Gaming Marathon Anyone?

So...last summer I tried something stupid.  I gathered a bunch of crap games that I had gotten dirt cheap and set out to play through as many of them as possible.  It didn't work out.  I got bored really quick and ended up reading for most of the summer...which in and of itself isn't a bad thing at all.  What it did do was put me behind playing some really good games that I had and I have felt like I have been playing catchup a lot over the past year.  Well, starting June 1st...all that changes.  I have a stack of games that during the months of June and July I am going to make an honest stab at.  The Mass Effect Trilogy, Red Dead Redemption, Battlefield 3, GTA 4 dlc, a ton of Silent Hill games, LA Noire, Skyrim, and then a stack of games that I will work on with the kids if they want to play.  I want to work through a lot of good stuff and prepare for all the goodness that will be hitting in the fall.  Over the past month, I have been reading a lot and now it is time to jump back into some gaming.  We will see how I do this summer and if I can redeem myself for my failure of last summer.  Might do a review here or there or I may just play...which is much more fun anyway.  Have a great summer and stay out of the sun.  It only causes cancer anyway...

Tradio #44 - The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes

Happy Summer everyone!  This week, we start my summer-long trek into Neil Gaiman's dysfunctional Endless family as I read the complete Sandman regular series and give my thoughts and feelings about the Sandman series as a whole over the course of the summer.  Feel free to read along and will keep things as spoiler-free as possible.  We start at the beginning with The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman with art by Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, and Malcolm Jones III and published under the Vertigo line at DC Comics. 

The Sandman.  Morpheus.  The Lord of Dreams.  Or simply Dream to his friends and family.  The Sandman series starts with him brought to his knees by people looking for power over death...or actually Death.  See, a dark cult is looking to harness of the power of the entity Death and gain immortality, but instead they capture Death's brother, Dream.  Trying to make the most of the situation, they steal artifacts from Dream and go about trying to get him to use his power for their gain.  He ignores their requests and waits.  And waits... And waits... Eventually, decades later, the people who trapped him are all dead and he is able to make his escape and is set upon a quest to regain the objects of power lost to him.  From the house down the street, to the very gates of hell, and finally to the dream world itself, Dream must use his power and wisdom to overcome the obstacles put in his way to regain what he has lost.  In the end, we get to experience a nice coda where were meet Dream's sister, Death, in an interesting tale where he gets his act together and finds some new direction in his life.

In many ways the Sandman series itself appears to be reflection of title character and the author in that both are trying to find their way and discover their direction.  The first few issues are a pretty standard quest tale that helps to give the character a voice and set his place in the DC Universe.  If there is something that I wasn't crazy about, it was all the DC character cameos that really didn't seem all that needed.  I can see why they are there to help show that the series is in the DC Universe, but I really don't think they add anything meaningful.  The end issue that introduces the character of Death is really the standout and seems to really be Gaiman himself in the role of Dream being shown that he needs to focus his efforts and give his character a greater purpose and a more focused voice.  It really seems to be setting up what is to come with a series where anything can happen, just like in the dreams that are the focus of the series.  On the art side, Sam Kieth is really the standout and gone way too soon.  His images are dark and scary and amazing.  All in all, a great start to a series and makes me want to keep reading and get more into the world that Gaiman has begun to craft. See you next week for The Doll's House.

New Tradio Series Starts Next Week - The Summer of Sandman!

This summer I wanted to do something new for my weekly trade review series.  Over the past year, I have been buying used Sandman trades and I finally got the last one that I needed for a full run of them.  The Sandman is one of those series that I have heard over and over that I should have read and just had never gotten around to it.  So I figured now that I have them all, I am going to sit down and read them from beginning to end and let you all know my thoughts about what is considered the granddaddy of the Vertigo Comics line.  Will I like them?  Will I be engaged enough to finish the twelve trades that I have?  We will see...together...and if you aren't much for this series, maybe I can give you a different spin on them. Hopefully by the end we will see just why this series is lauded as one of the masterpieces of the comic form.  Or maybe we will get bored and have to read something else.  Either way, I have a plan and an idea of something a little different to do while we waste away the days of summer.  Hope you enjoy the series and if you want to read along with me, your thoughts will be appreciated.  Next week is volume one of The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes.  Talk to you soon.

Tradio #43 - Princeless: Save Yourself

This week we have some indie love coming at you here at Tradio...Eisner nominated indie love at that.  This week I give my thoughts on Princeless, Book One: Save Yourself, written by Jeremy Whitley with art by M. Goodwin and published by Action Lab Comics.

Princeless starts out like any run of the mill Disney princess story, with a fair maiden in distress in a tower, an evil dragon protecting her, and a brave prince rescuing her...all on the very first page.  What we see with this basic setup is just how silly such a scenario is to our Princess Adrienne, who is a young, proud princess of color, as her mother reads her your basic princess in peril story.  Adrienne is too wise for such hogwash and proceeds to point out all the plot holes with a heavy helping of sass.  She vows to never get herself in that sort of situation, but as fates (and her parents) would have it, she is there...stuck in a tower with a dragon and brave princes trying to rescue her.  She's over it and decides to leave her tower and save her sisters who are also locked away, waiting on silly boys to come and rescue them as well.  From this simple set up, we get the first four issues of Princeless contained in the Save Yourself trade.  Not to give too much away, but Princeless proceeds to turn many of the basic troupes of princess stories on their ear in a fun, brisk, all-ages romp through a distant kingdom that doesn't seem quite all that distant at times.  We meet a wide cast of characters and are set up on a "road trip" with twists and turns aplenty.



Two pages in and you will see why Princeless is a great read and nominated for an Eisner.  Four pages in and you will see why Princeless has already won three Glyph awards.  It is really that good.  Sharp, smart, funny and self-aware in a very good way.  The dialogue by Whitley is breezy and really lends itself to getting to know the characters by letting the characters "speak for themselves" and the art by Goodwin is expressive and fun.  You get a good idea of what the characters are feeling from their reactions and expressions.  These first four issues set up for a lot of good things to come in the series and it will be interesting where different characters end up.  This is Adrienne's story, but there is a lot to be told about several other people you meet in these first issues and I really hope that Whitley explores them.  In a short amount of time, Whitley and Goodwin set up Princess Adrienne to be a much stronger character than her only modern counterpart in The Princess and The Frog's Princess Tiana and they don't need bad musical numbers and talking anthropomorphic stereotypes to do it.  It's a testament to their skill and any and all praise they get from this series is more than earned.  Read it and share it with others.  They will thank you.

Tradio #42 - Batman: Year One

With another big Batman movie on the horizon, I thought is would be a good time to take a look at a slight trade that really has set the standard for all other Batman tales that have come after.  This week, we take a look at Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli and published by DC Comics.

It all starts with a homecoming.  Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City after years abroad.  Training and preparing himself for what is to come.  He isn't quite ready, but he has a job to do and that is to take back Gotham from the thugs and pusher and pimps and mob bosses that has turned the city his family helped build into a cesspool of crime,  A city that took his parents from him so long ago in a dark, damp alley.  That is the set up to this retelling of the origin of Batman and introduces Bruce, Alfred, Gordan, Dent, and Kyle in a very real world and grounded way that gives these characters depth that makes them more than just figures on a page and shapes them into very relatible, flawed individuals.  We see how Bruce is able to learn and use his intellect and wits to fight the crime that the cops can't seem to deal with and we see how he got the idea to become "the bat".  Additionally, it is as much the story of Gordan as he first comes to Gotham and tried to clean up the cops that have turned a blind eye to crime for much too long

Christopher Nolan has read Batman: Year One...so should you.  The first two Nolan Batman movies owe so much to these four dense issues of comic masterpiece that I really hope that he has taken good care of both Miller and Mazzucchelli at premieres for those movies.  The writing is good Miller and the art is amazing by Mazzucchelli.  Like I said, the issues are very dense with information and action and the art is so fluid and kinetic that you can almost feel the punishment Bruce puts himself through.  Not over rote with splash pages, the art really sells the realism of the story and sets up a situation in which you can't put the book down until you see the prophetic last page.  As mentioned before, Nolan lifted so much directly from these four issues that I really have to wonder where his ideas for The Dark Night Rises has come from.  He did great with some amazing source material, but I have to wonder what happens when he "goes off the rails" with his final Batman movie.  But that is a discussion for another time.  Batman: Year One is Miller's writing at it's finest and pitch perfect art from Mazzucchelli.  Stop reading this and go read it for yourself.

Gratitude

If you are reading this, then I guess I had the balls to publish it.  It isn’t something I am going to make a big deal about or anything, it is just a lot more personal than I usually get in this type of forum and I tend to be rather reserved about these types of things.  Ever since I heard about the death of Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, I have honestly been in a funk.  It is not that I had some deep connection to him personally or what he represented as a person, but more of what the music he helped create meant to me growing up and the person who introduced me to it. 

Back in grade school, we moved from close to town to way out in the country, which was basically like moving from a cave to a deserted island.  The biggest change for me was school.  I went from being around a very preppy group of kids (that I never really fit in with) to a very country group of kids and though I had always grew up on the farm, I could REALLY not relate to many of them at all.  From the get go, I was looked at as an outsider and I ended up moving more toward the fringe kids in the grade.  Falling in with the smokers and metal heads didn’t seem like a good fit for me (there was absolutely no one to talk Star Wars and Transformers with) but they were at least more accepting than the jocks and the red necks.  Somehow, one of those friends that I made was Keith Lake.  Keith was a good looking kid...well, kid was not really appropriate since he looked at least two years older than the rest of us and had been shaving since fifth grade.  Dark hair, big smile…laugh that was contagious and more than a bit of a trouble-maker.  We got seated next to each other in science class, which he had a lot of trouble with.  What started out as him wanting to look off my papers, to us working on a project together, and ultimately lunch room table friends; which in the day was a big deal.  Keith always had some epic story to tell and exuded confidence.  Even when he was answering a science question about what state most water could be found with a quick, “Kentucky!” he was in charge and owned everything he said and did.  We had an odd friendship that didn’t really seem to make sense, but it worked.  He looked out for me and I helped him with homework.  It wasn’t anything that we sat down and worked out, just some sort of unsaid thing between us that went from grade school and on into high school where even though we didn’t have classes together, we always sat together at lunch. 

In many ways, I idolized him really and there are still to this day certain things that immediately make me think about him.  Acid washed jeans, denim jackets, Mets hats, ADIDAS shoes, and the Beastie Boys are all things that remind me of Keith.  Nazis do too, but more on that in a bit.  Yeah, he introduced me to the Beastie Boys.  Before Keith, I had no clue who they were or what they sounded like.  Remember, I lived in the middle of nowhere and had no access to MTV.  If it didn’t play on the radio, I had no clue about it and if it weren’t classic rock or country, it was nowhere to be found on the radio dial.  I remember him giving me a homemade copy of his Licensed to Ill cassette tape and I was hooked.  I eventually wore it out, but I soaked up every song.  He was a walking advertisement for the Beastie Boys and I think in a lot of ways they gave him an identity that he could relate to.  He never fit in with anyone in particular at school either and even went by his middle name which was Keith.  Whenever he was pressed for what his first name was, he would always reply that it was, “Adam” though it was actually Lerman.  In hindsight, I am pretty sure it was from Adam Yauch, though I never actually ever asked him.  His other fascination was with Hitler and Nazis, which always perplexed me.  He wasn’t overly racist or anything, just had an odd respect for the power that Hitler had.  Once again, I think it was more to do with identity and setting himself apart from the crowd in his own (misguided) way.  Even with that, it is the Beastie Boys that stands out in my mind whenever I think about Keith. 

Over the years, I lost track of Keith, but never with the music had he introduced me to.  It is far too easy to get caught up our lives with college and family, but when the first high school reunion came around, he was the one person I wanted to see most.  He wasn’t there and it was several years before I got any clue of where he was.  He had gone straight to work after high school and delivered ice for a while.  He had a kid, but I am not sure if he ever got married.  He had trouble with drugs and had at least one failed attempt at suicide.  Keith, who had actually changed his name to Adam from what I understood, had had a lot of hard times thrown at him and I really wish I had gotten the chance to talk to him.  Just to let him know how much he meant to me growing up and how much he had expanded the world of music for me.  I will never have the chance. 

Keith died on November 13^th, 2008 in an automobile accident.  At the time, it exploded all over Facebook between friends and past classmates and I am sure that Keith would never have guessed what an impact he had on people.  He touched so many lives and I, for one, was introduced to so much because of him.  For a man who looked so long and hard for an identity, I doubt he would have believed that everyone would remember him for what he meant to them because he was “Keith” and not someone else.  In this same way, I think that the death of Adam Yauch has touched more lives than he would believe.  He was an inspiration to so many and never compromised himself.  The good that I can see coming from both of their passings is that Keith will finally get to meet Adam, who he idolized so much.  They will smile and laugh and talk about the good times and how people are silly for missing either of them.  Looking forward to Keith telling me about that meeting someday. 

The point to all this?  My funk.  Adam Yauch’s passing reminds me how important it is to let the people who mean the most to you, just how much you care.  We all thought Adam was getting better and that we would have plenty of time to let him know how we feel.  In the same way, I thought I would get to catch up with Keith someday to give him a hug and talk about how times we had.  We are only here on this Earth for a heartbeat and for some, even less than that.  Take the time to make every moment count and to let the people you care about know how much you care.  I may seem silly or cliché, but it matters…take it from me…it matters.

Tradio #41 - Crecy

This week, I wanted to take a look at a small press book that you have probably never heard of but really need to seek out and read.  It is called Crecy by Warren Ellis, with art by Raulo Caceres and published by Avatar Press.

War is hell...that goes without saying and Crecy is all about war.  Or at least one very pivotal battle in a greater war.  Considered by many to be one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Crecy took place in France in August of 1346.  Though the French forces were more heavily armoured than the attacking Englishmen, the English held the high ground and rained death down on the slow moving Frenchmen with their powerful English longbows.  Though this may not seem like the most likely use of the comic book format to tell a story, it works so well with a black and white art style that is very detailed and reflects the woodcuts of the time.  We see in graphic detail how the English were able to dominate the French basically using only two fingers...the two needed to hold the arrow on the bow string.  It shows how modern tactics of warfare evolved at the time and how not always the bigger army is the victory when you use the land to your advantage.

Crecy is truly a great work of graphic novelization.  Informative, historically accurate, and brutal, the life of an English archer during this time in history was not an easy one, but their skill was undeniable.  Written in the course language of the Longbowman, we get a front row seat to one of the first truly modern battles.  Ellis does a great job with the material that is a history lesson you don't mind reading about and the art by Caceres is perfect for the subject matter and is both detailed and graphic.  Though it may be hard to track down, Crecy is certainly worth the search, especially for anyone with a love for all things British.

Avenging My Hopes - The (Short/Spoiler-free) Avenger's Movie Review

I have to admit it.  I was a little worried.  Marvel has been doing a great job with the lead up to The Avengers with almost all of the related movies that have come before being good.  Often, really good.  Iron Man was great, The Incredible Hulk was pretty good, Iron Man 2 was better than the sum of it's parts, and then Thor and Captain America were really awesome last summer.  The ground work had been laid and with so many of the principle characters coming back for the big team-up movie with an incredible director, it honestly made me nervous.  Sometimes too much of a good thing doesn't work out the way you want it to.  But, they showed me that my apprehension was not warranted.  What they gave us all was something incredible.  Joss Whedon has never done as well with his work as he should.  He is an amazing creator, but so much of it has flown under the mainstream radar, that I have always been worried that he would never get to put his stamp on something big that would garner him tons of money and notoriety.  I think he has achieved it here.  His ability to get such great performances out of so many good actors is only going get him bigger and bigger offers in the future.  His fingerprints are all over the dialogue and his ability to put so much character within what each person says really brings out the human-ness (or godly-ness) of each person on screen.  It reminded me of the best parts of Buffy or Firefly in that way.  The actors themselves did wonderful with not really a bad performance to speak of, though Banner was a little off at times and Maria Hill was very stiff.  The action...well, the action was incredible.  I saw it in 3D and there were some breathtaking moments though I think that 2D will be amazing too.  The story is tight and easy enough to follow and though it is not overly complicated, it is a lot of fun with lots of nods to things we have seen before in the comics, but also bringing a unique tale to the screen.  In the end, it lead to a great movie and easily one of the best super hero movies ever made.  I want to see it again.  No...I have to see it again.  Oh and wait until all the credits are over for the one of the best scenes in the movie.  There is a within the credits coda, but I think only die hard Marvel Comics fans will really appreciate it.  Anyway, go see The Avengers.  You will be very glad you did.

Tradio #40 - Avengers: The Origin

Well, it looks like Marvel's next big movie is almost here and will tell the tale of how the Avengers (the movie Avengers anyway) got together to form a supergroup and fight evil on an epic scale.  In the spirit of this, this week we will be looking at a recent retelling of the original super-team's origin in the aptly named Avenger: The Origin, written by Joe Casey and drawn by Phil Noto; published Marvel Comics.

Frickin' Loki!  Always stirring up trouble and trying to cause people to fight each other so he can keep his hands from getting dirty.  Thor's half-brother is and always will be a douche and this comic shows that he has been that way from the beginning.  In this case, he manipulates the dim-witted Hulk in order to get the attention of Thor and lure him into bringing Loki back to Earth so that he can be free from his banishment.  A complicated premise that relies a lot on the predictability of how Thor would act, but what Loki can't predict is the other heroes he in turn brings together which end up leading to his eventual defeat and forming of the Avengers.  A classic tale retold through modern words and pictures.

Too bad, I don't feel like it works.  This five issue series tells a story that was told in one issue back in it's day and it suffers for it.  Too drawn out, too much filler, too much standing around talking and trying to explain things that would be better figured out by the reader.  It isn't that it is not well written, it just seems like it should have been told in one double sized special instead of a drawn out mini series.  The best thing that comes from all this is the art of Phil Noto.  It is beautiful.  No line is wasted in his work and it honestly fits the classic costumes that all the characters wear to harken back to the designs of Jack Kirby.  But in it's own way, this is a problem too.  The entire series is set in some sort of odd time that doesn't exist.  I get that it is a modern retelling where there is email, flat panel monitors, laptops, and modern cable TV, but then they are all in their very dated original costumes.  The Wasp would not be caught dead in that weird helmet today and I doubt that Iron Man would be wearing the grey soup can armor.  Oh and there are no cell phones...it just all doesn't add up and smacks of poor planning on the part of the book.  Anyway, it isn't a bad retelling as you head into the movie, but I think you could be better served picking up some reprints of the Stan and Jack original series.