We're at the height of summer, and in the middle of San Diego Comic Con. I'm not able to go, but I'm watching the events from afar. If not, then hopefully you are enjoying the long summer days. I know that I am. Read on to find out what I've been up to for the past week.
Read MoreHappy Independence Day! (And a Happy Canada Day to our northern readers!) Due to the holiday, I've had a short week at work; which means that I've been able to enjoy some geeky time. Most of my day was spent (re)learning how to play a space-sim. But I had a lot of fun with it. Read on to learn more!
Read MoreHi everyone! This week, I've had some urgent work come into the office and spent two days at a training seminar. In between that, I spent some time reading some manga, watching TV, and playing some video games.
Read MoreHi everyone! This has been a fun week with some great time spent watching new(ish) cartoons as well as a little bit of video games and some reading. Also, my RPG group is looking at changing this up a bit, so I'll be reporting on that for the next few weeks as we get settled in again.
Read MoreThis week, we discuss Heroes of the Storm; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Samurai Jack.
This is first in a number a post that I'm going to put out on the comics that purchased at TCAF. My plan is to post reviews of a few comics at a time over the next few weeks. If I can manage that, then I should be able to start posting about my Denver Comic Con purchases by Labor Day.
To be fair, this first round of reviews will be comics the I purchased in Toronto, but outside of TCAF. Some were purchased at the Little Island, and others were purchased direct from artists that weren't exhibiting at TCAF this year, but still had a few books available to sell. Without any further delay, let's talk about some comics.
Two comic fantasy tales by the Shanahan's. In Alengrimrickshaw's 211th Birthday, the Princess decides that the court wizard has been far too dour of late, and decides to hold a birthday party for him. Alengrimrickshaw, the wizard, is offended when he hears that they plan to invite Markus, the Jester, to perform "magic" tricks at the party. Alen decides to make it rain (fire) to spoil the party, and things get out of control. In A New Steed Indeed, the Prince is jealous of Peatrid, Prince of Belfront, and his new unicorn steed. Unhappy with his kingdom's traditional mount (a llama), the Prince sets out with Markus to capture a unicorn of his own. It turns out, the unicorns are super jerks, and the Prince is in over his head.
Both stories are fun, but if I were forced to pick, I would say that A New Steed Indeed is the stronger book. The dialogue and situations create a humorous atmosphere, but I think Katie's ability to stretch the emotional expressions of the characters really bring this to another level. If you get a chance to purchase these comics, I highly recommend it.
Overall: 4.5 / 5
This is the first Batgirl issue that is part of the "New 52" series from DC Comics. To be honest, I have never gotten really big into anything from DC or Marvel in the past. The last time I tried was in the late '90's when the current Spider-Man story was the Clone Saga, and the weirdness of that story really turned me off on the whole thing. However, when I saw the first images posted for the new Batgirl character design, I was intrigued. I've yet to visit my local comics shop, but when I saw this on the rack in Toronto, I decided to take a chance on it. I'm glad I did. This issue was fun, and piqued my interest in the characters, such that I'm looking at picking up the rest of the back issues. I enjoy that Barbara Gordon is written like an actual young person who happens to be a crime fighter. And Tarr's art is a lot of fun.
Overall: 4 / 5
This comic is written by John Allison (yes, that John Allison), so it promises to be interesting. To be honest, I'm at a bit of a loss to describe it. So far, the story is centered on three women who are just starting at university. There are some hints of supernatural events in the past that occurs before the story, but nothing really strange has happened on screen so far. The characters are fun and the art is lots of fun. I love the description of one of the girls as "50% hair, 100% not ready for this mean old world". This has been a great introduction to the story, and I'm gonna try to find the rest of it.
Overall: 4 / 5
I've saved my favorite for last. Lumberjanes speaks to me in a lot of ways. I grew up in the Boy Scouts, and in games of make believe in the woods. Lumberjanes is basically that, except all the monsters are real. All of the main characters are women (in fact, there are no male characters for the first few issues), and they are hugely variable. Because there are so many women characters, none of them ends up being completely responsible for "representing" all women. I picked up the first 4 issues when they were available on Humble Bundle, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
Overall: 5 / 5
This has been another long week at work; which can only mean that I had to make the most of my free time. And, I feel I had some degree of success this week. I played a new game, started reading some manga that I've never read, and continued a more in depth viewing of one of my favorite shows. Read more after the break.
Read MoreThis week, we discuss recent happenings with local artist, Laurissa Hughes. She has a number of current comic projects on going, which you can find at her site (check out the links tab to find the comics).
Welcome to the town of La Crosse, WI. The first written record of the site happens in 1805 by LT. Zebulon Pike (of Pikes Peak fame/infamy) and La Crosse was officially incorporated as a city in 1856. Located along the Mississippi River directly on the Wisconsin - Minnesota border La Crosse, at least according to Wikipedia, is indeed named after the sport. It is also home to the University of Wisconson-La Crosse. But you probably don't care about any of that. What you want to know is what this town has to offer for a geek like you. OK ok... geez you are pushy. Well from what I found there are three geek stores in La Crosse that can scratch that itch. So lets get to it.
Read MoreHello everyone! I've had a pretty good week. Enough work to be busy but not manic, and some time to spend with friends and hobbies. Does that sound like fun? Read on for the whole story!
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