Fables: The Wolf Among Us

Bufkin on the lash

Wishing to live "happily ever after", the Fables, well known characters from folklore, are all living in the Bronx in a hidden community called Fabletown. Humans cannot see them because using magic spells called Glamour, they are able to live below the radar, and stay out of the clutches of the prison-like Farm. A good thing for both them and us. Im not sure how happy the average New Yorker would be living knowingly alongside the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Beowulf's Grendel. Now before you start thinking I had LSD for breakfast, this is the world of The Wolf Among Us, a game recently released by Telltale Games for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. And jolly great fun it is too!
If you ever played their previous offering, The Walking Dead, you will know the tune. Its a point-and-click affair, released in bite sized episodes and bathed in very stylish cel-shaded visuals. You'd better believe it, The Wolf Among Us, looks bloody gorgeous. And it plays pretty well too. So both thumbs UP then.
Unlike zombie mayhem however, this is a fairy tale murder mystery based on the Fables comic books written by Bill Willingham but because the characters are from stories like Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs, it all feels instantly familiar even if you've never picked up Fables. You take on the role of ciggie loving, perma-stubbled Bigby Wolf, aka 'The Big Bad Wolf'. He's now sheriff of Fabletown, ordered by Snow White to keep the peace among the mythical creatures of this curious little world. That will be the 'Wolf Among Us' then. It reminds me of L.A. Noire, only the concept of this game is infinitely cooler. QTE's (Quick Time Events) pop up throughout fights in The Wolf Among Us but the jewel of the gameplay is being a detective and using the multiple choices on offer when questioning the colourful cast. Stay sharp wolfie, because the outcome of your Q+A can leave suspects having it away on their toes, or worse dead.
The Fables remember too. For instance if you act an azzhole to landlord Mr Toad (formerly of Wind In The Willows) his help will become limited. You may well have been the infamous Big Bad Wolf in a previous life but do you really want to behave like a dick now that you are supposedly reformed? Exactly. Mind you, there can be no denying there is something very satisfying about coming over all Dirty Harry at times. Its part of the fun.
The only grumble I have, and to be fair, its a minor one and not really worth fretting over, are the QTEs in fisticuffs. It feels too scripted and I would have preferred a more 'free' fighting method. Perhaps wading in like Grand Theft Auto? Quick Time Events can feel overly fussy, especially during insanely fast parts. And I like QTE as a rule. Its not awful, in fact you feel heroically smug after pulling off a flawless button mashing, its just that...well I fancied giving my old nemesis the Woodsman an old fashioned pasting like we were in a scene from Tekken. But as I say, this is just small fries compared to the big, meaty juice-fest burger that is the rest of The Wolf Among Us.
Of course the doubters will say that this title doesn't have the emotional impact of The Waking Dead with Clemy and Lee but I beg to differ (as always). There is a fairy tale serial killer on the loose for fudges sake! Someone lurking in the shadows and bumping off much loved childhood characters. Now come on, tell me if that doesn't tug on yer heartstrings just a wee bit? What kind of abominable evil would seek to kill Colin (Three Little Pigs) or Bufkin (winged monkey from Oz tales, now working as Fabletown's librarian)?
Of course reviewing a game after only one episode feels awkward because there is still much to do and see, and there is always the nagging doubt that things could go boobs up a few episodes in (which would be a major disappointment after such a stellar start). But I will live dangerously and predict that The Wolf Among Us will continue to drop jaws. The characters are brilliant, the game world fascinating, and its all woven into a wonderfully crafted story filled with potential. It would take a maggot of epic proportions to spoil this apple. Plus as a final deal breaker, each episode costs a mere £3.99. Four quid for roughly two glorious hours in an exciting new world! I am hooked as is my line and sinker. Pass the drinks Bufkin.

The Killer

Beware, Assassin!

Publisher Archaia, writer Matz, art by Luc Jacmon.

The Killer first appeared in 2006 (print version) and was released digitally in 2011. Its originally a French comic that Casterman published in eleven 'albums'. Thankfully, Archaia Studios came along and translated the lot into English and made two fine graphic novels out of them. (I love the French titles of the original albums though, there is something really arty and bohemian about them. "Le Commun des Mortels." Ace.)
I recently discovered "The Killer" whilst perusing the fabulous ComiXology App on my Nexus, and you should check it out too if you fancy a decent read that will nip at your morals and have you questioning if the shady world of murder-at-a-price can be wrong in some cases. There are some major sleazebags out there remember, most of them quite deserving of a bullet between the eyeballs.
The first issue, Long Fire: Part 1, is free, and after that cost a mere £1.31 each which is a steal for such a solid, stylish series.
Like all good assassins, the antihero here is unnamed. A cold, solitary killer without scruples who lives in the shadows. Think "Leon", he was French too. But there is trouble in (dark) paradise because the longer he lives in this dark world, living for the next target, the more he thinks he is going bonkers. His moral compass is all over the shop which can be tricky when you happen to be a professional hitman.
This series has me gripped and I look forward to every new installment like a vampire looking for its next plump vein.

And for movie fans, The Killer is being made into a film by Paramount Pictures which will be directed by David Fincher. It could be very good too, but this is Hollywood so I won't hold my breath.

The Wolverine (official trailer)

In cinemas July 25th 2013!

Hugh Jackman was born to play the Wolverine, and wanna know something? I can't wait to see this ace looking movie!

Man Of Steel trailer

In cinemas June 14th.

Commando Comics

The famous badge

Commando comics (formerly Commando War Stories in Pictures), began its life in Scotland in 1961 courtesy of D.C. Thomson of Dundee. They are a series of British comic books that are inspired by incidents from World Wars I & II and use it as a running theme. I remember first seeing them in a local newsagents as a boy in the late seventies and always thought the handy pocket size a nice idea because you didn't have to fold it like the Beano and thus spoil it. Comic fans are funny about little things like creasing but now all that is a distant memory! Why? Because like with everything else, you can get an App to read them. I love living in the future!
And whats great is when you subscribe, being the kind folk they are, D.C. Thompson will shout you 4 free comics ('Combat Zone', 'Desert Vengeance', Jack's Private War' 'The Winter Warriors). That's 66 pages per comic so you get *does sums* 264 of brilliantly drawn action. Cool huh? Be warned though, they are better read on a tablet because I found using an iPhone got to be a strain after a few pages.

30 Days of Night

As with every comic/graphic novel these days, the complete "30 Days of Night" collection is available via iOS App. Head on over to Comixology to get stuck into the human claret drenched series, the vampire romp also has a dedicated App of its own via IDW Publishing. They'll even shout you 3 free comics when you sign up. Ace. Everyone loves free stuff.
We all know the story by now (even non comic fans, thanks to the movie) where for one month in every year, Barrow, an isolated Alaskan town, is plunged into darkness, leaving it a party town for murder loving vampires. Its a satisfying slice of gore and storytelling (Steve Niles) with some brilliant illustrations by Ben Templesmith.
I recently read "Beyond Barrow" and "Bloodsucker Tales" and enjoyed both. Vampires fans who have not yet taken the plunge into Barrow should definitely do so. I do have some niggles though. Firstly the lettering; some of the panels have bold red words over a black background which makes it difficult to read. It feels very hard on the eyes. Secondly, owing to some of the fine drawings which have a faded look, this series is better read on a larger tablet over the iPhone.


Books in the 30 Days of Night series:

30 Days 'Til Death
30 Days of Night Sourcebook
Annual
Beyond Barrow
Bloodsucker Tales
Dark Days
Dead Space
Eben and Stella
Juarez
Original Series
Red Snow
Return to Barrow
Scriptbook
Spreading the Disease
Three Tales

Iron Man 3 trailer

Enter Mandarin into Iron Man's world on 26th April 2013

World War Hulk Movie?

War!

The Hulk may be getting another stand-alone movie after Avengers 2. Thats exciting enough but get this: it is thought that the new film will take its plot from the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk storyline! HULK SMASH!!

Dredd

I Am The Swag

A scene in the recent Dredd movie really captured what it was that made me a fan of Judge Dredd (and 2000AD) way back in 1988:

Anderson: Sir, he's thinking of making a move for your weapon.
Judge Dredd: Yeah.
Anderson: He's changed his mind.
Judge Dredd: Yeah.

Its PURE Joe Dredd, the kind of lawman you'd expect if Dirty Harry and Robocop had a lovechild (look its weird I know but an accurate description.) Dredd takes no prisoners in 2000AD, he is a no nonsense cop who is as happy dishing out the law as he is bullets.
Now I will happily admit to being a fan of the 1995 Stallone movie Judge Dredd, but this new Dredd amps it up anothrer notch, albeit in a different direction. Gone are the over the top characters like Mean Machine, but fret not because it loses none of its violence. Here be bullet orgies and loud guns. Director Pete Travis has gone for a more 'real' vision of Mega-City One and it almost looks like any US city, it certainly isn't the sprawling Mega-City that we're used to with the comics and Stallone film with 50ft high neon ads and busy traffic jams packed with flying cars.
Dredd reminds me of Robocop and this is a good thing. It has the same futuristic-but-not-quite buzz about it. Familiar-but-something-more is how id describe the city. Oh and dont expect huge gold shoulder pads on the Judges or Lawmasters built like monster trucks either because in keeping with the realism things are kept pretty sober. Urban does a good job of being Judge Dredd as does Lena Heady in her role as the movies villain, Ma-Ma. (And she's still hot despite the heavy scarring.)
You can check out Ma-Ma's back story here:



To sum it up, Dredd is a brilliant movie and I hope there are more on the way. It would be fitting Justice to the galaxy's favourite Lawman.
This isn't a review but if it was id easily drop it a 5/5 Star rating. A must see.

Judge Dredd: "Inhabitants of Peach Trees, this is Judge Dredd."
Ma-Ma: "Let him talk."
Judge Dredd: "Just in case you've forgotten, this block operates under the same rules as the rest of the city. Ma-Ma is not the law. I am the law."

The Punisher (1990 game)

What Axe you gonna do?

Played the 1990s NES version of The Punisher game on MAME last night and wow! Impressive! As a long time fan of Frank Castle/Punisher it ticked all of my boxes. Violent? Check. Bloody? Check. Vast assortment of limb altering weapons? You betcha! And of course not forgetting a large helping of miltary grade firearms, all topped off with the comic stylee speech bubbles. "Blam!" "Pow!" And "Kapooow!" Like I said, very neat.
Be The Punisher and battle your way through waves of hoodlums, robots and thugs, using every lethal attack at your disposal to get to the games big villain, Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin.


He's behind you!

Gunsmith Cats

Herc

Saga

Cover art for Saga #1

I love the ComiXology App. What comic fan wouldn't? Afterall it has over 30,000 comic/graphic novels available for download on iPhone and has become a major 'route' into the oft obscure world of anime,(especially if you happen to live in a rural Welsh town with little to no brick and mortar comic shops.) This App together with Marvel, DC, Image, etc is certainly responsible for getting me back into comics.
Ive discovered a whole host of new and super cool stories, the most recent being Saga, a space opera/fantasy series created by Brian K. Vaughan (writer) and Fiona Staples (artist.) Its published monthly by Image Comics and is influenced by Star Wars and Game Of Thrones. It was reading of these influences that caused me to immediately download the first two issues free via ComiXology (subsequent issues are £1.49p each.) As it was only first published last year (March 14, 2012 to be exact) I don't have years and years of complicated back issues to unravel and make sense of, unlike more established graphic novels, so this is a big plus especially when all you want to do is dim the lights, grab a mug of tea and fire up the iOS for some reading.
Sucked me in too! Even from these two issues im pretty excited and can see that it is a very strange and interesting universe that awaits within the pages of Saga. I also love how words like "f**k" are liberally thrown around too because it gives the world a bit of familiarty and makes the winged/horned humanoid characters more...well human. And its brilliantly drawn with Staples' pencil/brush giving even the most simple artwork depth. I get the feeling she could breathe life into a sketch/page with minimal strokes of a pencil. If you're a fan of fantasy comics/film, you should check Saga out immediately. Ace stuff.

One Year Today!

Comics Me reaches its first birthday today! Now if only I could design cakes I would be making one exactly like the cover of vintage 80s comic Scream up there.