New Beginnings - FF #1

Since November 1961, we have had the Fantastic Four - a family based super-hero team with incredibly strong morals and ideals. Time after time they saved the world from many different threats, both terrestrial and alien. They put their lives on hold for the greater good many more times too but, and this is the critical part, it couldn’t last forever, recently we have seen the death of one of the team.

Following the sacrifice they made, their wish was for the remainder of the team to carry on, to keep strong and become better. They never stopped helping and kept trying to better the world. With this in mind, combined with an idea that Reed had created, the Future Foundation has been properly formed.

The story itself, written by Jonathan Hickman, is a good opening for both new and old Fantastic Four fans. I’ve not had a giant amount of exposure to previous adventures or arcs but I did find myself feeling comfortable and completely in my depth. Even taking into account the massive personal event that they have had to overcome, to the casual reader this is an easy place to join in without feeling out of place or overwhelmed.

As the plot opens out, it is a welcome to those reading. There are new beginnings and opportunities littered throughout it without the story looking too coincidental or easy. In a herald back to the origins of the comic we see not just one notorious adversary (and considering my lack of FF knowledge even knowing who this person was is a good indication) but a second arch villain with the typical FF twist or conundrum attached to it. Yes, as a new reader, there are times when you are left with questions about who people are or what they can do but this all adds to the story.

The artwork by Steve Epting is good but I wouldn’t say outstanding, however, this I think has more to do with the fact that I have not seen much of his work previously. I find myself making comparisons and contrasts to other artists I have seen. I can see various influences in his work and there is a peculiar current yet retro feel to it for me. I have really liked Paul Mounts use of shadow and colour a lot. There are sections where we see parts of the remaining Fantastic Four really struggle with what has happened and where, in other pieces I have reviewed, the shadow has been sinister and foreboding, there is a real solemn and almost emotionally desolate feel to the frames. Considering this is black we are seeing used here, I see it a feat achieved well.

I’ve tried not to reveal which member of the FF sadly met what seems to be an untimely fate, although if you read Fantastic Four #587 I’m not convinced that this is the last we will see of them. I think that this is a good starting point for anyone to pick up and learning that knowledge first hand adds to the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this first issue and depending on the ongoing quality of the stories I will also be following this title. Definitely worth looking at from anyone who is looking for something new but equally carrying that established feel to it.

Matt Puddy would like a suit made of Unstable Molecules

The Watcher - Battle: Los Angeles

Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) a Marine Staff Sergeant who has had enough, blamed by most for the deaths of his previous platoon, he hands in his resignation. A man on his last day of the job, what can possibly go wrong?

Los Angeles and cities everywhere are being struck by what seem to be meteors, but they‘re slowing down before they hit. Earth is suddenly invaded by aliens that have landed off the shore of LA, and begin killing everybody along the beach.

The military are all ordered into action and Staff Sergeant Nantz is pulled back into service to assist 2nd Lieutenant Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez) and his platoon on a rescue mission to extract some civilians from a police station before the Air Force wipes out that zone. Things as they say don’t quite go to plan and the small band end up fighting to reclaim the city of Los Angeles.

Battle: LA plays very much like Independence Day meets District 9 - an action spectacular but not huge on plot. The movie doesn’t bury its lead and drops you right into the fray during a very Apocalypse Now chopper journey. It then flashes back to before the aliens hit and gives you a little introduction to each unit member; I enjoyed these scenes as I felt it gave the characters a bit of depth. Yes some of them are two-dimensional clichés with cheesy lines but hey, sometimes that doesn't matter. As long as the end result is still enjoyable and those darn aliens get some cannon fodder right?

Director Jonathan Liebesman does a brilliant job, keeping the action well choreographed, gripping and never allowing for the pace to slow during the action. One scene in particular where the Marines are battling on a freeway struggling to survive is exceptionally intense - the sombre orchestral score weaving emotion into the gaps.

Aaron Eckhart elevates this movie above average, his performance even with the cheesy lines is entirely convincing, he pulls off the square-jawed military hero excellently while Michelle Rodriguez adds her usual austere but still hot assistance. It was also nice to see Jim Parrack (Hoyt in True Blood) on the big screen be it in a similar role.

I find myself getting a little annoyed with more regular use of ‘shaky’ hand camera effects during action - I just want to see everything that’s going on damn it! That said it does work well in short bursts to increase the intensity during the action.

My annoyance is quickly dissolved and replaced by awe due to the impressive visuals and special effects. The vast war torn landscapes transformed even further by the surrounding industrial alien technology and their drone ships filling the skies.

It may not be a movie for everybody but Battle: LA is a good fun ‘popcorn’ movie and I enjoyed it for its merits and its faults.

Retreat hell - Ooh-rah!

Written and enjoyed by Senior Staff Sergeant Stefan Harkins

Saffron Threads - Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The LARP season approacheth!

Just as the withdrawal symptoms were getting unbearable, there are not one, but two, LARP events in April to look forward to.

This will be my third year playing my alter ego Lady G, a medieval alchemist, and I thought I'd share why spending weekends under canvas pretending to hit monsters with a latex sword is such good fun. No, really.

1. It's the ultimate in fresh air and exercise. Events start on Friday evening and run to Sunday or Monday afternoons, and the only permanent building you'll enter in that time is the toilet block... if the site doesn't rely on portaloos. You'll be soaking up vitamin D and running between camps sorting out plot, or running away from refs wielding The Plot Stick. Sometimes you'll be running for cover when the inevitable rain arrives, but other evenings you'll be sat around the campfire keeping warm until long after the stars come out. In the immortal words of the late High King of the Faction: "There is no such thing as inappropriate weather, only inappropriate clothing... I'm wearing inappropriate clothing!"
   



2. I can wear a corset with a warm skirt and sensible boots. I'm a bit obsessed with corsets, it has to be said (at last count I had 5 with another on order), but I usually team them with Silly Shoes, a pretty skirt and hoisery I ladder within half an hour of putting it on. This is why I only *play* a Lady, rather than being one!
   
   



3. There's always live music around the campfire and in the tavern. I always join in. Playing to a packed tavern and carrying the audience with the rhythm is an indescribable feeling! There's an eclectic mix of traditional folk, modern folk, filk and acoustic versions of alternative rock. "Nothing Else Matters" is haunting and beautiful when played like this and I'm working on a folkified version of "Holding Out For A Hero" since the lyrics require no adaptation at all. I'm hoping to debut it at the Bards Competition at the July event... but don't hold me to that.



4. There's no technology. Now, I'm sat on a train, typing this on a smartphone, listening to an iPod, having given up reading uni PDFs on my Kindle, so I'm no technical philistine! However, not being able to follow FB, Twitter, email, RSS or anything else for a weekend forces actual, in-depth person-to-person interaction (of the giggedty sort too, if that's your thing) and I thrive on that. Which leads me to...



5. Awesome characters. Some of the best LARPers I know are totally different in body language, voice, opinions and personality from their real selves. It's like a BOGOF of making friends. Separation between character and person is an interesting dichotomy and something I'll explore in a further post on RPG-induced-schizophrenia. For now, suffice to say there are characters which Lady G can't stand but players Saffron really likes, and vice versa.



6. I mentioned The Plot Stick earlier. Plot comes in two main forms: head-hurty plot and head-hurty plot. The first kind is where your head (or arm, hip, shin, back, or thigh) hurts from being hit by gribblies and having a darn good time hitting them back. The second kind is intellectual, where you are given a problem and need to use in-game knowledge you have, or can acquire in character, to stop Bad Stuff Happening. Never let it be said LARP is a single-dimensional pastime. Lady G much prefers the latter type of plot, rather than having to run around getting sweaty and waving a sword. Really, isn't that what we have Knights for? Saffron, on the other hand, will happily monster (play a disposable character for other players to fight) with much more gusto than skill. Did I mention the fresh air and exercise aspect yet?



7. Immersion. Oh wow, the immersion. The system I play is very hot on in-keeping costume and props (but not necessarily historically accurate: we have elves, magic and beastmen, so you can suspend your disbelief right there on that hook by the gate) and people regularly spend hundreds of pounds kitting out a character. It's a real mental gear change returning to the Real World. I'm an escapist at heart, and this Does It For Me.
   
   



8. Finally there's Spiced Mead, which is truly a nectar from the gods

(All photos are © Steve "Flasher" Mitchell. Used with permission.)

This week, Saffron is mostly worrying about uni exams, and fervently wishing she were somewhere else.

Proud Lion is three years old!

This Saturday marks three years since I opened Proud Lion to the public.

Now I tend to celebrate the anniversary of the Grand Opening on Free Comic Book Day, rather than the first day of trading, but I still want to stop for a second and mark the occasion.

I'd also like to thank a bunch of people who have helped in some significant way. So here we go (in no particular order):

Mum (RIP - never to be forgotten) and Dad, Gemma Nicholson, Nicky Fitzgerald, Vince Mancari at Swin City, Jon Harrison at Forbidden Planet, Ian McMillan at Diamond, Nick Catlin at Esdevium, Richard and Louise Huskinson (and little Rae and crazy Max), Darren Whiting, Matt Brown, Krysia Browne, Sara Wingham, Kate Townshend, Chris and Jo Surma, Anthony Gifford, Richard Hart, Josh Howard, Paul Cornell, Charlie AntiGirl and Lee Chaos at Judder, David Viola and D Kai Wilson-Viola, Andrew Smith, Alexa Collicott, Chris and Kayla Boyle, Stefan and Hannah Harkins, Si, Mike and Paul and Into The Gamescape, Martin Smith, Phil Doyle, Phil Davies, Matt Puddy, Bex and El at Stuffed Nonsense and finally - you - reading this right now. Thank you True Believers.

Here's to many more years.