Friday Thoughts: Heroes and Zombies

 Arrow

Arrow Season 2: Episode 11: I have finally caught up on the latest Arrow. Role-reversals, Lauren being a little bitch, Roy having his own vigilante antics and new (Old?) villains changing the playing field. Even though not much has really happened, this series just keeps me hooked and intrigued, they have the formula almost perfect: flashbacks relevant to the current day, sweet action, fun plot twists. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

iZombie

iZombie: Series Overview: What started out as an anti-thesis of buffy ended up as a lovecraftian action-horror. I guess that’s the trouble with having monster-hunters and undead government agents come in the dozens: plain old zombies just aren’t a threat anymore, so you have to up the threat, or there has to be an otherworldly invasion of an eltritch god. I’m a bit disappointed with the direction it took, but it was an enjoyable series nonetheless. It just felt rushed and the premise of solving dead people’s deaths wasn’t really explored. But still, giant alien creatures eating everyone, I’m not going to complain.

Revival

Revival: Volume 1: A country-noir-zombie flick is the best description I could give this wonderful comic. Yeah, it’s more zombies, but these zombies have come back with their higher brain functions intact and without the craving for flesh, so the zombies are pretty much people given second chances and with super strength and healing. It follows a single-mother detective (It’s like a cop show gone horribly right), a college girl who just can’t die (zombie is a superpower, right?) and a biker-exorcist dude (who will exorcize his rights by shooting you with a fucking crossbow). It’s pretty serious and grim (And graphic, but hey, zombies) and the art work and characters are really stand-out. I’m liking it a lot so far.

Supergirl

New 52 Supergirl: Up to #27: I won’t say I’m an expert on Supergirl, but this New 52 run leaves a little to be desired (Like… super-heroics.) The new line of Supergirl comics is really lacking in the whole superhero thing in favor of confusing plotlines, everyone hating on her, tangled family histories and lots of rage. But that isn’t to say it doesn’t have its moments. It’s genuinely heart-warming and awesome at points, I just wish these moments weren’t so few and far between. But I keep reading in the hopes that this new version of Kara will ditch the hate (Of life, the universe and everything) and eventually take on her mantle as a true hero and save a cat out of a tree or something.

Justice League: War

Justice League War: Animated Feature: I really enjoyed the Flashpoint Paradox feature before this, so I went in with a really open mind. Lots of action, lots of characters, but just not enough time to develop anything. Darkseid was really made-out to be a poor villain in this film, Wonder Woman was made out to be a caveman brute, The Flash was underused (Although he did get a whole film to himself last time), A lot of the animation and fight choreography was pretty terrible. But I'll say this: it did have it's moments, all the interaction between Green Lantern and Batman was golden ('What? You're just a guy dressed as a bat? No powers?'), Shazam acting like the kid he really is, Cyborg's origin, recognition of Superman being a flying bulldozer, inception of the Justice League (Super 7?). It was enjoyable, but not a great follow-up to Flashpoint. It's not really worth watching unless you really want to see things explode.

Funky Forest - The First Contact Review

I often like to check out lesser known stuff, so today I look at a film that is said to be a collection of Japanese sketches. A bit like Monty Python then? Okay, let’s-

 What

The

Flying

Fuck.

Plot (Spoilers (?)!(But really, I mean can you spoil the explainable?((?!)!?!?)!!!?(!?!?!!?!)))

So it starts out with two stand-up comedians slapping each other, then it turns out an astronaut or something was watching them, but then he was just a segway and flies his weird ship/thing and the title appears. Now we see a little girl go into a different dimension and shoot lasers at an alien before she gets hit in the head by a floating black ball and then retreats through a black hole because she only went to attack the aliens because she didn’t want to do her homework and then we cut to three brothers who are unpopular with the ladies but they are they guitar brothers, and I’m pretty sure one of the brothers isn’t even Asian, anyway they try to figure out why women dig guitarists, then we cut to a woman running through a park, she hugs a tree and sings at the sky then a couple are talking about teaching English or some shit and then one of them tries to be a DJ (By the way, we’re cutting back to the two comedians throughout this film it seems) anyway, back to the guitar brothers, one of them is doing some meditative/chant/dance/song thing in front of a picture that sort of looks like the devil, then three sales girls are talking about stuff and sing happy birthday to a 39 year old bachelor in English, who turns out to be in debt, anyway the girls talk about UFO sightings then they have a bath together.

Then afterwards they talk about cutting a tree down and making chopping boards out of it, so then they eat. Downstairs at the same hotel(?) the no-longer-in-debt man is getting really enthusiastic as he plays ping pong by himself, one of the girls asks to join him then the girl is talking to the other two girls about it, they start high-fiving and shit and talk some more stuff, eventually getting annoyed with each other so then suddenly PILLOW FIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS, but this a really brutal pillow fight, not the sexy girl sleepover type, so anyway, the staff break it up and they all sleep peacefully.  So now we go back to a guitar brother, strumming away, is little bro aint impressed,  then is impressed. Sweet. Now we see the dj guy’s dream, he’s lying on the beach by a washed up car that is flashing headlights at him, there’s this giant speaker on the beach, some dude with a freaky mask steps out the car with a machine gun then starts fucking dancing like a boss then goes back in his car then his girlfriend appears and orders him to dance then two kids show up and show him a dance while dressed as aliens or some shit, (I don’t know, it’s 2AM and I feel like I’m tripping, I’ll be back in the morning)-(Back) So the kids vanish and the mask guy turns up the bass in the car and makes a giant animated woman/thing appear out of nowhere, the dudes girlfriend tells him to tango with it, they both do the robot and then the giant animated thing flies up and turns into a football which the dude kicks to his girlfriend who gives him a thumbs down, he tries to get her to confess her feelings but to no avail. Another dance ensemble gets out of the car, the dude dances really well with these peeps, (is this a music video?) dream girlfriend loves this dance of love, BUT WAIT, he needs to do one more dance with a disembodied floating cartoon head, (What? Sweet dance moves anyway) he totally nails it, no actually he sucked and dream-girlfriend and floating head laugh at him. DREAM OVER. So he was talking about his dream and actually she isn’t his girlfriend he just wants her to date him, but then she says she had a strange dream, too (OH GOD NO) wait, it says intermission, this film is half-way over.

(Man, I’m actually getting into this, why am I sitting through this 3 minute intermission countdown? Maybe something will happen. Nope.) So, school girl walking through school, meets guy in a fuzzy yellow suit, she pulls his yellow dick-extension(?)  another guy jumps out in really small clothes, they can’t explain what’s going on (A bit like me here) but they do anyway and it takes 3 hours and 10 minutes exactly, so It turns out they have to save a planet using this girls navel, this powers a machine, inside the machine looks like a giant anus, short-clothed dude sticks his arm in it, he pulls out a FUCKING TINY MAN. OUT OF THE ANUS MACHINE. Tiny man is a chef who gives them some test results that say ‘Fairly Fine’ (What the hell, is this tiny anus man a fortune cookie or something? IS IT SYMBOLISM?) But then they say they’re the shorty trio and not everyone laughs at their skits (WHAT THE FUCK) anyway, now the girl is telling this different guy what happened, girl leaves and guy smokes a cigarette.  Now we’re in a classroom, the class pulls a prank on the teacher, a student walks up front HOME ROOM TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!! And he asks where his fucking shoe Is (Dude, I don’t even know) but then the teacher calls him out on it, noticing he is actually wearing both his shoes (BUSTED). Back to the guitar brothers, the little fat kid is doing homework or some shit and gives his brother a snickers bar, then they all go out for noodles.

HOME ROOM CLASS again, teacher gets pranked in the exact same way, he says they rock, girl student walks up front and gets everyone to say greetings, but she gets carried away (Such a joker) and says can’t be serious about it (Teacher is all shiiiiiit man, this girl got balls.) Now in another class, these two girls have these weird little creatures that WHAT. Okay, now we’re in a locker room where two boys are fiddling with some different alien creature things and they stick an alien tendril up his butt (what the fuck) Now we’re in a bag room with a different alien being that looks like a tree with mini people as branches,  but one of the faces is wrong, so they rub the offenders third limb to change the facial expression. Now in the other rooms, the students are playing the aliens like instruments. Oh wait, all the aliens are instruments and now its lunch time? So they all celebrate? Cool. Then the teacher FUCKING FLIPS when they rush to hug him, because his polished shoes get scuffed. HOME ROOM!!!!!!! Teacher falls for the exact same prank, girl goes to the front of class and asks them to listen closely, but they can’t hear her so THEY WANNA FUCKING FIGHT but they chill out and the girl starts speaking backwards by accident (Can that actually happen? Fuck, I don’t know) she then says she found a boyfriend, the class congratulates her, seriously they go fucking wild, another teacher bursts in and tells them to keep to shut the fuck up, his class is trying to study but this class’ teacher tells him to get the fuck out, the intruding teacher backs out and the class fucking celebrates again. (Wooo! Yeah bitches!) Now we watch three dudes check out drawing and two of them have a history together, anyway, they’re trying to produce an anime.

One of the guys starts daydreaming that he is flying through white space (The same space at the beginning) but the little alien fighting girl crashes into him (what the living fuck?) anyway he wakes up and they all imagine a big-headed person talking to the supposed ‘Dog’ director (Who is actually a dog) giving them ideas for a story, anyway, back to reality (?) one of the guys mentions his brother’s singles picnic (Lots of stuff is relating back to other stuff now. I’m sure it should be making sense. Should) the others agree to come so they can meet girls. Guitar brothers, playing ball in a park, title saying THE DAY OF THE SINGLES PICNIC (Aw shit, I think this is the climax. The whole film has been building to this moment. I think.) It’s all the other guys from throughout the film, waiting alone in the park for hours, they watch a girl jog past in slow motion. That was anti-climactic. Looks like they were all stood up. They all do some bonding and have a laugh, one of them does some whack dancing, holy shit, he’s actually a pro, everyone is amazed. Now we see a crazy hand drawn animation about three students getting way too excited about the rumour of a transfer student, but they meet Mr. Paddle, the third disciple of the transfer student who thinks they are assholes, then it takes a dump in front of them and throws is at them, declaring war, it explodes like a motherfucking bomb. The three students transform into a robot tank and vow to destroy Mr. Paddle, a policeman tells them to cut that shit out, they all make friends with each other.

So now we’re back in the realm of live action, The After School club, in the gymnasium, a girl with a tennis racket stands ready as the coach interviews this 55 year old man sitting in front of them who takes off his top (what the fuck, he has 6 INCH NIPPLES?! AGH!?!) then these huge man-balls drop out of a hole in the chair, the coach starts flicking them, so the nipple man starts squirting something out of his 6 INCH NIPPLES, then the tennis girl starts trying to whack the liquid, (I- what the fuck, I don’t even know- it… Ah heck, I’m half an hour from the end, I may as well see this madness through) then they take a break and the 6 INCH NIPPLE MAN grabs what looks like large leeches from his pants and starts throwing them at tennis girl. Coach starts air-guitaring while this is going on, then one of the leeches grabs onto the tennis girl and starts sucking her blood, so they call the school nurse, who peels away the leech skin to reveal a tiny man head, the nurse then starts scolding the alien leech and pulls a name stamp out of what looks like its penis, they discover the alien/leech/tinyheadman’s name and manages to pull the bloodsucking tendril off the tennis girl. Now the coach is sitting with the girl, telling her that sports are dangerous. Now the girlfriend (?) from earlier is having a dream, she is playing the violin while dressed in a white fluffy suit, in a forest. Now her violin sounds like a didgeridoo, now another girl (dressed up warm) is modulating her violin sounds with buttons on trees, wait, three of them are doing it now. Voice of an old man is singing. (I think this is a metaphor for something… Maybe).

Now we watch a man on his pilgrimage, smoke a cigarette and hears the violin/didgeridoo through the forest, he meets a kid that is recording the violin girl, the boy and man talk about missing temples and tasty noodles or some shit, then they listen to the techno-forest show. They all look really happy (almost orgasmic) as it goes on, then they speed up, but it is interrupted by the pilgrimage sneezing (OH SHIT YOU GON’ DUN IT NOW) the modulator girls turn into coloured light and fly away like a fucking rainbow and the boy vanishes. Cool. Now we’re in space for some reason, oh wait, the modulator girls  travel the universe on a spaceship with the mission to turn up the volume of dreams or something (Of course). Violin girl shouts out for volume, then wakes up. DJ man agrees that it was a strange dream then runs out when she says she sees a UFO, turns out she lied, dude starts dancing to her chants of ‘I lied’ , she joins in with the dance (Holy shit, this is fucking catchy) they continues… and… END CREDITS (But I feel obligated to sit through them... nope, that's it.) So… yeah - you know what? There isn’t a punchline. Jeez what the hell did I just watch? 10/10 would watch again.

It’s the kind of film that would work well in the background of a party as you can jump in any time and still be just as confused, but if you watched more of it you’d see that the characters have a continued narrative that doesn’t make the plot any less confusing, but at least you can begin to recognize faces in the alien world of strangeness that is this film.

Why is this film so enthralling? Why is a cult classic in japan? I would not recommend it, but I feel that if there is a secret to life, it’s probably buried in this film somewhere, so I recommend it. Or not, shit, I don’t know.

On a scale of 1-5, 1 being ‘This show killed my family’ and 5 being ‘Euphorically incredible’.

QALCF64\

UNRATABLE. 

Friday Thoughts: Cocaine and Lava

Archer

So that daydream last episode did turn out to be a flash-forward and the ISIS members turn themselves into a drug cartel (And as it turns out, they are terrible at it) filled with fun jokes and bullet fire, this episode felt like a set-up for what is to come while still being on top form. I can't wait to see how this series pans out (Its sort of a shame the flash-forward spoiled so much, but at least we know what we have to look forward to.)

Arpeggio of Blue Steel 

So, I watched this curious anime all the way through its 12 episodes recently. The series is about a group of alien weapons that disguise themselves as modern day battleships (With the exception of glowing-neon tribal tattoos) with the orders to control Earth’s seas and halt all communications (For whatever reason). The series is actually about the AI of these alien weapons as they begin to take on human forms (Conveniently girls as ships are referred to with feminine adjectives). We follow the crew of an alien weapon submarine (That is the only one with orders to help the humans). The naval and submarine combat aspects are fantastic, we get to see some real tactics going on here, but unfortunately, nothing apart from the alien weapons with their human-like bodies, actually get any development. Still, cool fights and cool looking chicks. The most interesting thing about this anime is the 3D aspect. All the character models are rendered in 3D, but with an overlay of traditional animation (Much like Disney’s recent, ‘Paperman’ short) it takes some getting used to, but by the end I was left wondering why this technique wasn’t used more often, since all the character and ship details were completely accurate all the way through. The message is that humanity needs them as much as they need humanity.

Community

In the same vein as the pillow forts and the paintballs, the college enacts a college-wide game of The Floor is Lava. As wacky as this episode sounds (And is) it really digs deep into abed and Troy’s emotions and is an incredible send-off for Troy. I felt it needed some more classic Troy and Abed moments, but I loved this episode nonetheless. Now it will be interesting to see the group dynamic sans Troy and Pierce.

***

I also got a new job working at a local cinema and so far so good. Now I just need to wait until the money starts rolling in again after 6 months of unemployment. Still, in my unemployment, I went solo-travelling around Europe and wrote a book, so it doesn't feel like too much wasted time. But everyone at my new workplace is cool and we share a lot of interests. I even met a fellow writer! (Or an actual one, not a self-published loser, like me!)

(Just testing how GIF's work, never-mind.)

Wakfu Review

A few years ago, while I should have been studying, I ended up watching a French cartoon called Wakfu. The best way I can describe this show is a French made anime. But make no mistake, this definitely isn’t Japanese, but still managed to hold an all ages story a cut above the rest. I have never watched a French show before, but this show is absolutely gorgeous. It uses flash animation to its full extent, this is animation in the hands of masters. So what is Wakfu? The show is based of an MMO game by the same name and therefore exists in the same world, the world of the ‘twelve’ where there are twelve gods and whomever you initially worshiped you’re appearance begins to change to resemble them, so there are a lot of animal themed anamorphic people. Wakfu is life essence that is pretty much magic, what the show is named after. This particular story is an epic fantasy-adventure.

Anyway, the television series follows the exploits of an unlikely group of people as they party together to fulfill their own destinies. There is the orphan who must find out about his people, there is the princess, escorted by her bodyguard who must get back to her kingdom, there is the really old treasure hunter who will sell your left kidney for some money and an assigned guardian of a demon, who really sucks at his job. Together, they save the world.

Now you're thinking with portals! The fights and animation are amazing.

Not only is the animation fluid and beautiful, but the soundtrack and themes (Click me) are really stand out as well. But where this series truly shines is the characters. They are fantastically voiced, have unique designs and are really the heart of everything here, giving you something to root for. I have described the protagonists, but the main villain of the first series is really worth mentioning.

Nox has a serious fetish for clockworks, looks like a guy wrapped head to toe in bandages and armour, has an echoed, almost robot voice and spends the majority of the series siphoning Wakfu from all kinds of living creatures to build up enough energy to power an ancient and dangerous artifact he found centuries ago. Not bad, huh? With enough energy, he plans to reverse the flow of time, because, no, he doesn’t want to intentionally destroy the world, he just wants to see his family again and save them from his own madness. The thing is, his methods may be incredibly brutal and evil, but he doesn’t care because if he can reverse everything, the damage he does won’t matter. He’s just a husk of a former man who wants to rectify his mistakes from the beginning and protect his family.

He has a point...

But that's just the main guys, every episode is full of rich characters, lush scenery and daring adventure. Speaking of which: The story is mostly one-off adventures in the world (With the larger plot lingering in the shadows), as is to be expected from a French Saturday morning cartoon, but the you can tell the writers really love this world they had painstakingly created and once the plot really kicks in during the final half of the series, it paints a perfect heroes journey for our protagonists. I'll admit, as I was watching it, I was cheering, pumping my fist into the air, getting teary eyed and laughing along with the characters. It’s funny, charming, action packed and gripping whether you’re a kid or an adult. Light-hearted with some emotional weight behind it, this show deserves to stand with the best serialized animations of recent years.

And now they want to do and English dub of it, huzzah!

On a scale of 1-5, 1 being ‘This show killed my family’ and 5 being ‘Euphorically incredible’.

JJJJJ

FIVE SMILEY FACES.

The Best Modern Interpretations of King Arthur

I don’t really know what the purpose of this blog is. It’s not a review blog. It’s not a writing or art blog (nono, I’m not good enough for that) It’s just some commentary on various different things. You see it leaves me open to do whatever. Like a catalogue of random thoughts.

So let me talk about King Arthur of Camelot. King Arthur was the legendary British king during the 5^th and 6^th century. Whether he actually existed or not is open to some debate, since records were sparse or lost. Factually, there was an unnamed king during that time in the history books who fought off the Saxon invaders, that the mythical stories were based off, but the various tales and legends were clearly romanticised (read as: made up). Either way, the message and ideals of this King still hold true, so it is no wonder there are so many stories of his legend and the one of Camelot.

Here we have a bad-ass King who kicks butt with his entourage of awesome knights, takes guidance from a freaking WIZARD and saves Britain with, Excalibur, which is what you would refer to as one bitchin’ sword.

So here is a list of my favorite and the most well-known modern interpretations of the once-king of England, in no particular order:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

“Look, you stupid Bastard. You've got no arms left.”

A very famous British comedy film by the by the comedy sketch group, Monty Python.

The Story: King Arthur recruits the Knights of the Round Table and are then instructed by God to find the Holy Grail

Why it’s good: It’s a famous, hilarious tale of the King having mishaps on an adventure throughout Britain. He is shown as a brave and capable fighter (The Black Knight, anyone?), as being smart and a good leader. In the funniest way possible. This is the kind of story that WILL be quoted until the end of time.

The Secret Weapon: The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat the creature that has slain hundreds of battle hardened warriors without mercy, the Rabbit of Caerbannog.

Bad Point: I got nothing.

Merlin

“I want to thank you all for staying with me in Camelot's hour of need. I'll do something my father wouldn't approve of.”

A British television show produced by the BBC that lasted 5 seasons.

The Story: We get to see the real drama and struggles of becoming a king through a divided kingdom.

Why it’s good: Mostly the relationship between Arthur and Merlin as neither of them can really accomplish their true goals without each other and they are of a similar age, so it’s like seeing two opposites having to put up with each other, royalty and a street urchin. Arthur stepping out of his father’s shadow is a decent coming of age story for a spoiled prince, too.

The Secret Weapon: Merlin, duh.

Bad Point: Due to the format of a long television series, his personality changes direction a few times.

Sword in the Stone

“You were really great, Merlin, but... but you could've been killed.”

Disney’s take in the form of an animated feature.

The Story: Merlin takes a 12-year old Arthur under his wing and trains him to be the king he is destined to become.

Why it’s good: Not only is it a great coming-of-age film, but it’s a story based on a very young interpretation of Arthur, so seeing the trials of this kid that is going to be the King of all of Britain really gives you something to root for. Of course the sprinkling of Disney magic (And Merlin's) helps too.

The Secret Weapon: Magic!

Bad points: Because he is just a kid, we don’t really get to see what he is made of.

Fate/Stay Night

"A man without fear cannot be wise."

Originally a Visual Novel developed by the Japanese game company, Type Moon. This franchise is massively popular and has spouted anime, manga, sequels and spin-offs.

The Story: King Arthur was actually a girl and he/she is brought back into the modern day to fight a deathmatch with other mythological heroes with the prize being the wish-granting Holy Grail.

Why It’s good: We get to see this blonde chick who is actually King Arthur, fight like a super-powered superhero and really get into her head as she believes she failed her country and needs to come back to life to take it back. Also a great fish out of water story as the ancient king is now in modern times and finds out history recorded her as a man.

The Secret Weapon: Originally clouded in an invisible wind to protect her identity, Excalibur is classed as an anti-fortress weapon for good reason: it can shoot a huge beam of light that can decimate armies.

Bad Point: >> Click me. <<

King Arthur

“Let every man, woman, child bear witness that from this day, all Britons will be united in one common cause.”

A “historical” action/drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua.

The Story: Arthur is a Roman officer instead of a medieval knight and is sent on a suicide mission to save a future pope with the help of the remnants of his round table.

Why it’s good: We really get to see the goodness woven into Arthur’s character. Yes, he believes his faith protects him, but he also believes that actions speak just as loudly as words and is willing to put his life on the line for his men. Having an Arthur in a gritty realistic history setting was an interesting touch, too. Also, Merlin wasn’t a wizard, just a forest hobo and the sword in the stone was just his father’s grave.

The Secret Weapon: Kiera Knightly (Aha, but no, there is no magic weapon here, just woad raiders.)

Bad Point: He’s actually a Roman and not a Britain. And he doesn’t seem very regal.

So the legend says that King Arthur will return when his country needs him. Who do you want coming back to claim the throne? Either way, he is the hero Britain deserves, just not the one it needs right now.

Art Attempts and Writer Woes 3

I'm finding that simple styles are far easier to draw and maintain a consistent style with. Realistic looks terrible when you don't consider source lighting or expressions. So it would make sense to stick with a simple style for now. But that's boring and less interesting so I'm going to keep experimenting for the time being. I know, I know, there has been less drawing than usual. I've been slacking, somebody kick me in the shin.

Let’s talk about characters. Usually, before a story, I come up with a neat concept, then, once I've decided it’s neat enough and interesting enough to me, I go straight to the characters. Characters are the core of the story, they bind it, it’s their journey. Without rich characters, it doesn't matter how developed your world-building is or your plot lines are. We see it all through their eyes anyway, so if they're lame, then it's not going to be a good time for any party involved. I've read good stories with bad characters and bad stories with great characters. Without a doubt, I enjoyed the latter a gazillion times more, but that could just be personal preference.

So I've told you about my idea about Time Traveling Pirates. No, I haven’t written it yet. I wrote a few concept pages, but it wasn't sticking, the main character’s journey wasn't that interesting when taken as a whole. So I've shifted the focus onto what was originally a background character. Perhaps if I intertwine a few points of view, then it will feel richer.

This is now a story of four-to-five (depending how many I can kill off! Aha, I jest) different people who end up in extraordinary circumstances. Of course, this could all change in a week, but varying the points of view seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, here are the most basic of basic character concepts I have:

• A less-than-average guy who is a research assistant for a mega corporation. 

• A 17 year old girl in the Soviet army who yearns for adventure. 

• An Italian mafia member who is down on his luck.

• A secret agent who has committed treason against her totalitarian government.  

• And a pirate guy. Because, fuck, I don't have to explain pirates!  

What do they all have in common? The correct answer is: Well, duh! They all become Time Traveling Pirates! Using what treasure they can find to fuel their quest into the past to find answers. What lies in the past that has so desperately brought them together? Why can the pirate ship travel through time, anyway? Who ate the last donut? Where has all the booty gone? Join the crew on their adventure to find out!

 And Look, I drew you a picture using my superincredible™ art skills!

Friday Thoughts: Misunderstandings and Brains

Ouch, it's been a week and I haven't updated. My bad. I just haven't had much to say this week. I've landed myself a new part-time job at the Cinema (I start next week) and I fixed the front tire on my bicycle. Nothing else to report. Oh, except for my Friday thoughts.

Archer Season 5

Archer debuted with its 5^th season and it answers a lingering question I asked myself in the first season: Is ISIS affiliated with the government? I think the FBI raining down bullets and bombing ISIS HQ answered that. It did the whole interrogation cliché by having no-one rattle on each other, then have everyone rattle on each other and with the Archer characters, it worked hilariously. We got a lot of shout outs to previous seasons and almost a shout out to the next (But instead of a montage, it turned out to be Archer’s daydream). Either way, after that episode, I’m fully on board with whatever Season 5 has to offer.

iZombie

I have just started reading iZombie. It is about a zombie called Gwen who has a job burying peple at a graveyard, it is here she can get free access to delicious brains. Unfortunately, if her ‘meal’ died in a less that peaceful way, she has to solve their murder lest she go crazy. It seems like a pretty neat concept, but it hasn’t grabbed me straight away. Alas, I will keep reading.

D&D Next: I’m a treasure hunter who just can’t get any treasure

Having played my 5^th session, the merits of the 5^th edition playtest have shown their colours. The system is simple and doesn't get bogged down by abilities and feats and other nonsense I had trouble getting my head around when I got the 4^th edition rules. I’m glad my first foray into D&D was with the D&D Next playtest, its helping me get accustomed to the basic system quite easily.

Something I find quite interesting is the drop in/drop out system. Players can skip sessions as they choose and their character is put into stasis so to speak (Or in game terms, you can make something up. We pretended our Druid character was still trying to figure out how to open a door, it made for many jokes.) But not only can people drop out, new players can join any time, we had a new guy take over our NPC guide (And they were in cohorts with the GM and planned a ruse to steal the treasure from right on under us. No, I did not expect our NPC guide to take the crystal and fly away) he was only with us for two sessions, so it made sense, and another new guy who joined us in the dragon’s cave, his character simply following the underground tunnel he found. So I’m really digging this system.

There are also two groups playing the same campaign where I D&D. I know a guy in the other group and from the stories we’ve told each other, our group dynamics are very different. Where-as his group attacked the dragon head on and nearly died, we reunited the same dragon with his son and left with a gift, unharmed. Where-as, his group dived into the mountain of gold and claimed lots of magic armour and weapons, my character rolled off the same mountain, respecting the dragons wishes. Quite ironic seeing as my character is a self-proclaimed treasure hunter who has been unable to get any treasure at all, so far. And one last one, the other group ran past all the trap rooms and made it straight to the good stuff, whilst mine hit every conceivable trap, blew up half the tomb with an explosion and set some dragons eggs on fire before running like hell. So it is quite interesting to me how we can all follow the same path, but walk it in completely different ways.

Sherlock Series 3 Wrap-up

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, as it is the first one that wasn't based directly on any of the classic stories. We really got to see John and Sherlock make amends, rekindle their friendship and solve personal problems as well as mysteries. The only Issue I have is the 'twist' ending of the series. I simply don't agree with it, it's a twist for the sake of a twist that ruined a nice ending, and I feel it weakens all the characters involved.

Community Season 5 Episode 4

The group deals with Pierce's death, let's loose some secrets they've been keeping from each other and gives Troy a send-off that makes sense. The entire episode takes place within the study room where everyone is hooked up to a lie detector. It really points out (By having someone say 'They're lying' or 'They're telling the truth') the subtext that normally goes into everything everyone says. They're not always telling the truth, but maybe, that's for the best. Not everything needs to be shared for good reason. It was a tired concept I felt only worked because of the study group. Even so, it wasn't an amazing episode full of witty jokes, but it was still worth watching.

Art Attempts and Writer Woes 2

Another week of trying to sketch a female portrait and trying (Read that as failing) to find a consistent way to do it. I try realistic, I get a caricature, I try cartoon and simple and I get a Frankenstein-ish monster. I guess I’m just going to keep trying out new styles until something clicks. I know I really should read a book like How to Draw or something, but I'm just so... lazy. A part of me doesn't want to look at pretty pictures other people drew, even though it will most likely help. Hmm. Maybe.

Let’s talk about concepts. The most basic premise for a story. I’ve been wanting to start a new story ever since I finished my last one, but have yet to find a premise that I’m all for. The closest I’ve come to getting really excited is doing a story about pirates. Time Travelling Pirates. It’s so far-out that I know it just has to be done, but what have I got? Well, there’s a pirate galleon that can travel through time, all the crew members will be from different places and periods and will get dragged on a quest to stop a someone or something threatening to tear the time-line apart. I love time-travel stories and picturing a pirate galleon appearing at different points in history to steal supplies is a gorgeous mental image. Hopefully, this is something that I will drag out of the concept phase and onto paper. Either way, I’ll keep you updated.

Friday Thoughts: Butt-cracks and Wizards

Community

The third episode of season five plays out like a buddy cop detective show as the college tries to crack down on the infamous asscrack-bandit. The Dean is on top of his game and all the characters are used sparingly, keeping the mystery going beautifully. Only on this show can such a ridiculous concept become a well-executed parody of another type of show. Probably the weakest episode of this season so far, but it's still great. Well done.

Off to be the wizard.

A curious book. It’s about a guy who finds out that reality is a computer program that can be manipulated. His manipulation of his bank accounts gets the attention of the FBI and he runs away to medieval England to live as a wizard.

It sounded like a fun romp, but it wasn’t as I expected. The story is less about living as a wizard as it is about finding a group of people that did the exact same thing. It avoids and ignores the issues of time-travel shenanigans and instead looks into the issue of trust and abusing power. At times it felt like the characters were just in a video-game (A much better novel for that would be Ready Player One), but the story is a fun, light read either way. The world and characters don’t really go anywhere (I couldn’t get emotionally invested in any of them), despite the interesting plot hooks and ends up sort of anti-climactic despite the big battle. Nothing amazing, but it was an interesting read and it kept me turning the pages nonetheless. I think it was because I expected something else that I left a bit nonplussed, but the story really did need some sort of emotional anchor or stakes.

Supergirl Cosmic Adventures in the 8^th Grade.

This is one of the best comic books I have read. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, it looks really kiddy, but I’d say this book (A collected volume of the 6 issue mini-series) is akin to Disney with its take, it’s an all ages superhero book. Something that is a rarity in this day and age.

I mean, how can little kids have supergirl as their hero if they read one of the latest issues that involve supergirl murdering, getting beaten to a pulp and in all, living in a really crappy, gritty and not very nice world. Kids need fun comics about fun heroes that deal with issues they are going through. In this book, Supergirl goes to school in the eighth grade and has wacky adventures; keeping her identity a secret, accidentally making a bizarro version of herself, being room-mates with Lex Luthor’s little sister and saving the school from disasters. It’s a well-written, funny and heartfelt take on the titular hero that is for young and old alike (In fact, the amount of references shoved in for older fans is actually incredible). The reviews don’t lie about this book, it’s just fantastic.

Supergirl is my favorite Superhero

Supergirl:

When a 20-something guy goes around telling people that his favorite superhero character is Supergirl, you get some funny looks. Not Batman? Not Green Arrow? Not Wolverine? Not Deadpool? Not Superman? No, it’s definitely Supergirl, and I’ll tell you why.

A lot of so called superheroes are just vigilantes, out for personal revenge or protecting just one city, or they are mentally unstable, but when you look at Superman, he is a beacon of hope, the alpha man, something to strive towards. This is where a lot of people call Superman ‘Too perfect’ and ‘Boring’ because they can’t relate, but that’s not what he’s about. You may think Batman is cool, Wolverine is a bad-ass, but Superman can fill you with awe, not as a person, but as an ideal. An Alien sun god who spends half of his time incognito as a normal man because he sees something so great in humanity, see something worthwhile, something worth protecting: I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel special.

So, that was Superman, he’s great, but why Supergirl? I’ll admit, I didn't get into Supergirl early, I disregarded her as a little girl version of Superman, turns out I was right and wrong. It was only a few years ago that she solidified her place as my favorite, but why? Is she just a girl with ALL of Superman's powers? I'll say something here, I loved watching and reading about tough female characters since forever, I guess Buffy played a decent role in that during my childhood, along with several other choice stories, but gender doesn't matter. You don't need gender to be sassy, strong, witty, hopeful, idealistic, honest, helpful.

Now when talking about a Comic Book Superhero, it’s often difficult, because there are so many versions of the character. Every writer can change powers, personalities and histories, but Supergirl (Or Kara Zor-El, specifically) as a package, can’t (And shouldn't) change that much.

I think Michael Alan Nelsa, a previous writer for Supergirl, puts it in better words that I ever could:

I've always been a fan of her as a character. I've always been drawn to strong female characters and she is one of the strongest. And not just physically, but I think emotionally as well. I know that if I woke up on an alien planet to discover that everyone I ever knew or loved died a terrifying, painful death and everyone else would shove me into oncoming traffic as soon as look at me, I’d be weeping in the fetal position and never come out from under the bed. But not Kara. Yes, she’s despaired as anyone would, but as much pain she’s had to endure, she doesn't give up. That she can pull herself out of bed after all of that makes her such an interesting person to me. All the powers and crazy villains are nice, but the core attraction to her as a character is her boundless sense of spirit. Plus she’s looking for a place to belong, a place where she’ll feel loved and accepted. I think we can all relate to that.

Supergirl is a fish out of water, just a teenage girl shoved into an impossible life, cast into the shadow of her cousin, Supergirl is a person that doesn't really belong anywhere. Although she is learning, Superman is better than her in almost every way, so she’d be a liability on the Justice League, yet she’s far too powerful to join the likes of the Teen Titans. On her own is where her insecurities can come into play, but she is always one to help, that’s why her team-up stories are especially fantastic. Despite these issues, she keeps going.

Supergirl tries her hardest and when she doesn't, she asks herself why she failed, ‘Goddammit, you’re Supergirl, how did you fail?’ she is weighed down by the promises she keeps and the people she fails, but her hero career is one born from loss. It’s not ‘Oh, my parents are dead’ or ‘oh, my orphanage burned down’, for Supergirl, its “Oh, my planet blew up and every person I ever loved or cared about; friends, family, teachers, strangers, my entire race died an excruciating death along with my way of life and everything I learned in seventeen years is now useless, and I was on ten hit lists as soon as I crash-landed on Earth and my baby cousin is actually a legendary superhero that arrived here before me and is someone I can never live up to and oh gosh why can’t I control this super-strength and why are lasers shooting out of my eyes?”

Supergirl is an imperfect Superman, but this is why she is so fantastic, she’s not a copy at all, just a struggling cousin, but she sees her distant Kryptonian cousin in his big blue shirt and red cape and sees hope, she dons the big S as well and despite all the naysayers, devotes her life to becoming a hero. She struggles, she falls, but she keeps going, it is this devotion to being a hero that I love. And who can resist a sweet blonde chick who could punch a hole through entire cities, but chooses, instead, to rescue that cat out of the tree? I’d say she holds up the Superman Mantle quite well. Supergirl can pull her own weight, sure, she has a myriad of flaws, but what three-dimension person doesn't? Supergirl strives to be the person you can count on. She’s funny, always has centuries of human pop media culture to catch up on, makes her own light at the end of the tunnel, is incredibly spirited… And she’s not bad looking either. Supergirl is a blonde teenage girl with the powers of a god and she puts them to good use. Plus its always funny when a super-bad-ass baddie gets his butt kicked into next Tuesday by a petite blonde girl. Always.

Identity, Hope, Devotion, this is Supergirl.

Dungeons and Day Dreams

 Before Christmas, I was really low in spirits. Getting rejection letter after rejection letter and knowing my savings were only going down was hurting. During my Christmas shopping, I passed a games shop that had a sign out front: Try out Dungeons and Dragons! I wouldn't say I’m a stranger to role-playing games, I’ve seen TV episodes featuring the famous game, I've heard stories on the internet, but I’d never played a traditional Pen and Paper RPG before. So I thought I’d give It a shot. I arrived a few minutes late on the Sunday they were demo-ing it, so I was a last minute addition to the group. The guy in charge quickly printed me a character sheet, I was an Orc Warlord. Sounds nice.

The group dynamic was a lot of fun and the dice-rolls are what actually keep things interesting. One of the other players, a Halfling, slipped on the ice at the top of the turret, but due to his acrobatics skill and a nice d20 roll, he landed on the very edge of the wall and managed to fire an arrow straight into a Kobold’s face. It's about taking random chance and making a story out of it. Improvisation at its finest. The one-shot lasted two hours and I really enjoyed it, so I made the decision to join the next campaign that runs on Wednesdays.

I still don’t understand the entirety of the rules, but I am having a blast. There has yet to be a single session where there was no laughter amongst us. I started with a group of strangers, but by the end, I’m sure they will be veteran comrades, friends.

A lot of people will hear Dungeons and Dragons and think “Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrd!” but  that is truly an insecurity. Enjoying things isn't being nerdy, its having fun. D&D is just like any other game, except a lot of it takes place in your imagination and on paper. It is still a game though, like chess, monopoly, bowling, football. Heck, I’d go as far as to say that those Fantasy Football team games aren't in a traditional sense, different at all. Just for different people.  So I enjoyed the Role-playing game known as D&D, I will continue to go to them and I will kill a dragon. Eventually. (My group has already killed a dungeon, turns out that Sulphur is explosively flammable, even in fantasy.)

Now onto the subject of day-dreams, or more precisely, my goals. I want to move out of my hometown, even though I've finally met a few social groups that I have fit myself into. Ideally, I want to move to London and find a job that I not only enjoy, but one that pays enough to pay rent. Therefore, I have been applying for jobs in London. I have already received two rejections and am waiting for a reply for three more.

It’s weird, I really hate the busy, busy, busy bustling and noise of cities, but it is for that reason that I want to live in one for a while. I don’t like being intimidated by such large cities, I want to feel the heartbeat of the city. I don’t mind travelling through London, but to actually live there… it’s an experience I feel I need. So who knows, maybe one day.

For now, I guess I’ll just stumble though life some more until I find a new dream worth pursuing. It used to be acting, but I find myself shying away from opportunities. There are various reasons I could attribute for this change of heart, even though I do miss performing, but for now, it’s not really an option I can pursue.

Go-Busters Review

Go-Busters

A Super Sentai series following the 35^th anniversary series Gokaiger. Go-busters is a lot more grounded and less fantastical than any other super sentai series, and this change is actually one of its strongest suites. It would have been hard to follow the Space-Pirate series where they use every sentai power ever to defeat billions of ships and soldiers of the evil space empire. Bringing it in is actually the best thing they could have done, despite the low ratings Go-Busters ended up with.

Go-Busters also takes a lot of queues from its younger Power Rangers cousin, with such phrases as ‘It’s Morphin’ Time!’ and ‘Megazords’; a nice little nod to them, since Power Rangers is on the eve of its own 20th anniversary. I have to say that the production values have been stepped up slightly, even though the CG is still a bit hit and miss; it looks fantastic in the Morphin’ sequences, but the giant robots transforming could do with some improvement. This doesn't take anything away from the experience as the actual giant robot fights are still guys in rubber suits. Perfect. Anyway,

In the series, a sentient alien computer virus infects the computers of the main Enetron Research Center (Enetron is a new, powerful energy source). Unfortunately, the virus, who dubs itself ‘Messiah’ decides to go all evil and tries to take over the world. The researchers teleport the entire complex (sacrificing themselves in the process) into a sort of digital hyperspace to put an end to the threat. Only three kids survived, saved by an anti-virus put into them at the last second (The anti-virus gives them enhanced strength and endurance, but also crippling, computer-themed, weaknesses such as locking-up, overheating and running out of energy. Something they all have to deal with in their own ways).

These kids grow up to become the Go-Busters, a special ops team working for the Enetron Management Centre, their mission is to stop Messiah from making a come-back (Yes, of course Messiah finds a way of transporting Digital Avatars and giant robots from hyperspace back to earth, his mission is to steal as much enetron as possible so he can become indestructible and get back to earth to take it over/destroy it.)

This series is about friendship, impossible odds, sacrifice and kick-ass martial arts and giant robots fighting; so the usual for a sentai series, except Go-Busters really brings it in with its characters, making it much more personal. The fact that the team is backed up by the command team and we get to see dozens of engineers working on the Buster-Machines is a real nice touch: They are not alone.

The villains are all throwaway, except for ‘Enter’ and 'Escape', digital avatars sent to earth by Messiah. Enter is the accumulation of absorbed data and embellishes French phrases into his language (Ca va, Go Busters!). Enter (And later on, Escape joins him too) is the one responsible for making androids, stealing enetron and gathering data. And boy, does he do that well. Enter’s evolution throughout the series is one of the high-points, as he looks down on humanity, then looks up to it, then strives to be it, then strives for perfection. He is funny, theatrical, but airs a dangerous presence and is really quite deadly with his wits.

A recurring theme throughout is the humanity of artificial intelligence. From Messiah and his lackeys, to the ‘Buddyroid’ robot companions of the go-busters, they are just as real as people. The series plays this card often, but it isn't until the third act of the series that it really hits home. What are we, after all, but the accumulation of our bonds with other people and our own achievements. We’re not so different: Just data in the wind.

And they really like to show pain in Go-Busters, shattered visors, battle-damaged suits (The new biker-esque suits look fantastic, by the way) and they aren't afraid to cake their heroes in their own blood and sweat.

I had a hard time clicking with this series at first, especially after Gokaiger, but, as I had heard, sticking with it really really pays off: Giving a fantastic over-arching story, wonderful characters (Especially the Fifth Ranger, Beet J Stag, a hilarious robot that can also transform. Imagine Bender from Futurama mixed with Tron from… Tron.) and a really nice aesthetic. I loved the bold direction it went in, it's just a shame this series wasn't that well received; it is however understandable, as I feel it only became a 'Must-Watch' half way through the series, a time where most people would have already given up on it.

Having never reviewed a series here before, I’ll start here, on a scale of 1-5, 1 being ‘This show killed my family’ and 5 being ‘Euphorically incredible’.

JJJJ

FOUR SMILEY FACES.