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Post by Valhalla Erikson on Aug 24, 2021 4:25:28 GMT
"The Outrider" comic follows Marcel Lozada, a 19-year-old college student attending the fictitious Alden State University. Marcel is the first superhuman in existence, and with that, he is continuously faced at a crossroads deciding what type of person he wants to be? This series aims to show the reality of being a student in a university setting, tackling themes and situations many college students face.
Alongside Marcel is his best friend, Andrea "Andi" Negrón. A fellow undergrad at ASU, she carries her own baggage as the granddaughter of an ex-assassin. Years of training and situations have left Andi physically and mentally scarred, leading to her new aspiration to make college memories, sometimes being an opposing force to Marcel's enthusiasm for super-heroics.
Its rare of me to actually do a crowdfunded comic review as some of the comics may vary in terms of quality but there's something about this comic that spoke to me. The first thing I happen to notice is that the person who wrote this comic is clearly a fan of Classic Spider-Man as I've noticed several hints of the Spider-Man mythos within the comic. Right down to the teasing that The Outrider would provide the criminals he's trying to apprehend. It even has a With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility speech but not hammering it over the head.
I also like the dynamic between Marcel and Andi as its not often you'd have a superhero comic featuring a couple. Because mainstream comics frown at relationships However you could buy the relationship between the two and the banter the two give one another is pretty cute. It actually provides a rather interesting spin on the superhero couple by having the couple be superheroes.
I find it completely refreshing that we are not dealing with High School kids. Which means no teen drama bunk.
The artwork was pretty solid. It had that manga feel yet unique enough to not feel too anime like. And the dialogue makes the characters feel real enough that the characters are coming to life before your very eyes.
Overall I'd give this comic an Edge of Your Seat rating. When the mainstream big two cant provide us quality storytelling in comics sometimes it's up for the Indy creators to provide us that.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Aug 24, 2021 21:26:34 GMT
"The Outrider" comic follows Marcel Lozada, a 19-year-old college student attending the fictitious Alden State University. Marcel is the first superhuman in existence, and with that, he is continuously faced at a crossroads deciding what type of person he wants to be? This series aims to show the reality of being a student in a university setting, tackling themes and situations many college students face.
Alongside Marcel is his best friend, Andrea "Andi" Negrón. A fellow undergrad at ASU, she carries her own baggage as the granddaughter of an ex-assassin. Years of training and situations have left Andi physically and mentally scarred, leading to her new aspiration to make college memories, sometimes being an opposing force to Marcel's enthusiasm for super-heroics.
Its rare of me to actually do a crowdfunded comic review as some of the comics may vary in terms of quality but there's something about this comic that spoke to me. The first thing I happen to notice is that the person who wrote this comic is clearly a fan of Classic Spider-Man as I've noticed several hints of the Spider-Man mythos within the comic. Right down to the teasing that The Outrider would provide the criminals he's trying to apprehend. It even has a With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility speech but not hammering it over the head.
I also like the dynamic between Marcel and Andi as its not often you'd have a superhero comic featuring a couple. Because mainstream comics frown at relationships However you could buy the relationship between the two and the banter the two give one another is pretty cute. It actually provides a rather interesting spin on the superhero couple by having the couple be superheroes.
I find it completely refreshing that we are not dealing with High School kids. Which means no teen drama bunk.
The artwork was pretty solid. It had that manga feel yet unique enough to not feel too anime like. And the dialogue makes the characters feel real enough that the characters are coming to life before your very eyes.
Overall I'd give this comic an Edge of Your Seat rating. When the mainstream big two cant provide us quality storytelling in comics sometimes it's up for the Indy creators to provide us that. Sweeeet! This sounds like all kinds of fun! Oddly enough, I can see this crossing over with Clementine or Derrick's story. Maybe fitting with Clementine better. Just from the description it sounds like fun! I'll definitely look this one up!
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Post by Valhalla Erikson on Apr 15, 2022 17:04:05 GMT
Meet Wesley Gibson. Wesley's father abandoned him when he was eighteen weeks old, and things have gone steadily downhill since. He works for a disgusting boss at a job he hates before going home to a girlfriend who's sleeping with his best friend. But suddenly, Wesley is tapped to join The Fraternity, a shadowy cabal of comic book-style villains who claim they're behind all organized crime on Earth, and that further, Wesley's father was one of them.
And that's when Wesley's life gets much more interesting.
To say that this comic is polarizing would be an understatement. And I can see both sides of the argument. You either love it for its unapologetic tribute to 90s comics ultraviolence or hate it for its eye rolling edgelord antics. To me this was and still is my guilty pleasure comic.
Why? Because I'm a sucker for a good villain vs villain story. When done right you'd be in for a real treat involving two villains tearing at each other and not holding back. Imagine watching a fight between the Hell Priest from Hellraiser vs Freddy Kruger or Michael Myers vs Chucky? Regardless of the results I'd sit down and enjoy the show with a soda and popcorn by my side.
See when you have Hero vs Hero it gets frustrating. Because the fight would involve nonsensical preaching from both sides and the hero characters committing stupid action after stupid action. With Villain vs Villain it's a little more honest. Either to eliminate the competition or getting in the way of a particular plan. Or that one side has dibs on the Hero and is all Yandere over said Hero.
What I respect the most from this comic is it's level of honesty. You're not supposed to like the main character. And even he himself will say he's not the sort to root for. Meanwhile you have these current villains who commit horrible crimes yet the writers would try to make us feel sorry for them? And hasn't done anything to earn sympathy. What does this comic do? To quote Marty McFly
And because of that I give the comic this rating.
Monument of Literature: It pushes the envelope and never lets up. It may not be for everyone but its a fun read just to see villains beating each other to a bloody pulp. Popcorn eating, soda drinking entertainment. That doesn't pull any punches and provides you villain characters who put the V in Villainy. After the bullshit from League of Villains I say give me villains who are this honest about who they are.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Apr 15, 2022 19:26:02 GMT
Meet Wesley Gibson. Wesley's father abandoned him when he was eighteen weeks old, and things have gone steadily downhill since. He works for a disgusting boss at a job he hates before going home to a girlfriend who's sleeping with his best friend. But suddenly, Wesley is tapped to join The Fraternity, a shadowy cabal of comic book-style villains who claim they're behind all organized crime on Earth, and that further, Wesley's father was one of them.
And that's when Wesley's life gets much more interesting.
To say that this comic is polarizing would be an understatement. And I can see both sides of the argument. You either love it for its unapologetic tribute to 90s comics ultraviolence or hate it for its eye rolling edgelord antics. To me this was and still is my guilty pleasure comic.
Why? Because I'm a sucker for a good villain vs villain story. When done right you'd be in for a real treat involving two villains tearing at each other and not holding back. Imagine watching a fight between the Hell Priest from Hellraiser vs Freddy Kruger or Michael Myers vs Chucky? Regardless of the results I'd sit down and enjoy the show with a soda and popcorn by my side.
See when you have Hero vs Hero it gets frustrating. Because the fight would involve nonsensical preaching from both sides and the hero characters committing stupid action after stupid action. With Villain vs Villain it's a little more honest. Either to eliminate the competition or getting in the way of a particular plan. Or that one side has dibs on the Hero and is all Yandere over said Hero.
What I respect the most from this comic is it's level of honesty. You're not supposed to like the main character. And even he himself will say he's not the sort to root for. Meanwhile you have these current villains who commit horrible crimes yet the writers would try to make us feel sorry for them? And hasn't done anything to earn sympathy. What does this comic do? To quote Marty McFly
And because of that I give the comic this rating.
Monument of Literature: It pushes the envelope and never lets up. It may not be for everyone but its a fun read just to see villains beating each other to a bloody pulp. Popcorn eating, soda drinking entertainment. That doesn't pull any punches and provides you villain characters who put the V in Villainy. After the bullshit from League of Villains I say give me villains who are this honest about who they are. Just don't cut yourself on the edge. But seriously, I feel similarly about Nemesis. Yes, I know, its cringey, but I enjoy it for how over the top batshit it is. I even enjoyed Kick-Ass 3. Kick-Ass 2 was kind of a major hiccup but I think the Hit Girl Comic, and her spinoff series, and Kick-Ass Volume 3 recovered it. Sometimes you just want to go with something over the top violent and dark and Mark Millar, when he's on his A-Game, can really deliver that.
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Post by Valhalla Erikson on Apr 25, 2022 2:19:22 GMT
The best way to describe The Dresden Files is imagine Hellblazer but set in Chi-Town and the character is an American. Where the main character Harry Dresden is Chicago's only active Wizard. Who tackles cases that are supernatural in nature. And meets quite an eccentric cast who'll help him out in the process. The thing with Anthologies is that it's hard to give this a single grade since it is multiple stories we are talking about here. So I'm going to just list a few stories in this book I consider noteworthy. "The Warrior" (originally published in Mean Streets)A rogue priest takes extreme measures in order to recover Dresden's Swords of the Cross, forcing Dresden and Michael to stop him before he kills somebody. Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat, and before "Last Call". Note: Imagine Taken but with a Paladin. And said Paladin is just as badass here as Liam Neeson. If he were a character within What We Do In The Shadows verse I can see him being bros with Derrick's Grandfather and BFF's with Izumi "Love Hurts" (originally published in Songs of Love and Death)A Red Court attempt to synthesize artificial love draws the attention of Dresden and Murphy when several of the Court's test subjects commit suicide. Takes place between Turn Coat and Changes. Note: Weaponizes cupids arrow in a rather interesting concept. The one thing that is kind of a nitpick about this is, when the villain makes her villain speech at the end, why doesn't Harry and Murphy just shoot her? It also reminds me of an episode from Supernatural with a similar concept "Day Off" (originally published in Blood Lite)Dresden plans to spend a day off with his girlfriend Luccio, but when Molly, Andi, and Kirby invite themselves over, his day quickly becomes a lot more complicated. Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat. Note: Harry prepares for a date, on his day off, yet a series of events keep disrupting it. The way it plays out comes from what you'd normally see on a sitcom "It's My Birthday, Too" (originally published in Many Bloody Returns)Dresden, Thomas, and Molly must protect a group of LARPers from a powerful Black Court vampire and her coterie. Takes place between White Night and Small Favor. Note: What I love about the series is how menacing the vampires are. Even the most friendliest of vampires can be quite vicious. Strong recommend for vampire lovers out there "Backup" (originally published by itself)
Thomas works to stop the evil followers of a dark, forgotten god before they can trick Dresden into spreading the god's influence throughout the whole world. Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat. Note: Even your most friendliest of vampires will remind you that he's still a vampire and a monster. I also like that it did a hero vs hero but not in a way where both parties act stupid. I cant spoil how. You just have to read it to find out. My one gripe is how the guy deals with the villain. Yes he's a vampire. A vampire who feeds from sexual energy. So how does he kill the villain? By raping her to death. There is a double standard debate with that. Ok if its a villain then we are supposed to hate said villain for the act. Yet hardly anyone bats an eye if its someone who isn't a villain. It would be one thing if the villain were a rapist. But she wasn't, so.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Apr 25, 2022 22:10:25 GMT
The best way to describe The Dresden Files is imagine Hellblazer but set in Chi-Town and the character is an American. Where the main character Harry Dresden is Chicago's only active Wizard. Who tackles cases that are supernatural in nature. And meets quite an eccentric cast who'll help him out in the process. The thing with Anthologies is that it's hard to give this a single grade since it is multiple stories we are talking about here. So I'm going to just list a few stories in this book I consider noteworthy. "The Warrior" (originally published in Mean Streets)A rogue priest takes extreme measures in order to recover Dresden's Swords of the Cross, forcing Dresden and Michael to stop him before he kills somebody. Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat, and before "Last Call". Note: Imagine Taken but with a Paladin. And said Paladin is just as badass here as Liam Neeson. If he were a character within What We Do In The Shadows verse I can see him being bros with Derrick's Grandfather and BFF's with Izumi "Love Hurts" (originally published in Songs of Love and Death)A Red Court attempt to synthesize artificial love draws the attention of Dresden and Murphy when several of the Court's test subjects commit suicide. Takes place between Turn Coat and Changes. Note: Weaponizes cupids arrow in a rather interesting concept. The one thing that is kind of a nitpick about this is, when the villain makes her villain speech at the end, why doesn't Harry and Murphy just shoot her? It also reminds me of an episode from Supernatural with a similar concept "Day Off" (originally published in Blood Lite)Dresden plans to spend a day off with his girlfriend Luccio, but when Molly, Andi, and Kirby invite themselves over, his day quickly becomes a lot more complicated. Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat. Note: Harry prepares for a date, on his day off, yet a series of events keep disrupting it. The way it plays out comes from what you'd normally see on a sitcom "It's My Birthday, Too" (originally published in Many Bloody Returns)Dresden, Thomas, and Molly must protect a group of LARPers from a powerful Black Court vampire and her coterie. Takes place between White Night and Small Favor. Note: What I love about the series is how menacing the vampires are. Even the most friendliest of vampires can be quite vicious. Strong recommend for vampire lovers out there "Backup" (originally published by itself)
Thomas works to stop the evil followers of a dark, forgotten god before they can trick Dresden into spreading the god's influence throughout the whole world. Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat. Note: Even your most friendliest of vampires will remind you that he's still a vampire and a monster. I also like that it did a hero vs hero but not in a way where both parties act stupid. I cant spoil how. You just have to read it to find out. My one gripe is how the guy deals with the villain. Yes he's a vampire. A vampire who feeds from sexual energy. So how does he kill the villain? By raping her to death. There is a double standard debate with that. Ok if its a villain then we are supposed to hate said villain for the act. Yet hardly anyone bats an eye if its someone who isn't a villain. It would be one thing if the villain were a rapist. But she wasn't, so. I can only imagine the headache the LARPers would've given them. Reminds me of the Buffy episode with those wannabe vampire goth kids. Backup does not sound like a good ending. That sounds cringey as hell but the rest definitely sound interesting. I should try to track down some of these books in the future sometime! They sound like a real blast.
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Post by Valhalla Erikson on May 4, 2022 18:59:00 GMT
You know what? I'm not even going to summarize this. Just by looking at this book cover you get the idea of what this story is and the monster in question. To say this book needs no introduction is an understatement. I've finally managed to read this book, through audible, and there are definitely some moments within this novel that feels Lovecraftian to me. I know its a reference that can wear out its welcome but, if you think about it, it does have a rather Lovecraftian feel to it. It wouldn't surprise me if this book is Kings way of paying homage to the man. What I respect is the pure cosmic horror feel this novel carries. Especially in the segments during The Losers childhood. Imagine the utter helplessness they must have felt when they have to face this cosmic horror who preys upon them like a flesh eating Terminator. Throwing in Henry Bowers and his gang just makes things worse for them. Fortunately they have outside help. In a way it's sort of a Chosen One plot. Sort of. Personally I like the segments regarding the kids. I felt that kids dealing with a cosmic horror raise the stakes and just makes the whole thing even more intense. While I don't mind the adult segments I felt the kids segment brought a sense of refreshment into this concept. I really wish that this novel was just the kids and end it with them promising to return to one day defeat Penny for good. The novel isn't without its negatives. I felt there's one too many flashbacks for my liking. There were points I had to double check to see if there was anything out of order and the flashbacks, including that one random one unrelated to The Losers, took me out of the novel. Another negative I had with the book...I cant mention because I don't want to get my bro in trouble but this will sum it up... WHAT THE FUCK, STEPHEN KING?!!!I'm not going to mention the scene in question but anyone familiar with this book know what I'm talking about. Despite all of this I do find IT one of the many novels of Stephen King that have played a huge impact on my life. Honestly? Without Stephen King I wouldn't have created a gem called Shepard Mysteries.
Overall I'd give this novel a Time Waster rating.
It's not a bad novel but definitely not the masterpiece most would make IT out to be. Still a novel I'd recommend if you need something to add to your Stephen King Collection.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on May 5, 2022 0:16:18 GMT
You know what? I'm not even going to summarize this. Just by looking at this book cover you get the idea of what this story is and the monster in question. To say this book needs no introduction is an understatement. I've finally managed to read this book, through audible, and there are definitely some moments within this novel that feels Lovecraftian to me. I know its a reference that can wear out its welcome but, if you think about it, it does have a rather Lovecraftian feel to it. It wouldn't surprise me if this book is Kings way of paying homage to the man. What I respect is the pure cosmic horror feel this novel carries. Especially in the segments during The Losers childhood. Imagine the utter helplessness they must have felt when they have to face this cosmic horror who preys upon them like a flesh eating Terminator. Throwing in Henry Bowers and his gang just makes things worse for them. Fortunately they have outside help. In a way it's sort of a Chosen One plot. Sort of. Personally I like the segments regarding the kids. I felt that kids dealing with a cosmic horror raise the stakes and just makes the whole thing even more intense. While I don't mind the adult segments I felt the kids segment brought a sense of refreshment into this concept. I really wish that this novel was just the kids and end it with them promising to return to one day defeat Penny for good. The novel isn't without its negatives. I felt there's one too many flashbacks for my liking. There were points I had to double check to see if there was anything out of order and the flashbacks, including that one random one unrelated to The Losers, took me out of the novel. Another negative I had with the book...I cant mention because I don't want to get my bro in trouble but this will sum it up... WHAT THE FUCK, STEPHEN KING?!!!I'm not going to mention the scene in question but anyone familiar with this book know what I'm talking about. Despite all of this I do find IT one of the many novels of Stephen King that have played a huge impact on my life. Honestly? Without Stephen King I wouldn't have created a gem called Shepard Mysteries.
Overall I'd give this novel a Time Waster rating.
It's not a bad novel but definitely not the masterpiece most would make IT out to be. Still a novel I'd recommend if you need something to add to your Stephen King Collection. YOU'LL ALL FLOAT! Yeah the IT Book, aside from the sewer scene, is honestly a great classic and if you're fans of the movies I definitely recommend going back to the original novel to get the real story and the reveal of just how massive the scale of the battle really was. The Losers, while the heroes of the story, were ultimately small players in the grand cosmic scale of things. I won't go into the greater cosmology of the Kingverse here but the battle with Pennywise, and the real history behind IT, is grand and cosmic in scale and The Ritual Of CHUD is, well, it needs to be ready to believed. Give it a read! It's a LONG one but, aside from the sewer scene and a certain scene between Patrick and Bowers, you really won't be disappointed. I do agree however that King should've separated it into two sections, one covering the kids and then the second covering the adults like the movies have done, to make it all flow better overall.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on May 5, 2022 0:29:42 GMT
FInally stepping in to contribute! Its Kamen Rider Time! THe OG Kamen Rider! Not Spirits but the original Manga Collection! It follows a lot of the same steps that the TV Show would follow and for the most part its a straight up superhero adventure...except for a big change about halfway through. You remember the Shocker Riders? The Evil Versions of the Double Riders? The minor villains in the TV Show? The Elite Mooks in The Next? They're at their most effective here. SPOILERS Below. {Spoiler}Yeah, naturally, they show up here. Very early on when Takeshi Hongo is still on his own. They face off with him in a forest, surrounded him and bust a freaking cap! Not just one or two either. They shoot the crap out of him and effectively take him out of the story.
Hongo knocking Ichimonji out of his brainwashing beforehand, leading to him slaughtering the Shocker Riders from surprise, is the only reason the Manga didn't have a Downer Ending. Like, damn, that's a level of ruthlessness from the Shocker Riders you wouldn't see until Spirits! After the above incident, the story follows Ichimonji for a while, and I won't spoil what's done for Hongo in the meantime, as he continues the fight with Shocker. If I had to complain, the final battle, which isn't even against Shockers Leader, not that he did much int he original TV Show's final battle, but against a Super Robot. While the way its defeated is clever, its a bit anticlimactic but efficient. Overall, if you're looking for a fun Superhero Manga featuring the Kamen Riders in their original Manga Incarnations, give this one a looksee! Do be warned it's a thick book though, lol. This isn't exactly a small Manga Collection.
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