Merry Christmas 2013

I'd like to wish all of my readers and all of my friends a very merry Christmas.  I hope that you are all having  great time with friends and family and that you get some great presents. 

Hopefully my new job will settle down soon and I can resume writing more new posts for you all.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Amy.
Xx

Supernatural 'I'm No Angel' Review

Where episode one of the new season focused on the angel problem and episode two the return of Abaddon the third episode takes a quieter moment to follow the journey of Castiel and his adjustment to being human.

As Sam and Dean attempt to find their wayward former angel Castiel tries to make his way across the country to the Winchester bunker, spending his time working in a shelter, making friends with the homeless and even unwittingly flirting his way into a woman’s bed.  All this is done with a child like blunder and naivete that is more touching than silly.

Bartholomew plots his campaign to retake heaven.

During the search for Castiel we are also introduced to yet another potentially hostile faction in the form of the angel Bartholomew.  A former underling of Naomi, Bartholomew is using an internet priest to find people willing to let the fallen angels to take possession of their bodies.

A slower paced but personal episode that sidelines the Winchesters to focus on Castiel yet also manages to introduce another of the ‘big players’ in the season story arc.  The episode is also noteworthy for introducing the first ever onscreen angel possession.  A beautiful special effect that acts as a perfect opposite to the demons black smoke.

A great episode that pushes Castiel to the fore and gives Misha Collins a chance to show more of his acting range.  8/10

Amy.
xx

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Arcade Awards Nomination

For the past few months now I’ve been working on a number of web comics with a great friend and fellow creator Mario Covone.  I have been privileged to be able to work on two of his books, ‘Circles’ and ‘A Stranger Comes To Town’, as a letterer and have loved working on them.

I’m very pleased to be able to announce however that ‘Circles’ has been nominated for an Arcade Award.  Frank J Right, the amazing artist on the book has been nominated for Best International Artist.

This is a great opportunity for Frank’s work to be appreciated for how great it is and for the other creators on the book to get recognised.  I know that my work on the book is fairly minimal and that lettering isn’t the most creative part of the whole process but I would love a book with a transgender creator on it to get some recognition.

So please, even if you are not a comic fan go along to the website and vote for Frank J Right for Best International Artist.

2013 Arcade Awards Voting

Amy.

xx

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Eye Spy' Review

Whilst episode three of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was something of a disappointment it’s good to see the show returning to its previous higher standards with an entertaining and engaging fourth outing.

Beginning with a visually interesting, if somewhat bonkers opening scene involving dozens of men in suits and red masks making their way through the streets of Stockholm in order to transport a shipment of diamonds.  The episode quickly sets up the central focus when the mysterious and dangerous former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Akela appears and somehow uses some extra normal ability to find and take down her target.

A former protégé of Coulson and thought dead for a number of years the skilled former agent storyline could have very easily been a hackneyed ‘good guy gone bad’ episode.  Luckily the episode works wonderfully well thanks to the strong and understated performance from Pascale Armand.  Armand plays the character as a woman that has hit rock bottom and hates the situation she is in rather than being an over the top arch villain type performance.

Akela and Coulson come face to face.

Just like J August Richards in the pilot episode her performance goes a long way to outshine that of the regular cast and becomes yet another guest character who you’ll be wanting to see more of.

The episode also sets up yet another potential mystery/big bad for the season, alongside Rising Tide and Graviton, in the form of the shadowy ‘handlers’ that are controlling Akela and the British man that also had an eye implant.  Who are they, what are they up to and are there any more people like Akela out there?  I’m sure these are questions that we will learn more of throughout the rest of the season.

S.H.I.E.L.D. branded H2O, because writing 'water' isn't cool.

The episode also seems to confirm what many fans have been speculating about for a long while now, that Mutants, and more specifically the X-Men are not part of this Marvel universe.  When the possibilities of psychics is raised during the episode it’s quickly dismissed as impossible.  Whilst this was hardly unexpected due to Fox owning the rights to the X-Men franchise it makes me wonder just how they are going to handle the origins of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Avengers 2.

A competent and interesting episode that further builds upon the Marvel movie universe and the past of  Coulson.  More episodes like this please!  7/10

Amy.
xx

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Supernatural 'Devil May Care' Review

Where episode one of season nine focused mainly on the fall out of the previous year, and in particular the angels.  We saw how the fall effected them, how they now view the Winchesters and what’s going on with Castiel.  The second episode ‘Devil May Care’ shifts its focus to the demons and hell.  This separate look at both heaven and hell, taking the time to look at them properly and explore the characters and establishing a potential series arc.

It’s also good to see that after eight seasons family is still a central motif in the show, and really comes through well in this episode without feeling forced or hammy.  Particularly in the way that Kevin is brought into the extended Winchester family  more so than ever before.

Having spent the previous season locked away on Garths safe house boat he’s now in the bunker with Sam and Dean and hopefully well have a chance to grow as a character and have more amazing scenes like his torture of Crowley in this episode.  Dean’s heartfelt speech to Kevin concerning the fate of his mother is a very touching and unexpected moment, and one that really does bring Kevin into the Winchester family proper.

Crowley and Kevin are the emotional heart of the episode.

Whilst the B story focuses on Kevin and Crowley, both acted amazingly by Osric Chau and Mark Shepherd, the A story follows Sam and Dean as they are lured into a trap by one of the potential new big bads, Abaddon.

When Abaddon’s host was destroyed in the season eight finale I was massively disappointed as she was an amazing breath of fresh air to the show.  Luckily the fans of the show weren’t quiet about how much they enjoyed Aliana Huffman in the role that the show runners brought her back in a brilliantly creative way.  Once again the creators of Supernatural have listened to their fans and kept on another brilliant character.

Ezekiel flexes his epic wings.

The highlight of the entire episode for me though was the moment when Ezekiel took over control of Sam’s body and we got to see his damaged wings, one of the best angel shots and one of the most beautiful effects in the entire show.

With some great action, the return of Abaddon and Crowley and some brilliantly played character moments ‘Devil May Care’ is a great second episode and a perfect companion piece to the season opener.  I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.  8/10

Amy.

xx

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