Thursday, December 31, 2015

Last Comics Weekly Wrap Up of 2015


So not too many books but this is the end of 2015, and these are the books I read for the last week of 2015 -

1. 2. 3. 4.


5. 6. 7.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Review of Positive by David Wellington

I don't normally write reviews for average rated books(3 stars), but being that I have been a fan of this writer since his early days.  I felt that I needed to explain why I rated this book what I did. If you are not familiar with this author he wrote the Monster trilogy, which is his take on zombies, and his Laura Caxton series, which is his vampire stories. I really enjoyed these books, and while I have not read everything he has written I felt that this new book would still be as good as the previous ones I had read.

So I was quite excited to read this book after I had read the plot. Finn is a young man who may or may not have become infected by the zombie virus. In this post-apocalyptic world if a person potentially becomes infected they are marked with a plus sign tattoo on the back of their hand and exiled to a government camp until they either "zombie out" or are cleared to return home. Finn meets with some unexpected twists and turns in what should be a government escort to the Positive camp. In the wilds of the United States not only do people have to evade zombies, but looters and pirates. Sometimes people are more dangerous than the zombies.

First off I have to say if you wanted to read this because you are thinking it is a zombie read you will be sadly disappointed. It features zombies, but the main focus of this book is the dangers of the living and how they look to take advantage of others and sometimes even impose their beliefs on them. This is more of a post-apocalyptic read than a straight up zombie horror read. Quite honestly, it reminded me a lot of Mad Max more so than a zombie book. I had noticed that this once independent author is now being published by Harper. I wonder if this book was rushed and that the author felt like he needed to complete it soon under the direction of the publisher. I say this because the story seems to be written as if it were hastily finished. Once you pass the climax of the story it really seems to zip through events as if they were not really thought out before being committed to a final draft. It really seemed okay up until after this midpoint. I also thought that it was odd that the author would mention his vampire hunter character, and fail to mention her past from his series about her. This and the cob job ending really made me feel that this was not the quality writing that this author used to produce.  Would I read a sequel to this story? Maybe, but I would not rush to read it. I hope that any future works he puts out under this publisher are of the same quality that he once had as an independent writer.

 

Comics Weekly Wrap Up 12/18/15 Crisis


So I decided to name this weeks wrap up Crisis due to the DC comics series that had Crisis in the title.

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A Look At Age of Apocalypse (Series Recommendation)

With the new X-men: Apocalypse film coming out soon I figured this old article I wrote for Squidoo could be brought back out and refreshed. So here it is.

Age of Apocalypse

Epic Alternate Timeline Saga, X-Style!

When Professor X's son, Legion decides to go back in time to kill Magneto he hoped to alter the present for the good of mutant kind. But Charles (prof. X) died instead trying to save the life of his friend Erik (Magneto). This event caused a ripple in time that undid the present that we all knew. Magneto assembles a team of mutants in Charles' honor, and Apocalypse's rises to power....Welcome to the Age of Apocalypse.
I simply love the X-men, and I love alternate story lines. So I had to share this. All new costumes, different teams, very dramatic and fun saga. Here I will list the comics that made up this series. By far this is one of the best in my opinion. So sit tight, true believer the end has just begun........

The Age of Apocalypse books

X-men : Alpha - Published 1995, this was the book to start the series. The first glimpse into the world where Apocalypse reigns. Each X-title book after this became a different book to coincide with the storyline.
X-Calibre - A team lead by Nightcrawler consisting of his mother, Mystique, Switchback, and later a villain, Damask who joins after realizing which side is better. (replaced Excalibur)
Gambit and the Externals - Gambit leads this team consisting of Jubilee, Sunspot, Strong guy, and Lila Cheney. (replaced X-Force)
Generation Next - Colossus, and Kitty Pryde lead this team of New Mutant- like youngsters. This team features Chamber, Husk, Mondo, Skin, and Vincent Cimetta. They go on a rescue mission to find Magik. (replaced Generation X)
Astonishing X-men - This team is lead by Magneto's wife, Rogue. Sabretooth, Blink, Wild Child, Morph, and Sunfire make up this team. (replaced Uncanny X-men)
Amazing X-men - Quicksilver leads this team made up of Storm, Dazzler, Iceman, Banshee, and Exodus. (replaced X-men)
Weapon X - Wolverine gets the girl in this alternate reality. Jean Grey, and Logan are together in this book. Logan tries to recruit Gateway to help save N. America. (replaced Wolverine)
Factor X - Are enemy teams created by Apocalypse. Consisting of Cyclops, Havok, Emplate, Twins, Canonball, Amazon, the Bedlam Brothers, Aurora, Northstar, and Beast who conducts experiments on imprisoned mutants. (replaced X-Factor)
X-man - The mutant Nate Grey, is created from Jean Grey, and Cyclops. He is mentored by Forge, who leads a group consisting of Mastermind, Toad, Brute, Sauron, and late Sonique. (replaced Cable)
X-Universe - Colossus's Brother Mikhail is opposed by a familiar group of humans, who are Tony Stark, Gwen Stacy, Don Blake, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, Victor Von Doom, and later Bruce Banner. (replaced X-men Unlimited)
X-men: Omega - The finale of the Age of Apocalypse saga.

X-Men: Age of Apocalypse [Hardcover]


X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Omnibus (Marvel Omnibus)
X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Omnibus (Marvel Omnibus)
Charles Xavier is dead - killed twenty years in the past during a freak time-travel accident - and the world that has arisen in his absence is dark and dangerous indeed. The Darwinian conqueror Apocalypse rules with an iron fist, ruthlessly enforcing his dictum that only the strong shall survive - and in Apocalypse's long shadow, hidden among a downtrodden humankind, are a group of ragtag freedom fighters led by Xavier's oldest friend, Magneto: the Amazing X-Men! When Bishop, last survivor of the true Marvel Universe, locates the X-Men and explains how the world went wrong, these embittered mutants and their tenuous allies must risk everything - and undertake a dangerous and multi-pronged quest - to put things right! The comics event of 1995 is collected in one deluxe oversized hardcover! Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #320-321, X-MEN (1991) #40-41, CABLE (1993) #20, X-MEN ALPHA, AMAZING X-MEN #1-4, ASTONISHING X-MEN (1995) #1-4, FACTOR X #1-4, GAMBIT & THE X-TERNALS #1-4, GENERATION NEXT #1-4, WEAPON X (1995) #1-4, X-CALIBRE #1-4, X-MAN #1-4, X-MEN OMEGA, AGE OF APOCALYPSE: THE CHOSEN and X-MEN ASHCAN #2.

X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 1 [Paperback]

If you cannot afford to buy the hardcover version that is above these separate paperback graphic novels are just as good.

X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 1
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 1
It begins here! The critically acclaimed, fan-favorite storyline that rocked the X-Men Universe to its core is collected across four volumes! In a cracked-mirror world ruled by the genocidal mutant despot Apocalypse, only one hope remains: Magneto and his Astonishing X-Men! The first in a four volume series collecting the entire Age of Apocalypse storyline.

Age of Apocalypse Tribute - A Glimpse into this alternate universe

X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 2 [Paperback]


X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic - Book 2
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic - Book 2
Apocalypse has conquered half of humankind and is ready to destroy them all! Magneto and his Amazing X-Men fight to protect humans and mutants alike, only to learn from Bishop that his world might need to be unmade! Plus: excerpts from Apocalypse's own files on the alternate-universe X-Men, and their friends and foes... but which is which? Featuring Blink and Sabretooth of the Exiles! Collects X-Men: Alpha, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen, Generation Next #1, Astonishing X-Men Volume 1 #1, X-Calibre #1, Gambit and the X-Ternals #1-2, Weapon X Volume 1 #1-2, Amazing X-Men #1-2, Factor X #1-2, and X-Man #1.

X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 3 [Paperback]


X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 3
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 3
The mirror gets darker and the Amazing X-Men more Astonished by the minute as the Age of Apocalypse hits its third quarter! Magneto has dedicated his life to freeing humanity and mutantkind alike, but will Apocalypse now require him to destroy reality to save it! Sides are switched and secrets shown with repercussions ringing from the Savage Land to the Shi-ar Galaxy! Plus: a rare look at how Apocalypse altered the rest of Marvel's mightiest! Doctor Doom and Reed Richards, side-by-side? Matt Murdock and the Kingpin, allies? Gwen Stacy in mourning for Peter Parker? Avengers, Exiles, etc. in the original alternate X-saga! Collects X-Calibre #2-3, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1 #2-4, Generation Next #2-3, X-Man #2-3, Factor X #3, Amazing X-Men #3, Gambit & The Externals #3, and X-Universe #1.
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X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 4 [Paperback]


X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 4
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 4
Learn who lives and who dies in either reality as the apocalyptic arc ends in treachery and tragedy! While certain heroic humans prove their mettle without armor or magic hammers, it's a race to see who the X-Men will destroy first: Apocalypse or themselves! But even with the crisis concluded, new allies and enemies emerge, guaranteeing that reality will still never be the same! Featuring the dawn of Gene Nation and a turning point for the Legacy Virus! Collects Generation Next #4, X-Calibre #4, X-Man #4 & #53-54, Factor X #4, Gambit And The X-Ternals #4, Amazing X-Men #4, Weapon X #4, X-Universe #2, X-Men: Omega, Blink #4 and X-Men: Prime

Friday, December 11, 2015

Comics Weekly Wrap Up 12/11/15


Here is my latest wrap up( the beginning of the video has bad lighting. I hate winter as it's dark and not very sunny), and the list below-

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Comics Weekly Wrap Up 12/4/15


I had edited and uploaded this weeks wrap up, but Youtube said that it was duplicate content, and rejected it. So last weeks wrap up was a little late but this one is on time, and quite the listing, because I had a lot of time over the holiday weekend to read, read, read!

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Cooties Film Review

Could one chicken nugget start a zombie apocalypse? That's how the 2015 horror comedy film Cooties starts off.  It opens up with disgusting imagery which kinda hints at poor hygiene conditions of processed foods, like the book "The Jungle" did in written form.
Elijah Wood stars as Clint, an aspiring horror writer who works as a substitute teacher for the elementary school in the town of Fort Chicken. Everywhere are subtle and not so subtle mentions of chicken, and eating symbology. The town is named Fort Chicken, there is a rooster trailer hitch in the beginning, and the phrase "Eat a cock" written on a windshield.  

This is not the type of film that draws out long boring parts, and gets right down into the action fairly quickly. So if you want a fast paced and action packed film with raunchy dialogue, and comedy mixed in with the horror elements.

Another metaphor used by the filmmakers is the title, and much like it implies the way little boys pick on little girls by saying that they have cooties. The first victim of this plague is a little girl who unfortanately eats one of the tainted nuggets, and develops what looks like chicken pox. A bully then tries to pull one of her braids, and gets bit by her. The plague quickly spreads at recess, and the chaos ensues. I won't say more, as I do not want to spoil this. I rated this film 4 out of 5 stars, and highly recommend it for fans of Shaun of the Dead. And while the market is over-saturated with zombie films I still think this is one worth checking out.



Below is the trailer for this film, and I wanted to save that part for last....


Here is the film available for purchase on Amazon. I get a very small percentage of any sales.