Geek Culture, News and Reviews done a little bit differently.

5 Stellar graphic novels you might not know about.

Filed under: Web Design — Tags: , , — Blake Stevenson @ 3:13 pm April 14, 2009

heavyreading

Comic books are always stereotyped as over the top, super hero crap for the lamens. The majority of them are but man it is awesome stereotypical over the top crap. Well, shedding some light on this situation might help some skeptics out. If you are the type of person who just cannot get past the fluorescent tights or the prominent male bulging then this list of comics might help you out.

 

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5. The Goon: 


Dark Horse is very proud to present the first original graphic novel from Eisner Award-winning creator Eric Powell. Powell has been sowing the seeds of “Chinatown” and the “Mystery of Mr Wicker” for years in his bimonthly series “The Goon”, and salivating fans may now feast their eyes on the “Goon”’s formative backstory of love, loss, and extortion – a lengthy tale that demanded to be told in this uninterrupted format. Spiritual leader of Tennessee and hero to the “Great Unwashed”, Powell escaped catastrophic death and mother-shaming scandal to bring this work to fruition. He’s a sensitive man in insensitive times. But be warned: This book ain’t funny.


51awcootpfl_bo2204203200_pisitb-sticker-arrow-clicktopright35-76_aa240_sh20_ou15_4.  Scott Pilgrim

 

Scott Pilgrim’s life is totally sweet. He’s 23 years old, he’s in a rock band, he’s “between jobs,” and he’s dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott’s awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona’s seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life.


51onxjrlkl_bo2204203200_pisitb-sticker-arrow-clicktopright35-76_aa240_sh20_ou15_3. Bone:

 

A whimsical journey, cunningly told. It combines fable with American legend in a tale of greed, friendship, and struggle. The story follows three cousins who have been thrown out of their town for cheating the citizens. Shortly thereafter, they are separated. Each Bone stumbles into a mysterious valley full of odd creatures that reveal strange happenings. The story is well paced with smooth transitions. It is dark, witty, mysterious, and exciting. The full-color art reflects that of classic comic books; one glance at the comic cels and one is reminded of old Disney and “Peanuts” cartoons. However, the animation and fresh story line put Smith in a league of his own.
 

51z1f9bydsl_sl500_aa240_2. Y the Last Man

 

A mysterious plague has killed every man on earth except Yorick Brown, who was somehow spared. That is the provocative premise of the comics series whose first five issues make up this book. The sole Y-chromosomed survivor is an amiable, headstrong young man, the son of a U.S. congresswoman and, as it happens, an amateur escape artist. He spends most of the story on the run from a tribe of self-styled Amazons bent on eliminating the last vestige of patriarchy. He is also trying, with a bioengineer who may be responsible for the worldwide “gendercide,” to figure out why he survived; hoping to reach his girlfriend in Australia; and, of course, contemplating the repopulation of the planet. Rather pedestrian artwork doesn’t do much to liven the story, though its straightforwardness imparts deadpan believability to such ramifications as the female secretary of agriculture ascending to the presidency. Fast-paced anyway, the yarn introduces a large number of intriguing characters and plot lines as it lays the groundwork for what promises to be a compelling series.

 

51tmlc9i9dl_sl500_aa240_1. The Walking Dead:

 

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: there is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple of months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living.
 

All these books have changed the way that I look at comics. Pick any one of these up and I guarantee you will see no prominent man bulge.  

(These descriptions have all been borrowed  from amazon)

B is for Best! (a top five b-movie list!)

Filed under: General Crap — Tags: , , , — Blake Stevenson @ 4:30 am April 8, 2009

movingpictures

The combination of guns, gallons of multiple coloured fluids splashing against the screen and some o’ worst ( by worst I mean best!) special effects ever to hit the big screen. Well, actually a lot these movies probably never really made it to the big screen. These genre bending flicks deserved ta’ be recognized…  

 

517v2raac0l_sl500_aa240_5. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988):

     • Just read the name again and tell me you don’t want to see this movie

Director: Steven Chiodo (Nothing else really) 

Description: Finally the truth about clowns is out! Beneath their smirky sinister grins and wildly patterned clothes are clever killers from out of this world. The “juxtaposition of their toy-store arsenal and malevolent intent proves to be a tasty combination” (Los Angeles Times) in this killer entertainment that will leave you fearing these big-top creatures for good. A spaceship looking like a circus tent lands in a field near a small town, signaling the attack of deviant, red-nosed, balloon-twisting psychos from another world who plan to annihilate by turning people into cotton candy! Luckily, the town’s teen citizenry decides to fight back and teach the cosmic bozos a lesson. But these klowns are no klutzes, turning popcorn, peanuts and caramel corn into playful but deadly weapons of madcap destruction and mayhem!

 

51j881b54al_sl500_aa240_4. Feast (2006):

     • One liners, Guns and Henry Rollins. One of the best intro scenes I have seen in years. 

Director:  John Gulager (Feast 2)

Description: At a rural bar, a motley bunch of patrons struggle to survive a ravenous family of flying beasts bent on devouring every last one of them.

 

51zd8dcjawl_sl500_aa240_3. Dead Alive (1993):

     • Zombie baby!! (literally)

Director: Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings)

Description: On a quiet street in a small town pure evil has come to stay. An innocent young man forced to care for his domineering mother finds the task a whole lot more demanding after shes bitten by the cursed sumatran rat-monkey.

 

51zp9q0yjhl_sl500_aa240_2. Dawn of the Dead (1979):

     • Driving through a mall and zombies!

Director:  Goerge A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead)

Description: Citizens blockade themselves into a mall while experts and leaders beg the populace to destroy dead relatives. Destroy them before they can arise as zombies! 

 

511j4ay1kml_sl160_aa160_1. Evil Dead 2 (1987):

     • Bruce Campbell, the best damn actor of all time.

Director: Sam Raimi (Spider-Man)

Description: Ash (Bruce Campbell), the sole survivor of The Evil Dead, continues his struggle with the forces of the dead. With his girlfriend possessed by demons and his body parts running amok, Ash is forced to single-handedly battle the legions of the damned as the most lethal — and groovy — hero in horror movie history!

 

note: the description for these movies has been provided by amazon.com