Nomadlife

 I just finished reading Nomadland by Jessica Bruder. I tried watching the movie, but the pace was fucking glacial and I got bored. So, while I was out the other day, I bought a copy of the book.

And you know what?  The book is better.

Shocker! Right?

Heh.

Anyway, the book is very interesting. In case you don't know, Jessica Bruder is a journalist who reports on the various subcultures in American society. In Nomadlife she focuses on the vanlifers, people who have chosen to live in vans and cars, to escape the crushing debt of 21st century life. Most of the people that Bruder interviewed and focused on were senior citizens, who seem to have lost everything through bad luck and the accumulation of debt. She focuses predominantly on the story of a woman named Linda May, who is in her sixties, when she becomes a vandweller.

I'll admit that this wasn't my first exposure to the whole vanlife experience. I know who Bill Wells is and I've seen younger vanlifers posting trendy videos on YouTube. Also, vanlife videos tend to get lumped in with the 'tiny house dwellers' in YouTube algorithm. Start looking at tiny houses and you'll eventually come across a video of someone living in their van.

Bruder's book, however, is a lot more honest than most of the videos. You get a strong sense that the people she's interviewed don't see themselves as victims. They see themselves as hacking the system, getting out of a rigged game that they just don't want to play any more. The vanlifers on YT are younge people who seem less genuine, in comparison, and more slick with their sponsored ads and curated content. More affected. Less real.

Overall, I'd recommend Nomadlife. It was a good read and I learned things that I did not know before I picked it up. It's scraped away a lot of the romanticism of living life in a vehicle, while portraying its interviewees, not as victims, but matter-of-fact pragmatists.

Fantasy Quest!

A little over a month ago, I sold my house and moved to a new part of town.  As part of getting to know my new neighborhood, I sought out the nearest local library. You can tell a lot about a neighborhood by how nice their local library is, how many actual books they have in relation to cheapjack desktop computers, and how much of their inventory is media.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover my local library has a generous amount of books AND media and only a very small section of desktop computers. Most of the visitors who wanted to use the internet seemed to have brought their own computers with them and were using the local wifi.

So, after wandering around, I decided to pick up some books. But what to read? I haven't had any real desire to read anything, which is probably why I've had problems trying to write. The word-tanks are empty and must be refilled regularly. I have been neglecting that.

So, I decided that I would start in the A's of the fiction section and work my way through all the Fantasy authors until I reach Z.

So far, it's been an interesting experience. I've discovered some good books and some real stinkers. Here's a brief breakdown of what I've read so far.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie.  A sort of Viking-themed fantasy setting.  Excellent book. Highly recommend it.

Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham. Initially, I was concerned this would turn into a Harry Potter-style book but it avoided that particular pitfall. A good book. Not great. But pretty damn good.

Blood Song by Cat Adams. The first stinker I encountered. Urban fantasy bullshit with a female protagonist who, it's revelaed, is even more special than she first appeared. *eyeroll* Overall, it was an okay book, but the protagonist just left a bad taste in my mouth, the literary equivalent of tequila vomit aftertaste. 

Edge of Dawn by Lara Adrian. Eleventh is a series, which I didn't realize when I picked it up, or I wouldn't have bothered. A 'Vampires existence has been revealed' fantasy book set in the near future. The main character, Mira, is just unpleasant and fucking stupid to boot. A shit book that I resent waisting my time on.

The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers. This is awkward, but I read this book ages ago and completely forgot about it until I was two chapters into this copy. It's not a bad book. It's well-written and I didn't want to choke the shit out of the main character, Eva Forge. It bills itself as steampunk sword-n-sorcery. Eva's a paladin and how she channels her paladin abilities is cool. Read it yourself to see how. Not a bad book, but not great either. Kind of 'meh.'  Still a billion times better than Edge of Fucking Dawn.

The Dark Side of the Road by Simon Green. This is sort of an Honorable Mention as its the first book I checked out of my new library before I started on my Fantasy Quest. It sort of inspired me because I love Simon Green and was totally unaware that he had written another fantasy series. This book, though, was pretty much shit. It's an urban fantasy/mystery and a real slog to get through. Totally fucking boring. Very disappointing when compared to the Nightside books or even his Shaman Bond series. 

And that's where I'm at so far. What fresh horrors/wonders will I uncover on my next trip to the library? Who knows? But I'll let y'all know after the fact, and possibly spare some of you some time-wasting, cringe-worthy books.  

The Problem Child

Good evening, gentle readers.
Over the last few months, D&D has pretty much devoured this blog. Mainly because it's my primary creative outlet.
But tonight, I'm going to talk about something different.
Tonight, gentle readers, I'm going to talk about my Problem Child.
The Problem Child is the laptop I am currently using. She wasn't always a Problem Child. Once upon a time, not that long ago, she was my 'baby.'  I would lie in bed with her, attempt to write, promote things on Twitter, watch the occasional Netflix show.
Then, in October, the problems began.
She began to lose her connection to the wifi at my house. Just at the house. Not anywhere else. I could even connecting using the POS network at my local bookstore, when I was there.
I thought the problem might have been physical. Perhaps my wifi card was going bad? Perhaps my network adapter was on the fritz? I had them checked and, no, everything appeared to be fine.
It was just at home that my problems persisted.
I tested my home system. Every other device I used had no trouble connecting and maintaining a stable wifi connection.
So, the problem must be with this computer. This laptop. This Problem Child of mine.
Having eliminated network issues and environmental issues, I started poking around on the Internet, seeing if anyone else had similar issues.
I found that I was not alone.
A lot of folks were having similar, or worse, issues.
The culprit seemed to be the Windows 10 operating system.  Windows 10 is a bit of a Nazi program. You can't tell it what to do, it does what it wants. It downloads updates without you having any real control over the downloads.
Since their Fall Creators Update, which included such marvelous things as a 3D paint studio(WTF?), a lot of people have had their wifi screwed up. And Microsoft, after their fashion, has refused to accept any culpability in the matter. Even though their forums are flooded with people, complaining about the issue and looking for help.  They tend to regurgitate the same 'solution' to every problem, none of which seem to work for everyone.
After two months of dealing with this horseshit from Microsoft, I've pretty much given up using my laptop as I would like. No more languishing in bed, taking my ease as I flit between writing and the Internet. Oh no.
Now, like a caveman, I have to go downstairs and physically connect my laptop to my router. I sit, crosslegged, on the carpeted floor, and go about my business.  It feels like I've been transported back to 1995, only not in a good way.
To say I'm a bit pissed at Microsoft regarding this matter would be an understatement.  My anger with them and their piss-all service and support has gone beyond the boiling point.  It has even gone beyond the cold icy hatred normally reserved for certain individuals. My anger with Microsoft has entered hitherto unknown regions for me, a sort of void where I lie in bed and smile as I think of their programmers developing some horrible wasting disease that consumes their lives, slowly and methodically.
Now, this is very atypical for me. I am not normally given to thoughts of vengeance and retribution. So if Microsoft and their crappy Windows 10 can produce such a response in me? Well, I shudder to think what some other people out there are going through.
And I cannot help but wonder if Microsoft invests any of their billions in fortifying their buildings with shatterproof glass and reinforced security doors? Because, honestly, ladies and gentlemen, if I were them, that would be something I would be doing.
As for the Problem Child? As long as I'm not trying to use the wifi at home, she seems okay. But if the problem spreads? Well, I might have to start looking for a new laptop. Maybe one that doesn't have a Windows OS. Only time will tell.

Quick Comic Reviews

Hello, gentle readers! Sorry I've been incommunicado for most of the month but life happened. Still, I didn't want the entire month to go past without some kind of activity here on the blog. So, without further ado, a super-quick review of three of this week's comics!

First up is Gotham City Garage.  This is an Elseworls book set outside of the normal DCU. Comparing it to Bombshells wouldn't be out of place, at least, as far as content goes. The story isn't very interesting and neither is the art. Overall, I'd give this book a pass if I were you.  It's pretty much filler. 1/5 stars.

Next up is Jimmy's Bastards.  The premise is amusing: what if a womanizing super-spy, a la James Bond, was suddenly confronted by all the murderous offspring he'd conceived over the years? Well, that's what Jimmy Regent is facing. So far, with three issues down, it's been a fun little book. If you just want a fun read, I'd say give this a try.  3/5 stars.

Finally, we have Secret Empire. Yes, this is the book that turned Captain America into a Nazi. Yes, it was the core book of another "Marvel Event." That's two strikes against this thing already. So, does it get a third strike? Boy, does it ever. This book is a hot mess. Like all recent Marvel events the climax is utterly flat and there won't be any longterm ramifications or fallout from this title. If there is, I'll be genuinely surprised.  Give this a pass. Zero/5 stars.

Review: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

When I saw the first trailer for Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, I was excited. I loved The Fifth Element and have watched that movie so many times its ridiculous. I was really looking forward to seeing Valerian.
All that said, when I walked out of Valerian a while ago, I was left feeling vaguely cheated.
The movie is visually stunning. The previews, amazingly enough, do NOT give away the plot. Rihanna's performance is amazing.
All that said, the movie has some things working against it: its plot, its actors and their characters.
The plot in Valerian isn't convoluted, it's barely there. A large portion of the movie is taken up by a sidequest where Valerian has to save Laureline from cannibalistic aliens.  That bit was interesting, but not really essential to the main story. It didn't really add anything, but window dressing.
As for the actors? I have no idea who Dane Dehann is or what other films he's appeared in. He seems serviceable enough in this film, as done Cara Delevigne, but neither of their performances was stellar. Clive Owens simply plays his in-stock character. At this point, you could drop the man into any film and he would be playing the exact same character. Rihanna's performance was quite nice, although her character was essentially pointless.
And that is where this movie fails so utterly. The characters of Valerian and Laureline, our protagonists, the people we're supposed to relate to and cheer for, are a couple of dicks.
Seriously.
Valerian comes across as a smugly arrogant little bastard while Laureline is just bitter. We're supposed to believe these people are in the military? Neither displays anything approaching military discipline or decorum.  You know you've got a problem when the most likeable characters in the film either (a) die or (b) are a cannibal-chef.
I've read that Luc Beson had been plotting to make this movie for years. Well, I hope he enjoyed what he made because I'm not sure how many other people will.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets a 2. Although its visual spectacle might shine on the big screen, the unlikability of its central characters forces me to consign this film to the on-demand queue or DVD bin.

The Mummy (2017) - A Review

The Mummy (2017)

The Mummy is a deeply flawed movie. 

Intended as the first in a shared monster universe, The Mummy  stars Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella. Cruise plays a self-involved soldier-of-fortune, while Boutella plays the title character.  Cruise walks through his role, while Boutella sinks her teeth into her's.  Despite this, despite the presence of Russell Crowe as Doctor Jekyll, this movie is bland and unoriginal.

The biggest problem with the movie, in my opinion, is that there's no one to route for. Cruise's character is just too unlikable, while Boutella is clearly the villain.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give The Mummy a 2; wait for this one to come out on DVD or On-Demand. Give the theater a pass.

Comic Rec

The Misfits #5

I can honestly say that I didn't expect much from The Misfits when I picked up that first issue a few months back. So the fact that the comic actually gave the characters some depth and interesting backstories came as a pleasant surprise.

This week's issue wraps up the mini-series and switches the spotlight to Jetta. I found that Jetta's story resonated with me in unexpected ways.

I'm sad to see this miniseries wrap up so quickly, but I'm pleased that it ended on such a strong note. If you're a fan of the old television show, or if you're still trying to wash the taste of the atrocious Jem movie out of your mouth, you could do a lot worse than reading The Misfits.

At the very least, their songs are better.

POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales - A Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opened this past weekend to a massive $324 million opening. So it's a real pity that the movie is such a clunker. None of the performances are particularly good, the story is a rehash of the same old, same old and the villain of the piece is completely two-dimensional.
Johnny Depp returns to familiar territory with Captain Jack Sparrow, but his performance in DMTNT is completely lacking in interest or the zest that the character had in previous installments.
Javier Bardem's Captain Salazar had the potential to be genuinely creepy, but his performance was so ham-fisted and blunt that any menace was removed by the slightly constipated expression the character maintained throughout the production.  And honestly, considering what he had to work with, constipation may have been preferable to other reactions.
Brenton Thwaites is one of the newcomers to the franchise. He plays Henry Turner, the son of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann.  He's certainly good looking, but he brings absolutely nothing to the role besides pouty lips and puppy-dog eyes. The role of Henry could have been played by any other vaguely hot blonde actor working in Hollywood. Yes, his character is that bland.
The other newcomer to the cast is Kaya Scodelario, who plays Carina Smyth. There's actually some interesting things about her character, and she does play a linchpin role in the movie. However, the character is never really utilized as anything more than a nag and a piece of set dressing.
And finally, we have the return and exit of Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa. I'll admit, I have an enormous affection for Barbossa's character. I was secretly hoping that he might get a spin-off movie, but chances seem slim that it will happen now.  Rush does what he can with the character, but even Barbossa feels stilted and ineffectual in this movie. Mores the pity, considering it's probably his last appearance in the franchise.
As for the plot? Its a paint-by-numbers plot that feels squashed, as if they were trying to cram three movies worth of ideas into a single film.  It doesn't drag. Quiet the opposite. DMTNT rushes from one scene to the next with a sort of spiritless energy that's more tiring than exhilarating.
There were some nice special effects, but the movie didn't even have the benefit of gorgeous scenery. If you're filming in Australia and New Zealand, why not take advantage of the scenery?
So, is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales worth seeing?
In my humble opinion, I would say 'No.' I would skip going to see this in the movie, and maybe catch it on DVD or on-demand.  On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd probably give this film a 2.
And, in all honesty, at this point they should either kill the franchise (unlikely given the cash it's made so far), or spin it in a new direction.

Comic Recs for 5/10/2017

FUTURE QUEST #12

This is the final issue of Future Quest and it's been a helluva ride. Part of the appeal of this series has been nostalgia, at least for me, but the book should be easily accessible to most people. Even if your only exposure to Space Ghost is reruns of his 'talk show' on Cartoon Network.  The characters are nicely developed, the story is engaging and this final issue ties things up nicely. There's even talk of more FutureQuest, down the road.  If that happens, I'll definitely be there.

DRAGON AGE: KNIGHT ERRANT #1

Being a fan of D&D, I feel a bit guilty saying that the Dragon Age comics put out by Dark Horse have been blowing their D&D counterparts out of the freakin' water.  Truth hurts.

Dragon Age: Knight Errant is no exception to that experience. In this first issue, we are introduced to an itinerant knight and his elf squire, as they arrive in the city of Kirkwall. And while Ser Hawthorne regales a dinner party with tales of daring do, unknown to him, his elf squire, Vaea, slips out to pursue her sideline as a thief.

This first issue sets things up quite nicely. We get a good intro to Ser Hawthorne and Vaea, as well as their motivations for what they do, and it ends with enough of a cliffhanger that I'll probably pick up the second issue.

Honorable mentions this week go to Scooby Apocalypse #13, where the Mystery Machine gang has an unpleasant encounter with Velma's brother, Rufus, and someone new joins them on their quest to save the world. Also, the monsters hold their own version of the Burning Man Festival.

Also getting a mention this week is Rock Candy Mountain #2. Things remain intriguing. We meet some new characters: FBI Agent Babs Bardoux, the Black Orchid, a fighter called Hundred Cats and the King of Humblebrechdt County, who just happens to be a chicken. Our protagonist, Jackson, kicks ass in an underground fight club, while the Devil remains hot on his heels and Slim just tries to make sense of everything.

Comic Recs

Kill Shakespeare - Past is Prologue: Juliet is a prequel to the excellent Kill Shakespeare series. Set a few months after the events in Romeo & Juliet, we are introduced to a troubled Juliet, still mourning the loss of her Romeo and at odds with the world around her. The first issue ends in a typical Shakespearean manner, with a blood-soaked tragedy, and opens the door on a couple of mysteries.

Rock Candy Mountain is one of those books that defines Image Comics as a risk-taking publisher. The first issue opens in 1948 with the Devil beating a bunch of hobos to death, and our mysterious protagonist, Jackson, jumping onto a train.  Jackson, it seems, is searching for the legendary Rock Candy Mountain. Most folks think he's crazy. But if the Devil's after you, how crazy can you be? In this first issue, Jackson befriends a hard luck case nicknamed Pomona and tussles with the Hobo Mafia. Yes, you read that right. Hobo. Mafia. The story is intriguing enough for me to want to pick up the second issue, even though I think the art could be a little tighter. Overall, though, it was a pretty good read.

I liked America Chavez. When she showed up in Young Avengers, she was a breath of fresh air. I still want her line, "The laws of physics can kiss my ass!" on a t-shirt. I even liked her in The Ultimates.
Her own series however? Not so much.
Last month, America #1 left me lukewarm at best regarding the character. She didn't come across as strong or independent, she just came across as bitchy and controlling. With this second issue of her book, I am officially done.
This book was just shitty. It's as if someone took a bunch of disparate ideas, mixed them in a blender, chugged them down, then vomited them back up on the page. The cover art leaves me feeling 'Meh' but the internals just make me sigh wistfully for art that actually looks finished.
Overall, this book was just a toxic mess. Avoid it like the plague.

Comic Recs for 3/23/2017

Empowered is one of those books that is consistently good and also almost unheard of among the general population. That's a pity because it does a fine job of skewering super-type tropes in clever and humorous ways. The current story has Emp and gal-pal Ninjette facing off against the machinations of a magical girl gone rogue, using love as a weapon. This book is not for kids, but adults would love it. If I have a critique, it's that the art feels a bit inconsistent. 3 out of 4 stars.

FutureQuest is a great slice of nostalgia for fans of a certain age and a fun book for people who don't know anything about the Hannah-Barbera superhero universe. It brings together characters as diverse as Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr., the Impossibles and the Herculoids as they battle a parasitic alien invader. Nice art. Great story. 4 out of 5 stars.

Powerless

The other night I made the mistake of watching a new sit-com called Powerless.  It is touted as the first sit-com to be set in the DC Comics universe. The show was apparently retooled since its initial inception; originally it was meant to be set in an insurance company called Retcon Insurance, but then the setting was changed to Wayne Security.
I guess they thought tying the show into the Batman mythos would give it a boost?
If so, they need to hire new consultants.
This show has an amazing cast. So it's shocking just how bad and humorless it actually is. I've watched four episodes and I don't think I laughed once.  Actually, I don't think I smiled once.
I'm not the only one.
Apparently, the show's ratings are in the toilet.  If I'm reading the figures right, the show has lost over half their initial viewership.  I believe the series has also lost some of its key production personnel, as well, a pretty clear sign that it's going belly up.
The thing is, a show like Powerless could have worked. Not necessarily as a comedy, but maybe as a dramedy. Dump the connections to Bruce Wayne. Keep it in Charm City, but set it in a police department or a federal agency that deals with the aftermath of superhero battles. Use that fucking amazing cast (Dani Pudi! For God's sake, you've got Dani Pudi and you aren't letting him be funny!), give them a decent script and the show could have taken off like a rocket!
Instead, NBC/DC went with a shitty sit-com that isn't even funny compared to the 1966 Batman t.v. show. They have no one to blame for the inevitable failure of this tepid piece of shit but themselves.

Comic Reviews

The Backstagers #6

2 out of 5 Stars

Eh.

Disappointing.

Future Quest #9

4 out of 5 Stars

Entertaining.

Surprise twist at the end.

Inhumans vs X-Men #3

3 out of 5 Stars.

The X-Men are dicks.

Ms. Marvel texts to save the world.

Jem and the Holograms #23

3 out of 5 Stars.

Great cover.

So-so story.

Still better than the fucking movie.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Giants #2

4 out of 5 Stars.

Great story.

Art is okay.

Lady Castle #1

2 out of 5 Stars.

*sigh*

Princeless does it better.

Saga #42

3 out of 5 Stars.

Not their best issue.

Ending is depressing as fuck.

Thanos #3

4 out of 5 Stars.

Thanos vs. The Shi'ar Imperial Guard.

A well done fight issue.

Inhumans vs. X-Men #2

Inhumans vs. X-Men #2.
Tedious.
Stupid.
Pass.

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the latest cinematic child of world-famous author, J.K. Rowling.  Best known for her Harry Potter books, Fantastic Beasts is set in that same world, but seventy years before the events of the Potter books and across the ocean, in New York City.

I wanted to like this movie a lot more than I did. Although not a Potterhead, I did enjoy most of the Potter films.  Fantastic Beasts? Not so much.

The cast is talented. The settings are lavish. The creature effects are really quite wonderful. However, the story is not so great. The first sign that things are amiss is the opening; there's no buildup. The viewer is simply dumped into the story, which proceeds to move along in a jerky, disjointed manner.  There's no real character development and we can spot the big bad coming from a mile away.

The film isn't bad, it's just not that great. And it is obviously meant to set things up for the rest of the franchise series.

Bearing all that in mind, I have to give Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them only 2 stars out of five.  It's matinee worthy, but, really, you should just wait for it to come out on video.

Death of X and the Decline of Marvel Comics

Cover from Death of X #4

The following post will contain spoilers for Death of X. Read on at your peril!

I called it.

I totally called it.

Cyclops was dead at the start of this whole fiasco. Emma Frost was the person behind it all, maintaining and projecting a psychic image of Cyclops into the minds of his friends and allies.

It was entirely predictable.

And that, my friends, is the reason 99% of Marvel Comics suck so hard these days. 

They are predictable. Nothing is truly shocking. None of their 'events' have any lasting consequences. 

Granted, I am somewhat jaded. I've been reading comics since before Jean Grey died the first time. So it's going to be pretty hard for the so-called House of Ideas to surprise me.

That's not to say they haven't produced some interesting content over the last few years. The recent Vision miniseries was excellent, for the most part. 

But the X-Men books suck. If you believe the hype, that's deliberate. Part of a convoluted plan on the part of Marvel/Disney to make the characters unappealing to the fanbase, so they won't go and watch the Fox movies.  

Yeah, and if you believe that I've got this swell bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you!

If Marvel/Disney wanted to shut down the X-books, they would just do it. The x-books make money, but let's be honest, Disney is using Marvel as an idea farm. They can make more off a shitty movie with toy tie-ins than they can from the actual books that Marvel produces.  If they really wanted to make a profit, they would just shut down Marvel Comics altogether and maintain copyrights and trademarks by reprinting graphic novels ad nauseum while saturating the hell out of the toy/collectibles market.

But instead, they keep producing comics. And the comics they produce are, generally, of poor quality. The stories are rehashed. (Civil War II, anyone?) Character are recycled, often recast as a different gender/ethnicity/sexuality, etc. ( see Ms. Marvel, Thor, the Sam Wilson Captain America, Captain Marvel, etc.).

It is a glorious soap opera gone horribly, horribly wrong.

And nothing exemplifies this more than the Death of X mini-series.  This four-part series was meant to reveal what Cyclops did that polarized the world to such an extent, making mutants feared and hated more than ever.  It was meant to reveal how he died and the fate of Emma Frost.

It tried to do that, but in the most hackneyed, shitty-as-possible way that they could.  It is the mini-series equivalent, almost, to the infamous dream sequence in Dallas, where viewers discovered that the last few seasons of a t.v. show were, in fact, nothing but a bad dream.

Only the creators didn't even do that. Instead, we got Cyclops dying from M-Pox and Emma Frost keeping his death a secret, creating a psychic projection of Cyclops and using it to puppet the X-Men into a war with the Inhumans. It lacked drama and pathos, and, ultimately, felt cheap and tawdry, a $20 whore decked out in designer glad-rags,but still crawling with syphilis.

For shame, Marvel! For same!

The fans deserve so much more.

DOCTOR STRANGE

I went and saw Doctor Strange the other night and thought it was okay.
Just okay.
Like most of the Marvel movies have been 'just okay.'
On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a solid 3.
And that, gentle readers, is somewhat disappointing to me.
To me, Doctor Strange felt like any other Marvel movie. And it really shouldn't have, because while the other movies and their characters have mostly been grounded in Science Fiction or Fantasy, Doctor Strange should have fallen more into the Horror category.
Since the character deals with threats from beyond the universe, you would think the producer/director would have gone for a more Lovecraftian vibe. Instead, they went for a weirdly generic origin story with generous lashings of kung-fu and a slim veneer of generic magic.
Don't get me wrong. I think it's definitely worth paying full price to see, but I think it could have been so much better.

Mystery Girl

Trine Hampstead knows everything. Just knows it. Ask her a question like "Where are my keys?" or "Is my husband cheating on me?" or "How can there be perfectly preserved mammoths in the ice of Siberia when the ice isn't that old?" and she just knows the answer.  She's the Mystery Girl.
The only thing she doesn't know is how she got her ability. But that's a mystery for later.  The mystery for now is about those mammoths.  Trine knows why they're there but surprises anyone who knows her by leaving her London-based sidewalk-detective setup to go to Siberia and see them for herself. And close behind is a vicious killer who is targeting her for reasons even Trine doesn't know . . . yet.

This was a very entertaining trade with likeable characters. Trine's gift does make her a bit of a duex ex machina, but it's handled very well and the character's innate likability doesn't hurt either.
It's a bit different, but give it a try. You might like it.

The Backstagers: A Review

Hello, gentle readers!
So, it's been about a week since the first issue of The Backstagers came out and I'm still not sure whether or not I actually like this book.
Written by James Tynion and Rian Sygh, the book focuses on the adventures and antics of the Backstagers: Jory, Hunter, Sasha, Aziz and Becket.  They're students at an all-boys school called St. Genesius where they work backstage in the Drama Club.  However, this isn't your ordinary backstage job where you build props, manage the lights, etc.  No, this Backstage is akin to Wonderland or Narnia or an Escher painting.  It's full of magic and strangeness that only the Backstagers know about.
In this first issue, Jory is a new student at St. Genesius, looking for a place to belong. He gives the Drama Club a shot, but winds up getting sent backstage where he falls into one of the Backstagers' adventures.  Hijinx ensue and he abandons the stage for the backstage.
The Backstagers is an all-ages book with a definite queer slant.  The first issue doesn't just hit the ground running, it smashes into it and races along it, scattering sparks and debris in its path. That, I think, is part of my problem with the book; in this first issue, things just happen too fast. The characters are painted with broad, colorful strokes.  They rush from one scene to another. As readers, we're not given a chance to process what's happening.
This could be deliberate. Tynion could be attempting to mirror Jory's experience as he is dropped into this incredible world.  If so, if it was meant to draw us in and make us feel like a part of the action, it didn't really work for me.  The pacing on the story just felt rushed and fragmented.
As for the art? I LOVE the cover by Veronica Fish. That is a beautiful piece of work.
But the internal art? Eh. Not so much. I mean, it's okay, but it's just not my cup of tea.  It's a little too cartoonish for my liking.  However, I do like the character designs, especially Becket and Sasha. To me, those two really pop.
Overall, I really want to like this book. I really want to say that it's a great read and a good beginning to this miniseries.
I really want to do it.
But I can't.
This first issue just left me feeling kind of 'Meh.'  It's not good, it's not bad, it's just 'meh.'
On a scale of one to five, I have to give The Backstagers a two.
Since this is only an 8-issue miniseries, I'll probably give the next couple of issues a try.  It's not that bad.  But if I'm not suitably impressed, or amused, by the end of the third issue, I probably won't buy the rest.

SUICIDE SQUAD

I just got out of seeing Suicide Squad and thought I would do a quick review.  The movie has a decent cast but a generic plot.  Character development is given, predominantly, to Harley Quinn and Deadshot. The other characters remain undeveloped.  Unfortunately, even the developed characters in this film are boring.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Suicide Squad, they are a group of super-villains from the DC Comics Universe, press-ganged by a woman named Amanda Waller into running clandestine black ops operations for the U.S. government.  In exchange for completing these operations, the group gets time shaved off their various prison sentences.  To ensure their compliance, each member of the group is fitted with a remote-controlled explosive that can be activated by Waller or the squad’s field commander, Colonel Rick Flag.
Many people, after seeing the film, have compared it to The Magnificent Seven. This is not an accurate comparison, in my opinion. No, the Suicide Squad would more accurately be compared to The Dirty Dozen.
Both films are about convicted criminals recruited to carry out a suicide mission, but the 1967 film does a much better job of telling a story. Suicide Squad’s story is hampered by its cast of unsympathetic characters and a predictable story that, to be honest, drags at times.
I think the cast tried to work with what they were given, but that wasn’t much. And some of the performances are just flat-out bad.
Margot Robbie certainly has Harley Quinn’s look down, but not her ephemeral zaniness.  Will Smith plays Deadshot like he plays every character. Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang was serviceable, but unspectacular, while Karen Fukuhara’s Katana remains pretty much a cypher throughout the movie. Adam Beach’s Slipknot makes no impression at all, while Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Cara Delevingne’s Killer Croc and Enchantress both make terrible impressions.  Adewale because he doesn’t do anything at all, while Delevingne’s character, who is central to the plot, is plastic and two-dimensional.  Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag is an atrocious stereotype while Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller is not so much menacing as simply ponderous. The only performance that stood out to me was Jay Hernandez, as El Diablo, who managed to make his character seem genuinely repentant, if not very sympathetic. As for Jared Leto’s Joker? The phrase ‘chewing scenery’ springs immediately to mind.
So, was Suicide Squad a good movie or a bad movie?  Well, while it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be, it was nowhere near as good as it could have been. This movie might have been much better if it had just been a balls to the wall action romp, without any attempt at character development to make the bad guys more sympathetic.  Also, I’m curious about how much better or worse the movie was before cuts were made and reshoots were shot?  Did it flow better?  I suppose we’ll have to wait for the DVD release.
For now, on a scale of one to five, I would give Suicide Squad a two.  Skip the theater for this one, and catch it on Blue-Ray or Netflix instead.  You’ll probably thank me later.