Tom Hardy rescues an adorable talking dog and the two go on magical adventures through the mysterious kingdom known as Brooklyn. With a few minor reductions in whimsy, that is basically the plot of The Drop, directed by Michaël Roskam (Bullhead). It also happens to boast the very last on screen appearance of the late James Gandolfini.
Slipping on their fedoras, tench coats, and several thick layers of grit, The Unusual Suspects sit down to narrate this review of the latest in neo noir.
And because they’re stand up guys from the old neighborhood, Brian, J.C., Will, and Chris would like to warn you that this review gets a little more spoilery than most. Not for nothing, but you been warned, right?
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This week Wes and Steve discuss Amazing Spiderman 2, recording on Wes’s antique laptop, Bill Murray’s awesomeness, and our Top 5 Season Finales! Enjoy!
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As every Batman fan knows, the Caped Crusader has a knack for inventing the craziest and coolest vehicles in all of superhero history. Whether it was in the comics, movies, television shows or cartoons, Batman was always riding in style while catching crooks and battling super villains. Of course, the greatest of all of Batman’s automobiles is the Batmobile.
Well, with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’s release date so far away (and leaked pictures of the Batmobile already making their way online), it probably felt appropriate to Zack Snyder to tweet a picture of the car to the eagerly anticipating masses.
The word “intimidating” would adequately describe this version of The Dark Knight Detective’s signature ride. Seeming to blend the look of the iconic version of the car featured in Tim Burton’s Batman with the Tumbler in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, the Batmobile is sporting a number of familiar and new accessories. After careful analyzation (which involves me looking at the picture for a minute), I’ve found that this new Batmobile includes a rotating turret and armor protected wheels. While it’s not known to what extent the Batmoblie will feature in BvS, it is sure to play some role in Batman’s battle with Superman and Lex Luthor.
What about you Bat-fan? What do you think of Zack Snyder’s take on one of the most iconic superhero vehicles of all time? Let us know in the comments below!
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We review the good, we review the bad, Brian makes bad puns and there you have…The Facts of Noise.
This week, both inter-dimensional iterations of Brian (i.e. Brian and Richard) sit down to discuss a small, but wildly diverse batch of titles. They divulge their warmest regards for The Winter Soldier, Willow Creek leaves them lost in the woods, and they find firm common ground Across 110th Street. Bundle all that up with a videogame-to-movie giveaway and it’s clear that when you tune in to Digital Noise, you’re playing with power!
Sorry, just watched The Wizard for the ninetieth time.
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2) Tweet at us with the answer to this hypothetical: What is the most ridiculous videogame that could get its own gritty big screen version and who would direct that ridiculous gritty film version? (i.e. David Lynch’s Dig Dug)
3) Add #HeavenlySwordGiveaway
4) We’ll select favorite answers and contact those winners via Twitter (open to U.S. residents only).
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Event tie-ins often suck. Characters and a story you are really enjoying are put on hold so that they can be haphazardly woven into the event. It is a break in narrative flow and quite often nothing of real substance happens as anything that important would be in the main event book itself.
While I haven’t been following Original Sin directly, I appreciate that the event set up a chance for real character growth and exploration in the plot. Basically, a great deal of secrets that have been hidden from our heroes and each other have come to light due to The Watcher, Uatu being murdered and people manipulating his eyes (it’s comics folks, stuff gets weird). So what does this have to do with our resident Man Without Fear? Keep reading and find out, True Believer.
Y’see, Matt Murdock’s life sucked even before he went blind. Back when he was a baby, his mother abandoned the family, leaving Matt to be raised alone by his father, boxer Battlin’ Jack Murdock. During the legendary Born Again arc (which was back when Frank Miller could create female characters that weren’t soulless prostitutes) Matt found out that his mother had joined a convent and now went by the name Sister Maggie.
One nagging question has always remained about this story, what was it that compelled Maggie to leave her husband and newborn son? While it never had been outright confirmed it was strongly implied that the Murdock household wasn’t a happy one and that Maggie may have been the victim of abuse at the hands of Jack. This has always been a bit of a problem as writers haven’t known what to do with the character of Jack, so much of who Matt turned out to be is a direct result of his father. Matt never would have become a lawyer without his father and even Matt’s superhero costume and name are in part to honor his dad. Matt reveres the fighting spirit of his father and does his best to emulate it in all he does.
However, it also is true that Jack’s life was ruled by violence as it was the only thing he was good at and the only way he could provide for his family. Since violence was the only way Jack knew how to solve problems, some writers have pushed the idea, however subtlety that Jack may have been little more than a thuggish meathead and Matt’s worship of his old man little more than skewed childhood memories.
Enter writer extraordinaire, Mark Waid. Waid has taken it upon himself to expand Daredevil’s life and grow him out of the rut left by Frank Miller’s run. While great writers like Brian Bendis and Ed Brubaker have had great runs on character, they all still kept to a Miller vibe in there overall storytelling. Waid, who had such stunning success in the 90’s reinventing the character of the Flash (Wally West version (the best version)) for DC now sought to do the same for ol’ Hornhead and the book under his helm has kicked ass with every issue. Waid’s run has been about injecting fun back into the book, while not sacrificing the book’s gritty nature. The book can be dark a deal with more adult themes like it was known for, but it now had a fresh injection of optimism which the book had sorely been lacking for decades.
Okay, as much as I would love to keep going on about the fascinating history of Daredevil on the page as well as off, I suppose I should get to talking about the issue itself before you all fall asleep on me. The cover by series regular artist, Chris Samnee doesn’t do much for me. It does tie in with the plot as this issue sees Daredevil going to Wakanda, so the whole jungle and spears thing fits, but it doesn’t really capture the tone of the actual adventure inside. It is well drawn and everything, I just wish it tied in more with what is happening in the issue.
From Daredevil #6
Moving to the plot, when the Watcher eye thing was going on Matt has been having flashes to a disturbing scene when he was just a baby. These flashes tear at Matt’s idea of who his father was, but all he has are the images. It is content sans context, and knowing how much he may hate the answers to his questions, Matt traveled back to New York (he recently had made the move out to San Francisco) for answers from the only person left who would know, his mother Maggie.
Maggie has gotten herself deep into trouble as she was protesting a military base that had been sanctioned as an extension of the Wakandan embassy, thus making it Wakandan soil. At the start of this issue we find that Maggie has been extradited to Wakanda with Matt hot on her heels to set her free. After some kicks and punches and some rather clever political maneuvering by Matt he manages to secure Maggie’s freedom. With that all out of the way Matt confronts Maggie about about the flashes he’s been having and Maggie reveals her dark and tragic secret.
What?! You don’t think I’m actually going to tell you what her secret is, do you? Go buy the damn book for yourself because I’m not spoiling anything on this one!
What makes this issue great is how it subverts expectation at every turn while remaining true to the characters. Like a clever boxer, Waid knows how to make the audience think he’s going to zig, and then zag. The final few panels feel a little bit like a PSA comic, but given the seriousness of Maggie’s revelation (again, not spoiling it, go grab a copy you want to know so bad) it feels right. Javier Rodriguez’s art perfectly fits with what Waid is doing as it to leads the reader on only to sucker punch the audience with a change in layout and perspective. This issue really does show the power one can have with visual storytelling alone.
On all counts this is a great issue and if you have any interest in Daredevil at all you need to snag yourself a copy. It answers a question fans have had for years while staying true to its dark roots but also bringing a sense of hope. What more can you possibly ask for?!
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For a while I’ve been thinking: what would it take for animation to finally be considered on the same level of maturity as live-action fiction (at least in the Western world)? You might think that this is already the state of affairs, with many shows like Family Guy, Rick and Morty, or Bob’s Burgers existing that are made for a decidedly older audience.
However, one big fact stands out to me: we have yet to have a single dramatic animated feature or series created by an American studio solely with an older (let’s say starting at 18-25 year old) audience in mind. Any adult oriented, American-made cartoon is comedic. Every. Single. One. Some may have dramatic elements to them, but in order to find shows that are mainly serious, you usually have to take a trip to Japan and look at some anime.
That fact brings up an interesting question: Because of shows like Psycho-Pass, Attack on Titan and others, we’ve seen that serious animation is possible and marketable. So why the hesitation to change? A big is the decades (and in some cases, centuries) have played in shaping whether or not we view animation as primarily “for kids.”
Hiroshima: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Cartoons
As morbid as it is, the usage of nuclear weapons on Japan at the tail end of WWII played a significant role in creating a culture that considers animation as worth the same artistic merit as anything else. To begin with, if you look at historical artifacts, countries with a more recently pictorial (picture-based) language like Japan, China, and Korea seem to have a bit of a bias towards visual storytelling. Many a scroll depicts myths and legends populated with great heroes, as well as monsters and demons of every size and description. More remarkably, unlike many other cultures, this method of passing down stories continued until relatively recently. Obviously, fantastic tales are not the sole property of the East, but when you look at Western countries, they seem to have diverged much earlier towards telling stories through the written word.
A big part of this has to do with the role of the Catholic Church, the controversy over appropriate methods of dissemination for Christian Gospel, and the fact that the printing press itself (a central figure in the controversy) was a European invention. The fact that the Bible (itself a series of stories in the written word) was one of the first works to be mass produced had a big influence on swaying Western culture to preferring this method of narrative building.
So even before 1945, the West and East had opposing dispositions, but when Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively, the economic devastation that resulted only increased the size of this rift. For a long time, the scarcity of economic resources meant that areas with the wealth to make, for example, live-action films, were few and far between. Shadow-puppets, puppet shows, and yes, animation, became comparatively low-cost (and therefore more popular) means of creating entertainment. The reliance on these thrifty forms of storytelling, together with the aforementioned tendency towards the visual resulted in a culture with a deep respect for the power of this particular art form which still exists today.
Contrast this with North America, where live-action cinema was the lead attraction since its invention in the late 1800’s. Sure, animation existed, but even then they were typically shorts that preceded or provided entertainment during intermission while moviegoers waited for the next film to start. From the beginning, the inadvertent result of this set-up (where cartoons were the opening act) created a sentiment that animation is somewhat “lesser than” live performance.
The aforementioned fixation on comedy is present here too, mostly because of the short nature of these features. Nowadays, you can find numerous examples of short animated that can truly touch our hearts:
I should mention at this point that your tears nourish me.
Anyways.
The fact is that jokes are simply more conducive to being compressed into a tiny time-frame than dramatic stories. It’s easier to tell a joke in 30 seconds than an affective story. As such, almost all of these shorts were comedies, including the first appearances by the legendary Looney Tunes. The West lacked the kind of world-shaking event that Japan had in 1945 to change this tradition, and so kept going on steady to this day.
What about the Great Depression? Fair enough. It was a fairly devastating event for a majority of the population, but unlike the WWII bombings, it lacked the kind of physical destruction to infrastructure that re-defined Japan’s relation to “lower” forms of entertainment. The damage of the Depression was largely the rampant unemployment in lower-to upper middle class jobs. In many ways, Hollywood as an institution benefited from the Depression, as more people spent the little money they had for a spot of escapism at the cinema.
So that’s at least a partial glimpse into what’s helped make the views on cartoons what they are today in the East and West respectively. As any good anthropologist will tell you, culture plays a huge role. However, in returning the original question of what it would take to change this, the momentum keeping the hegemonic train of “cartoons are for kids” rolling is more economic than anything.
It’s ALLLLLL About the Merchandising!
A sad fact for those of us adults with a continuing love for cartoons is that many of our favorites live and die on their potential for toy sales. Not just toys, either. Backpacks, lunchboxes, branded snack foods, etc. Consequently, the reason that cartoons are almost universally aimed at kids is the same reason why those same kids kick your ass at Call of Duty: they have a much larger cache of disposable time and income (ie. their parents’) to invest into both.
Sure, I have my Sonic Screwdriver and a few precious indulgences in geek merch, but I’d be lying if I said that the amount of money spent on nerd swag to-date amounts to even 10% of the cash my parents dumped on action figures for me between the ages of 8-15. As for the rest, well, the advantage of having a fully developed frontal lobe is the ability to realize that the inclusion of the Thor on your portable yogurt doesn’t actually make it any better.
Who so ever holds this Yogo, if he be worthy, holds the power of a FULL DAY’S SUPPLY OF VITAMIN D!!!!
Though fortunate for your bank account, the unfortunate fact for adult cartoons is that because of our budgetary skepticism, we’re just not perceived as a comparatively fruitful audience. Even in movies like Avengers (or a growing number of horror flicks) where adults flock to theaters, pains are taken to keep them PG-13 so as to not screen out the younger patrons from siphoning wealth from their parents for movie tickets. The most arguably “mature” cartoons, for example, are by Pixar in their prime, and even then are best considered family films intended for all ages. The biggest barrier to finally getting a dramatic animated series, then, is the reluctance of the animation industry to willingly ignore the cash cow that is the easily marketed-to youth of America.
The answer to our initial question, then, is that if someone is to be willing to invest into the creation of serious cartoons for adults, it will likely have to be someone without decades of economic success with the current business model. Once you remove that reluctance to diverge from a successful formula, we’re much more likely to see change.
What the industry needs, in my estimation, is a wealth infusion from from an outside venture capitalist. Someone who is a fan of animation and animators, but who hasn’t worked within the industry long enough to be indoctrinated with the limitations of what animation can or can’t do. Someone who wouldn’t be reduced to financial ruin in the event that such an investment falls short of expectations (as I mentioned before, failure is more often than not a prerequisite for future successes). Having a corporation invest money anywhere is a risky proposition, as they will always have their shareholders and bottom line to think of. This needs someone who, while not necessarily unconcerned with profitability, has trust and faith in the ability of creators to make something that can emotionally affect adults in a way that can elevate animation to the level of prestige that TV and live cinema currently enjoy. Artistically indulgent billionaires are few and far-between, even moreso the ones who are unrepentant geeks, but if there’s anyone who could provide the kind of capital to create something that can make American audiences (and executives) wake up and go, “I never knew that it could be this“, it’s one of our own.
Maybe it’s just a fantasy to wish for a wealthy investor to appear out of nowhere to make our favorite fan property a reality. Maybe.
Maybe I’m just sick and tired of waiting for someone to make that Witch Doctor adaptation.
Vince Smith is a writer, podcast host, and dyed-in-the-wool geek of all trades. You can check out other articles and videos by him over at The Rogues’ Gallery, or drop by his Facebook Page, Vincent Smith: Writer, Scholar, Gentleman for other musings from the catacombs of the Internet.
1. And in many cases, the first one to be READ. Before this point, the majority of the population were illiterate labourers, so other than transmitting stories through word-of-mouth, this would be the first exposure of the mass to written stories in Europe. This is a HUGE deal and its effects can be seen.
Jean-Pierre Desperois. Born a slave in Haiti in a voodoo ritual with the power to travel through space and time. Now lives in Tunis. Smuggles salt. On payroll: crooked cops and hard-to-manage employees. When local gendarme Michel du Prix tells him about some corpses found in the desert, Jean-Pierre thinks nothing of it. But when the bodies start piling up, Jean-Pierre is implicated. Armed with nothing but his “baka” and his “ku-bha-sa”, Jean-Pierre tries to get to the bottom of the situation. But he’s in for more than he bargained.
Season One is 20 half-hour episodes released bi-weekly.
SALT is a spin-off of The Intergalactic Nemesis, an adventure set in the 1930s and taking the form of comic-books and graphic novels, audio drama, a web series, and a live theatrical production that’s touring the world. For access to all of this, check out www.theintergalacticnemesis.com.
Written and voiced by Jason Neulander. Additional voices by Buzz Moran, Danu Uribe, and Julie Linnard. Sound effects, audio engineering, and production by Buzz Moran. Original score by Adrian Quesada.
Episode 5: The Interrogation – In which we learn a myth of locusts, witness the demise of Makandal, and Jean-Pierre cleans up a mess only to be brought back to the interrogation room.
Witches and Wizards! Adult Corporal Punishment! Total Extinction! A bucket full of icy cold knowledge from Public Axis with guest Ian McIntosh!
Recorded at the Pubic Axis F-Stop on September 4th, 2014.
00:00 Welcome to the F-Stop! This week, we welcome Ian McIntosh from Circuit 42, a pop-cultural hub focusing on the latest in comics, video games, anime, science and all-around fun! We chat about some of the amazing guests and interviews he has encountered and babble on comics from the ’90s and David Lynch. Nicolas Cage stops by, too.
22:01 Yeah, Imma Look Into Dat! Topic #1: Who is the greatest witch
or wizard ever and why? (Inspired by the exciting sequel to the action game, Bayonetta 2.)
42:03 Dad’s Corner(ed)! Topic #2: If your parents were able to punish you now (as an adult), what would be the most effective way?
56:10 Hey, That’s Not Funny! Topic #3: What has gone extinct in your lifetime that you wish was still around? (Inspired by an article on the speedy rate of extinction. DOOM!)
1:18:29 What Did We Come to Know? Public Axis is an educational program and at the end, we always ask our guests and listeners, “What did you come to know?” Enlighten yourself.
Again, thanks for listening! As always, be sure to check out BLOOD COUSINS, our first feature film! It is waiting for you at bloodcousinsmovie.com! A movie of comedy, terror and revenge – a MUST SEE for fans of this show! Use the promo code FIESTATUBE and score it for $5!
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The Legend of Korra, Nick’s popular animated series, has been going through a tumultuous period as of late. After being pulled off the air due to low ratings, it appears to be heading to a digital only format. While Nickelodeon’s lack of promotion for the third season certainly added to the low viewership (the trailer for Book 3: Change was only released one week prior to the first few episodes airing), there has been much grumbling among fans and even casual viewers of the program about how disappointing the previous season of Korra was.
Whether the quality of Book 2: Spirits added to the show’s low viewership for 2014 is hard to say. Still, it’s especially sad since Season 3 was working so hard to deliver some impressive storytelling and character development. I think I’ve made it pretty clear in my past comments on OneOfUs.net that I wasn’t exactly a fan of the previous season of Korra. However, I and many others were taken-a-back by the numerous improvements during this most recent season. In an effort to show my love for the show (and my dissatisfaction with Season 2), you’ll find a list of reasons why The Legend of Korra succeeded in delivering some of the best programming you’ll see this year.
Some spoilers for The Legend of Korra below.
A Complicated Villain
While I think Amon still reigns supreme as the best villain to be featured in the entire Avatar series, Season 3’s Zaheer (Henry Rollins) is a close second to the gravelly voiced blood bender. Seemingly able to be passionate and cold all at the same time, Zaheer’s philosophical nature makes him both understandable and strangely sympathetic. As the leader of the Red Lotus, an organization that embraces the idea of disorder being the natural order, Zaheer believes it is his mission to show the world that its leaders prey on the weak and helpless.
Branded a terrorist and imprisoned at the hands of Fire Lord Zuko and Southern Water Tribe Chief Sokka, Zaheer spent years reciting the ancient proverbs of Guru Lahima, an air bending philosopher who lived 4,000 years ago. After Korra unlocked the portals connecting the spirit world and physical world, Zaheer learned he possessed air bending. Unlike Season 2’s painfully uninteresting Unalaq and his partner in crime, a red kite, Zaheer’s motivations go beyond just being evil for the sake of being evil. He has a point of view that’s actually logical. His methods might be extreme and even cruel, but he adds another layer of complexity to an animated series that prides itself on addressing adult themes.
Asami Sato
Arguably the strongest female character on the show, Asami Sato’s introduction was originally met with skepticism. Thought at first to be just a rich girl with a pretty face, Asami quickly proved that she was not only an extremely resourceful and intelligent young woman, but a person that played an intregal part in Team Avatar’s adventures. Sadly, it was not only disappointing to see Asami relegated to be a bit-player in Spirits, but it was also horrifying to learn that her entire arc during the season was to be a wedge in the painfully dull Korra-Mako relationship. Building strong female characters, something that the Avatar series accomplished so astoundingly well in dozens of episodes, was abandoned for shipping wars. In this last season, it was obvious the writers were making up for the severe lack of Asami, and gave her more than enough to do.
Acting as Korra’s closest confidant, a position that Tenzin often occupied in earlier seasons, Asami would offer Korra advice and even be instrumental in aiding the young Avatar’s struggles in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba-Sing-Se, and numerous battles against the Red Lotus. Plus, she jumped over a motorcycle and took out the driver with one hit. That’s pretty damn impressive.
Lin Bei-Fong
Lin Bei-Fong, one of the standout characters from the first season, was all but ignored in Korra’s lackluster second. Thankfully, Book 3 not only brought the metal bending master back as a strong supporting character, but it also explored her relationship with her estranged half-sister, Suiyn, and seemingly aloof mother, Toph. Viewers learned that’s Toph’s hands-off approach to parenting may have been the cause for not only Lin’s stubborn attitude, but the starting point for her resentment and outright hatred for her sister. With two episodes dedicated to Lin’s past, it was revealed that the often cold and hardened policewoman of Republic City suffered from depression and crippling loneliness. Depression has been something briefly explored perhaps only with Zuko in the original series, but Lin’s story tackled it head on with grace.
Believable Relationships
A major point of contention among Avatar fans was the ridiculous focus on the Korra-Mako relationship during Season 2. Thankfully, Season 3 sought to strengthen the friendships between all the members of Team Avatar. The one relationship that has seen the most growth has been Korra and Asmai’s. Initially set-up as rivals in past episodes, Korra and Asami would spend the majority of Season 3 together. Whether it be clearing the air over what happened between them in the past, or escaping man-eating sand sharks, their friendship truly blossomed during their travels together. Their final interaction during the last episode was especially heartwarming.
Korra’s Maturity
One of the biggest complaints of Season 2 was how little Korra seemed to mature as a character after the death of Amon and the end of the Equalist movement. Her arrogance and brashness made sense in Season 1. She was young and was forced to live a sheltered life under the ever watchful eye of the White Lotus. It made sense then, but her continued immaturity throughout Season 2 puzzled and exasperated fans to no end. Whether it was the way she so often verbally disrespected her parents and Tenzin, or even the way she paid little thought to the feelings of her closest friends, Korra’s evolution as a character seemed to stop abruptly. Thankfully, Korra’s humility and empathy seemed to kick into high gear. From the earliest moments of the first episode, where she comforted a man on the edge of suicide, to her willingness to sacrifice herself for the lives of a nation reborn, Korra truly became an Avatar both physically and mentally by the last few episodes of Season 3.
Do you think Korra’s third season was an improvement over its second? Do you think Season 2 had any problems? What are your predictions for the show moving forward? Let us know in the comments below.
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When thinking about comics, there seems to be a tendency to immediately think of Marvel and DC. It’s hardly surprising since the two companies have some of the most well-known and beloved characters of all time. Still, some of the best books in print today don’t feature Batman or The Avengers. If anything, the most original and creative content in comics are coming from the smallest of publishers.
Whether it’s a band of medieval female mercenaries, a man wielding a gun cursed by the devil himself or two parents running across the universe to protect their child, there’s more than a chance you’ll find something that catches your fancy. Below is a list of the some of the best indie titles that you’ll find at your local comic retailer.
Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
So, you have two characters that are able to freeze time when they orgasm. After said orgasm, they decide to rob a bank. That’s why the book is called Sex Criminals. It’s a pretty appropriate title, right?
Writer Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, The Immortal Iron Fist) introduces readers to Jon and Suzie, who, after sleeping together, learn that they have the same inexplicable power to freeze time in place after they have sex. Weird doesn’t begin to describe the premise of the comic, but Fraction delivers enough heart-warming content to make Sex Criminals one of the easiest books to pick-up and read right now. Along with the countless humorous situations that the characters get themselves into, the book provides a surprisingly honest look at how complicated and difficult maintaining relationships can be. If anyone is looking for a comic that focuses on ridiculous sexual antics, strangely helpful relationship advice and some sweet breaking of the fourth wall commentary that would make Deadpool jealous, then Sex Criminals is a must buy. Just be careful not to show it to your parents.
Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch
Most fantasy worlds tend to be so serious. Whether it’s protecting a magic ring from some angry floating eye, or following the events of a dozen families in a land ruled by blood and iron, fantasy these days always tends to be so dower. Well, throw all that out the window with Kurtis J. Wiebe’s Rat Queens, a book about four female mercenaries who take enjoyment on completing every quest, and even more enjoyment drinking and sleeping with anything that has two legs.
The cast of Rat Queens includes Dee, an atheist cleric, Hannah, an elven mage with the mouth of a sailor, Violet, a hipster dwarven warrior, and Betty, the candy and drug loving Halfling with a heart of gold. The first several issues follow these unlikely heroes as they try to figure out who set them up to die during their last job. This comic is the perfect palette cleanser for anyone wanting to see something different in the fantasy genre.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
Written by Brian K. Vaughn (Ex Machina, Y-The Last Man), Saga follows Marko and Alana, an alien couple attempting to raise their infant daughter, Hazel, in a galaxy that is perhaps one of the most original science-fantasy universes ever created in comics.
Caught in the middle of an inter-galactic conflict between their two races, the young parents are pursued by a number of characters so strange that describing them as “unique” would be an understatement. Whether it’s a mysterious bounty hunter with a lie detecting cat, a prince with a television for a head, a ghost girl babysitter or disappointed in-laws, Saga offers enough ridiculous plots and side stories to completely engross you for an entire issue. Even with all the craziness and debauchery Vaughn is able to conjure up, Saga, at its heart, is about family and unconditional love. It’s filled with a ton of sex too. Bit of a common theme here, eh?
Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark
Taking place in a post-apocalyptic United States, Lazarus focuses on several powerful families who control what remains of the country. Guarding their holdings and exploiting the inhabitants that live under their thumb, the families employ the use of a Lazarus. A Lazarus is a human/machine hybrid that acts as the family’s resident assassin and guard dog. Forever Carlyle, the Lazarus of the Carlyle Family, learns of a conspiracy that could potentially plunge the country into a brutal war.
Greg Rucka (Gotham Central, Queen and Country) is well known for writing wickedly grim material, and Lazarus is no exception. Following Forever’s investigation in a world that is slowly dying is a fascinating and rewarding read. Not only does it provide plenty of mysteries, twists and corporate conspiracies to keep you entertained, but it also gives you some amazingly brutal cyborg fights that put Terminator 2: Judgment Day to shame.
The Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt
Set sometime after the US Civil War, Cullen Bunn’s The Sixth Gun tells the tale of six legendary revolvers and the unique abilities that each possesses. Oh, it also features a secret cult of reptile people, a 7-foot tall mummy, a legion of shotgun-wielding warrior priests and an undead Confederate general with dreams of bringing about the apocalypse. You know, what you’d expect to see back then.
Following Drake Sinclair, an embittered gunslinger, Becky Montcrief, a young woman with a destiny to fulfill, and a cast of assorted ne’er-do-wells you’d expect to see in a book about magic guns, The Sixth Gun is the perfect comic for those with an interest in westerns and the occult. Sinclair and Montcrief’s adventures take them to the farthest edges of the United States, and the darkest, most ancient of places long forgotten by the world. Along the way, the two gunfighters and their many companions work to keep the accursed firearms out of the hands of those wishing to wreak unspeakable evil upon civilization. Their mission seems doomed to fail from the start, but that doesn’t stop the book from being enormously entertaining.
Are you a fan of any of these books? Any particular indie comics that you’re reading now? Let us know in the comments below!
If you have a few extra dimes to spare, please help us help a fan in need. Thank you!
If you have a few extra dimes to spare, please help us help a fan in need. Thank you!
