Quake Champions – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Despite Quake having been a franchise that’s been around for years it’s not a game I can really remember ever playing, despite having seen it many times and being passingly familiar with the franchise. As such, I was excited to learn more about the universe and their characters.

Instead of dropping the reader into a complex story set within the pre-established lore of Quake, Quake Champions takes the time to look at the characters in small, yet intimate backstories, tales that take the time to shed some light onto who the Quake competitors are and their motivations. This makes the book instantly accessible, as you can go into it knowing absolutely nothing.

Yes, there are some things that are only vaguely explained, such as the dimension that all of the characters are in, and the fact that they keep coming back to life after being killed in brutal combat, but these are things that don’t really matter for this book. Quake Champions is about characters before anything else.

There is a vague narrative to the book, however, as we move from one character to another as they work their way through the battleground killing each other. The handover of focus from character to character as one kills the other is a fun conceit, and you begin to actively look forward to how it will happen; especially when you find out that they can still come back from being killed so they’re not gone once they’re killed.

Between these moments of violence we get to see how these characters ended up in this strange dimension. Whilst not incredibly in-depth, it does give a good feel for each individual character, their motivations, and how varied they all are. The script helps with this backstory a lot, providing more narration boxes and insight into the characters thoughts than actual dialogue. These give each of the chapters a very different feel, as they’re essentially all told from a different point of view rather than one singular outside observer.

The art within the book by Alan Quah is gorgeous, and doesn’t feel like traditional comic book art, having traded in the harsh lines that some artists use, instead embracing a much softer art style. This art style works well, and the characters never feel too far removed from their environments, even when there’s nothing in the background of their panel. The tones used throughout make the universe feel more alive and natural, and creates some very stunning pages.

The artwork works wonderfully during the action sequences too, with gunfire, flames, and smoke all looking amazing. They give these sequences much more energy than you’d expect, and helps the panels feel like there’s real movement within them, rather than being static and rigid.

Whilst there’s not a whole lot of story within the pages of Quake Champions it’s a great jumping on point for people who may not know much about the franchise, as it gives some great insight into the universe; and I’m sure that it would appeal well to those who know the source material well too, giving those readers more depth into the inner workings of characters that they’ll be familiar with.

If this book is anything to go by more comics set within the Quake universe would work extremely well, and I look forward to seeing what could happen next.


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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall and Rise – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The latest collection from IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles delivers a full year’s worth of the comic, collecting together issues #25 – #36 of the ongoing title. Picking up where the previous volume left off, it continues the exciting ‘City Fall’ story, that sees the villainous Shredder conquering the New York underworld, with the brainwashed Leonardo as his second in command.

The story presented in this book has the Turtles at one of their lowest and most desperate points. Their brother is working for the enemy, Shredder is amassing an army, and their ally Casey Jones has been hospitalised due to his injuries in their last fight with Shredder. Thankfully, we get to see the Turtles call on a number of friends and old enemies to help them out, bringing together their own special strike force in order to save Leonardo from Shredder’s clutches.

Over the course of the book we not only see the Turtles and their allies go to war, but view the fallout of these actions, as well as their subsequent plans to retaliate against Shredder and The Foot. It’s a lot of content, with huge amounts of action and a lot of down time for character development and even time given over to secondary characters such as Old Hob and Alopex. The book manages to juggle all of these stories and characters well, with very little feeling rushed or pushed to the side.

Every character gets their moments in the spotlight, the story ties back to past events, and manages to set up future story lines, all without anything feeling under-serviced. There aren’t many comics that I can think of with as many balls to juggle that can claim to be this good.

The book also has two very distinct art styles from Santolouco and Campbell. As with many ongoing books, I’m sure that this decision to have more than one artist on the title is to help them meet deadlines and get the books out on time, but whilst some comics have a single issue in the middle of a story suddenly change artist (something I’ve noticed a lot in the past with DC), here, all of the parts of the story set in New York are drawn by Santolouco, and the issues set on April’s parents farm being done by Campbell.

Not only does this help to separate out the story and makes clear distinctions between the locations, but Campbells lighter style, with the softer line work and more muted colours enhances the story, as this is the section where the Turtles are recovering from their ordeal. It feels like a gentler part of the story, and the art is a big part of this.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 3: Fall and Rise is a definite roller-coaster of a story, with intense action, slower character moments, and a conclusion that’s exciting and builds up for the story to come. An excellent read.


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Fred: The Godfather of British Crime – Film Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Fred:  The Godfather of British Crime tells the true story of Fred ‘Freddie’ Foreman, a London born gangster, tried twice for murder and convicted for armed robbery and disposing of a body, in a story that features death, drugs, and famous gangsters.

One of the best parts of Fred: The Godfather of British Crime is the fact that it is told by Fred himself, the 85-year-old former gangster, having agreed to talk on camera about his crimes for the first time in close to 20 years.

Having Fred himself involved gives the documentary a level of depth that would otherwise be missing. There are recordings and photographs, interviews from people who knew him, but having Fred there means that we get to hear about the events of his life directly from him. We not only hear about what he did, but get a chance to understand why; and to see the effect some of his life’s decisions have had on him.

Fred, whilst fairly open for most of the film, will sometimes be difficult with the director, Paul Van Carter, when certain subjects are brought up. Subjects like murder. It’s interesting to see the older footage of Fred where he talks about having murdered people and hearing the extracts from his book where he does as well, to then see him try to work his way around the subject and not directly talk about those particular crimes.

Despite having left his life of crime behind him, Fred very much still seems to fear repercussions for his past deeds and is incredibly careful about what he says to make sure that he stays safe. One of the people interviewed described Fred talking to the documentary crew as like being interviewed by the police, editing what he says; and once you have that in mind you can really see how carefully he chooses his words and how his story can sometimes change.

But these insights into the mind of the man are some of the most interesting and set the film apart from biographical documentaries that don’t have direct involvement from the subject. We learn that Fred turned to a life of crime because he felt it was the only path open to him. We learn that crime didn’t bother him as much as the prospect of his family going without. Yes, he may have gone against the laws of society, but it’s clear that he lived by rules that he himself saw as more important; one of which was to provide for his wife and children no matter what.

Despite these reasons for his life of crime and his justifications for doing some truly terrible things, you have to bear in mind that Fred isn’t entirely innocent. That he has done bad things. I say this because even when talking to the camera, Fred is a very charming man and his age plays into this too. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of Fred as a sweet old man.

Strangely enough, I came away from the film not sure what I felt about him. I wanted to dislike him for the life that he chose to lead, for the decisions that he made to be a criminal when he had opportunities to go straight; but when you see him living alone in a small flat, estranged from the family he claimed to always put first, with a few meagre possessions and his memories to keep him company, it’s hard not to feel bad for him. It’s a complex emotion, and one that speaks to how well put together the film is, being able to humanise a character that should be seen as evil.

Full of archive news footage, old photographs and family movies, and dozens of other contributors, Fred: The Godfather of British Crime delivers an in depth and detailed look into the life of an icon of British crime, one that goes beyond simple facts, to tell a very personal and at times emotional story.


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100 Years of the RAF – DVD Review

The RAF has been an incredibly important part of recent British history, having most notably played a vital role in the security of the United Kingdom during the Second World War, protecting it’s citizens. With the 100th anniversary of the RAF being celebrated this year there are sure to be a lot of documentaries about the organisation.

Whilst the RAF itself is a fascinating subject, and the history of flight even more so, there is sadly little information about the RAF itself within 100 Years of the RAF. Instead of looking at how the RAF was formed, the people who served in it, or even how it shaped British warfare, the documentary focuses on the aircraft.

The film quickly becomes a procession of one plane after another, yet with little information about how these technological or warfare advancements came about. If you’re someone who already knows a great deal about the RAF and the planes used by them then this will probably be fine for you, but as someone with little knowledge on the subject it felt very un-engaging and, at times, boring.

There are moments in the film that are more interesting, such as when they take the time to talk to servicemen and women. They speak to service people from the Second World War, including a female pilot who highlights the fact that many female pilots from that time are overlooked for their service. One of the most interesting interviews in the film is with Squadron Leader John Peters, who was shot down during the first Iraq war. This part of the film was fascinating, and I really wanted this to go into more detail; I’d even happily watch a documentary about his story.

Sadly, these moments were few and fleeting, and the majority of the 98 minute run time is spent moving from one description of a flying vehicle to another. I understand that the film is trying to give an overview of the last 100 years of the RAF, but it feels less like a history of the RAF and more an inventory list of everything they’ve flown. Unfortunately, this makes the film feel a lot longer than 98 minutes, and drags more than one.

The film feels very sterile and lacking any passion. It doesn’t feel like a documentary film made by someone who is passionate on the subject, and the narrator, well known news presenter Sir Martyn Lewis, seems to be going through the motions of reading the script.

The RAF should be a fascinating and exciting story, one filled with the deeds of heroes and innovators, a story of leading the way into a new form of warfare and conquering adversity. Instead it’s a chore to watch, which is a huge shame for those who gave their lives in the service of their country. The RAF has an amazing and storied history, but it won’t really be explored here, but, if you are passionate about aircraft it might just scratch an itch for you.


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Looking back at… Power Rangers Turbo

Originally published on Set The Tape

After the release of Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie the television series made the transition from Power Rangers Zeo to Power Rangers Turbo. Despite the first Power Rangers movie not being in series canon, and the story being retold in the first few episodes of the season, Power Rangers Turbo follows on directly from the film; as such, those who may have not seen the film may feel a little out of their depth to begin with, though the show does give a quick breakdown of the films events in the first episode.

Despite having defeated the demon Maligore and the forces of Divatox (Hilary Shepard Turner & Carol Hoyt), the space pirate soon makes her way to Earth in order to get her revenge against the Rangers, spurring into action the events for the season.

Power Rangers Turbo is probably the season with the biggest change in the whole of what would become known as the Zordon-Era (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Power Rangers in Space). Despite the previous series being the first to completely alter the costumes and enemies, Power Rangers Turbo would be completely different by the last episode, with Alpha 5 (Richard Steven Horvitz) and Zordon (David Fielding) leaving Earth, and all of the Rangers from Power Rangers Zeo leaving the team.

The show had changed a number of Rangers over the years, and all of the original team have left by this point (I’m not including Tommy as original as he didn’t come into the show until episode 17), but this is the first time a brand new team would be taking over.

Because of these drastic changes Power Rangers Turbo stands out as very different from the seasons that came before. The Super Sentai series that was used for source material helps with this, with this being the first time that a series would use vehicles for their Zords instead of animals or creatures, and Gekisou Sentai Carranger was a comedy series, meaning that this season would take on a lighter tone than the previous years. This lighter tone works well for the season, and it feels a lot more lighthearted and easier to watch than Power Rangers Zeo was, which occasionally felt dull in both tone and visuals on occasion.

One of the reasons for this lighter tone was the inclusion of the new Blue Ranger Justin Stewart (Blake Foster), the first and to date only child Power Ranger. With a move clearly inspired by Shazam (or Captain Marvel to older readers) Justin undergoes a transformation when he morphs, changing him from a child into a fully grown adult, though his child voice still comes out of his helmet.

I understand that the producers of Power Rangers Turbo were trying to appeal more to kids than they were before, pushing the idea that ‘you too could fight alongside the Power Rangers as one of them’ concept, but it proved to be one of the weaker points of the season, and something that fans still complain about today. Sadly, for many, Justin will be one of their least favourite Rangers, one that many view as a low point of the franchise. Whilst I would agree that Justin is probably the weakest member of the team in this season, closely followed by Carlos (Roger Velasco), he’s not completely awful as some make out.

Justin is actually the only Ranger to make it through the entire season, with the Rangers from the Zeo team, Tommy (Jason David Frank), Adam (Johnny Yong Bosch), Tanya (Nakita Burrise), and Katherine (Catherine Sutherland), all leaving just over half way through, making room for T.J. (Selwyn Ward), Ashley (Tracy Lynn Cruz), Cassie (Patricia Ja Lee), and Carlos.

Whilst it is sad to lose some of these Rangers, particularly Adam, the new cast are a huge breath of fresh air, and bring a lot of new energy to the screen. Though knowing what I do about the behind the scenes work schedule and how much the old cast worked on the show it’s not a surprise that the new cast would have more energy than them.

Power Rangers Turbo stands out as the first time that a Power Rangers team would be led by an African America Red Ranger, something that wouldn’t happen again until Power Rangers S.P.D. eight years later, and only three times in the franchise history.

The series also stands out as being the only time that the Rangers are defeated by their enemy at the end of the season. That’s right, the Rangers lose. The final episodes see the Rangers mentor leave, their base attacked by an army of villains, and their powers destroyed. It’s a bold move, and the final two episodes are easily the best of the season, showcasing how big and dramatic the franchise can be.

The final episodes also sets up the beginning of the next series, Power Rangers in Space, as Dixatox leaves Earth and the Rangers behind to travel to another world to join a group of villains that have captured Zordon. This leaves the Rangers no other option than to travel into space after them in order to rescue Zordon before the whole galaxy falls into the clutches of evil.

Power Rangers Turbo is far from a perfect show, there’s a lot of story threads that are not fully explored, and some that are dropped all together, but it does manage to reinvigorate a franchise that had begun to flag a little, and to lay the ground work for an exciting and bold new direction for the franchise.


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