judas’s head and has been lying all this time. Much like the good book itself, it’s open to interpretation.

Once again, Loveness does a smart and quick read about a subject that’s really pretty heavy, and knows when to cut back before getting too heavy handed. As mentioned, he lets the reader come to their own conclusion and doesn’t aim to change anyone’s faith, merely to explore it. This definitely feels like it’s coming from someone with experience in the field of Christianity, allowing the work to come off very authentic. Rebelka continues to do both the art and the coloring on the comic, and maintains his beautiful color transitions between life and death. The figures are mostly stand-still but he manages to avoid boring illustrations through dynamic art spreads and solid pops of colors. Put together, these guys really helped Judas earn its $4 price tag!

Go pick up Judas #2 on stands now!