Review by Jeff Cochran
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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: http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Aliens-1___340611
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Chew, a very satisfying read
Comic review by Jeff Cochran
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Review of "The Phoenix on the Sword" by Robert E. Howard
For 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.
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.
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.
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?
?On Earth I?m nobody, but here I?m Den.?
Through the words of Robert E. Howard we can all be more than what we are on Earth.
?The Phoenix on the Sword? by Robert E. Howard
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
?On Earth I?m nobody, but here I?m Den.?
Through the words of Robert E. Howard we can all be more than what we are on Earth.
?The Phoenix on the Sword? by Robert E. Howard
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hug Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Reynolds.
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.
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.
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.
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).
The Soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams is exceptional. This sets the mood for the entire movie and is most powerful during the opening sequence.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
The Soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams is exceptional. This sets the mood for the entire movie and is most powerful during the opening sequence.
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.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Alternative Coordinates Review
I posted a blog recently http://scifiwriter.blogspot.com/2009/03/alternative-coordinates-publishes-first.html Where I introduced a new E-zine called Alternative coordinates. I have finally made it through the stories in the issue and the following comments. If it appears that I don?t give a lot of detail, well, that?s because I?m not. I want you to go to the website and pick up an issue. It?s only two bucks, and well worth it.
Bedbugs by Edward McKeown - A bug fight on an unexplored planet with a love story. Good character development and depiction of the planet. I struggled with some of the uses of Earth historical references, but enjoyed the read.
Before the End by Abby "Merc" Rustad - This is the story about a father and his daughter on his last day. An average story, I never felt connected with the story and its characters.
Displaced by Doug Hewitt - A man disbelieves religion and finds that parts of his reality are disappearing, he openly discourages his daughter from anything religious or metaphysical. A good story, the end still has me trying to figure out what was the message intended by the author.
The Pressure of Ectasy by T.D. Edge - a new virtual reality system. A good story.
The Sentinels by T.M. Crane ? This is a bug war story with a twist through out, and a surprise ending. I enjoyed the story for its pulp appeal.
City of the Gods by Aliette de Bodard ? This is a fantasy quest story. The style is very readable. This was my favorite of the E-zine.
Mirror of My Mind by Z.S. Adani - An intrusive government, cloning and space colonization. Good world and character building. This is another very good story that lends itself to further adventures in the setting.
Bedbugs by Edward McKeown - A bug fight on an unexplored planet with a love story. Good character development and depiction of the planet. I struggled with some of the uses of Earth historical references, but enjoyed the read.
Before the End by Abby "Merc" Rustad - This is the story about a father and his daughter on his last day. An average story, I never felt connected with the story and its characters.
Displaced by Doug Hewitt - A man disbelieves religion and finds that parts of his reality are disappearing, he openly discourages his daughter from anything religious or metaphysical. A good story, the end still has me trying to figure out what was the message intended by the author.
The Pressure of Ectasy by T.D. Edge - a new virtual reality system. A good story.
The Sentinels by T.M. Crane ? This is a bug war story with a twist through out, and a surprise ending. I enjoyed the story for its pulp appeal.
City of the Gods by Aliette de Bodard ? This is a fantasy quest story. The style is very readable. This was my favorite of the E-zine.
Mirror of My Mind by Z.S. Adani - An intrusive government, cloning and space colonization. Good world and character building. This is another very good story that lends itself to further adventures in the setting.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Two Curious Blogs
I came across a two blogs while doing a search on zombies. They are fictional blogs about Obazy, a half human half zombie, and Mirrorman a costumed crime fighter.
The blogs are fairly new only about two months old, but the entries are pretty interesting. The writer is using his characters to comment on current events.
Here are the links.
www.obazy.blogspot.com
www.mirrormanjournal.blogspot.com
The blogs are fairly new only about two months old, but the entries are pretty interesting. The writer is using his characters to comment on current events.
Here are the links.
www.obazy.blogspot.com
www.mirrormanjournal.blogspot.com
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