Category: Reviews

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Review: Doc Savage #14

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Story by J.G. Jones
Art by Qing Ping Mui

When you pick up a Doc Savage book, there’s no illusion about what you’re going to get. Pulpy and campy, Doc Savage always harkens back to its origins in the 30’s and 40’s, and little has been done to modernize the character or storylines save for technological references. The covers purposely evoke imagery from old serials, and vernacular used helps that right along (the phrase “big ape” appears repeatedly, and one character even spouts the word “hoosegow”).

This issue picks up as Savage and crew take on hungry, mind-controlled crocodiles while following the trail of an archaeologist nicknamed “Littlejohn”, who has been pressed into service to find a talisman called the Apis Bull. Littlejohn is kidnapped once again, Savage is set upon by thugs… again, and the story moves along at a brisk pace. There’s nothing exceptional here, but there’s nothing really wrong, either. The book is a fun, corny ride with a superficial but interesting-enough artifact driven plotline.

What really hurts the book is the artwork. Practically everyone Mui draws looks like a roid-raging Mickey Rourke, and the failures of proportion and perspective are sometimes jarring and far too frequent to ignore. Aside from hair and outfits the characters are indistinguishable, even from small side characters and the villains. I found myself wishing that J.G. Jones – whose lush cover artwork drew me into the book in the first place – were illustrating his own words.

As a pulp hero, Doc himself falls squarely between Indiana Jones and Dirk Pitt, fighting off genetically altered crocodiles as easily as mobs of random thugs, all while finding time to perform scientific analysis to help him on his quest. The story falls a little flat, though, and is irreparably marred by its imagery. If you are a Doc Savage fan you might see past the artwork, but I wasn’t able to.

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Review: Breed III #1

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Story and art by Jim Starlin

I’m not sure what to make of Breed III. The first two Breed story arcs were published in the mid-‘90’s under Malibu’s Bravura line. When Malibu went under, Starlin had a tough time finding anyone to pick up his story of a half-breed demonslayer, and maybe that was for the best.

I have no way of sugar-coating this, so I’m just going to say it: Breed III #1 is one of the worst comics I’ve ever read. It starts with a random battle interspersed with god-awful narration from our beastly hero, and is followed by an entire issue of Ray Stoner (yep, Ray Stoner) recounting his entire life story. To cap it all off the issue ends before he’s finished his tale, fortelling a second issue of further flashbacks.

From open to close, Breed III fails at every turn. Immature dialogue, ridiculous half-human-furries-gone-wrong as antagonists, a nonexistent plotline, and absurdities abound. The artwork and colors are outstandingly mediocre, looking astonishingly like… well, a mid-‘90’s Malibu book. Even the lettering causes more problems than it solves. On one jumbled two-page spread in particular, Ray recounts his birth and early childhood in such a haphazard layout that it’s almost impossible to figure out what to read next. The candle in the cupcake is a panel where the word “pastor” is misspelled (as “pasture”). Not once, but twice.

I wish I could say that this is a successful parody of the comics from which it was borne, but Breed III fails even when attempting to view it through that filter. If I can find anything positive to say about the book, my only thought is that at least it’s not offensive. Avoid this one at all costs.

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Review: The Sixth Gun #11

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Story by Cullen Bunn
Art by Brian Hurtt
A few months ago, The Sixth Gun took me by surprise. It was recommended by friends but back issues were scarce, and some local shops hadn’t even heard of it. When I finally picked up the first trade paperback (entitled Cold Dead Fingers) I was introduced to one of the finest examples of graphic storytelling I’ve ever run across.

The book follows Drake Sinclair, a pitiless scoundrel searching for the last of six mystical revolvers in the years following the Civil War. The first story arc told of Drake’s fight against the undead General Hume and his encounter (and eventual partnership) with Becky Montcrief, the reluctant new owner of number Six. The second arc sees Drake, Becky, and Gord Cantrell holed up in New Orleans while Drake attempts to find a way to break his unwelcome bond to the four pistols he’s already acquired.

Issue 11 concludes the arc with a hairy confrontation between the trio and Marinette of the Dry Arms, a vicious loa who enters the physical realm through one of her worshipers to pursue Drake and the guns. Cullen Bunn seamlessly blends historical and fantastical, and his use of Haitian voodoo mythology adds a welcome and unique flavor to the conflict – a flavor I’m sure many readers (myself included) were previously unfamiliar with. Brian Hurtt’s artwork is a revelation of simplicity, evocative of ‘40’s Sunday comics (Dick Tracy comes to mind). Although verging on cartoony, his artwork never detracts from the book’s gravity, and smaller details (look for the panel inside the streetcar) add an immediacy that ramps up the tension nicely.

Although not the best issue to date, #11 is still an exceptional read and it continues to be one of the best books on the market. If you’re not reading The Sixth Gun, you should be.

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Welcome!

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Welcome to my blog! If you’re wondering what it’s all going to be about, you and I are in the same boat. As with most blogs, the intent behind this is to be a (hopefully) steady stream of consciousness that will (again, hopefully) be entertaining to some degree. A little rundown of my brain-pan might help define what things I’ll post about, and the categories I intend to separate everything into:

First and foremost, I’m a geek. If there is a geeky pursuit, I’ve probably done it, primarily in the form of games. I play games, and that occupies most of my free time. I play video games, card games, roleplaying games, board games, poker (lots of poker…), and I’ve even spent a good chunk of my life LARPing and playing live-combat games. I’m a gamer, in both the purest and broadest sense of the term.

I’m also a husband, a game designer, an artist, and a writer. I’ve just finished the first draft of my first full-length novel, and I’ve got several traditional game designs in the works.

The posts on  my blog will be split into one of the following categories:

EDITORIAL, which is further divided into:

Thoughts:
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Rants:

and
Reviews, which doesn’t have it’s own image because it’ll usually be tied to one of the categories below.

ENTERTAINMENT, which is further divided into:

Books (including my own):

Comic Books:
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and
Movies:

and GAMING, which is further divided into:

Poker:

Video Games:

and
Traditional Games:

Hopefully you’ll find it as entertaining as I find it cathartic. I’m not here to take you on a journey, I just plan on putting myself out there and seeing what people think. Let me know, okay?

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Hardware Review: Super Famicom Classic Controller

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I’ll start this simply: If you own a Wii and play Virtual Console titles, you must own this controller.

The Super Famicom Classic Controller is exactly what it’s name implies. It’s a Wii extension controller (it plugs into a Wii Remote) designed to exactly replicate an original Super Famicom (SNES) controller. It is, in every way, a Super Famicom controller. The control pad and shoulder buttons all have the same squishy feel, the face buttons have the same responsiveness, and it’s even made of the same plastic.

For Virtual Console games, this controller just feels right. The buttons aren’t quite as clicky as the standard Classic Controller, and the control pad isn’t quite as responsive. Normally, those would be condemnations, but in this case it’s a benefit. For a number of classic titles, the Classic Controller is almost too responsive. When playing a fast game like F-Zero, it actually becomes significantly more difficult with the faster responses and looser control pad on the Classic. Remember, these games were originally designed around the (comparitively) mushier controllers of the era, so using an updated controller on them isn’t always the best thing.

That is not to say that the Super Famicom controller feels slushy or in any way inadequate. Quite to the contrary, actually; it only took me a minute or two to fall back right back into that familiar feeling from my youth. In every way, this controller feels like the real thing, and that feeling is amazing when you’re trudging through the Mushroom Kingdom or working your way through Dracula’s Castle. (On a side note: I found out after getting this that the control pad and button placement on the new Classic Controller is identical to the placement on the SNES controller, in spite of the different overall shape. Who knew?)

Here’s the catch: This controller was only released as a Club Nintendo bonus offer in Japan. It was never released for retail sale, nor was any version of it ever released in the States. In order to get one, you’ll probably have to resort to eBay, where they run between $50 and $65. That can be a bit of a wallet-shock, and I haven’t found one cheaper anywhere yet.

That’s $50 well spent, though, specially if you’re into classic games and download a lot of VC titles. Admittedly, playing non-SNES games with it was a little odd, at first (playing Sonic with a SNES controller is… interesting), but it’s still head and shoulders above the standard Classic Controller. If you see a lot of plumber jumping in your future, do yourself a huge favor and find one of these today!

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iPhone Review: Video Game Trader

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Which games do I own again?

So you’ve started collecting games and before you know it, you’ve amassed so many titles that you can’t remember whether or not you’ve purchased a title. Eventually, you’ll find yourself purchasing duplicates and unless it’s an especially cheap purchase or a variant, that’s not good for your wallet or your collection. If this sounds familiar, it’s time to start cataloguing your games. There are numerous ways to accomplish this: the spreadsheet, the database, the checklist and the portable app.

The Video Game Trader iPhone app can be a useful base tool for cataloging your collection while out on the road. The app covers most systems released in the US and lists two prices per title: loose and complete. These prices are only updated once a month so they are often not completely accurate but can at least give an idea of an acceptable price to pay. The prices listed will generally at least give an idea of the rarity and desirability of a title so that you can decide whether or not the game is worth the given price. I rarely use this feature as I tend to pay the price that I think a title is worth based on experience but in checking it right now, I’d say the prices are fairly accurate if you plan on using normal eBay prices (I wouldn’t recommend it). In checking, I chose three of my favorite NES titles and compared the prices within the app to the current eBay prices (I know, I know… I hate eBay. But it currently has a broad selection of these particular titles from which to pull an average so I’m doing it).

First, the prices from the app:

Wall Street Kid: $10.75 (C) and $5.00 (L)

Wizards & Warriors: $18.50 (C) and $7.00 (L)

Uninvited: $31.25 (C) and $17.00 (L)

Averages on eBay including auction prices + shipping cost:

Wall Street Kid: $12 (C) and $6 (L)

Wizards & Warriors: $20.00 (C) and $6.00 (L)

Uninvited: $45.00 (C) and $20.00 (L)

The most important part of the app for my purposes is the “Have It/Want” it feature. This addition lets you mark whether or not you have a title in your collection or if it is a title you are currently looking for. The main drawback is that you can only mark items as “loose” or “complete”. This causes quite a few issues when your collection has grown to a point where you can no longer remember the state of your games. For instance, I have several games that are semi-complete (either missing a box but has the instructions or missing the instructions but owning the box). I also wish that I could tag each item with a phrase so that I would know the condition of the item. I have several items that I would love to find replacements for so having a tag of “replace box” or “rental manual” would be extremely helpful.

Currently the app has a price of $4.99 in the app store and, while I can’t recommend it wholeheartedly, if you’re looking for a basic app to catalog your loose carts, this might do the job for you. I contacted the developer and he has stated that they might add a note feature in the future but that an update is not currently in the works. If this “tag” update is ever released, this app would become one of the best tools a collector on the road could have.