The role playing game, not the short story by Lovecraft. Of course, this is inspired by the works of Lovecraft (and others) who created the Cthulhu Mythos. It has the original short story as its intro which is great at setting the mood. The rest is a bit of a slog.
I've read a lot of role playing game manuals, this one seems to have a tone that it's so much better than those other games because it's based on the Mythos. It's written for people that are fans of Cthulhu more than people who are fans of horror roleplaying.
It's an interesting system. Playing it we've discovered that it's always better to run away and let someone else look at the terribleness. It's tough with skills only getting better if you succeed with something. It makes character creation really, really important.
I find it odd that the text suggests that you want to steer clear of Cthulhu things as quickly as possible, but that all the in game examples have Harry confronting something he totally shouldn't see.
Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Hellsing Volume 10
It's finally finished. The publishing of Hellsing seems to have been a bit hit and miss. There never seemed to be a schedule, Hirano must miss a lot of deadlines. That being said, the art didn't seem as sharp in this volume. It was still good, just not as good as I expected.
All in all, I was a little disappointed with the finale. Alucard drops out half way through the book and the danger is resolved by Integra and Seras. Then, when you think it might actually mean something, Alucard comes back from the dead. Plus, I was really unimpressed with the method of the killing of the vampire. Someone does not understand Schrodinger's cat.
All in all, I was a little disappointed with the finale. Alucard drops out half way through the book and the danger is resolved by Integra and Seras. Then, when you think it might actually mean something, Alucard comes back from the dead. Plus, I was really unimpressed with the method of the killing of the vampire. Someone does not understand Schrodinger's cat.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Rosemary's Baby
I would never have normally picked up this book. I'd seen the movie, which everyone seems to love but I thought was only OK. It starts off very, very normal and then slowly adds elements of the fantastical until it goes over the top. It's a very slow build and I never really felt the pay off that I look for in a horror movie.
However, I was sitting in a hospital room, and had been sitting there for five days, and waiting for my father to die. It's not pleasant. I was alone and saw it peeking out from my brother's backpack so I started reading it. When he arrived he told me that he's already finished it so I might as well take it. It hadn't grabbed me by that point (much like the movie) but I brought it along because it was a book I could read without thinking about it. Exactly the kind of book I was looking for.
I finished on the plane the same day I started it. I have to say that the movie was very faithful to the book. It still wasn't scary. Even with the bonus of at least the description of Rosemary's baby.
However, I was sitting in a hospital room, and had been sitting there for five days, and waiting for my father to die. It's not pleasant. I was alone and saw it peeking out from my brother's backpack so I started reading it. When he arrived he told me that he's already finished it so I might as well take it. It hadn't grabbed me by that point (much like the movie) but I brought it along because it was a book I could read without thinking about it. Exactly the kind of book I was looking for.
I finished on the plane the same day I started it. I have to say that the movie was very faithful to the book. It still wasn't scary. Even with the bonus of at least the description of Rosemary's baby.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Welcome to Hoxford
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Bleach Volume 8: The Blade and Me
I think this may be my favourite volume so far. It's essentially one long training montage but it does so much to open both the character of Ichigo as well as the world of Bleach.
Bleach Volume 7: The Broken Coda
Ichigo runs into something that he can't handle. I liked this one a lot. I really think that for a hero to grow they have to go through failure first. That was missing up to this point but here Kubo sends Bleach in an interesting new direction.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Lost
I was intrigued when I first started reading Lost. For one, unlike the other books by Gregory Maguire that I've read, it's set in the contemporary world. Secondly, it began by making me ask questions: Who is Winnie Rudge? Why is she here? What is she trying to accomplish? Those questions drew me in and kept me reading.
Unfortunately, none of them were really answered. The novel is full of things started and not completed. Is it supposed to be somewhat of a moral tale like A Christmas Story? Or is it more of a ghost story? I don't really know. Maguire kept building up the story of the supposed "ghost" only to tear it down and say that it was all in Winnie's imagination.
The story is interrupted by plain text that's supposed to represent Winnie's novel that she's in the midst of writing. Except that she never writes anything down so why the different text? Maguire often uses quotes from classic children's literature to let Winnie describe her surroundings or what she's thinking. It comes off as pretension and the author comparing his own work to the classics. The prose is too melodramatic to compare favourably.
In the end I was disappointed by the book. Winnie was not a likable character and I didn't like the voice of the author. The story didn't so much end as peter out.
Unfortunately, none of them were really answered. The novel is full of things started and not completed. Is it supposed to be somewhat of a moral tale like A Christmas Story? Or is it more of a ghost story? I don't really know. Maguire kept building up the story of the supposed "ghost" only to tear it down and say that it was all in Winnie's imagination.
The story is interrupted by plain text that's supposed to represent Winnie's novel that she's in the midst of writing. Except that she never writes anything down so why the different text? Maguire often uses quotes from classic children's literature to let Winnie describe her surroundings or what she's thinking. It comes off as pretension and the author comparing his own work to the classics. The prose is too melodramatic to compare favourably.
In the end I was disappointed by the book. Winnie was not a likable character and I didn't like the voice of the author. The story didn't so much end as peter out.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Bleach Volume 2
In Bleach Volume 2 Kubo continues to expand his world. The Parakeet story was a little harder to follow but still kept me interested. The character list is growing and I worry that there might soon be too many to keep track of. I'm still giving it a 5.
Bleach Volume 1
I admit it. I've fallen to the dark side and started not one, but two, of the most popular and longest running manga series. The first step is admitting the problem...
Bleach is about a boy, who can see ghosts and is then conscripted as a Soul Reaper. The world is rich and Kubo is doing a good job so far about drawing the reader into the culture that he's created. I like both Ichigo and Rukia and I want to find out more about what happens to them.
I'll give it a 5.
Bleach is about a boy, who can see ghosts and is then conscripted as a Soul Reaper. The world is rich and Kubo is doing a good job so far about drawing the reader into the culture that he's created. I like both Ichigo and Rukia and I want to find out more about what happens to them.
I'll give it a 5.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Witchblade Takeru Manga
A girl and a sword and a demon. Witchblade Takeru sounds like something I'd enjoy so my husband recommended that I read it. It wasn't bad.
The art by Kazasa Sumita really was stunning (if a little over-eroticised but that just might be a difference in culture) and the story was OK. I thought that Kobayashi needed more time to tell it though.
Some of the events seemed to be squashed into place. If a chapter ended with a cliffhanging revelation (which they often did) it was resolved quickly and usually by explaining that the character had either been lied to of they'd heard it wrong. Some of the characters didn't make sense: the librarian, Takeru's friend and the president especially. The relationship between Kou and Takeru was more more interesting and I felt that he could have dealt with that more before jumping into demon killing action. Just as we got to know the characters the whole thing was over. I was a little disappointed.
I'll give this one a 3. OK, but not great.
The art by Kazasa Sumita really was stunning (if a little over-eroticised but that just might be a difference in culture) and the story was OK. I thought that Kobayashi needed more time to tell it though.
Some of the events seemed to be squashed into place. If a chapter ended with a cliffhanging revelation (which they often did) it was resolved quickly and usually by explaining that the character had either been lied to of they'd heard it wrong. Some of the characters didn't make sense: the librarian, Takeru's friend and the president especially. The relationship between Kou and Takeru was more more interesting and I felt that he could have dealt with that more before jumping into demon killing action. Just as we got to know the characters the whole thing was over. I was a little disappointed.
I'll give this one a 3. OK, but not great.
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Rage: Forsaken Player's Guide
I loved Werewolf the Apocalypse when White Wolf decided to change the World of Darkness and reboot things I hesitated. I still have trouble wrapping my mind around what's expected of characters as Forsaken rather than Garou but reading The Rage, I finally stopped trying to fit Forsaken into what I knew about the Apocalypse but actually read them as Forsaken.
The book is divided into three sections, Tribes, Rules and Setting. The setting was interesting, not sure if it's something I'd incorporate into a game but maybe taking portions of the ideas presented to add colour to NPCs would be fun. The rules sections suffers the problems of all attempts to add merits, flaws and gifts to the main rules. Some of them are too powerful and some try to take the place of something that already works. New Gifts I tend to just toss and new merits and flaws often need pretty good reasoning from my players to make their way into the campaign. The first section was the most useful.
The tribal section did a really good job of not only expanding the information on the tribes but of also filling out the roles of werewolves within the tribes. I could come up with ideas for every tribe and auspice available in the game. Before I was having trouble coming up with one character idea as none of the tribes were very appealing to me. If I were starting a new campaign I'd have my players read this section to just help them come up with ideas.
Unfortunately this book didn't answer some basic questions I had about the world. How does a werewolf choose a tribe? Are the tribes represented fairly equally in any given area? Do the tribes come together for grand conferences when a new werewolf is newly changed. Is a werewolf a Ghost Wolf automatically for a time before choosing a tribe or is there a "grace period" while he or she is initiated into the culture?
The book gave me better ideas on how the world worked, but it didn't give me quite what I expected so I'll give it a 3.
The book is divided into three sections, Tribes, Rules and Setting. The setting was interesting, not sure if it's something I'd incorporate into a game but maybe taking portions of the ideas presented to add colour to NPCs would be fun. The rules sections suffers the problems of all attempts to add merits, flaws and gifts to the main rules. Some of them are too powerful and some try to take the place of something that already works. New Gifts I tend to just toss and new merits and flaws often need pretty good reasoning from my players to make their way into the campaign. The first section was the most useful.
The tribal section did a really good job of not only expanding the information on the tribes but of also filling out the roles of werewolves within the tribes. I could come up with ideas for every tribe and auspice available in the game. Before I was having trouble coming up with one character idea as none of the tribes were very appealing to me. If I were starting a new campaign I'd have my players read this section to just help them come up with ideas.
Unfortunately this book didn't answer some basic questions I had about the world. How does a werewolf choose a tribe? Are the tribes represented fairly equally in any given area? Do the tribes come together for grand conferences when a new werewolf is newly changed. Is a werewolf a Ghost Wolf automatically for a time before choosing a tribe or is there a "grace period" while he or she is initiated into the culture?
The book gave me better ideas on how the world worked, but it didn't give me quite what I expected so I'll give it a 3.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Hellsing Volume 9
Still in the middle of a fight scene. The art in Hellsing is, of course, stunning but this fight for London has been going on for a while now. I've sort of lost track of who's fighting whom and why. I'm going to miss Walter though.
I thought the scene where Integra had already happened. She'd already commanded Alucard to do whatever it took to defeat the Zombie Nazi menace so I was a little confused that it happened again.
Now that all the normal soldiers have been killed, and we're starting to work on the super soldiers, I'm hoping that London will be either won or lost soon. I liked the earlier stories from Hellsing better. Little bit of dialogue, little bit of awesome over-the-top action and on to a new story. I'm losing track here. It gets a 3.
I thought the scene where Integra had already happened. She'd already commanded Alucard to do whatever it took to defeat the Zombie Nazi menace so I was a little confused that it happened again.
Now that all the normal soldiers have been killed, and we're starting to work on the super soldiers, I'm hoping that London will be either won or lost soon. I liked the earlier stories from Hellsing better. Little bit of dialogue, little bit of awesome over-the-top action and on to a new story. I'm losing track here. It gets a 3.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Chibi Vampire Volume 11
Another strong outing for Yuna Kagesaki.
Volume 11 focuses on Anju and what it means to awaken as a vampire. I really connected with the youngest Maaka for the first time in this volume. I found it really interesting to see Karin transform from the one who needs protecting to the one doing the protecting. Her relationship with Kenta still seems to be going well and I think that's giving her more confidence in her own abilities. I'm curious to see how she'll react to being alone during the daylight.
Anju's blood preference for loneliness was an inspired choice. It gives some insight into what fuels the blood preferences of the other members of her family. I think this volume answered a lot of questions about how Kagesaki sees the vampire myths in her creation.
I'm going to give it a 5.
Volume 11 focuses on Anju and what it means to awaken as a vampire. I really connected with the youngest Maaka for the first time in this volume. I found it really interesting to see Karin transform from the one who needs protecting to the one doing the protecting. Her relationship with Kenta still seems to be going well and I think that's giving her more confidence in her own abilities. I'm curious to see how she'll react to being alone during the daylight.
Anju's blood preference for loneliness was an inspired choice. It gives some insight into what fuels the blood preferences of the other members of her family. I think this volume answered a lot of questions about how Kagesaki sees the vampire myths in her creation.
I'm going to give it a 5.
The Graveyard Book
I admit I'm a Neil Gaiman fan. I love the way he's able to use words that invoke. Not just tell a story, but invoke it. I was drawn into The Graveyard Book from the first sentence, "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." Adding in the illustration of just a pitch black page with the hand holding the knife immediately put me into the story.
The story is about Bod, who comes to the graveyard a baby and leaves a young man. Each chapter nearly stands alone as a short story where the conflict is appropriate to the age of the hero. I really enjoyed "The Witch's Headstone", "Danse Macabre" and "Nobody Owens' School Days" (although I do feel Bod learned the same "lesson" in both "The Witch's Headstone" and "Nobody Owens' School Days"). I liked how the ghosts had personalities in tune with the age in which they died and I liked how Gaiman lets his readers deduce what other horrors exist in the world without spelling it out. The hints are very broad, but they're still hints.
I got lost in The Graveyard Book. That's where I like to be when reading. The last chapter had me in tears from beginning to end because I, like Bod, wanted things to stay the same even when I knew they had to change.
I read Neil Gaiman's journal so it was interesting to see the book develop as he was writing it. He's said that Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book was an inspiration for this work. I've not read it, and now I feel I should. All in all, I give this book a 5.
The story is about Bod, who comes to the graveyard a baby and leaves a young man. Each chapter nearly stands alone as a short story where the conflict is appropriate to the age of the hero. I really enjoyed "The Witch's Headstone", "Danse Macabre" and "Nobody Owens' School Days" (although I do feel Bod learned the same "lesson" in both "The Witch's Headstone" and "Nobody Owens' School Days"). I liked how the ghosts had personalities in tune with the age in which they died and I liked how Gaiman lets his readers deduce what other horrors exist in the world without spelling it out. The hints are very broad, but they're still hints.
I got lost in The Graveyard Book. That's where I like to be when reading. The last chapter had me in tears from beginning to end because I, like Bod, wanted things to stay the same even when I knew they had to change.
I read Neil Gaiman's journal so it was interesting to see the book develop as he was writing it. He's said that Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book was an inspiration for this work. I've not read it, and now I feel I should. All in all, I give this book a 5.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wormwood Gentleman Corpse: Calamari Rising
Ben Templesmith's Wormwood is just crazy. Someone at work asked what I was reading and I could only tell her that it was about a god-like worm that lived in the right eye socket of a corpse. It's not quite a conversation stopper, but it's close.
In Calamari Rising, Wormwood must once again save the Earth from something that's come looking for him. The only reason he saves the Earth is because he likes the drink and the women. He's kind of self-centred that way. I found this novel alot tighter than the last one (It Only Hurts When I Pee) it seemed to know where it was going, even if it did involve sort of a deus ex machina device it made sense because Wormwood is something of a god.
I enjoyed this one, it went quickly but I wasn't disappointed. I'll give it a 4.
In Calamari Rising, Wormwood must once again save the Earth from something that's come looking for him. The only reason he saves the Earth is because he likes the drink and the women. He's kind of self-centred that way. I found this novel alot tighter than the last one (It Only Hurts When I Pee) it seemed to know where it was going, even if it did involve sort of a deus ex machina device it made sense because Wormwood is something of a god.
I enjoyed this one, it went quickly but I wasn't disappointed. I'll give it a 4.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future for You
I like Faith. I always felt she was a really interesting character that had more to her than just being the bad girl. The second volume of "Buffy Season 8", No Future for You is a Faith arc written by Brian K. Vaughan, with art by Georges Jeanty and Andy Owens. It lets out a little more of Faith's past and why she feels she needs to act as tough as she does and it catches up with what Giles is doing as, essentially, the last Watcher.
While it requires a little faith that the reader can hear a passable English accent coming from Faith I felt it was a really good story. I liked seeing more of Faith through her own eyes. I liked seeing Giles through her eyes and acting in ways that he wouldn't if Buffy could see him. I also liked the idea that Buffy is never really going to totally trust Faith. I'm curious to see how Faith is going to change from loner Slayer to outreach Slayer. I think she's uniquely suited to that role and I think she and Giles work well together but I doubt it will be something that Buffy will like.
The final story was a little one-off written by Joss Whedon with art by Cliff Richards called, "Anywhere but Here". It continues, in the fine tradition of Buffy, the pattern of something being resolved for the better (Faith and Giles teaming up) with something being broken down. In this case it breaks down the lies the gang all tell one another. Granted, they lie because they think they're protecting someone or something but they're still lying. While the story focuses on Buffy, Willow and Dawn it does come right after a story where Giles goes behind Buffy's back to work with Faith.
The volume didn't exactly advance the plot of Twilight introduced in the first volume but I really didn't expect it to. Buffy was never a show where each and every episode was about the Big Bad but most episodes did advance the plot in some way. No Future for You is the same. The plot moves even if it isn't the main focus of the story. I thought these stories were great, I just devoured the colume, so I'm giving it a 5.
While it requires a little faith that the reader can hear a passable English accent coming from Faith I felt it was a really good story. I liked seeing more of Faith through her own eyes. I liked seeing Giles through her eyes and acting in ways that he wouldn't if Buffy could see him. I also liked the idea that Buffy is never really going to totally trust Faith. I'm curious to see how Faith is going to change from loner Slayer to outreach Slayer. I think she's uniquely suited to that role and I think she and Giles work well together but I doubt it will be something that Buffy will like.
The final story was a little one-off written by Joss Whedon with art by Cliff Richards called, "Anywhere but Here". It continues, in the fine tradition of Buffy, the pattern of something being resolved for the better (Faith and Giles teaming up) with something being broken down. In this case it breaks down the lies the gang all tell one another. Granted, they lie because they think they're protecting someone or something but they're still lying. While the story focuses on Buffy, Willow and Dawn it does come right after a story where Giles goes behind Buffy's back to work with Faith.
The volume didn't exactly advance the plot of Twilight introduced in the first volume but I really didn't expect it to. Buffy was never a show where each and every episode was about the Big Bad but most episodes did advance the plot in some way. No Future for You is the same. The plot moves even if it isn't the main focus of the story. I thought these stories were great, I just devoured the colume, so I'm giving it a 5.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Book of Spirits
One of the things I look for in a rules supplement is if it actually gives me ideas for the game. White Wolf's Book of Spirits did just that. Nearly every entry was another story idea for me and it just made me wish we were actually playing.
I originally bought the book to get a better idea of the Spirit realm. The universe has changed quite a bit from when I was running Werewolf and I was having trouble coming to grips with what went on in the Shadow. Unfortunately, this book didn't really cover it either. The information on the spirits, how a mortal might enter the Shadow and why spirits care about the other plane were all really interesting though. The final section with different types of antagonists was excellent.
The between chapter fiction did a really good job of setting the tone as well. The World of Darkness is supposed to be dark but it's sometimes hard to think of that personal horror. The examples provided helped me think of ways that I could draw in the people I normally Storytell. The number of ideas it gave me rates the book a 4, if it had done what I was looking for I might have rated it higher.
I originally bought the book to get a better idea of the Spirit realm. The universe has changed quite a bit from when I was running Werewolf and I was having trouble coming to grips with what went on in the Shadow. Unfortunately, this book didn't really cover it either. The information on the spirits, how a mortal might enter the Shadow and why spirits care about the other plane were all really interesting though. The final section with different types of antagonists was excellent.
The between chapter fiction did a really good job of setting the tone as well. The World of Darkness is supposed to be dark but it's sometimes hard to think of that personal horror. The examples provided helped me think of ways that I could draw in the people I normally Storytell. The number of ideas it gave me rates the book a 4, if it had done what I was looking for I might have rated it higher.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Twilight Watch
The third in the Watch trilogy, The Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko moves beyond the morals between Light and Dark and into the morals of individual characters.
I've read both The Night Watch and The Day Watch so when I discovered that there was a third I was anxious to read it. Unfortunately I don't feel that it really stood as well the other two. Mostly, what we learn is that everything just works out well for Anton. In the first book he was able to save the world without sacrificing himself, in the second he's able to keep the woman he loves because she gets reduced in power and here in the third he gets an increase in power so that they're matched. It feels a little forced. Even the way he manages to come out on top in this one feels contrived.
Still, I enjoy seeing the glimpse at the way Russians see themselves and their country. I'm disappointed with the deus ex machina but I'm still giving this one a 3.
I've read both The Night Watch and The Day Watch so when I discovered that there was a third I was anxious to read it. Unfortunately I don't feel that it really stood as well the other two. Mostly, what we learn is that everything just works out well for Anton. In the first book he was able to save the world without sacrificing himself, in the second he's able to keep the woman he loves because she gets reduced in power and here in the third he gets an increase in power so that they're matched. It feels a little forced. Even the way he manages to come out on top in this one feels contrived.
Still, I enjoy seeing the glimpse at the way Russians see themselves and their country. I'm disappointed with the deus ex machina but I'm still giving this one a 3.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse It Only Hurts When I Pee
Another outing into the craziness that is Wormwood by Ben Templesmith. Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse It Only Hurts When I Pee is a collection of two Wormwood stories. The main story is "It Only Hurts When I Pee" and the after thought is "Segue to Destruction". Of the two I preferred "Segue".
In "It Only Hurts When I Pee" Wormwood and his gang travel to the dimension of the Leprechauns and it becomes a twisted road trip. There's not much plot, just alot of violence, weird sex and a cross-dressing Leprechaun Queen. "Segue to Destruction" is a much better dark comedy. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are more bent on enjoying themselves than on bringing about the end of the world. Thanks to Wormwood of course. The scene with Death (or Mr. D as he's known) with the Emos is priceless.
All in all, the main story sort of takes something away from this collection. It's much more over the top than I'm really comfortable so I have to drop the rating to 3 out of 5. Reluctantly.
In "It Only Hurts When I Pee" Wormwood and his gang travel to the dimension of the Leprechauns and it becomes a twisted road trip. There's not much plot, just alot of violence, weird sex and a cross-dressing Leprechaun Queen. "Segue to Destruction" is a much better dark comedy. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are more bent on enjoying themselves than on bringing about the end of the world. Thanks to Wormwood of course. The scene with Death (or Mr. D as he's known) with the Emos is priceless.
All in all, the main story sort of takes something away from this collection. It's much more over the top than I'm really comfortable so I have to drop the rating to 3 out of 5. Reluctantly.
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