Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Throwing together modern pop culture with historical settings has long been something that has entertained people, whether it’s things like putting alien hunters in the 1700s in Prey, or putting characters like Wonder Woman into World War I or the 1980s, folks love a good mash-up. It’s not even a modern thing: Mark Twain did it with A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court in 1889! Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is just following on in this proud tradition, but setting a Godzilla story in the 1500s.

The first issue of the series introduced readers to the pirate Mr Hull, who is about to be hung for his crimes in the Caribbean. However, before he heads to the gallows he’s managed to convince his jailers to hold off on his execution by telling them a story about Sir Francis Drake, and a mysterious mission to an island in search of lost treasure. The mission was so secret that the public was told that he was circumnavigating the globe, whilst the real goal was to reach Monster Island.

In this issue Hull continues the story, beginning with what happened when he and his crew came face to face with the greatest monster of all, Godzilla, as well as what happened when the Spanish navy decided that they could take down the towering titan. One of the more enjoyable aspects of most Godzilla stories is watching giant monsters destroy stuff, and military might has always fallen short against such creatures without some kind of fantastical device or plan. So, it’s a pretty foregone conclusion what would happen to sailing ships trying to kill a kaiju with canons, but it doesn’t make the sequence any less cool to read nor the spectacle any less amazing. The art team really excel here, and it’s easily the best looking part of the issue.

Most of the issue pertains to the pirates’ first few hours on the island, and the things that they find waiting for them. And it feels like a fun excuse to let the art team throw some cool visuals and interesting moments at the reader. It also feels like the book is slowly drawing us into the more bizarre elements (minus the first meeting with Godzilla himself of course) as the more outlandish creatures from this world are yet to rear their heads, allowing some new, more mundane monstrosities to have a go first. This feels like a good decision, as it’s not only giving the reader something that feels a bit new, but it also raises the tension somewhat as you know that the pirates have barely scratched the surface of what’s to be found on the island.

Compared to the first issue, the art feels a lot more mundane here. That’s not to say that it isn’t good as it has some fantastic moments and looks great throughout, but some of the best pages in the first issue were when the art got a big more creative, and gave us interesting visuals such as panels being broken up by Godzilla’s tail. This issue doesn’t really do that, and looks much more like what you expect from a comic. Whilst this isn’t bad, I do hope that future issues will give us a little bit more flair, as it was a genuine delight last time.

Overall, this is a really strong second issue, though perhaps not quite as solid as the first. The story continues to be interesting, and there are some fun character and story moments to be found here that are sometimes lacking in other Godzilla comics that choose to focus on monsters fighting over decent storytelling. This is still the Godzilla comic I’m most excited for each month, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

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Matango – Throwback 60

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

A group of people stranded, looking for a way to survive; a deadly fungal infection; people changed into fungus-encrusted monsters hunting them. No, this isn’t The Last of Us, this is the plot of 1963’s Matango, a surprisingly dark horror movie from Ishirō Honda, director of films such as Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan.

Based upon the short story The Voice in the Night by English writer William Hope Hodgson, Matango was a stark departure from the previous work in Honda’s career, and leaned much more into the horror elements of his story than even something like the original Godzilla would. It would be Matango, not Godzilla, that would almost become banned for being too horrific, and for having characters that resembled the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Due to the lack of giant monsters that would go on to join the same universe as Godzilla, Matango often gets overlooked when talking about Honda’s career; yet it remains one of his best works.

Matango begins in a hospital in Tokyo, where a university professor named Kenji Murai (Akira Kubo) is being questioned about what happened to his group of missing friends. From here we go back in time, to see Kenji and several of his friends setting out on a day trip on a fancy yacht. The group includes rich socialites, a famous writer, and a popular singer. Whilst out sailing a vicious storm rolls in and causes damage to the boat that causes it to drift without control. The boat eventually drifts its way to a ghostly island deserted of all life.

The group abandon their yacht and begin exploring the island, hoping for a way to either fix the boat, or leave another way. They discover another ship washed up upon the beach, a ship covered in a strange mushroom-like growth. The group discover that cleaning product kills the fungus, and set to work trying to remove it from the ship so that they can use it to leave. As the days pass, the group’s supplies run low, and one of the group decides to try eating the bizarre mushrooms growing across the island. Those that eat the mushrooms begin to become more and more erratic. As the mushrooms begin to take effect on the group, their bodies slowly begin to change and mutate, turning them into the monstrous mushroom men that stalk the islands forest.

Matango makes for a rather dark entry in both the work of Honda, and the Toho catalogue. Made at a time when monster movies were more adventure films than horror, Matango was something very different, and marked a departure from the kind of monster movies that Honda had helped to create. Instead of relying on spectacle, Matango was a more grounded and human led drama, with the breaking of relationships and the loss of sanity amongst the small group of friends being the main driving force of the film.

In a lot of ways, Matango feels similar to a zombie movie. There’s the group of people trapped and needing to find a way to escape, the mounting paranoia, the risk of infection, and the obligatory fights that break out amongst the survivors. There’s even the looming threat of the mushroom people that stand in for the zombies lurking outside the safety of whatever stronghold the survivors have made for themselves. It’s also not hard to see how this went on to be used as a basis for the drama in The Last of Us, (though I’m not suggesting that the creators of the game stole their ideas from Matango).

That being said, there are times where Matango refuses to make it clear exactly what’s happening or how this situation began in a way that works to the film’s benefit. There’s a point in the movie where the friends, upon discovering the ship covered in mould, postulate that it was caught in a nearby nuclear test, and that the radioactive fallout may have been responsible for the strange mutations. This isn’t too bad a theory, and it fits well with the well established tropes and themes that were used in Japanese cinema at the time.

With it still being less than two decades since the barbarism that was enacted on Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, these incidents were still being heavily explored in their art. This wouldn’t even be the first time that Honda had done so. But, there are some wrinkles to this explanation, as at one point in the story one of the mushroom men literally vanishes into thin air, and the group witness a ghost ship earlier in the movie. The suggestion that there could be a paranormal reason for things makes the movie stand out amongst its contemporaries as something a bit different.

The filming for Matango was something of a rushed affair, with the studio editing the movie together whilst parts were still being filmed. There are some accounts that claim that the production was so rushed that the island location for the movie wasn’t properly scouted or cleared, and as such the cast and crew had to contend with venomous snakes and large centipedes more than once. The filming didn’t stop until the 28th July, with the editing carrying on for another week right up to the release date. Despite the film being made so close to the wire, it works incredibly well, and ended up being one of the more stand out movies of the era.

Matango was well received in Japan by fans of the horror and monster genres, but critics at the time didn’t know what to make of the film, and it received mixed reviews in the media. The film would receive a television distribution deal in the USA, where it would air multiple times during the 1960s and 70s. It was during this time that American film director Steven Soderberg would watch the film as a child. He tried to remake the movie later in life, saying that it ‘scared the shit’ out of him as a kid and that it was due to being unable to make a deal with Toho that led to him abandoning the project.

Matango is something of a black sheep of a movie. It doesn’t quite fit into the other monster movies of the time, but thanks to some interesting ideas, some great atmosphere, and themes that would catch the imagination and be used again and again even until today, it’s a film that will stand the test of time, and is worth checking out if you can find it.

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What To Watch Before Ahsoka

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The upcoming Ahsoka series is a show that’s been a long time coming for some fans, with many seeing it not only as the next chapter in the story of Jedi Ahsoka Tano, but also a new live-action season of Star Wars Rebels. For those who’ve indulged in everything that the franchise has to offer, you’ll be in good stead to jump into this new show, but casual fans might need something of a catch-up first. Whilst the absolute best thing to do would be to watch the entirety of both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels (some of the best things Star Wars has ever made), we know that’s simply not possible for everyone. So, we thought we’d put together a key info list of the stories and episodes from those shows which should get you up to speed on Ahsoka‘s cast.

The Gathering, A Test of Strength, Bound For Rescue & A Necessary Bond (The Clone Wars S5E06-09)

There were a number of times before this that showed Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) proving herself to be a competent and capable hero, but she was often playing second fiddle to characters such as Anakin (Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan (James Arnold Taylor). Here, Ahsoka got to take centre stage as the most mature and experienced Jedi accompanying a group of younglings to the planet of Ilum, where they try to find the Kyber crystal that they need to make lightsabers. These episodes see Ahsoka and the children getting into danger and having to work together to survive, with Ahsoka leading the way.

Not only do these episodes go into the lore around how Jedi make their sabers and how the force works, but it also introduces the character of Professor Huyang (David Tennant), an ancient droid who has helped Jedi create their sabers for generations. Huyang has been shown in a few of the trailers for Ahsoka, so these episodes are a great introduction to his character.

Overlords, Altar of Mortis & Ghosts of Mortis (The Clone Wars S3E15-17)

Star Wars deals in magic and mysticism a lot. The Force is a mystical thing, and the Jedi are a religious order; as such, whenever the shows explored the Force across the galaxy, it would often be unexplained by science and more fantastical. The Mortis trilogy is a prime example of that, and an important piece of Star Wars lore. The episodes see Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka being drawn to a spot in space by the The Force, entering a mysterious plane called Mortis where they meet the living embodiments of the Force: The Son, The Daughter, and The Father, who embody the Dark Side, Light Side, and balance respectively.

Whilst Ahsoka is somewhat secondary here, she does play a very important role in the episode regarding Anakin Skywalker and his fate of becoming Darth Vader. With the next animated show, Star Wars Rebels, further adding more mystical elements to the Star Wars galaxy, it feels like the Mortis arc is going to have a lasting effect on Ahsoka’s story. It’s also worth noting that the owl-like bird which appears around Ahsoka a lot, named Morai, is connected to The Daughter, and shows that Ahsoka has a strong connecting to the Light Side of The Force, as well as the beings who shape it.

Sabotage, The Jedi Who Knew Too Much, To Catch A Jedi & The Wrong Jedi (The Clone Wars S5E17-20)

The final arc of the fifth season of Clone Wars put Ahsoka squarely at the heart of things, testing her in ways she’d never been before. When a bombing happens at the Jedi Temple, an investigation is launched, one where all of the evidence points to the culprit being Ahsoka Tano. Knowing that she didn’t do it, but having little proof in being acquitted, Ahsoka goes on the run across Coruscant, before being captured and put on trial. Thrown out of the Jedi Order, it’s only the intervention of Anakin, who goes against the Council’s wishes, that she’s proven not-guilty, and avoids the death sentence.

This is the story that sees Ahsoka leave the Jedi Order, refusing to go back after her trial. Having felt betrayed by the only people and home she’s ever known, Ahsoka quite literally walks off into the sunset to find her place in the galaxy. With Ahsoka not appearing in Revenge of the Sith, this was the episode which filled in that gap and it very quickly became a firm favourite with fans.

Old Friends Not Forgotten, The Phantom Apprentice, Shattered & Victory and Death (The Clone Wars S7E09-12)

The end of The Clone Wars conflict. After leaving the Jedi, Ahsoka joins up with Mandalorian warrior Bo Katan (Katee Sackhoff) to try and free Mandalore from the rule of former Sith assassin Maul (Sam Witwer). Having convinced the Republic to help, Ahsoka is briefly reunited with her former master, who gives her new lightsabers and leaves part of the 501st Legion with her to help in the battle. Whilst Ahsoka leads the Republic forces to victory and captures Maul, new orders come in on their journey home, Order 66.

Originally announced as the end point of the series, this story was initially shelved when The Clone Wars was cancelled, and it only was years later when the show was resurrected for a final season that we finally got it. Here, Ahsoka is the star, alongside Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) as they fight to free Mandalore then to survive Order 66. This is the story that sets Ahsoka on her new path under the rise of the Empire, and helps to forge the person she’s going to be going forward.

The Ahsoka Novel / Resolve (Tales of the Jedi S1E06)

The Ahsoka novel and the final episode of the first season of Tales of the Jedi tell very similar stories, one that kind of conflict at times. Which of the two are actually canon is kind of up in the air, especially with Disney having said that all of the new books and comics are as much canon as the films and shows. Either way, both tell the story of Ahsoka following the events of Order 66 and see her living on a quiet farming world where she works as a farm hand. When she uses the Force to help save someone, it results in an Inquisitor being sent to hunt her down.

Both stories show Ahsoka defeating the Inquisitor, but the book expands upon this in a very important way: showing her take the crystals from his lightsaber and purifying them of the Dark Side, removing the bleeding done to turn the crystals red. Using them to construct her own sabers, this is where Ahsoka gets her white-bladed lightsabers that she will use going forward.

Blood Sisters (Star Wars Rebels S2E8)

This season two episode of Star Wars Rebels offers some insight into the history of Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), one of the major players in Ahsoka. In “Blood Sisters,” we meet a bounty hunter who Sabine used to work with. Not only that, but audiences discover that Sabine used to be part of the Imperial Accademy and get details about her escape. Whilst these topics will be gone into in more depth later, this is the real beginning to the fleshing out for Sabine, her connections to the Empire, and what that means for her as a Mandalorian.

Twilight of the Apprentice (Star Wars Rebels S2E21-22)

The episodes that much of season two were building towards. Ahsoka joins Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) and Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) as they travel to a world where an ancient battle took place between the Jedi and the Sith. Whilst there, they encounter a number of Inquisitors and even ally themselves with Maul, who has been trying to get the holocron hidden on the planet. This is the story where Ahsoka finally comes face to face with Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) and learns that he was once Anakin Skywalker.

The emotional battle at the end of this story is the main draw for Ahsoka fans, and leads to a brilliant moment, one that sees her refusing to leave her former master. The two of them duel as the facility is destroyed around them, and fans are teased with a small glimpse of her apparently surviving – though had to wait a few years to have this confirmed.

The Antilles Extraction (Star Wars Rebels S3E4)

This episode of Rebels sees Sabine going undercover at the Imperial Academy in order to find and extract a pair of young Imperials who want to defect to the Rebel Alliance. As a byproduct, this is our first showcase of what Sabine was like as an Imperial, seeing her listening to the rules, wearing a uniform, and with dull black hair. What makes Sabine who she is gets stripped away under the Empire. It also showcases her bravery and willingness to put herself in danger to do the right thing, two qualities that become important parts of her personality. For wider franchise fans, the origin of one of the notable Rebel Alliance members from the Original Trilogy is additionally depicted.

Hera’s Heroes (Star Wars Rebels S3E5)

Another important character that will be playing a large part in the Ahsoka show is Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall), who leads the Ghost crew in Star Wars Rebels. This semi-titular episode sees her returning to her home world, exploring her past and her reasons for having grown up to be a freedom fighter. It’s a brilliant look at her personality, showcasing why she’s one of the best leaders in the Rebellion. Conversely, it also works as a showcase for another major player in the new show, Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), whose methodical approach, study of art and cultures, and cold detached attitude make him a deadly opponent.

Trials of the Darksaber & Legacy of Mandalore (Star Wars Rebels S3E15-16)

In this two-parter, the focus lands on Sabine who has found herself in possession of the legendary Darksaber. Knowing that it is a symbol for her people, one which can help to bring them into the fight against the Empire, she goes into training with Kanan in how to use the weapon, before travelling home to face her family who have begun to serve the Empire. The first part contains a lot of important information, both in how a person uses a lightsaber but also the pain and trauma that Sabine has been carrying with her over the years, whilst the second explores all of the relationships she has with her different family members and has Sabine questioning her place in both the fight against the Empire and the larger universe. With Sabine having been shown using Ezra’s saber in the Ahsoka trailers, the lessons she learns in these episodes play a key part in her progress.

A World Between Worlds (Star Wars Rebels S4E13)

There are a lot of ancient cultures and mysteries in the Star Wars universe, and the World Between Worlds is a major one. A nexus of time which exists outside of regular space, this place allows those within it to observe various times and places, even the ability to affect them. Having been discovered by Ezra, he uses the World Between Worlds to take Ahsoka out of time, saving her from the events of ‘Twilight of the Apprentice.’ The entrance to this space is destroyed in that same episode but, with multiple doorways on the other side, it’s likely that there are places where it could still be accessed.

Eagle-eyed fans have been poring over every frame of the show released so far and have found a number of things that could hint to a connection with the World Between Worlds. Whilst this could merely be over-excited fan speculation, it is possible that this more unusual part of the Star Wars galaxy may be revisited and, much like Mortis, play a large, if unexpected, role in things to come.

Family Reunion – and Farewell (Star Wars Rebels S4E15-16)

The final episodes of Rebels sees Ezra Bridger bringing together all of his allies to help free his home world of Lothal from the grip of the Empire. Having suffered several losses, the group plans one last desperate bid for victory. This final battle against Thrawn and his fleet will result in the Empire losing, but also the loss of both Ezra and Thrawn as they’re transported somewhere else in the galaxy. This is perhaps one of the most important episodes to watch as the search for Ezra and the threat of Thrawn is the entire premise of the new show.

Several moments from this finale are shown in live action in the advertisement for Ahsoka. The recording Ezra leaves his friends and family, the mural that Sabine paints, even the final scene of Rebels has been recreated. If there’s only one set of episodes from this list that you can find the time to watch, make sure it’s this one.

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The Comic Cave – Batman: Son of the Demon

 

Originally published at Set The Tape

The Comic Cave is a weekly feature where we spin the Wheel of Comics and see what graphic novel story it brings up for us to deep dive into! This week we take a look at Batman: Son of the Demon, one of the earliest graphic novels produced by DC, and a book that would go on to create lasting changes in the Batman mythos.

The late 80s was a big time for DC Comics. They’d just reshaped their universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths, and were starting afresh with a lot of their characters, exploring their histories and origins in new ways. One character that go this treatment a lot was Batman. Frank Miller wowed audiences in 1986 with The Dark Knight Returns: a dark, gritty future version of the DC universe where Batman comes out of retirement to fight crime once again. The book was so well received that Miller was brought on board to tell Batman’s definitive new origin in Batman #404-#407, a story called Batman Year One. Batman Year One became THE Batman origin story, one that would stick around for decades, and inspire a huge number of other stories.

This early days story was so beloved that DC began a new series that could continue to explore this era in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. With multiple Batman titles telling stories from across his long career it wasn’t long before DC started to produce stand-alone graphic novels to get even more Batman content out into the world. Batman: Son of the Demon was one of these early graphic novels, an 80 page book that explored Batman’s relationship with one of his greatest enemies, and his father-in-law, Ra’s al Ghul.

First created in the storyline ‘Daughter of the Demon’ in the 1970s, Ra’s is an immortal warrior who leads the League of Assassins. Ra’s believes that the world cannot survive if humanity does nothing to change their ways, and seeks to make a world in perfect balance with nature. This means that Ra’s is often enacting plots that will see most of humanity destroyed. Over the years this has put him at odds with Batman, and the two have gained a respect for the others skills and abilities, if not their methods and mission. Because of this, in a previous story Ra’s married Batman to his daughter, Talia. Batman: Son of the Demon is the first real interaction between Batman and the al Ghul’s in the post-Crisis timeline, and seeks to address the marriage between Bruce and Talia.

The book begins with a hostage situation in Gotham, one that sees Batman breaking into a chemical factory to take on a group of heavily armed criminals. The fight that we get here is one that shows a somewhat extreme Batman, one who doesn’t kill, but doesn’t seem to mind letting the bad guys get themselves killed. Batman plays a part in crashing a chopper that has people inside it, resulting in a fiery crash, and at one point he stands in front of chemical tanks so that when one of the criminals shoots it the toxic contents splash in the man’s face and literally melts it off in what is a truly horrifying moment.

Injured in the fight, Batman collapses in an alley, and awakens in the Batcave having been brought there by Talia, who was following him earlier in the book. When a murder occurs in Gothm, targeting one of the city’s best scientists, the clues point towards the involvement of Ra’s, and the two of them head to his hidden mountain fortress to confront him. It’s here that Batman learns that the real killer is a man called Qayin, a former League of Assassin member, and the man who killed Ra’s wife (and Talia’s mother) Melisande. Hearing that Qayin is an even worse threat that Ra’s, Bruce agrees to work with him in order to stop the killer.

As Batman works alongside the League, even teaching their assassins new non-lethal combat techniques, his relationship with Talia becomes more intense. Batman eventually agrees to be her husband fully, and is named as Ra’s son within the League. After a while, Talia announces that she’s pregnant, and Bruce begins to change his outlook, becoming more risk averse, and more cautious. This comes to a head when Bruce is almost killed protecting Talia and their unborn child. Talia realises that Batman is being weakened by him becoming a father, and tells him that she has lost the baby. After defeating Qayin, the marriage between Bruce and Talia is dissolved, and he returns to Gotham City. In the book’s final scenes, Talia takes her and Bruce’s son to an orphanage, where she leaves him to be raised by a new family.

In a lot of ways Batman: Son of the Demon feels like a meshing of Batman stories and spy movies. Ra’s al Ghul’s mountain fortress, the various globetrotting missions, and the fights with low level goons in order to get to the big figure behind everything feel very similar to a Bond movie, and a fair few of the designs from artist Jerry Bingham would fit perfectly into that world. It also doesn’t feel like Batman a lot of the time, as the character is being tested in ways readers had rarely seen at this point. Pre-Crisis Batman had been a father (and a lot of other weird things too!) but this was the only time this new version of the character was presented with the prospect of having a family. Seeing how that changed him and affected him made the book feel like a character study more than a superhero adventure a lot of the time.

Because the book was released as a solo graphic novel and didn’t really fit into any of the ongoing stories or series, its place in continuity was something that fans would question over the coming years. This was, however, changed when Grant Morrison came on to write their now famous run on Batman. In the very first arc of their run, Batman and Son, Bruce Wayne comes face to face with his son, Damian. Damian’s mother is Talia al Ghul, and Morrison took parts of Batman: Son of the Demon as the explanation for where Damian came from. In this new story Talia never gave her son away, and instead raised him to be a warrior. This cemented Batman: Son of the Demon into continuity for many readers, and made it an essential book for those wanting to delve deeper into the lore that Morrison was drawing from; it was even reprinted in 2006 with new cover art to tie into the Morrison releases.

Even before this, however, the book was often featured on a variety of ‘Best Of’ style lists for Batman graphic novels, with it being held up as one of the best stories featuring Ra’s al Ghul. The book seemed to cement the idea of a semi-antagonistic relationship between the two, rather than Ra’s simply being a villain, and this odd dynamic where they’re both mortal enemies, but occasionally allies, and – weirdly – family has continued on ever since, and has only gotten stronger thanks to the creation of Damian.

Whilst the book is only short, clocking it at less than the length of four regular sized issues, it manages to pack a lot into the pages, and Mike W. Barr uses the limited pages well. It sets up a darker, more dangerous version of Batman and then deconstructs him in ways that readers don’t expect. Family has always been an important theme in Batman’s mythos and history, and this book plays an important part in that.

Batman: Son of the Demon was first published in December 1987.

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The Ravening Deep: An Arkham Horror Novel by Tim Pratt - Book Review

 

'A nightmarish power unleashed from the depths infiltrates Arkham in this nautical-horror pulp adventure from the acclaimed  Arkham Horror  game world.

'When dissolute fisherman Abel Davenport discovers an ancient temple in the deep ocean, he under the influence of a long dead god. In his attempts to restore the god’s cult, Abel unleashes a plague of twisted doppelgangers on Arkham. Horrified by the consequences, Davenport realises that he alone cannot stop the monsters from resurrecting the Ancient One. Sometimes the only way to end one cult is to start another… Teaming up with redeemed cultist Diana Stanley and notorious thief Ruby Standish is the first step. The second is convincing Carl Sanford, the powerful leader of Arkham’s Silver Twilight Lodge, to join their cause. Together they might be the only hope of averting a cataclysmic eldritch invasion.'

It feels like it's been a long while since I was able to read an Arkham Horror novel (the start of the year was my last one), and it's so good to dive back into this universe; and The Ravening Deep is such an engaging, exciting, and tense novel that it stands out as one of the best examples of the series.

The start of The Ravening Deep focuses on a fisherman down on his luck, and at the end of his rope. Abel Davenport has lost his home, is living on a boat that's falling to pieces, and is barely making enough fishing to feed himself, with whatever little he does make doing towards drink. When a huge storm starts to roll in he's the only fisherman who heads out that day, part of him not caring if the storm ends up killing him. The sea is rough, and the ship goes down, and Abel loses consciousness. When he awakes he finds himself on a spur of rock jutting out of the middle of the ocean, a great stone spire in the middle of the sea. Finding a hidden cave on the spire, a cave bigger than it could possibly be, Abel discovers the remains of an altar, and a strange gemstone necklace. When Abel puts on the necklace he is assaulted with visions of a great, ancient power, one that needs his help to reawaken. Finding himself back on the mainland, Abel sets out to bring his new god back to life.

Jumping forward weeks, and now in the city or Arkham, we meet Diana, a young woman who moved to the city to open her own business. Trying to cater to the rich and powerful in Arkham, Diana joined the Silver Twilight Lodge, a well respected social club within the Arkham. However, Diana soon learns that the Lodge is the public face for a cult, one headed up by the powerful Carl Sanford, and Diana learns that there are dark things in the universe. Desperate to get out of the cult, and to bring it down, she encounters a drunk, dishevelled Abel in the alley behind her shop, and is ready to move him on when he mumbles something about the Lodge.

Once Abel sobers up he tells Diana about his story, about how the powers granted to him by his god allowed him to quite literally create a cult of his own, growing copies of himself; but that one of these copies called Cain, betrayed him. Learning that Cain is trying to access the Silver Twilight Lodge in hopes of stealing back a piece of his god, Abel and Diana agree to team up to stop him. It's then that they meet Ruby Standish, a daring female thief who's nearly killed by Cain's ever growing army of monstrous duplicate Arkhamites. Knowing that anyone could have been replaced, and that the fate of the world hangs in the balance, the three of them come up with a plan to try and stop Cain.

The Ravening Deep is part Lovecraftian cosmic horror, part crime caper, part cult thriller, and part Invasion of the Body Snatcher, and its utterly delightful in its execution. Tim Pratt does a wonderful job at weaving multiple narratives together, taking characters on separate paths and bringing them together in a way that not only feels believable, but creates new and exciting additions to the narrative. There are four main characters in the story, and each of them brings something new and interesting to the group.

Our first character, Abel, makes for an interesting figure, a man who'd given up on life and was ready to die who finds new purpose and meaning when he discovers an ancient power. But when we re-meet him in Arkham he's a drunk living in back alleys. His life fell apart a second time; but rather than give up, he gets inspired to fight against the dark forces that he's let loose on the world even if that likely means that he will die in the process.

Diana is an odd mirror for Abel, like him she got involved in a cult without knowing the full extent of what it was. Abel started his cult not really realising the evil of his god and what it would mean for the fate of the world, whilst Diana thought she was in a social club with some eccentric activities and a focus on history. When she's confronted with the true horror she's a part of she realises that she's been complicit in evil acts, and wants to try and make amends for it despite being wholly unequipped to do so. She's a kind and decent person who ended up making a few bad choices and is trying to make up for it. She's a kind of character that we rarely see in the Arkham Horror series, as we don't often see a cultist trying to make good.

Ruby, however, does feel a bit like characters we've seen in the series before. She's not the first female adventurer thief in the Arkham Horror line; the first book released (Wrath of N'Kai) featured a similar character in Countess Alessandra Zori. But despite being a recognisable archetype Ruby manages to feel different from the others that we've seen before. She has a sense of self preservation and greed that means whilst she does fall on the side of good she's not above skirting the line of bad if things require it. She's something of more in the grey than Abel and Diana, and her quick wits, her skills, and her ability to jump into action make her the most competent of the trio.

There is, however, another character we focus on, one who eventually comes to join the group in their fight against Cain and his cult. Carl Sanford. Sanford is an evil character. He knows that he's messing with dark powers, he's happy to make sacrifices to ancient powers, and he knows that he makes deals with monsters, but as long as it brings him power and wealth he doesn't care. He's cold, calculating, and puts his own interests first every single time. But thanks to the ever growing threat Cain presents he's forced to work alongside the real heroes of the book; and this is the best decision the book makes. Sanford should not be a hero, he shouldn't be working with the good guys, but he works so well as part of the team, and adds a lot of fun whenever he's with them. It takes the book from incredibly good to absolutely delightful to read.

Pratt has a lot of fun with the horror of the book too. The opening scenes with Abel finding the ancient church feel right out of Lovecrafts stories of discoveries of ancient civilisations and long dead religions. Cain's cults ability to replace and duplicate anyone means that both the heroes and the reader can never trust any character that comes along, and a simple scene like walking down the street becomes a tense moment as you're waiting for something bad to happen. And, there are also monsters. Ghouls, shoggoths, and monster men pop up here and there and add an extra dose of horror into the mix in wonderful ways.

The Ravening Deep is a incredibly well crafted story, one that draws you in super quickly and gets you interested in finding out what happens next. It's paced and structured in such a way that even the quieter moments feel tense and exciting, and there's always something new and exciting to discover. A masterclass in how to bring the game series to life.

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Ahsoka – Who’s Who

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

As the galaxy far, far away becomes more complex and interconnected, it can sometimes mean that certain new films and television shows can become a bit more inaccessible for some viewers. Not everyone has the time or inclination to sit down to watch sixty plus hours of animation (though I’d always recommend it if you’ve got the time). With the latest Star Wars series, Ahsoka, being both the continuation of several stories and the beginning of a whole new chapter, we’ve put together a quick breakdown of the returning key players.

Ahsoka Tano

The titular character, Ahsoka Tano was first introduced to audiences in 2008 in the animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as Anakin Skywalker’s new Padawan. And audiences absolutely hated her. Fans knew that Anakin didn’t have a student in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and they didn’t want a cartoon messing with their continuity. However, over the course of the show that spun out of the film, opinion of the character would change. Originally a bit of a bratty, snarky kid, Ahsoka proved to be the perfect student for Anakin as they were so similar. Over the course of multiple seasons, Ahsoka would mellow and become one of the most formidable Jedi around thanks to Anakin’s training, even holding her own against General Grievous more than once.

Towards the end of the series, Ahsoka was framed for a series of terrorist bombings and thrown out of the Jedi order. When her name was cleared she was offered her place back but refused, literally walking away from that part of her life. However, she couldn’t resist the call to action and fought in the Battle of Mandalore at the end of the Clone War, where she faced former Sith warrior Maul in combat. She would survive the events of Order 66 thanks to Anakin’s training and go into hiding for several years. Ahsoka would survive many encounters with Imperial Inquisitors, eventually joining Senator Organa in creating the early stages of the Rebel Alliance.

Fighting alongside the members of Phoenix Squadron, Ahsoka would come face to face with Darth Vader. During the battle with Vader, she learned the truth that he was once Anakin Skywalker. Since then, Ahsoka has been helping to search for a way to bring the missing Ezra Bridger home. During the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels Ahsoka was played by Ashley Eckstein, but will be played by Rosario Dawson in Ahsoka.

Sabine Wren

Sabine Wren is a Mandalorian explosive and weapons expert who was a member of the Ghost crew and the Phoenix Squadron cell in the Rebel Alliance. A former Imperial cadet, Sabine defected from the Empire when she discovered that her weapon designs were being developed into tech used to kill her fellow Mandalorians. She spent some time working as a bounty hunter before joining the crew of The Ghost, a small band of criminals and thieves.

When the Ghost Crew took a more active role in the Rebel Alliance, it was Sabine’s art which was used as inspiration for the symbol that the organisation would take on. During this time, Sabine would also lead efforts to bring Mandalorian factions into the conflict to help against the Empire, using the Darksaber (a relic of both the Jedi and Mandalorians) that she acquired from Maul to do so. Despite weilding the saber, Sabine handed it to Bo Katan, who she saw as a worthy leader to follow.

When Ezra Bridger was lost in the fight to retake his home world Sabine made a promise to watch over his planet, Lothal, for him and remained there until the end of the war against the Empire. Sabine was played by Tiya Sircar in Star Wars Rebels, and will be played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo in Ahsoka.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Originally from the Unknown Regions of space, Thrawn is a member of the Chiss Ascendancy, an aristocratic oligarchical organisation that ruled their own empire. Discovered on a desolate planet on the edges of space, Thrawn managed to sneak his way on board an Imperial Star Destroyer after tormenting the crew on the planet for several hours. Eventually captured, his actions were so impressive that he was brought before the Emperor. Thrawn promised to bring his impressive mind to work for the Empire and was inducted into the Imperial Accademy, which he graduated from in record time. Despite his unorthodox tactics, Thrawn quickly rose through the ranks, eventually having the title of Grand Admiral created for him by the Emperor.

With the actions of Phoenix Squadron causing havoc on the planet Lothal, Thrawn was sent to bring the rebels to heel, something Imperial Inquisitors and Darth Vader had failed to do. Thrawn would engage the crew of the Ghost several times, landing a number of blows against the rebel forces. Eventually, a final battle between the two groups took place over the skies of Lothal, where Jedi Ezra Bridger used the Force to summon space whales to the rebels’ aid. The whales surrounded the ship that they were on, and he and Thrawn vanished into deep space. Since then there have been whispers of Thrawn working in the shadows to rebuild and continue the Empire. Thrawn was played by Lars Mikkelsen in Star Wars Rebels, and will be reprising the role for Ahsoka.

Hera Syndulla

Daughter of the Twi’lek freedom fighter Cham Syndulla, Hera was raised from a young age to fight for what’s right. With a passion for flying, Hera would eventually leave her home world, which had fallen under Imperial rule, and took her fight out into the galaxy. Becoming an agent for Bail Organa in the early days of the Rebellion, Hera met the surviving Jedi Kanan Jarrus on a mission and the two of them teamed up to take down the Empire. Over the coming years, the two of them would be joined by more allies who eventually grew into a crew and family on board Hera’s ship, the Ghost.

Hera became a key figure in the early days of the Rebellion, leading a number of important and dangerous missions, eventually earning the rank of General. She and Kanan became lovers as the years progressed and she would eventually have his son, Jacen, though Kanan would die before ever knowing that Hera was pregnant. Despite the loss of her lover, and other members of her found family, Hera continued in her fight against the Empire and was present at several notable battles, including the Battle of Scariff and the Battle of Endor. Hera was played by Vanessa Marshall in Star Wars Rebels, and will be played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Ahsoka.

Ezra Bridger

An orphan who grew up on the streets of Lothal after his parents were arrested by the Empire, Ezra discovered that he had a connection to the Force after meeting up with the crew of the Ghost. Originally out only for himself, the Ghost crew offered him his first chance to help others, and it was something that he realised he wanted to do. Trained by the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, Ezra would become strong with the Force whilst battling against the Empire, fighting against a number of Inquisitors, and even surviving an encounter with Darth Vader thanks to the intervention of Ahsoka Tano.

Kanan wasn’t the only person who had an interest in teaching Ezra, however, and he formed a strange relationship with former Sith warrior Maul. Maul wished to take Ezra on as an apprentice, and Ezra even used a Sith holocron for a while in order to learn more about the Force. Ultimately, though Ezra turned his back on learning from the Dark Side and continued his fight against the Empire. After the death of Kanan, Ezra brought together all of his allies to help free his home world of the Empire. Whilst the plan ultimately worked, Ezra never saw the results. Using the Force to summon space whales to his aid, Thrawn’s ship, along with Ezra, was transported across space. Ezra had left a message thanking the Ghost crew for being his family, but remains lost to this day. Ezra was played by Taylor Gray in Star Wars Rebels, and will be played by Eman Esfandi in Ahsoka.

There have been a number of other characters confirmed to be returning for Ahsoka though the extend of their involvement remains unknown. C1-10P ‘Chopper’, Hera’s droid and member of the Ghost crew has been seen in the trailer. Chopper is a droid who fought in the Clone Wars, has a grumpy disposition, and actually owns one of the highest body counts in all of Star Wars. Genevive O’Reilly will be reprising her role of Mon Mothma, now a member of the New Republic. Most exciting of all, it has been revealed that Hayden Christensen will be appearing as Anakin Skywalker, though we are yet to know if that will be as a Force Ghost or in flashback form. 

Imperial Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), whom Ahsoka fought against in her live action debut in The Mandalorian, will also be returning. And rounding out the returning characters is David Tennant as Professor Huyang, an ancient droid who has helped to teach Jedi to craft lightsabers for generations; they appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars alongside Ahsoka. It has not been confirmed if remaining Ghost crew member Zeb will be appearing in Ahsoka, but considering he appeared in The Mandalorian in a scene that would have cost a lot to make it’s likely he will also be appearing at some point.

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Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #7 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

In the previous issue of Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories everyone’s least favourite Rodian, Greedo, spent the issue trying to get his foot in the door with Jabba the Hutt, bumbling from one mishap to another before finally managing to save his neck by accidentally kidnapping a Wookiee toy maker. It gave us a fun insight into just how bad of a bounty hunter Greedo is (and we got to see Rotta the Hutt for the first time in 13 years!), but this issue we get to see what a real bounty hunter can do as we watch Boba Fett be a complete bad-ass.

The story for this issue is pretty simple: we find Boba on a remote planet where a young Wookiee woman named Viiveenn is trying to hire him to track down a missing item, but they then both become targets for a group of Trandoshan hunters. And the simple plot really works for this story, as the overly complex narratives and masses of characters that feature in something like Star Wars: Bounty Hunters comics makes that series something of a hit or miss at times. Here, however, things are kept neat, simple, and violent.

For those that have been following the Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories reviews since issue one, the name Viiveenn might be familiar. That’s because the Wookiee teen trying to hire Fett’s services is none other than the little girl from the first issue, the daughter of the Wookiee senator. And, the item that she’s trying to track down is the Wookiee doll that’s been appearing in all of the issues in one form or another; the Wookiee doll that had something important and mysterious hidden inside it. At this point it’s almost become something of a game to try and guess how each issue is going to tie into this doll narrative, but I think that this is the one that I actually like the most.

Having the doll, or other versions of the doll (as in the previous issue) just suddenly showing up, being picked up by the main characters who decide they want to have this Wookiee doll for some reason, sometimes feels a little forced, or at least obviously done. The doll doesn’t appear in this story, Viiveenn doesn’t almost get her hands on it or anything like that, instead, the entire plot is driven by it. Viiveenn is desperate to get her lost doll because it was the last thing that her father gave her before he died, and this story connects with Boba and his own experiences, and is why he keeps her safe whilst the Trandoshans are hunting her.

The action spread across the book is pretty good, and it works well to make Boba Fett look competent and dangerous. He doesn’t come across as overpowered and amazing as his on screen return in season two of The Mandalorian, but it’s still really entertaining, with some great scenes that almost make him boogeyman-like in how he’s taking down enemies from the shadows. This is helped a lot by the art team, Andrea Mutti, and Vallerio Alloro, who do a wonderful job in making the book look dynamic and interesting. Considering that this is a comic that doesn’t have any human faces in it (Boba is the only human and wears his helmet the entire time) they still manage to make all of the characters engaging and emotive; an impressive thing considering they’re lizards or furry folks.

The villains arc in Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories is starting to become more entertaining than the issues that focused on the heroes. Villains can be more fun, they can go to extreme places and do very arch things, and this issue really shows that off well. Hopefully the next will continue that on.

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The Comic Cave - Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus

 

The Comic Cave is a bi-weekly feature where we spin the Wheel of Comics and see what graphic novel story it brings up for us to deep dive into! This week we take a look at the crossover comic Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus, which sees the Mega City One cop facing off against the deadliest creature in the galaxy.

Growing up in Britain in the 90's there were often only three comics I would ever really see on the shelf in shops, The Beano, The Dandy, and 2000AD. The first two are very child oriented, and tend to be quick stories over a page or two that have no real connection to each other and no continuity, with the book returning to the status quo at the end of each strip. They're not comics in the same way that people reading American comics would think of them. The closest we had to that in the UK was 2000AD, a book very much not for kids. The sci-fi settings of the book appealed to me as a young geek, but often the dark tone, the ultra-violence, and the more complex themes meant that it was never bought for me, and my first brush with more adult comics was prevented.

It wasn't until years later that I would begin to actually discover parts of 2000AD, Judge Dredd. Dredd was the standout star of the title, and whilst a lot of the characters within the pages of 2000AD would receive some degree of success none did as well as Dredd. Even before ever picking up a book with the character in it I'd been exposed to him through the 1995 film, which saw Sylvester Stallone play the cruel future cop. Not knowing anything about the comics when I first saw the film I couldn't speak to how accurate it was to the source material, but I ended up liking the movie for what it was. As sch, when I got my first library card as a young tween and I saw Judge Dredd books on the shelf there I of course grabbed what I could.

Interestingly, my first book with him was another crossover, Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgement on Gotham. It wasn't until many years later, when my small crappy town finally got a comic book shop, that I began to explore the character further. One of the books that they had that immediately grabbed my attention as a lifelong fan of the Alien franchise was Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus, an oversized hardback book that was too tall to fit on my shelf, but that I knew I needed to read thanks to the gorgeous cover art. 

The story begins in the middle of action, as a shootout in heavy traffic between a group of criminals attracts the attention of the Judges. One of the criminals, Jimmy Godber is trying desperately to get to the nearby Eisenhower Hospital, but he's being chased by anti-Judge terrorists, yelling about how he 'took something that didn't belong to him'. Godber gets saved by the Judges, with the lawmakers killing his pursuers. But Godber is still desperate to get to the medical facilities. It's then that his chest explodes, and a monstrous creature breaks its way out. The chestburster manages to make its way to a vent leading into the hospital, where it's lost.

The Judges grab the bodies, and assign a group of pest control officers, Verminators, to deal with the creature inside the hospital. As the Judges investigate into the criminals and try to find out where they came from the Verminator team inside the hospital, expecting to find a small snake-like creature, come under attack from a fully grown Xenomorph, who kills several members of the team. Whilst the Verminators are trying to make it out alive, the Judges are able to track down Godber's hideout, where they find a number of alien eggs, and a fully grown creature. The judges battle the aliens, with one of them falling victim to a facehugger, and manage to defeat it. Hearing that another of the creatures is in the hospital, Dredd heads over.

As the hospital is evacuated Dredd goes inside to fight the alien monster, who's retreated to the maternity ward, where it hovers over a group of infants. In order to save the babies, Dredd launches himself at the monster, and the two of them crash out of the window and fall several stories; Dredd fighting it the whole way down. With all of the aliens dead or contained, the Judges have to try to figure out where Godber got the eggs to begin with, suspecting that there might be more of the creatures out there. And they're not wrong, beneath the surface of Mega City One, in the ruins of the old New York a group of anti-Judge terrorists led by the scarred Mr Bones, prepare their hive of Xenomorphs to attack the Grand Hall of Justice, which lies directly above them.

The Xenomorph has crossed over with a lot of other franchises and characters over the years. The first, and most famous of these is the Predator, with this particular pairing spawning multiple comics, novels, video games, and movies, to the point where a lot of fans don't even really see them as being in separate universes at all anymore. And the two do fit very well together that when one turns up in another's story you don't really feel too phased by it. But seeing the Xenomorph fight Superman, on the other hand, can feel very jarring (even thought the first crossover between them is a ton of fun). Sometimes the crossovers work, sometimes they really don't. And the same can be said of the times that Dredd has gone over to other settings. 

But the setting of the Judge Dredd books is perhaps one of the best places outside of the Alien franchise in which to put these things. The futuristic setting works best for these creatures, and the themese of dystopia and mega corporations feels like it could be the Earth we keep hearing about in the Alien movies (especially in the fourth one). The dirty, dark hallways and corridors that make up a lot of the books locations feel reminiscent of the ships and colonies of the Alien films, and the ruins of the old New York bring to mind the barren landscapes of LV-426 and Fury 161. It's part way into the book, where I'm absorbed into the narrative and aren't even thinking about how these two properties don't normally go together that I realise it's wild that it took such an obvious pairing until 2002 to happen.

I also hugely appreciate the fact that the real villain of the book, Mr Bones, is very much doing what Weyland-Yutani was always trying to do, he found and weaponized the Xenomorphs. Having found them in space, he creates a pheromone tag that allow wearer to be seen as a member of the hive to the creatures, and thus move around in safety. He then used his men to bring the creatures to Earth, and positioned them in a way ready to set them upon his intended target, the Judges. And it works. The Xenomorphs attack their headquarters and kill a lot of people, and there are times when it looks like the Judges are going to lose. It doesn't seem like Bones has much control over them, and there's no indication that he could stop them moving on to other locations and killing more people after the Judges; but it also doesn't seem like he cares. So for him, he pretty much masters the aims that the company had.

The book also manages to balance out action and plot pretty well too. In the crossover between Dredd and the Predator my chief complaint was that the pacing was pretty bad, and the action dominated most of the story whilst failing to be really very interesting (again though, that feels like a perfect mash-up of franchises). Here, however, there's a lot of emphasis given over to story. The Judges actually investigate what's going on, they find clues, move from one suspect to another in their search for answers. And there are characters other than Dredd. We get the chance to know some of the supporting cast, see their motivations, understand what kind of personality they have, and you end up actually caring when they end up falling in battle. And all of this is balanced with some really cool moments.

The writing team on the book, John Wagner and Andy Diggle, know what they're doing. Hell, Wagner invented Dredd, so you can't get a much better writer for this story than that. And Dredd's character here is one of the things that I love about this story. Again, having not read huge amounts of his stories I don't have a huge sample size to go off, but most of the depictions of Dredd I've read have him as heartless, unwavering in his opinions and views, and close to an unfeeling fascist. But in this book he has personality. He comes across as a person, he allows the Verminators to stick around and help them because they're looking for payback for their fallen friends, and he even offers his condolences to them. He also inspires a rookie Judge, giving her the pep-talks she needs to give her the strength to keep going, rather than barking orders at her or tearing her down. He even throws himself out of a window with little hope of living to save babies. This Dredd is a bad-ass, but he's also something of a hero; and I loved that.

But the writing isn't the only draw for this book, as the art is absolutely fantastic. Henry Flint provides the art, whilst Chris Blythe colours the book, and it's wonderful to look at. Flint has a way of drawing that has a lot of fine, thinner lines, and a lot of the characters have more detail on them than you'd find in something like Marvel or DC, thanks to lots of extra detailing and line work to show off imperfections and flaws. The style is very British, and having read more work with British creators it seems to be a style that we Brits do much more than other countries, and you'll find that a few British artists have a fairly similar feel to them because of it. The first time that I saw the book it was this style of art that drew me to it, a style that's simple and beautiful to look at, but that can also covey the ugliness of the world it's set in, and holds more detail than you first realise. And my god do the aliens look fantastic too.

Whether you're a fan of Judge Dredd or the Alien, this is a book that will appeal to you. The two fit together wonderfully, and it plays well with the themes and stories of both universes in great ways. If they ever do allow the Alien to cross over with 2000AD in the future (highly unlikely now that Disney own them) this would be the creative team that would need to do it.

Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus was released from December 2002 to April 2003 by Rebellion Developments, and Dark Horse Comics,

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