Fanboys Anonymous

Another week, another tantalizing bit of potential Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice news! I say "potential" because like most of this stuff, it isn't confirmed, and there's suspicion that some of this information comes from a fake script Warner Bros. purposefully leaked to keep people guessing about the story. Still, some of it sounds like it could really work, so let's get to it.

Several sites, ComicBookMovie among them, report on several characters rumored to be added to the film. The list: Victor Zsasz, Morgan Edge, David Cain, Amanda Waller, Jason Todd, Kyle Rayner, and Carrie Kelley.

Whoof. There's a lot of fan service right there, and there's almost no way they can pack all of those characters meaningfully into one film. The first four were leaked just before the others, and I think they're more likely to be featured. Let's break 'em down.

Zsasz.

Victor Zsasz is a notable but arguably B-list Batman villain. Several writers have used him to good effect since his first appearance in 1992, but seldom as the main villain. He's a serial killer with a creepy habit of cutting a mark into his skin for every one of his victims, criss-crossing himself with scars denoting every life he's taken. He appeared briefly in 2005's Batman Begins, played by Tim Booth, as a Falcone goon that Jonathan Crane treats at Arkham. He's an eerie character and one that I think would make a good side villain for Batman in the film. Batman will have to be doing something besides fight Superman, and a hardcore serial killer whom the Dark Knight can brutalize without a second thought sounds exactly like what Zack Snyder's trying to do with his Batman. It's possible that Scoot McNairy, recently cast into the film in a mystery role, could play this character.

Morgan Edge, current and original.

Morgan Edge is a Superman character, president of the larger media conglomerate that owns The Daily Planet. Eventually he becomes a villain, head of the international crime syndicate Intergang, and in the New 52 is a media mogul and sponsor of a superteam, Challengers of the Unknown. El Mayimbe of Latino Review claims that in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Morgan Edge is basically Lex Luthor's PR guy, a friend Lex grew up with, grew into crime with, and subsequently took with him into the business world. I think it's likely a character like this, if not Edge himself, exists in the film as a sounding board and cohort for Lex. We know Tao Okamoto plays Lex's bodyguard Mercy, but it stands to reason he'd have a professional cohort. This is another role that Scoot McNairy could play—or it could belong to another actor with a mystery role, Callan Mulvey. (Or vice versa, with Zsasz.)

David Cain, contract killer.

David Cain is an assassin in the DC Universe, a hard middle-aged man who once helped train Bruce Wayne before he became Batman. He also helped frame Wayne for murder. They might keep him around for such a plotline later on, because Cain is also notable for fathering Cassandra Cain's Batgirl, who was around for much of the '90s. For this film, my money is on Cain being just another side-quest for the titular heroes. Whether he'll be tasked with assassinating Batman or Superman is an interesting question, especially given the potential fourth character, Amanda Waller.

Waller is a heavyweight in the DCU, the head of the Suicide Squad (where incarcerated villains can take time off their sentence by accepting black-ops missions for the United States), and occasionally an adviser or friend to Lex Luthor. We've seen her before, in 2011's Green Lantern, played by Angela Bassett, and on Arrow, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson. El Mayimbe again says that in the film, Waller is a hardline senator with no great love for Superman. She's a lynchpin character in the DCU, crossing over numerous different storylines and titles, and it makes sense she would appear sooner rather than later. It's rumored that DC has also been making attempts at getting a Suicide Squad movie into production, so her inclusion would be another step toward that.

Amanda Waller, pre- and post-New 52, respectively. Some cosmetic changes may have occurred.

The other names on the list—Jason Todd, Kyle Rayner, and Carrie Kelly—are exciting but less likely, and here's why: they're all legacy heroes. By that, I mean they inherited or took over the superhero identity of someone before them. Jason Todd is the second Robin, whom Bruce Wayne took in after the original, Dick Grayson, became Nightwing. He's infamous for being killed by the Joker and later revived to become a Batman villain (a good one, too). Kyle Rayner is another link in the ever-lengthening Green Lantern chain, the fourth in more modern GL mythology, and the fifth overall. It just seems unlikely that the filmmakers would include Todd or Rayner, given how much of their backstory relies upon characters of the same name who preceded them. It's possible they're just being mavericks and adapting established characters for their own uses, but to me this sounds like fan service just to stir up some buzz.

Here we have Kyle Rayner, on the left and Jason Todd as Red Hood on the right. Rayner was given the last Green Lantern ring after the original, Hal Jordan, went on a rampage and destroyed the Corps. For a time, Rayner was the only GL in the universe. Jason Todd was a young, homeless thief when Batman took him in to train and steer down a better path. His violence and aggression got the better of him, though, resulting in his death at the hands of the Joker. Years later, after his memory haunted Batman for years, he was resurrected and took the moniker of an early Batman villain, becoming the Red Hood.


Carrie Kelley was Robin in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which inspired much of this film's take on Batman, so it might actually be the most convincing of the bunch. Thinking about it, it's entirely conceivable and makes a weird sense that WB/DC would shuck the traditional Robins in favor of a female Robin. It would make their version stand out and help rectify the general lack of onscreen superheroines. The studio may still be wary about Robin, given the overall response to 1997's Batman Forever and 1999's Batman and Robin. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, appeared in both, played by Chris O'Donnell. Still, studios these days often stick with the generally established canon, and Dick Grayson is a good enough character that he deserves a second, better chance.

In the reports, there are also some mentions of Kord Industries—a reference to Ted Kord, the hero Blue Beetle—and to the planet Thanagar, where Hawkman and Hawkgirl are from. At a stage in the game where WB/DC seem to be taking the kitchen-sink approach to populating their next film, I suppose anything's possible. All three are, or have been in the past, major characters in the DCU, appearing not only in their own titles but across team books like Justice League as well. Hawkgirl was also featured as a main character in DC's animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series. I will say, however, it seems unlikely these characters would appear before a few of the A-list characters WB/DC have yet to debut.

Doomsday, introduced by Wonder Woman villain Dr. Psycho.

Most recently, it was reported that the Superman villain Doomsday would feature in the film, possibly as a last-minute cameo, a la Thanos at the end of Avengers. It would be best to introduce him that way, I think, as there just cannot be any more room for additional villains or characters in this movie anymore. Studios and filmmakers have been trying to put Doomsday onscreen ever since his 1992 debut storyline, "The Death of Superman," in which, well, yeah, he kills Superman (but only for a year). Doomsday, known also as "the Ultimate," was a monster born and genetically engineered on Krypton ages ago who eventually found his way off planet and killed his way across worlds until finally coming to Earth. Lex Luthor has attempted to clone or improve the being numerous times since then, and it's conceivable he'll have something to do with the creature's appearance in Dawn of Justice if, in fact, Doomsday does appear.

There you have it: latest news on the increasingly bloated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Think all of this is bunk, or does some of it ring true? Does it sound likely Warner would try to throw spoiler-sniffers off the scent with a fake script leak, or are all Fanboy dreams about to come true in this movie? Talk about it in the comments below!

They've bloody well done it again, haven't they?

Cover image

The team behind The Secret Service: Kingsman has created yet another smash hit for the Millarworld imprint. That team, consisting of writer Mark Millar (ummm… Kick-Ass anyone?) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen artist extraordinaire) and co-plotted by Matthew Vaughn, the story centers on a super-spy who begins to feel badly for neglecting his downtrodden sister and her son. When his nephew gets into trouble for the umpteenth time, he steps in and takes the kid under his wing to train him as a fellow super-spy.

I know what you're thinking, and you're right: we HAVE seen this story before, sort of. The plot is strikingly similar to The Invisibles: Say You Want A Revolution by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell (with other contributors). Both stories focus on a young teenage boy who is basically wasting his life by getting into trouble until he is plucked from the streets and given a purpose. Great overarching theme for both books, which is precisely where the similarities end. While Morrison takes his anti-hero on a psychedelic trip that lands him in an experimental program in a countryside retreat, Millar's anti-hero goes to spy school.

This guy is a total badass.

Mark Hamill is in this. Seriously.

The main plot is the kidnapping of the world's most famous sci-fi actors and directors by an unknown group. Jack London, the uncle, is trying to figure out who is behind it and suspects a nefarious reason for such hand-picked kidnappings. From the tight writing and excellent panelling, we watch as Gary (Jack's nephew, "Eggsy" to his mates) tries to fit in at spy school. After stealing his uncle's car and joyriding with his mates from his pre-spy school life, he narrowly avoids the cops and crashes the vehicle. Sprung from jail by his uncle for the final time, Gary is offered one last chance to be a spy. Gary takes it and wakes up in his underwear in the middle of South America. He is told that this is his final test, and if he passes, he will follow in his uncle's footsteps and graduate to become a super-spy. If not, he will most likely be torn apart by the local police. They don't like outsiders, apparently.

Bottom line is this: buy the book and read it before the movie comes out later this year. It's a great read accompanied by some fantastic art and lots of (non-gratuitous) violence. What more do you need?

What are some of your fave spy comics? I'm always looking for new titles to read. Speaking of which, big shout-out to Toronto's Paradise Comics for supplying me with comics to read and review. Check them out!

Hey, hey, hey Dacetacular Nation! The Dace Man is back and he brings with him the latest musical gem from "Weird Al" Yankovic! Mandatory Fun hit shelves today, and I've already listened through the album twice! The musical icon has done it again, scoring gold with parodies of songs by artists Imagine Dragons, Robin Thicke, Pharrell, Iggy Azalea, and Lorde! A little over 3 years after the release of Alpocalypse, Al chose a different strategy again when it came to the promotion of the album. Instead of releasing one single associated with the album, he decided he would just wait till the release of the full album and let the audience decide the album's hit. Mandatory Fun has taken the catchy songs from the Billboard charts and applied weird lyrics to it the only way Al Yankovic can.

In the age of YouTube, the parody business has become a competitive market, and the victor is usually the one who can get out a catchy and funny version first. Al proved why he is the king of parody in this album, taking songs that have been parodied on YouTube within days after the original's release and showing that quality of speed will win every time. Al has also decided to release a music video every day between July 14th and 21st to coincide with the album's release and 8 of the 12 songs. Below you can catch the first video that was released, with multiple cameos from comedians and friends of Al's. Enjoy!



As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case an accordion—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!



Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime

If Game of Thrones has become infamous for anything, it would be the show's shameless ability to kill characters constantly. Nameless extras die by the hundreds, but even the most major of characters are not safe from writer George R.R. Martin's wrath. Lest we forget the moment that shocked the world when Ned Stark was beheaded at the end of season one, even though he was positioned as the star of the show throughout the entirety of it.

Season four may have had the highest body count yet for the series. With tensions running higher than ever in the Seven Kingdoms, a major battle at The Wall, and the looming threat that winter is coming, people are dropping like flies. For an in-depth recap of the entire season and all future episodes, be sure you're checking out Sand & Snow: A Game of Thrones Podcast here on Fanboys Anonymous.

With death being such a major theme it's only appropriate that we determine which one viewers liked the most. Therefore, we've created a single-elimination tournament to figure that out by allowing you the fans to vote!

Joffrey Baratheon was one of the most despised on-screen characters in television history. His death was something show-watchers begged for; and book-readers couldn't wait for. On what should have been one of the most celebrated occasions in Westeros, a royal wedding, Joffery was poisoned in front of everybody and died quivering in his mother's arms. Viewers wasted no time celebrating and lit social media ablaze with cheers of "Ding dong, the bitch is dead!" This happened early in the season and set the tone for the rest of it to come. As such, it's easy to give him the first seed and allow him a bye into the second round.

After becoming The Hound's prisoner, Arya and he came across an old tavern where she recognized a few faces from her past, namely Polliver, a man responsible for torturing and murdering countless people including her friend Lommy. Perhaps more offensive to her is that he had possession of her cherished sword, Needle. After a scuffle over some chickens, she reclaims Needle from the fallen Polliver and takes sweet satisfaction as she slowly pierces his throat.

During this same altercation, The Hound participated in the brunt of the action. Numerous nameless people felt his brutality, but none of them came off worse than the poor guy who was forced to head-bang right into his own blade. While this kill felt less triumphant than Arya's, it certainly was more gruesome.

Polliver vs. Head In Own Blade Guy
	Polliver
	Head In Own Blade Guy

Indie comic readers, I've just finished the last page in a stomach turning, gut wrenching thriller and mystery about a detective that's had a rough go in life. The great thing about reading indie comics is the fact that it's sort of an anything goes territory. Before the publishers get their hands on the hard work of indie creators, sometimes they turn out work like this. You can really get a sense, by reading Leave on the Light, the ability of some artists to portray a wildly depraved villain.

Leave on the Light, a graphic comic surrounding the bloody violent murders of a deranged psychopath—someone so wicked, his handy work is indescribable and unbearable, even to those that have been in the field of homicide for a very long time. The person that I assume will play something of a heroine role in this story, a detective, carries around a picture of his own children, two youngsters whom I suspect will work their ways into the story in some tragically unforeseen past memory. That's the back story I'm betting on. Any way it goes, the comic screams Max Payne.

In the first book, two things become apparent: our detective has seen some insanely gory crime scenes and the more recent killings remind him of a not so distant past—a past he thought he had put behind him. The problem with the style, extreme brutalization, and leaving of the murders being of this certain other serial killer's repertoire? He was supposed to have been sentenced by a jury of his peers, served his death row time and been put to death via capitol punishment already.

I assume the comic will evolve from it's extreme horror foundation into something of a detective horror/thriller. The art in this comic is crisp. The story has definite potential and the psychotic detachment of the villain is hard to stand. It's definitely worth taking a few minutes to read. Tell me what you think downstairs.

This morning Nintendo took to YouTube for a Super Smash Bros. character reveal, and fans have been wondering just who the new playable character(s) would be since this reveal was announced last week. Well now we have our answer: Nintendo has decided to show some more love to the Fire Emblem series by revealing Robin (either male or female) and Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening.

I have to admit I don't know much about the Fire Emblem series and I honestly didn't even know who those two were at first, but after seeing them in action, I do think they seem like good additions to Marth and Ike, the other confirmed characters from Fire Emblem. Lucina seems to be more of a straightforward sword fighter, but Robin looks more interesting in that he seems to be a swordsman who relies more on magic than basic swordplay. Although I have my typical standard characters, I'm looking forward to trying out all the new ones, these two included.

The new characters definitely look good, but I'm actually more excited about the fact that Nintendo finally decided to reveal good old Captain Falcon! He's one of my favorite fighters and I was getting a little worried since Nintendo hadn't said anything about him after all this time.

Here's the reveal trailer for anyone who hasn't seen it. Nintendo has confirmed that Chrom, the character at the end, will not actually be a playable fighter. I would guess he'll most likely be an assist trophy.


I don't know about you guys, but I'm a huge fan of the anime art style of a lot of these reveal trailers, and I would LOVE to see an actual Super Smash Bros. anime. Make it happen, Nintendo!

What do you guys think? Are you excited about these additions or disappointed? Were you hoping for different characters? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to check out what the authors are up to here at Fanboys Anonymous!

Collect demons to be the most powerful ghost agent! Ayakashi: Ghost Guild is the definitive version of card battle RPGs with over 20 million players from around the world! The game boasts gorgeous visuals and the cards are a treat to watch. The artwork is enchanting and the anime-look is perfectly executed. Ayakashi: Ghost Guild may not be one of the best games around, but it does offer a very unique plot and theme.

Ayakashi: Ghost Guild (Developed by Zynga) has a unique theme with gameplay elements reminiscent of popular Japanese card battle games. Players step into the shoes of a ghost hunter who is tasked to exorcise troubled (and troublesome) spirits. After exorcising, the ghost hunter enters into a negotiation with the tamed ghost, and if lucky, captures it. Well, that’s one way you capture ghost cards and use them to battle opponents. Another way is to buy premium cards, participate in daily draws, or take part in events to get brand new cards.

In Ayakashi, there are three types of cards; Phantom, Divina, and Anima (ranging from one star to five star, which is the rarest). These types have slight power over each other. Anima has an advantage over Divina, Divina over Phantom, and Phantom over Anima. Cards also have skills that can increase or decrease attack or defense. They can also be type specific and have low to high trigger ratings.

Strategy lies in building a formidable deck utilizing attack strength, type, and skills to beat your opponent.



Ayakashi: Ghost Guild’s story mode gives you a chance to investigate an area, hunt for spirits and find them—all this can be achieved at a click of a button. Besides ghost hunting, you will stumble upon silver (the standard currency) or pieces of rare jewels that can be fused together to make daemons more powerful. You also enter into interesting conversations with ghosts once you find them.

Special events are held as limited period campaigns in Ayakashi: Ghost Guild.

These provide access to event-exclusive arenas and the opportunity to gather daemons which do not appear outside of these events.

Some events that are held during a holiday have cards where daemons are dressed up for a holiday such as Halloween. You can obtain them by Rare Summon, and will be there for a limited time.

The performance of players in these events, excluding Guild Conquest, are ranked on a competitive level against other players during the middle, the end, and total ranking of the campaign.

Ranking rewards tend to include very rare and powerful cards, and higher cut-offs will also receive that daemons magatama.

Players may improve their performance at these events by successfully summoning specific daemons and magatama (given as gifts as part of the six-pack rare summon offer) which are assigned various attributes valid for use only during the event.

Event Category:

Shrine of the Seven Days

The Shrine of the Seven Days will be open from time to time—generally in between events.

Players explore the Shrine to find Talismans and Wandering Ghosts.

Defeat wandering ghosts to acquire Talismans and befriend them by devoting the required number of Talismans.

Talismans can be saved up and used for future openings of the Shrine.

Previous event or rare summon daemons may be available, but at a higher Talisman cost.


Sealstone Collection

Players will randomly chance upon an event-specific seal stone during exploring. Six colored Sealstones need to be obtained to unlock the daemon, either through exploration or battling other players.

Once each color of the event-specific Sealstone is obtained, the player receives a random non-event card, ranging from three star to five star.

Ranking is based on the number of times the event-specific Sealstone set is completed.

Tower Climbing

A tower arena is opened up to players, which consists of a high number of floors (201 floors).

Exploration, like the normal story mode, yields items, daemon cards and event tokens.

Event tokens can be exchanged for daemons, and which also constitute the final ranking and score of the players.

Two types of ghostly encounters can occur during exploration:

Wandering Ghosts randomly appear and can be defeated for event tokens with the opportunity to exchange the tokens for the daemon.

Guardian Ghosts are located at the end of selected floors and when defeated can be negotiated with at 100 percent success, and will join the player's team for no cost.

Limited Event Sealstones may appear in tower events by investigating them in the tower and battling other players.

Conquest 

Players explore the story to encounter an event exclusive ghost.
The player’s team selection is predetermined by using the top 10 highest combined stats (atk/def), the only thing the player can change is their leader.

When the player defeats the ghost, the next appearance of the same ghost will have a higher level, and be subsequently more difficult to defeat.

Successfully defeating the ghost at various predetermined levels will yield various "first conquest rewards," such as daemons joining the player's team, health/spirit-boosting items.

When the ghost is successfully defeated for the first time at a pre-set level, the powerful ultimate daemon from the event joins the player's team.

Players will also receive conquest points for each battle to enter into the events rankings.

Every battle against the ghost automatically utilizes half of the player's available Spirit, lowering the team available until all spirit is depleted. The player may repeatedly engage in battle against the ghost to wear down its health within the time limit, and replenish Spirit levels using items. If the player allows the ghost to escape, the next ghost encountered will be at a random level.

Guild Conquest

Players can create guilds and invite other players to join. The event mechanic is the same as Conquest. Rewards are given to all guild members and participating members also have a chance to battle and receive the event specific Supreme Daemon.

The current GCQ is based on the zodiac star signs. The daemon comes in two forms, Fallen and Pure. Fallen can be acquired by reaching level 50, and Pure by random encounter and defeat.

Soul Gem Collection

Players explore stages and engage in battles against each other to collect a series of six colored gems in order to unlock event-exclusive daemons (the same as Sealstone events).

Gems can be obtained by successfully defending against assaults from other players, by searching through an event arena, and by attacking other players to steal their gems. Event rankings are also obtainable by calculating the number of Seal Stones unlocked.

There are four things that makes this game so addictive:

1. The strategy involved. Even a player with some low stat cards but good skills could take on a cash player. Investing the time into the events and aiming further, each one is a sure way to build up a team that could defeat a team of someone who purely pays for rare summons.
2. The artwork. The artwork is simply stunning, and the creativity in designing new characters (or different versions of existing ones) is second to none.
3. The story. Once you get to know the characters backstories (each one is individual, some are based on historical figures, mythical creatures and even objects and food) and their relationships with other characters, the AGG world becomes so immersive its hard to stay away.
4. The community. The game has only just celebrated its second anniversary, but you can find a fantastic community of players in its Wiki and Facebook groups and pages. Alot of players use these to discuss events, tactics, and the games art. Players even post their own fan-fiction, fan-art, and cosplays. Everyone is extremely friendly and supportive, and anyone otherwise is generally removed. Players can be found all across the globe, and with the addition of the Guild events, this has only strengthened the camaraderie with its players within the game coordinating battles.

So, why not become a Ghost agent in Ayakashi: Ghost Guild today? (Available on: iOS and Android. Price: Free)

What is your favorite game right now? Why not let us know in the comment section below.

The gateway to pixelated pubescent puerility, or total and utter disappointment

Do you remember the days before the Internet but after the advent of the home computer—the days when debating about whether the Spectrum was better than the Commodore 64 seemed like a cause you would lay your life on the line for? If so, you will probably remember the wrath of the uninitiated and ill-informed (our parents) when the Internet became a viable prospect in the home.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember conversations being had in the media and across garden fences about how the Internet was both a dangerous and divisive thing, a porn addled wasteland that would corrupt the youth of today (well yesterday) if they so much as looked at it. The Lawnmower Man had just gone on general release, and I believe that this in no small way contributed to this warped view: The Internet was real and alive; it was like HAL. The X Files was airing on BBC 1 and everything was all a big conspiracy.

The thing is, I remember the 20th Century P.I. (pre-Internet), and those were not innocent times for my friends and me. We weren't monsters; we did not go around wielding baseball bats or running across the roofs of New York City like those pesky kids in The Warriors. No, our corruption was all rather more pixelated than that. You see, P.I. was the time when my friends and I used clunky RM networked PCs with no Internet access or Acorn Archimedes machines at school. At home (or at the homes of any number of my friends), we used the Amiga. Most of the time, we played games like Stunt Car Racer and boasted (read: lied) about how far we had gotten on The Secret of Monkey Island. However, when swapping disks and stories of this nature got a little boring, we went on the search for a new adventure…

This could survive a nuclear holocaust and came equipped with a porn insertion early warning siren disguised as a noisy rewind mechanism.

Now, here is where I make a logical assumption (based upon the fact that most of my friends' dads had these so why not the rest of the UK; that's how most surveys work anyway). For some reason, the years immediately P.I. were also the years in which bed manufacturers decided to offer underbed storage of the most ridiculous nature. Alas, instead of having simple pull out drawers in which to store your "clothes," most double beds came with a lift-and-prop solution. The owner would have to lift the board that held the mattress and bed linens to a 45-degree angle until a spring clicked into place, revealing a cornucopia of clothes, old shoes, and—yep, you guessed it—porn magazines. You know, the ones mum wasn't supposed to know about. The manufacturers of these beds must have been having a laugh at the expense of all the dads in suburban England, in much the same way as the maker of the noisy top-loading Ferguson Videostar VCR player laughed at the generation of teenage lads before us—as Peter Kay epitomizes in his stand-up routines. Essentially, whenever dad lifted up the bed to gain access to his "clothes," the ratchet spring let out an almighty "clunk/dong," the duvet and mattress slid off the bed, and dear Papa would be caught with one hand stuck in the spring mechanism and the other clutching a copy of Razzle. Thus, the only time that one could feel safe cracking open this Pandora's box of porno delights was when nobody else was in the house.

I cannot remember exactly how my friends and I became interested in the underbed storage areas of our collective parents' bedrooms. I seem to vaguely recall that one of my friends said that he had been in his parents' room and happened to see a magazine of that nature hidden down the side of the bed (note, not in the storage space defined above). This led to feigned revulsion from everyone else in our group—"No way would my dad have such things in his possession!"—followed by us parting ways much like the Secret Seven a few hours before a big adventure. However, instead of Seven Catch a Thief, "Individual Children Looked Under their Parents' Beds" would be an apt title if ever a book recounting such an adventure were to be penned (Enid Blyton must be turning in her grave). In any case, this led us to find large caches of adult videos and magazines as well as something else, something new. Thanks to our discoveries, many teenage boys in a semi-rural town in the South East of England never looked at their Amigas in the same way again. Also, never would there be such an aptly named disk duplication program made as X Copy…

Dad's nemesis. First the Videostar, now this? When was the world going to give him a break?

In one of the underbed storage cavities, there was a rather innocent-looking disk. However, its saintly white color (unadorned by any label or ornament), belied its true contents. We (as all of the male student population of our school were soon to discover) had found Centerfold Squares, a game in which—you guessed right—you match pixelated picture cards of naked women. In hindsight, why we found this at all titillating is now beyond me. If memory serves, these pictures were far worse than the FMV footage found on a Mega CD game. However, I think the fact that this was considered "forbidden" or "contraband" provided half the thrill. Either way, that is not the point. The point is, some 3 years prior to the Internet going…err…viral, we were corrupting our fragile little minds with relative ease. Food for thought the next time someone decides to wax lyrical about the next game or app that is derided as "certain to cause anarchy in the UK."

Does anyone else have such fond memories of this time? If so, please feel free to leave a comment below.

It is a little-known fact that both Daredevil and Batman share a common ancestor, and he goes by the moniker of the Black Bat. Daredevil is markedly the youngest of the trio, and even though there is much debate on who came first between Batman and the Black Bat's mainstream incarnation, an earlier version of the latter was created only years before Batman's 1939 debut. Regardless, all three vigilantes share similar themes and motifs; Batman and the Black Bat obviously share the bat motif, while Daredevil's alter ego and origin are either directly or coincidentally borrowed from the Black Bat's own story. More on that in a bit.

The Black Bat enjoyed a long run of detective novels up until 1953 and has been through a few revival attempts. The most recent attempt to revitalize the all-but-forgotten pulp era hero has been made by none other than pulp-friendly Dynamite Entertainment in the 12-issue comic book run, The Black Bat. Helmed by writer Brian Buccellato, illustrator Ronan Cliquet, and colorists Mat Lopes (issues #1–9) and Viviane Souza (issues #10–12), the series brings the Black Bat into a gritty, dysfunctional, and modern urban setting, presumably New York City or something fictionally analogous.

In this modern revival, the Black Bat's origin is only slightly modified from his second incarnation's. Anthony "Tony" Quinn was once a district attorney who, in one fateful case, chose to defend Oliver Snate, a mob boss. When Quinn finally grew a conscience and refused to rat out a key suspect for Snate, the criminal had him tortured and had his eyes removed. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Quinn's original origin involved him becoming blinded when a criminal threw acid onto his face, which covers both Daredevil's and Two-Face's origins.


Unlike in his original origin—in which Quinn vows to seek justice and trains himself to become a crimefighter—he spirals into a depression and eventually decides to end it all. That's when fate, in the form of Carol Baldwin and her private organization, steps in and offers Quinn a second chance. He's then equipped with cybernetic eyes and trained to become a sort of super soldier for a mysterious cause. He seeks out vengeance on the criminals who ruined his life, and after a tussle with Snate's hired brawn, the Brute, and saving Silk Davis, a drug addict who had a part in ruining Quinn's life and who would become his partner in crime, Quinn dons the mantle of the Black Bat.

Soon after, he, the organization, and the inquisitive Detective Mezza stumble onto a twisting and winding plot of misdirection involving a large percentage of the city's police force getting kidnapped, a bomb threat on the city courthouse, and a civil revolution. Buccellato does a superb job at retaining the pulp-era feel to the story while introducing Watchmen-era philosophy into a story that tests the moral limits of vigilantism. Cliquet, Lopes, and Souza complement his narrative with equal grit and realism while retaining the shadiness of the noir genre.


There were only two plot points that made the overall plot feel incomplete. First is Quinn's life between gaining his cybernetic eyes and becoming the Black Bat. In the books, his secret life just seems to completely disappear after his downfall, and after his transformation he just becomes a vigilante. What exactly does he do when he's not hounding the criminal underworld; who is Tony Quinn behind the cowl? There are several scenes in which he's interacting with the real world as himself, but if someone were to ask him what he does for a living, what would he say? There's no sense of dimensionality to him, which could have been improved had Buccellato given Quinn motivation to, perhaps, pursue a career in law once more to complement his vigilantism much like Matt Murdock's law career complements his escapades as Daredevil.

Second is [SPOILER ALERT] Quinn's relationship with Baldwin. Buccellato establishes their relationship early on as sternly handler-and-agent, and they remain pretty professional up until they're smooching it up. The romance factor comes blindly and suddenly out of left field, and the writer just expects the reader to accept that hackneyed agent-falls-for-handler theme at face value. Where was the build up to that relationship? If it was subtle, then it was nearly nonexistent.

Aside from those plot holes, the series is overall enjoyable, especially for those readers who like the other pulp superhero Dynamite series like The Shadow or Masks. The Black Bat is definitely no Batman; if anything, he is more Daredevil than Dark Knight. Even though the city wears down on Quinn, he always tries to retain his morality.

The Black Bat gets 4 out of 5 stars for the writing and 4.5 our of 5 stars for the art. Definitely pick this series up in trades if you're interested, and look into Dynamite's other pulp properties, especially The Shadow: Year One, which I'll review here on Fanboys Anonymous in the coming month upon the series' finale. Did The Black Bat fulfill your nostalgia, long-time fans? If you were like me and of the newer, less informed generation of pulp-era comic readers, what did you think about Batman and Daredevil's daddy? Geek out in the comments section below!

Readers, sci-fi enthusiasts, and lovers of everything that is all that it can be. I recently took an order for review from A. Mango, the owner and CEO of our badass little site here, strictly based on description. It was a uniquely described work called Koko Takes a Holiday. In short, Koko is a young retired mercenary in a world where corporations are the governing bodies. Surely you can imagine what that would be like. As a retiree, she has time on her hands for leisure, running a pleasure resort, and pimping male prostitutes. Yes, you read correctly, she's a pimp, hard at work. This, in combination with other subtle descriptions led me to look into into it. Was this a comedy?

Imagine this, because this is how the introduction hit me: A commercial opens up on the old window to the world. It's a beautiful day and clouds are rolling. The land is lush and jungle like. Waterfalls cascade from high cliffs and form exotic pools of water. That's just the scenery outside. Inside, there are resorts, one after another. Pick your poison of pleasure. You can slaughter your boss on the old simulator; have sexual encounters of the most disgusting sort, digital or otherwise; or for people of simpler taste, maybe just hunt big-game dinosaurs or perhaps stop by Koko's bar and have a lusty time with one of her boys. FYI, Koko Takes a Holiday was not a comedy.

While running her little resort bar and "treat," some unwelcome patrons begin to make a scene. They are of the wild sort, probably there to slaughter dinosaurs—or slice up other paying customers. Who knows? But they walked into the wrong tavern with their abysmal animalisms. Koko is always ready for someone to pull out a weapon and start making demands. In fact, you might say she has an itch that keeps her waiting for such a time.

One thing leads to another, and she unloads on the patrons, regains control, feeds them to the local wildlife, makes sure her boy-toys clean up the mess, and gets quickly back to her liquor and lounging. Tomorrow will be a new day, when her supervisors show up and give her a slap on the wrist for dealing with customers in such a fashion. I know, I know, you're thinking I'm telling the entire story, but this is all just the beginning. The discussion with corporate gets out of hand and leads to a landslide of action, violence, and more insane storyline you will not believe.

Just when you thought you had read it all!

Koko is wild. She takes life moment by moment, savors slaughter life by life, and ends existences one at a time. The bitch with the blue hair is for sure an alpha, but is the definite omega; stop at the line and make a direct change of direction to the afterlife. I'm so excited by the this book that I wrote my first review, this one, that contains foul language. Read Koko takes a Holiday and tell me what you think downstairs. You won't regret it! Scope my new game.

Tommy Ramone, the drummer and last original member of the highly influential 1970s punk band the Ramones, passed away late Friday night from cancer, the Ramones' official Twitter announced at 1:21 a.m. on Saturday.

The 62-year-old Ridgewood, Queens, rocker was receiving treatment on hospice care, suffering from bile duct cancer. A private funeral service is planned, according to Variety.

Ramone, born Thomas Erdelyi in Budapest, Hungary, was the son of Holocaust survivors and moved to Forest Hills, Queens in 1957. He began playing with John Cummings—later Johnny Ramone—in the mid-1960s and later became one of the founding members of the Ramones, playing the drums, and co-produced the first three groundbreaking albums, Ramones (1976), Leave Home (1977), and Rocket to Russia (1977). He was replaced on drums in 1978 by Marky Ramone, focusing on management production for the band's Road to Ruin and Too Tough to Die albums.

In his later years, Ramone joined Caludia Tienan in Uncle Monk, playing bluegrass and country music at local clubs in New York and around the world.

One of the most iconic bands that laid the foundation for punk bands to follow, the loud and rapid-fast musical style of the Ramones has been credited as a major influence for many—including Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool, who named their children, Joey and Ramona, respectfully, in homage of the band.

The Ramones, known for their long hair, leather jackets, and ripped jeans, rose to the mainstream after playing at the iconic New York venue CBGBs and quickly defined the punk scene. They disbanded in 1996 after a farewell concert at the Palace in Hollywood and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, following the deaths of Joey Ramone in 2001 from lymphoma and Dee Dee Ramone in 2002 from a drug overdose. Johnny Ramone later passed away in 2004 from prostate cancer.


Were you a fan of the Ramones? Let us know in the comment section below.

Hey Kickstarter big donors, it's been a while since I've sat down and wrote one of these bad boys. Generally I write about comic Kickstarters when I have the time, but this article pretty much just walked into my life as if it were meant to be. Know what I mean?

Anyway, recently, I was piecing together and promoting the page for my new Mixed Drinks drinking game, and I ran into a fellow game creator, the first man behind Theorycraft Gaming and the Factions game. One look at Factions and I knew it was going to be my next piece. Check out this quick video.

When it was first announced that they were remaking the third generation of Pokémon, I was more than excited. As a huge Pokémon fan, I have many fond memories of Ruby and Sapphire, and whilst I think Emerald was leagues a head, there is nothing stopping Game Freak from integrating that plot line in to these two titles. Much like they did with the Crystals plot for HeartGold and SoulSilver. That actually got me thinking about overall improvements I'd want for these remakes, and I thought I'd share them all with you.

The League

One of my biggest critiques of Ruby and Sapphire—both initially and on several more playthroughs—were the gym battles. Later titles improved on this, but outside of Norman and his Slaking, you could pretty much roll through the gym leaders with ease. To resolve this, I might suggest either raising the levels and mixing the move sets around, or switching out some team members in favor of other Pokémon.

Personally, I'm in favour of switching the teams up. Do we really need another rock gym leader with a god damn Geodude? Seriously, give her a Relicanth, Aron, anything! Anything that's a rock type and from Hoenn. Some people might argue that it takes away from the nostalgia, but I truly think it'll make it a little more replayable, and I'd rather have that than a carbon copy of the originals.

The Elite 4 were not the worst in comparison of other games, but by no means is the champion of the level of Cynthia from the Sinnoh league. Overall, a couple of Mega Evolutions and some readjusted move sets can make them a force to be reckoned with!

Less Surfing

The amount of water in Hoenn definitely gave it more character than in Generations I and II, and I can appreciate a change of pace. Also I guess it played a little into the whole story of Team Aqua and Team Magma. With that said, it's not worth it when it takes away from the gaming experience.

So much god damn water!

On many occasions, I found myself buying a shit ton of repels to get through the grind of going from one town to another. I'm going to be honest: I get it if they don't fix it, because it'd be hard to keep the map same otherwise. But I'm sure they can find a workaround, or maybe integrate a few other side plot elements along the way to change it up. But damn, it's tedious...

But hey, as long as they keeping the diving elements, I'll be happy!

Integrate Older & Newer Pokémon

If X and Y delivered on one thing,  it was absolutely spoiling you for choice! Sure, the game was way too easy and the story sucked. But there were plenty of teams to choose from, and the wi-fi experience was better because of it. That's exactly what I want in this remake.

A lot of Hoenn Pokémon now have Mega Evolutions, which will garner more interest for several of them. However, Pokémon from newer games would again make this game more replayable, or heck, even bulk out some weak gym teams. It doesn't have to go overboard, you can save that for the post-game. But no one is going to complain about being given more variety.

Overall, Ruby and Sapphire were fantastic games that didn't have much in the way of flaws, so I don't have to many issues with the remake. But these few adjustments—in addition to what other crazy surprises they have planned—could make for a better experience in comparison to our old adventure on the Gameboy Advance.

That's all from me. What did you think about my ideas? What do you think can improve the titles? Let me know in the comments below. I'll catch you next time. Until then, check me out on Addicted to Anime.

There is one of two possibilities in this day and age, 1) this is legitimate and someone leaked some footage intended for San Diego Comic Con. 2) This is a very well done, fan-made teaser that they managed to get on the big screen to trick us all. Could this truly be footage from a teaser for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?

Either way, it's enough to get the ol' blood flowing. Check it out:

Photo via MTV News

Following Gail Simone's departure from the Batgirl comics for an unannounced DC project, the new creative team, which consists of co-writers Brenden Fletcher (Wednesday Comics) and Cameron Stewart (Batman Inc.) alongside rising artist Babs Tarr, will take over the storyline this October starting with Batgirl #35, amping up the superhereoine's costume and moving her into a Brooklyn-esque neighborhood.

In a series of standalone, single-issue stories that will be connected by a longer story arc, Batgirl will stand on her own to take on a variety of new villains (her first task is a sleazy Internet blackmailer).

Barbara assembles her new costume herself, modifying clothing from thrift stores that "reflects her youth and style," Stewart mentioned in an interview with MTV News. Featuring leather instead of spandex, it dons a snap-off cape and snapped gloves and what looks like yellow Doc Martins. "Unlike Batman or Batwoman, she no longer needs to stay in the shadows, and in fact learns to embrace the spotlight."


Fletcher and Stewart stated that Batgirl deserved a break from crime fighting and needed a change to focus on graduate school.

Before DC Comics relaunched with the New 52, Barbara Gordon was left bound to a wheelchair following the events in The Killing Joke, leading her to become the information guru and hacker known as Oracle in Birds of Prey. She later regained the use of her legs and returned to her vigilante position as Batgirl. Stewart lets us in on her new outlook on life:

Batgirl has really been put through the wringer in recent years—after being attacked and paralyzed by the Joker, her brother turning out to be a serial murderer, the trauma of her family breaking apart and the series of gruesome villains she's had to contend with, we figured she deserved a break from all that. Just prior to the start of our story she's pushed to the breaking point and decides that she'd had it with misery and darkness and wants a change. She wants the opportunity to have some fun and live the life of a young, single girl in the city, so she packs up and moves to Burnside, the cool, trendy borough of Gotham, to focus on grad school.

Lets fight crime, but first, let me take a selfie!

Fletcher described Burnside as the part of Gotham City known for expensive coffee, fixie bikes, vintage shops, and breakout bands (so, you mean Williamsburg?).

"Barbara allows herself to be immersed in youth culture for the first time, exploring the social side of life in Burnside," Fletcher told MTV. "That's not to say there isn't mystery, of course! Try as she might to live a 'normal' life, Barbara very quickly finds herself drawn back into the world of crime fighting."

Their take on Babs, which was said will have a lighter tone of fun, adventure, and mystery, will mix the best elements from Veronica Mars, Girls, and Sherlock, leaving the rest of the Bat-family to deal with the darkness.

As far as featuring other Gotham super-residents, Stewart said that aside from those Barbara was formerly close with, the new comic is a clean break, meaning don't expect Nightwing or Poison Ivy to make an appearance any time soon.

Batgirl #35 will be on sale on October 8. Check out the full synopsis below.

BATGIRL #35 
Written be CAMERON STEWART and BRENDEN FLETCHER
Art by BABS TARR
Cover by CAMERON STEWART
MONSTERS Variant cover by KEVIN NOWLAND
On sale OCTOBER 8, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US, RATED T 

Barbara Gordon is no stranger to dusting herself off when disaster strikes…so when a fire destroys everything she owned, she spots the opportunity for a new lease one life—and seizes it! Following the rest of Gotham's young adults to the hip border district of Burnside, Barbara sets about building and all-new Batgirl…and discovers all-new threats preying on her peers! It's a re-invention of Batgirl from the boots up, by the incredible creative team of Cameron Stewart (BATMAN INC.), Brenden Fletcher (WEDNESDAY COMICS), and rising start artist Babs Tarr! 

What do you think of the redesigned costume and new storyline? It's definitely intriguing, to say the least, though it really plays on the hipster style that goes with the neighborhood that's reminiscent of Williamsburg. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.