New Beginnings - Thor #1

by Matt Puddy

It’s certainly fair to say that when Marvel announced its recent changes to its established line up some eyebrows were raised. Aside from the news that the newest Captain America was going to be black there was also the gender flip in the identity of Thor. Across the internet many fans of the Nordic god expressed various opinions on this revelation and now in issue one of Jason Aaron’s new comic we get to finally see what is really going on.

If you are wondering “Has Thor died?” (again) or simply “What happened to Thor to make this change?” then fret not it isn’t what you might think. If you read the recent story of Original Sin (also written by Jason Aaron) then you would be aware that at the end of the eight part series, the band of heroes - including Thor - faced off against an aging Nick Fury. As part of this fracas Thor was essentially disabled when Fury whispered a few select (and currently unknown) words to him. Whatever he said had such a huge impact that Thor dropped Mjolnir and as such as not yet been able to pick up the fabled hammer. He is now unworthy.

This isn’t where the comic begins though. It’s the misadventures of those pesky beings from Midgard that opens the tale. Searching deep underwater we meet a team searching the black depths of the ocean. Instead of underwater treasures, they are stumbled upon by massive Frost Giants emerging from an oceanic trench, being somewhat lead by Malkieth the Accursed, a combination that is terrifying at the best of times.

It’s not hard to consider how that particular situation is going to go so I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who enjoys a bit of wanton destruction.

All the while the Asgardian citizens are being divided emotionally. On one hand their All Father has returned from self-imposed exile giving reason to be happy. But this is to the detriment of their All Mother who has been faithfully watching over them and guiding them. There is a growing schism between the Asgardians as allegiances are divided. To add to this they also worry for and watch over Thor who is now a broken man. Unable to comprehend why he cannot lift Mjolnir anymore, he is a shell of a man. Not eating, not sleeping and only really talking on occasion to his hammer, imploring it to allow him to lift it.

It may not be Thor that is the issue though as no one can life Mjolnir from its resting place, not even Odin himself. On the news of the invasion of Midgard by Jotunheim, the decision to step in is made and a hammerless Thor steps into the fray to much poorer results than required. Gleefully unaware of other events Malkieth seems to be happy that the end of Thor is nigh. He has no clue that meanwhile on the Moon a woman has just easily raised Mjolnir because there must always be a Thor...

As a first issue this is more about situational presence than blasting the reader with a new Thor. By waiting until the end there is a certain tension and mystery built. It also builds an idea that you may know who the new maiden is but also you’re not quite sure. You feel the new inadequacy of Thor as he rides into battle; also the happiness and mocking in Malkieth when he see the weakness that has been exposed. All of this goes a long way to change the concept of who or what Thor really is. As someone who is not really a fan of Thor on his own, my thoughts are fairly one dimensional. Thor is a god. He has a mythical hammer. He does hero stuff. 

Sounds simply, right? But this comic has challenged me to rethink that. Thor is an identity and an ideal, a reference of power almost. It’s about the worthiness and intentions, not just the man – or now woman. A fairly heavy shift for a first issue comic!

Artistically Russell Dauterman has provided a sturdy issue. I liked the huge double page spread to reflect the enormity of the Ice Giants, but when taking time over smaller beings there was a lot of work put into supporting Aaron’s story. Thor looks broke and damaged, Freya and Odin are both full of pride, power and in their own ways care and concern for their son. This is quite possibly one of the most emotive pieces of artwork I’ve read in quite a while. There’s also a good use of implied imagery  which leaves you as the reader conjuring up even more visual ideas so kudos for that.

As I said I’m not a fan necessarily of Thor as a character, however that said this was still an issue strong enough to grab my interest. New readers will certainly enjoy it and fans will no doubt discuss the identity and what will happen for a while too.

Matt Puddy avoided all the usual MC Hammer jokes.

Big Game Hunting - Games on the Horizon: D&D Attack Wing

by Rae

By now, pretty much every gamer has seen, if not played themselves, either Star Trek: Attack Wing or Star Wars: X Wing. These fantastic games both make use of the elegant flight path system, allowing gamers to move game models freely across the vast landscape of a 3' x 3' map. They employ easy-to-understand mechanics to introduce players into the gameplay quickly, but incorporate deck building to allow more experienced players to carefully construct the perfect fleet for their next encounter. Now this brilliant game system is taking on an entirely new theme: Dungeons & Dragons.

Coming to Proud Lion in October, the starter set for D&D Attack Wing brings players into the game with three stunning dragon figures: red, blue, and copper. The set comes with all the manoeuvre templates, manoeuvre dials, cards, and tokens required for a two- or three-player game right out of the box.

Of course, you can't make an army with just one dragon, so you may want to build up your troops with the other models being released as part of Wave 1. The expansion packs currently scheduled for release are the Green Dragon, Frost Giant, Sun Elf Wizard, Sun Elf Guard Troops (6 pack), Hobgoblin Troops (6 pack), Dwarven Ballista, and Wraiths (2 pack).

Still not enough for you? No problem, keep an eye out for Wave 2, currently expected in December! This wave currently includes the Black Shadow Dragon, Movanic Deva Angel, and Aarakocra!

Don't forget to also look out for D&D Attack Wing in-store events coming soon!

Rae needs the dragons. All the dragons.

New Beginnings - Aliens: Fire and Stone #1

by Matt Puddy

When Prometheus: Fire And Stone came out we looked at how the universe around humanity was changed after learning that the creators weren’t so benevolent.  We saw the good Doctor Shaw and her alien head inadvertently lead a new team of scientists in their quest for knowledge. This week we see the same foreboding planet but from a very different perspective. Although it's part of the same arc as Prometheus, the one thing to remember is that this takes place before last week's comic in the grand scheme of things. With that it also answers a few questions too.

Chris Roberson – an author who was essentially a late bloomer in the comic world – takes a trip from the ill fated LV-426 in the wake of the alien ship being discovered and the xenomorphs awoken and onto a strange new planet.

Opening in the midst of a crisis, you - as the reader - are given very little aside from a brutal death and a lot of panic. With barely a narrator to bring you rapidly up to speed ,you find yourself in a pivotal point in the struggle for life and hopefully an escape from arguably the most deadly species in the known galaxy.

Characters are fleetingly introduced and a plan is quickly formulated. It’s clear that staying in Hadley’s Hope is a death sentence and the local area is just as bad so the only option is space. Jumping onto a ship that will only just get them in and out of orbit, a hasty escape is made at the considerable cost of human life.

The nice thing I liked about this is that with a small bit of magic Roberson fits this story into current cannon. As fans of the film will know in Aliens all of the colonists were either killed or captured by the Xenomorphs before the USCM arrive. However, fans will then think back to the film and realise that this was only alluded to and never confirmed leaving this convenient gap to be exploited.

After a bumpy exit and an even harder arrival on the local moon provides more surprises instead of solace. A previously thought uninhabitable moon with no atmosphere now has a wild and thriving jungle. Unfortunately instead of having time to inspect the new and unexpected surroundings, all hell breaks loose as their makeshift escape craft not only saved them but it also brought stowaways.

On an alien moon, with a biosphere that shouldn’t be there, with limited supplies and a predatory race of creatures hunting them what is there to do? Well now we know how the xenomorphs got to that moon, this series sets to find out what happened next.

The writing moves fast, but it has to so that it provides a feeling of panic which is what the story requires, at least in the first act that is. The lull in the story when the metaphorical breath is taken is only the calm before the storm, as then the pace picks up once again. There isn’t really time for character development as a result though, except for the bare minimum in occasional cases. This in itself provides a good vehicle for highlighting the main protagonists in the story, developing their personalities for the readers in a high pressured situation shows them in the true light.

Artistically the style is what I would describe as typical Dark Horse Aliens comics. Reynolds is a Dark Horse veteran with his accolades covering some of their big titles like Hellboy, showing that he has a diverse range as well. The images are clear, although not clean, and full of detail especially with the mechanical aspects (I liked the ship even though it is very boxy) and the xenomorphs are very Gigeresque and true to their type, so my fanboy side was happy.

All together this is kind of what I expected from Dark Horse as a new title and I was happily impressed as a result. Fans of the series will follow suit I would hope. I liked how it’s already tying in with the other story and we still have AVP and Predator to go too. All of these titles already on my pulllist!

Matt Puddy is keen to find out what happens next and with Alien Isolation out next week, it's a great time to be a fan!

Big Game Hunting: D&D Encounters - On Creating Characters

As previously announced, D&D Encounters will be starting this week! D&D Encounters is a casual D&D weekly event, running every Wednesday at Proud Lion from 6:30pm, that allows players to drop in and drop out freely. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis, and the event allows for a maximum of 7 players. If we find ourselves continuously oversubscribed, we will look to add a second game.

In our original announcement, we said we would only be allowing pre-generated characters provided by Wizards of the Coast. However, since receiving the materials for the first adventure, we have discovered that custom characters are allowed - with some limitations. If you wish to create your own character, you may, so long as these rules are followed.

Any characters that players wish to create themselves must be new characters at level 1. Rolling for ability scores is not allowed, and all characters must use the standard set of ability scores (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) or the customising ability scores variant (as described in the Player's Handbook).

The most notable rule that players will need to be aware of is that of character alignment. For the D&D Encounters adventures, characters are not allowed to have a Neutral Evil or Chaotic Evil alignment. Lawful Evil alignment is only permitted if the character is a member of the Lords' Alliance or Zhentarim factions. (All characters have the option of joining one of five factions. It is not required, but does have benefits that may help the characters in their adventures!)

If you wish to read the character creation event-specific rules in full, please email us at shop@proudlion.co.uk and we will provide them for you. A hard copy of the rules will be available to read on the day. Pre-generated characters will still be available! See you all Wednesday.