Top 10 Comics of 2017

2017 has effectively come and gone. We came into the year one person and have probably left it a completely different one. It's been an interesting year, especially for me. I've unfortunately (as many readers may have noticed) not been quite as on top of things as I have been in past years. It was a big transitional period in my life this year, and I'm hoping that 2018 will allow me more time to get back to this blog, because I do love writing about various anime, movies, TV shows, and most especially comic books. And if there were always one thing this year I could count on, regardless of quality or quantity, it was my stack of comics week in and week out. 

So today, let's check out my Top 10 Series and Issues of 2017. 

Blue Nexus #76 - Grass is Always Greener

Previously on "Blue Nexus:" The Magus War came to it's epic conclusion! As Kyle faced off with the powerful and mysterious Demon Mage Faustus, Brenda, Sandy, and Tania all took on Rafael in a desperate final bout to rid the world of the dangerous Divinity mage. Tania sacrificed herself, and in doing so gave Brenda and Sandy the opportunity to end the threat of Rafael once and for all. Meanwhile, Kyle was defeated at the hands of Faustus, but Brenda's resolve to keep fighting, combined with Kyle's own latent power, stayed his hand from wiping them out, ending the battle and thus the war. 

Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC Wishlist

Merry Almost-Christmas everybody! Normally I’d take this time to talk about another list of things from this past year as a means of reflection, but screw that noise, Dragon Ball FighterZ is almost here and I wanna talk about that, because I am ECSTATIC to play this game. I didn’t get in on the closed beta and I’ve basically blocked out the weekend of January 14th-16th as time to play it and learn some of the characters I’m interested in most (Teen Gohan, Trunks, Hit, Beerus for those that care). There’s still one lingering mystery over the game: who are the eight DLC fighters going to be? We haven’t gotten many hints and there’s speculation abound, so, I’ve decided to throw my hat and hopes into the ring!

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (SPOILER FILLED) Review

Now that my spoiler-free thoughts on Star Wars: The Last Jedi are out of the way, I can finally really dive into this movie and discuss all my thoughts on what the movie did, didn't, and ultimately revealed. Remember, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Spoiler-Free) Review

Hot off the heels of Disney effectively taking over the film industry, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has released and continues the story of Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, and the true her of the Star Wars saga, R2-D2. Within 24 hours of its worldwide release the Internet is already divided on it and after giving it a day to stir, marinate, and finish cooking in my mind, I'm ready to talk about it and not give anything away.

This...will be difficult.

Blue Nexus #75 - Greatest Magus

Previously on "Blue Nexus": The final battle in the war for Earth's magic began! As the Zanderia took on the brunt of Rafael's shadow forces, Brian, Kyle, Brenda, and Sandy slipped into the tower. Brian fought off Brandon the Reality Pillar while Kyle fought Robbie in a bare-knuckles brawl to claim the final victory over the Six Pillars of magic. As they advanced to help Sandy and Brenda, they were stopped by Faustus, claiming to be the first Demon mage! 

Classroom of the Elite - Style and Substance

Classroom of the Elite is produced by Lerche, the same studio that recently brought us Assassination Classroom and was directed by the duo of Seiji Kishi (who also directed Assassination Classroom) and Hiroyuki Hashimoto. It ran for 2017 episodes on both Crunchyroll (subtitles) and Funimation (English dub) and wrapped the dub just over a week ago. The series has been met with good reviews by the fanbase and there's still no word on a second season. 

The series revolves around the Tokyo Metropolitan Nurturing High School, a school in Tokyo off on an island where students are subjected to four years of intense learning and are then spat out into the world, with almost all of the students guaranteed their dream college or dream job. We follow Class-D, the lowest of the school, as they scratch and claw their way into respectability, following Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita as they lead the classroom. 

While Classroom of the Elite slips into a few modern anime tropes such as overt fan-service, over-dramatic characters, over-the-top action sequences, and teenagers that are drawn better than most real-life super-models, its clever narrative and story structure blur the line between whether or not these tropes are placed to appeal to mass audiences or lull audiences into a false safety blanket, only to have said blanked yanked over their heads. The characters (most of whom could honestly hold their own series) inhabit a world where they must prove their worth not through combat or fighting, but through sheer survival. 

Blue Nexus #74 - Twin Nexus pt. 3

Previously in "Blue Nexus": After discovering that all the mages from Magus Forest have vanished, the heroes are forced to figure out a plan to defeat Rafael once and for all. After discovering a weakness in Rafael's new plan, the Zanderia gathers for one final battle in this war! 

Top 10 Favorite Video Games

I wouldn’t say I’m the most avid gamer in the world, but I do find myself often digging into a game for several hours at a time and not even realizing it. If a game is great, this is one of the easiest things to do without realizing. There’s few things better than getting immersed in the world of a game, or falling in love with some solid gameplay and just having a go at it. Video games provide an excellent resource for people to just hang out and have some fun, or take out some sort of frustration *cough From Software games cough*. And because I’ve been on a bit of a gaming kick recently, I decided there was little better time to talk about my ten favorite games of all time!

Blue Nexus #73 - They Have an Army!

          

Previously in "Blue Nexus": Kyle, Brenda, Sandy, and Professor Boomer have successfully defeated four of the Six Pillars. Together, Kyle and Brenda were able to hold their own against Rafael, who has lost his immortality and is finally vulnerable! However, just as the heroes begin their celebration, Phoenix calls in and reports that all the mages hiding in Magus Forest have mysteriously vanished! 

Blue Neuxs #72 - Coldness of Revenge

Previously on "Blue Nexus": Kyle, Brenda, Sandy, and Professor Boomer (down in the Cube) were able to defeat three of the Six Pillars! When Kyle learns that Dr. Luna has somehow returned to the world of the living, he bursts off to Pacific City and learns that she is the key to Rafael becoming immortal. Dr. Luna orders Kyle to return her to the Nexus, which he does so reluctantly. Just then, Clarke appears again, wreaking havoc all across the city!

Gundam Versus Review

Gundam Versus, an arena-fighting game featuring various suits and characters from the decades-long “Mobile Suit Gundam” franchise has finally made its way out West for American consumers to enjoy. The game features suits from almost every series, including some of the more recent ones like “Build Fighters” or “Iron-Blooded Orphans” (the latter is currently airing its second season on Toonami), and has some popular old-school suits as well. It’s a must-buy for any Gundam fan, and any fan of big arena-style fighters, too.

Blue Nexus #71 - Man With Machine

Previously on "Blue Nexus": With a renewed sense of courage and a burning drive, Kyle and Brenda dove headfirst into battle against two of the Six Pillars. Sandy soon joined and the three overwhelmed them, furthering their confidence. However, a distress call from Phoenix told them the day wasn't won yet: one of the Six Pillars was attacking the Cube, and the only one left to defend it is former super villain Professor Boomer!

Bloodborne and the Context of a Duel

Some of the most iconic images or moments in movies, video-games, and television come out of a duel. It's that moment where the hero and villain are finally clashing swords, or shooting each other down. It's almost impossible to count all the great duels we've seen over the years; from the Mexican standoff of The Good, the Bad, the Ugly to Luke facing Vader on the reformed Death Star to Oberyn Martell fighting the menacing Mountain. Bloodborne, though, manages to exemplify the very best out of a duel time and time again throughout the game, taking characteristics from past, iconic duels and possibly forging the path for new ones to be made. 

Blue Nexus #70 - Once in a Blue Eclipse!

Previously in "Blue Nexus": The Sentinel of Pacific City fought hard against Axel, the Pillar of Combat, but was ultimately defeated. Kyle, dejected, tried in vain to convince himself that he could avoid the fight ahead. He went to Brenda to check on her when an ethereal form of the Grand Elder appeared and inspired them to fight back, sending them toward John and Axel, starting the final battle against the Six Pillars!

Bloodborne and the Context of a Scare

One of the most prominent tropes in modern horror flicks is the jump-scare. Every horror movie now, it seems, attempts to have a jump-scare in one way or another. Perhaps it’s meant to jolt the audience into being awake, and being alert; or, perhaps, it’s meant as a momentary beat of pure fascination and horror at what was just seen, and not being able to comprehend it. Quite the opposite of a jump-scare is a long, winding bit of tension. Perhaps a long pan down a hallway, creeping and creeping toward something. It’s Danny riding his bike in The Shining; it’s the truck from Jeepers Creepers tailing our two young heroes. But without context, both of these elements fall flat. Something jumping out for no reason is senseless, and a long bit of nothing can be just that: nothing. The context behind a scare is often more important than the scare itself.

Blue Nexus #69 - Winds of Memory

Previously on "Blue Nexus": Rafael has decimated Magus Forest and shattered our hero's hopes of any victory in the war. Brenda, placed into leadership of Magus Forest, is forced to run away and try to contemplate the totality of what's to come.

Blue Nexus #68 - Cinders of a Soul

Previously in Blue Nexus: Rafael, one of the most powerful mages to walk the Earth, called forth Brenda to join his ranks. One of his Six Pillars, Clarke, did not take fondly to this, and called out Brenda to battle. They battled in Rome, and Brenda defeated her, and Rafael destroyed Clarke. Brenda consoled with the Grand Elder of Magus Forest about how to defeat Rafael, and just as she was prepared to reveal how Brenda was the key, a grand blast of power exploded over the forest. 

The Defenders Season 1 Review

It’s almost hard to believe that Marvel’s Daredevil premiered just two years ago. We’ve had four more seasons of Marvel Netflix properties thrown at us in the intervening time, yet all along that prevailing anticipation of a crossover loomed over us all. At some points it did feel like many people were looking forward to the crossover more than the shows themselves: constantly looking for Easter Eggs, hunting for hints at other characters, or just a general desire to see all these characters come together, even if we hadn’t met them, yet. And now, Marvel’s The Defenders, a hodge-podge of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist elements and characters, is finally here!

Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry Review

Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry is the second film in the Fairy Tail franchise, following Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess. “Dragon Cry” once again features Fairy Tail’s Strongest Team taking on an enemy on a separate country, and one that threatens the balance of the world as they hunt the mystical Dragon Cry, a staff capable of destroying whole countries. The film premiered this year both in Japan and over here in the United States, with special thanks to Funimation for bringing it overseas in a pretty quick turnaround from the Japanese release. How’s it hold up compared to the rest of the series, though?

My Hero Academia: Expectation vs. Execution

SPOILERS THROUGH EPISODE 30

By all accounts, My Hero Academia should be one of the most generic anime series there is at this point. It’s set in high-school, the characters are young teenagers that get into battles way out of their league, and they’ve all got unique powers. On paper this show doesn’t stand out at all. At first, I had little interest in it outside of how good the music was. However, off the paper, and through the execution and how it avoids and sometimes manipulates tropes, My Hero Academia has become the shining example of what shonen-anime should be in the future.

Top 10 Favorite Anime

Anime is a special art-form, there’s no doubt about it. It’s loved, hated, and mostly given confused looks by fans and non-fans over the sheer amount of “what did I just watch?” that tends to happen in an anime. In honor of both the announcement of a new Fairy Tail anime, which will round out the series starting next year, as well as this past week of reflection on the series, I figured now would be a good time to unveil my favorite anime series!

Fairy Tail and My Creative Journey

One of the most difficult things I've found in the creative process is digging out of a slump. It's often the case of "oh I can just a little here and a little there" and be just fine, eventually you'll strike home and the ship will be righted. Except, that's not true. At all. The creative drive is different for everyone and in my case it'd just been something that came to me naturally. From elementary school through high school I wrote and wrote and wrote to varying degrees of success. Sometimes it wasn't complete stories, it would just be long summaries. Sometimes it was completely rewriting something that'd taken me years. But it was fine, because there was a flow. And then, all of a sudden, there wasn't. The well ran dry. And then I found Fairy Tail, and haven't really looked back since.

Fairy Tail Chapter 545 Review

The concluding chapter to the Fairy Tail manga. SPOILERS follow. 

Top 10 Fairy Tail Moments

SPOILERS FOR FAIRY TAIL. LIKE ALL OF IT. NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU, ANIME ONLY FOLK. SORRY. 

Fairy Tail is a story. Some think it's good or even amazing, and other think it's bad or even the worst thing put to ink. I fall on the "it's good" camp of things, but adore the show and the manga with my heart. I've got a special connection with the series that I'll share about on another blog post, so there's that bias. But I'm also not one to overlook the absolutely atrocious moments of storytelling, which have sadly plagued this final arc from allowing it to go beyond the Tartaros Arc, which was entirely possible. Still, Fairy Tail is ending this week, for good or for ill, so it's time I spent an entire week discussing this controversial, yet colorful, series. 

Dragon Ball Super Episode 100 Review

The centennial episode of Dragon Ball Super has arrived! Let's check it out, with MAJOR SPOILERS for both this episode as well as all previous episodes for Dragon Ball Super. TL;DR: It was great! Tons of fun Super Saiyan action, just what we needed. 

Fate/Grand Order Review

I’m a big fan of the “Fate/” series, and I don’t think that’s a small secret. On this blog alone I’ve reviewed Fate/Zero TWICE and got into discussions circling around the “Unlimited Blade Works” route of Fate/Stay Night in animated form. I eagerly await Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel and the next part of the Fate/Grand Order anime adaptation. But what I’m not so big a fan of is mobile gaming. I’ll get into a game for just a little bit before my free-to-play experience dries up and things just become meddling, or I run out of missions to do. So, what happens when you mix a franchise I like with a genre I’m impartial to? Well, actually a pretty fun, addictive experience.

Blue Nexus #67 - Meaning of a Mage

               What must it have been like in that moment, in those milliseconds, as the golden light flashed in front of Clarke’s eyes before all she was, good or evil, all that power she had, restrained or wild, suddenly vanished? Staring into the eyes of someone she swore to defeat, the person she was so confident against? And yet, while she thought of Clarke and that mere blink where Rafael vaporized her, Brenda could not escape the thought that he could just as easily have ended her as well.

                She’d had her hands on the rut formed from her crash for a while. She’d managed to get all the rubble together and create a small little healing square over it. She just could move, couldn’t use her magic. Not physically incapable, but she couldn’t will herself to it. She sat, hollow, staring at the broken bits of ground while the red sky around her tumbled down and the blue skies of Rome retook their place.

Blue Nexus #66 - Rivals

            Brenda rebounded off a barrier she placed up at the last second and managed to avoid another of Clarke’s attacks. The barrier she put up also softened the blow for the aged Colosseum, which had taken quite a beating. Whatever reinforcements had been put up over the years wouldn’t be enough.

            She watched as Oz and Rafael took their magnificent battle to the sky. Oz’s magic flared the six colors of the magic spectrum, while Rafael’s brilliant gold light shone everywhere. Brenda could hear people confused as to who was on whose side. Last they had likely heard, Rafael had just saved an entire town of people from some strange illness. Did he fight with Shindari, or this crazy red-witch lady?

Halftime Report: 2017 Comics

2016 was an absolutely magical year for comics. Even if you were a Marvel fan for the back half of the year or a DC fan for the first half of the year, on the whole 2016 proved to be one hell of a year in terms of revitalizing both DC and Marvel for some of their stranger characters or concepts. Valiant and Image continued to see creative success, last year in particular for Valiant with Ninjak and the two “Divinity” series. So, now that the year is halfway done, how is 2017 holding up? In short: pretty damn well.

Blade (1998) Review

I think it's incredible how common, how household, so many super-hero names have become. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor; they're all some of the most popular characters in the world right now thanks to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These characters, once so obscure, now make billions of dollars annually from various sources. Obviously, they were brought out of obscurity thanks to the contributions of their creators. The Punisher is an obscure character that's only being brought into the light thanks to good writing on Daredevil, not the catastrophic films from the 2000s. Deadpool is one of the most popular characters in the world right now, but I'd be hardpressed to say how popular he was outside of a comic book store pre-2010. And what if I told you that one of the most obscure comic book characters in the world is the very reason that we have such celebrated movies today? People attribute X-Men and Spider-Man to being the modern superhero movie...but even they must acknowledge that it is Blade that helped push the genre to what it is today.

Blue Nexus #65 - Clarke's Crusade

            A red light filled the sky for just a moment before the sun appeared between the trees of Magus Forest. Brenda watched it, but didn’t blink. It filled her with at first an overwhelming sense of cold, and then a hint of rage dashed across her. She closed and opened her fists, and inspected the area around her. Few, besides those preparing for Rafael’s return, had actually been awake and it did not seem as if any of them noticed the flash.

            Brenda couldn’t shake a strong sensation, either, as if there were another force all around her that she couldn’t see. It sparked with the flash and subsided slightly in the ensuing moments, but didn’t leave since. It had to be one of the Six Pillars or Rafael—who else in the world was capable of such an energetic output? But which one, and why? More importantly, how come none of the other denizens of Magus Forest paid it any attention?

What is Dragon Ball Super Playing At (post Episode 92)?

Dragon Ball Super (DBS) has been a strange beast of an anime since it began two years ago. It adapted the stories of two previous movies and had all sorts of complications with the fans. It ended its best arc yet with an unsatisfying conclusion, and has had several more episodes focused on minor characters than it's predecessors ever did, it seems. Now, with the "Universal Survival Arc," Dragon Ball Super is poised to make it's biggest push yet...that may end up with the largest amount of backfire.

Arrow Season 5 Review

Another year, another few months we must post our green hoods and quivers up until the CW’s Arrow returns to television. Unlike last year…and the years before that…we’ve got a real cliffhanger, though, so that’ll keep us guessing as to the fate of certain characters, as well as where the show can go from here. There’s some hints and clues in the last few episodes, but overall the finale was pretty final in terms of the story we’ve seen the last five years. Arrow this season was about cycles and about history repeating itself (not like The Flash, which involves actual time-travel). And it was the return to form that everyone was looking for, making it the second best season of the show.

FULL SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5 FOLLOW

Mysteries of Rebirth: Where is Everyone Else?

With the Batman/ The Flash crossover "The Button" finally having ended, and the realignment of Superman's new continuity getting explained, it seems that we have now entered the "Phase 2" of DC Comics' "Rebirth" initiative. While the mystery of who stole the 10 years of time from the universe still remains for the characters, we the readers are now more than aware of who is responsible. While not explained why, yet, the recently announced "Doomsday Clock" crossover will more than likely answer those questions. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you probably haven't been paying much attention to DC Comics for the last year.

Green Arrow and Arsenal: Reflections of Rebirth

Perhaps the two characters most effected by the events of DC Universe: Rebirth, and the “Rebirth” initiative in general, have been Roy Harper, aka Arsenal, and Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow. Both suffered immensely during the “New 52” era (though both had moments of clarity, and in the case of Green Arrow, even scored one of the most critically acclaimed-runs of the era). Roy Harper was stuck with Jason Todd for his tenure and appeared as little more than a thug in most cases, while Oliver Queen toted around and tried to find his identity a bit too many times for anyone’s interest. When the “Rebirth” wave hit, both were given slight redesigns and new surroundings, and are much, much better for it.

Blue Nexus #64 - The Mountain's Call

Dr. Luna stood up, revealing a thin aura around her in the moonlight. Her eyes fell upon Sandy, as if trying to read her. Sandy shuddered. Talk about seeing a ghost. Luna looked off of Sandy and looked toward the Sentinel, whose gaze remained hard as ever. She smiled.

            Sandy took a step forward. “The Nether?”

            “You’ve never heard of it?” Dr. Luna asked.

            Sandy shook her head. Dr. Luna sat down on her desk and crossed her arms. Her focus was back on Sandy once again. Sandy didn’t waver, instead locked her arms in the firing position with her bow.

Dark Souls III The Ringed City Part 2 Review

*SPOILERS FOR THE RINGED CITY AND DARK SOULS III*

The Dreg Heap was, essentially, one big roller coaster in reverse. Normally, you get the really exciting part at the front end and then the rest of the ride tries to carry that momentum until you come back in the station and tell everyone how awesome the ride is based on the first drop. With the Dreg Heap, the best part is at the end: the twin Demon fight. The beginning is decent, the middle is harrowing, and then the run to the boss bonfire is nightmarish. Is the second half of the DLC any different?

Dark Souls 3 The Ringed City Part 1 Review

*SPOILERS FOR THE DREG HEAP AND DARK SOULS III*
One of the biggest complaints about the Ashes of Ariandel expansion of Dark Souls III is that it was too small and far too contained for it to satisfy anyone who had played through DS3 and had any remaining questions about the story, or just what could happen after we ended the world/ prolonged its existence. The Ringed City seems to come almost in direct response to that, though it doesn’t seem entirely obvious at first.

Power Rangers Review

In the last few years, I think I've been pretty good about setting a proper expectation and gauging how excited I should be for a movie. Take, for example, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. I expected it to be about on par with Man of Steel and for the most part I was right. This year, though, my expectations are all over the place. I don't know what Spider-Man: Homecoming or Wonder Woman are going to be like. Power Rangers was a movie that I had no idea what it could be. Could it try to be just like the show and take a silly approach to an even sillier concept? Would it go for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/ Transformers route of trying to make this grim and gritty and for adults? What would it do right or what would it do wrong? 

Top 10 Power Rangers Series

So there's a certain movie coming out quite soon that has to do with 90s nostalgia as well as people taking a novel concept from Japan and contorting it to fit their American needs. Yeah. Ghost in the Shell is happening, kids, and boy...I can wait for that movie. Oh, and Power Rangers or something. Meh.

Blue Nexus #63 - A Sentinel, A Shield, A Sword

            The Sentinel took up his position atop the southernmost abandoned Capital Industries building, hanging tight to the radio tower that poked into the sky. The dark grey clouds were all but invisible thanks to the light pollution from down below, but the small shiny stars not muddled by them twinkled.

            He stared out at the city with a blank glance. His mind raced, trying to comprehend the utter beatdown that Blue Nexus suffered at the hands of that Combat mage. Blue Nexus was practically ripped to shreds by the guy, not able to put up the slightest fight. Granted, Kevin thought, he was caught way off guard and the Combat mage seemed to have a plan of attack to cripple Blue Nexus.

            But this was the same hero that took down Alucard. He was just as strong, if not stronger if rumor were true, than Riko, the strongest male in the galaxy. Whoever this Combat mage was had to be both incredibly skilled in the art of fighting and pretty capable in terms of strength. Kevin had watched over their fight dozens of times to try and see what moves the Combat mage implored and they were some mixes of martial arts but most of it was just a sheer mastery of weapons that the Sentinel hadn’t seen in years. He wondered if he could keep up, should there be equal footing for strength between them.

Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City Hopes/ Expectations

Dark Souls 3, and Dark Souls as a whole, looks to come to an end this month with the final DLC, The Ringed City, on March 27th. There’s already been some buzz that this DLC is massive. Perhaps it’ll match the Artorias DLC or the Bloodborne DLC in size. Surely, if they want to add to the story of Dark Souls III, it’ll need to be. My hope is that it’s huge and then some.

Blue Nexus #62 - Recruiting Day

            Mira wrapped the bandage around Kyle’s arm with practiced ease, as if she could do it in her sleep. Kyle sat patiently on the bench, though could feel his legs still moving as if he were back on the field. Mira slapped his leg and Kyle unconsciously calmed down. Kyle clenched a tight fist when he looked back on the field. Andreus almost blew through a defender, though it was clear his power was in control. The defender just couldn’t stand up to him. Still, Kyle had to flinch. Mira looked on the field when the whistle blew louder than normal.

            Coach called everyone over to discuss the play they’d just run for the fifth time. Kyle leaned back against the bench.

            “See, now you can appreciate me taking my time,” Mira said. “You don’t have to listen to your coach screaming at you.”
            “It’s not screaming,” Kyle said. “He’s just raising his voice.”

Detective Comics #950 Review

Detective Comics #1 printed in March of 1937, composed of a series of short stories set to be continued in follow-up issues. It starred such characters as Bart Regan, Speedy Saunders, Gumshoe Gus, and Bruce Nelson. Back then it was a big deal for the comic to come out in color, despite some of the pages being rendered in black and white. It was released at ten cents and could probably be found quite easily among newsstands, near More Fun Comics and Action Comics. 80 years is a long time, kids. Nations have risen and fallen. The world went to war. The war stood at the precipice of a nuclear apocalypse. Our population boomed. Things changed, society evolved along with technology, and yet it's strange that through all of this, a comic book would last 80 years and 950 issues to get to us today. My friends...this is an accomplishment. 

Hunter x Hunter Chat 1

The 2011 version of the Hunter x Hunter anime premiered it's English Dub on Toonami last year. It wasn't the first I'd heard of the series, of course, but I hadn't gotten the chance to watch it and I was looking for a new weekly anime to get into. Plus I just love watching things on Toonami, it's so nostalgic. And so 36 episodes/ three arcs later, it's finally time for me to give my thoughts on this series. In short: it's AWESOME. 

Justice League Dark Review

The latest of the DC Animated films has finally been released and it's probably the strangest of them all in terms of premise. It's placement in the continuity of the universe is also a bit head-tilting, but that's not the real concern here. No, this movie instead focuses on the Justice League Dark, a group of magic-based heroes and anti-heroes that eventually coalesce into a "team" to ward off dark magical foes. Why's it so strange? Well who would've thought this movie would actually be the best of the recent animated films?

Blue Nexus #61 - Divinity Rises

            Kyle helped the ailing doctor get to his feet. The man groaned and had to lean on Kyle for support. Trevor looked over his shoulder at the doctor and rolled his eyes. The waiting room had filled up already, and Trevor didn’t even look prepared for even a normal day at the office.

            “Great,” he said. “There goes my back-up.”
            Tania shook her head and stepped up to him. “I may be able to do something about this. It’d be a temporary fix but it may buy us some time.”

            “What do you need me for?” Andreus asked.

            Kyle gestured at him and Kip and Luke. “Round up anyone in the streets, get them here. Or at least get them inside.”

            “Here?” Trevor asked. “We’re running out of room.”

            “And they might be running out of time,” Kyle said. “It’s been like, what, an hour and already everyone here looks like they’re ready to puke.”
            Trevor glanced over to the waiting room and nodded. Kyle didn’t have to check to affirm what he merely glimpsed earlier. Everyone’s faces were devoid of color. Their eyes were glossy and they all hunched their shoulders over.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #1

People often say that Deadpool just always wins. He always has the best comics. Anything he's in will automatically be better. Now, that latter statement is certainly hyperbole. Deadpool was involved in AXIS. Of course he can be in bad things. Others will clarify that to say he's never in a bad solo book. To which I say...welcome to Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe. 

Assassin's Creed: Awakening #1

Assassin's Creed: Awakening is one of the weirdest and yet coolest comic book experiences I had last year. As you're about to learn, it isn't formatted like a regular Western comic. It caught me completely off-guard, but I have to give Ubisoft and Titan Comics some credit here. This is a brilliant idea and a very creative move on their end. Assassin's Creed had four comic books out last year and had to find new ways of innovating them, be it new characters/ settings, different points of view, continuations of stories...or completely removing the standard comic book format.