The Retaliators – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The trailer for The Retaliators paints a pretty clear picture of what this film is going to be about: a father looking to get revenge against the man who kills his daughter. So when the film begins and you watch a pair of girls lost in the woods suddenly coming under attack from what looks like zombies I don’t think I could be blamed for having to double check I’m watching the right film. The Retaliators begins by subverting your expectations, and flips between genres more than once in a move that will leave most audiences wondering just what they’ve watched.

After the aforementioned open, The Retaliators introduces us to a family shopping for their Christmas tree as the holiday season sets in. The father, a sensitive community pastor named John (Michael Lombardi), gets into an altercation when another man steals their tree, but turns the other cheek, and does nothing about it. His daughters, Sarah (Katie Kelly) and Rebecca (Abbey Hafer) are left somewhat disappointed in him, and John ends up feeling unsure if he did the right thing or not.

In an attempt to make himself look better he allows Sarah to go out to a Christmas party with her friends; a big change from his normal overprotective way of doing things. Unfortunately for her, she crosses paths with Ram (Joseph Gatt), a murderous criminal who has a man tied up in the boot of his car. Realising that Sarah has heard the man, Ram chases after her, runs her car off the road, and drowns her in the river.

A short time after the event Bishop is approached by Jed (Marc Menchaca), a police detective who has a unique proposition for him. He’s captured Ram, and has him tied up and tortured in a remote location. Bishop is given the chance to spend one minute alone with Ram, able to do whatever he wants to him, as long as he doesn’t kill him. Unfortunately, other criminals are on Ram’s trail and are close to finding him. How does this all connect to the zombie opening? Well, you’re just going to have to watch the film to find that one out.

There are times when The Retaliators seems to be trying to be more than one kind of movie. The opening scene notwithstanding, the start of the film spends time getting to know the Bishop family, showing us the relationship between John and his eldest daughter. John is overprotective, but also doesn’t want to resort to being aggressive or violent to protect his family. His daughter respects him, but is starting to feel that respect wavering because he let Dante from Clerks steal their Christmas tree. They’re not perfect, but they clearly care about each other, and as such you do feel it when John gets a panicked phone call from Sarah as a man is trying to kill her.

The film tries to spend time with the grief of the Bishop family, showing the funeral, and how the community comes together around them, yet John feels isolated and alone in his grief. His youngest daughter Rebecca retreats into herself a little, and the energy and joy she brought to the performance in the early scenes has gone. Even the wild premise of the detective capturing criminals off the street for the families of their victims to get revenge on is treated with more seriousness than you’d first think, with Jed’s backstory being a pretty harrowing one.

But the film’s third act mirrors the opening as it switches gears, does a hard turn, and jumps the shark, as it turns from grim crime story into a horror gore-fest. It feels like the end of a very different movie has been tacked onto The Retaliators, and whilst it isn’t un-entertaining, it’s such a huge tonal whiplash that it makes it hard to still feel connected to this story and its characters.

Whilst the cast try their best to make the characters feel genuine throughout, there are times where the acting falls a little flatter than is best too, as there are more than one scene where the characters are delivering emotional lines in an almost casual way. Whilst they’re not bad actors by any stretch, there are times where it feels like they’re just unable to hit the emotional beats the film calls far. A lot of the supporting cast are also made up from musicians and band members who feature in the film’s soundtrack.

The Retaliators isn’t a bad film, but it’s not amazing either. It occupies a middle ground of being entertaining enough to be enjoyable, yet probably won’t be a film that people are quick to go out and recommend, or to watch again. It tries to do something different, and whilst it might not always work, it does at least stand out.

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Olympus: Rebirth #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

There have been a lot of changes in the Wonder Woman mythos recently. There's a new Wonder Girl, a new group of amazons was found, Hippolyta died, Nubia became the new queen, and the three tribes have come together as one. It's been a lot. But it's also been really good!

One of the newest developments centres around the former queen, Diana's mother, Hippolyta. After apparently being murdered, Hippolyta's spirit returned to inform her people that it was all part of a plan that she had devised that would enable her to ascend to godhood; thereby granting her the ability to help her people within the realm of the gods.

Now, we actually get to see what happens after this revelation, as Hippolyta's spirit makes its way into the afterlife, to join the other gods of Olympus.

As anyone who's read Wonder Woman long enough would expect, this means that there is plenty of godly politics going on, with some plots, backstabbing, and alliances being made as not everyone is happy with the new addition to the pantheon. 

Hippolyta feels like a force of disruption amongst the gods, but not necessarily a bad one. Gods like Zeus have become lazy and lax over the years, and Hera is a manipulator out only for herself. Hippolyta sees a lot of the flaws and the hypocrisy and calls them out on it. She even goes on a little quest to prove herself to them, and to bring back the one missing member of the pantheon.

The extra-sized one-shot is entertaining, but never really trays beyond the realm of being perfectly fine. There are no big moments here that will wow you, no story revelations that seem to set up big things to come, and nothing that left me wanting more. It feels like this is a single issue designed to flesh out the world of the Amazons a little, but that that's about it. And whilst it's a fine read there's nothing here that elevates this issue into must read territory.

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Survival Street #2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

I was very pleasantly surprised by the first issue of Survival Street, a comic that takes readers to a very dark, corporate run future where most people are either out for themselves or to screw others over, or both, and the only people looking to make a difference and do some good are a group of rogue freedom fighters who also happen to be puppets. In this new issue we get to delve a little into their history, as well as getting some huge action scenes.

Issue two begins in medias res, with the Salutation Street gang running for their lives as a huge crowd chases them, shooting at them. The puppets are forced to take shelter inside an old church, believing it will give them sanctuary; unfortunately it’s the Church of Christ the Reloaded, and these people aren’t up for taking prisoners. Two pages in and I was already laughing out loud.

From here we get a series of flashbacks that begin to bring us up to speed on things, learning through some old news reports that the gang are in Hollow Point, a small Texan town run by the WRA, the Weapons Retailers of America, and that the town is every gun-nut’s wet dream.  They have open carry, concealed carry, and anything you can carry rules, and duels settle everything from arguments to divorces. As the book says, it’s “basically Westworld without the robots”.

And as Hollow Point looks set to expand their laws for who can carry guns, having previously made it so school kids can carry weapons, they now want to make it legal that toddlers have guns. And this is something that the Survival Street puppets think is pretty bad. Challenging the WRA CEO to a duel, he gets the townspeople to fight in his place, plunging the entire town into a gunfight.

Mixed in with this we also get some flashbacks to the origins of the puppets, learning that they’re not made, that they’re not puppets come to life, but in fact come from a remote island. When humans discover their home they make a deal with the puppets to mine the island’s guano deposits. This ends up forever changing the puppet’s society, and is another example of how rampant capitalism and colonialism destroys entire cultures.

Whilst the first issue was a great introduction to this world it had its ups and downs; some moments that were a bit slower, and points at which the narrative had room to breathe. This issue doesn’t. It has an almost breakneck pace, where everything happening in Hollow Point is a mad dash to survive as the puppets find themselves having to battle against dozens, perhaps hundreds, of gun wielding maniacs. Things escalate and go in some pretty wild directions, but all of it is honestly brilliant. The book knows it’s ridiculous and absolutely leans into it. There are explosions, people diving through the air whilst shooting, car crashes, and even a Charlton Heston robot.

Some of the ridiculousness is tempered by the flashbacks to the origins of the puppets, which are actually kind of sad as you get to see this wonderfully innocent group of people being exploited and changed, their way of life being ruined, all because the humans want more money, more resources. It gives reasons for why this group of kids’ TV personalities have become vigilantes; because they’ve seen their own world ruined by capitalist pigs, and don’t want it to happen again.

The artwork on this issue is provided by Abylay Kussainov and Ellie Wright, and looks great. The action scenes are all bombastic and full of energy, but the best part is how much personality they put into the characters. They make the puppets more expressive and emotive than a lot of comics are able to make their human characters look, and it’s surprising how much humanity these weird, fuzzy people have in their faces.

Survival Street is one of the best series that Dark Horse is producing right now, and James Asmus and Jim Festante are producing a story so weird, wacky, and wonderful that it feels like it can go in any direction and do pretty much anything it wants; and that level of fun and creativity is wonderful to see. I have no idea where this book is going next, but I am so excited to see it.

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Task Force Z #11 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

We come to the penultimate issue of Task Force Z, and it might be the weakest of the series yet; which doesn't bode well for the story going out on a high next time.

The biggest problem with this issue is the pacing. Things don't happen in order here, and there are time-jumps and flashbacks to the point where I'm not sure what order everything happened in. It was honestly quite confusing at times, and I don't think it did anything to serve the story.

And the story here is a bit weird at times too (which is saying a lot for this series). Gotham is back in control of his body, though is now huge and filled with venom. Gotham Girl turns up out of nowhere looking for her brother because she somehow knew where he'd be.

Bloom has gotten hold of the Batman Rookie suit as well, and is using it to fight Jason's team, whilst Jason fights Blooms team, which consists of old members of Jason's team. Which doesn't really work with Deadshot as he didn't want to come back, died again to help Jason so that he didn't have to come back, and is now happily working against Jason for Bloom because Bloom brought him back. It just doesn't quite sit well.

I found it hard to really enjoy this issue, and in a lot of ways it felt like it was just being used to move pieces into place for the conclusion; but in ways that wasn't really fun or in the best service of the story.

I'm hoping that these issues will be cleared up for issue twelve, and that the series can go out on the high it deserves.

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Astonishing Times / Twelve Percent Dread – Graphic Novel Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Dark Horse have a lot of new graphic novels out this week, with a variety of titles on offer. Whilst some of their titles have some more action and horror oriented themes, not every book does, and if you’re looking for something a little different, these two might just be of interest to you.

Astonishing Times Vol. 1

Superhero comics are the backbone of the industry. When comics were first coming into being there were a lot of genres on offer, from superheroes to crime books, to pirate stories, and sci-fi schlock. And whilst many of these titles fell away over the years the ones that kept selling, that grew in popularity year after year, and have become the genre that people think of when they hear the word comic is superheroes. Some characters have gone on to become instantly recognisable across the globe, and you can show people in most countries the Superman logo and they’ll know exactly who it is. Superheroes are modern mythology, and this is a big theme for the new book Astonishing Times.

Astonishing Times is set in a world where superheroes are very real, and have been operating out in the open for decades. Whilst they were once beloved by millions, they’ve gradually faded into the background somewhat as people get used to them, and no one seems to bat an eyelid when a costumed hero is waiting in line in the local coffee shop. But there is someone who still thinks of these heroes as worth people’s attention and adoration: Noah Sans.

Noah is a reporter, covering the adventures of the world’s ever growing superhero population. However, people don’t care about heroes anymore, and Noah’s column is on the verge of being cancelled. Using the goodwill of his father’s legacy at the paper (a man who also covered superhero news), Noah gets one last chance to write the story that will save his career. And whilst he sits and scours the web, trying to find something that will stop him losing his job, the biggest story of his life falls into his lap. A superhero has been found dead, and it begins a series of events that will lead to Noah discovering some dark secrets about the world’s greatest heroes.

Astonishing Times is trying to take something of a different look at super heroes, mainly by focusing on someone one step removed from the heroes themselves. We follow a pretty normal guy instead of one of the costumed adventurers, and whilst this gives us a decent introduction to this world it’s not long before you start to feel a bit lost in the piles of continuity and history that the comic is trying to conjure up, despite it being the first volume in this series. There is a lot of history here, there are characters with decades of adventures under their belts, and world events that have changed this setting until it’s quite different from our own; and whilst Astonishing Times draws upon all of this in the crafting of its story it never really explains much of it to the reader.

We meet heroes who are the ‘greatest’ the world has ever known, but we’re not told much about them. Characters reference past conflict and relationships, but we’re not told what they are. We hear about alien invasions and global conflict, but aren’t given any detail about them. And the bad guy is set to tear the world down and start again because of everything they’ve seen and been through, but we don’t know what it all is. The biggest problem with this book is that it doesn’t feel like a volume one, it feels like a volume one through ten squashed down into five issues. Things happen too quickly, too much history is referenced without any weight behind it, and for the most part I was left unable to care for what was going on. Frank Barbiere and Arris Quinones, the two writers, clearly have a lot of good ideas, but it feels like they’re trying to use everything all at once.

The art in Astonishing Times, provided by Ruairi Coleman and Lauren Affe, looks great, and they’re able to make the book look bold and interesting throughout. The bland, everyday scenes all have extra details and small things thrown into them for you to take a look at, usually tiny details that adds to the world building, and the action sequences are done really well. The book has a visual scale and scope that matches the story well, and even if you’re left unsure of everything that’s happened in this world up to this point, the art showcases why the events here are grand.

If you’re looking for a superhero book that’s doing something a bit different from usual, and want to jump into a small, self contained story that you can read in a single sitting Astonishing Times could provide you with what you need.

Twelve Percent Dread

Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern is something of a strange book. At more than 400 pages long it’s a big, bulky read that certainly gives you a lot of content for your money. But does that length translate into quality, or does the book spend too long doing nothing?

The story follows several characters in their day to day lives in a Britain not too different from our own. Our chief character is Katie, who’s living with her non-binary ex, Nas, in a rented room with a washed up 90’s TV comedian whilst they wait for Nas’ visa application to be approved. Out of work and struggling to get by, Katie jumps from job opportunity to job opportunity, trying her hand in all kinds of fields, before scamming her way into being the personal tutor for the daughter of the wealthiest and most powerful woman in the country, tech billionaire Michelle.

Michelle gets a lot of focus in the book too, as her tech company Arko is trying to push their new apps and tech whilst doing shady dealings with the government. Katie’s friend Emma also works at Arko, and is one of Michelle’s go to people. She gets landed with a special project whilst working to get their new social media app working right, where she has to babysit a strange new member of staff. All of the stories in Twelve Percent Dread move in and out of each other, intertwining until they become one larger narrative later on in the book.

For the most part, the book feels like a strange ‘slice of life’ type tale for a modern audience, where everyone is glued to their tech, people are struggling for work, and the world feels a bit like a capitalist hellscape that’s doing everything it can to grind you down into nothing (so nothing like modern Britain at all then). One of the biggest issues with the book, for me at least, is that it takes far too long for anything to actually start to happen. The book spends more than a hundred pages following the characters around, watching their daily lives, listening into meandering conversations, where nothing much really happens. Yes, stuff does happen later in the story, but I really struggled to feel encouraged to get to that point, as I kept wanting to put the book down as nothing happened over and over again.

Another problem I had was that it was incredibly hard to connect with the characters and to know what was going on. Part of this was down to the really weird things that they said and did, and it wasn’t until I read the blurb later on that I realised the book was supposed to be a comedy. If that’s the case, it’s a form of humour that absolutely didn’t connect with me, and it ended up leaving me feeling like I was watching really weird people who say the most unusual things for no reason. The artwork also didn’t help with being able to connect with the characters. The art feels incredibly simple, and there’s very little detail to it. None of the characters are drawn as people, and are more crude approximations of what people are like. They have square, round, or triangular heads with two dot eyes and some lines for hair, and that’s it. A couple of the characters are more distinct because of hairstyles that are obviously theirs, but there are many times where the narrative jumps to another character and you just don’t know because the characters don’t really look that different. It often felt like reading a rough draft of the final book, with storyboard images rather than the final product; art that gives the general impression, but lacks any real depth.

I understand that the book has done well, and has garnered a lot of praise, and all I can say is that I must just not be the right reader for Twelve Percent Dread. And whilst I didn’t get on with it, and didn’t really enjoy it, that doesn’t mean that others won’t. So if you’re looking for a book that is very, very different from other graphic novels on the market, this is definitely one of them.

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Robin #17 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

So, after seventeen issues this run of Robin comes to a close. This is a huge shame, as this has been a hugely enjoyable series; but, as things are being set up for Batman vs Robin the story isn't quite over here.

This issue sees Robin and his allies racing back to Lazarus Island as they realise that Lord Death Man has tricked them all. And it seems like he's been tricked too, as he trades Damian's stolen heart (that Flatline ripped out early on in the series) to Mother Soul.

Having promised Lord Death Man power in exchange for the heart, she gives him a taste of Lazarus power, transforming him into a hulking monstrosity. Luckily, the teens arrive in time to stop his rampage and take him down (with a particularly brutal final move fro Damian). With the threat apparently dealt with, as they know nothing of Mother Soul's involvement, the teens spend the day partying on the beach together and hanging out as friends before they all set out on their own separate journeys.

In some ways I really liked the ending here. It felt earned. Damian had worked hard to get his new friends, and the bonds that have been formed over the last year and a half feel genuine. I love his relationship with Connor, and his evolving romance with Flatline feels like it's somehow perfect for him (of course Damian would do for a scary goth girl who can kill you without breaking a sweat). I liked that they all got to send some time together at the end, that you get to see their friendships and their bonds. But I'm sad that it's coming to an end.

I want more of this series. And whilst we've got the new series focusing on Damian, and Flatline is on one of the covers indicating she's in it, it doesn't feel like it's going to be the same. Joshua Williamson did a great job at making Damian a skilled fighter, a deadly killer, and a bit of a brat whilst also giving him depth, personality, and made him actually feel like a teen. 

I've loved the Robin series, and have enjoyed each and every issue of the book. And whilst it's sad that's its come to a close, I will look back at this series fondly.

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Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I'll admit something that might lose me some DC geek points, I'm not that fond of The Killing Joke. I think it's a perfectly fine, average Batman story, but that's about it. So, an entire series of one shots taking the theme of 'one bad day' being all it takes to create a villain that was originally brought up in that book had me a little unsure whether I was looking forward to reading this. And this first issue, focused on the Riddler, really doesn't help.

Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler begins with a lengthy scene in first person as we follow the life of a random man in Gotham, hearing about his family. Several pages into this scene the Riddler walks up behind him and shoots him in the head. The Riddler then waits for the cops to arrive and arrest him.

This sets up a big question for the GCPD and Batman, what's the riddle? Riddler doesn't do things for no reason, so what's his game. Well, it turns out that there is no game. There is no big riddle. He's just shown Batman what he's capable of, and then tells him that if Batman ever comes near him again a random person in Gotham will be murdered.

He then uses threats against the families of cops, prison guards, and literally anyone else in his way (including mob bosses) to set himself up as the untouchable king of Gotham.

All of this is interspersed with flashbacks of Edward in school, failing to get perfect grades because one of his teachers includes a riddle on tests. When Edward fails to get perfect scores his father, the headmaster, beats him. This pushes Edward to his 'one bad day' where he murders the teacher.

Oh boy, do I have very little good to say about this book.

Firstly, the story. So. The Riddler tells no riddles, has no schemes or mysteries, he simply uses random murder and threats to get what he wants. So who the hell is he now the, because he's certainly not the Riddler. Like, who would Mr Freeze be if you stripped away everything around his cold gimmick? Just Mr Person? There's nothing about this version of the Riddler that makes him the Riddler, and this story could have been told about any villain, or even just a random guy. And perhaps would have been better if it was.

Batman also tortures people in this book, almost needlessly. He repeatedly dunks a tied up, bleeding man in shark filled water even when he's offering up the info Batman wants purely because I guess Batman feels he needs to suffer more first. And, at the end of the book it's heavily implied that this is also Batman's 'one bad day', and that he kills the Riddler in order to stop him. Fucking awful.

The flashbacks to Edwards past are bad too. Edward is a struggling kid, coming to his teacher begging him not to go against the school rules and put test points on a riddle, telling him that its causing him distress, that he can't cope with it. And the teacher claps him on the back and goes 'don't let it worry you dude, it's just life, be chill'. It's like the teacher thinks he's some kind of Dead Poets Society scenario when he;s instead fucking up a kid.

There's also the implication that Edward is pushed into snapping because his father abuses and beats him for not being perfect. This is one of those gross false narratives and stereotypes where it says that those who're abused become abusers, killers. It's pretty messed up that we're still using that concept in the year 2022.

A lot of the supporting characters act really poorly too. There's a scene where the Riddler is surrounded by cops who've been ordered to put a straight jacket on him, and because of his threats to their families the cops all freak out, turn on each other, and everyone in the room but the Riddler and Commissioner Gordon guns each other down. Huh?

There are some decent moments to be found, one or two I think. The scenes where Bruce spends some time with the widow of the Riddlers random victim are incredibly sweet, and show a decent side to the man that is often overlooked for big superhero stories.

The art on the book feels like a weird mixed bag too. There are a lot of pages that are incredibly busy and crowded feeling, with odd staging and rain and smoke effects everywhere. It can sometimes be a bit overpowering, and it can help to make the scenes feel overly oppressive and gloomy. There is a two page spread that's absolutely gorgeous though, where a basketball court is split into the present and a flashback, with two very different colour schemes in each section. The split between the two sides is gorgeous, and it makes for a great visual of the flashback ending and the present beginning.

Overall, I think I kind of hated this story. If was slow and dull in a lot of places, had what felt like bad story decisions and awful character moments, and might be the worst Riddler story I've ever read, because it never felt like the Riddler. I'm hoping the other one-shots are better than this, because if they're not this is going to be a poor series for sure.

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Tilt: Six Tales – Graphic Novel Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Quindrie Press, an independent, queer owned comic publisher with an amazing track record of supporting charitable causes, has launched a new book on Kickstarter; and they’ve been kind enough to share some of the contents with us. Tilt: Six Tales is a new anthology collection that, as the title may have hinted at, brings together six exciting new stories from a diverse group of creators from across the UK. The book features almost 150 pages of black and white comics in one volume, curated by editors Eve Greenwood, and Hari Conner.

‘By The Way’ by Julie Campbell is a fantasy story that follows an older woman, Hetta, as she leaves the farm that she’s lived in for decades with her wife, and sets out to journey to live with her family a few days away. Hetta lost her wife a few years before, and despite trying to maintain her farm on her own, has come to the decision that she needs to move on with her life. After saying goodbye to her home, and the memories of her wife, she sets out to make a two day journey to the small village her daughter lives in. Along the way she encounters a journeying town guard, Nethan, who joins her on the road. The two of them bond quickly, thanks in part to the old woman’s time as a guard herself, and they provide each other with companionship. They also meet another woman, the travelling artist Parry, who provides them with shelter in the storm. The three women make their way across the countryside, talking about life.

There’s a lot to ‘By The Way’ that will take readers by surprise the first time they read it, as it’s the kind of story that very subtly messes with expectations, and makes some interesting narrative choices. There are some hints scattered throughout that this is more than just the story of three women meeting on the road, but even then it doesn’t really show what the point of the story is. In many ways, it seems to be a story about life, about looking back on the things that you’ve done, the places you’ve been, and the people you loved as you enter the later years of your life. Hetta is going through a big change by going to live with her family, and it causes her to reflect on her past and think about what could have been, which a very real, very human thing to do.

The artwork on the story is very nice, and Campbell’s art looks wonderful when the characters are on the road, travelling through the countryside. She’s able to capture the beauty of nature and translates it well onto the page. The characters aren’t just wandering through generic looking forests, the countryside is varied and interesting, and it’s always a little different; and because of this is looks like the real world more than a lot of comics do. The people, who are some kind of dog people, also look really cool, and whilst it’s harder to make animal people look as varied as humans, Campbell makes everyone here look distinct and unique. ‘By The Way’ was a really engaging story, one that I think a lot of people are going to like.

‘Gastrotelepathy’ by Jack Devereaux has a decidedly manga feel to it, and takes a rather ordinary setting and injects it with energy and weirdness that makes it stand out as something a bit different. The story begins by following an unnamed man as he makes his way through the city towards his favourite restaurant. He’s had a tough day at work, and desperately wants their world famous king truffle seasoned coq au van to celebrate a job well done. However, the restaurant is closed up. In his disappointment he walks past a small cafe with a sign out front making a bold claim: “What does your stomach truly desire? Our chef knows! If she’s right you pay, is she’s wrong you eat free, if you lie pay triple!”

Taking a peek inside the man sees a chef who’s able to perfectly predict the dishes each of her customers wants, and produces amazing, delicious looking food. Unsure what to do, the man is convinced to give it a try. Thus begins a strange experience that will take readers in a direction you probably won’t be able to predict. ‘Gastrotelepathy’ is a strange story, as it takes a very ordinary concept of someone looking to grab some food, and adds a really bizarre spin on things that instantly makes you feel like you have no idea what could happen next.

The artwork looks really different from everything else in the book too, with bold, exaggerated character designs, and lots of on panel effects and text popping up. It feels like it’s trying to constantly grab your attention, trying to guide you through the story with showmanship, and at times misdirection too. This is a story where the way it’s being presented is as much part of the tale as the things happening are, and it often ends up jumping off the page.

‘The Monster and the Girl’ by Dominique Duong feels very different in comparison, and whilst the last story was very busy pages with a lot happening on them this tale feels a lot more sedate, with more minimalist art. The story, as the title suggests, is about a little girl and a monster. The monster, badly wounded and bleeding, seeks shelter in a small cave that happens to be the hideaway for Tran, a nine-year-old girl. Tran tries to befriend the monster, giving it food and talking to it, and it eventually lets her bandage its wounds. As the two of them spend more time together the monster starts to learn more about Tran, and discovers that her father beats her when he’s angry. Angry that its friend is hurt and afraid, the monster sets out to help Tran.

This is the simplest of the stories presented here, with much less dialogue, and panels that aren’t filled with much other than the main focus, but it’s also one of the most endearing and touching stories, and was easily my favourite of the bunch. The friendship that forms between Tran and the monster is genuinely sweet, with some lovely moments that happen, and the conclusion is just perfect, and left me wanting to see more. The artwork is really nice, and has something of a storybook element to it that really appealed to me. It dealt with some big concepts, but felt very accessible thanks to the easygoing visual style, and I think it would be the one of the three here that readers of all ages would love.

The other three stories in the collection (which we were not provided with) are: ‘F! Providence’, which follows a woman freshly fired from her job by a corporation gobbling up her city, leading her to decide to take action against them; ‘In Lilac & Silver’, which focuses on a woman dealing with her recently deceased sister coming back to life in cyborg form, and deals with questions of what makes a person who they are; and ‘The Last Stop’, which takes readers to a spirit cafe, and takes a look at what happens when a human accidentally stumbles in. Overall I found Tilt: Six Tales to be an enjoyable read, filled with stories that vary in style and tone, offering readers a lot of different things to discover, and some great artists and writers to experience.

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Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong #3 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

This was a series that I was having a little bit of trouble with. I wasn't sure that I liked the story, and there were times where the characters felt a little off to me. I'll admit that it wasn't something that was lighting me up when I read it. But, this final issue of this limited series not only turned out to be the best, but was thoroughly enjoyable throughout.

In this issue Auqaman and the Flash take the unfinished Atlantean spaceship, powered by the Speed Force, and fly it straight at the giant spaceship here to completely consume the Earth. Crashing the ship onto the surface of the planet sized construct, Arthur and Barry get separated.

Whilst Barry gets sucked into some strange kind of dreamworld (possibly similar to what the folks on Earth are experiencing), Arthur manages to come face to strange mechanised wall with whatever it is controlling everything. The entity and Arthur begin a dialogue, with the creature recognising Arthur as a fellow sovereign thanks to Arthur's absolutely awesome speech in which he tells the aliens that he is the king of the oceans, and that the Earth is 70% water, making him the King of Earth.

Whilst he's unable to get the creature to see things his way, he does figure out that the entity comes from a water planet, and has salt water running through its veins. Using his powers to command the oceans, Arthur literally begins ripping the monster apart; finding Barry in the process. Knowing that he's separated from the Speed Force, Arthur allows Barry to use him as a conduit to regain access, shutting the alien fleet down in the process. 

As the ship falls apart around them the heroes and villains of Earth band together and destroy they invading ships.

I really loved pretty much everything about this issue. The moments with Barry in his dream world, realising that he could be a better husband are great, Arthur being an absolute bad-ass king as the last man standing to defend the Earth was pretty epic, and the genuine friendship that formed between the two of them was perfect. I loved the scene where they're floating above Earth, thinking they're going to die, and them getting pizza as part of their weekly friend-dates was a perfect epilogue for the story.

This was a book that definitely made the series worth reading because it absolutely stuck the landing. It ended up making me love the two characters and the friendship that they have, and left me wanting to read more. And that's just about everything you could want from a book like this.

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Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton – Throwback 80

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Enid Blyton is one of the most recognised and beloved children’s authors to have ever existed, and has given the world hugely popular and well know series like Noddy, The Secret Seven, The Famous Five, and more. Since publishing her first book in 1922 she has gone on to sell more than 600 million copies, and has been translated into 90 languages across the world. And one of her most beloved series are the adventure books of The Famous Five, who made their first appearance in September 1942 in Five on a Treasure Island.

Five on a Treasure Island tells the story of three siblings, Julian, Dick, and Anne, who go to spend their summer holiday with their aunt and uncle in the small coastal town of Kerrin. Arriving at Kerrin Cottage, the three of them meet their cousin, George, and her dog Timothy. The five spend time exploring Kerrin island, where George shows them an old shipwreck that her great-great-great grandfather sailed on decades before. According to legend, the ship was transporting gold when it was wrecked on Kerrin Island, and that the gold was never recovered.

The five investigate the shipwreck when they end up getting stuck on the island in a huge storm, and discover an old chest containing an old map that shows the resting place of the gold in the island’s old castle. However, they run into trouble when the map is sold by Uncle Quentin to an antique collector. Believing that the collector is actually a treasure hunter, the five set out to Kerrin Island to try and find the gold before it’s too late; a quest that will see them fall afoul of criminals out for the treasure.

Five on a Treasure Island became instantly popular with young readers when it was first published, and Blyton was asked to write more books starring the central quintet. And whilst Blyton was happy to do so she only planned to only write another half a dozen books, but as the series went on it only grew in popularity, and Blyton would go on to write 21 books in The Famous Five series. The formula proved to be one that Blyton so enjoyed writing that she would go on to create other series that followed groups of crime solving children on holiday.

Whilst there are some similarities between this series and other popular children’s books as the time, such as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, The Famous Five stood out as it was one of the few series where the initial author would write every entry in the series, as Blyton refused to use ghostwriters. In many ways, Blyton was the R.L. Stine of her day, as she created a hugely popular kids’ book series that she would write herself, able to produce a book a week when needed.

The characters of Five on a Treasure Island would go on to be some of Blyton’s most popular, and would appear in a number of books and adaptations even beyond The Famous Five title. One of the more stand out characters in the series is George. George is described as being a tomboy in the text, but over the years another interpretation of the character has found popularity: that George is a trans boy. For a start, George refuses to use his birth name, and insists that people use male pronouns for him. He also only wears boys’ clothing, and insists on boy haircuts. But perhaps one of the best pieces of evidence is in one of the later books, where his father hugs him and calls him ‘my boy’, a moment that is never corrected or made mention of. So whilst I’m sure there will be some folks very angry at this interpretation, we’re claiming George as a trans character now.

Over the years the series would go on to be adapted many times, with several films having been made, with one of Five on a Treasure Island released in 1957. There have also been a number of popular television adaptations, with series made in the 1970s, 1990s, and the 2000s. There have been audio drama releases of the stories, theatre adaptations, comics, and choose your own adventure books. This is on top of the dozens (if not more) parodies and homages made to the series over the last eight decades. And it all began with this one story.

The Famous Five holds a very special place in the hearts of many readers, and has endured for generations thanks to its simplicity, its engaging plots, and enjoyable characters. And it’s likely to last for many more decades to come.

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