Captain America #2 - Comic Review

 

There's a pretty big Nazi problem in the world right now. Despite media, and history books, showing Nazi's to have been some of the worst of humanity over the last several decades there's been a rise in far right and Nazi ideology in recent years. Nazi's no longer seem to fear making themselves known, and will show up in public trying to use fear and intimidation to spread their hateful ideology and suppress anyone they don't like. It makes a lot of sense then that a character like Captain America, a man famous for punching Hitler in the comics, to tackle the issue of Nazism in America. 

The first issue began a new status quo for Steve Rogers, seeing him becoming a landlord for the building he grew up in almost 100 years ago. Not being the kind of landlord who suck people dry and leave them living in terrible conditions, Steve has been doing the place up, making it nice to live in, and seems to be trying to find people to help with it. This issue he even offers one of the finished apartments to the contractor he's hired, who's having to live in the back of his car with his wife and son.

This issue also sees Steve's hard work on the building getting interrupted by Spider-Man, who needs Captain America's help in taking on the Sinister Six. Spidey being on the cover also seems to be setting this up as the main focus of the book, a fun little team-up between the two of them. But, the fight never happens, the villains never appear, and Spidey just kind of comes off as a bit annoying and something of a time waster. And not just wasting Steve's time, but ours too. Valuable page space goes over to what I can only assume is supposed to be a joke, but it just feels like wasted time and use of the character.

Luckily, the flashbacks in the issue give us a lot more, and prove to be the most interesting part of the book. The previous issue ended with a down on his luck Steve going to a rally in the park, having been promised free food being given out. However, it turns out that the rally is for the German American Bund, the American branch of the Nazis. Of course, even before becoming a super soldier, Steve has no love for the Nazis, and calls them out in public for the crimes of the Third Reich, an act that gets him beaten up and thrown out. 

This doesn't dissuade Steve from standing up to Nazis again, and the final scene of the book is him squaring up to a group of Nazis harassing some Jewish people. One of the things that I love about Captain America is that the values and drive that makes him such a good hero is nothing to do with being a hero, it's just the kind of person Steve is. And this series is really showcasing that. The final image of the book, with the young Steve helping the two abused man and his shadow being that of Captain America is a little bit cheesy, a little bit The Phantom Menace poster, but I like of love it too.

It's a shame that other parts of the issue just don't seem to be as exciting as those set in the past. Steve doing up a building and going on a failed team-up is a bit dull, and the villain subplot finally at least has an explanation as to what the demonic entity is wanting to do, but it's not something hugely interesting at this point either. And, considering the fact that there is a very real Nazi problem in today's world it's something of a shame that this isn't a part of the book too. It could have very easily been about Steve witnessing the rise of the far right and Nazism today, and it reflecting his past experiences, with the two narratives tying together. As it is, they feel kind of disconnected.

Overall, this is a decent, enjoyable issue, though one that is failing to really wow me. I'm not ready to give up on the title or anything like that, but I've yet to be left feeling excited to read the next issue. 

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Beyond: Two Souls – Throwback 10

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Beyond: Two Souls is an interactive, story driven game created by French studios Quantic Dream that starred Hollywood names Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe in key roles, yet thanks to a mixed quality of the game itself, and a number of controversies surrounding it, will likely only ever be remembered and spoken of in poor ways. Before coming to write this piece, a member of the team came to me and asked ‘Why would you do this to yourself?’ – and if that doesn’t sum up the way this game is thought of I don’t know what does.

Beyond: Two Souls tells the decades long story of  Jodie Holmes (Elliot Page), who has grown up with special mental abilities tied to an invisible entity that she calls Aiden. When still a child, Aiden causes an incident at Jodie’s foster home, and she’s given over to the care of the US government, to be used in experiments. She falls under the control of doctor Nathan Dawkins (Willem Dafoe) who want to try to figure out how her powers work, and if they can be used to benefit the government. Dawkins raises Jodie, becoming a surrogate father figure for her, and they spend years together.

Years later, Jodie has to help at the lab when one of Dawkins experiments goes wrong. Dawkins has discovered Jodie isn’t psychic, but is instead able to access the spirit world, and is manipulating ghosts. He has used this to create a device to access this world, dubbed the Infraworld, in order to try and communicate with his dead family. The machine, however, malfunctions, and releases spirits into the facility. After Jodie is able to combat the spirits and shuts the machine down she is recruited to the CIA, where they train her to become a field agent. As the story progresses, Jodie ends up becoming a wanted criminal, living on the streets, and eventually has to save the world from the ghostly spirits that Dawkins is continuing to play with.

Quantic Dream built a name for itself with story driven games such as Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain. The studio mandate was to put stories first, to try to evoke emotions in their players through interactive storytelling. For the most part these early games were well received, with the sci-fi driven Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy garnering positive reviews and a few awards, and their dark crime story Heavy Rain doing equally as well. With this in mind it is no surprise that the announcement of Beyond: Two Souls was met with anticipation when the first trailer was released at E3 2012. The inclusions of well known actors in the game’s key roles also helped to grab attention.

Upon release of Beyond: Two Souls, however, the lustre seems to have begun to wane for Quantic Dream. The game was met with mixed reviews, with some review outlets praising it, whilst others focused on a number of points they saw as flaws. The game was praised for the acting from its stars, but people seemed to be tired of the game play style that the studio were implementing, with basic walking and interacting features broken up by the occasional quick-time events leading to the game feeling more like an interactive cut-scene that a more traditional game. The promises made of the game containing ‘more spectacular action’ and ‘direct control’ were seen to have been overselling things somewhat.

Within just days of its release, Beyond: Two Souls was attracting controversy, as nude images of its star, Elliot Page, were shared online. There was a segment in the game in which players had to take Jodie into the shower. In the game this scene was shown from certain angles that hid full nudity. However, players with access to developer Playstation 3’s were able to manipulate the camera to reveal full body nude images of the character. This quickly received condemnation, and Page, who had a no nudity clause in his contract, was outspokenly outraged towards Quantic Dreams, and even began legal proceedings against them (he would not go on to sue them).

Quantic Dream was criticised for putting a fully nude model of Page into the game, something that was not needed, in a scene that didn’t even add anything to the story. The fact that no nudity was shown in the game the way it was first presented, yet the developers added a fully realistic nude figure to the game, was a source of outrage for many. It was considered especially damaging to Page, as this fully nude model contained his likeness, and whilst not his actual nude body it was shared on the internet as if it was him naked. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time that Quantic Dream had received criticism for such things.

Their previous release, Heavy Rain, contained a notorious glitch in which one of its four playable characters, the only woman, would be rendered fully naked for the rest of the game past a certain point. This was on top of shower scenes which, as with Beyond: Two Souls, seemed to be included to titillate male players rather than serve the story, and scenes in which the character was the victim of sexual violence more than once. Beyond: Two Souls would also receive criticism for its inclusion of sexual violence. There is a scene in the game in which a homeless Jodie is propositioned to perform oral sex in exchange for money, and data miners reportedly uncovered cut content in which the character is gang-raped.

This does seem to only be the tip of the iceberg as far as Quantic Dream and controversy goes. In 2018 the studio was accused of creating a toxic and sexist working environment. It was reported in a number of French publications that staff at the studio accused them creating hostile work environments that upper management allowed and encouraged. Staff members would have their faces photoshopped onto images of Nazi officers, as well as racist and pornographic images that reportedly numbered in the hundreds. These complaints also included allegations of wrongful dismissals, extreme crunch and overly long work hours, and inappropriate physical contact.

The studio would go on to face backlash for its next game, Detroit: Become Human, for graphic depictions of domestic violence, and comments from studio head David Cage were revealed in court proceedings where he claimed “in my games, all women are whores” and that “at Quantic Dream, we don’t make games for fags”. These comments and controversies have not just had the effect of damaging the reputations of the games already released by them, but has also resulted in outcry and criticism towards their upcoming Star Wars game, Star Wars Eclipse.

With all of that in mind, is Beyond: Two Souls a good game? No, it’s not. Even if you take away the female nudity and rape scenarios, even if you forget the team who worked on the game in a hostile work environment, even if you discount the controversies and legal proceedings, it’s just kind of dull. Beyond: Two Souls is often lacklustre, with a meandering plot that takes up too much time, and never really proves to be interesting at all. Not even great performances from its stars can elevate the game to anything beyond forgettable. Sadly, the only real reason the game hasn’t been forgotten is the awfulness that surrounds it.

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Alan Scott: Green Lantern #1 - Comic Review

 

Alan Scott has been through some personal changes the last couple of years. In Infinite Frontier the Golden Age hero, Earth's first Green Lantern (of a sort), revealed to his son and daughter that he was gay, and always had been. Whilst there were some people at the time to decried this for 'wokeness', or changing the character, having a now openly gay man who has spent most of his life hiding his sexuality, and even pretending to be heterosexual to the point of marrying an having children, isn't exactly an unheard of or unrealistic thing. It is however, very rare in comics, and it made this almost 100 year old character a lot more interesting and important.

The seeds of this series were started in the DC Pride: Through the Years special, and whilst reading that issue isn't necessarily vital to this series, it absolutely adds more context to the story, and further builds upon the love story that's a central part of this tale.

Issue one begins in 1941, with Alan Scott an active super hero as Green Lantern, having recently moved from Gotham to New York. Whilst a member of the Justice Society of America, he's something of a rogue agent, preferring to work alone and tackle crimes by himself. This has been pissing off J. Edgar Hoover, who wants the JSA to not only work for him, but to project a certain image. Whilst Alan is at first reluctant to even consider changing his ways, Hoover produces a folder that contains his personal details, including old diaries, and photos of Alan and his first love, Johnny Ladd.

From here we get a series of flashbacks, that shows Alan and Johnny in love, and how they worked together on a top secret mission, The Crimson Flame, an attempt to travel to Soviet waters and capture a mystical red flame from beneath the sea (surely an origin in some way for the Red Lantern?). Over the course of these flashbacks we see how the two men are deeply in love, but fear for their careers and lives thanks to the rampant homophobia of the time. There's even a moment where Alan is reluctant to be with his lover because he thinks it 'a sin', yet despite this their love remains true, and at one point Johnny basically proposes to Alan, asking him to run away with him once the war is done.

Unfortunately, their mission is not the success they hope for, and whilst they capture a piece of the Crimson Flame, the powerful force rises out of the sea and attacks the ship, almost capsizing it. It's only by Alan releasing the piece they have that they survive. The flashbacks end with the Flame wrapping around Johnny and pulling him away as Alan frantically tries to grab him, being held back by members of the crew. This then transitions to a final page image of Alan being held down to a table in an Arkham jumps suit, with electroshock equipment strapped to him.

I've seen a few people online, both on social media and in reviews, saying that this ending feels cliched, and saying that the book is retreading ground we've all read before by doing a 'he's mad and none of it is real' reveal. Now, that might be what the series is doing, and this might all be some kind of psychological drama story where we're having to question what is and isn't real, and if Alan has gone mad. However, I think that there's an equally likely possibility that that final page presents, one that is even more horrifying. I think Alan might be being forced through conversion therapy to 'cure' him of his gayness. The electroshock equipment could be them torturing the queer out of him. I truly hope that this isn't the case, but considering the series is going to be exploring his past as a gay man, it's something that feels incredibly likely. The fact that the title for the next part is 'conversion' only strengthens that idea.

I've also seen people complaining about the book for a variety of reasons, some before it even came out and from nobody accounts that definitely weren't sent advance copies. Everything from 'bad writing' to 'retconning', to 'woke', you name it, any kind of complaint for the story is out there. And is it because this is a story so terrible that every facet of the writing is the worst thing ever? No. Absolutely not. It's not even the worst book out this week, let alone some kind of destruction of the comic industry as people are claiming. This book is getting hate for one very obvious reason. It's a queer love story about a queer hero. They will deny that, they will throw excuses around, but any reasonable person can see that this book is getting hate because it's daring to tell a queer narrative. 

And it tells this narrative beautifully. The very first scene we have between Alan and Johnny is such a tender and heartfelt one. You can see that these two men love each other, that they're good together, and that they're suffering because the world around them is telling them that there's something wrong with that love. Alan's comment of 'it's a sin' shows how even for queer people of the time who wanted desperately to be themselves and be with the people they loved that amount of hatred was so drummed into them that they couldn't help but feel fear and shame at their own emotions. But Johnny's response of 'If god himself didn't want me to love you, then how could I?' might not just be one of the best moments in the book, but one of the best responses to those who'd try to use god as a reason to keep love apart.

This book is one that's going to have a struggle, simply because of the story its trying to tell. The haters and the bigots are already harassing fan, they're making up lies about the creators, and they're attacking the quality of the series without even opening the book because they simply just hate the idea of queer people existing. Comics may once have been a club for cis het white boys, but times have changed. Comics are for everyone, and everyone deserves to see themselves represented in this medium. Comics are modern myths, most of these characters have existed for decades, and soon some of them will be hitting the century mark. They've existed before many of us, and will continue long after us. They're going to make a mark on history, and that mark must include everyone, it must represent the world in which we live, and the people that make it up.

There will be folks out there that want this series to fail, and if it does that will be a huge shame, as after reading just the first issue so far it's a series that I'm already in love with. The writing is excellent, the story and characters are compelling and engaging, the art, by Clan Tormey and Matt Herms is beautiful to look at. The New Golden Age books are all doing great things, they're all filled with fantastic art, great characters, and fun stories, and whilst I've been loving them all this is the one that I can't help but feel is the most important. So please, show it some support, help make it a success, and show DC that there's a huge demand not just for queer characters, but series headlined by them.

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Predator vs Wolverine #2 - Comic Review

 

Wolverine vs Predator is only two issues in, but is already one of the highest selling books at Marvel; and is it really any surprise? When Disney bought Fox, and began making both Alien and Predator books it felt like only a matter of time until one or the other crossed over with a recognised Marvel hero, and picking these two feels like a no brainer. And thankfully, the quality has been fantastic, and the reception has been better than anyone could have hoped for, which could hopefully lead to more crossovers in the future.

Thanks to Wolverine's long life and healing abilities it means that we're not just confined to one place and time, and can create one of the biggest Predator grudge matches that has ever existed. Each issue is framed with the present, where Logan is being hunted through the Canadian wilderness by an old, battle-hardened Yautja that's been after him for more than a century. The first issue took us back to Logan's early life, where he fought the creature in 1900's Alaska. This issue brings things closer to the present, where Wolverine and Team X are on a mission in South America in the 1980's, when they come under attack from a group of the alien hunters.

This issue will feel kind of familiar to those who've watched the original Predator movie, as it takes some inspiration from that story. A team of special forces soldiers, including a guy with a minigun, travel into the jungle to take out a group of rebel fighters. It's very 80's action movie, and it's a formula that not only works for this kind of story, but was the origin of it.

Logan and his team are barely into their mission when they come under attack from a group of Yautja, who quickly kill one of their members. From here the book becomes a fight for survival, as even these mutant killing machines who can shrug off most things find themselves fighting for their lives. There's a moment when Sabertooth tries to take out one of the creatures, only to end up skewered on one of their weapons and taken out of the fight that shows that even the characters that we know make it though this aren't going to do so without taking some serious damage, and suffering wounds that would kill most other people.

Despite taking inspiration from the first movie, the story does do things differently, and throws some nice surprises and twists to the formula in to keep things interesting and original. It ends up being an issue that could very easily fit into any number of other Predator stories with a few slight changes, and considering that this is a series that gave us something very different in the first issue it's a smart move to do this now, especially as those who heard the hype of issue one and may be jumping on here will be eased in with something that fits what they know for the franchise. 

However, as with the previous issue, this one ends with a set-up for the next stage of the fight; and it's one that if you'd have asked me to pick times and places for this showdown I'd have never have put on the list. I won't spoil what happens in the final pages, but it's something that could very well alter a very significant part of Wolverine's history forever. This comic is in continuity, and where the final page takes us is something truly mind-blowing. Benjamin Percy is really pulling out all the stops on this one, and the result is a series that I think people are going to be talking about in the same way Batman vs Predator is decades after it came out. 

The art on this issue is also an improvement over the previous one, chiefly thanks to Greg Land involvement. The Team X segments feature Andrea Di Vito, with Jaun Fernandez on colours, and it's a big improvement over Lands style, and better fits the story being told here. There are some really great moments in the issue, and the art for them is fantastic, with the group of Predators hunting our mutant protagonists through the jungle never looking better. The present day segments are once again drawn by Ken Lashley, with the final segment of the book drawn by Hayden Sherman, with colours by Alex Guimaraes, which looks very different from what we've had in the series so far. 

Predator vs Wolverine has been thoroughly entertaining so far, and the first two times we've been taken to have led to some enjoyable action scenes and an interesting rivalry that has gone on for most of Logan's life. But it looks like the next issue is going to be messing with larger continuity in much bigger ways, and that the Predator might perhaps somehow become an integral part of Wolverine's story. Which, if that's the case, is a bold move that I'm looking forward to seeing. 

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It Lives Inside – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

It Lives Inside is the directorial debut of Bishal Dutta, and focuses on Hindu faith and mythology in order to offer horror fans something they haven’t seen before.

The story begins, as many horror films do, with a dark, dilapidated house. Blood and bodies fill the rooms and hallways as the camera slowly tracks through the building, the sound of panicked shouting and screams coming from further into the building. Some unseen force causes death and destruction, before a black smoke is trapped inside a jar by a dying figure.

Weeks later we meet Samira ‘Sam’ (Megan Suri), a high school student of Indian heritage who seems to be trying to deny parts of herself in order to fit into the very white, very American school she attends; much to the dismay of her mother Poorna (Neeru Bajwa) who celebrates her culture and heritage, and her tired father Inesh (Vik Sahay) who just wants a quiet, happy home life. At school, Sam sees the only other Indian girl, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) lurking around the buildings, hiding at the back of rooms, looking dishevelled and tired, carrying around a strange jar.

Sam and Tamira used to be friends, but in her attempt to fit in, Sam left Tamira behind and the two of them grew apart. However, when a frantic Tamira tries to come to Sam for help, Sam smashes the jar she’s carrying in a moment of anger. Now it appears that Sam has unleashed some terrible entity from within the jar, an entity that takes Tamira and vanishes. Blaming herself for what happened, Sam tries to get to the bottom of what might have happened with the help of her crush, Russ (Gage Marsh), and her teacher Joyce (Betty Gabriel). However, when the dark entity turns its sights on Sam, she will have to fight just to survive.

For those who have grown tired of the same kinds of ghost stories, or have gotten bored of demons from hell and Christian mythology dominating the world of horror, It Lives Inside offers something a bit different. Drawing upon the stories of the Pishach, a malevolent entity from both Hindu and Buddhist myths, the film creates an antagonist that feels familiar in some ways, yet is fresh and interesting at the same time. The film’s monster works by isolating its victims, slowly driving them further into desperation, making them question if what’s happening to them is real or not.

Whilst this isn’t something new to the genre by any means, it’s the small differences that make the film stand out. The fact that the majority of those watching the film who aren’t familiar with Hinduism will likely never have heard of a Pishach will help with this greatly. The rules aren’t known to the audience, and we learn along with Sam how the monster works, and what it is. Being kept on the back foot certainly keeps your attention and interest, even if the film itself doesn’t do too much different to most other supernatural horror films.

One of the ways in which the film feels like it could have further set itself apart is by going further into the themes of assimilation. Sam is pretty much the only Indian member of the cast who doesn’t embrace her culture. Her mother is staunchly for tradition, she maintains values that mean a lot to her and have been passed down through the family, and their community means a lot to her. These are all things that Sam rejects through most of the film. The fact that it’s these traditions and that culture that ultimately come to aid her makes a big point of assimilation vs embracing your family roots. It also feels like something of a misstep for the film to be set in a mostly white place, with people suspicious of non-white characters, and for that to never really seem to come up when Sam is at the centre of the murder of a white person.

Despite feeling different in some ways, It Lives Inside plays it fairly safe in others. The story follows an expected structure for a supernatural horror, we get settings and locations that we’ve seen in other movies, and there’s little visually in the movie that feels fresh or unique. In many ways, the film feels like it’s trying to play it safe and simple, and after the interest of seeing an Indian-led narrative wears off there’s not a huge amount to the film that will remain distinct enough to be really remembered.

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Pokemon X & Y – Throwback 10

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Whenever a new handheld console is released by Nintendo it’s only a matter of time until Pokemon makes an appearance. One of the biggest game series of all time, the monster training RPG for all ages is a hit whenever a new entry is released. And with the Nintendo 3DS system being an exciting leap forward in handheld technology, people waited for the sixth generation of the franchise with bated breath.

Pokemon X & Y were the first mainline games released on the Nintendo 3DS, and the first entries into Generation Six. Despite being a commercial success, the previous two Generations had received some criticism amongst fans. Generation Four for adding relatively few new Pokemon, and for a lot that were added being evolutions or pre-volutions of existing monsters, and Generation Five for introducing too many new Pokemon, and keeping returning creatures until the post-game section, forcing players to have to play through the game with a wholly new team. Whilst there’s the joke that Pokemon fans can never be happy, and these complaints do seem to highlight an audience hard to please, Generation Six tried its best to find a happy balance.

Despite being released in 2013, development for the game began much earlier, in 2010. The game’s director, Junichi Masuda, was said to have begun the development of the game with three core themes that he wanted to be present in all parts of the gaming experience: beauty, bonds, and evolution. After some consideration, the team decided to base the game’s new region, the Kalos region, on France to best capture the idea of beauty. The game draws heavily from European culture, with the setting very much reflecting this, along with several of the new Pokemon introduced. Several of the locations in Kalos are inspired by real world locations, such as the Carnac Stones, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre.

To explore the themes of bonds, the game’s story would introduce a mysterious character that would appear at different points in the game, a man searching for a one of a kind version of one of the new Pokemon introduced into this generation. A man who has lived for hundreds of years, it’s the bond of love and friendship between him and his Pokemon that drives him to keep searching for it, and it proves to be the emotional heart of the story.

When it comes to evolution, however, the game very much stands out. Every Pokemon game features evolution, with the majority of creatures in the game being able to evolve at least once. In order to set this game apart from the others it introduced Mega-Evolution. This new feature would allow players to find special stones throughout the game world, tied to specific Pokemon. When equipped, the player can once per battle make a final stage Pokemon evolve further for a short time, giving them a new form, as well as boosted stats and abilities. This combat-focused evolution added an extra wrinkle to combat, where players would have to try to anticipate if an opponent would use a Mega-Evolution, and to think carefully about when to use theirs as it could only be used the one time per fight.  This feature also included some cool new design upgrades for Pokemon that had existed since the series began.

Using the new technology from the 3DS, Pokemon X & Y was able to introduce better graphics, and the two-dimensional sprites that had been used for Pokemon up to this point were replaced with three-dimensional polygons, allowing for more detail and flexibility in the designs. This did also mean that the game required a larger development team, and became one of the biggest Pokemon dev teams to date. The new console also employed gyro controls, which the game incorporated in fun ways such as having to turn the console upside down when levelling up a specific Pokemon in order to trigger its evolution.

This was also the first time in the series history that a Pokemon game was released on the same day worldwide. However, there were incidents of the game being sold early in some areas, despite Nintendo warning stores of penalties if this was done. Interestingly, the UK seems to have been the worst for this, with articles about it appearing in several media outlets. Following incidents of supermarkets putting the game out for sale a day early, other retailers decided to break the release date in order to keep up with other stores and retain sales.

Despite some trouble with early releases, the games did well once they hit the shelves, and 1.26 million copies of the game were pre-ordered in Japan before release. It was reported that by the end of the first week of sales the games had sold more than 2.09 million copies in Japan, and 4 million worldwide. Pokemon X & Y became the fastest selling titles on the Nintendo 3DS to that point, and were only surpassed by Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon years later. As of this year they have sold 16.68 million copies, beating their successor, and becoming the second highest selling game on the console.

Pokemon X and Pokemon Y were released on the Nintendo 3DS in the UK on 12th October 2013.

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The Puppetman – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Whenever you start a horror movie you know that most of the cast are going to meet a grizzly fate. Death is part of the genre, and whether it comes at the hand of a monster, a spirit, or human hands, there are very few horror films that don’t at some point start bumping characters off. The Puppetman absolutely does this, with the opening scene of the film being a murder. But where it at least tries to do things a little differently is that in this film the people who kill others or themselves have no control over their actions, resulting in a story where anyone can die at any moment.

The film begins with a murder, a man (Zachary Le Vey) coming home from work to greet his loving wife who’s busy cooking dinner. Except as he steps through the door he freezes up, unable to move or even speak. His body moves outside of his control, grabbing a knife off the kitchen counter, which is then used to stab his wife to death as he frantically tries to scream, barely forcing out the words “it’s not me”. Jumping forward in time, the man is now locked up in prison awaiting execution, known as The Puppetman due to his insistence that something was making him kill his wife, and that he acted outside of his control.

His daughter, Michal (Alyson Gorske) has shared her father’s story with her college roommate Charlie (Angel Prater) as he re-enters the news cycle thanks to his looming execution. Despite having been sworn to secrecy, Charlie seems to have become obsessed with Michal’s story, and even urges her to go and see her father before he dies, claiming that it might help Michal to deal with her repressed trauma; trauma that seems to be manifesting in strange incidents of sleepwalking. When the two of them are gathered together for a rooftop party with their friends Glenn (Cameron Wong), Jo (Anna Telfer), and Danny (Kio Cyr), it comes out that Charlie has told her boyfriend about Michal’s past.

As the two of them argue about it Charlie freezes up, a look of panic on her face, before she walks backwards over the edge of the roof, dropping to her death. Michal now believes that whatever force may have compelled her father to kill her mother all those years before has returned, and that she and her friends may be in danger. The four of them will have to get to the bottom of things with the help of a local psychic, Ruby (Caryn Richmanv), before they fall victim to this force.

The Puppetman is an occasionally creepy movie, with some scenes that try to introduce tension into them, but for the most part it feels more akin to something like a Final Destination movie than your average supernatural horror. With the evil force that’s following Michal able to take control of anyone at any moment and force them to kill themselves or others there’s the constant wait for something to happen, like in Final Destination, and you’re constantly looking at where the characters are and what they’re doing, waiting to see how things could be used to do them in. And this does prove itself to be true more than once as the film throws a few elaborate and gory deaths at you across its run time.

Despite this, it never really feels like it enters the realm of scary. If anything, it feels more like a mystery. You want to know why these things are happening, what this entity is and why it’s sticking with Michal. This mystery is the main reason to stick with the movie, and is at times relatively interesting. The movie does also throw a couple of scenes in that are close to being ridiculous, but manage to not stray into farcical and remain entertaining. There’s interesting stuff to be found in the movie, but nothing that I think will really stick in your head after watching.

The film has some nice moments of atmosphere, the snowy, deserted college campus during the holidays feels cold and remote, with our core group of characters feeling like they’re the only ones there. The winter setting, for whatever reason, feels well suited for the film, and even the dark night scenes are somewhat bright with the big splashes of white from the snow helping to break up what would otherwise possibly be blank and stale locations. The film’s music is also nice in places, and has an eerie, almost haunting quality that works really well in the quieter moments in the first half of the film.

The Puppetman is a film that feels like it’s trying to do things a little differently, yet also seems to be sticking to some very expected horror conventions. It feels like it’s trying to play it safe, that it’s not pushing any boundaries or expectations, and as such kind of comes out feeling fairly average. Whilst this means that there’s nothing egregiously wrong with it, it also means that it’s the kind of movie that I’m going to forget within a day or two.

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Nightwing #107 - Comic Review

 

Someone high up in DC editorial hated Dick Grayson, they hated the Dick jokes, they hated that he aged Batman, they wanted him gone (I'm not naming names but we know who it was), and as such Dick Grayson was shot in the head, given amnesia, and became Ric Grayson. However, the series still proved to be popular, and Dick eventually returned. But whilst Ric is a part of Dicks past he can't always remember, its still having an effect on him in the present, as he's off on a high seas adventure with his ex to try and find a mysterious package that Ric had.

The last issue left us with the revelation that Beatrice 'Bea' Bennett, Ric's ex girlfriend, is the daughter of Captain Blud, and that following his death she is the new Quatermaster. This issue deals with the next stage in Dick's journey to find his property, with him agreeing to help Bea to stop her evil brother along the way. This means he's having to leave his home behind him, and set out on the open seas for adventure. However, something odd begins to happen during the journey, not only is there an attempted killer on board, but Dick's beginning to freeze up in the face of danger.

Nightwing feels like a book where the chief driving force behind stuff is 'have fun'. Every arc so far, and even every issue, has felt very lighthearted and fun, even when darker stuff has been going on. Tom Taylor is making an effort to inject a lot of humour into things, and this issue is no exception. As you can see from the cover, with Dick looking like Fabio, and the very romance novel text of  'Come for the sea's immaculate beauty... Stay for Nightwing's pirate booty', seriousness isn't high on the list of things here. The book even comes up with a reason, albeit a flimsy one, for Dick to be dressed the way he is, and whilst it's not perfect it's fun enough that you just kind of go with it.

Dick having to confront his time as Ric is also fairly interesting, and has been teased as coming for a while now. What makes this more interesting is the inclusion of his ex, and the complexity around the fact that she dated a version of Dick that doesn't really exist anymore, and the odd behaviour and fear that Dick is experiencing on the ship. It very much feels like the groundwork for this particular arc is still being put into place, and that there's going to be more interesting stuff to come. 

The art on the story, by Stephen Byrne with colours by Adriano Lucas, looks decent, and fits the feel of the book. Since Tom Taylor took over the series has had a very consistent style to it, and even when artists change it manages to feel like the same book, with very little visually different to it. There are slight changes here and there, and you can see each artists peeking through, but on a whole it's been one of the most visually consistent series around that isn't using the same art team. This issue has some great looking moments in it, and Dick in his pirate gear looks goofy and fun in just the right ways. And of course, as the book contains Bitewing, she once again steals the show by being super adorable back at base with Barbara. 

This issue also contains a back-up feature, written by Michael Conrad with art by Serg Acuna and Ivan Plasceencia, which continues on from the last issue. The mysterious figure following Dick Grayson around continues to try and get close to him, this time as Dick heads to a bar to have a few drinks with Jason Todd. The characters are written really well here, and are shown to be decent friends rather than having some kind of animosity between them. They refer to each other as brother, and I love that Conrad is making a point in this story that these characters are all one family.

The two heroes get waylaid by a gang of the campiest, leather wearing biker guys I've ever seen in a comic, in an attempt to kidnap Dick. However, the two of them are able to easily beat their assailants, leaving a warning note for the person following Dick. It's clear that this guy has no idea that Dick is Nightwing, and as such I'm interested to see what other bizarre scenario he'll find himself in with the next part.

Overall, this is an enjoyable entry in a series that's consistently enjoyable. Things are moving forward to the next phase in the story, and the book just seems to be enjoying itself as it takes us there.

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Plainer Jane – Graphic Novel Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The independently produced and Kickstarter-funded comic series Plainer Jane was released by Broken Face Comics across seven issues from 2020 to 2022. The series followed a young woman living in the UK, who decides to turn her murderous urges to good use, and becomes a killer for hire. However, her dark deeds soon catch the attention of both the mob and the law. For those that may have missed out on the series, there’s another chance to get your hands on it, as a new full colour graphic novel is now available.

Plainer Jane centres on Jane, a teenage girl who has grown up with something of a dark side to her. Ever since killing a bird as a child (in exchange for money) she’s had a lust for killing, and spent her time ‘practising’ by killing other animals. But animals fail to really scratch the itch that she’s had going since that first kill. Reaching the end of her school years, Jane is expected to find a future for herself, but nothing at the school career day excites her as much as her dreams of murder. With nothing left to pick from, she ends up joining her friend Kat at nursing collage.

Whilst Jane settles into a quiet life as a nursing student she begins a second, secret career. Finding a website on the dark web that lists jobs for killers, she discovers the one career that she’s always wanted to do. Beginning small, with a hit on an annoying dog, Jane tries her hand at murder for money and finds that she loves it. After a few weeks she finally gets her first hit on a human being, on a man sleeping with a married woman. And thus Jane steps fully into the world of contract killing, stalking her target, learning their routines, and killing them. As Jane continues her killing she soon finds herself wanted by the police for her series of grizzly crimes, and becomes the target of a local crime lord for killing his men. Now Jane will have to put everything she’s learned to the test in order to survive.

Plainer Jane is a book about its central character first and foremost. Half the book is focused on Jane, her personal life, her relationships, and her world outside of killing. It’s not the story of a cold blooded murderer, or at least not just that, and is a story about a young woman and how her life spins out of control. That being said, Jane isn’t a nice person. She isn’t a hero for us to root for. She’s a killer, she takes joy in taking lives, and it seems like she’s the kind of person who would have killed at some point anyway even if she hadn’t turned to contract killing. The fact that she openly admits that she abused and killed animals as a kid makes her a monster.

That being said, you can’t help but get drawn into her narrative. She becomes a character that you want to see more of, a person whose story you want to see play out, even if it is just to see how she gets her comeuppance. It’s a credit to the book’s writer, David Wilburn, that he’s able to craft the story in such a way that you become invested in the character without ever really liking them. I’m sure that there are some out there that will find Jane disgusting from the outset, who may even hate her as a character, but I never found myself being able to fully hate her. She’s a complex figure, one that has more layers to her than you first think.

Having previously read the story when it was released in individual issues it was great to get to read the series again, especially in one single go like this. One of the drawbacks of Kickstarter comics is that it often can take several months between issues being released, something that can really harm the flow of a story. Whilst that never really happened here, reading Plainer Jane as a collected graphic novel was a much better experience, and led to me enjoying the later chapters a lot more.

This new collection doesn’t just bring all of the already released issues together into one volume, however, it also colours them. The individual issues were released in black and white, with the occasional use of red in the book whenever blood was on the panel. Here the book is presented in full colour, and it definitely changes the feel of things. Black and white comics tend to get labelled as ‘darker’ and ‘gritty’, and I think that it’s a stylistic choice that can absolutely enhance the right kind of story, whilst also sometimes hindering other kinds.

The more violent origins for something like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles worked well in black and white, but a Superman comic would be better in colour, for example. Is Plainer Jane a story that suits one style more than the other? I don’t think so, no. Whilst the book worked in black and white it’s also great in colour, and there are even some segments of the book that I’d say work better this way. Colourist Linda Scott Campbell had a big task updating the series for the book, but did a great job.

For those who haven’t already picked up Plainer Jane this new release is the perfect way to experience it. The collected story is the best way to read it, and the newly coloured art looks fantastic and delivers a bright and vibrant experience. For those who’ve already backed the single issues and have the floppies it’s still worth checking out the graphic novel. The coloured version of the book does alter the feel somewhat, and gives you the opportunity not just to have a nice looking book on your shelf, but to have a whole new way to experience the story.

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Green Lantern: War Journal #2 - Comic Review

 

When I was first starting to read comics regularly Geoff Johns was running Green Lantern, and the series was in mid swing, building up towards Blackest Night. I went back to the start of that run and read it all, along with Green Lantern Corps, in one weekend. From them on I became a big GL fan, and have gone back and read older books, and kept up with the new stuff. However, after Rebirth, when Grant Morrison took over the title and became the only Green Lantern book that kind of changed. Whilst I love Morrison's work it's sometimes hard to read month to month, so I waited until it was done to read it, breaking my month to month reading of GL after more than a decade. The run that came after Future State was even worse for me, and I've still not read the entire thing. It felt like my love for GL was dying. Green Lantern: War Journal, however, might just be one of the best Green Lantern books in years, and is easily one of the best titles that DC is making at the minute.

The second issue of the series begins with Varron, the dick of a Green Lantern who showed up last issue trying to start some shit at John's mother's house, arrives back on Earth with a couple of other Lanterns, once again breaking the United Planets' quarantine of our world. The three of them head to the rain forest, where they find a crashed spacecraft; the one we saw come under attack from the Revenant Queen last time. Detecting construct energy on the remains, they're hoping to use it as proof that John still has a ring. However, instead of finding proof, they find the Revenant Queen. 

Meanwhile, John and his mother are visiting Metropolis to see about a job at Steelworks. John impresses John Henry Irons with his engineering advice, and is soon offered a job at the company if he wants it. Whilst on the train home he and his mother have a heart to heart chat about the future, with John pushing for her to come with him to Metropolis, and her trying to get him to go on without her. Then the train comes under attack from Varron and his fellow lanterns, who've been transformed into the undead by the Revenant Queen.

This issue manages to do a lot. It has decently made and realistic personal drama for John, and moves forward his story and his relationship with his mother. It also has a decent amount of action in it, and we get to see John do some cool stuff when fighting the undead Lanterns. There's also more lore building and expansion of the world thanks to the villain from another universe. And there's even a dash of horror thrown into the mix too. It ticks a lot of boxes, and keeps things really entertaining.

And this is a big part of why I'm loving this series. Green Lantern is also going on at the moment, but feels a lot flatter in comparison. Whilst John has an interesting story going on with caring for his mother, and trying to find his place in the world, Hal is trying to make Carol love him again and acts a bit like a creepy ex-boyfriend. John is dealing with a force from another universe that feels like a cosmic threat, and Hal has Sinestro bumming around the planet with no power ring. One feels kind of slow and is only just starting to pick up, the other has been firing on all cylinders straight out of the gate. Green Lantern is okay and enjoyable in places, Green Lantern: War Journal feels like it's going to be doing big things.

The art on the issue, by Montos, with colours by Alex Guimarães, isn't the kind of art that I normally love, it's very sketchy and messy in places and some of the panels have pixelation and digital mess added to change the feel of things; but, it works for the tone of the story the book seems to be telling. This feels like a story that's bordering on horror, and the artwork plays into that well and very much fits. The designs for the Revenant Queen and her infected minions looks really cool, and the construct and energy effects they have look different than other ring users and unique to themselves. They also very much don't just look like we're doing Black Lanterns again, which could have been easy to slip into with them being another form of undead Lanterns.

This series is ticking off all of the kind of stuff I like from a Green Lantern book. It's got cool drama that has the fate of the universe in the balance. It's giving us new enemies and lore that feel fantastical and otherworldly. It's got great character drama and personal stakes. And it's just super enjoyable to read. John Stewart is a super cool character, and he tends to get pushed aside for other Lanterns a lot of the time; hopefully this book will help show folks that there's a lot to him, and result in some more John Stewart fans. 

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Daredevil #2 - Comic Review

 

I didn't really like the first issue of this new series of Daredevil, it had a couple of cool ideas, like the way it depicted the possessed Elektra, but for the most part it just didn't really click with me, and I found myself bored throughout waiting for it to come to a close. But I'm glad I didn't decide to drop it after one issue, as this time it was the exact opposite, and all of the stuff I like about Daredevil was found here. 

The previous issue ended with a group of police officers knocking on the door of Matt's church. After a brief contemplation over whether or not to head down in costume and beat them up, he decides to at least see what they want. It turns out an online tabloid has been spreading weird rumours about the church, claiming that Matt is taking in troubled youth and training them to be a violent criminal gang. 

Whilst this is certainly something that Matt could do, and a writer could easily turn the series into him training up a group of crime fighting youth, it's not what's going on here, and Matt refutes the claims. I love that he also just doesn't cooperate with the cops, not letting them in to search the place without the warrant. Some of his kids also have bad history with the cops, and straight up yell at them that they're pigs; which was delightful to see. Comics need more anti-cop messages.

After getting rid of the cops Matt puts on his costume and heads out into the city, where he fights a new, highly funded gang called The Heat, showing the world that Daredevil is back. the action is well written, and you can tell that despite being out of the action for a while Matt is really enjoying being a vigilante again.

This issue marries the action of Matt being Daredevil with the personal drama that he has going on at the church. Matt is having to juggle returning to crime fighting with helping his kids, giving them advice, and dealing with the new rumours about the church that could harm those living there. He's still trying to find a balance, and the book makes a point of how he's not really able to do that straight away, with Matt ending up too tired to even hear one of the kids coming up to him until they're right beside him. It seems likely that Matt juggling these aspects of his life if going to be a big focus of the series, and if so I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out.

The issue ends with a reveal of the person who started the rumours about the church, and it's a very interesting revelation. It certainly promises interesting things to come, and more drama as it's someone close to Matt who should know better. It certainly raises a lot of questions, and makes me even more interested to see the next issue.

Aaron Kuder and Jesus Aburtov provide the art and colours for the issue, and it's really nice looking. Whilst the previous issue's writing didn't excite me much, the art was never an issue for me, and I enjoyed a lot off what the two of them did. This issue is much the same, and whilst there's not anything as interesting as the possessed Elektra this time round it's a very solid, well crafted issue with strong art. The action scene is good, and Matt is really dynamic and graceful in his combat, and there are some really nice interpersonal moments too. Overall, it's a good looking book, and the art really suits the tone of the story.

After a shaky stat Daredevil seems to be finding its feet and has become an engaging and entertaining series. It's got a few stories going on, and whilst the super heroic action is a lot of fun, it's the personal stories and characters that really makes this an issue worth reading.

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