Happy Halloween! - A Review of the Halloween Films Pt. 1

Horror Icon Michael Myers

Halloween is one of the most well known and well respected horror franchises in cinema.  With ten films and names such as John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnet, Rob Zombie, Malcolm McDowell and Donald Pleasence to its credit it stands tall amongst its competitors as a series to be taken seriously and given respect.

Now that Halloween itself is upon us, and I have a housemate who loves horror movies, I decided that it would be a good time to re-watch the Halloween franchise from start to finish, and here are my thoughts on each.  Hope you enjoy!

 

Halloween (1978)

Halloween Poster

On Halloween night 1963 in Haddonfield, six year old Michael Myers brutally stabs his sister, Judith Myers, to death with a kitchen knife.  After spending fifteen years in Smith's Grove Sanatorium, under the care of Doctor Samuel Loomis, Michael escapes and returns to Haddonfield.  Fearful of the evil within Michael, Doctor Loomis follows him and begins to hunt him down.

Once back at Haddonfield Michael sees teenager Laurie Strode and begins to stalk her.  Throughout Halloween night Michael begins his killing spree, murdering Laurie’s friends before coming for the girl herself.  During her desperate battle for survival Loomis arrives on the scene and shoots Michael several times, knocking him from a balcony.  After checking on Laurie’s safety Loomis returns to where Michael fell to find him vanished.

Laurie fights for survival against Michael.

The first Halloween film is an all time classic.  Its cast is great, the two stars, Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode and Donald Pleasence as Samuel Loomis, elevate the film from simple slasher with their acting abilities.  Halloween even helped to launch the career for Curtis, paving the way for her to become a Hollywood star.

Movie legend John Carpenter uses the limited time and budget constraints to his advantage, crafting a wonderfully visual piece that’s filled with tension throughout, even when Michael is stalking Laurie in broad day light he manages to keep the scares and tension to a consistently high level.

The music and visual style help to make the movie more than it’s humble beginnings of a man who kills babysitters to a visually moody piece where we focus more on Michael stalking his victims rather than the actual killings themselves.  For a slasher movie there is relatively little gore or blood, instead the scares come from Michael suddenly appearing in frame and disappearing again as quickly unbeknownst to the characters on screen.

Halloween is a suspenseful and frightening film that introduces some great characters and an instantly iconic movie killer.  Well above many of its companions in the slasher genre Halloween stands out as a beautifully cinematic experience.  9/10.

Halloween 2 (1981)

Halloween 2 Poster

Halloween 2 picks up straight where the first film ends, with Dr. Loomis saving Laurie from Michaels attack, and Michael’s subsequent disappearance.  Laurie is sent to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital for emergency treatment whilst Loomis continues with his hunt of Michael through the streets of the town.  Following after Laurie, Michael enters Haddonfield Memorial Hospital and proceeds to eliminate the staff within. 

 During his hunt for Michael, Loomis learns the true reason behind Michael returning to Haddonfield, to kill his younger sister.  A sister who had since been adopted and now goes by the name of Laurie Strode.  Realising that Michael did not randomly target Laurie, Loomis rushes to the hospital.

Together Loomis and an injured Laurie lure Michael into an operating room and use the oxygen tanks to kill Michael with a massive explosion that also claims the life of Dr. Loomis.  Safe from Michael, Laurie is loaded into the back of an ambulance.

Michael hunts Laurie through the hospital halls.

Despite having been made three years after the first film Halloween 2 seamlessly picks up where the first film left off and continues the story of Halloween night 1978.  Despite the fact that John Carpenter did not plan for a sequel to the first film, when watched with the original Halloween 2 feels like the second part of a pair, with the two films complementing each other well.

Due to the success of the first film, however, slasher movies had become more popular to film going audiences and the effect of this can be seen clearly in Halloween 2.  The deaths have become bloodier and more creative, which much more screen time being handed over to the demise of character than was given in the first film.  There is one scene in particular where one of Michaels victims has been drained of her blood, with more blood in that one scene that in the whole of the first movie!

The returning cast from the first film do a sterling job once again, though with Laurie sedated in hospital for much of the film Pleasence is given much more screen time this time round as Dr. Loomis.  7/10.

Halloween 3:

Season of the Witch (1982)

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch Poster

Called into cover a night shift at his hospital, Dr. Dan Challis finds a patient suffering from severe shock, repeating the words ‘they’re going to kill us all’ and clutching a Halloween mask made by Silver Shamrock.  The patient is murdered by a strange man in a suit, who then proceeds to leave the hospital and kill himself by setting himself on fire.  Witness to these events Challis is deeply disturbed.

Challis and the patient’s daughter, Ellie, decide that something was terribly wrong with what happened and decide to investigate matters further.  Together the two of them travel to the small town of Santa Mira, home of Silver Shamrock.  Upon arriving in the town they find that Silver Shamrock effectively own the small coastal town, with many of the people there working at the factory and everyone claiming that the town owes everything to Mr Cochran, the man behind Silver Shamrock.

Managing to get a tour of the Silver Shamrock factory Ellie discovers her father’s car hidden within, guarded my more of the mysterious suited men.  Challis and Ellie return to their motel and attempt to call for help but discover that they cannot reach anyone outside of Santa Mira.  Ellie is then kidnapped by the suited men.

Challis proceeds to Silver Shamrock and breaks into the factory.  Confronted by one of the men in suits Challis fights him, only to discover that he is in fact an android created by Cochran.  Challis is captured by the androids and Cochran reveals his plan to kill children on Halloween night.

It is revealed that the Silver Shamrock logos on the Halloween masks contain a computer chip and a small fragment of one of the rocks from Stonehenge.  When the Silver Shamrock commercial airs on Halloween night the mask will kill the wearer and release a swarm of insects and snakes to kill those close at hand, in an attempt to appease the god Samhain, whose festival of Halloween has become subverted.

Challis escapes and with Ellie manages to destroy both Cochran and the factory.  Whilst fleeing back to town Challis is attacked by Ellie, who it is revealed has been replaced by an android copy.  Challis defeats the android and runs to a local gas station.  From here he calls the television stations in an attempt to get them to stop the commercial from playing.  All but one station do so, leaving Challis screaming for them to stop it as the film abruptly ends.

Challis tries to stop the deaths of millions.

Halloween 3 is a great film.  It’s also the only film in the series that has nothing whatsoever to do with Michael Myers.  Halloween 3 was made following the completion of the Michael Myers story and the creators wanted to give audiences something different, and keep producing Halloween films as an anthology series, much like the Twilight Zone, with each new film focusing on another aspect of the Halloween season.

Unfortunately when the film was released it was not looked upon favourably, and as such some consider it to be the ‘black sheep’ of the series, which is a shame because I loved it.  This was the first time I had seen Halloween 3, and I knew that it wasn’t a Michael Myers film going into it, and as such I had no idea what to expect from it.

Whereas the other Halloween films are your basic stalk and kill slasher movies, Season of the Witch had more plot than the first two films, more mystery and a villain that wasn’t just driven by the desire to kill, but has a big complicated plan that took years to come to fruition.

Tom Atkins is great as Dr. Challis, giving us a vastly different hero from others in the series, and Dan O’Herlihy is on top form as the villainous Cochran.  Together with an intriguing plot and some horrific effects during the activation of one of the masks, Halloween 3 is a brilliant stand alone movie.  8/10

Halloween 4:

The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers Poster

Michael Myers, who survived the explosion at the end of Halloween 2, has been in a coma for the last ten years, but whilst being transferred from one hospital to another overhears the paramedics talking about Laurie Strode, who it is revealed died since the second film, but is survived by her daughter Jamie.  Michael attacks and kills the paramedics and escapes, heading back to Haddonfield to find his niece.  Dr. Samuel Loomis, who also survived the explosion ten years previously, learns of Michaels escape and swiftly follows him to Haddonfield to once again stop his murderous plans.

In Haddonfield, eight year old Jamie is living with a foster family and is aware that Michael Myers is her uncle, and frequently has nightmares about him.    When her foster parents leave town for Halloween night Jamie’s foster sister Rachel is given responsibility to look after her.

Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and teams up with Sheriff Meeker to find Jamie and prevent her from falling victim to Michael.  Finding the girls being chased by Michael whilst trick or treating the two of them return to the police station for help, but find that Michael has already been there, and has killed all of the other officers in town.  When news of this breaks a lynch mob forms in an attempt to find and kill Michael.

Loomis and Meeker retreat to the sheriff’s house with the girls and secure it against Michael.  Unfortunately Michael breaks into the house and Jamie is forced to flee.  In a desperate chase that leads to an old mine, Michael is cornered by Sheriff Meeker and the lynch mob and is subsequently shot multiple times before falling down an old mineshaft, where he is presumed dead.

Jamie and Rachel return home, where her now returned foster parents are waiting.  The girls are consoled by their parents before Darlene, the mother, goes to run a bath for Jamie.  Jamie proceeds to don a clown mask and brutally stabs her mother with a pair or scissors, similar to Michael’s original crime.  The film ends with a blood covered Jamie with Dr. Loomis screaming and Rachel and Meeker looking on in horror.

Michael hunts his niece Jamie.

Halloween 4 is a fine return to the formula of the first two films, with the welcome return of both Michael and Loomis.  Unfortunately Jamie Lee Curtis was no longer willing to be part of the franchise due to her success as an actress outside of the Halloween series, and as such as killed off off-screen.  Fortunately Danielle Harris does sterling performance as Jamie Lloyd.  Plus its fun to see Michael chase a victim who needs to rely on others to help her, teenagers can fight back against Michael, a child can’t.

Whilst both Loomis and Michael were killed in the second film they are quickly brought back to life with some simple lines of dialogue that state they survived the explosion at the end of the second film.  Whilst this is highly unlikely, the explosion was massive, I found it quickly acceptable as I just wanted to watch Loomis chase Michael all over again, and as such didn’t become hung up on these ret-cons. 

The kills are gain getting more and more creative, probably due to the need to compete with other slasher movies, but aren’t too over the top gory like many other horror films.  It’s also fun to see the residents of Haddonfield step up and take action into their own hands once the mention of Michael Myers is made, the brutal murders of the first two films still fresh in their minds.

A competent sequel that manages to revive a series and characters that were effectively put to bed in Halloween 2, that also introduces us to some great new characters such as Sheriff Meeker and Jamie Lloyd.  7/10.

Halloween 5:

The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Poster

Beginning where the fourth film left off we see that Michael survived his fall down the mine and escapes into a river, where he is found by a local hermit.  The hermit takes care of Michael, who falls into a coma for the next year.  Waking on October 30^th, Michael kills the hermit and heads back to Haddonfield to find Jamie once again.

In Haddonfield we see that Jamie has been admitted to a children’s psychiatric ward and has been rendered mute due to psychological trauma.  During this time she also begins to exhibit signs of a psychic link with Michael, and discovers that he is returning.  Aware of Jamie and Michaels link Loomis tries to convince Sheriff Meeker that Michael is coming back to Haddonfield.

Michael kills Jamie’s foster sister Rachel, and begins to stalk Rachel’s friend Tina.  Aware that Michael is pursuing Tina, Jamie leaves the hospital and goes to the Halloween party where Michael is trying to kill Tina.  Tina sacrifices herself to save Jamie and Michael escapes.  Jamie then agrees to help Loomis lure Michael into a trap.

Using Jamie as bait Loomis and Meeker devise a trap at Michael Myers’ old home.  Michael arrives and chases Jamie through the house, killing several officers in the process.  Loomis manages to catch Michael in a chain net and shoots him with several tranquilizers, allowing the police to take Michael into custody.

Michael is locked up in the sheriff’s station, waiting to be transferred to a maximum security facility, when a mysterious man attacks the station, killing all of the officers within, including Meeker, and escapes with Michael as his captive.

Loomis confronts Michael in the Myers house.

Halloween 5 was released only a year after Halloween 4, and you can tell.  The film feels rushed throughout, with a poor story that is the first major let down in the franchise so far.  The characters no longer seem to have character, but are simply archetypal horror movie victims, there simply to be killed in creative and gory ways.  There is no real investment in any of them.

Even the returning characters seem to be poorly done by, with Rachel being quickly dispatched to make way for the character of Tina, and Jamie being psychologically traumatised by the events of the previous film.  Loomis seems to do little to nothing different in this film also, simply being used because it’s his job to hunt Michael.

The inclusion of the psychic link between Jamie and Michael seems to come out of nowhere and adds an element of the supernatural that has this far not been included in the Michael Myers films.  The link itself is never explained or used well in the course of the film.  One minute Jamie is able to prevent someone being killed by Michael, the next Michael is able to spring a trap on Jamie, one she surely should have seen coming because of this link.

Halloween five was a great disappointment from a series which up till then had been a pleasure to watch.  6/10.

In the seconnd part of my Halloween review I will be looking at Halloween 6, H20, Resurrection and the two Rob Zombie movies.

 
Amy.
xx

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Robin, Batgirl & Nightwing Year One Review

I was lucky enough to purchase part of a large graphic novel collection recently, and now have loads of great new Batman books to read.  Three of the books that I received were Robin Year One, Batgirl Year One and Nightwing Year One, a trio of books written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, and focus on the early exploits of the titular characters.

Robin Year One

Robin Year One tells the story of Dick Grayson’s first year as Batman’s sidekick and ward, focusing on both his training as Robin and his personal life as Dick.  We follow Robin foiling a sex trafficking plot by Mad Hatter when one of his classmates is kidnapped.  From there we see Dick go on to foil plots by both Killer Moth and Blockbuster.  

The story takes a darker turn, however, when Two Face becomes involved.  Blaming Batman for his disfiguration he plots revenge against him by planning to kill Robin.  Creating a scenario that allows him to capture both Batman and Robin, Two Face proceeds to brutally beat Robin with a baseball bat, only stopped short of killing him when Batman manages to break free.  Batman decides that this was too close a call and retires Dick of his mantle of Robin.  Dick runs away from Wayne Manor in defiance.

 

From here we follow Dick as he falls in with a group of young criminals and killers who are under the purview of the League of Assassins.  Despite having almost died, being fired by Batman and joining a group of criminals Dick’s true nature shines through and he assists Batman in bringing the group to justice.

Robin Year One is a very enjoyable read with beautiful artwork throughout.  Dixon and Beatty craft an interesting story that doesn’t feel the need to re-tread Dick Grayson’s origin story, but instead focusing on his first days as Robin.  Both Batman and Robin are written as well rounded characters with a great deal of personality. 

As a fan of Robin, especially Dick Grayson, I couldn’t recommend this book enough.  It’s full of great character moments, humour and emotion and despite the fact that it’s retelling the story of a characters past it never once feels boring or that it’s something you’ve read before.  A great all round read!

 

Batgirl Year One

Batgirl Year One follows Barbara Gordon, the first batgirl, as she creates the persona of Batgirl for herself, going up against not only villains, but the disapproval of both Batman and Commissioner Gordon.

The story begins with Barbara already in the mantle of batgirl, fighting against Killer Moth and his gang of thugs, but quickly jumps backwards in time to show us how an ordinary girl ends up as a masked vigilante.  We see in the flashbacks that Barbara was desperate to do the right thing and fight crime, but her father will not allow her to train to become a police officer, and she doesn’t meet the physical requirements to join the F.B.I.

With no traditional ways of fighting crime open to her, and drawing inspiration from the cities costumed crime fighters, particularly Black Canary of the JLA/JSA, she decides that it is the only option left open to her.  Barbara proceeds to hack into the police computer network, using her father’s access, to gain information on the JSA.  Breaking into their Gotham headquarters she leaves a note for Black Canary, requesting to become her apprentice.

 

Unfortunately for her, the letter is intercepted by JSA member Wildcat, who does not pass it along to Black Canary.  Wildcat informs her not to try and become a crime fighter and Barbara is left without a mentor, and yet another crime fighting career denied to her. 

Joining her father for a masquerade ball Barbara decides to poke some fun at him by dressing up in a modified Batman costume.  However, events soon spiral out of control when Killer Moth attacks the ball.  Barbara reacts quickly and engages Killer Moth and his gang, allowing their target, Bruce Wayne, to escape.

From these events Batgirl is born, and an enemy is made in Killer Moth.   Throughout the rest of the book we witness Barbara facing Killer Moth again, alongside his new partner Firefly, as well as the animosity Batman has towards her and the beginning of the romance that will develop between her and Robin.

Once again Dixon and Beatty have crafted a fine tale of a characters origin story that feels completely fresh and new, despite being set in the past.  The book is full of beautiful art, and some of the most stunning covers I have ever seen.  A great follow up to Robin Year One that improves upon the formula of the original.

Nightwing Year One

In Nightwing Year One Dick Grayson rushes to assist Batman against Clayface, coming straight from a mission with the Teen Titans.  Due to him arriving late and his attention and time being divided between Gotham and the Titans Batman proceeds to fire Dick from the position of Robin.

Looking for guidance and a friendly face to talk to Dick heads to Metropolis to speak to Superman.  Helping to prevent a presidential assassination dick proves that even without the mantle of Robin he is still a hero who will do the right thing.  Superman tells Dick of an ancient Kryptonian hero named Nightwing, and the influence he had on his decision to become a hero himself.  

Taking Superman’s advice onboard Dick heads home to Haly’s Circus where he lived with his parents before their murder.  There he takes up his old position of high wire acrobat, working alongside Deadman’s brother, Cleveland Brand.  It is here that Dick stumbles across old pictures of his father as a solo acrobat and draws inspiration from his costume, creating the persona of Nightwing.

Returning to Gotham Dick sets about making sure he’s know about town, meeting Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl, as well as breaking up every crime he can find, and even breaking into Arkham to torment the inmates there, making sure that in that one night Nightwing is a name to be known in Gotham.

During all of these events Batman is in the process of training his new Robin, Jason Todd.  A brash and arrogant street kid, Jason is a headstrong Robin that sees Dick’s time as Robin as something to beat, rather than honour.  As such, when the two finally meet and have to work together to rescue Alfred we see a hostile relationship gradually make way from a form of mutual respect.

Nightwing Year One is a nice mix of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd stories that not only tells the origin of Nightwing, but the passing of the title of Robin.  The final part of the ‘Year One Trilogy’ does not loose any quality that the previous two books displayed and continues to present a fresh enjoyable take on the bat family and their adventures.

 All three books are great reads, either individually or as a set, and it’s nice to read a Batman book that focuses as much on the characters and their relationships with each other as their crime fighting adventures.

 
Amy.
xx

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How I Became A Published Writer

I never wanted to be a comic book writer.  Yep, a bold statement for someone who’s only published work is in the comic book medium, but it’s the truth.  Despite the fact that I had been reading comics on and off for years, through the odd graphic novel purchase or book from the library, and began reading regular issues a few years ago it never once occurred to me to merge my love of writing with my passion for comic books.

Let’s go back to the beginning before I explain any further.  I wasn’t the best reader when I was a child.  I struggled with some of the most basic reading and writing and had to have help through primary school and into the start of my secondary education.  Despite this, I always loved stories.  I would find ways of loosing myself in fiction outside of reading.  I would watch television and films over and over again, create elaborate games with my friends and spent a great deal of time day dreaming.  It wasn’t until I was in my teens that my passion for reading took over and I expanded my horizons.

Then I met Anthony Nunan.  He was a new teacher at my secondary school who’d travelled to England for a year from Australia.  Despite the fact that he was teaching Mathematics I soon discovered that he was a published writer and I was lucky enough to be able to read his books.

The books of Anthony Nunan

I was impressed by Anthony’s work, he was the first author I’d ever met and my mind was racing with questions about how he did what he did, how he created such rounded characters and developed intricate plots.  I wanted to know how someone could create something that could bring people so much pleasure and entertainment.

Anthony was happy to answer as many of my questions as I could fire at him, and even began to encourage me to try my hand at writing myself.  With his help I took a basic idea for a plot and characters and developed it, advising me on structure of plot, character development and dialogue.  He took me under his wing and guided me towards the career I wanted, because of him I knew that I wanted to be a writer, that I wanted to tell stories.

Over the next few years I kept at my writing, with short stories, poetry and full length manuscripts, though none of them were ever published.  I wrote because I could, because I needed to, to get the stories out of my head and onto paper, even if there was none to read them.

Then I met Hal Laren.  Hal was an aspiring comic book artist and writer who had started his own publishing company, Reaper Comics.  Initially I met Hal through a friend, and after finding out we were both something of geeks we developed a friendship.  Over the next year I learnt of his comic work and read the first volume of his comic series ‘Bex’.

Hal Laren at London Film and Comic Con 2009

Hal, knowing that I wanted to become a writer came to me and asked me if I would like the chance of writing the second volume of the ‘Bex’ series.  Hal, you see, loved producing the art on the book, but no longer wanted to write the series.  He had a great idea for the sequel, but wanted to bring someone else onto the project who could bring a fresh perspective to the book.

After meeting with Hal and listening to his ideas for the sequel I jumped at the opportunity to write the book.  The plot was intriguing, and the hero of the book, Rebecca, had so much potential in her that I wanted to explore.  So with the basic idea of the plot in my mind I set to work in creating the book.

I broke down the main beats of the plot that Hal had given me and began expanding upon them, creating the ‘flesh’ of the story around the bare bones that I began with.  Over the course of the next month I would write and re-write the book, meeting with Hal and bouncing ideas off him.  Eventually the script was complete, handed over to Hal to produce the art for the book.

I wish I could say that the next step was smooth, that I just waited for the completed pages to come in, that they were all perfect and that everything was fine, but I can’t.  During the early days of the art on the book Hal and I butted heads a few times over the artistic direction of the book and certain designs.  I knew that this was Hal’s book, that these characters were his creations and as such he was completely in his right to want to do things a certain way, but as the writer of the book I had a certain vision in mind for what should end up on the page.

Several discussions were had between the two of us and compromises were made on both sides until the final product was produced.  With the first issue of volume two, ‘Bex: Remnants of Life’, in hand we proceeded to release the book at London Film and Comic Con in 2010.  We produced three covers for the show, including a convention exclusive that led to a great deal of publicity for Hal and myself by the organisers of the convention.

Hal at the new and improved Reaper Comics stand at London Film and Comic Con.

Our first convention went amazingly and we completely sold out of every copy of Bex we had.  I spent the weekend signing books, meeting celebrities, comic book fans and I even got to have a great talk about writing comics with Greg Rucka!  All in all it was a wonderful weekend that ended too soon.

                 

Since that first show Hal and myself have produced the other four issues of the comic and since the collected graphic novel.  Despite the ups and downs of the production of the book and the stress involved, the experience was amazing, and when Hal offered to let me continue the Bex series I snapped up the opportunity.  

The collected volume of 'Bex: Remnants of Life'

Reaper Comics are currently producing other titles, and as such I cannot say for certain when the third volume of Bex will be produced, though I can promise that the story is going to be worthy of the character and take the series in a whole new and interesting direction.  But before I had the chance to start working on the third volume of Bex Hal had me go back to the first volume that he produced and re-write it, to bring it into line with the rest of the series and my vision for its future.  But that’s a story for another blog…

Amy.

xx

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Resident Evil 6 Review

I’m a big fan of Resident Evil, the first game was literally the first game I played on the original Playstation, and Resident Evil 2 went straight in after I finished the first.  Since those first moments walking through the halls of the Spencer Estate I was hooked, and have since made the time and effort to play each of the other titles released since.

When Resident Evil 6 was announced at the start of the year I was over the moon with excitement, after all it had been almost three years since we’ve had a numbered instalment in the Resident Evil franchise.

As time progressed and more information was being teasingly released about the game my excitement grew and grew.  Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy in a game together!  We’ve been used to having more than one playable character in a Resident Evil title, with only a few exceptions to this rule, but this was the first time the two iconic male leads of the series would be together in one place.  Add to the fact that two characters are at odds with each other and the excitement level just grew and grew!

Before I knew it the release date was upon me and I had the game in my hands.  I excitedly opened the cellophane and threw the disc into my Xbox and was shooting zombies in no time.  As the game progressed I found myself having a great time, and was wondering how it had received such mixed reviews.  But then I began to feel it, a small niggling feeling at the back of my mind that something wasn’t quite right with the game.

As I progressed further through Leon’s campaign, and moved onto Chris’s the feeling grew.  It began to feel like Capcom were trying to throw everything they have had before into one game.  One minute there would be tense horror, then all out action, then a quick time event.  So much happens to the characters that after a while I began to feel a little desensitised by the whole experience.  Hell, Leon experience a bus falling off a cliff, a jumbo jet crashing into a city, a train falling off a bridge and a helicopter crashing into a building.  And that’s without any of the zombies or monsters!

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot in this game to enjoy, and I’m replaying it still even now and loving the experience, and Jake is a great addition to the series and his campaign the one I enjoyed the most.  I think that this game is very much worthy of its praise, but also just as deserving of it’s criticism.  It is a game that will enthral and infuriate, but at it’s heart it’s still a Resident Evil game, and embraces all of the aspects of its varies history from horror and suspense to action and awe.

A great game that is well worth the time it takes to sit down and play through all four of the scenarios, especially if you are a fan of the series.  And let’s be honest, even the worst Resident Evil game is better than the best Paul Anderson Resi movie!

Amy.

xx

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Hero 9 to 5 Review

It’s an interesting story as to how I came across reading this independent graphic novel ‘Hero 9 to 5’.  I have met the books writer, Ian Sharman, at a number of comic conventions over the last few years and spoken to him about his work, yet I never had the opportunity to actually pick up his books and read them. 

One of my close friends, who is also a friend of Ian’s quite often tells me of Ian political views and the fact that he is a feminist.  Then he shows me this image that Ian posted on his Facebook page:

I have to admit my initial reaction to this image was ‘what the f**k?!’  I thought, here is a man who is trying to improve the comics industry for women and he produces a piece of work that depicts women like that?  I was so astounded at this that I added Ian on Facebook and outlined how I felt about this image.  This led to a long discussion between Ian and myself, with him defending the content of his work and me trying to indicate how that image could be seen as offensive.  After going back and forth for a while Ian sent me a copy of Hero 9 to 5 so that I could read it and see the internal content for myself.

So I read the book, and here are my thoughts on the book.

Hero 9 to 5 follows the super hero Flame-O, who works for Heroes 4 Zeroes, a company that provides hero protection for people that cannot afford cover from more expensive and more competent heroes.  The four issues contained within the graphic novel follows Flame-O and his friends at Heroes 4 Zeroes as they go from men and women working a job to actual heroes who stand up for what they believe in because they choose to rather than because they’re being paid.

Whilst I like this initial setup, of a world where heroes are just another emergency service, and that if you don’t have insurance you get the crappy guys, the fact that it is written as a parody takes a lot away from the enjoyment for me.  I believe that if this concept was written as a straight book then it could have been much better.  As it is there are many silly jokes and comments that are supposed to make fun of super hero comics, but for me just come across as un-humorous and their for the sake of it.

The plot seems to jump all over the place too, with one of the characters flip-flopping between good and evil almost every issue, with almost no explanation and no consequences for the characters.  Characters say and do things for the ‘comedy’ of a scene rather than for the plot or to build upon the characters themselves.  Yes, the book may be intended as a parody, but even the silliest comedy stems from something more than just being their for the hell of it.

There are some very interesting moments in the book, and the basis for more stories about these character where they can be given room to grow and mature, however not on volume one.  The book could have benefited from a larger page count, not to add more action or story, but for more characterisation, which as it stands often feels rushed and unrealistic.

If you are a fan of satire and silly comedy then pick up Hero 9 to 5 and give it a read as I’m sure you will enjoy it.  If you are a fan of super hero comics then yes, you too should give it a read, though be prepared for the fact that you may not like it.  This is a book that I believe you will either love or find ‘okay’ (love or hate is too strong a phrase to be used here as I don’t believe that there is anything here to truly hate).

In conclusion Hero 9 to 5 has an interesting concept and is written with great passion, and whilst it may or may not set your world on fire it is definitely worth the time to sit and read it.

Amy.

xx

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Coming Out

When I first figured out that I was trans it sent my world spinning.  For those reading this that have gone through the same thing I think you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, the realisation that this was going on was almost too much to bear.  To help make sense of it I had to tell someone, I needed to vocalise what was going through my mind, to have someone question it just so that I could try to understand it myself.

The first person I told was a close friend of mine that I knew was a very understanding and open minded person, I guess it was my ‘safest’ choice of people to tell as I knew that he wouldn’t immediately freak out about it.  Thankfully my instincts were correct and he sat down with me, listened to what I had to say and asked questions, comforted me when I cried and just treated me like a normal person.

After that came one of the hardest tasks I had, I needed to try and tell my family.  I spent the next weeks trying to psych myself up to telling them.  I ran through dozens of different scenarios in my head, different way that I could tell them, how they might react.  Every time I saw them I would try and bring myself to telling them, and each and every time I couldn’t go through with it. 

I felt so much fear and apprehension about what the outcome might be that I just couldn’t find the strength I needed.  I don’t think that it recall helped me that I’d been reading about other people’s coming out experiences, and whilst some of them were good, a large portion of them can best be described as ‘troubled’.

Luckily for me the choice of telling my family was taken out of my hand when my mother confronted me one Sunday afternoon.  She knew that there was something wrong with me, something that I wanted to tell them and I guess that she’d had enough of me getting so close to telling them and then backing out.

It wasn’t the way that I wanted to tell her, outside my house in a parked car wasn’t the bet location, but at least I’d told her.  Now it was time for the reaction.  She kept herself calm and collected, she asked me to go and see my doctor, to make sure that I was one hundred percent sure before I did anything or told anyone else.

I did as my mother asked, I kept it to my self, I went to my doctor and I explored every option before I did anything else.  Eventually, after a few months counselling, y initial self diagnosis was confirmed, I was transsexual.  With this confirmation came another hurdle that I would have to cross, telling the other members of my family.

Initially I wanted to hold off on telling them; after all I’m still waiting to start hormones so why tell them so early on?  However, yet again the option to wait felt like it was taken out of my hands.  Months before I had told the management team at work about my situation in order to get time off for appointments and to explain why some days I was massively depressed whilst at work.  Unfortunately it turns out that one of the members of the management team wasn’t to have been trusted, and proceeded to gossip about me behind my back and even told another of the employees that I was trans.

With the information seemingly spreading on its own out of my control I found that I had to tell the rest of my family now.  I didn’t know exactly who knew now, who had gone and told others, the one thing I did know for sure is that I didn’t want my family to find out through anyone but me.  So now I was faced with a situation where I would have to tell them.

A few weeks ago, on one of my regular visits to see my family, I was presented with the opportunity to tell them.  I was in the kitchen with my mum and dad and my dad asked me how things were going, which kicked started my conversation with him.  However, even though I knew I had to tell him there and then I just couldn’t find the words.  Trying to vocalise what needed to be said was so hard for me.

Never being one to miss an opportunity to talk my dad jumped straight in during this pause and bombarded me with a myriad of questions, ‘you’re moving back in with us?’  ‘You’ve got someone pregnant?’  ‘You’ve got a new job?’  ‘You’re gay?’

Finally managing to get him to stop talking I told him in as easy a way as I could manage.  ‘I’m transgendered.’  After a moment of confusion my mother jumped in and explained it to him by referencing a documentary they had seen the previous week (thank you channel 4) and my dad understood what that now meant.  Then came is reaction.  I was prepared for the worse, for him to shout and scream, to tell me that he hated me or didn’t want me in the family anymore.  However, his actual reaction was one that I hadn’t imagined hearing.  ‘Oh, okay then.’

That was it.  After months and months of building this moment up in my head and going through every conceivable reaction I never imagined he would just say ‘Oh, okay then.’ If anything it felt like something of an anti climax!

So from there he proceeded to ask me a few questions, which I answered the best I could, and he was still okay with it.  He told me that no matter what I did, no matter who I was on the inside or the outside, I was still a part of the family, and nothing would ever change that.

Luckily during all of this my sister was listening in on our conversation, and as such I no longer needed to tell her and had got out of another gruelling coming out.  So that was it, I was done.  My immediate family now knew and they accepted me despite it all.

I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, despite the fact that there are still some people in my life I need to tell the three most important know, and they still love me.  It might sound like I’m bragging by continually stating that my family are okay with me, as I know not everyone is as lucky, but I can’t help it.  I love my family so much, and to know that I can put them through something like this and they’ll stand by me no matter what is amazing. 

I hope that anyone else who reads this and is going through the same situation is as lucky as I am.  Good luck to you all.

Amy.

xx

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