Tag: Comic

How Tracer’s Sexuality Changed ‘Overwatch’

by Josh Jackson

It didn’t.

But you wouldn’t know that based on the reaction of the Internet, where many of its denizens are totally convinced that Blizzard has forsaken them due to a detail of a character’s personal life that was shown outside of the game. Allegations ranging from pandering, to being unnecessary, to flat out saying that a company that has delivered free characters, new maps and a wealth of new items to keep the game alive has lost their respect have been lobbied at the game and developers. And why? Because the girl on the cover likes to bump clams?

If you somehow haven’t heard by now, the latest Overwatch web comic features the heroes and villains of the game celebrating the holidays with their loved ones. Primarily focusing on Tracer as she rushes to find the perfect Christmas gift for her significant other before meeting with the lonely Winston, the moment in question comes when the gift is given to a red head female who happens to thank her with a kiss. A rather mundane scene has now become the talk of the gaming world over the last week between those who are praising the reveal and those that I referenced above who have numerous problems with it. What are they saying, you ask? Here’s a sample of what some of the negative reactions have been funneling in on various forums.

I really wish they wouldn’t do stuff like this for this game now really. We’re not allowed to just enjoy the game anymore because we have to put up with a load of braindead social correctness bulls***. I’d rather put up with dark souls 3’s crowd telling me to kill myself again than this.

Yes, because a single character in a cast of 23 characters is “social correctness bulls***”. Because a web comic is keeping you from enjoying a game. Newsflash, being gay is becoming more acceptable these days, which is why we’ll more than likely see homosexual characters be featured in future games. I hope you find a way to continue enjoying your games despite gay people existing in them, but it sounds more like the medium is passing you by. Being gay isn’t “PC”, it’s reality, and it’s time to get used to it.

The purpose of the comic was to exploit LGBT awareness to stir up controversy for a game the week before Christmas.

The teasing and “Hype” for an alternative sexual character was intentionally a path leading to Christmas sales.

Because Overwatch was having such a hard time building a player base, right? 20 million in a few months really shows how desperate Blizzard was for those few extra sales. But we’re now at a point where anything other than heterosexual representation is either “pandering” or “exploiting”, despite the idea of again, having ONE character among a cast of 23 being a lesbian is pretty normal these days considering about 3.8 percent of the US population identifies as LGBTQ according to this 2015 Gallup poll. Then again, gay people can’t exist in fiction without an agenda, right? Because a single character in a growing cast of 23 and counting is asking for “special treatment”, as I’ve seen mentioned on other forums.

1. Tracer was not presented as gay from the beginning, so it seems like she was changed to being gay.

2. Tracer was paired with some random nobody that was just made up rather another playable or important character.

3. Not that Overwatch’s story is deep or anything, but it seems like the presentation of Tracer being gay served no other real purpose than to show that she’s gay, so the presentation didn’t seem organic, and more agenda driven.

Wasn’t presented as being gay? What, was she supposed to weigh 300 lbs with a shaved head and a biker jacket with a rainbow flag stitched to it? It may come as  a surprise to some, but many gay people don’t wear their sexuality on their sleeve. They aren’t walking stereotypes. They’re actual people. Which makes the last claim that it’s not organic ironic since she apparently needed to wear a “Hi, I’m gay!” sign around her neck for this to feel organic. And the fact that she’s paired with a “nobody” instead of a different character? Do you *really* think it would be better if two characters were revealed as gay instead of one?

It simply didn’t need to be. There’s no plot arc for any character. Sexual orientation doesn’t select the way a character plays. It has exactly 0 bearing on anything.

However, it’s SUCH a big deal to liberals nowadays that companies pick up on the hype and use it to their advantage. This is known as pandering. Most people don’t have a problem with gays, it’s this bulls*** pandering that pisses people off.

No one on this cast needed to be gay or straight. They’re not real, and their orientation doesn’t change how the game plays.

You can tell what the mindset is coming from this comment based on using “liberal” as an attack, but I just want to point out that “this bulls*** pandering that pisses people off” completely contradicts the idea right above this quote that “It has zero bearing on anything.” I don’t see how someone would be pissed off to begin with if they really felt it didn’t matter, but even if it doesn’t matter to you, it obviously matters to those who found a character in the game they can identify with. Then again, I *REALLY* don’t think that the issue is that “No one on this cast needed to be gay or straight.” Because I can’t seem to find the outrage for Pharah’s unnecessary and forced boyfriend in the same comic.

Or Reaper following an unknown family in the same comic.

Or Torbjorn and Reinhardt’s families being revealed… IN THE SAME COMIC!

But I’m guessing that none of the images above make you feel icky when you look at them, so those are A-OK. Objectively, you could say that the Tracer scene is equally as pointless as all of the above ones. Yet, hers is the only one being labeled as such. Hmm… I wonder why?

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the real issue here. Gaming has come a long way as a medium, and I feel that making the poster child of one of the most popular games of the year was a bold, yet necessary move by Blizzard if we want to keep moving towards normalizing homosexual characters in the way that many of the posters above and those like them pretend they already are. But reactions like these show how much farther we have to come, because we’re still sifting through comments calling the move a desperate plea for holiday sales despite the fact that Blizzard has been talking about this since at least 2015. Their goal was to reveal it in a natural and tasteful way. What better way to do it than to reveal it in a side story that’s all about spending time with loved ones during the holidays?

Let’s be real though. To these people, the only way for the reveal would have been “tasteful” and “natural” would have been for it to have never happened at all. Remember that in decades past, including minorities in prominent roles was also considered “pandering”, but with diligence and the continued usage of diverse characters in a variety of roles, seeing it has become more and more commonplace. Not that there isn’t a ton of room to improve, but homosexuality in the public consciousness is still behind in so many ways. So I can only hope this trend continues until we stop seeing gay characters as a gimmick and more as a facet of a more complex whole. And that won’t happen if we pretend they don’t exist.

Or you know, keep typing away furiously when girls kiss each other.

Geekscape Comics Reviews: ‘Transformers Monstrosity’ Volume One

by Dennis Finocchiaro

With all of the Transformers graphic novels being released these days, it’s hard even for a HUGE Transformers fan like myself to get excited for new books. But when I realized Transformers: Monstrosity Volume 1 was one of the new motion books from Madefire, I have to say that I was curious.

The storyline was great. It included some old favorites, such as the Dinobots, who seem to have broken faction from the Autobots and are working on their own. The timeline is just after a great war which the Autobots have won. Megatron is dead (or as dead as can be expected…of course we all know Megatron NEVER dies) and Optimus is struggling with one part of leadership he is not prepared for: politics. As the Dinobots try to find black market goods to sell so they can leave Cybertron, Optimus meets with other leaders trying to win them over while a small group of Decepticons, including Scorponok and Starscream, are in hiding and disposing of an almost-dead Megatron on Junkion.

Not from the motion comic (duh)
Not from the motion comic (duh)

Yes, fans of the original Transformers probably are at least a little excited by all of those names/places, but what really drew me in was the fact that this was my first motion book. Maybe everyone out there is reading them besides me already, I have no idea, but wow did they add to the enjoyment. The combination of images moving along with sound effects (like truck engines and explosions) were so cool. The artwork is amazing as well.

The gimmick of moving graphic novels pulled me into a storyline that was decent enough. I would like to hear the dialogue read along with everything else, but then I guess it becomes a cartoon. The graphics were awesome though.

Overall, I found the experience enjoyable and highly recommend this book to anyone who already loves Transformers. 4/5 Stars.

Sound off: Have you read a motion comic? What do you think? We’d love to hear from you!

Adrian Askarieh Adapting Image’s ‘Enormous’ For Machinima!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: What a world we live in.

Series can come back from the dead in an internet-only format, Marvel original series are coming to Netflix, and comic books are being adapted into online series. It’s crazy, it’s incredible, and it’s only going to get better.

Variety revealed today that Adrian Askarieh and Machinima are banding together to craft a pilot based on Image Comics’ Enormous. The book revolves around a cataclysmic ecological event that creates massive beasts that overrun human civilization and puts mankind at the bottom of the food chain, and it looks damn good.

Askarieh will produce the 10-minute pilot, which will later be adapted into a full series. Cost of Living director Ben David Grabinski will direct the short.

Have you read the graphic novel? Were you a fan? Be sure to let us know, and sound out if you’re looking forward to a series! The pilot is set to shoot in December, and we’ll be sure to share more info as soon as we hear it!

'Enormous' cover.

The Saint Mort Show Episode 57: Zen Davis

by Saintmort

Keeping this quick because I’m an idiot and waited until the last day of Zen’s Kickstarter campaign to release this episode. Big apologies to Zen. Check out and donate to Asylum 33D right now! DO IT! Follow Saint Mort on Facebook and Twitter Subscribe to Us on iTunes

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Geekscape Comics: Preview ‘Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Pacific Rim may not hit theatres until July 12th, but you’ll be able to get your first taste of the Kaiju this June!

The graphic novel, announced at last year’s New York Comic Con, is just a few weeks away from hitting store shelves. Legendary Comics today revealed two preview pages for the book, and as expected, things are looking damn fine.

Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero is illustrated by Pericles Junior, Sean Chen, and Yvel Guichet, and was written by the Pacific Rim screenwriter himself, Travis Beacham. Check out the preview pages below (as well as the cover art by Alex Ross), and let us know what you think!

PRCover

PR1

PR2

Hitting stores June 5, PACIFIC RIM: TALES FROM YEAR ZERO serves as a prequel to the highly-anticipated motion picture — Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Pacific Rim.  Chronicling the very first time Earth is menaced by incredible monsters known as Kaiju, these inhuman beasts rise from the ocean depths and threaten to extinguish all mankind! Witness the race to develop massive robot fighting machines called Jaegers, each one controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. This action-packed book features many of the key characters from the film as we follow them in their early careers. Written by Pacific Rim screenwriter himself, Travis Beacham, and with del Toro’s hands-on supervision, this volume is beautifully illustrated by Sean Chen, Yvel Guichet, and Pericles Junior; inks by Steve Bird and Mark McKenna.

From Script, To Comic, To Screen: ‘The Devil Is Due In Dreary’

by Jessie Mignone

“Many fantastic scripts are never made into movies because they don’t have “legs.”  Movies are a package deal: which famous actor is attached?  Is this a remake with a cult following?” explains film producer Daryl Freimark, co-producer of the movie musical Hairspray starring John Travolta, Queen Latifah and Zac Efron.  Film Producer Michel Shamberg agreed in his recent interview in TheWrap. “Years ago, you would just go in with a good idea.  Now you effectively have to have a business plan.”

After eight years at New Line Cinema, Freimark was strongly positioned on a coveted path to successful producer with the Hobbit-harvesting empire. Some may say it was a surprise when he chose to leave New Line in favor of overseeing his own projects. But Freimark, who only takes the most well thought out risks, knew what he was doing as, since that time, he has produced three feature films, five shorts, a music video, premiered at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival, produced a Stanley Tucci movie and recently launched a four-part comic book series based off a screenplay.

Dreary
Key art for ‘The Devil Is Due In Dreary’ #1

“I’ve read…thousands of scripts,” Freimark reflected.  “When I read the screenplay for The Devil Is Due In Dreary, as a reader for the IFP Emerging Narratives for IFP Film Week in 2008, I could unquestionably see the movie and instantly became passionate about producing it.”

The Devil is Due in Dreary is a Rockabilly take on Western thrillers about the small town of Dreary. The townspeople live in fear of a prophecy that one day, when two outlaws pass through town, the devil will follow. When two strangers’ car breaks down in this distressed community, the townsfolk believe the dreaded day has arrived, and we quickly learn, not everyone is who they seem.

“I spent a lot of time in the American Southwest,” screenwriter David Parkin shares as his inspiration for the script. “I heard tales of the devil and other folklore around many campfires. This, The Devil, is my chilling tale to share.”

Freimark and Parkin set to the nearly impossible task of giving the script its “legs.”  They did not have a fancy director, famous starlet, or spare million dollars. How could they create a fan base?  How could they get the page to pop?

Instead of going with the traditional Script – to Short film – to hopefully-full-length-film approach of planting a movie seed, the duo came up with the unique idea of making the screenplay into a comic first.  This method produced numerous advantages that making a short film could not.  “Comics are automatic, vibrant, storyboarding, for studios and investors to see what Dreary will look like. It also gives us a chance to discover what parts of the screenplay need re-writing.  And, it creates a fan base.”

Issue #1 layout page
Issue #1 layout sketch

The only downside? “I knew nothing about comics,” admits Freimark who ventured into the challenging world of caped crusaders and word bubbles. “You can’t just have one guy draw everything and you’re done. You have to find the perfect penciller, (Allan Jefferson of War Machine and Predator vs Alien), Inker (Jonas Trindade), Colorist, (Diego Tapie and Rainer Petter) and Letterer (Richard Emms and Frank Barbiere).”  All had to fit Freimark and Parkin’s minds-eye and mesh together seamlessly to create a unified product. Not to mention, Parkin was writing his first comic script ever!

Freimark hired the team, who began putting the comic on paper.  From there he turned to a producer’s best friend, www.kickstarter.com, to display sample work from Issue 1 in order to raise enough to pay the artists,  offering up tempting incentives such as being drawn into the comic as a character.

With their first issue complete, Freimark and publisher Ardden Entertainment set about the challenging step of getting Dreary in comic book window displays. “Comic ordering is still done pretty old school. Once a month, a thick, phone book like, catalog, filled with new issues of comics from Batman to new indies like ours, is sent to all the comic book stores who then place orders.  It’s nerve racking.  Would anyone take a chance on an unknown comic?  We actually got good order numbers for our first issue and a few months later… BOOM we were in stores throughout the US!  It’s a comic Cinderella story.”  Freimark pauses, reliving the tense journey.  “It was a scramble to fund and complete issues two through four, which completes the series. All issues are now available!  As for the movie, we hope to be in production next fall.”

Issue #3 cover art.
Issue #3 cover art.

Issues 1-4 can be ordered through any comic book store or online at:

http://www.limited-edition-comix.com/atlas/shop.htm

You can follow the comic on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/TheDevilisDueinDreary

Daryl’s most recent production, Some Velvet Morning, will premiere at this month’s Tribeca Film Festival

http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/513a838dc07f5d47130002ba-some-velvet-morning

Walking Dead Weekly: Season 3, Episode 4 – ‘Killer Within’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

Last week ignored the prison altogether and caught us up with the lonesome duo of Michonne and Andrea. The episode introduced us to the “safe haven” of Woodbury, reintroduced the less popular Dixon brother Merle, and gave us our first look at David Morrissey expertly portraying the evil fuck that is The Governor. The episode was my favourite of the entire series, and I absolutely couldn’t wait to see what followed.

Let’s get right down to business! As always, you’ll see plenty of spoilers below! You’ve been warned!

Episode Thoughts – ‘Killer Within’

Holy Fucking Shit. I finished watching Killer Within just moments ago, and it’s nearly impossible to think of any other words to describe what I just witnessed. I know that I made this statement just last week, and I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but tonight we got the best episode of The Walking Dead ever. It may just be nerves, but that may have been one of the most intense 40 minutes of television that I’ve ever witnessed. Can you tell where I’m going with this?

Killer Within takes us back to the venerable prison, and as the episode opens we get a glimpse of someone (who appears to be wearing an inmate uniform) breaking a prison gate and allowing walkers into the area.

An unlocked gate means walkers are free to roam.

The survivors are beginning to make the prison yard their own: clearing bodies and planning ways to utilize the space while Glenn and Maggie have fun in the guard tower. Hershel is also looking quite spry for a man who appeared to be dead just two episodes ago: at one point in the episode, he’ll even don crutches and make his way outside. The two remaining inmates come and ask to be allowed into the group, and out of the cell block where they’ve seen the bodies of so many dead friends. Rick refuses, and instead of staying in their block the inmates decide that they’d rather leave altogether.

These guys do seem different than the other inmates.

Things then shift to Michonne and Andrea in Woodbury. Andrea seems to be getting more and more keen on staying in the town, while Michonne trusts the area and The Governor less and less (any why wouldn’t she after finding their new army vehicle riddled with bullet holes and fresh blood). Andrea shares information about Hershel’s farm with Merle, who wants to go find clues of his brother’s whereabouts. Governor quickly shuts the idea down, but states that if Merle can get more concrete information, Governor will accompany Merle himself.

Can zombies use guns now? Or is The Governor just fucking evil?

Back at the prison, just as Axel and Oscar are about to be set free, droves of walkers begin to surround our survivors. Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the prison’s sirens start blaring, which is sure to attract any stragglers in the area. There are simply too many walkers to comfortably handle, so the group is forced to break into small chunks to have any chance of escaping. Carol and T-Dog find themselves in walker-filled corridors, and unfortunately, T-Dog spends his last breaths ensuring that Carol can safely make it out of harms way. This entire sequence is insanely intense, paced wonderfully, and of course looks just as great as The Walking Dead always does. I was already in love with this episode before finding out what would occur next.

Of course they kill him off, right when he gets some damn lines!

Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and the surviving inmates rush to turn off the generator, fearful that it may be used to open the main gates. When the group makes it to the generator room, they also find the one who caused all this madness: the inmate that Rick left for dead in the season’s second episode, Andrew, ready for revenge. Ironically enough, it’s inmate Oscar (who Rick of course hasn’t trusted up to this point) that saves Rick’s life and kills the bastard. When Oscar then flips the gun and offers the handle to Rick, you know this character’s going to be around for quite awhile.

Andrew deserves worse…

The final quarter of the episode is more emotional and gut wrenching than absolutely everything the series has given us to this point. The stress and fear from the events that have just transpired have forced Lori into labour, and of course there’s nobody with medical experience around to help. It’s simply Carl, Maggie, and Lori in a boiler room, and Lori leaves it up to Maggie to deliver the child. Again, just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, they get so much fucking worse. Lori needs a caesarian section which they all know she won’t make it through, and all they’ve got is a dirty knife (not even any fucking anaesthetic). The scene is a heartbreaking introduction to a new baby girl, and to top things off, Carl gives himself the duty of making sure his mom doesn’t turn.

A life gained, a life lost.

I already felt tears welling up at this point in the episode, and this wasn’t even half as heartbreaking as it would get. After things calm down: walkers are taken care of, sirens are off, the surviving members head back to the yard. Rick spots Maggie holding the new baby girl, and upon asking “where is she?” immediately realizes what happened, and breaks down like we’ve never seen before. An absolutely tearjerking and heartbreaking end to a character, a relationship, and an episode. Of course only moments before the walkers found their way onscreen, Lori and Rick shared a loving smile, an almost wordless confirmation stating “we’re going to get through this, we’re going to be okay”. Now they’ll never get the chance.

Lori radiates love in the last smile she’ll ever give Rick.

Again, Killer Within was phenomenal. Even now I’m thinking about it, and I’m sure I will be long into the next chapter. At the opening of the third season, I wasn’t sure if we were setting ourselves up for disappointment after a fantastic opening, but now a quarter way through the year I’m pretty certain we’ve got a winner on our hands.

As usual, during the credits we got a peek at what to expect next week, and while I’m sure it can’t possibly match what we saw tonight, it doesn’t look like things are about to calm down either. Check out the preview for Say the Word below, and as always, let us know what you thought of this week’s offering!

Comic Comparison

Of course, the most pressing event to compare with Killer Within is the life and death of Lori Grimes. Both the relationship between Lori and Rick and the way Lori’s death is portrayed is striking different between paper and screen.

The couple seems to have few issues in the comic (while in the AMC version Rick appears to almost hate her). Sure, Lori slept with Shane, but Rick was very quick to forgive, stating that it was a different world, and that he was glad Shane was there to protect her. The pair were happy, loving, and a role model to other couples in the group before Lori’s untimely (and unexpected) death in issue 48.

Not as intense, but certainly as emotional.

The death of course happens at different times and in different contexts as well. The television characters don’t even know that The Governor exists at this point, while in the comic he causes Lori’s (and baby’s) death. The show instead has Lori dying in childbirth, leaving her newborn child to survive (at least for now, though I don’t see them killing off a newborn).

As for other differences, the book leaves Dale legless after a walker bite, while of course the series has Dale already dead so that job falls to Hershel. The comic has Hershel successfully farming the prison yard, but in his current state I don’t see that happening in the show.

Different dude, same disability.

Axel has found himself welcome in the group and very useful in Robert Kirkman’s version, yet AMC still sees him as an outcast, though hopefully that will change now that the surviving inmates saved Rick’s life. The physical character also looks substantially different from his paper origins.

Axel leaves the task of Santa Claus to Hershel in the series.

Another major difference between media: only Lori and T-Dog die in this episode, yet in the book when Lori passes, so does almost everyone else. After her death, the comic has Carl and a sick, heartbroken, one-handed Rick on their own for quite some time. This is of course still plausible (though AMC is very unlikely to kill off this many established characters), as Governor still doesn’t know that the prison exists in the series: the comic has everyone dying simply because he wants to take it.

Speaking of The Governor (who AMC introduced us to just last week), this character again shows that he’s substantially different from the pervy looking dick that the comic portrays him as. David Morrissey’s Governor (who in this episode strangely revealed that his name was Philip, though just last week stated that he would never tell) is a much more sly and seductive (and clean cut) character, and though I doubt we’ve seen what he’s capable of, it’s surely more than we’ve seen so far. As I mentioned last week, the comic version of the character spends the better part of a week brutally beating and raping Michonne, and also decides to cuts Rick’s hand off among other things, simply in an attempt to get some information. I also don’t see the same fate coming to the Morrissey’s version of the character: it would certainly be tough to act a one armed, one eyed, penisless, evil shell of a man. In any case, I’m of course excited to see where they take the character.

Governor douchebag: different personality, just as evil.

Honestly, after what I saw tonight, I absolutely can’t wait for next week or for the rest of season 3. Since the premiere four weeks ago each episode has somehow managed to surpass the prior chapter. It’s not a trend that can continue I’m sure, but if Say the Word is half as good as Killer Within was, we’re still looking at some great TV.

As always, thanks for reading, and see you next week!

Walking Dead Weekly: Season 3, Episode 3 – Walk With Me

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

Last week gave us an insane introduction to the prisoners that had been residing in the West Georgia Correctional Facility. It also gave us a quick conclusion to more than half of them, which was a sad end but definitely kept the group from getting too large (and kept us from having to keep track of even more characters). The episode was absolutely fantastic. In fact, in the last pod, Jonathan stated that it was his favorite episode of the series so far.

Let’s jump right in to last night’s episode! As usual, you’ll see spoilers below! You’ve been warned!

Episode Thoughts – ‘Walk With Me’

Last week’s intense prison moments left us with absolutely no time to catch up with Michonne and Andrea. It’s nice to see things reverse this week: we won’t spend a single frame with Rick and the gang, and instead Andrea and Michonne fall front and centre.

Where there’s smoke…

The episode begins with a group of military-looking men travelling in a helicopter before their engine decides to fail. Andrea and Michonne are in the vicinity of the crash, and obviously rush to find out what happened: could this have been a rescue attempt? In any case, how is there a helicopter in the sky after all of the chaos of the past year?

I don’t think he made it.

The pair arrive at the scene just long enough to get a look at a survivor before vehicles begin to approach the area. The untrusting duo naturally hides as the group takes the only living occupant of the copter. Just as the group is about to leave, Andrea and Michonne are threatened from behind. Who could it be but Merle Dixon, Darryl’s long lost one handed brother (now with a badass Assassin’s Creed esque shiv). The pair also witness the leader of the group (David Morrissey portraying the freaking Governor) killing what they think is another survivor. The two of course don’t know that everyone is infected, and that simply dying is enough to bring you back.

The long lost Dixon brother returns!

The pair are hooded and brought to an unknown location. Andrea is in as rough shape as we saw in the season premiere, but her new captors seem only interested in assisting her. They provide her with medicine and tend to her injuries. How bad could these people be? The duo is shown to a nice room, and offered food before being told that if they want to leave, they can do so at dawn.

The Governor initially seems like a great guy. He doesn’t appear to have any interest but helping Andrea and Michonne, and seems to get nothing but respect from the people he leads. Daylight arrives, and The Governor (who never says his real name, but it probably starts with a P) shows the duo what he’s been up to since the apocalypse happened: Woodbury. A town, a safe haven, a place where people respect the guidelines that have been set for them, and appear to be happy with their lives once more. In the age where the dead don’t stay dead, this looks absolutely impossible. Andrea looks perplexed throughout her tour: this is something Rick’s gang has been striving for since the dead began to walk, and here it is in the flesh (no pun intended).  For the first time in nearly a year, she doesn’t have to walk around with her finger constantly resting on a trigger, and she can can let her guard down and recuperate.

Remember when Andrea was super annoying?

Of course, people tend to not be who they seem in this universe, and The Governor is no exception: he’s a sadistic, evil fuck whose ‘safe haven’ is just a by-product of him looking out for himself. He assures the lone survivor of the helicopter crash that he will bring the rest of the platoon to the town, and after he is told their location, he kills them. Why? I don’t know really, but it looks like Woodbury received a LOT of supplies by doing so, and also removed a potential future threat. Governor also ends the episode by grabbing an adult beverage, heading into a secret room, and staring at some fishtanks full of walker heads. What. The. Fuck.

This is a weird fetish if I’ve ever seen one.

We learn a few more interesting pieces of information throughout Walk With Me. Even Merle is afraid of the seemingly timid Governor: if you remember Merle from the first season, he was typically the character with the biggest ego and the shortest fuse. He calms right down as soon as Governor tells him to, which may attest to just how crazy Governor could be. It’s also revealed in the episode (thanks to The Governor’s clever scientist) that the walkers can starve, and that it simply takes longer for them than for a living human. Does this mean that when the food sources run out, the zombies will simply die off? Is there possible hope for the future?

I have to say, this episode was absolutely phenomenal. While last week’s Sick was Jonathan’s favourite episode of the series, I’d say that its follow-up is mine. Only three characters that we’ve ever seen before get any screen time, but we’re introduced to the most terrifying walker we’ve ever seen, and he’s not even dead. David Morrissey gave a grand performance, and I can’t wait until we get to see more of what this character has to offer. Walk With Me continues the trend that the first two episodes started: this shit is fantastic. At this point, season 3 of The Walking Dead is exponentially better than anything that the series has offered in the past. My only hope is that this momentum can continue!

The episode of course ended with a preview of next week’s Killer Within. Check out the trailer below, and let us know what you think!

 Comic Comparison

While episode 20 started around the same time as issue 13, the gap between the media has closed substantially (the comic has dealt with things that the show hasn’t even hinted at yet). Both episode 22 and issue 26 begin with a helicopter crash, but see different outcomes and different survivors heading to check out the wreckage.

While the numbers gap may be closing, the series and comic continue to spread thematically. The comic has had Michonne comfortably living with Rick’s group for some time already, while the series has them unaware that the other exists. The show still has survivors dealing with walkers at the prison, while the comic has passed that and is dealing with how shitty humans can be once things calm down.

The Governor is a character that seems very different on screen than he did on paper. Though he is evil as fuck in both, he is much more upfront about it in the comic. In Robert Kirman’s story, Rick, Michonne, and Glenn are led to Woodbury after finding the crash scene empty. Here they’re hastily told that they are to be fed to zombies for the entertainment of the town. The Governor is also determined that the three have something that he wants (which turns out to be the location of the prison) and he plans on torturing the trio to get the location. He also spends the better part of a week brutally raping Michonne after she bites off part of his ear (something I doubt we’ll see in the show).

Looks different, acts different, still evil.

The show introduces The Governor very differently as well: he’s still a saviour to the area of Woodbury, but also a friend to Michonne and Andrea after finding them at the crash site. The two end the episode with mixed thoughts of the man: they don’t fully trust him, yet he has given them no reason not to. It’s when the duo is off screen that you see just how sick The Governor can be.

Of course there are plenty of other differences in the media (caused simply by the different continuities of the two). Walk With Me of course reintroduced Merle to the screen, who like Darryl never appeared on paper. The comic has Dale and Andrea as a couple with a huge age difference, while the series has Dale deceased and Andrea lost to the group. The inhabitants of the helicopter were vastly different between media too: the comic has them as simply survivors from the fallen city of Atlanta, while the show of course had them as military personnel.

Isn’t he a little old for you?

I’m extremely excited to see where we’ll be taken next in the AMC series. I don’t want to get too much into Woodbury and the Governor at this point in case anything I reveal pops up in episodes to come. All that I can say is that I expect things to shit the fan sooner than later, and it’s going to be awesome.

See you next week! Thanks for reading!

 

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Getting A Prequel Comic!

by Derek Kraneveldt

We’re still 7 months away from the release of JJ Abrams second Star Trek film, Star Trek Into Darkness, but it looks like you won’t have to wait quite that long to head back to the final frontier.

Bleeding Cool has revealed that a prequel comic titled Star Trek Countdown To Darkness will launch in January. The book will be a four issue mini-series that leads directly into the upcoming film.

Nothing is known about the plot at this point, but I’m sure we’ll get word of that soon!

The countdown to the motion picture event of 2013 begins here, in this blockbuster 4-issue prequel mini-series that sets the stage for the upcoming STAR TREK film! Like the best-selling STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN in 2009, this all-new series leads directly into the next movie, with a story by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci and Mike Johnson (STAR TREK ongoing series), and drawn by the original STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN artist, David Messina! STAR TREK 2013 PREQUEL is the can’t-miss lead-in to the new adventures of the Enterprise crew!

Will you be picking this one up? Are you looking forward to Star Trek Into Darkness?

Walking Dead Weekly: Season 3, Episode 1 – Seed

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

This week’s column is coming a little later than I had hoped, as I had quite a bit of catching up to do. See, I used to be a huge fan of the series, and then that damn farm came, which was a fantastic (and small) arc in the comic, but absolutely drawn out and boring as hell in the show. I gave up on Season 2 about halfway through. When I heard nothing but good things about the Season 3 premiere, I figured now was as good a time as any to catch up!

Needless to say, there will be spoilers ahead. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, I wouldn’t read any further! I’m sure most of you have however, based on the fact that over 10 million people tuned into the premiere!

Episode Thoughts – “Seed”

First off, I have to say how good it feels to be back in this universe. I remember how insanely excited I was for October 31st, 2010, when The Walking Dead would see its first episode. A serious drama about a world overrun with zombies, that would be based on Robert Kirkman’s fantastic ongoing adventure? Yes please! Then as quickly as it came, it would be over: after a fantastic premiere, a couple more great episodes, and a few more decent to mediocre ones, the first season would come to a close, and almost another year would pass before we’d get another look at Rick and the gang.

October of 2011 would host the premiere of the show’s second season, and honestly, I barely remember any of it. What I do recall is seeing the first few episodes before realizing that I simply didn’t care about what the show was offering at that point. I stuck with it for a couple more episodes before it dropped off my radar completely.

Season 3 premiered just this past Sunday, and it was Geekscape staffer Scott Alminiana’s thoughts on the episode that really made me consider giving it another shot:

The opportunity for a weekly column fell into my lap shortly afterwards, and I was in. I powered through the remaining episodes of Season 2 (seriously, how the hell did you all do it?), and after a few boring ass hours and a really intense one (damn that finale), it was premiere time (side note: finally Shane is gone, FINALLY)!

The premiere opened with an unsettling close up of an old-man walker and a pal, just seconds before being ended by Rick and friends. I instantly noticed just how much older Carl looked (growing up unfortunately does not follow production schedules), but the writers had it all covered, the farm went down ages ago, and the survivors have already been through a winter since we last saw them.

RIP Owl. 2012-2012

The group is weak and hungry: hunting is rarely successful due to the fact that it has been very cold, and any buildings found tend to have been raided long before the survivors’ arrival. Things look bleak, and seem to only be getting bleaker, as walkers are hot on their tail.

We’re not far from the moment that everyone had been waiting for at this point. After much anticipation, and a brief tease during the season two finale, our survivors finally come across a seemingly abandoned (well, by living things) prison. Sure, the place is full of walkers, but clear them out, and this could be the safe haven they’d been waiting for.

More zombies in one frame than the whole of season 2!

The rest of the episode is really action heavy, and that’s something I absolutely welcomed after last season. The yard and surrounding area need to be cleared of dead, and it’s up to the gang to do it. Of course, this is easier said than done, and once everything appears to be peachy, another wave of walkers pops out. The only thing that really bugged me here were the zombies clad in riot gear (ripped straight from Left 4 Dead 2). The group acts extremely scared of these guys, but beside the fact that they’d be harder to kill, they’re also basically harmless: thick gloves prevent them from scratching anyone, and they’re also wearing face shields, preventing anyone from being bitten.

Look familiar gamers?

Aside from a few moments that may surprise you after this point (and a rather disturbing idea from Lori), plotwise nothing more really happens until the episodes closing moments, when it’s revealed (unsurprisingly) that the West Georgia Correctional Facility was occupied long before Rick and the others arrived.

Overall, I thought the episode was a great return to form for the series, and I’m happy to say that once again I’m a fan of the show. I can’t wait for David Morrissey to pop up as The Governor and personally introduce the group to this season’s tagline: Fight the dead,  fear the living.

I have to point out just how amazing the show looks too: cinematography is very strong, and as usual the makeup/effects are freaking phenominal (I definitely had a couple “FUCKING SICK” moments throughout the course of the episode. As far as I’m aware, The Walking Dead offers simply the most disturbing (in a good way) zombies ever to appear on screen.

Comic Comparison

Well, the prison took a little longer to make it to the show than some of us would have hoped (it was introduced in Issue 13, but by my count this is episode 20). Now that it’s here though, it seems like so far we’ve got a pretty accurate representation of what was portrayed in the comics.

He doesn’t say it in the show, but you can sure see it in his eyes.

There of course are some differences between the show and its source material in this episode, mostly having to do with group members. Fan favorites Daryl and Glenn are thankfully still around, despite one never existing in paper form, and the other deciding to stay back on the farm (which never went to shit). Hershel manages to get himself bitten near the end of the episode (which leads to a moment akin to Episode Two of The Walking Dead game), while in the book of course, he never leaves the farm.

Sadly, show only fans appear to have missed out on this one.

Another thing that was skipped over in the premiere (as mentioned above) is the entirety of the Winter season. Issue 9 had the group taking shelter within a gated community, having missed the warning of the fact that everyone inside was dead. This actually happened before the farm section in the book, but since we hadn’t seen it, I definitely hoped it would show up here as it was a fantastic issue and plot point.

Michonne looks to already be establishing herself in the series (after a quick introduction in last season’s finale), yet in the book she wouldn’t show up for another 6 issues. Also, her undead companions look absolutely disgusting (in a good way).

Again, this episode was very heavy on the action. That being said, there isn’t really a ton of things to compare! In both cases we get an introduction to a major set piece that is part of the most-loved story arc from the book, and if this episode is any indication, will be the same for the series.

Home sweet home?

In closing, all I can really say is that I can’t wait for more. If the rest of the season follows the source material as closely as this opening episode, we’ve got some absolutely fantastic television ahead of us.

See you next week!

Geekcape Comics: ‘Borderlands’ Prequel Comic Coming From IDW!

by Shawn Madden

Borderlands 2 hit shelves today and IDW will be releasing Borderlands: Origins a four-issue run of tie-in comics coming this November. The mini-series will serve as a prequel to the first game. Check out the cover for the first issue as well as the variant for it!

“How did the Vault Hunters get on the bus with Marcus in the first place? Find out how Roland got on the bus with Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick in this exciting look at the soldiers of the Crimson Lance and what made him leave their ranks and search for the Vault.”

Source: Yahoo

Geekscape Comics: USAgent Returns This December In ‘Dark Avengers’!

by Shawn Madden

Have you been reading Dark Avengers (the title formerly known as Thunderbolts)? Well, you should be definitely checking title out. There are some exciting things coming as writer Jeff Parker will be bringing the titles current era to an end. This December, the writer will once again be altering the status quo of the title well as bringing about the return of USAgent! Neal Edward will also be joining the title on art duties. Check out a few excerpts from an interview between Parker and Comic Book Resources below. This title is definitely one to keep an eye on. If you haven’t been keeping up on it I will highly recommend going back a few months and catching up. You will not be disappointed!

 

Discussing bringing the titles current era to an end:

The Timebolts come to a definitive conclusion that bookends the run from the time Luke Cage came on to run things. As you’ll see, “Thunderbolts” will shape what “Dark Avengers” becomes, the one grows out of the other. It’s going to be very different, but trust me and Neil. I know readers are anxious about the focus shifting, but remember when the Underbolts first arrived and no one wanted the focus to go to them? We’re keeping with our organic hand-offs. The tone and the types of thrills will feel familiar.

Regarding the new status quo:

It will have much the dynamic that “Thunderbolts” had, it’s still bad people being thrust into the role of heroes. I’m not so interested in the idea that they want to become better, but that sometimes circumstances give you a chance to go that way. You see this in the conclusion of the Thunderbolts super-arc, some characters that were pretty heinous when they arrived are doing some very noble things by the end.

On what USAgent’s role in the series will be:

Well, now the role to take is Captain Marvel! Moonstone likes to keep up with the times. We can change the books and go in wild directions, but she always finds the way to come along. And yes, USAgent will charge into the leadership role, but the question is, does he answer to just himself? The team gets separated at the beginning and really at that point wouldn’t care about being a team, but will have to to escape where they find themselves. This is a break-down and rebuilding foundation story where we start seeing what they’re really about.

On changing the series direction:

I’m so happy with the conclusion to this big story. It’s a big finale that brings together many threads we’ve had going for the past three years in what I think you’ll find a very satisfying way. Someone big and unstoppable is about to return and there are surprises with the Boss Cage character in the future. If you’ve been reading all along, there’s some big payoffs for you.

 

The Wolverine Will Shoot Japan in Sydney Australia!

by Steven Kunz

For those that follow X-Men, particularly the latest spinoff ‘The Wolverine‘ which will be directed by James Mangold (Director of the movie, Cop Land), the latest development for the film is that it’s going to be shot at least in part in Sydney, Australia, due to a $12.8 million government payoff from Australia as well as other incentives. What’s even more interesting is that at this time, Sydney is going to be the primary location for shooting the film when the story dictates that Wolverine will be traveling to Japan in the story. This means that every shot of Japan will essentially be done in Australia.

At this time, at least $80 million is going to be spent in Australia, including visual effects, while post production work will be in the US. It’s certainly an interesting development, as you would figure that since the story takes place in Japan, it would be a logical decision to shoot in Japan since the primary story takes place in Japan. However, ultimately, it does depend on the production team in how he chooses to use Sydney’s locations to convince the audience that Wolverine is in Japan. There are a lot of new film stages in and around Sydney, but let’s just hope that we don’t spot a kangaroo or a  koala bear in the background of some of the exterior shots. Then again, that would already make it way better than “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” aka “The Tale of Jimmy Logan: The Man They Call Wolverine” aka “Not What We Considered a Real Wolverine Movie by Any Stretch”.

James Mangold’s “The Wolverine” is expected for a July 2013 release.

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/the-wolverine-gets-12-8-million-payment-to-shoot-in-sydney/

Wanted: The Geekscape Review

by Brent Moore

WARNING! SPOILERS ABOUND! <— that should be enough…

There are two ways to handle an adaptation, one of which is right and one of which is wrong. The right way to adapt a story to film is to stay true to the theme and story of the original work. You can tweak the details all you want. Take a few characters out, add a few new ones, change locations, whatever. The fanboys will bitch but as long as you stay true to what the original material is about you will have done your job, and it’s just a fact of life that that stuff needs to happen sometimes to make a book or comic work on film.

The wrong way to adapt something is to completely neglect what the original is about or was trying to say but then try to cover your ass by staying true to some of the details. Unfortunately, this is the route that Wanted went. It’s got dialog and scenes lifted directly from the comic all over the place to remind you that, yes, this is the Wanted you know and love. However, they could not have missed the mark further as far as staying true to the message of the original.

Wanted, as written by Mark Millar, was a comic about breaking out of your mundane, meaningless existence and just giving into your id fully. It was unapologetic, it was brutal, it was amoral, it was nihilistic. It was a book that you want to be repulsed by but somewhere deep inside there was a primal part of you that was cheering with joy.

The movie attempts to take a book about bad guys being bad just because they can, and makes it a movie about good guys being bad because they are trying to make the world a better place. It tries to spread the message of giving into your id and giving a big “fuck you” to the world, but at the same time is apologetic about it. Like a kid throwing a temper tantrum until he accidentally breaks something, then cleaning up the mess while uttering a non-stop stream of “I’m sorry’s”.

The movie also decides to change up the story a bit. The comic revolved around a secret society of super villains that had killed off all of the super heroes and now control the world. The movie is about a secret society of assassins that was started by a group of weavers who get their assassination orders from a secret code imbedded in the thread of cloth woven by the Loom of Fate. I’m not making that up and it is exactly as stupid as it sounds.

At least they kept with the main thread of Wesley Gibson, as played by James McAvoy, being a completely normal, boring, insiginficant person before learning that his father was a bad ass killer and now he has to follow in his father’s footsteps. Kind of. The father is a different person than he is in the comic, and really the whole dynamic is thrown off because of it. You know what, they really didn’t get any aspect of the comic right.

So we’ve got a movie that is a horrible adaptation with an absolutely retarded plot. Case closed, right? Not quite. Despite its many failings, Wanted is one hell of a fun ride.

Director Timur Bekmambetov gained fame by directing the absolutely bat shit crazy Russian flicks Nightwatch and Daywatch, and all the strengths and weaknesses he showed there are present in Wanted. Bekmambetov is all about big ideas and big set pieces. He is a visual artist that wants to show you things you haven’t seen before, and they can be thrilling. Wanted is a series of set pieces strewn together with the weakest of threads. Bekmambetov hasn’t learned to tell a story yet, and I’m not sure he wants to. He wants to show you some cool shit and the story is just the excuse to do that.

If he could manage to be more consistent, Bekmambetov (man that is not a fun name to type) could really be a powerhouse director. As it stands, Wanted is wildly inconsistent in every way. There are moments of visual extravagance and humor but they happen too seldom to ever feel natural. There are times when they go all out with the in your face nihilism from the comic and then moments when they back step and try to be moralistic or dramatic. One scene happens and then the next scene happens and they rarely feel connected. The movie has more montages than a Rocky flick. It’s kind of a mess.

James McAvoy does a decent job in his first big headlining role but the real stars of the show are Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. I’m not the biggest Jolie fan but she really comes off as effortlessly cool here. She’s also charming and manages to be sexy despite her increasing resemblance to Christian Bale in The Machinist. Morgan Freeman is always basically Morgan Freeman, but this was a Morgan Freeman that said “Kill this mothafucka” and could bend bullets and that’s just fun.

So at the end of the day we have a neutered and bastardized version of the comic, a ridiculous plot with more than a few nods to Fight Club and The Matrix, and inconsistent messy filmmaking. But none of that really matters, just turn off your brain and let yourself enjoy watching James McAvoy attack a textile factory with explosive rats. It’s really kind of cool.