tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85143902880768705862024-02-18T20:43:44.770-08:00SciFiWriterScreaming Rambles of the coherent and incoherent; the why and why not; the should’ve, could’ve, would’ve of science fiction and space exploration.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-44290812597389319342016-12-14T10:55:00.001-08:002016-12-14T10:55:29.120-08:00Back for a Second go at itWhen last I posted a blog on this site obama was at the beginning of his reign. Now his years are fading into the dust bin of history and we are about to experience a new and most definitely different course for the country Captained by now President Elect Trump.<br />
<br /><br />
As with anything new and different, we humans almost always have feeling of excitement and apprehension comingled with one another. What this does for me, is it starts up my desire to write and to create something new. To once again revisit my list of ways to make a million dollars in a year, pull out the weights and start exercising or to dare hope that the coming years might be better than the last.<br />
<br /><br />
I hope to grab on to what will happen over the next years and create the stories I like, write about the things I want, and hopefully grab hold of a bigger audience.<br />
<br /><br />
Take care and stay tuned.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-12300985394345258152010-06-01T13:24:00.001-07:002010-06-01T13:24:38.670-07:00Ridley Scott's Arrow hits true with his version of Robin Hood.I went to see Robin Hood this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. As with most people I went to the movies with my own preconception of what a film version of Robin should look like, should say, or should be. <br /><br />I sill am haunted by my younger version of Robin Hood, as a swashbuckling, arrow shooting adventurer who robs from the rich and gives to the pore. Haunted I say because I loved those sword fights, and would practice for hours with a small bow and arrow trying to split an hour (I never accomplished that). But as I got older and realized I was never going to split the arrow, a part of the story didn't sit well with me. Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, although I don't want to see people stare and would hope that one day poverty didn't exist, the concept or robbing from the rich and giving to the poor was criminal. After working may way to a middle class level, I'm always one paycheck away from being in the poor house, but as a member of the middle class I'm suddenly looked upon by some as being rich. So the message is; that it is ok to steel from the rich – anyone above poverty – and give to the poor. I don't think so, and here is where I became haunted by my vision of Robin Hood, which is it is ok to steal as long as you give it to the poor. Uggh, and that is a horrible lesson to be teaching kids.<br /><br />Along comes Ridley Scott's version or Robin Hood, and I'm very happy with the message he is giving. No longer is wealth stolen from the rich, but the message is more that every man is created equal and deserves liberty and justice, which sounds very much like the Declaration of Independence. Men should be free to do what they want in order to provide for their livelihood with out interference or servitude, via taxes, to the state.<br /><br />To me the story was a reflection of the current times and the current political situation. In the movie Prince John (Oscar Isaac), inherits a war ravaged England from his brother King Richard who is killed in battle, the men of England are away, the economy is in ruin, and taxes need to be raised to fix the mess King Richard left. King John and his first act is to appoint a new Marshall, Godfrey (Mark Strong), who goes about collecting the taxes King John desperately needs to in a very ruthless manner. In doing this Marshall Godfrey turns the people of England against there king. The king discovers he was duped, because French troops are on the shores of England. After the battle with the French, the Barons were appeased to follow the King because of his willingness to sign a charter that would give rights to all men – much like Americas Constitution. The King reneges on his deal and burns the charter in front of all the Barons and announces Robin Hood to be criminal of the crown. <br /><br />As far as my biased is concerned Oscar Isaac portrayed Obama, oops I mean King John to a tee, and most indicative of this is the final speech he gives. Check out the movie and pay attention to the speech and can see it coming word for word out of Obama, oops I mean King John.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=screarambl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0765366274&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-38747050993026653802010-05-12T11:41:00.001-07:002010-05-12T11:41:13.883-07:00Review of Robert E. Howards "The Bull Dog Breed" - Continuing the
Sailor Steve Costigan SagaWritten in first person and having the feel of someone telling a tall tale, this story gives an immediate insight into the mind of Sailor Steve Costigan. I enjoyed the story and the main reason for that is how Howard writes. He writes very simply and very formulaic, with great visuals and style. This story is a good example to follow for fight stories, which is; Set up, fight, and unraveling. <br /><br />The biggest part of this story is the writing, and takes up several pages, but it doesn't get boring. Howard has a knack at telling the story of the fight using Costigan's voice, making believable, exciting, and truly feeling for the character. In addition Howard tells about the fight from someone who has been in the boxing ring, and actually taken the punches. A little bit of research into Robert E. Howard shows that he actually did train and boxed in and around the area of Cross Plains Texas. <br /><br />It is interesting to note that at the time Howard was writing these stories, boxers were the superstar athletes of the day. And fight stories were very popular; in fact many of Howard's fight stories appeared in Fight magazine. However, the boxing world has not aged as well as these stories, boxers do not hold the status they did in Howard's day, and it is hard to find a current story based on boxing or on the more popular Ultimate Fighting competitions. What we do have are these stories that were written almost eighty years ago that are still fun and enjoyable to read. Take a chance and pick up one of the stories a kindle reader and you will probably start reading all of them.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015T963C?ie=UTF8&tag=screarambl-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0015T963C">Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=screarambl-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0015T963C" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> <br /><br />Here come the spoilers so if you don't want to know what happens stop reading any further.<br /><br />The story begins with Sailor Steve Costigan getting kicked off the Sea Girl by the Captain because he chooses not to put his dog off the boat. He ends up at a French bar and gets into a fight with, unknown to him, the heavyweight champion of the French Navy. The fight is long and goes on for several pages, Costigan is all but beat up and ready to fall down, but because he is so like the bull dog, and doesn’t know when he is defeated he keeps going back in again and again. Due to his amazing recuperative powers, and his hard headiness he defeats the Frenchman. At the end of the bout the Captain of the Sea Girl, as well as many of the crew see come up to Costigan delighted that he defeated the Frenchman. The Captian welcome him and Mike, his bull dog, back as part of the crew. <br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=screarambl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1435745817&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-48842822930503005302010-05-10T14:38:00.001-07:002010-05-10T14:38:12.723-07:00The Sci Fi Writer Reviews ----- BoxingA while back I picked up some old Robert E. Howard Stories, and the Sailor Steve Costigan tales jumped out at me. For the most part I haven't read anything like these stories in current fiction, and after a brief search online I was unable to find anyone that is currently writing "Fight" stories of any kind. This just fueled my desire to keep reading these old stories written by the master of tall tales Robert E. Howard.<br /><br />I must mention that if you decide to jump into these tales, be warned. Howard was writing during a different time in the history of the United States, and what we view as indisputably racist or sexist, to Howard and many of his time, it was just the norm. I'm not agreeing or condoning the stories for how other sexes or races are portrayed, just passing on a warning as best I can. <br /><br />What I enjoyed about these stories, is that they are different from what is out their today, and told in such a manner that they are easy and exceedingly fun to read. They are quick and they are simple, and that is that, they are just a great escape into the world of the early nineteen thirties.<br /><br />Additionally I have been reading these stories in the order in which Howard wrote them, and his development as a writer and story teller is easy to see. I have made my way through about half the stories and start off here with my first review of, "The Pit of the Serpent" by Robert E. Howard. The review is short but as they go on they get longer and more in depth.<br /><br />For the second warning: I also tell if Sailor Steve Costigan wins the fight and how he does it, so yes the reviews contain spoilers.<br /><br />This is the first story with Howards character Sailor Steve Costigan. The story is easy to read, and written in first person. The outline is simple, Sailor Costigan steps of his ship the Sea Girl and feels dread. He goes to a dance hall meets a girl, Bat Slade the champion boxer from the rival ship the Dauntless comes in and starts a fight, the two men are taken out of town by an "promoter" and their bout is staged in an old snake pit. After a long bout, Sailor Costigan wins, although barely, and the two fighters are reunited at the dance hall where they both are still hoping to win the affections of the girl that started the row between them in the first place. She has already moved on to a Spanish Naval Officer, the two men knock him out and end up at a bar sharing a drink. At the end of many platitudes from Slade about brotherly friendship, he tries to sneak a punch in on Costigan, but Costigan faster than Slade with a bottle he swiped from the bar, knocks him out.<br /><br />The story was very simple easy to read. It is told from the first person point of view with Costigan as the main story teller. The most technical aspect of the story is that of the boxing scene, that is shown in fine detail. This is where Howard really shines; the fight has emotion, action, and brutal detail. It is very evident that the story was thrown around what Howard thought was the real story which was the fight.<br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=screarambl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1435745817&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-75729395392220753852009-12-03T12:46:00.001-08:002009-12-03T12:46:39.881-08:00Review - AC-Mag Fall 2009Alternative Coordinates (AC-Mag) a production of Zefram Media LLC and edited by Jeff Cochran, published the Fall 09 issue recently. I was very happy to read through the many fine stories published in this issue. My two favorites are "The Ferryman" by Tom Brennan and "A Good Boy" by Desmond Warzel. <br /><br />I have mentioned before here on my blog, that the online e-zine world is here we will find the next Robert Howard, Robert Heinlein or Isaac Asimov. I haven?t found an author of that caliber yet, but we are getting close and with this issue of AC-Mag we are coming even closer to finding a name that will lite the fantasy and science fiction world on fire.<br /><br />If you haven't yet picked up this issue, do so, and enjoy the stories. Following are my reviews, and yes these are my opinions so if you like one story over another, and think my reviews are lousy. Feel free to start your own blog, they?re free.<br /><br />The search for the next big name in SciFi and Fantasy is still on, so good hunting. But for now the big name in bringing SciFi and Fantasy to us is AC-Mag. I can't say enough fro this e-zine, this is where the pulps of yesteryear are here today.<br /><br />Child of the Pact by C.L. Holland<br /><br />This is an interesting story about a boys struggle with becoming who and what he is destined to become. It is a fantasy story told from a first person point of view, that flows easily and reads quickly. It is evident that the classic hero?s journey is effortlessly used to tell this story. <br /><br />I enjoyed the ease of reading this story and the authors writing, but it didn?t grab me until the last few pages and the ending was rather abrupt. Basically the hero laid out his two choices and picked one, all in about two sentences.<br /><br />The Ferryman by Tom Brennan<br /><br />A very good story, that tells about a Ferryman that takes travelers to an alien craft, for what we believe is their final journey. It is never stated in the story that this is the journey between life and death, but it is alluded to. The story is about the Ferryman his struggle with doing his job, and his struggle with going back to his previous life or taking the trip across the lagoon to the alien ship him self. In the end he is tempted by a passenger to leave his gondola and go on the alien ship. <br /><br />The Ferryman is a great model of someone stuck in between, and a good allegory to purgatory. <br /><br />I enjoyed the writing and it read very easily and caught my interest within the first page or so. It did leave me wanting to know more about he main character, but then I guess that is the mark of a good story.<br /><br />Gate Weaver by Z.S. Adani<br /><br />This story never grabbed me, and I have to say that I liked it the least of the stories in this issue. The story is full of fluffy writing that shows a lot, but I was always asking myself, where is this story going. <br /><br />The Alien Embrace - pt. 2 by Frances Pauli<br /><br />I enjoyed this story and the authors ability to write and to tell a story. I was a bit put off by the "Humans are an evil world destroying race," point of view that seems to be overly present in a lot of writing and movies these days. But none the less the author can write a captivating story.<br /><br />I would definitely recommend this for most readers, and hope to see other material by Pauli, just keep the hidden agenda out of it and tell a story.<br /><br />A Good Boy by Desmond Warzel<br /><br />This is a very interesting story, and in my opinion the strongest of the stories in this issue of AC Mag. It is about a man that has recovered a runaway boy is in a hotel room waiting to deliver the boy to his parents. Both characters are very well developed and the writing is very good. Some of the back story is easily woven into the tale and provides enough depth for the reader to come to the conclusion at the end of the story.<br /><br />If anything is missing in this story is that I think Warzel told a very easy story, and is capable of much more. I look forward to seeing more from this author.<br /><br />A Quiet Corner of Time by Paula R. Stiles<br /><br />This is another very strong story for this issue of AC Mag. It has been a while since I have read a good time travel story, and this certainly qualifies as a good one. <br /><br />The story is about a girl, Moira, in the distant future which is attempting to finish her PhD. She has already been in the past to do research, and is now trying to find a quiet place to finish her thesis. Along the way we learn that she escorted some time travelers from the past (actually they are actors traveling around different times to make movies) that basically turned her in to her supervising professor for doing unauthorized research in the past. Moira lands a plumb job as a temporal park ranger in the Paleozoic era where she has all the time she needs to finish her thesis and in the end dispatch the actors that have been popping in and out of her life.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-39978427928136369322009-10-08T11:10:00.001-07:002009-10-08T11:10:15.999-07:00EVONY A new way of online gamingThe free massive multiplayer online game EVONY, has surprised me a great deal. I have been playing it now for a little over a month, my Lord name is Kallian, on server 58 and I?m a member of FIRE alliance. Three things have surprised me; it?s free, it?s fun, and it?s deceptively easy.<br /><br />What attracted me was the fact it was free. I wanted to see for myself if this was true, and how a company could stay in business and make money if it was free. You begin as a young lord building a kingdom from scratch, and this takes time. In the early stages of the game a farm can be built in less than a minute (I mean a real minute sitting in front of your computer watching the progress meter tick down the seconds), but as building increase in level they take longer and longer to build. Certain awards allow the player to speed up construction. They are gained during the daily spin of the Aries wheel or purchased at the Evony store. Yes, here is where the company makes money. A player can purchase with real money items that will help them increase their level in the game faster than those who are just waiting for the progress bar to tick down the seconds. For the most part purchasing items to move the game along faster are inexpensive, starting at about 5 cents and going up. However, what is exciting about the game is that purchasing these items is not necessary, the game provides everything the player needs all the player needs is patience, but if they lack the patience, they can pay for the quick and easy route.<br />Evony is fun and exciting. Building a kingdom, an army, are central aspects of gaming. However, the real fun and exciting stuff happens when the player is of sufficient level to start attacking valleys or barbarian villages, at the point the player sees the results of their kingdom building. After that a player can join an alliance and be part of a war on another alliance or help protect their own alliance members from attacks. At this point the game turns into a true massive multiplayer online game and the players interaction with others is just as important as building their kingdom.<br /><br />Early in my review, I mentioned that Evony is deceptively easy. Anyone can log in and start building a kingdom with little research or help. Just log in and hit build. After that, it is an easy step to figure out that you need a barracks to build soldiers. Quests are a big part of the game, they lead the player in what construction, and research can be undertaken in order to get their kingdom up and running. Once again, this is easy, deceptively easy. About this time, the player wants to start attacking and here is when the deceptively easy part shows how deceptive it can be. Attacking can be easy, but winning a battle is harder. Here again is where the massive multiplayer aspect of the game and Alliances shine. As a member of an Alliance, the player has a built in network of experts, which I have found to be, eager to help their members. With an Alliance players do not need to attack a valley multiple times with different combinations of warriors to determine the best approach, for the most part it has already been done.<br /><br />I enjoy Evony without spending a lot of time or any money on it, if you have to build something that takes twenty hours, just click build turn off your computer and check back tomorrow. I am excited about Evony because with it, I see a direction for gaming that is yet to be uncovered. I see potential for a company to make money by offering a free product, and I see the potential of spin off products, such as stories written in the Evony world. <br /><br />Try Evony if you do not like it, you are not out anything other than the time you put in to it to find out for yourself whether it works for you or not.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-32452366093631153182009-09-22T09:58:00.001-07:002009-09-22T09:58:01.464-07:00Review | Red Sonja Presents: Thulsa Doom #1The debut issue of Dynamite?s Thulsa Doom! Proudly announces "From the pages of writer Robert E. Howard".<br /><br />STOP the presses!<br /><br />This should be a warning to all Howard fans.<br /><br />This is your spoiler alert.<br />This is your warning to stay away from the issue. Don?t buy it, don?t pick it up, and don?t read it.<br /><br />Ok, now that you know where I am coming from I will explain a little more. Even though the comic claims to be "From the pages of writer Robert E. Howard," the comic book reads nothing like a Howard story, nor does its main character Thulsa Doom come near to resembling the character created by Howard. This may seem minor, but Thulsa Doom is supposed to be a skull faced necromancer, not a steroid pumped up warrior.<br /><br />What angers me most is that Dynamite has attached Robert E. Howards' name to this comic, implying that this story is canon and follows with what Howard created. This story should not be associated with or compared to anything produced by Robert E. Howard. I don?t have anything against Dynamite or the creative team that developed the story I just wish they would have named the main character something else, taken Howards' name off and let the story rise or fall on its own merits.<br /><br />To give credit where credit is due the comic was written by Kull writer Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Lui (Red Sonja) Antonio, with Alex Ross as the cover artist. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-32625385851036387742009-08-24T14:02:00.001-07:002009-08-24T14:02:38.156-07:00Well I haven't been posting my reviews lately, and they are piling up. I haven't stopped reading, just haven't been writing. At least I haven't been writing reviews.<br /><br />What I have been working on lately is story. The story revolves around the Mirrorman aka Stanley Robinson. In the story he is attempting to rescue a young girl that was sold to the zombies. So far his obstacles are getting into the zombie zone, which is present day Compton, CA, and then into the zombie tower. Once in the tower he must confront the zombie lords. The zombie lords are too powerful for the hero, that is Mirrorman, so he gets help from an unlikely source, I haven't quite decided what the source will be, but that is part of the fun of writing.<br /><br />Anyway I'm about half way through the rough draft and I'm pretty happy with it so far. Here is the opening paragraphy.<br /><br />"A shadow stretched across the city like the head of an axe cleaving the breast of a bloated beast. For the vigilante that stood watch over the city it loomed like an ancient threat portending doom and destruction. The building rose from the cityscape like a jutting spear out of a rotting corpse, the upper reaches of the tall tower reflected the final rays of sun, while the lower levels were already bathed in gloom."<br /><br />I'll review some comics and stories soon. <br /><br />I did go see "The time travelers wife". I was surprised and enjoyed the movie, I went in with some apprehension since I'm always leery of science fiction that has been written by someone who is not a fan of the genre, they just use it because the vehicle works. I liken it to someone who detests gambling but win a big jackpot and doesn't give it away. Anyway the movie was much better that G.I. Joe a true spit on America movie if I ever saw one.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-5541459539534765342009-08-10T15:24:00.001-07:002009-08-10T15:24:03.686-07:00Movie Review - G.I. Joe Rise of the CobraDirected by Stephen Sommers<br /><br />Weapons expert James McCullen, played by Christopher Eccleston, has created a nanotechnology-based weapon capable of destroying an entire city. He sells the warheads to NATO, and then attempts to steal them from NATO. Duke played by Channing Tatum and Ripcord played by Marlon Wayans were responsible for protecting the warheads when his team is wiped out by the Baroness played by Sienna Miller, who is also his Duke?s ex-fiancee Ana, and her team. Duke and Ripcord are rescued by Scarlett played by Rachel Nichols, Snake Eyes played by Ray Park and Heavy Duty played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. They take the warheads to the G.I. Joe command center in North Africa, and are met by General Hawk played by Dennis Quaid. Hawk takes command of the war-heads. Duke reveals that he knows the Baroness, and is retained by the Joes for the time being.<br />From the beginning of the movie I was disappointed, particularly with Tatum?s portrayal of Duke. The scene that sets the tone of Duke, he is addressing his troops before leaving on the mission of protecting the warheads. He calls his group to attention, in one of the most leisurely ?hey guys lets go drink some bears?, way possible. Right off the bat this guy does not have a command voice and acts like he really doesn?t want to be there. But this was just a precursor to the rest of the movie which was just a lifeless and wishy washy as Tatum?s portrayal of Duke.<br />McCullen is revealed to be using the same nanotechnology to build an army of soldiers with the aid of the Doctor played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, planning on using the warheads to bring about panic and thereby a new world order. McCullen locates the G.I. Joe base and sends Storm Shadow played by Lee Byung-hun and the Baroness to retrieve the warheads with assistance from Zartan played by Arnold Vosloo. After the fight, Storm Shadow and the Baroness retrieve the warheads and take them to be weaponized, after which they use them to destroy the Eiffel Tower in order to send a message to the world. The Joes pursue them through the streets but are unsuccessful in stopping them from launching the missile. Duke manages to hit the kill switch which stops the nano-mites from destroying Paris, but in doing so he is captured and taken to McCullen's base under the Arctic. The rest of the Joes are arrested by the French. G.I. Joes put up their hands and surrender to the French. All I want to know is; how much did the French government pay Stephen Sommers to put this scene in, or is it that he just hates America so much he wants to make the G.I. Joes look like a bunch of G.I. Jokes. Perhaps he is on the same apology tour as obama is and he just wanted to show that Americans know how to roll over and show their throats. As Sommers said in an interview this is an obama world, I guess that is synonymous with pathetic.<br />Back to the twisting plot. G.I. Joe locates the secret base and fly there as McCullen loads three missiles with nano-mite warheads. After Snake Eyes takes out one, Ripcord pursues the remaining missiles in a prototype Night Raven jet while Scarlett and her group infiltrate the base. Scarlett and Snake Eyes attempt to shut down the Arctic base, Heavy Duty leads an attack on Cobra's forces, Duke learns that the Doctor is Rex Lewis, the Baronesses brother believed to have been killed on a mission led by Duke four years ago, when he was trapped in a bunker with Doctor Mindbender played by Kevin O'Connor, disfigured in the blast which everyone presumed had killed him. The Baroness tries to free Duke but the Doctor reveals he has implanted her with nano-mites which has put her under his control for the past four years, he is amazed that she is resisting the programming. While attempting to kill Duke, McCullen ends up being facially burned and flees with Rex to an escape vessel. Duke and the Baroness pursue him while the Joes fall back when Rex activated the base's self destruct sequence.<br />Rex then heals McCullen's burned face with nano-mites, encasing him in silver as he christens McCullen "Destro" and assumes the identity of Cobra Commander before they are captured by G.I. Joe soon after. On board the supercarrier USS Flagg, Baroness is placed in protective custody until they can remove the nano-mites from her body. Afterwards, the Joes are shown walking with General Hawk to a waiting troop transport. Zartan, having been earlier operated on by Rex, infiltrates the White House during the missile crisis and assumes the identity of the President of the United States.<br />At the beginning of the movie you think McCullen is the head bad guy out to bring about a new world order but in the end it turns out to be Rex, the doctor that had been working for McCullen. So was Rex behind McCullen the entire time, or is Rex going to take off on a different attempt to take over the world? I?m confused, and you will be to.<br />I used to think that I could get through any movie no matter how bad the story, plot or acting, as long as there was a lot of action and good special effects. This movie proved me wrong. G.I. Joe had great special effects, awesome gadgets, and plenty of action, but the movie fell badly. It is a movie I truly felt I lost two hours of my life I?ll never get back. The story was horrible, unless you like seeing movies where America is shown in a negative light.<br />My recommendation is stay away, see Harry Potter for the second time, or catch a Chick Flick. The action isn?t worth it. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-32472067556114651132009-08-04T14:22:00.001-07:002009-08-04T14:22:24.849-07:00Review - Conan The Cimmerian # 3 - Dark Horse ComicsIssue # 3 of Conan The Cimmerian by Dark Horse Comics written by Timothy Truman, the artist is Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben, colorist Jose? Villarrubia, letterer Richard Starkings and Comicraft, cover artist this go around is Frank Cho, Dave Stewart as the cover colorist.<br /><br />A young Cimmerian woman Caollan and Horsa cross paths with Conan as he makes his way across the frozen mountain passes en route to his homeland in Cimmeria. During the flashback section of Conan?s grandfather, Connacht, we see how he rescues a wealthy merchant from thieves and for a reward he is employed as a blacksmith. It appears Connact is happy with this life in the city and catches the eye of a young slave.<br /><br />Moving at a dynamic pace the story pits Conan against nature as much as it does the enemies he encounters. The relationship between Conan and Caollan has sexual tension and hints of unrequited love. <br /><br />The cliff hanger ending of both stories hint at sacrifice and Black magic. Conan faces a evil witch that is preparing to cast a spell, and Connacht sees the young slave he fancies being led to stake prepared for burning.<br /><br />The artwork by Tomas Giorello is top notch shows the intricacies of the story line in detail. As the story goes on, I?m becoming more comfortable with how Giorello draws Conan, and his presentation is beginning to take hold as the quintessence of a Conan caricature.<br /><br />I really enjoy the artwork of Richard Corben, where Tomas is fluid and evocative. Corben hits you like a left to the stomach and a right to the jaw. You know you have been hit by something powerful, but you aren?t quit sure where it came from. The pictures tell the story in a two fisted way, that Robert E. Howard would have been proud of. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UFRGUQ?ie=UTF8&tag=screarambl-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001UFRGUQ">CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #3</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=screarambl-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001UFRGUQ" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-4948656163453723022009-07-29T13:49:00.001-07:002009-07-29T13:49:08.225-07:00Review - Conan - The God in the Bowl - by Robert E. HowardThe "God in the Bowl" was first published in 1975 several years after it was written by Robert E. Howard, it is a fine example of the evolution of Conan in Howard?s mind, and back story on the political and economic philosophy he was creating in the Hyborian age. I need to mention again that I am exceedingly pleased with Del Rey and how they were edited. The editor of the book tried to produce the stories as close to the original text as written by Howard, and if changes were made, they were noted in the back of the book, giving the page number, line number and word that was changed or a note as to how the text was changed. This is why I like this book so much. For the most part the only changes made were minor grammatical changes, if the original text had a misspelled word; they changed it in the text, but noted how Howard originally spelled it. If you are interested in purchasing this book the bottom of the page contains a link to Amazon, so if you haven?t got a copy yet, pick one up.<br /><br />Ok, enough advertising for the book; I?ll get on with the review. The story "God in the Bowl" starts with a guard discovering the dead body, Kallian Publico, the owner and curator of the museum. Soon Conan enters the scene and the guard seeing Conan comes to the conclusion that he must have murdered the man, and sounds an alarm. Conan is quickly surrounded by other guards along with Demetrio, the chief of the Inquisitorial Council of the city of Numalia, and the prefect of police Dionus. The rest of the story revolves around questioning Conan, and the guard telling the story of how Publico went to town and returned in his chariot, how the guard watched him enter the museum, where no others could have entered because the doors were locked. Howard wraps the story of a criminal investigation being done on the spot, and then brings in a mysterious bowl. During the investigation Conan mentions that he entered the building for the soul purpose of stealing an object and that it was a job, but he maintains his incense when it comes to the murder of Publico. Howard increases the tension by implying that a mysterious and deadly beast was contained in the bowl, but only the clerk, Promero, believes the beast exists. The story reaches a climax when the nephew of the city's governor, Aztrias, arrives on scene. Conan recognizes him and names him as the one who hired him to steal a gem from the museum. When Aztrias does not support Conan's claims, even though Demetrio offers to sweep it under the rug, Conan becomes enraged kills Aztrias and disarms and maims the remainder of the guards. Suddenly Promero appears in the hallway from the chamber he was thrown in, he screams and dies. When they inspect him they find that he has no wounds. Conan enters the chamber sees a head and strikes, severing it from its body, when he looks at the body of the beast it is that of a huge serpent.<br /><br />One of the things I notice about the way Howard wrote this and other Conan tales is that Conan is almost a side bar to the story. What I mean by that is that most of the action happens with out him. For instance in this story Conan shows up and is accused of the crime, yet most of the story is retelling about Publico's movements, the guards movements, and back story into the daily life of Numalia. Conan only shines in the last three pages of a seventeen page story, but otherwise stands off to the side while the investigation goes on, only providing short direct answers in his own defense. This comment is not to dissuade any one from reading the story or any other story by Howard, it is merely an observation. Howard wrote a remarkably mysterious and tension filled story, which resulted with Conan winning a battle with the guards and killing the beast. I would say that if this was the only Conan story I had ever read and I didn't know Conan?s history, I might be asking myself, "Why do I care about this character?" Very little is provided to make the reader really care about and want Conan to succeed, he is just a brooding Barbarian standing off to the side. The obstacles he encounters continue to increase and things look more and more desperate as the story unfolds, but through out it all he stands by the side and lets it develop around him, until Aztrias infuriates him.<br /><br />I really enjoy how Howard makes Conan utterly independent. He is a man who holds in high regards the freedom of the individual. And as a reader who has read Conan stories and know the history of Conan, I like how Howard stood Conan off to the side while the story drove on with out him. This illuminated Conan's complete confidence in his abilities to handle the guards. It also showed how Conan impressed the guards, since they never tried to disarm him. Additionally it showed that Conan had a regard for the law, believed in some sort of code of conduct, and had a deep belief in honesty. His belief in honesty can be seen in two separate events, he willing says that he came there to steal a gym, and that he didn't kill Publico, also when Aztrias does not come forward about hiring him, this is what sets off Conan and ultimately results in him killing Aztrias. This shows us that Conan the barbarian is more honest and noble than the nephew of the governor. I like how Howard sneaks in the concept of a mans is only as good as his word, and how he turns the concept of strength in numbers upside down and shows the power and greatness of the individual.<br /><br /> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=screarambl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0345461517&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-75044820949077840392009-07-28T11:02:00.001-07:002009-07-28T11:02:37.906-07:00Review ? In the Forest of Villefere ? by Robert E. HowardThis is one of the first horror stories written by Robert E. Howard as it is found in the collection of stories by Del Rey "The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard". First published in Weird Tales, August 1925, ?In the Forest of Villefere," is very different from the Conan stories I have read and reviewed thus far. I really went into these stories with no expectations, but what struck me from the first few paragraphs was it seemed to be forced, as if he was trying to write like someone else, later in reading I realized it sounded a lot like Edger Alan Poe. <br /><br />Being a horror story its main point was to frighten, and that it did. I didn?t make me keep the light on at night nor didn?t it stay in my mind and work mess with my mind on a subconscious level, it was scary although on a level that it could be read to an eight year old without to much of a worry about scaring them for life.<br /><br />"In the Forest of Villefere", is a very short story, barely 4 pages long. But, the story is tight in that it; introduces the main character de Montour of Normandy, puts him on a dark road at night that is known for strange happenings, and strange creatures. de Montour meets a mysterious traveler along the way, who tells him a legend about werewolves. The traveler attacks de Montour and when he pulls a mask from his face, he realizes he is a werewolf. According to the legend if a werewolf is killed in wolf form it is dead, if it is killed while in the form of a man, then the half-soul of the wolf will haunt the killer for the rest of his life. de Montour defeats the werewolf but doesn?t kill him right away because he is in man form, he watches the moon come close to is zenith, and the mans body begin to turn into a wolf. de Montour picks up a sword and hacks it to bits, and runs off into the words.<br /><br />As I said earlier this is a very short story, but worth at least two reads. I was tripped up by the language Howard used, since he was writing as if the characters were speaking old English with a dash of French thrown in, but after a second read it was much easier, and the story seemed to develop more substance. Additionally I read it for a second time after I had finished the story "Wolfshead", which I will review shortly and is very much related to "In the Forest of Villefere".<br /><br />Here is a link to purchase the book through Amazon, ?The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard?, pick it up and following along with my reviews, and if you have any comments please post them.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=screarambl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0345490207&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-77265199206429322982009-07-13T09:39:00.001-07:002009-07-13T09:39:04.567-07:00New Boss at NASA: Part IIn the first part of my Screaming Ramble about the new NASA director Charles Bolden, I neglected to mention what in the i09 blog caused me to want to write in the first place. What made the topic personal to me was a quote by Mr. Bolden. He mentioned that when he would tour schools in 1980, and asked who wanted to be an astronaut, every hand went up. But, if he asks the same question today, he might see three hands.<br /><br />This took me back to high school and junior high and grade school. I graduated high school in 1982 and at that time, would have still answered yes to the question, about wanting to be an astronaut, but if you would have asked me when I was in grade school it would have been emphatically yes. Once I got into college my ambitions changed, I started taking a harder look at life and what I wanted to do with it. The first shuttle disaster occurred, Challenger disintegrated shortly after launch, January 1986, and with this occurrence my feelings about being an astronaut changed. I can?t say that it was this event particular, it was a culmination of thoughts and feelings, being an astronaut had lost its maverick appeal, and with the disaster it felt more like a tragic commuter accident than humans testing the bonds of Earth. Not to mention the cold war was thawing and the Soviet Union was no longer the threat they once were. Space just didn?t have its allure.<br /><br />I have high expectations for Mr. Bolden. One: that he will lead NASA out of Low Earth Orbit and back into the business of space exploration. Two: that he will lead the nation in desiring space exploration, bringing back that sense of wonder that everyone had when they saw Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=screarambl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0791463826&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-47779195854603448302009-07-12T07:21:00.000-07:002009-07-12T07:38:55.726-07:00The New Boss at NASAI'm going to take a break here from my reviews of Robert E. Howard stories, and off the Comics, and off movies, I'm going to take a break from aspects of this blog I enjoy, to dive back into my Screaming Ramble of the would've, should've, could've of space explorations.<br /><br />I realize that is what this blog was supposed to be all about, but I found that ranting about why we haven't sent humans back to the moon and beyond and the politics around all of that, well, it was depressing me so I escaped back into stories and started reviewing them, don't worry I will be back to reviewing shortly, but I came across an item on io9 that got me back into my old habits.<br /><a href="http://io9.com/5311403/new-nasa-boss-time-to-put-up-or-shut-up"></a><br /><br />As I mentioned in some of my early blogs I like Charles Bolden as the nominee for the next NASA administrator. I feel he has the technical background, political connections, and inspiring oratory skills needed to take NASA out of Low Earth Orbit and back into "Manned Space Exploration". What waits to be seen is if he has the vision to do this, or will he cater to the current administration and put all of the money and resources into studying global warming. As I have said before all the research into "global warming", or "climate change" ain't going to amount to crap when and asteroid plows through the atmosphere and unleashes a billion mega joules of energy that devastates the planet and destroys not only the humans that inhabit the Earth, but every other living thing. Hm, maybe if we had a permanent presence in space and had space ships that could have intercepted the asteroid and pushed it out of the way (or some other means) we would still be around.<br /><br />We shall see if he has the vision needed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-81036083252326060812009-07-07T12:44:00.001-07:002009-07-07T12:44:26.242-07:00Review | Conan The Cimmerian #2 Dark Horse ComicsIssue #2 of Conan The Cimmerian by Dark Horse Commics written by Timothy Truman, the artist is Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben, colorist Jose? Villarrubia, letterer Richard Starkings and Comicraft, cover artist this go around is Frank Cho, Dave Stewart as the cover colorist.<br /><br />The story continues where issue #1 left off. Conan is listening to the tale of his grandfather, Connacht, as told by the hermit. The tale has Connacht taking care of the two boys he rescued, and stopping at a farm house during their travels. During the night the farmer questions Connacht at the end of a pitch fork, Connacht easily disarms the farmer, and agrees to help him look for his missing daughter.<br /><br />Connacht finds the bloody remains of the farmer?s daughter and is attacked by a huge man like wolf, he fights with it, and is about ready to be killed by the beast when another one comes in and defends him but looses an eye in the fight. Connacht is able to get the better of the first wolf that attacked him and cuts the beast in half at the waist. The beast turns into one of the boys who Connacht had rescued the other wolf turns into the other boy, but is now missing an eye. <br /><br />The story jumps back to Conan who takes the rapping from the hermits face and realizes he is the boy his grandfather rescued years ago. The hermit goes out to be with his brothers the wolves and leaves Conan looking out onto a frozen wind swept valley.<br /><br />The story arc was ok. It gave some back story about Conan?s grandfather Connacht, showing that he has a heart for kids in harms way, and is a competent fighter. It also show that there are werewolves in Conan?s world. But overall the back story about Connacht tells us very little one how it makes Conan who he is.<br /><br />The art work is truly the best part of this issue and the story arc in general. The vistas displayed are sparse, desolate, foreboding and cold, relaying the true experience of living in this world. Corben?s artwork is easily identified and gives the gritty look of history in the telling of Connacht.<br /><br />All in all I would give this a 4.2 out of 5.0 on my comic rating scale. I encourage anyone that hasn?t started reading this series to start, and to pick up the previous issues, particularly issue #0. The rolling banner overhead takes you to where you can order the issues through Amazon.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-47184129998218847052009-07-05T07:45:00.000-07:002009-07-05T08:04:29.974-07:00News Flash ---- Alternative Coordinates Publishes Summer 2009 editionAlternative Coordinates<br /><a href="http://www.ac-mag.com/"></a><br /><br />Here is a quick blast to let you know that one of the best Science Fiction E-zines has published their second issue. Alternative Coordinates released Summer 2009 issue a few days ago. As I have said before and I will say again, this is the fertile ground which will produce the next generation of authors to go down in history. In these fledgling e-zines that take risks and are not biased towards publishing in large part, "established authors", will discover the next Robert E. Howard's, Heinleins, Asimov's and such.<br /><br />Here is the list of who they have to offer this time;<br />Tomb by Z. S. Adani<br />The London Incident by Jennifer R. Povey<br />The Heart Of The Dragon by Brian Dolton<br />The Alien Embrace - part 1 by Frances Pauli<br />A Hissing Sound by Neil James Hudson<br />Atlantic in Shadow by Benjamin Farthing<br /><br />A new aspect to the E-zine is that the editor Jeff Cochran has added the ability to download the issue in PDF format, I'm a huge fan of this and really enjoy the ability to print or not to print. Additionally the cover can be down loaded as wall paper, in several different formats.<br /><br />I'll review as I get the chance to read.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-6539783164939022872009-07-02T13:43:00.001-07:002009-07-02T13:43:07.932-07:00Review | Conan The Cimmerian #1 Dark Horse ComicsOk here is the real first issue, which is #1, not a psych of #0 but a real first issue of Conan The Cimmerian by Dark Horse Commics. It is written by Timothy Truman, the artist is Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben, colorist Jose? Villarrubia, letterer Richard Starkings and Comicraft, cover artist this go around is Dave Cho, Dave Stewart as the cover colorist, and if you happen to have the alternate cover the artist is Joe Kubert.<br /><br />This starts up where the last issue ended. Conan is helped by an old hermit, and once in his cave he begins to the story of Conan?s grandfather. The story centers around two boys he rescues from being murdered by their tribe. In addition to the story of the two boys, the reader learns more about Conan?s grandfather, particularly that he was not from the North originally, but has wandered all around the world. His grandfather is a hunter, and a very adept hunter, but nothing on the level of Conan. The art work is good; I still don?t count it as being exceptional, but good none the less. The art sets the mood of the story very well; it is somber and depressing, like the land the story is taking place in. However; the art does not change when the mood of the story changes. <br /><br />I give this issue a 4.2 out of 5.0 on my comic rating scale.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-9551482262718562492009-06-29T14:27:00.001-07:002009-06-29T14:27:16.581-07:00Review | Conan The Cimmerian #0 Dark Horse ComicsThe first issue, which is #0, of Conan The Cimmerian by Dark Horse Commics, is a special issue. It is written by Timothy Truman, the artist is Tomas Giorello (who also did the cover), colorist Jose? Villarrubia, letterer Richard Starkings and Comicraft, and Dave Stewart as the cover colorist.<br /><br />I must say I really enjoyed this first special issue. Here come the spoilers, I?m going to tell you how the comic is set up and just about everything about, so if you just want to pick it up and read it, then stop reading this review. Otherwise read on.<br /><br />The comic shows Conan returning to Cimmeria some years after he had left and traveled the south lands. He is attacked by a group of Vanir, and easily kills them. This would be an incredibly short story if not for one thing; the battle is played out with the back drop of Cimmeria being explained by the poem written by Robert E. Howard, ?Cimmeria.? Each page has a few words from the poem or large sections in entirety, the backdrop is somberly depicted to be harsh and cold, and a feeling of despair lurks on these pages. The artist changes style and color brightens when the poem tells of Conan?s travels, thereby changing the mood. I am very pleased that the authors and Dark Horse, preferred to bring Conan?s world to light by using the full text of his poem ?Cimmeria?, thereby rooting the series on Howards? model instead of just their own interpretation,.<br /> <br />To further link this comic to Howard, the first page of the comic shows a small room with a desk an old manual typewriter and a few issues of Weird Tales sitting on it. A few other items lead the reader to enter not Conan?s world but the world of Robert E. Howard. Boxing gloves hang on the wall; a book on the crusades sits on the desk. These are pieces of Howard?s life that made him who he was and coalesced in his mind that which would become the most famous Barbarian of all times, Conan. Once again at the end of the comic, the author and artist transitions from the world of Conan back to that of Howards Texas with a depiction of him writing the poem ?Cimmeria? on a wind swept Texas hill about Frederisksburg. <br /><br />Lastly on the letters page is a short piece called ?The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob; True Stories from the Life of Robert E. Howard.? Here is text taken from Howard?s correspondence with Clark Ashton Smith, regarding the writing of Conan. <br /><br />As I said I am pleased with this comic and the background it provides on Conan?s creator Robert E. Howard. The art and color are very much in keeping with the mood one gets in reading the words of ?Cimmeria?. If there is one complaint it is with the artists rendering of Conan himself, which to me looks to be to much caveman like and not enough intelligent barbarian. When I read the description of Conan I see some of the noble savage, but more to the point I see a very intelligent brooding fighting machine, of supreme confidence, neither arrogant nor whimsical. All in all I would give this a 5.0 out of 5.0 on my comic rating scale.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-2129362336460908012009-06-29T13:26:00.001-07:002009-06-29T13:26:27.645-07:00Adding a new review topic - Conan the Cimmerian ComicsIn addition to reviewing the Conan Stories written by Robert E. Howard, I will also be reviewing Conan The Cimmerian comics produced by Dark Horse Comics. Some Robert E. Howard purist may find the comics distasteful and not worth the paper they?re printed on. For all I know that thought may be an accurate accounting for the comics, but I will read through them and give you my opinion, biased in one way or another, on what I think of the comics.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy my reviews of the Conan The Cimmerian comics. Please feel free to leave comics, and let me know what you think, whether good or bad, or if you would like to like to add your two cents ? two dollars when corrected for inflation ? that is fine with me. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-77171574898502294122009-06-16T11:52:00.001-07:002009-06-16T11:52:40.219-07:00Review: Robert E. Howard's "The Frost-Giants Daughter (Gods of
theNorth)"This is a short tale, which takes up at the end of a battle between the wolves of Bragi and the Vanir on icy plains in the frozen Nordheim. After Conan kills the last enemy a woman, Atali, appears before him. She is nearly naked, covered only by a gossamer veil. She taunts him, whereby Conan chases after her. Conan is led into an ambush where Atali?s frost-giant brothers attack him. Conan defeats the frost-giants, after which Atali fleas in fright. Conan chases after her and finally catches her; she pleads for her father the Frost-Giant god Ymir, to saver her. Atali disappears in a pillar of blue flame, and Conan is rendered unconscious. Conan is awakened by allies who arrived at the battle site after the battle was over and tracked him across the frozen waste. One old fighter tells the tale of how the daughter of the Ymir haunts battle fields in order to lure men, weak from battle to be slain by her brothers, and their victim?s hearts given to their father as a sacrifice. The men don?t believe the old fighter, and believe Conan is suffering the effects of a blow to the head received during battle. But the story ends with Conan still holding the gossamer veil; he tore from Atali?s body before her father spirited her away.<br /><br />This story is short and easy to read, and is largely derived from Greek mythology. It is one of the first stories written by Howard to chronicle Conan?s life. The story was not published in Howard?s life, but has appeared in different versions and in some times with different heroes since 1976.<br /><br />What is Howard telling us about Conan in this story? Within the first few paragraphs Howard shows that Conan is by far the best warrior. After this Howard brings in Atalia, and shows Conan captivated by her beauty and taken over with desire to have her, all of the sudden the powerful warrior is subject to the charms of a woman. At this point Conan is depicted as supremely confident and powerful when in battle, but in affairs of the heart he is lead by his libido. At this point Atali clearly has the upper hand and is in control of the situation. When Conan meets the frost-giant brothers and defeats them in battle, Howard once again shows how ultimately superior Conan is on the battle field, but this is quickly negated when he runs after Atali heading to his libido. It can be argued here that Conan is more animalistic and less of a thinking human, but I would disagree since at this point there is alos a subtle change in Conan?s reason for chasing after Atali, lust is still a primary factor, but now it is tinged with revenge and retribution for being led into an ambush. When Conan proves that his constitution is superior to Atali, but chasing her across the frozen land and capturing her, she is left with only one means of escape, she calls on her father, Yamir. At this point Conan has his prize taken from him by divine intervention and is left unconscious. Howard shows us that Conan is a worthy opponent to godlike beings; yet, what is interesting here is that Conan does not even know himself that he is a worthy opponent. Although Conan doesn?t defeat Yamir in physical combat he defeats his champions, which in and of itself is worthy of legend. <br /><br />A lot can be said on what this alludes to and questions that arise. If Atali is the daughter of a God, how is it that she is captured by Conan? If the brothers are sons of a God, how is it that Conan is able to kill them so easily? What is Howard trying to say about Conan? It almost appears as if Howard is implying that Conan is similar to Hercules who was the offspring of the union between a human and a God. As the history of Conan goes he does not bear Godly blood, even though time and again he battles superhuman beings and wins. I believe Howard was merely using these super beings as justifiable threats against Conan, and as a way of giving the character a mythical foundation of which to write further tales. Conan is the classic hero, and this story is an excellent portrait of what a hero should be. He is strong in battle against his enemies, yet he can be overcome, and in this case it is his desire for Atali that gets him in trouble. <br /><br />The Frost-Giants Daughter is told with a fine mix of dialogue and narrative, allowing Howard to paint a very visual and detailed landscape for the reader to enter. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-38590477890407639712009-06-14T15:25:00.000-07:002009-06-14T15:27:53.847-07:00Aliens: The New Dark Horse ComicsReview by Jeff Cochran<br /><br />It’s been years since I’ve seen that dark and foreboding image of the tall, slender, biomechanical body with the extended, arch shaped, bug like head. Until last night, that is. After reading the newly released Aliens from Dark Horse Comics, I had to watch the movie again. Hollywood is scrambling to reboot everything under the sun. I guess it was just a matter of time before Dark Horse rebooted its Alien franchise, and I must say I like it.<br /><br />A small group of archeologists enter a backwater star system to take possession of their claim; an ancient artifact of alien origin. When the team makes planet fall, they are met by a small group of miners, who are meant to escort them to the find. Instead, the miners kill the team; apparently directed by some other intelligence.<br /><br />John Arcudi spends a good amount of time setting up the characters, just to kill them near the end of the first issue. However, there are indications on the last page that these characters will be back for more. I don’t know about you, but I like these kinds of mysteries. The set up for what’s to come has me hooked and I already have issue two ordered. <br /><br />The artwork is incredible, each page laid out in a logical manner that keeps the story moving forward. It’s been my experience with comics that it’s easy to loose your place in the story because the panels just didn’t quite work, or the dialogue bubbles were out of place. That is not the case with Aliens. The story kept my interest from start to finish without any annoying interruptions to make me forget I was in a story. <br /><br />The art combines the talents of Zach Howard (Pencils and Inks), Mark Irwin (Inks), Wes Dzioba (Colors), and Blambot!, A.K.A. Nate Piekos (Letterer). The art is amazing, utilizing a perfect balance between line work and color. The ink is used more heavily in the action sequences to add some edge to the work, but then gives way to the color during the more quite sequences of the story. The color is a combination of washes and airbrush, giving the work a superior, illustrated effect versus many comics you see. This team is obviously very experienced visual story tellers.<br /><br />My only complaint is the cover. I would expect something more painterly than this. The work is nice, don’t get me wrong, but I would have expected something grander for the Aliens debut. Perhaps time or budget constraints kept the publishers from anything more.<br /><br />The book is printed in full color on a heavy, high quality stock. The publishers did a very nice job producing this book. I highly recommend you dive back into the terror that is Aliens. Order your subscription here: <a href="http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Aliens-1___340611">http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Aliens-1___340611</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-14743720921991895652009-06-14T15:21:00.000-07:002009-06-14T15:23:28.913-07:00Chew, a very satisfying readComic review by Jeff Cochran<br /><br />If you enjoy gross and humorous in the same sitting, you’re going to love Chew, the new comic series released this month by Image Comics.<br /><br />Tony Chu is a Vice Cop with a unique gift; he gets psychic vibes from anything he eats. He bites into an apple, he knows where it was grown, a hamburger, how the cow was slaughtered. <br /><br />The story opens with a chef preparing the ingredients for a pot of soup. During the slicing and dicing, he accidentally cuts his finger, adding a little of himself to the recipe. <br /><br />Cut to Tony Chu’s and partner’s stake out of a black market chicken joint. That’s right, a chicken joint. In this world, the Federal Government has outlawed all poultry and fowl because of a Bird Flu epidemic.<br /><br />As Tony and partner are preparing to close down the joint, they are approached by an F.D.A. Agent and asked to halt their activities; the chicken joint is under Federal protection. The two cops are even invited in for a meal.<br /><br />As he samples the chicken soup, Tony suddenly receives information about a serial killer, who happens to be working as a chef in the kitchen.<br /><br />Tony and partner raid the kitchen to catch the killer, who cuts his own throat to avoid the jail time. What happens next will be left to your own reading enjoyment.<br /><br />The writing of John Layman is superb; well crafted and witty. Rob Guillory provides wonderful, very stylize art that looks similar to an old Saturday morning cartoon, but darker and edgier. <br /><br />This is a fun comic! The ending sets Tony Chu up for many wild adventures to come and I loved the social commentary about the Bird Flu. I can’t wait to see what these guys come up next. I hope you’ll take the time to read Chew, visit Things From Another World to order your copy today.<br /><br /><br />Jeff Cochran is the publisher of Media Explorer, a blog offering reviews and essays on genre fiction, and Alternative Coordinates, an online Science Fiction magazine.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-81898898028461993922009-06-09T11:50:00.001-07:002009-06-09T11:50:54.196-07:00Review of "The Phoenix on the Sword" by Robert E. HowardFor those that are fans of the original Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard, and those who may be interested in them, I will be writing reviews, critiques, editorials, and anything that happens to come into my mind based on the stories I?m reading.<br /> <br />This all came about when I picked up a new compilation of the classics, published in three books by Del Rey and titled ?The Coming of Conan?, ?The Conquering Sword of Conan? and ?The Bloody Crown of Conan?. The stories appear in order of publication and in some instances the synopsis or outline of the story written by Robert E. Howard is included. As a fan of the craft of writing this was of particular interest to me. So armed with the books I began re-reading the stories I enjoyed many years ago. <br /><br />In becoming re-acquainted with these stories, and in some cases I am experiencing them for the first time, I am outfitted with a more aged outlook on life, perhaps a little less of the wonder I felt when I first read them years ago. But nonetheless as time passes by and one gets older, you can?t help but have a change in attitudes as life has a way of hardening your outlook on reality. However, if this first story is any indication, they still spark wonder and excitement; they cause you to hold your breath, and your heart to beat harder. This is the same exhilaration I felt when I first experienced these stories many years ago.<br /><br />As you enter the Hyborian world for a brief escape of reality, it is a protected world, a world unlike the world of science fiction, it is a world that is not influenced by scientist saying ?it will never work?, it is a place where scientist are not allowed to tear down the place of dreams. It is a place where one can become Conan, and like Den said in the movie, Heavy Metal?<br />?On Earth I?m nobody, but here I?m Den.?<br />Through the words of Robert E. Howard we can all be more than what we are on Earth.<br /><br /> ?The Phoenix on the Sword? by Robert E. Howard<br /><br />I always wonder how it came to be that this was the first story Robert E. Howard published in the Conan saga, since it takes place in the later years of Conan?s life. Yet it has a depth such that it was the conclusion of a long career of writing and developing, the characters history through events written in the story of his life.<br /><br />The setting of the story shows Conan as the king of Aquilonia, and attempting to settle into that role, instead of that of an adventurer. It is alluded to early on that Conan is much better suited to wielding a sword than politics, that he is more comfortable facing enemies, than the affairs of court, and that he is in essence a noble savage.<br /><br />The story revolves around four conspirators who plan to kill Conan. However, two separate and unrelated events spell doom for the rebel gang, 1) Conan meets an ancient in a dream, and is warned of a serpent in the midst of his kingdom, the ancient aids Conan by placing a powerful symbol of a phoenix on his sword, 2) In another part of the city the enslaved wizard Thoth-Amon from stygia regains his ring of power and sends a conjured beast to kill his master, Ascalante, who is also one of the four conspirators.<br /><br />The four conspirators along with a group of soldiers attack Conan. Conan is close to being defeated, when the conjured beast bursts into the room attacking Ascalante and killing him. The beast starts to attack Conan, but Conan uses the sword with the phoenix symbol on the beast and it dissolves into nothingness.<br /><br />The story has an excellent mix of dialogue, narrative, and poetry. Everything goes to tell this story, to set the mood, place, and time. Although many aspects of Conan canon are missing from this story, nothing in this story requires the reader to know the history of Conan.<br /><br />Very little is discussed of where Conan comes from, and it is only briefly mentioned of how he got to the position of king. For the most part this is the story about a group of rebels that try to kill him, Conan is still very much the main character, but this is not fully showcased until the end with the battle against the rebels and the conjured beast.<br /><br />This is not one of the great stories from the Conan series but it is a very good one, and I enjoy it very much. It contains exciting, easy to read story telling and it gives only enough back story to move it along and make the reader want to know more.<br /><br />In the story Conan appears to be almost super-human, but not quite. Physically he is superior to the men he encounters, but just barely, and with enough forces arrayed against him he can be, and is, brought down. It also implies that Conan is favored by godlike entities, as seen when Epemitreus a Sage who has been dead for fifteen hundred years appears to help Conan. But it doesn?t say that Conan is favored by the gods. All in all Conan appears to be an everyday guy that excels at what he does and asks nothing from anyone else.<br /><br />After reading this story over again, and learning more about Robert E. Howard it amazes me that he wrote this when he was twenty-six, committed suicide four years later at age thirty, and in those four short years he produced twenty-one completed stories, four unfinished documents and a number of untitled synopses for Conan stories. In addition to this Howard wrote in numerous and diverse genres. Whatever demons haunted him, and kept him from finding peace in this world, he didn?t let that stop him from being a hugely prolific writer. The worlds he created are more alive today than when they first appeared within the pages of Weird Tales, and have given many people through out the world a place to escape. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-17016081452430368102009-05-29T13:23:00.001-07:002009-05-29T13:23:53.386-07:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514390288076870586.post-51130199175750022652009-05-13T11:24:00.001-07:002009-05-13T11:24:02.988-07:00Movie Review: X-Men Origins: WolverineX-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hug Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Reynolds.<br /><br />The movie begins with a young boy James Howlett (Wolverine) discovering he has mutant abilities. It quickly tells how he and his half-brother Victor Creed live through the American Civil War, World War I and II, and Vietnam. In Vietnam their mutant abilities are discovered, they survive a firing squad and are recruited by Major William Stryker to join Team X a group of mutants including David North (Agent Zero), Chris Bradley (Bolt), Wade Wilson (Deadpool), Fred Dukes(Blob), and John Wraith. James leaves the group when he begins to question their actions.<br /><br />A few years later James ? now using the name Logan - is a lumberjack living happily in Canada with his girlfriend Kayla, when Colonel Stryker appears with a sharply dressed agent zero, to warn him that someone is killing Team X members. Soon after Kayla is killed by Victor, and Logan is beaten by his half-brother while trying to exact revenge. Logan agrees to undergo a process to have his skeleton fused with adamantium. At this point Logan takes on the name Wolverine. As the painful process of fusing the adamantium to his skeleton is finishing, Colonel Stryker orders to have Wolverines memory erased, Wolverine hears this and escapes.<br /><br />With the help of Wraith and Dukes, Wolverine locates Remy LeBeau (Gambit) who knows the location of the facility Colonel Stryker is using to perform experiments on mutants. Wolverine convinces Gambit to help him, and take him to the facility, which is at Three Mile Island.<br /><br />The cinematography is good, the special effects are good and the direction is good. I can?t say that any one of those aspects of the movie jump out. What make this movie most entertaining is Hugh Jackman?s acting he, as a star should, carries this movie and makes his character believable, human and give him life. The other point of the movie that worked for me was the chemistry between Wolverine and Sabertooth, Hugh and Live Schreiber pulled off the love hate relationship brothers often have. This was by far much more powerful and believable than the relationship between Wolverine and Kayla (Silver Fox).<br /><br /> The Soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams is exceptional. This sets the mood for the entire movie and is most powerful during the opening sequence.<br /><br />I would recommend this movie to just about anyone. It gives a basis in the origin of Wolverine and the Marvel Universe. With so many Marvel comic characters coming to the big screen, and the potential for characters to jump from one file to another, will we ever see Wolverine show up in an Iron Man movie, maybe or maybe not? But the potential exists and this movie, as well as being stand alone action adventure movie, offers grounding in what could be coming to a theater near you.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1