Five By Five - Comics, week 3: Phonogram

Last weekend, because I am both rock and roll and hardcore, I went to a nightclub with the express intention of losing myself in the music. (Eminem references: I’m still totally down with the kids).

I know what you’re thinking: Me and several hundred thousand other people right? Pubbing and clubbing on a Saturday night is pretty much a great British pass time; so much so that it has its own associated mini-rituals (even if they do primarily involve a donner kebab and a friend willing to hold your hair back for you as you weep into the gutter about the sheer existentialist absurdity of your own right shoe. Or is that just me?)

The truth is, fast food, projectile vomiting and girls who think that layers of fake tan are an acceptable alternative to clothes too often define nights out. We all want that transcendental moment when the DJ really does save your life, but it’s rare, and dependent on a magical alignment of people and place and beat.

It’s possible though, which is why we return to these sticky floored churches week after week in the hope that God will eventually show up.

The idea of it is endlessly compelling, and this week’s graphic novel series Phonogram takes it even further, as an entire pantheon shimmer and echo around the festivals, nightclubs and other music venues of the UK.

Phonogram takes place in a universe very much like our own; except that music really is magic here, and it chooses its own acolytes, sometimes without a great deal of discrimination. It might seem like an odd thing to say, but barely pages into ‘Rue Britannia’, the first offering in the series, I was as sure that I loved the story as I was that I hated the protagonist; pretentious, chain smoking David Kohl.

Of course, hate can be a complex emotion, and Kohl is a character with self-knowledge if nothing else, combined with an acute awareness of the powerful and ambivalent responses he can elicit. In possession of a strange mix of angst-ridden self-loathing and a misogynist’s swagger he declares himself a ‘white man in clitoris palace’ at the start of the story...

Before a well-timed and satisfying ass-kicking from a goddess.

Deities abound here and the metaphors are thick, fast and not always subtle. They don’t feel clumsy or forced though, because so many of the ideas they give form to have a ring of truth about them. From the fallen goddess of Brit Pop (once great, now best left buried), to the ‘memory palaces’ built from our collective impressions of a time, a place, a musical zeitgeist, Phonogram works because music is so close to metaphor anyway. A bunch of carefully arranged vibrations shouldn’t be able to make us laugh or cry or want to get laid. But they totally do. It’s only a hop, skip and a jump from here to giving these vibrations form and personality. And of course, we’re all slaves to the music sometimes. It’s just that here, there are phonomancers, touched by this sound magic, to make the influence explicit.

Phonogram's other obsession - very much in evidence in the collection of short stories in its second offering ‘The Singles Club’ (see what they did there?) - is identity, and the ways in which music allows us to belong, to rebel or to reinvent ourselves. It’s a whistle stop tour through one random indie night during which a host of phonomancers swirl past each other, each living out their own personal dramas. The interesting thing about it is the extent to which this is ‘inside out’ writing. In every single scene we’re allotted a protagonist  guide who invites us inside their head (and in one rather splendid case tells us to get the hell out again). There’s nowhere for them (or us) to hide from the insecurities, the jealousy or the spite that abound in every human heart and yet there’s something undeniably attractive about it all. We’re invited into the conversation and inevitably we wind up colluding with it.

It’s a dichotomy expressed perfectly in the recurrent character of Emily, a phonomancer of considerably greater power than David, who glides through the pages like some pierced medusa. You know you shouldn’t look but you do anyway. She’s undeniably a bitch, but she’s clever and insightful and just, well, *cool* as well. And as readers we’re granted a strange intimacy; the chance to see the old self she has abandoned to reinvent herself through sheer force of will.

For those interested in that sort of thing, it’s also worth noting that it all looks pretty damn sexy too. Where ‘Rue Britannia’ is noirey and printed entirely in black and white, ‘The Singles Club’ embraces a new palate; reds and oranges for that point in the evening when the air itself seems to sweat; moody blues and greys for more contemplative moments.  Jamie McKelvie draws human faces with a great deal of attention and even love, but the background detail is pared right down - it’s the *characters* that matter here. And the look of it isn’t the only additional dimension breathing life into Phonogram; there’s a sort of silent soundtrack that accompanies each scene, and for music lovers it offers dual opportunities for geeking out. (Kieron Gillen really knows his stuff and there are extensive notes on the music behind it all at the end of each book).

Perhaps the heart of it is that Phonogram celebrates the sheer, breathless, hedonistic, nihilistic thrill of sex and music and youth; of dark corners and wild parties and the exhilaration of existing in a perpetual state of not giving a fuck. It makes for a strangely unsettling read, but also an appropriately spell-binding one.

Because if magic exists anywhere, this is where it would be...

This week Kate is experiencing her annual bout of spring restlessness.

New Beginnings - Mind The Gap

For the first time in a long time I have a comic in my hands that I know nothing about. It’s an interesting feeling as it contains the whole “new” sensation that you love as a kid and rarely get to savour as an adult. All I initially know is what I can see in the cover...

On the cover we are given a tense moment in the aftermath of some sort of subway attack. At first glance the victim is being looked over by someone screaming for help but when you look again you can see that the victim and aide are both one and the same, but how can that be?

Written by Jim McCann for Image, this is a new comic with an older take on things. Opening from the cover itself with the attack the reader sees the shockwave spread through the family of Elle and also her closest friends. What it’s also doing is introducing the reader to all of the potential assailants - this is a mystery tale complete with twists and turns, cloaks and daggers.

McCann has written an interesting first issue with the new perspective added that Elle is also a part of this. Even though she is in a coma she exists in the gap and is trying to piece things together herself. Elle is in “The Garden”.  In this state Elle still realises that she is not dead and that her attack was no random occurrence. She knows she is still a target, but why? Can she trust anyone?

Wrapped around and throughout the story we have snippets of a hooded figure who is receiving instruction from a mysterious figure, however it is so well orchestrated that nothing is left to chance.

But how can someone who has not corporeal form or impact make a difference or change things? It’s only when by chance Elle touches the hand of a man in the hospital that things change once again for her, in a very unusual way.

I was impressed with the different levels that I found in the writing. There are a number of different angles to consider as you read the various threads. Each has its own sense and feeling to it without blurring through the others, quite a feat really, and keeps a good pace going, keeping the reader involved.

The artwork is fine and clean, similar to Larroca, but the shading and colouring, particularly the tones add a greater depth to the characters and give them a certain pop from the frames. The surrounding scenes are not overly cluttered or stacked with detail but the focus is always brought to the front of the frames so it works well.

As a completely new comic with a new twist on the “murder” mystery style it’s really nice to read. It’s set in a realistic and believable domain which makes it easy and familiar to read. The story is engaging - it leaves you asking questions and wanting more, which is a really good hook.

It's great value for money too. Completely free of adverts, this a confident first issue, not afraid to use the occasional full page splash panel to punctuate the drama. The final few pages feature an interesting written feature that exposes some of the details you may have missed in the opening chapter. It also makes a strong pledge to you, the reader. This is a classic whodunnit and you have already met the perpetrator. Now it's up to you to try to work it out.

Once again, a confident first issue.

I’d encourage people who are fans of indie comics to give this a go. No supers, no powers and no pretences. Well worth picking up.

Matt Puddy is preparing himself to dial H-E-R-O...

The Watcher - Marvel's Avengers Assemble

Dreams do indeed come true, over the last few years we’ve seen the threads of the Marvel universe come together and finally we see the culmination of all of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Most thought this ambitious task to be impossible, how could you make a movie with all these massive characters and their varied worlds and succeed? One man, Joss Whedon was assigned to orchestrate this very task and by Odin succeed he did! Every star has their moment to shine, all while making the best superhero action flick yet.

Loki returns and plans to rain destruction down on earth by using the Tesseract to allow an unknown alien force called the Chitauri to invade our planet. This obviously gains the attention of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D - Fury decides that it is about time to bring together our heroes and find the troublesome demigod along with the Tesseract.

While on the awesome looking S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier the egos of our big heroes begin to clash as Loki gets under their skin. It takes one good man to bring them together as a team - all they needed was that little push. Once united they stand tall ready to defend Earth, the following battle with the Chitauri is immense. Each Avenger shows why they’re part of the team and how the down to earth characters like Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America can stand next to the more monumental Hulk, Thor and Iron Man and be their equals.

Joss manages to pulls strong performances out of all the cast members - he makes the characters and their motives believable. You will see that while they may be super-solders, intellectual giants, gods and raging green monsters, they’re all still like us at heart - not perfect.

Robert Downey Jr presents his usual swagger as Iron Man, Chris Evans is ever the honest leader as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor brings the Yin to Loki’s Yang. It's a shame his relationship with Jane Foster only briefly gets touched on. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is a lot less of a brat this time around, he is much more full of evil and disdain, driven on by the ordeal of his exile from Asgard.

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is great - as Banner he’s bigger than what we’ve been used to but at the same time very quiet and vulnerable. Using motion capture on his face adds a lot more of an emotional element, making his initial transformation into the Hulk quite intense and rather scary.

Last but not least, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) both kick ass - a lot. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) seems to show more of his deceptive side but it’s all still for the greater good. As always, Agent Phil Coulson played by Clark Gregg is wonderful and has some great moments, he will forever be a favourite of mine. Finally, newcomer Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)  doesn't have a lot to do after the opening sequence, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of her in the future.

I struggled to find negative points to write about. I did see it in 3D and it didn’t add a lot but it didn’t feel intrusive ether. The few things that were niggling at me were the Chitauri being an army of faceless drones, ready to be beaten with little insight into their further motivations. Their massive battleships reminded me a little to much of the Transformers movies too. A couple of things were also left unexplained, like Thor’s hesitation to pick up his hammer - is this a worry about whether he is worthy? And was Loki’s staff affecting the emotions of our heroes, we’re just left to assume that this is the case. These are only really very small complaints and they don’t spoil the experience one bit.

During the earlier promotional interviews for the film, it was said that this would not be like Whedon’s usual work. This worried me due to the fact I loved most of his previous creations. Fear not! His trademark clever writing and wit is present in bucket loads, I laughed out loud and squealed with geek joy many times. He also directs the big blockbuster action sequences brilliantly, the movie feels big! It runs at two and half hours in length but never feels overly long, the editing keeps the pace up and gives the story chance to unfold nicely.

All that is left to say is assemble and enjoy the ride!

Stefan Harkins may go to see this movie again and again!

Big Game Hunting - Gateway Games: Munchkin

Munchkin is a role-playing card game from Steve Jackson Games that takes a few dozen stabs at just about every RPG known to man. It takes spoof to a whole new level, resulting in a game that can be either hilariously funny or horribly cheesy.

There are two types of cards in a typical Munchkin deck: door cards and treasure cards. Door cards consist of races, classes, monsters, and traps. Treasure cards are items to equip that give you bonuses or extra levels. At the beginning of their turn, players can choose to go looking for trouble (play a monster card from their hand) or kick open a door (reveal the top card of the door deck). If it is a race or a class card, they can play it and become that race or class, or keep it in their hand. If a trap card, they suffer whatever consequences are on it. If it is a monster card, they can either fight, or run away. Defeating a monster wins you stuff, primarily treasure cards and a level up. Losing will see you deal with the "Bad Stuff" - often a loss of bonus items, levels, or even character death. The first player to reach level 10 is the winner.

Fighting monsters is fairly simple: you add up all the bonus points on your equipped items with your level. If that number is larger than the monster's level, you win. If the same or less, you lose. It helps to have as many bonus items as you can carry, though some can only be used by particular races or classes. For example, the Dagger of Treachery, which gives a +3 bonus, is only usable by the "Thief" class.

What makes this game more interesting is how other players can interfere with your turn. If you find yourself too low to defeat a monster, you can ask for another player's help, and their level and bonus points are added to yours - but they can demand something in return for their help. Likewise, they can play cards which make the monster more difficult to defeat, or that force you to run away from a monster rather than fight. Players can also play traps on each other, or trade cards which each other if they wish. The downside to this is when a player reaches level 9, and suddenly finds all the other players joining ranks to prevent him defeating that last monster he needs to win.

The main problem with this game is exactly that. The more players there are, the harder it becomes to actually finish in a timely manner. It can be incredibly frustrating to finally draw the low-level monster that will draw the game to a close, only to find it has suddenly ballooned into a level 40 horror that is going to squish you without a thought.

The other issue people may have with this game is the twisted sense of humour prevalent throughout. Many of the cards prove to be hysterical the first, second, or third time you play, such as "Boots of Butt-Kicking", "Cheese Grater of Peace", and "Cleavage Stun" (Super Munchkin). However, once you've played a particular deck a handful of times, the blatant jokes start to lose their charm and make the game seem even longer.

The only solution to this is, naturally, to get a booster card pack, such as Fairy Dust, Munchkinomicon or the upcoming Munchkin The Guild. Or you could get a whole new deck, such as Star Munchkin, Munchkin Zombies or the forthcoming Munchkin Apocalypse! Many of these unique decks also have their own expansion packs, adding yet more cards to an already sizable deck. And, if choosing from the 15 booster and expansion packs and 14 different decks isn't enough for you, the cards from all the decks can be mixed up in any way you please.

If you're looking for a game to play frequently, this probably isn't the way to go. However, if you want something for a rainy day or a friendly games evening, Munchkin is definitely worth a try.

For more from guest blogger Rae, please check out her website