Blue Nexus #58 - The Mage of All Magic

Previously in "Blue Nexus": In the wake of a grand, global awakening happening, new mages, like a Demon mage named John, arrive in Magus Forest. Kyle and Andreus get in a fist-fight over a misunderstanding about Kyle's powers, until the fight is interrupted by one of the Six Pillars of Magic, one of the strongest mages on Earth. Kyle is utterly embarassed by him and heads to the Zanderia Moon Base to discover more about them, before he decides to head over to Magus Forest. 

Assassin's Creed #12 Review

You may or may not be surprised at the fact that Assassin's Creed has a comic series, though I doubt many of you won't be shocked at how the series actually has four different comics going on all at once (two are confirmed to be in the same universe, the other is a miniseries, and the fourth is in a manga-style....pretty cool actually!). The main Assassin's Creed series has been running for the better part of a year, focusing almost entirely on characters outside the realm of the game but exploring two of the greatest mysteries from the games: Erudito and the Phoenix Project. They haven't really expounded on those ideas yet, leading this to be a comic almost exclusively to fans of the series. 

Top 10 Comic Book (Issues) 2016

And so my friends, 2016 hits the homestretch. Christmas is upon us, New Year's Eve is just around the corner, and the big blockbusters have all hit the screens. Oscar-bait movies are finally coming around, snow is hitting everywhere but Florida, and we're all left wondering if The Walking Dead will ever have better ratings again. So let's talk about comic books! 

Dragon Ball...is Back?!

Part of me is pretty excited for the big news that's been coming from across the Pacific recently while another part of me feels like kind of an idiot. We'll talk about the idiot first just to get it out of the way: last year I asked the question of if Dragon Ball has gone on too long and it seems that nobody really cared and the series has gone on anyway. I also recently talked about "Super" vs. "GT" and how I actually liked the latest arc of "Super," but the follow-up gag episodes have been pretty darn awesome (in particular the Arale and baseball episodes). So maybe it's getting a little more life, but, that was over in Japan. With a bit of a niche Western market. Now, it seems, it's coming back. 

Assassin's Creed: Last Hope for Video-Game Movies

Seems a bit desperate to say that something is the "last hope" of a genre, but I think it's safe to say that the video-game-based part of the film industry is something that has been...lacking...since it's inception. Wreck-It Ralph doesn't count because it isn't technically based on any existing IP, it just has cameos from certain games or characters that do little to advance the story (although Ralph does get overly jealous when Pac-Man shows up, so, maybe that's not entirely true). Point is that video game movies are terrible, and Assassin's Creed is the last straw either way. 

Rai #5 Review

I've got a bad habit of not getting into good comics while they're ongoing. I was late to the Scott Snyder/ Greg Capullo train for Batman, late to the Lemire/ Sorrentino train for Green Arrow, and completely missed the Matt Fraction/ David Aja train for Hawkeye. The book we're looking at here is no exception to that, and I once again have to call myself a giant idiot. To be fair, I did hop on this book before it technically concluded, so I was able to get the full story. I was just not all that well-versed for the 4001 A.D. event comic is all. Stuff happens. 

Blue Nexus #57 - Classroom Blitz

Previously in "Blue Nexus": Kyle and Andreus, co-captains of the lacrosse team, have gotten into misunderstandings about Kyle and which side of the upcoming magical war he stands on. Andreus is being corrupted by Tania, and it all comes to a fever pitch when Andreus finally attacks Kyle! 

Fairy Tail Season 7 Review

The final few episodes of the Tartaros Arc of Fairy Tail have landed for the English Dub (thanks Funimation! 😄)  which means that Season 7 (aka Fairy Tail 2014) has come to a close and the anime, for everyone, is on official hiatus. And with not enough time for me to talk about what I was originally going to, eh. Fairy Tail's always a fun substitute for me. And this time I actually got the season numbering correct! 

Finally! A Dark Souls 3 Discussion!

At the start of the year, I had every intention of playing One Piece: Burning Blood and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. You know what two game I've been playing instead? Dark Souls and Dark Souls III...with some Warriors Orochi: 3 Ultimate splashed in there as well, it's pretty cool. I've played the two "Souls" games mostly because one came free with the other, but mostly because it's so easy to get sucked into these worlds and the "Souls" community is such a interesting one to be in thanks to the rich history of the games. I want to know everything about these games and this world, but I never stopped to think if that's because Dark Souls III actually made things so confusing? 

Uncanny Avengers #12 Review

Previously in Uncanny Avengers: Marvel remembered they had the potential for a great sequel to a great original graphic novel and decided to give it to the B-team of the Avengers for some reason. So, because of this, we got what's supposed to be the bonding between a robotic Hank Pym and Rogue, bad Deadpool jokes, a once-in-your-lifetime reference to the Fantastic Four, and now Vision's here to fight Pymtron because this is where things should've gone the whole time. And now, the Hulkbuster has arrived. Can they mess this up? 

Uncanny Avengers #11 Review

Previously in Uncanny Avengers: Hank Pym returned, merged with Ultron's latest model, from outer space. He proceeded to blow up a statue of himself and act incredibly childish because when you're a renowned scientist on a team of superheroes I guess that's something you do. Captain America Steve Rogers called in Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, to check Hank out and after tossing a Ghostbusters reference he didn't catch, she threw up the red flags and Cable decided to take him out after alluding to the possibility Susan and Reed Richards may return (not likely thanks to Fan4stic). Now Deadpool, the moral center of the team, has Pymtron at gunpoint! Gasp! THE SUSPENSE! 

Power Rangers Dino Super Charge Review

Power Rangers has finally been caught back in the public eye. Some people took a nostalgia trip three years ago as the show entered its 20th anniversary, some revisited the series when that Power/ Rangers short film came out, since it attempted to show what life would be like for the original team after the events of...Zeo? I don't know, it was weird. Point is, with Power Rangers coming to screens and a big trailer having dropped about a month or so ago, Power Rangers has been poised to make it's biggest splash yet. Not to mention it'd just come off one of the show's best individual seasons so far, Dino Charge! What could go wrong?

Uncanny Avengers #10

Previously in Uncanny Avengers (2015): Hank Pym returned after a vacation in space while he was merging with his son, Ultron. While Rogue seemed to be a bit iffy on the ordeal, it seemed she enjoyed the new childlike wonderment Hank Pym was bringing back to Earth. Steve Rogers, a little more wary, decided to call in the Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, for some reason. And Deadpool was making jokes that were less than funny, or weren't funny at all. 

Uncanny Avengers #9

Oh you wouldn't believe the speed with which I picked up Uncanny Avengers #9 and #10 when I saw the cover for Issue 10. The Flash(es) would be proud. Er, I guess, Quicksilver since we're talking about Marvel...look I tossed money at my comic retailer and said "GIMME" because we finally got a follow up to last year's original graphic novel Rage of Ultron. I hadn't read anything of the Uncanny Avengers and only knew three things about the title prior to picking it up: Spider-Man quite the team because of Deadpool, Deadpool is on the team, and Captain America was the leader (now in his youth). This is also back when everyone thought he was a Nazi (remember that?) but that stuff wouldn't come into play until the book began tying into Civil War II. But I'd heard good things about the title and the new arc was more than enough for me to dive right in! 

Blue Nexus #56 - Flare

Previously in "Blue Nexus": Kyle and Andreus, co-captains of the lacrosse team, have gotten into misunderstandings about magic. Tania, a misguided Reality mage, has been trying to lapse Andreus and others to her side, to protect them, as she sees it, in the wake of a great magical "awakening." 

Are Environments Their Own Characters?

Settings are one of the more overlooked aspects of fiction, in any medium, it would seem. Most of the time, critics (including myself when I do reviews), or even teachers, will overlook the important elements of setting in a story. The setting is just meant to be where the characters exist to do their thing and it allows for the story to take place in a believable way. Many would present the story as just that: the presentation. Yet if setting, and in particular environments, are so unimportant, why do we remember so many of them?

Dragon Ball: GT vs. Super

SPOILERS FOR Dragon Ball Super AHEAD!

With it's 64th episode just last week, Dragon Ball Super finally came to match it's predecessor, Dragon Ball GT in episode total. This was surpassed this past weekend, and unlike GT which has been over for many, many years, it seems like Super can still go on, and will go on, past this point. After all, there are literal universes of potential (and Golden Cell, duh) to be explored! However, with this recent tie in episode total, the fandom has been recently asking the question that, while at first seems obvious, is actually quite difficult to answer: which Dragon Ball sequel series is better? 

Blue Nexus #55 - The Great Dune

Previously in "Blue Nexus": Kyle witnessed the return of an incredibly powerful magical figure, one that easily subdued his Wave Two form of the Nexus. He and the Sentinel witnessed several beams of light headed into the sky, signalling a new era of magic in the world. 

Spider-Gwen #13 Review

I love it when super-heroes, especially the fun ones, take a break from their stressful lives and have a goofy, holiday-themed adventure. It gives the side-characters time to shine and lets our heroes just have an easier time with them. I'm not looking for a ground-breaking, innovative story, I just want to see the characters hang out and see how they react to certain situations. Such is the case that we have here today. Spider-Gwen is probably one of Marvel's most inviting books to do a holiday story with not only because it's set in an alternate universe (I'll get into that in just a second), but the characters are also fun and relatable, so watching them go through strange experiences is pretty darn fun. 

Shiki First Impressions: Good Horror/ Mystery?

I wasn't really sure what to expect of this anime going into it. There were the obvious: horror, spooky things. But in terms of narrative, visuals, characters, I was completely in the dark. It's what made me kind of excited to finally dive into it this Halloween season. I haven't watched that many horror anime (one is really good, the other is Pupa) and while I wasn't looking to be terrified by anything, I was looking for an intriguing horror story. And in some ways, I did and did not get what I wanted in that regard. Shiki seems to be something else instead: a mystery. 

Difference Between Terror and Horror?

Many times in entertainment we see scary things and immediately categorize them as "horror" without really taking into account what's so scary about the movie. There are some other sub-genres to take into account, like if it's a modern day story or a Gothic one, but almost always we'll lope "horror" at the start of it. But, aren't some, if not many, of these stories actually "terror" stories? Is there even a difference to distinguish between them?

Blue Nexus #54 - Awakening

            The mummy wasn’t wrapped normally. Sure the wrappings themselves covered most of his decayed body, but the wrappings themselves were tight, almost as if they were meant to hold whoever this was down. They were also glowing, shifting colors between the magical color spectrum. Kyle and the Sentinel took two small steps toward it.

            “I’m not sure if it’s the mummy or the bindings but something is giving off a hell of a lot of power,” Kyle said. “Magic power, that is.”

            “I know,” the Sentinel said. “And yes, it’s insane that I can tell. We’re working with something over our heads right now. How’d they manage to get this over here?”

Shadowland: Moon Knight #3

Check out my reviews for Issue 1 and Issue 2!

Previously in Shadowland: Moon Knight: Jake Lockley, one of the splintered personalities of Marc Spector, was hitting it big in life. He just got hitched, was gonna be a daddy, and Daredevil became possessed! Wait...okay yeah, that Daredevil thing is bad. BUT through the power of plot, Jake found a way to defeat The Beast within Daredevil: the Sapphire Crescent. However, Marc Spector's brother, Randall, has returned to town as Shadow Knight, bent on killing Moon Knight and retrieving the Crescent because, um...he was told to? AND NOW THE FINALE! 

Hellsing (Ultimate) Isn't *Really* Horror

Hellsing, as a manga, is pretty exciting. The original anime adaptation has a lot to be desired, but the overall quality of the acting is pretty good and the animation is decent for the time. Hellsing Ultimate seems to be the proper adaptation of the series, as it shows how Seras Victoria came into the organization up through the end of the big war that was hinted at at the end of the original Hellsing series (so, in a way, it's what Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood is to the original FMA). Now, I think I've mentioned before that this is a "horror" series, and you'll see quite a few people say the same thing. However, I just don't think that's the case.

Horror Films Have Become Predictable

I think we can all agree that there have been way more bad horror films these last few years than there have good ones. Uninspired premises, relying more on bad ghost effects than good story, and just in general a flatness to it all that has turned more people away. While you could argue that this is the case for most film genres, it seems that horror is the one that you really have to try hard for to get a good movie out of it. Maybe it's just because the horror film genre has become predictable.

Blue Nexus #53 - Two and a Half Ninjas

            Capital Industries used to house three major skyscrapers in Pacific City. One was to the far east, where a tiny demographic of regular civilians lived, and the other two were twenty blocks away from one another in main heart of the city. Four years ago the Sentinel was exposed to the world at large and Capital Industries was discovered to be little more than a front for a rogue military based off of the martial law of Renza, an island city in the Mediterranean.

            Kyle stood atop the tallest of the buildings, nicknamed the Sentinel Tower. He was a major figure in Pacific City, and Kyle understood why. Without him there might not be any push for costumed vigilantes in the city, or even the world. Prior to him, as Kyle understood it, there were vigilantes that were too dumb or reckless to act wisely. The Sentinel and Phoenix were the first two normal humans to show the world how it could be done, and Riko showed the world what real power was. Kyle liked to think he was a nice mix between the two styles.

Supergirl (2005) #10 Review

Supergirl rocks, dude. Regardless of whether or not it's Kara Zor-El or the Matrix/ Linda Danvers, Supergirl has always stood out, for me, as being a symbol of empowerment for the younger audience, much like how some would look up to Raven, Tim Drake, or Starfire. She's a teen (in most comic iterarions; the television series Supergirl is I believe 24 to match Melissa Benoist's looks and age) that has Superman's powers and is thrust into a world where Superman already exists and his enemies have already formed. Oh, and everyone wants to tell her what to do. Great! Supergirl. Rocks. 

Has Fairy Tail Already Peaked?

It seems to be an evil trend in many Shounen style anime and manga that the series will hit its finest hour before it can come to a proper conclusion, which leads many fans looking back and saying, "No, it should have ended here." With the latest arc of Fairy Tail presumably going to be the one that closes the series out (did you read the latest chapter? Yeah it should be obvious), I was left to wonder if this goofy little series has already hit that point. 

Arrow Season 5 Hopes

I think we can all agree that the last two seasons of the CW's Arrow have been underwhelming compared to the greatness of the first two. You can't really pin it on the writers and the creative teams (they are, after all, juggling the ongoing and complex storylines of three other major television series) and the actors haven't turned in bad performances at all. But, results are results. Arrow has now become the most divisive series among fans of the CW-verse (some saying it's the worst of the bunch, and some saying it still holds up compared to the other series in the universe). I tend to fall in the latter category. Is it the best? Probably not. Supergirl couldn't find much of an identity, Legends of Tomorrow lost me partway through, and The Flash''s season finale was, again, a major whimper of an ending. 

Blue Nexus #52 - Distress Call

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Funimation and Crunchyroll Partnership!! :D

Wow I was totally planning on doing a review of Gunslinger Girl today but this is something that I feel like I should have posted about the day off because it is HUGE for the anime community. Besides I've got the rest of the year/ until the Internet finally explodes to talk about Gunslinger Girl so like what's the rush?

Is Justice League Rebirth...Bad?

DC's "Rebirth" initiative has been a critical and commercial success. It's simply something you cannot deny. Green Arrow went from one of DC's lowest sellers to one of its best. Batman has only maintained its popularity and it seems Tom King is finally poised to take a firm control of the book (despite an upcoming crossover). There is promise all across the board for DC's books and the fervor surrounding the company's line of comics is stronger than it's been in a longtime. So why is it that the flagship title is doing so poorly?

Blue Nexus #51 - The Tiger Trap

            “We’re unsure how and when it began still, but it is clear to all of us that the infamous Tiger Trio have returned and are back on their path of terrorism in our streets,” the reporter said. “Rodney Obermon, aka Fire Tiger, has started his own path and, from the looks of it, is actually causing lakes to steam up around him and is…oh, my…melting the streets around him. Things, well, they aren’t looking much better with his two cohorts, Thunder Tiger and Lightning Tiger. The Zanderia have not made an appearance yet and the police are making district evacuations a top priority.”

X-O Manowar #5 Review

Someone's celebrating a big birthday soon, and he might be a former Visigoth from the 5th Century that had to overcome a 1600-year gap of time in culture and fought against legions of aliens and other super beings on his home-world including, but not limited to: an immortal, a ninja, and a psychic man resembling Ken Watanabe to an ungodly degree. Also some of my family. Who are we talking about again?

Fairy Tail Chat #3

spoilers for Fairy Tail up through Chapter 499!

Things have gotten pretty bonkers in Hiro Mashima's world of Fairy Tail. The anime is, well, done for now (unless you count what's left to be dubbed, which is only two more "parts"). The manga is going strong as ever, headed right for it's 500th chapter next week. There's a new game, I think like a RPG or something, headed our way in the fall. Yup, now's a pretty good time to be a fan of the series! in a world where manga are ending, getting (probably) bad movie adaptations, or are just losing popularity due to an extended hiatus, it's nice for there to be a bit of consistency in the world.

Bleach Ending Thoughts

Last week, Japan's weekly magazine Shounen Jump saw another major era come to a close as the Bleach manga printed its final chapter. It's been a mainstay of the magazine for fifteen years and was even a part of what is the now-legendary Big Three of manga: One Piece, Naruto, Bleach. It's tough to say if we'll ever see something like that again from a single magazine, and while one part of that trio ended last year, Naruto, Bleach has been on a steady decline in popularity that culminated in a very rushed ending and a finale that has led to some pretty drastic...happenings. Did it warrant all of that hate? 

Blue Nexus #50 - Golden

            Living on a hill allowed for a greater launch pad, providing several perks for a young superhero. He could just jump off the hill and already be caught in that altitude. Living on a hill with a large backyard had its perks for a fighter who enjoyed practicing their skills, such as different techniques to use in battle. Living on a hill away from the noises of the world allowed him to listen more on what he needed: his friends and family.

Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat! #8 Review

Civil War II has finally taken control of much of the Marvel universe. Due to where many of the books are story-wise it's taken several of them a bit longer to get around to their tie-in issues, but most of the ones that are in some way related to the events are now either in their tie-in phase, or have passed through it, like this one. I didn't expect much to come of a Civil War II tie in with this book until I heard about the events of the first issue...which made me angry, of course, as it should've everyone else. You don't have to start an event off by killing someone, you know. Could just be a major threat and the event starts by getting everyone together. Just. Saying. 

Batman: The Killing Joke Discussion

Ah, don't you just love being about a month behind on some things. It's glorious, it really is. Batman: The Killing Joke seemed to be July's big center of controversy for the greater collective of comic book nerds, and understandably so. It's one of the most beloved DC Comics stories ever and it's name alone can get people riled up. It was a highly anticipated animated film by both fan and cast alike, since Mark Hamill promised a return from Joker-retirement (though he would break that quite soon) if Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke were to be adapted. And here we are, and here this movie is.

Blue Nexus #49 - Mark of the Mage

            It was the quietest night Kyle had ever seen East City since he was a little kid. The only noise was the rumble of cars as their wheels quickly churned against the pavement. There was also the obligatory honking from the city and the occasional maniacal laugh of a person a little too happy for their own good. But there were no gunshots, few sirens, and no cries for help.

            He stood atop a tall building, but not too high up that he couldn’t see clearly below him. Part of him wished there were a gargoyle for him to stand on, but the furthermost edge of a square rooftop was good enough for his purposes, too. His cape flowed in the wind behind him, though, so that factor of him trying to look cool helped him immensely.

4001 A.D. #1 Review

Last year, Valiant Entertainment managed to seemingly do the impossible by having the better overall event comic of the year: Book of Death. It had the harrowing sense of dread and intrigue that Convergence lacked, and the scope that Secret Wars attempted but in the end failed at. This year, neither company has a major event comic worth talking about (Civil War what?) and this summer has been thus dubbed the "Summer of 4001 A.D.," named after the comic of the same name. The miniseries is set to end and change the future forever in the Valiant universe at the end of the month, so now I decided to review the first issue and give you many a reason to check it out! 

Bleach Ending So Soon?

If you're into anime and manga, you've probably heard by now that Bleach is going to reach its climax soon. If you're not following the manga anymore--not many are--you're probably thinking to yourself "okay, so, probably by the end of the year." And, nope. You'd be wrong. Bleach is ending in just TWO chapters! Many fans are upset, and, yeah, it is an incredibly jarring thing. 

Blog Update #8: MAGIC YEAH

Well the school year for most students is just around the corner (be it a week or a month...or a few months if you're into that kind of thing, can't blame you) and we're back to the old grind here. The schedule is going to be tight and, as always, subject to change, but this time I feel like I'm bringing more observation to the table than regular reviews. There are a lot of major events happening in the entertainment world in the coming world, so, may as well talk about them. 

Blue Nexus #48 - Swordvail Guild

            Aplin, with the construct still around him and the console, worked furiously. Wires wove themselves back together for him sometimes, helping him along with the process. Brenda constantly looked over her shoulder to see if any enemies were on their way. The vortex was closed, no thanks to Aplin, but now she couldn’t sense Kyle or Sandy. They needed to open it, and keep it stable.

Justice League #1 Review

Gotta make this one a little quick because my schedule is tight and yeah. Life. It's great. Just like DC's "Rebirth." But for some reason some people don't think this book is great? Okay, they're right. It's not great. The "Rebirth" was pretty good and had interesting beats with the new Superman--the original Superman--meeting up with the League to bust some heads and fight off an alien the size of Manhattan, and that was it. It got average reviews all around but I thought it was a ton of fun. It's basically a summer blockbuster...and wouldn't you know it, it's summertime! A lot of people were hoping for the book to get better and, did it?

Tales of Zestiria the X First Impressions

This summer's anime have begun, and rather than discuss something with major hype around it (Mob Psycho 100) or a really goofy-looking show (Scar-red Rider XechS) I'm looking at this epic fantasy series because I've been on a real big fantasy kick of late and I'd like to keep it up. Plus this a series by ufotable so you already know the art and animation are going to be top-notch. 

DC's "Rebirth" So Far

So if you don't already know, DC's kinda relaunched their line of comics, bringing the "New 52/ DCYou" stable to an end. Sort of. Continuity-wise all of those stories still exist, and one of the purposes of Rebirth is to make it so all of the stories wiped from the New 52 also exist. But that's another ordeal. "Rebirth" was a big initiative to bring the focus of DC's creative interest back to the heart and legacy of things, instead of showing characters in dark and gritty states all the time. As such, most of these early issues have either featured prominent returns of characters not around all that much in the last five years, or featured elements that show these characters returning to their more matured state that they were in prior to the New 52. But, has it worked at all so far?

Blue Nexus #47 - Counterattack from the Past

           

           The Delta Squad closed in on him fast. It was the armor, Kyle knew. For some reason the speedster was moving just as fast as the others. He wondered if Ygon, or Aplin, were somehow controlling them. Probably Ygon from that mech. The suits they wore were no doubt battle suit extensions from it.

            Thanks to good old gravity, the giant fell first. The force buffeted Kyle. The speedster was next, no doubt given an order to attack Kyle. The telepath remained floating in the air. Kyle kept his eyes only on the speedster but knew the giant would be coming in next.

Shadowland: Moon Knight #2

Previously on Shadowland: Moon Knight: Marc Spector has gone insane and was replaced by the personality known as Jake Lockley, a cigar-smokin' Avenger taxi driver. Jake is now Moon Knight and things are on the up and up, especially now that he's marrying his longtime fiance, who is pregnant. Daredevil is now super evil and is slowly taking over New York, too, and hired Moon Knight villain The Profile to bring in Moon Knight. Alec Spector almost killed himself before he became the Shadow Knight and there are a lot of things going on for just a crossover tie-in. Will it get anymore complicated, and how much "Shadowland" will there be in this "Moon Knight" book? 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Review

I wasn't sure what I was expecting out of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Koutetsujou no Kabaneri) this season. Really all I wanted was just a good old action romp with some solid steam-punk action and consistent artwork that was previewed before. Also I wanted something to fill the gap that Attack on Titan has left for the past two years, and will leave through the end of this year (apparently). And now I have a yearning for more of this. This is, easily, my favorite show to premiere in 2016.