Why Should I Read... Nemesis?

A conversation, poorly transcribed.

PL: So what are you going to cover next for "Why Should I Read...", Chris?

Chris: I wanted to do a really ambitious piece. I didn't want to do one book, but cover the entire work of one of the most famous and influential writers in comic book history, Alan Moore.

PL: Wow, that's a monster. How will you do it?

Chris: Well, I figured maybe I'd focus on his most well known works, those that have been optioned for movies. Try to make it accessible for people. Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, maybe From Hell. How does that sound?

PL: Sounds good. Will look forward to it.

Later, at home, amidst mountains of graphic novels...

Nemesis: Hey Chris? Remember your plan? The Alan Moore plan?

Chris: Yes, Nemesis?

Nemesis: FUCK YOUR PLAN!

So that's Nemesis. A book created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, that feels like it could be a life in it's own right. Let's be clear; when Nemesis leapt out at me for this article, I was perusing some of the best graphic novels of all time. Yet somehow, it reached past those other books and yelled out to be talked about.

I am not giving away any more than the blurb on the back of the jacket if I tell you that the premise broached by Nemesis is essentially "What if Batman was a bad guy?". Now, if you are a comic book reader (I'm assuming you at least have a passing interest) stop and ponder that for a moment. All that intelligence, dedication, technology and resource pointed at you, wishing you harm. There's a host of reasons that Batman terrifies criminals. Nemesis allows you to feel their fear, to let you understand why a special kind of lunatic aimed right at you is a special kind of terrifying.

Millar does 'what if' writing wonderfully, and takes on a lot of old comic book staples to do it. All the trademark character profiles from the tired rinse and repeats of the laziest comic book storytelling are right there. Millar takes them all and makes them fresh again, with new dimensions and perspectives that border on genius in their simplicity. This might sound like a contradiction, and it is (sort of) because the new twists Millar puts on these characters are obvious, because they're realistic. So much so in fact, that the result becomes fantastic.

McNiven's art work puts a polished edge to the book, gives it the blockbuster movie feel that is so rightly deserves. It is slick and stylised, and acutely sharp. If a comic could be HD, this one certainly is. The storyline is designed to shock, even in this age of over-exposure and resultant desensitisation. The artwork is clean and honest in order to match up to this, without crossing the line in to unnecessary vulgarity. The fact that Millar and McNiven are no strangers to each other shows in their paralleled work, at a level only attained by true master craftsmen.

Then ultimately, there is Nemesis. A character who, as with many central characters in fictional writing today, is something of a vessel. Not quite empty enough to be unsatisfactory, but enough so that the reader finds it easy to transpose either their own self image or the image of another. Recently this technique has received a lot of criticism because when used unskilfully, it is lazy, and manipulative. Not so here, as the Nemesis character is openly and wonderfully written, that I find myself relishing the opportunity to place myself or others in his cowl.

Nemesis is a modern book. It would be easy for me to make comparisons to a lot of pop culture. Movies like Se7en and Saw (before the franchise became terrible!) sprang to mind while reading. There are the aforementioned Batman comparisons, which are alluded to in its self promotion. It may feel a little too polished for those seeking a gritty independent read. Some people could be put off by the über violence and constant swearing, because this is no golden age book. But I can't help but love this book, it feels so deliciously naughty.

Nemesis is your good looking, confident, over-the-top friend, who says hello by punching you in the balls, swears way too much and is a little too quick to get angry. He doesn't have a proper job but always has money, and no matter how much he offends the girl, he somehow still manages to get her in to bed. He's not a role model, he's not even 'basically a good guy', but by God, you'd hand over your left nut to be him... just for a day.

Chris Boyle is planning his route to the hospital.

The Watcher - A Game Of Thrones, season two, episode one

WARNING: SPOILERS for the first episode of season two lie beyond, plus spoilers for season one as well.

OK, let's get this out of the way. I don't like George R. R. Martin's prose style and thus I couldn't get into the books. Great plot and some fascinating characters, but the constant shifting narrators was pretentious and detracted from the whole - often creating a frustrating elipsis of time as events were covered by more than one side with little benefit. In the seminal Japanese film, Rashomon, different narrators were used to weave four accounts of a murder, before a final version of the story reveals the truth. This has been mimicked many times since in both films and TV, and of course you can trace its roots throughout storytelling. However, Martin rarely seems to use his changing of the point of view to add to the story.

Thankfully, the TV series benefits from a move to third person narration, presenting us with the interesting plot without the pretentious prose style, reminiscent of a 15 year old boy convinced he'll be the next big thing in fantasy fiction. The characters are brought to life with compelling actors - an international cast that is a credit to HBO's dedication to the series. I loved the first series, pleased to see a television series with the scope of a feature film - and a rare example of an adaptation that surpasses the source material.

And so to the second season of A Game Of Thrones, eagerly awaited both here and in the US (as parodied by Funny Or Die below).

Sunday Is Coming - watch more funny videos

This opening episode is a compelling example of why this series is such a triumph, expertly weaving the introduction of new characters, whilst re-establishing the existing characters. A huge cast, with armies raising in all four corners of Westeros and beyond - juggling that is now small feat, not to mention all the intrigue and petty machinations in the court of King's Landing.

Joffrey has grown into a full blown horror - a malicious and vindictive King who delights in torturing his subjects and tormenting Sansa Stark. Jack Gleeson continues to portray a character I love to hate and I eagerly await his inevitable downfall. Sophie Turner's Sansa is believably hollow and broken after the execution of her father. Thankfully, Tyrion sweeps into the court - newly appointed to the role as Hand of the King - bringing with him better manners, a touch of courtesy and a light humour. All of which belie the towering intellect that resides within this short man. Peter Dinklage continues to deserve every award he receives and has become my favourite character on the show. His knowing banter with Cersei is superb.

Other returning characters find themselves in a variety of new situations. With his brother away to war, young Bran Stark is now Lord of Winterfell in the wake of his father's death. At night he dreams of running through forests as his dire wolf and seeks to visit the same spot the next day. The portentous comet he spots in the sky can be seen across the land, even as far as the Red Waste where Daenerys and her people are suffering from the effects of starvation on their long journey. Even her newborn dragons are refusing to eat the meet they are offered. Through it all, Emilia Clarke's character remains the strong, fiery young leader she matured into during the first season.

In the North, beyond the Wall, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont's party make came with a disgusting new character called Craster - an aging man who makes his daughters into his wives, in order to have more wives. Jon Snow rightly finds this foul man offensive, though he fails to hide his feelings. While this opening episode has very little of the sexposition that the first series became known for, the harsh words from Craster to Jon were a sharp reminder that this is an HBO show and will not pull its punches. It also seems there is a man who has declared himself King-Beyond-The-Wall and is amassing an army. Winter is indeed coming.

The other major host of new characters are another army rising to challenge the Lannister rule. In season one, Ned Stark sent word of Joffrey's true lineage to the late King Robert's eldest brother, Stannis Baratheon, the Lord of Dragonstone. He has pledged himself to a new God, The Lord Of Light and has had all remnants of the older Gods destroyed. A clever and seemingly capable man, Stannis sends ravens to all corners of Westeros, laying claim to the throne and exposing the incest between the Lannister siblings. The Red Priestess who has his ear, Melisandre, is a dangerous new addition to the cast. I look forward to seeing what developments the court of Dragonstone will bring to the series. The island is certainly an intriguing new element in the title sequence.

The episode really is a pleasing balance between the old and new, even stopping in on Robb Stark and his captive, Jamie. A tense exchange that once again showcases just how large the dire wolves have grown. The episode ends with Joffrey's outrage at the message from Stannis. Growing beyond even his manipulative mother's control, the vicious young King orders his guards to murder all of King Robert's illegitimate children. Only one son eludes them - the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry - currently travelling North to the Wall in a caravan with a disguised Arya Stark.

It's triumphant return for the fantasy series, once again blending a variety of locations and a multinational cast to create a TV series that is a true feast, elevating the story above the clumsy prose style and exposition of the source material. Another nine episodes of murder, war, intrigue, manipulation, camaraderie, tragedy and of course, sexposition await are coming. I can't wait.

Ben Fardon is bracing himself for the flamemail from enrage George R. R. Martin fans...

New Beginnings - Avengers vs X-Men #0 & 1

Across the Marvel Universe there are some extremely powerful mutants - Franklin Richards, Elixir or Quentin Quire for example - who are known for their extreme power levels. For the mutant world they pose a huge number of possibilities or risks. Something which is epitomised by mutants from the Grey/Summers bloodline. As powerful as they have been though there was always something stronger. A primeval force know in one form as the Phoenix.

In the past Jean Grey has gone so far as dying to try and stop the Phoenix - and even this has failed - so what do you do when this massive entity start making a bee line for earth pushing aside a Nova in the process?

Or how would you react when your species saviour also looks like they are to be the intended vessel?

These are the positions that both the Avengers and the X-Men find themselves in courtesy of Marvel’s Architects. The problem for our heroes is that both sides have very different ideas on what should happen next.

The issue #0 features two stories, one focused on Scarlet Witch and her place in the world following The Children's Crusade, in a tale written by current Avenger's scribe Brian Michael Bendis. The other is written by Jason Aaron and features Hope and Cyclops on Utopia.

Moving onto the first issue, Bendis returns to take the writing reins under the collaborative story. It is in essence setting the scene, making it a jump-on point for any reader. With such a big title, covering a massive roster, it’s not realistically possible to include much depth in all of the characters so you come back to the story itself. This is where Bendis has gone straight in. Action begins from almost the first page, changing from one perspective to another with both the Avengers and the X-Men points of view being explored. The underlying feeling for both camps is that things are getting frayed and both want to take decisive action.

On one side, Cyclops is trying to balance the fate of his race and on the other Captain America is balancing what he sees as the fate of the world. The ultimate question is whether or not the Phoenix force can be contained.

This is all brought to a head when Cap visits Cyclops proposing to place Hope in protective custody. The heated discussion leads to the inevitable battle of the square jaws (thanks to John Romita Jr.) leaving Cap no option but to call for Avengers Assemble! And so it begins.

Now I’m not the biggest fan of Romita’s work but I can respect how much and what he has done in the past. On this occasion he did confuse me a little. There is nothing out of the ordinary for the drawing and it is easily identifiable as his, but one little detail caught my eye and annoyed me. This may be unreasonable of me but I didn’t find him consistent with the MU and himself on occasion. My biggest example of this was Iron Man. In one frame he has a helmet with a flip-up visor and another his armour retracts back into his body to reveal his face. (Stark has shown both in Invincible Iron Man by Fraction and Larocca, so I personally put it down to stylistic choice on the part of JRJr, BF). Call me geeky but it just didn’t look right to me. Hope, as another example, looks like she changes age as well but this is just the artwork.

As an issue it does what it needs to do. It opens the story and sets up a great deal of others. What it does offer is potential. Any number of fights can go either way. I’m also intrigued as to how the writing will be done as you have three different perspectives to write each story from – Avenger, X-man or neutral – so from a creative aspect it has some inherent mystery too.

This could be a really good arc, but also a reason to change line-ups and allegiances considerably, however I’ll only take it completely seriously as a Marvel event when I see a Watcher looking over it all.

Matt Puddy is wondering what comes next...

Big Game Hunting - Gateway Games: Carcassonne

Easy to learn, hard to master: this is a goal many games hope to achieve, but few ever do. Carcassonne is one of those few that has succeeded. This tile-based board game, published in 2000, is an addictive experience (as I've discovered, having hardly been able to put it down over the last few weeks).

The game begins with a single face-up tile. Players take turns drawing from a pile of face-down tiles and connecting the tile they've drawn to those already played, forming the board one piece at a time. The edges of the tile must match the edges of those it touches: roads connect to roads, cities to cities, fields to fields. When you play a tile, you may choose to put a meeple on it. A "meeple" is a playing piece that is used to score points, and each player begins with seven. Meeples can be placed on cities, roads, fields, or cloisters - but you must complete it before you score any points and get your meeples back. You also cannot place a meeple on an element that has already been claimed in an adjacent tile. The larger the city, road, or field is, the more points you get. The game ends when the last tile is placed, and everything that was not completed is scored (for less points than if they were completed). The player with the most points wins.

What makes this game so brilliant is the fine balance between chance and skill. A good strategy will serve you well, particularly if you are very careful with your tile and meeple placement. However, the success of that strategy is dependent on the tiles you draw, as well as those drawn by the other players, and your ability to adapt to how the board is built. Being able to shift game elements to your advantage, including unlucky tile draws and your opponents' less than useful tile placements, is key to winning the game.

As one can imagine, this game can become fiercely competitive. Players may often try to "steal" points from another player, by placing tiles in a way that connects an element claimed by two or more meeples. Points from cities, fields, and roads go to the player with the most meeples on it. An equal number of meeples means both players get the points. This can be a way to get yourself out of a sticky situation where you are lacking in points and options, and your opponent has a rather large, uncompleted city or road that can be stolen from another angle.

The only issues to be had with this game are not unexpected. Scoring can be tricky at times, especially when one is trying to count up fields, which are only scored at the end of the game. This is made more difficult when it's discovered there are actually three different methods of scoring (though thankfully the earliest two are no longer used, making current games more consistent). Placing meeples on fields to the best advantage is a technique that seems to require several games of practise to fully understand. Also, the physical game requires a large amount of space, as the board can grow to quite large and unusual shapes.

This is where the digital version of this game comes into its own. This edition solves the main issues with the physical version. Scoring is done for you, so you have more time playing and less time counting. A breakdown of all the tiles remaining in the draw pile can be found, so you can see straight away if the tile you want is still waiting to be played. It also lets you know if there are any tiles that can still be played on a particular space - if no suitable tiles remain, an "X" is marked on that spot of the board. Also notable about this edition is the AI of the computer players. You can play against several styles of computer players - easy, hard, weird, even evil - and they are surprisingly good players. Even playing as many games as I have, I still find it difficult to defeat the AI for this game at times.

Carcassonne and its many expansions are fantastic - true classics of the board game genre - and should be in everyone's game library. The digital version is available for iPhone, Android, and online play.

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