Posted by
Anonymous
- Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Fantasy fans! Ever had a story to tell that was so out of whack, no one would ever believe you? It seems the main character in this great book, The Gift: Littlefield Chronicles, has a story to tell. Perhaps it's a farce; perhaps there's some truth to it. The thing about Tucker Littlefield is that he loves to tell it and he's very suspenseful about it. It keeps him paid and it keeps him drinking.
The book sets off from this point: Tucker in tavern, either spinning a yarn or telling a tale; however you see it. The details of his story are more Big Fish than believable, but it doesn't stop people from getting lost in his magnificent story telling. In fact, they pay to keep him in his seat. And so he tells his tale. It's a tale about a man who is a little more crooked than caring. He cares more for money than people. One night he finds himself in the company of a king, at a ball or festival of some sort.
Keeping such company is probably difficult enough, but when he meets Enon—a massive warrior of a man—and his dog, who has the ability to spy into his soul, everything he knows will be turned on its head. When a young jewel of a girl is taken from the king's home, Tucker finds himself on a quest with Enon to bring her back, and his eyes are opened to the world as it really exists.
This book was fantastic! As far as fantasy goes, The Gift adds a whole new meaning to the word. Several aspects of the novel are totally original. The relationships between the people in it—especially between Tucker and Eloise—are spot on. I can't tell you how often the situations they got into and the dialogue between them made me laugh. Beyond that, author Tegon Maus gives Tucker a "happenstance hero" kind of attitude. And to top it all off, the ending left a smile on my face. It's definitely a book I might read again, a great read, and I fully recommend it. Tell me what you think downstairs.
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
- Tuesday, April 15, 2014
This past Saturday turned out to be a real treat for about two thousand lovers of classical music and thrash metal. It turns out that legendary '80s metal musician Dave Mustaine of Megadeth performed in concert with the San Diego Symphony!
The show, billed as Symphony Interrupted, featured mad axeman Mustaine (or as I like to call him, Megadave) blasting out such classics as Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries after being introduced through the orchestra's rendition of one of Megadeth's own classics, Symphony of Destruction.
If you're expecting an epic live album in the vein of Metallica's 1999 concert S&M, featuring the late great composer and conductor Michael Kamen, you'll just have to chill your bean for now. Saturday's Symphony Interrupted was the very first in a line of shows currently lined up in other parts of the U.S. As Megadave himself said, right now it's still in development. So as awesome as it may seem already, this clearly isn't a flash in the pan, and could turn out to be something mega indeed.
When Mustaine—Metallica's original lead guitarist—was fired from the band, nobody expected that he would form and lead Megadeth, the one band of its era that truly challenged Hetfield and Ulrich. While Metallica had their own unique style that helped put them on top, Mustaine challenged thrashers and showboaters alike with his incredible guitar showmanship. He incorporated classical styles into his song writing and solos, which had been done successfully only by the likes of Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, and Yngwie Malmsteen. But unlike them, Megadave was doing it and singing over it at the same time. And now he's pushing his own boundaries once more by performing to a classical standard.
So, in time we may not only get an album and/or video of Dave Mustaine in concert, we could even have Megadeth with the San Diego Symphony somewhere in the near future. Who knows?
Sound off, Fanboys and Fangirls! You want this. Don't lie. It may seem too much to ask to see Megadeth follow in the footsteps of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Kiss, Pink Floyd, and Metallica, but if you don't ask, you don't get. Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment for us below!
Posted by
Orion Petitclerc
In a recent interview with IGN, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, the producers of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, were asked about a certain symbiotic serial killer appearing in the upcoming Venom spin-off film. Though not committing to a solid "yes" or "no," the idea of including Carnage in the film as an antagonist tickled their fancy, to say the least.
"What a great idea," Arad replied. Tolmach added, "Exactly. The idea of Venom and Carnage…taking it into consideration. Watch out for this Venom movie. We are crazy excited."
Crazy, he claims? Both Venom and Carnage's characters are insane in their own rights, but I would be really grasping at straws to say Tolmach's choice of words is any indication of an answer. Evidence of Cletus Kasady's rise in The Amazing Spider-Man's extended universe, however, may be providing the answer most geeks are hoping for.
A couple of weeks ago, I reported that Beenox had revealed Kasady and Carnage's appearance in a trailer for the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 video game. Then just this last week, the film's viral Tumblr account, The Daily Bugle, posted a faux news report written by none other than Eddie Brock himself about Kasady's escape from jail and subsequent internment at Ravencroft (notably famous in the character's comic book history).
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| Rhino from the game (left) and Rhino from the film (right). |
The last film-verse video game featured a cross-species Rhino character similar to the first film's Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard, and since The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will feature a markedly different take on the villain, it only stands to show that the video games in no way share or extend the canon of the film-verse. Only the debut of next month's Spider-Man film will confirm if any of The Daily Bugle's faux news blogs hold any ground as legitimate extensions of the franchise's canon, thus practically confirming both Kasady and Brock's existence in the film-verse canon. There is no doubt that Carnage is being lobbied about as a popular villain choice to include in the film-verse canon, so hopefully this lobbying translates into a firm confirmation eventually.
I've had my doubts about the upcoming Venom film after Arad's rather upsetting news the last time around, and I still seriously doubt Sony will give us the R-rated film both characters deserve; but for me, I'll be happy if it turns out a satisfactory Carnage and an improvement from Spider-Man 3's Venom.
"WE WANT TO HEAR YOU SCREAM!" Are you looking forward to a Venom versus Carnage showdown on the big screen? Which comic book story arcs do you want to see adapted in the Venom film? Who are your fan casts? (Ryan Kwanten as Brock and Robert Knepper as Kasady, for me!) Comment below, follow me on Fanboys Anonymous, and follow The Venom Site for all of your symbiote news, reviews, and point-of-views!
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Monday, April 14, 2014
On episode one of the 4 Reel Movie Club podcast, Fanboys Anonymous members gave their thoughts on four classic movies from the mind of comedic genius, Mel Brooks.
Host: Chris Dace
Panelists: Tony Mango, Mike Paden, Michael Burhan, and Travis Goss.
THIS MONTH'S SET OF MOVIES:
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
Spaceballs
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
You can watch the podcast below. Make sure to subscribe!
Posted by
Unknown
- Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Ultimate Universe has escaped death once again—recently at the hands of Galactus—and is now poised for a new tomorrow. Although Ultimate Spider-Man #200 kicked off this new chapter of the Ultimate Universe, it's All-New Ultimates #1 that gives us our first real look at the world post-Cataclysm.
Miles Morales' best friend, Ganke, kicks things off by being mugged early in the morning by a pair of men who look part lizard, part Savage Dragon. Cloak and Dagger promptly arrive and thwart the mugging, though how is hard to say as the action panels are a bit difficult to follow. The real take away here is that lizard men with scaly handle bar mustaches are now canon. Cloak and Dagger take Ganke to an abandoned church, which they are using for a secret base, where Miles awaits their arrival. Elsewhere, a group of police offers break into a drug lab which turns out to be empty, though they find a green cadaver with melted flesh. We watch a Serpent-like person complete with boils flee through a back alley, though the police are none the wiser.
Back in the base, Jessica Drew shows up with Bombshell and gives the various heroes S.H.I.E.L.D communicators, making their team official. She then briefs them on a local gang, "The Serpent Skulls," who are dealing a Roxxon drug that's a derivative of the one that gave the team their powers. They break the group meeting, agreeing to sweep the streets and begin chasing down leads. Jessica heads over to Kitty Pryde's house where the two discuss Kitty's new found celebrity. It's a pretty frustrating couple pages as it's Kitty's only appearance in the book even though her story, having publicly defeated Galactus thus massively swaying pubic opinion of mutants, is the most interesting. Sadly, she's only used for a few conversation pages where she uses her powers to complete mundane tasks, like fetching a napkin, to make the dialogue interesting.
Later, Bombshell follows her ears to somebody shouting next door while coming home from a date. She stumbles across the Serpent Skull we saw leave the drug lab and quickly engages him and his tech-wielding sidekick. Jessica Jones promptly arrives to join the fight debuting a new costume, and demands to be called Black Widow for reasons they don't care to explain in this issue. It feels forced. The police then arrive as Spider-Man and Cloak and Dagger simultaneously swoop in. The team battles the Serpent Skulls to a stand still, which falls apart when Spider-Man dodges a desperate attack by one of the Serpents, allowing the acid-based attack to fall on one of the police officers. As the team reels from his mistake, dozens of other serpents emerge from all around, circling them.
All-New Ultimates #1 kicked off the Ultimate Universe's new super group with a whimper. There's this idea in comics that teenagers can only take on rookie or youthful threats, which decreases the scale of the book and deflates the grandeur of these heroes. This is a group of individuals who just helped circumvent the apocalypse at the hands of a giant cosmic entity and they're now having difficulties battling bikers with acid touch. Perhaps Cataclysm left a lot to be desired, but this just feels like the Ultimate line took a bold step forward, then two large steps back. The unsure tone of the book fits a world that's rapidly changing, but the overall product is simply underwhelming at best. Bendis had hinted that he has big plans for Ultimate Spider-Man. Hopefully he starts holding the other members of the Ultimate line to a similar standard of excellence.
What did you think of All-New Ultimates #1? Are you happy the Ultimate Universe survived, or has this book left you longing for a reboot? Let us know in the comments section below!
Posted by
Eddie Siqueira
- Friday, April 11, 2014
Rejoice! Blizzard's online card game, Hearthstone, has barely been out of beta for a month, and already an expansion of sorts has been announced: Curse of Naxxramas! To be released over the course of five weeks, it is bound to bring new life into the newborn Blizzard game. A proper release date has not been set.
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| New bosses! |
There will be five wings in the necropolis of Naxxramas, and apparently, you will be able to purchase this via real-world money or in-game gold. We'll have to wait and see just how much gold will be required - all the more reason to improve your wits, intuition, and (if possible!) luck to start winning in Play, Ranked, or Arena mode.
The precept in Curse of Naxxramas will be to adventure into a dungeon and face several of Kel'Thuzad's "bosses," each with unique cards and abilities. The progression of this single-player game will probably be similar to the tutorial tree the first time a player starts Hearthstone. Oh, and the goodie: as you progress into the dungeon, you get new cards as well! Also, class-specific challenges will be available. Intriguing and geeky, to say the least. I dig!
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| New board! |
A lot of deathrattle cards have surfaced as well… maybe a death knight hero will be added? What do you think? New hero? No? Comment, for the King!
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| New cards! |
Posted by
Marc Anthony Gonzalez
ComiXology announced its acquisition by Amazon today. Many have speculated how Amazon's procurement of the leading digital comics platform will affect digital comic distribution and readership, but a more profound uncertainty, esoteric to independent comic creators, has arisen: "Will ComiXology remain a viable means of digital self-publishing?"
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| That's all folks! |
Since its inception, ComiXology has enjoyed an exponential rise in users, exceeding 200 million users last September and establishing itself as a proof of concept for the digital comics market. Comic giants such as Brian K. Vaugh and Mark Waid were some of the first major contributors, licensing Private Eye and Insufferable, respectively. DC, Image, and Marvel have also jumped onboard the digital-comics revolution by contributing rights to their popular titles.
I asked CTO John Roberts at the SXSW 2014 Gaming Expo about the details of its exclusive licenses with the major publishers, and given his curt reference to his NDA, I strongly inferred that the heavy-weights believed in the company and probably traded licenses for equity.
Independent comic book creators rejoiced at the chance to have their works shared via digital shelves with legendary titles. At their panel at SXSW 2014, ComiXology staff mentioned that almost all works were accepted so long as they met their formatting and resolution requirements. They did not mention their impending acquisition by Amazon.
Will indie comic makers have the same opportunities as they did before the acquisition? A mental list of pros and cons immediately populates itself considering the reputation of the digital publishing giant, Amazon. Given the businesses' similarities, it is easy to envision a synergy between the two, unlike some corporate takeovers. *Cough, Facebook* *Cough, Oculus*
Amazon's massive infrastructure presents itself with opportunities not previously available: their excellent data management, mass marketing capabilities, and print-on-demand services. Imagine readers have just purchased an issue of Detective Comics and are pointed to your independent comic by Amazon's suggestions page. Similarly, strong independent titles are more likely to appear in popular searches by genre. Additionally, the option to purchase a hard copy becomes an equally viable option given the existing print-on-demand infrastructure. Perhaps this option may not even cost independent publishers!
Some fears do arise when contemplating the acquisition: the possibility of Amazon "starving" ComiXology, the potential for more stringent publishing standards, and the potential exclusiveness for the Kindle and its reader application. It is not uncommon for corporations to buy competing businesses and shelve them to kill competition, such as Google's acquisition of Dodgeball or Apple's acquisition of Lala. It should be known that Amazon had already lost market-share when it could only produce licenses to Game of Thrones comics before the acquisition. Amazon could also potentially decide that independent publishers must provide proof of already existing reader markets, presenting a paradoxical challenge. Lastly, Amazon could begin making the comics exclusive to Kindle products, ousting millions of iOS-based readers. Each of the above has the potential to stunt aspiring creators.
This aspiring comic creator remains positive that ComiXology lies in good hands. Amazon has said that ComiXology shall be left untouched and remain nearly autonomous. Although, PR teams often release this cliche to the press in an effort to retain existing markets. Still, Amazon stands to gain more by leading the reins of digital comics rather than hindering it. Should that happen, perhaps Mark Waid's Thrillbent shall resurrect its efforts. Nonetheless, the future looks bright for digital comics and independent comic creators.
What do you think of the acquisition of ComiXology? Are you an independent comic creator? Do you foresee more good or more bad? Let us know in the comments! Perhaps we can unionize!
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
- Thursday, April 10, 2014
So, it's been almost two months since Fanboys got to interview filmmaker-turned-comic book creator Damian S. Simankowicz and review his debut issue of Sage Escape. We've been following the marketing campaign via the Facebook page, all the while waiting for news of the second part of the miniseries, and here it is: The second issue of the three-part arc Sage Escape: Mars Gambit!
In the debut issue, we met amnesiac bionic girl Sage and bounty hunter Raamon on Cray City, an artificial city-moon orbiting Mars. We also met the Salesmen—those genocidal corporate assassins tasked with taking back all the land Friendly Corp had sold off—and some unfortunate victims caught in between. Some of them escaped with their lives, minus a limb or two.
The new issue of Mars Gambit carries on right where the first left off, with Raamon having captured Sage and the both of them heading to Earth—more specifically, to Sage's former home city of Natura (which I believe is set in Australia)—where they become stranded. The Salesmen have massacred the entire population, and Raamon and Sage find themselves in the midst of a grisly clean-up operation.
With the bounty hunter clearly in over his head, he lets his payday off the leash. The two find that Natura is crawling with Salesmen. They also discover that many of the city's children have been rescued and hidden away by an unknown stranger, who has a spaceship they can use to escape. But this won't happen before we see a lot of blood, explosions, and carnage.
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| "Wait! That's no frisbee... AAAAARGGGHHH!!!" |
We learn that the Salesmen are pretty much the same sort of entity that Sage was designed to be, but they share a hive mind. The idea's quite brilliant for the reader, but not so much for our lead characters, who are now being hunted down by every cybernetic killing machine in the vicinity. Meanwhile, the story builds around Sage's plight, providing further glimpses into the lives of related factions on Cray City.
Whereas I feel that this sudden amping up of action and pace is just what this comic needs, I'm also very happy to see new characters. The criminal gang that Sage tore apart in the first issue is back, and it has a new friend—a big blue brick shithouse of an alien that likes to do very graphic things to people with his tentacles...
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| Jeez, buy him a drink first. |
We also meet a cyborg grim reaper that can teleport between worlds (I shit you not), who seems to be something of a mentor to Sage. This is my kind of mental! I remember Damian saying that he was a fan of Death's Head II, and when I made the connection, I got even more excited for how twisted this comic has the potential to be. Who is this "Grim?" Is he a true ally, or is Sage headed for some seriously hard lessons in life?
On top of this, we get some lovely interspecies girl-on-girl action between one of the Crays and yet another blue alien. It isn't inappropriate (like you'd care if it was), but it really paints a picture of what's going on behind closed doors in this fictional universe. It's not all "brown chicken, brown cow." There's a deep plot being dug out here, and I'm left intrigued, which is what this comic wants.
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| Hey, Avatar, you snooze, you lose! |
Without spoiling anything here, this second issue of Sage Escape is such a vast improvement over the first that if every issue were to double that, Damian will have something very special on his hands. No surprise that he's already been picked up by Comixology!
There is much more monologue and dialogue happening here, which lends life and soul to Sage Escape's characters. Bearing in mind that Damian is himself an Aussie, I assume that most of his lead characters so far are intended to be Australian. You can distinguish them by his clever, subtle use of dialect. I found myself laughing a couple of times, because I internally read in different accents. This took me back to the eras of Mad Max and Farscape.
On a final note, if Dave Gibbons were doing the art for this series, it could easily pass for classic 2000AD. Damian's own art is coming along nicely, being a vast improvement on his first attempt. Bravo to him for writing this thing and providing his own art. To do that and release it within the space of two months is quite a feat of talent and hard work. But in its own way, the atypical style provides the unapologetic kiddish charm that makes this series so much fun to read. It's like I'm back in the '90s reading old school comic strips. I should probably slap myself for expecting every comic I read to be drawn by the likes of John Romita Jr. Am I truly spoiled?
Sound off, Fanboys and Fangirls! If you haven't yet read yourself some Sage Escape, get on over to the Facebook page or visit the website. If you've read up on Damian's comic, drop a comment below and tell us what you think.
The book sets off from this point: Tucker in tavern, either spinning a yarn or telling a tale; however you see it. The details of his story are more Big Fish than believable, but it doesn't stop people from getting lost in his magnificent story telling. In fact, they pay to keep him in his seat. And so he tells his tale. It's a tale about a man who is a little more crooked than caring. He cares more for money than people. One night he finds himself in the company of a king, at a ball or festival of some sort.
