07 Thursday Apr 2016
Posted in All, Trailers & Posters
Tags
Star Wars, Star Wars Rogue One, Star Wars Rogue One Teaser Trailer, Star Wars Rogue One Trailer, Star Wars ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story First Official Trailer Released!
Its here! Check out the first official teaser trailer for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY! Wow, this looks absolutely amazing, really excited for this movie!!
06 Wednesday Apr 2016
Posted in All, Marvel Comics
Tags
Brian Michael Bendis, Colonel Rhodes, comcis, Frank Martin, Invincible Iron Man, Invincible Iron Man #7, Invincible Iron Man #7 review, Iron Man, Japan, Marvel Comcis, Mary Jane Watson, Mike Deodato, Spider-Man, The War Machines Part 3, Tony Stark, VC’s Clayton Cowles, War Machine
Invincible Iron Man #8
Review by Paul Bowler
The search is on in Invincible Iron Man #8: The War Machines Part 3, with Rhodey still missing in Japan after searching for the biohack ninjas that were tracking Madame Masque. Fortunately Tony’s new assistant / life coach Mary Jane Watson just happens to have Peter Parker’s emergency phone number, enabling Stark to call on Parker’s wall crawling bodyguard for assistance. Iron Man and Spider-Man must team-up to rescue War Machine, and somehow find a way to stop a deadly new menace to the Marvel Universe!
Its repulsor rays to maximum power and web-spinning action all the way as Brian Michael Bendis brings two of Marvel’s most iconic characters together in Invincible Iron Man #8, as Iron Man and Spider-Man join forces in Tokyo to find Rhodey. Following a quick flight across the Pacific, Iron Man soon encounters Spider-Man, and together they discover a clue that might lead them to War Machine. Bendis crafts some really fun moments between Iron Man and Spider-Man in this issue. The banter between them is priceless at times, with Tony being all serious – at least initially – in the face of Spidey’s wisecracks, but is not long before the jokes and flip remarks eventually send them on a path to becoming an even funnier superhero double act as they confront Rhodey’s captors.
Tony’s shape-changing Iron Man suits AI, Friday, is also beautifully written by Bendis in this issue, and it feel like she’s really evolving into a major character in her own right now. Friday gets some great lines of dialogue, especially once Iron Man and Spidey team up in Tokyo, and in a brief flashback the AI has an interesting scene with a less than impressed Mary Jane Watson that ends on an especially poignant note.
Having been stripped of his War Machine armor, Rhodey is now a prisoner of Tomoe and her biohack ninjas. Although we don’t learn much more about Tomoe over the course of this issue of Invincible Iron Man, it’s clear that her armor seems able to attract and assimilate all forms of technology, and it also mimics similar shape-shifting aspects of Tony’s armor. However, as Tomoe and the ninjas soon discover, Colonel Rhodes is not someone to be underestimated – even if he has to fight for his life wearing only his underwear!
This is another fabulous looking issue from artist Mike Deodato and colorist Frank Martin. Set against the gleaming Tokyo Skyline and the industrial gloom of Tomoe’s shadowy lair, Mike Deodato has clearly had a blast drawing this exciting team-up between Iron Man and Spider-Man. The level of detail bestowed on the Iron Man armor is astounding, Deodato also draws a great Spider-Man as well, and I love the scene where Spidey’s mask is reflected in Iron Man’s faceplate – you can just imagine the look on Tony’s face underneath. Rhodey’s fight against the ninjas also proves to be a big highlight of the issue as well. Frank Martin lavishes every page with a sumptuous palette of colors, blending vivid tones and inky shadows to bring added intensity and atmosphere to each scene. Deodato and Martin’s work is perfectly in key with the beats of Bendis’ script, balancing the humour and drama perfectly, there is some terrific moments of characterization, and the electrifying face-off between Iron Man, Spider-Man, Rhodey, and Tomoe is brilliant!
Facing jetlag, embarrassing boxers, and a technology that even Friday is unable to counteract, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Rhodey must risk life and limb as they battle Tomoe and the lethal biohack ninjas that are out for their blood. Invincible Iron Man #8, with its exciting action-packed story by Brian Michael Bendis and excellent art by Mike Deodato, is another hugely impressive issue in The War Machines storyarc, and its thrilling cliff-hanger ending is guaranteed to leave you on the edge of your seat until the next issue.
Publisher: Marvel / Writer: Brian Michael Bendis / Art: Mike Deodato
Color Artist: Frank Martin / VC’s Clayton Cowles: Letterer & Production
Cover Artists Mike Deodato & Frank Martin
05 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted in All, Paul Bowler YouTube Channel
Tags
Bloodborne, Bloodborne The Old Hunters, Paul Bowler, Paul Bowler YouTube, Playstation #4, PS4, PS4 Share, Sci-Fi Jubilee, The Old Hunters
Sci-Fi Jubilee My YouTube Channel
Bloodborne, The Old Hunters, & My First Attempt At Editing
As I’ve been playing a lot of Bloodborne lately I thought I’d get The Old Hunters DLC as well. So, since I started my YouTube channel Paul Bowler YouTube I thought it’d also be a good opportunity to use my initial run though The Old Hunters to make a new video, and have a go at editing it. I’ve never tried anything like this before, so its a bit rough around the edges, but I enjoyed having a go at editing for the first time. Well, here is the result! Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to like and subscribe if you do.
04 Monday Apr 2016
Posted in All, IDW Publishing
Tags
Brian Churilla, comics, Ghidorah, Godzilla, Godzilla Oblivion #1, Godzilla Oblivion #1 review, IDW Publishing, Japan, Jay Fotos, Joshua Fialkov, Kiryu, Rodan
Godzilla Oblivion #1
Review by Paul Bowler
The King of the Monsters is back in IDW Publishing’s Godzilla Oblivion #1, a new five-part series from writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (Doctor Who, I Vampire) and artist Brian Churilla (Big Trouble in Little China). From an Earth where there are no monsters, a scientist builds a machine that opens a portal to another dimension, one to a world in ruins where monsters rule and Godzilla is the mightiest of them all. A team embarks on a voyage to explore this bizarre alternative reality, but when they discover what has happened here, their frantic attempt to return to their own Earth risks brining something very nasty back with them…
Joshua Hale Fialkov brings us a Godzilla story with something of a unique twist in Godzilla Oblivion #1, as we encounter a word where monsters don’t exist, where a scientist’s new experimental machine sends a team on a foolhardy mission to a strange parallel Earth where the monsters have taken over! As premises go, Godzilla Oblivion certainly delivers in terms of exciting plotting, and exhilarating action. While the characterization is a little threadbare as times, Joshua Hale Fialkov swiftly establishes the main characters in the story. Familiar Sci-Fi tropes are called into play, Nutron Flows and Polarities are tinkered with, and the scientist’s Stargate-like device is soon powered up and ready to send them on their mission.
However, what they find on the other side resembles a jagged wasteland of their own world, and it’s not long before they find out they have bitten off far more than they can chew. The uncanny What If?-like concept is well executed by Fialkov, as the team soon discover that the humans in this reality have actually struck up a pact with Godzilla, and I look forward to seeing how this revelation is explored in future issues of this series.
The artwork by Brian Churilla is a little variable at times. Although the page layouts are dynamically presented and the monster battles are also fairly well realized, it’s the finer details that often let the issue down, some characters lack detail, proportions are sometimes poorly defined, and it makes things feel a little rough around the edges. The colors by Jay Fotos enhances the atmosphere of many scenes, particularly those featuring ruined landscape of the alternative Earth, and Godzilla’s looming presence swathed in shadows. Where Brian Churilla really shines for the most part though is in his depiction of those aforementioned monsters and action sequences, Rodan is impressive, Kiryu also incidentally gets a great scene, Ghidorah gets a good share of the action, and Godzilla – although we don’t actually get to see him for much of the issue – looks really imposing and powerful.
Godzilla Oblivion #1 hurtles at a breath-taking pace towards an exciting climax as the team makes a desperate dash to get back to their own dimension, however, not everything goes to plan, and something else is looking to come along for the ride home… Minor niggles about the story and art aside, Godzilla #1, with its fabulous main cover by Churilla, gets this five-part series of to an exciting start, there’s actually a lot to enjoy here, and will certainly piqué your interest enough to make you want to find out what happens in the next issue.
Publisher: IDW Publishing / Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov / Art: Brian Churilla
Colors: Jay Fotos / Letters / Creative Consultant: Chris Mowry
Cover: Brian Churilla
01 Friday Apr 2016
Posted in All, IF? Commix
Tags
Andrez Bergen, comics, Film Noir, IF? Commix, Magpie, Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat, Trista & Holt, Trista & Holt #14, Trista & Holt #14 review, Tristan and Iseult, Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?
Trista and Holt #14
Review by Paul Bowler
April Fool’s Day is no joke in Trista and Holt #14, especially for Trista, as she’s been abducted by unknown criminal henchman and will soon discover the horrific secret of Black Sails – while Issy learns the truth about his father and Trista’s aunt Marcella. Meanwhile, the most clandestine proceedings unfold via the feline gaze and narration of Issy’s cat, Andred, in a sublime throwback to Japanese classic ‘I Am a Cat’ by Natsume Soseki.
Trista and Holt #14 is the penultimate issue of IF? Commix hardboiled, pulp noir, and dada inspired homage to the medieval story of Tristan and Iseult, spruced up with modern digital flourishes and infused with a crime-riddled blend of bullets, passion, and disco from Andrez Bengen, the writer / artist of Bullet Gal, Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat, Magpie, and the author of Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? The Trista and Holt IF? Commix series has recently been licensed to Project Nerd Publishing in the U.S., and is soon to become a novel as well.
Following the ambush at the Amusement Park, Trista is being driven by Geoffrey’s men along a dusty side road to Carhaix, her thoughts turn to the mysterious Norwegian who was gunned down as she was captured and what she learned from him. Andrez Bergen gets right under the skin of all the characters in this issue, keeping the tension simmering right from the outset, as Trista is delivered to Black Sails, before the scene – and narrative – is transplanted to the viewpoint of Tintagel’s feline resident; Andred the cat.
Bergen’s ingenious drawing of inspiration from Natsume Soseki’s satirical novel ‘I Am a Cat’ is a sublime masterstroke here. Intercut with Trista’s journey with her new friends, Andred cat’s-eye view of the world explores the shady dealings of Marcella and Isidor Holt SR’s insidious plots and machinations, and uncovers who has taken care of Trista for them and the horrific fate to which she is shortly to be condemned to. Andred’s journey through the house also gives witness to untold treasures, an unexpected meal, and eventually solace with Issy who is glued to the ambling, meaningless, and often mundane preamble of the monkey box.
The art for Trista and Holt #14 features some of the most stylish use of imagery and digital montages that Andrez Bergen has utilized so far during this IF? Commix series’ run. The digital cut-ups and collages are somewhat less prominent this issue, instead we have softer, less cluttered layout, with bolder imagery and splash pages which feel far more in keeping with the brooding and more sombre tone of this issue. With a dizzying opening monologue that spools out along a dusty back road, the brooding menace of Tintagel, to a world seen though Andred’s feline gaze, and the chilling realization of what awaits Trista in Black Sails sanatorium collectively adds up to make this issue one of the undoubted highlights of the entire series.
Space: 1999 will have to wait, when a newsflash and a telephone call brings the issue to a frightening and heartrending cliff-hanger… Andrez Bergen has excelled himself with this issue, as he brings all the threads of the saga together via a series of game-changing events, which ultimately sets the stage for the final issue. Trista and Holt #14 is a stylish, nerve-jangling, and mesmerising issue that leaves the main characters of this IF? Commix series in an extremely grim place as this tale of love, tragedy, and betrayal approaches its final issue.
Publisher: IF? Commix / Writer: Andrez Bergen / Art: Andrez Bergen
Trista & Holt #13 is available 1st March 2016 / Hard Copy $5 & Digital $1
FIND OUT MORE FROM IF? COMMIX VIA THEIR WEBSITE
