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Let's get the real life business out of the way first. I AM SO DONE WITH THE YEAR NOW, YAY!!! French final went well - I feel really good about it. Finished up the last essay for my Gender class take home exam and dropped that off at the Anthropology Department, picked up my comics (creepy guy was NOT there. The store was actually empty so I had a nice little chat with the owner.), came home and did just what I said I'd planned to do: crack open a beer and game.
So Punch Out on the Wii is AWESOME. Huzzah for old resurrected franchises! The opponents are tougher this time around, but it's a trade off for easier-to-use controls. (If you want to duck, you just push down instead of DOWN + DOWN like the original, argh!)
I also cracked open some books. I tore through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I have to say it was a VERY enjoyable read. The real charm in the book lies in how the author makes the zombies (and ninjas! There are ninjas too) blend so well into the background by making full use of Austen's style. There are zombies that feed on the brains of the living but they are simply referred to as "the unmentionables." It is therefore both a fun read and pays a good deal of homage to Austen's original work. There are even discussion questions at the back of the book, lol! (Side Note: I am by no means a Jane Austen fan, but I think of Pride and Prejudice as my little guilty pleasure. Oh Mr. Darcy...)
That said, the other day I had also picked up the trade for the Doctor Who comic The Forgotten. If my fellow Whovians are not familiar with the story, it is basically the published Ten Doctors story... sort of... in a way... and nothing like the web comic which you should ALSO check out if you haven't done so yet. I am far too buzzed to talk about anything in a properly or orderly fashion, but I have to say that it is well written and a fun adventure that is SO NEEDED during the current hiatus (it takes place after the Series Four finale but before any of this year's specials). And yes, it TOTALLY promotes the Doctor/TARDIS ship!
At the risk of spoiling it all (because I really do think you all should read it) the Doctor's companion for this story is - in effect - the TARDIS herself, who as we discover takes the form of the Doctor's past companions as she has remembered and imprinted each of the Children of Time who have passed through her doors. The story itself takes place in a mysterious museum dedicated to the Doctor which we discover is actually inside the TARDIS' time matrix. Why? Well, think of the plot of "Turn Left." Yep, it involves a bug on your back!
Anyways, first the art for the most part was really good. The art style changed from issue to issue (or in this case chapter to chapter) but I found an emphasis was placed on which artist was best suited to capturing the likeness of the incarnation present in the issue. Also, the stories of One and Two WERE IN BLACK AND WHITE! Hahaha!
I loved how the Eighth Doctor's story gave us a few details about how exactly the Time War went down. From the comic it appears that Gallifrey was destroyed when the Cruciform crashed into it. Sounds to me like it may have been a Dalek ship (must have been an amazingly huge one). And the Time War (according to the comic) appears to have ended when the Doctor used a key he had picked up previously (in the memory we see) which was used to activate a large de-mat device which quite literally REMOVED both the Daleks and Time Lords from time and space - erasing their entire existence with the Doctor as the only survivor (for whatever reason... maybe because he turned the key?). This is interesting, as it accounts for the Master's survival as he hid beneath a human DNA pattern, and the Daleks that just seem to keep coming back always come from BETWEEN the spaces where they were hiding. It makes me wonder if any TIME LORDS hid beneath the spaces between realities... likely, I suppose, and better than just using fob watches repeatedly if (and when) the creative team decides to bring back characters like Romana or the Rani.
This comic also turned me on to the far-fetched notion of 10.5 as the Valeyard. Sure he's a human Doctor with a normal lifespan but that would only give him MOTIVATION to go after the Doctor's remaining/future regenerations, right? Also, the way the comic does it, he looks exactly like Ten... only he sports The Dastardly Beard of Obvious Evil. Which totally irritates and flusters the Doctor:
"You're not me - I mean him! I left him on Bad Wolf Bay! He's not been gone long enough, and I'd - I mean he'd - we'd never have such a crap beard!"
Still brilliant. I wish I had scans to share with you all the amazing awful beard.
But, the crowning moment of awesome heart warming "OMG I LOVE YOU DOCTOR" moment comes at the end. The Doctor has worked his way through the utter mindfuckery (okay, it's not actually that) of the Valeyard and has managed to open the door out of the TARDIS matrix into the light that beckons him. His literally TARDS companion turns to leave (remember she can and has been taking the form of previous companions) but the Doctor stops her and calls her back.
"Wait!" he says. "Before you go, I may never get a chance to come back here... and there's one companion I'd really like to see again, one last time. It - it's been hard, these years of travelling, always alone, except for scattered moments of companionship. Please. You know who I want - who I need to see."
"Of course, Doctor," replies the TARDIS. As I turned the page I rolled my eyes expecting to see Rose. Remember, folks, it's ALWAYS about Rose these days... up on that damn pedestal above all other companions.
"Grandfather?"
OMFG IT'S SUSAN!!! THE DEAR WOOBIE MISSES HIS GRANDDAUGHTER SO MUCH AND THEY HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL LITTLE PARTING CONVERSATION AND D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
Also, over the course of the comic the Doctor seems to imply that Susan was a Time Lady as he seems to affirm that she is gone like all the others. WHICH JUST MAKES THIS LAST SCENE ALL THAT MORE WONDERFUL.
I know it's because of the beer, but I felt like CRYING. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
Yeah. Read it.
That said, to conclude I guess all I really have to talk about is the final conclusion to Battle for the Cowl. Guess what? Nothing new happened. It ended just the way we all thought it would.
Dick is Batman. Who DIDN'T see that coming? Also, as if Black Mask wasn't enough of a Red Skull rip-off already, it appears that the last issue of BftC has taken the dual personality route with Black Mask. A figure gathered in shadows speaks to the skull mask (with glowing red eyes) speaks to it and refers to them as multiple people. Yeah, it's just like when the spirit of the Red Skull posessed that Russian guy in the Captain America comics. OMG DC SO LAME.
As for Captain America? D'awwwwwwww Bucky's birthday! 16-year-old Bucky has the most adorable goofy ears, and one of the birthdays was so totally filled with Bucky/Toro moments that immediately made me think of ani_bester over on LJ.
And Marvel Adventures is ALWAYS made of win!
So Punch Out on the Wii is AWESOME. Huzzah for old resurrected franchises! The opponents are tougher this time around, but it's a trade off for easier-to-use controls. (If you want to duck, you just push down instead of DOWN + DOWN like the original, argh!)
I also cracked open some books. I tore through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I have to say it was a VERY enjoyable read. The real charm in the book lies in how the author makes the zombies (and ninjas! There are ninjas too) blend so well into the background by making full use of Austen's style. There are zombies that feed on the brains of the living but they are simply referred to as "the unmentionables." It is therefore both a fun read and pays a good deal of homage to Austen's original work. There are even discussion questions at the back of the book, lol! (Side Note: I am by no means a Jane Austen fan, but I think of Pride and Prejudice as my little guilty pleasure. Oh Mr. Darcy...)
That said, the other day I had also picked up the trade for the Doctor Who comic The Forgotten. If my fellow Whovians are not familiar with the story, it is basically the published Ten Doctors story... sort of... in a way... and nothing like the web comic which you should ALSO check out if you haven't done so yet. I am far too buzzed to talk about anything in a properly or orderly fashion, but I have to say that it is well written and a fun adventure that is SO NEEDED during the current hiatus (it takes place after the Series Four finale but before any of this year's specials). And yes, it TOTALLY promotes the Doctor/TARDIS ship!
At the risk of spoiling it all (because I really do think you all should read it) the Doctor's companion for this story is - in effect - the TARDIS herself, who as we discover takes the form of the Doctor's past companions as she has remembered and imprinted each of the Children of Time who have passed through her doors. The story itself takes place in a mysterious museum dedicated to the Doctor which we discover is actually inside the TARDIS' time matrix. Why? Well, think of the plot of "Turn Left." Yep, it involves a bug on your back!
Anyways, first the art for the most part was really good. The art style changed from issue to issue (or in this case chapter to chapter) but I found an emphasis was placed on which artist was best suited to capturing the likeness of the incarnation present in the issue. Also, the stories of One and Two WERE IN BLACK AND WHITE! Hahaha!
I loved how the Eighth Doctor's story gave us a few details about how exactly the Time War went down. From the comic it appears that Gallifrey was destroyed when the Cruciform crashed into it. Sounds to me like it may have been a Dalek ship (must have been an amazingly huge one). And the Time War (according to the comic) appears to have ended when the Doctor used a key he had picked up previously (in the memory we see) which was used to activate a large de-mat device which quite literally REMOVED both the Daleks and Time Lords from time and space - erasing their entire existence with the Doctor as the only survivor (for whatever reason... maybe because he turned the key?). This is interesting, as it accounts for the Master's survival as he hid beneath a human DNA pattern, and the Daleks that just seem to keep coming back always come from BETWEEN the spaces where they were hiding. It makes me wonder if any TIME LORDS hid beneath the spaces between realities... likely, I suppose, and better than just using fob watches repeatedly if (and when) the creative team decides to bring back characters like Romana or the Rani.
This comic also turned me on to the far-fetched notion of 10.5 as the Valeyard. Sure he's a human Doctor with a normal lifespan but that would only give him MOTIVATION to go after the Doctor's remaining/future regenerations, right? Also, the way the comic does it, he looks exactly like Ten... only he sports The Dastardly Beard of Obvious Evil. Which totally irritates and flusters the Doctor:
"You're not me - I mean him! I left him on Bad Wolf Bay! He's not been gone long enough, and I'd - I mean he'd - we'd never have such a crap beard!"
Still brilliant. I wish I had scans to share with you all the amazing awful beard.
But, the crowning moment of awesome heart warming "OMG I LOVE YOU DOCTOR" moment comes at the end. The Doctor has worked his way through the utter mindfuckery (okay, it's not actually that) of the Valeyard and has managed to open the door out of the TARDIS matrix into the light that beckons him. His literally TARDS companion turns to leave (remember she can and has been taking the form of previous companions) but the Doctor stops her and calls her back.
"Wait!" he says. "Before you go, I may never get a chance to come back here... and there's one companion I'd really like to see again, one last time. It - it's been hard, these years of travelling, always alone, except for scattered moments of companionship. Please. You know who I want - who I need to see."
"Of course, Doctor," replies the TARDIS. As I turned the page I rolled my eyes expecting to see Rose. Remember, folks, it's ALWAYS about Rose these days... up on that damn pedestal above all other companions.
"Grandfather?"
OMFG IT'S SUSAN!!! THE DEAR WOOBIE MISSES HIS GRANDDAUGHTER SO MUCH AND THEY HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL LITTLE PARTING CONVERSATION AND D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
Also, over the course of the comic the Doctor seems to imply that Susan was a Time Lady as he seems to affirm that she is gone like all the others. WHICH JUST MAKES THIS LAST SCENE ALL THAT MORE WONDERFUL.
I know it's because of the beer, but I felt like CRYING. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
Yeah. Read it.
That said, to conclude I guess all I really have to talk about is the final conclusion to Battle for the Cowl. Guess what? Nothing new happened. It ended just the way we all thought it would.
Dick is Batman. Who DIDN'T see that coming? Also, as if Black Mask wasn't enough of a Red Skull rip-off already, it appears that the last issue of BftC has taken the dual personality route with Black Mask. A figure gathered in shadows speaks to the skull mask (with glowing red eyes) speaks to it and refers to them as multiple people. Yeah, it's just like when the spirit of the Red Skull posessed that Russian guy in the Captain America comics. OMG DC SO LAME.
As for Captain America? D'awwwwwwww Bucky's birthday! 16-year-old Bucky has the most adorable goofy ears, and one of the birthdays was so totally filled with Bucky/Toro moments that immediately made me think of ani_bester over on LJ.
And Marvel Adventures is ALWAYS made of win!
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