Long Time No See

Sorry I've not posted for ages as my laptop has been broken and I've only just got it back. So what's been going on whilst I've been away?

Destiny Beta

So the Destiny Beta happened and when it first started there was a free for all on Facebook and twitter as people were giving out beta keys left, right and centre. I don't know where all these people were getting the codes from as I thought you only got one when you pre-ordered. Not that I really care as I managed to nab one so it was a win for me! But because of this mass give away it brought the PSN store to its knees with everyone clamouring to claim the game.

After the dust settled and the store was back up and running I got in to the game. Having already played the Alpha I knew the basic feel of the game but in the beta the campaign missions were new so that's where I started. There weren't too many to ruin the full game, I think there were 6 in total, but there was enough to give you an idea of the story. The plot seems good and will no doubt pull me in further down the line. It does help that they have hired some good actors to provide the voices with Peter Dinklage as your Ghost (a small flying cube that guides and helps you). I didn't realise it was him at first since he is not using a British accent and is talking with his normal American accent. Once I knew it was him I no longer had a flying cube in the game, I had a dwarf in medieval garb walking behind me.

Once the campaign was done I moved on to the PvP which was an experience. I came last on the losing team ever time but enjoyed every minute of it. Its brutal and the other players take no prisoners, it will take some time to get better but it will be fun learning.

Overall this game is the nuts and I can't wait to get the full game. But one thing I did find was it was more enjoyable with a friend. The missions play better with two and PvP was as quiet as a monastery on a Monday night (are monasteries quieter on a Monday night?).

Comic-Con

San Diego hosted its annual convention of comics, films, TV shows and all other forms of geekery and there was a lot of news and announcements. As there was so much I'll just pick out my top 5 pieces of news from comic con.

Number 5
Fight Club and Django Unchained will have sequels but not in film as they are being released as comics. Great news and I will most definitely be adding Fight Club to my monthly buy pile as it is one of my all time favourite films. Yet to see Django so not as hyped but I've heard its meant to be Tarantinos best film since Jackie Brown so I will watch it at some point.

Number 4
The new Mad Max film had a trailer released

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For also got a red band trailer.

Number 3
Telltale games have announced there will be a season 3 for their award winning The Walking Dead series. No release date or platform details but just knowing that there will be a 3rd season is good enough for me.

Number 2
We get a look at Wonder Woman

Too skinny for an Amazonian in my honest opinion. She looks like she would get her arse kicked right through to breakfast if she got into a fight. But it is good to see her invisible jet in the background.

Number 1
Early footage of Age of Ultron has been shown and from what I've heard it's good and that is all I need to know for it to be number 1.

Well that's all I've got for today but I will leave you with this leaked Deadpool movie test footage.

A Raccon With A Ray Gun

Rocket Raccon #1 Cover

In the words of Ice Cube “Today was a good day”. My monthly delivery of comics turned up and this months batch is a good'un. There were many good reads with the murder mystery of Original Sin making more twists and turns and The Uncanny Avengers finally working as a team, but for this post I'm going to focus on a shiny new #1. Rocket Raccoon

Skottie Young writes and provides the art for this title and it's his art work that made this a definite add to my subscription list. His variant covers for other Marvel titles have always been top notch and full of humour and having never read any titles he has written it was nice to see his writing is just as funny. The cartoony art style young brings is a perfect fit for our anthropomorphic hero and all the panels just pop off the page.

The story starts with a quick flash back of a prison break before returning to the present to find Rocket taking a date to watch Groot in a intergalactic wrestling match. From there its non stop action and humour, with a phone call to Star Lord being a particular highlight. But then it ends all to quickly and leaves you wanting more. Which is good considering his big screen arrival this summer.

I've been following Rocket in his most recent outings with his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy in Bendis' latest run. That title has been good but Skottie Young's solo run with the furry member of the team already looks to be 10x better. Although its probably not fair to compare the two due to the complete difference in the tone the two books have, what with the serious feel of GotG and the zany action of RR.

If you have already guessed I liked this book. Really liked this book. I recommend people go out there and jump on this bandwagon as it looks to be going a long way and the journey will be enjoyable all the way.

Rating: Two Thumbs Fresh - Excellent.

P.S If he don't like being called a raccoon, why the hell is it his last name?!

P.P.S Below is a selection of my favourite Skottie Young art work

The Dark Knight Returns.....Again

Evening peeps! I know I've been a bit slow in releasing new posts, its just a bit hard to find the time. When I do have time I don't know what to write about, so I end up playing Playstation or reading comics so that I have something to write about. Then  I have no time to write because I've been gaming and reading. Anyway no such problem today as there is a guest writer today!

Helena Jidborg Alexander has this to say on Batman:

I have a complicated relationship with comic book films, well I should suspect a lot of us do. I love it when they get it right, but when they get it wrong, man do they get it wrong. Batman has most likely suffered this more than most.  I first saw Batman in the form of the very campy 60's TV show when I was around 10 years old. Even then it seemed a bit silly to me. Little did I know that Batman had started out as a very dark and not afraid to kill vigilante character many years earlier.

As I young teen I rented with excitement the 1989 Batman film by Tim Burton and then my love for Batman was born. I sat through the sequel and loved that, but I fell out of love again with the two following Joel Schumacher films. About 7 years after I watched the horribleness that was Batman and Robin a workmate told me I really needed to read the Dark Knight Returns graphic novel. We had been talking about Superman and how neither of us was really a fan. Back then I wasn't really that in to comics, I had read Watchmen and been blown away and my work mate had just lent me some Sin City. And I guess he wanted to further my education. It is safe to say that the Dark Knight Returns was a turning point for me and was the catalyst of me starting to read more and more comics.

The Dark Knight Returns came somewhat as a turning point for Batman as well, he had after the Adam West TV series turned rather campy in the comic too and after the TV series was cancelled the sales of the comic started failing. So in stepped Frank Miller and created what I can only describe as one of the best comics ever.

The premise of the Dark Knight Returns is an aged Batman forcing himself out of retirement as Gotham is falling apart. He has to battle his old foes such as Two Face and the Joker. The latter snapping his own neck in order to implicate Batman in "murder". Batman also gets a female Robin in the form of a 13 year old called Carrie. But the story that interested me the most is his battle with Superman.

Superman no longer of secret Clark Kent identity is working as an agent for the government and during a mission he cocks up a bit and makes a nuclear missile crash, causing the US to be hit by an electromagnetic pulse creating a blackout (well he did save people too I suppose, he didn't just mess up). Cue a lot of loitering and chaos all over the US. In Gotham Batman takes charge and keeps the city running with help from some former foe gang calling themselves Sons of Batman. The government finds it very embarrassing that Gotham is doing so well and sends Superman to deal with Batman. I won't give away the ending because you really need to pick this comic up if you haven’t read it.

You see with this new Superman vs Batman film coming up, which is said to be influenced by the Dark Knight Returns I do worry that they might cock it all up again. After all, Batman got good again with the Nolan silver screen incarnations after Schumacher had caused the franchise to nosedive yet again. So this film following on from the Man of Steel and then (if it is indeed going ahead) leading onto a Justice League film I keep on seeing flashing warning signs (big exclamation marks carried around by George Clooney). But hey, let's give ‘em a chance shall we? Meanwhile if you haven't already I urge you to read the Dark Knight Returns because I suspect Batman may never be better than this.

Helena Jidborg Alexander is a web editor from originally from Sweden but now living in the UK. She is a Whedonverse obsessed nerd who spends most of her time online, reading comics or watching clever TV series. Married to someone she met in 1998 known as Deckard in an #industrial IRC channel, they now have two sons, Tycho and Huxley. Loves a really good TV-series, blippy music, Sushi, A.M Homes books, Heidy Kenney Urban Vinyl figures and comic book heroines. Find her on Twitter under the name Hyperism.