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!
As mentioned in my previous article about the cult hit anime 
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.
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. 
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.
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.
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 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 18
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.
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. 
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.
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 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. 
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! 
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. 
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. 
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?
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.