The Walking Dead: Miles Behind Us (2006)

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Quote:
“I think we’ve hit the jackpot.”

 

This book continues the story begun in volume 1 and collects issues 7 – 12 of the ongoing series and the story provides the basis for some of what we have seen, so far, in the second season. Again it was written by Robert Kirkman but this time the art was by Charlie Adlard whose work I know from a number of 2000AD series including Judge Dredd and Armitage.

The group decide to break camp in the wake of events at the end of book 1. Finding a gated community stocked with canned food, they think that their troubles are over for a while but have to run for their lives in the morning when they find that it is overrun with zombies. While out hunting on a rest stop, Rick’s son Carl is shot and taken to a remote farm house for treatment. While Carl is healing, the rest of the group arrive and make camp on the farm. Rick again feels that they have struck it lucky until he finds out about the contents of the barn …

This is another great volume in the series. The drama is heightened in the wake of the killing at the end of book 1 as everyone in the group comes to terms with the deaths. A pattern is established of a period of respite, perceived safety and reflection amongst the group followed by explosive outbursts of violence as the zombies make their presence felt.

Spoilers ahead: for those who have seen the TV series but not read the books (or vice versa) I am going to discuss in the rest of this post some of the differences between the two. So stop reading now if you don’t want to know.

The first half of the book deals with the aftermath of the invasion of zombies into the camp, the shooting of Shane and break up of the camp. On the road the travelers pick up three more survivors, who have yet to appear in the series, one of whom, Tyreese, soon becomes Rick’s closest friend amongst the survivors. This further deepens the difference in the composition of the groups that we follow in the comic compared to the TV series.

Also in the first half of the book, they come across a gated housing community called Wiltshire Estates and narrowly escape from it as they find it infested with zombies. This is a standalone episode that could be inserted into the TV series at any time in the future – it is replaced in the series with the disappearance of and search for Sophia.

The second half of the book deals with the shooting of Carl and the group’s presence on Hershel’s farm. The big surprise to me is the pacing of this in the comic having spent most of the first half of the second season in this location. In the comic the arrival, the revelation of the contents of the barn and the zombie barrel shoot is all done and dusted within 3 issues.The pace is slowed down in the TV series to allow for even more character development than is possible in the comic.

The zombie massacre at the end of the book is handled very differently between the two media and it will be interesting to see where the TV series goes now in the aftermath of this as there is a big change in the traveling group, as a result of events leading up to the massacre, in the comics. Right at the end of the book, after being turfed off the farm by Hershel, they find a prison which they hope they can use as a place of safety – but given their luck with safe havens so far is going to to be wishful thinking.

My Resolutions for the New Year

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[ Happy Mood: Happy ]
[ Listening to My son play Currently: Listening to My son play ]
So here we have a new year, and I feel pressured by society to make some New Year’s resolutions. I’ll spare you the long winded explanations of why, because that might be over sharing. So here I go, with my resolutions for the new year:

1. Spend more time with my son.

2. Spend more time with my husband.

3. Making time for the rest of my fiends and family.

4. Go to bed earlier.

5. Blog more.

6. Get back to writing articles for RevolutionSF.com

7. Floss more.

8. Clean my house and get organized.

9. Read and review 300 books at Goodreads this year.

10. Do something totally creative this year.

So there you have it. I will use the blog to keep all who care upto date.

Justice League Unlimited Volume 2: World’s Greatest Heroes

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[ Cool Mood: Cool ]
[ Listening to Shauncastic Currently: Listening to Shauncastic ]
As some of you may or may not have figures out, I love the Justice League. So I tend to read any graphic novels the library has or will get for me. (Why I don’t buy them? That’s another post.)

This is another collection of straightforward, episodic stories based on the Justice League Unlimited cartoon series. This is nothing earth shattering, but there is some minor character development. Again, this allows the comic writers to explore characters that are spear carriers in the animated series. The best of these is when Vixen travels back in time to help Merlin defeat Morgana Le Fey (a call back to a great Justice League episode).

A very kid friendly graphic novel.

Flame of Recca – AQR

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[ Silly Mood: Silly ]
[ Currently: Editing the Podcast ]
I love manga, and I am always looking for a series to pick up to add to the three or four that I read. Hense why I grabbed the Hand of Recca when it came up at the library recently.

Interesting manga about a young man (Recca) who wants to be a ninja. In this volume, he finds his princess, fellow student Yanagi Sakoshita, to whom he pledges his undying loyalty. This irks his fellow classmates, because Recca has always said he would be the slave of the first person who could beat him in combat. Particularly upset are lifelong friend Fuko Kirisawa, who has fought with Recca since they were children, and classmate Domon Ishijima, who is jealous of the attention that Fuko lavishes on Recca. Added to the mix is Kagehoshi, Mistress of the Shadows, who claims that Recca is the one destined to kill her.

Not the most engaging first volumes of manga I have read, but there is enough there to keep me reading to see how this story develops.

Impending Geekgasm on Netflix Instant Watch- Jan. edition

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Wecome to the New Year’s edition of the Geekgasm. TV rules the new arrivals this month. Beloved shows such as Adam-12, the original Knight Rider, Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, and Quincy M.E. alongside newer series Ghost Hunters: International, United States of Tara, and Supernatural premiere. On the movie front, the classic Chinese Ghost Story trilogy and True Legend headline the meager movie selections.

* streaming for the first time via Netflix.
* streaming in HD
* close captioning is available

Premiering January 1:
*Adam-12
The Adventures of Brer Rabbit
*Amazing Stories
Antitrust
*Beyblade: Fierce Battle: The Movie Despise titles with two colons. It’s just wrong.
*A Chinese Ghost Story
*A Chinese Ghost Story 2
*A Chinese Ghost Story 3: Special Edition
*City on Fire “Lung fu fong wan”
*Disco Worms
*The Dark Half
Dragnet (1967)
Dying Breed (2008)
*Ghost Hunters: International
*Going Berserk
*In the Cold of the Night
*Knight Rider (1982) The original “classic” show
*Louis C.K.: Hilarious
*Magnum P.I.
*Miami Vice (1984)
*The Mod Squad (1999)
*The Neverending Story 3: Escape From Fantasia
Office Space
*Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys
*Quincy, M.E.
Rollerball (1975)
*Sitting Ducks
*Swordsman “Xiao ao jiang hu” (1990)
Toys (1992)
*True Legend “Su Qi-Er”

Premiering January 2:
*Phase 7
*United States of Tara

Premiering January 5:
*Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic

Premiering January 6:
American Kickboxer 1
*Carrie (2002)

Premiering January 12:
*The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman

Premiering January 24:
*Grave Encounters

Premiering January 30:
*Supernatural (2005)

Titles expiring soon

Expiring January 1:
*The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
*Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
**Amadeus
*Arsenic and Old Lace
**Arthur (1981)
*The Blues Brothers
Cannibal! The Musical
*Carrie (1976) Apparently two verisions of Carrie streaming at the same time will cause a disruption in the spce-time continutity.
*Chinatown
Class of Nuke ‘Em High
*A Clockwork Orange
*Cobra
*Conspiracy Theory
**The Craft
*CQ
Creepshow
*Cypher
**Dial M for Murder (1954)
Drunken Master
*Duck, You Sucker
**Dumb and Dumber: Unrated
*Ghost Story (1981)
Gotcha!
*The Gumball Rally
**Hearts in Atlantis
**Heavenly Creatures Better hurry up if you plan on catching Peter Jackson’s best movie!
**The Hudsucker Proxy
**Insomnia (2002)
**Interview with the Vampire
Jeremiah: Season 2
**The Lost Boys: Special Edition
**Mad Max
**The Majestic
**Murder by Death
**Natural Born Killers: Director’s Cut
*9 ½ Weeks
*Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
**The Omega Man
**One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
**The Queen of the Damned
**Racing Stripes
*Scarface (1983)
**The Science of Sleep
Shadowlands (1985)
Shiri
**Space Cowboys
The Street Fighter (1974)
*Streets of Fire
Supercop
*Superfly
*Superman: The Movie
**Superman II
Superstarlet A.D.
Surf Nazis Must Die
*Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)
Teen Wolf
*Teen Wolf Too
Teenage Catgirls in Heat
**The Terminator
Terror Firmer: Special Edition
*(John Carpenter’s) The Thing (1982)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Time Barbarians
**Timecop
The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger, Part 2
The Toxic Avenger, Part 3
**Trick ‘r Treat
Troma Triple B-Header: Vol. 5: Bloodspell
Tromeo & Juliet
True Stories
*Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show
*Weird Science
**Wild Wild West Good riddance!
Wizards of the Demon Sword
Wolfen
Yes, Madam Michelle Yeoh’s first starring role
Young Einstein
Zombie Island Massacre
Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain

Expiring January 4:
Wizards of Waverly Place: Season 1

Expiring January 5:
*2012: Supernova
*Haunting of Winchester House
*The Land That Time Forgot (2009)
*Transmorphers: Fall of Man

Expiring January 6:
Independent Lens: The Atom Smashers

Expiring January 7:
Memoirs of an Invisible Man Great book, terrible movie

Expiring January 8:
Bond Girls Are Forever
Casino Royale (1954) 1st ever James Bond screen adaptation was originally intended as the pilot for a TV series
*Diamonds Are Forever
*Dr. No
*For Your Eyes Only
Goldeneye
*Goldfinger
*Licence To Kill
*Live and Let Die
*The Living Daylights
*The Man With the Golden Gun
*Moonraker
*Never Say Never Again
*Octopussy
*On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
*The Spy Who Loved Me
*Thunderball
*A View To a Kill
*The World Is Never Enough
*You Only Live Twice

Expiring January 10:
*Lost Boys: The Thirst

Expiring January 12:
Backwoods
The Color of Magic
Gulliver’s Travels (1996)
Hogfather
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
*Killer Wave
*Son of the Dragon
*Tin Man

Expiring January 14:
Body Snatchers

Info courtesy of FeedFliks and Instantwatcher

Impending Geekgasm on Netflix Instant Watch- Jan. edition was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Romeo and Juliette

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[ Evil Mood: Evil ]
[ Listening to CBC Radio Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
Let’s get this clear, I hate the story of Romeo and Juliette. Loathe it to a depth of my being that you can’t understand. The year we were forced to study it in high school was only made bearable because I had an amazing English teacher who let us watch West Side Story.

So why do I hate this play? Because it enforces the wrong stereotypes about young love. That it lasts forever. That it is pure. That it was meant to be. That two 14 year-olds have it figured out more than the adults who surround them.

I teach 14 year-olds, and believe me, nothing could be further from the truth. What you feel at 14 is not love, it is infatuation at best, but is in most cases your hormones trying out this lust thing. Love is not intense feelings and violins in the background. Love is the man who gets up in the middle of the night and drives the baby who has been fussing on and off for six hours around in the car so you can finally get some sleep. Love is the woman who takes the kids so you can hang with the boys and play video games. Love is sacrifice and unselfishness. Of putting someone else before you. The hormone rush gets us to a point where real love can grow.

In reality, Romeo and Juliette by William Shakespeare, is about two young people who "fall in love" (and maybe they really do) but are prevented from marrying because their families hate each other. Yet, when presented with a way out, Romeo’s aunt in another city, they dither about, whining and indecisive until they both end up dead. (Ooops, spoilers!)

The two of them deserved their fates and we need to stop mooning over this story be anything more than a morality tale written to warn us to take control of our lives and grow the hell up.

JLA/Avengers – ALWR

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[ Amused Mood: Amused ]
[ Listening to CBC Radio - that clearly has replacement techs working Currently: Listening to CBC Radio – that clearly has replacement techs working ]
I finally got to the big cross over that has been rumoured for years.

The cross over between the JLA and Avengers has been in the works for years. An earlier version even got as far as pencilling (ironically enough by George Perez) before it was cancelled. This one finally brings together two of the biggest teams of comics. Both have been charged to find twelve items that can be used to prevent the destruction of their respective universes.

And because it’s superhero comics, there has to be fighting, so we get to see Thor and Superman duke it out, as well as Wonder Woman and She-Hulk. The best of these is Green Arrow and Hawkeye, although Green Arrow comes out the worst of that excahnge. Initially, they teams work against each other trying to gather the essential items of the quest, but when they realize they are being used, they unite to fight the cosmic big bad.

The biggest issue with this book is the plotting. In order to give the heroes something to fight, Busiek has a new created cosmic big bad, Krona, to fight against. The problem is that Krona has to be so powerful that only the united teams can bring him down. (And for some reason, Krona looks human and dresses like supervillains. Why can’t cosmic big bads look non-human? That is more plausible.)

The story telling is disjointed and jumps all over the place in time, mostly to allow the swapping in and out of historic JLA/Avengers teams and members. Because of the temporal story line, costumes, incarnations and even relationships kept shifting. Other characters in the universes also get cameos, but there is a noticeable lack of X-Men. Busiek justifies this with our supervillain’s attempt to force the two universes together causing temporal rifts. But perhaps the worse thing is the deus ex machina ending.

This book got three stars for the subtle Green Arrow/Hawkeye rivalry story line that permeates the book. It is really the only thing that feels like there is a joy of storytelling, and a knowledge and care for the characters. The rest of the book feels earnest, as if Busiek wants us to know he has important work to do.

One of the saving graces is Perez’s art. It is very good, almost brilliant at times. You can see where he laid out panels with his trademark multi-panel action and/or symetry. Which works in a story about teams from mirror universes fighting each other. His ability to draw hundreds of people fighting is at its peak. You can forgive his tendency to draw the women as D-cupped weight lifters.

This is an OK outing, and this group of heroes deserves more than just OK.

Justice League International: A New Beginning

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[ Distorted Mood: Distorted ]
[ Currently: Drinking some tea ]
I am not going to lie. I love the Justice League. I have read it in many of its incarnations. And in the 80s, we got the below:

This is a collection of the first few issues of the 80s problem filled reboot of the Justice League. So you get the gathering/origin story that is earnest in a way that only the 80s can be. And a guest spot for President Reagan.

This most valuable part of the collection is the introduction. In this we learn two things. First, that this reboot was meant to be a reaction to the Alan Moore darkening of comics. The spit takes and running gags were done on purpose. Which, I will admit I loved in the 80s. But now, I look at it and think cringeorama.

Second, this was a reboot because the previous incarnation with Gypsy, Vibe and Vixen, was pretty much a disaster. That is the reason why DC wanted a reboot. The problem was, that Superman and Wonder Woman were undergoing reboots themselves, and were not available for permanent membership. So once again, this lead to a group of second stringers and unknowns. But there was a desperate attempt to make it hipper and more appealing than what had come before.

And can I say 80s? Hal Jordan makes a cameo, with a sweater draped around his chest that makes him look like Ken. We have superheroes from another dimension destroying our nuclear capabilities in a storyline so heavy-handed, it deserved to be in a very special episode of Blossom. And don’t get me started on Flashdance Canary.

Good for the completionist, but it will serve to remind most readers of the flaws of this run of the series.

Although it might be worthwhile to pick up just to watch Batman slug Guy Gardener.

DC: New Frontier Part 2 – AQR

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[ Happy Mood: Happy ]
[ Eating Dessert Currently: Eating Dessert ]

The thrilling conclusion to the New Frontier saga that is actually better than the first instalment. Here our heroes gather to fight the menace that is looking to cleanse the world of humans. We also see character development of people like Superman and Batman, in a way that is clever and a wink at the overarching history of these two characters.

I personally like the inclusion of Black Canary in the teen titans/sidekick generation, given that this is Black Canary II. And Arrow has a role beyond shooting Arrows, rare. This series possibly also has the best representation of Hal Jordan ever.

So good. A satisfying way to finish the series.

The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye (2007)

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Quote:
“L–Leave me. When I come back … Maybe I’ll find–find my family … … Maybe they c–came back too. Maybe we can be together again.”

 

While the TV series is on its mid-season break, I thought that I would re-read the comic book collections that I own that inspired it and see how they compare. This book collects issues 1 – 6 of the ongoing series and the story provides the basis for the first season. It was written by the prolific Robert Kirkman who also created the Marvel Zombies series and a number of other books including Invincible and Battle Pope. The art was by Tony Moore who worked with Kirkman on Battle Pope as well as the Vertigo series The Exterminators.

Police officer Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma in a hospital bed after being shot in the line of duty. He finds the hospital deserted apart from hordes of ravenous zombies that he inadvertently sets free. Escaping the hospital, he finds that the outside world has also gone to hell in his absence. Finding his family missing, he sets off to Atlanta determined to find out if they are still alive.

This is a great character driven piece that concentrates on the survivors of a cataclysmic event and the trials they go through day to day. The genius of the work is the way that Kirkman can involve you so completely in the human drama that you almost relax and forget about the zombies until they reappear in horrific and usually fatal interludes. The extremely violent episodes are fantastically drawn by Tony Moore with some additional work on the black and white artwork from Cliff Rathburn.

Spoilers ahead: for those who have seen the TV series but not read the books (or vice versa) I am going to discuss in the rest of this post some of the differences between the two. So stop reading now if you don’t want to know.

As I said at the beginning this book is the basis for almost the entire first season of the TV show. It covers up to about episode 5 – after the attack in camp and the death of Andrea’s sister but before they break camp and head out on the road. To expand the story line into a six part series, the writers have had to expand upon some of the situations in the comic and have had time to explore them in more depth. A good example of this is the death of Andrea’s sister which happens very quickly in the comic but is given a much more dramatic interpretation in the TV series. There is also some new scenes written especially for the TV series such as in episode 4 with the ex-gang members protecting some elderly people and in the final episode with the story line concerning the origin of the plague and the CDC not appearing in the books – at least as far as I have read.

The composition of the surviving group is different between the two media as well – the TV series has less children in the group and a different selection of adults. But the one major cast difference is the killing of Rick’s deputy, Shane, at the end of this book. He of course survives into the second season in the TV series and I always felt that it was an unexpected (given the dramatic opening to the series) cop out not to show Shane’s death. However, the circumstances are coming together now in the series that could lead to this so I will say no more for now. I was pleased that, for the most part, the TV series in season one portrayed a world in which none of the main characters were safe, as in the comics, however they seem to have shied away from that a little in the second season – but may be my memory is faulty but I will find out as I continue onto book 2.