I like werewolves. I have to admit they're not as sexy as vampires. It's hard to make something appealing about turning into a blood thirsty killing machine under a full moon. Drinking blood and luring young virgins into depravity is practically heroic in comparison.
Ben Templesmith is the mind behind Wormwood. It is a twisted and dark place. Somewhat like 30 Days of Night (of which Templesmith was the artist), it puts werewolves in a confined space and lets them loose. It also pairs them with the worst that humanity has to offer. If Templesmith were a better writer it might have been a story of which monsters to call the heroes; but he's not so it's mostly about gore and violence. Lots of both.
I didn't really like the characterisation of the werewolves in Hoxford. In my opinion he chose to ignore what can lead to interest in werewolves: pack mentality, the curse and the dichotomy between the human and the animal. Instead they were a pack of mindless killers of the same caliber as the serial murders and the rapists that populated Hoxford. I was hoping for more.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1910
When I read The Black Dossier I complained that there were (essentially) too many words and not enough action. 1910 corrects that. It even elaborates on some of what was only hinted at in The Black Dossier and was a much more enjoyable read. I'm still running into the problem that I may have not quite read enough Victorian literature to fully appreciate Moore's narrative but I didn't feel as far out of the loop with this one. I think there was simply more narrative context for me to be able to connect the dots.
Chibi Vampire Volume 14
It's done. This book completes the story that is Chibi Vampire and I have to say... I'm a little disappointed. Sure the idea behind what Karin means to the vampire community is neat but what her family decides to do with her made me shake my head. It's nice that it's something of a happy ending in that Karin and Kenta get to live happily ever after, but to never see her family again or to even not have any memory of them? I didn't like it.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Predators and Prey
There's not much in this arc that feels connected to the other stories in the volume. It kind of feels like mid-season Buffy where there are few episodes with a tenuous connection to the season's Big Bad but mostly there for fun. I guess the theme could be that appearances may be deceiving - from Harmony's story of a reality TV vampire to what's up with Dawn. Like the mid-season of the show Predators and Prey is mostly just OK. It's getting a 3.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
The further Alan Moore gets from the first volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen the less I enjoy them.
The Black Dossier is an interesting idea. Moore has written a graphic novel that reads like a government document with a bit of action in the middle. I've read a lot of government documents. They're not exactly fascinating reading. I felt that a bit too much time had passed between Volume 2 of this title and this volume. Obviously, the team had had a variety of adventures (alluded to by documents in the Dossier) but I think I would have much preferred reading the adventure than reading about it. There was just something missing from this one. It's only getting a 2 from me.
The Black Dossier is an interesting idea. Moore has written a graphic novel that reads like a government document with a bit of action in the middle. I've read a lot of government documents. They're not exactly fascinating reading. I felt that a bit too much time had passed between Volume 2 of this title and this volume. Obviously, the team had had a variety of adventures (alluded to by documents in the Dossier) but I think I would have much preferred reading the adventure than reading about it. There was just something missing from this one. It's only getting a 2 from me.
Forces of Warmachine: Retribution of Scyrah
If all the Forces of Warmachine books are going to be like The Retribution of Scyrah the next year is going to be a long wait! The background in this book is incredible. There's so much detail, from the origin of the Iosans and their gods to why they are joining the war in Immoren. The faction really seems like it belongs, that it's been created out of whole cloth and not just thrown together.
The army itself shows the advantage of creating something all at the same time. It seems to have loads of symmetry and tricks to get it to work together. I can't wait to start fielding this on the tabletop.
The army itself shows the advantage of creating something all at the same time. It seems to have loads of symmetry and tricks to get it to work together. I can't wait to start fielding this on the tabletop.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Smoke and Mirrors
Smoke and Mirrors is an anthology from Neil Gaiman. I find I enjoy anthologies because they usually contain a wide variety of stories. Gaiman is one of my favourite authors so it's a treat to read him trying out various themes and genres.
The group starts out strong with "Chivalry". A story about the Holy Grail. It illustrates one of the things I really enjoy about Gaiman's work, taking the fantastical and making it ordinary. That the Holy Grail could be found in a thrift shop gives me the same feeling as when I looked for magical lands in closets when I was a child.
It also ends strong in "Snow, Glass, Apples" which is a story of Snow White. If only Mirror Mirror been half as good. I don't normally enjoy stories written in first perspective but I think it was very effective in this story.
That's not to say that I liked everything that was in this volume. Some of it was OK ("One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock") and some I just didn't like ("When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, Age 11 1/4") but the good far outweighs the bad.
The group starts out strong with "Chivalry". A story about the Holy Grail. It illustrates one of the things I really enjoy about Gaiman's work, taking the fantastical and making it ordinary. That the Holy Grail could be found in a thrift shop gives me the same feeling as when I looked for magical lands in closets when I was a child.
It also ends strong in "Snow, Glass, Apples" which is a story of Snow White. If only Mirror Mirror been half as good. I don't normally enjoy stories written in first perspective but I think it was very effective in this story.
That's not to say that I liked everything that was in this volume. Some of it was OK ("One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock") and some I just didn't like ("When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, Age 11 1/4") but the good far outweighs the bad.
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