Comic Book Academia: 100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

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There are few names that hold as much awe in the entertainment industry as Marvel does. From humble beginnings as Timely Comics to the film powerhouse that is Marvel Studios, there has been more content flowing from these minds than almost any other group. So much so, that there is seemingly no way to know the intricacies of each facet of the Marvel Universe(s). Lucky for those lacking warehouses full of dusty pages, people like Dan Casey exist. Casey holds a self-proclaimed degree in Marvel Comics and shows off his knowledge in his book, 100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.

My first Free Comic Book Day. For a guy that knows next to nothing about comics, I can look the part pretty well.
My first Free Comic Book Day. For a guy that knows next to nothing about comics, I can look the part pretty well.

Before telling our Giga Geeks why this book is a valuable resource and overview of the Marvel yarns, let me first tell you about my lack of comic book knowledge. I am nowhere near a comic nerd, nor could I take that title by association. My early years were spent blowing the dust out of Nintendo cartridges and pretending to be a Power Ranger. I also grew up during the 1990s, which was what I now know to be a bit of dry spell in the comic book industry. Yet, I did love Marvel’s characters in other media, like the classic cartoon iterations of X-Men and Spider Man. That guitar-heavy opening from X-Men still rings clearly in many of my early memories.

A few comics were passed down to me when I was a kid—some beat up X-Men and Street Sharks—but no one I knew was really into them. It wasn’t until the first few Marvel films hit theaters that I rekindled that need for these super heroes and heroines. Actually, I remember my father taking me to see X-Men in the summer of 2000. This was also a great bonding experience for both of us as we walked away not liking the film and making jokes about it. Oddly enough, I enjoyed the first Spider-Man film much more than the X-Men (2000) movie.

Why I like Toby Maguire as Spider Man over this, I'll never know. . .
Why I like Toby Maguire as Spider-Man over this, I’ll never know. . .

It wasn’t until I entered college in 2010 that I got a real taste of the comic world.  A humble comic shop called Counter Culture Concepts opened that same year and it wasn’t long before I made lasting friends in that cramped space. If it wasn’t for that store, I never would’ve owned a decent pile of comics. As a side note, my girlfriend even painted an awesome mural that was a stark contrast to the American paintings on the opposite wall.

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One of several paintings done by Diabolikupcake at Counter Culture Concepts.

My story proves that I’m not a guru of comics at all, merely a Padowan on a journey towards being a Jedi. Therefore, Casey’s collection of Marvel knowledge awakened me to a multi-verse of stories created over decades of talented work.

Casey starts by explaining Marvel’s history, and then works his way up to the more practical bits of know-how, such as mixing a shot of The Incredible Hulk (which is guaranteed to get you smashed). There’s so much knowledge to be gained even from the first few chapters. I had no idea Jack Kirby joined the dark side of D.C. Comics at one point!

One of Lee's latest appearances in Big Hero 6.
One of Lee’s latest appearances in Big Hero 6.

Be reminded that you have to understand what impotence cheap tadalafil india is, and you have to look any further than this Cambridge gerontologist. This device sucks air prescription viagra uk from the penis duct and therefore enabling blood to flow smoothly in the desired way. Major Varieties of Tea White – requires the least processing; leaves are picked only a few days out of the year Black – Chinese black brand viagra from canada drink leaves are fully oxidized. SIDE EFFECTS :Side effects brand levitra spotted because of the intake of the Silagra pills. After discussing Marvel’s origins, Casey outlines the back stories of almost every character in the film canon, or the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) as some might call it.  These segments are great due to the addition of where those characters are in the current continuity. In some instances it also gives those who lack key points of comic knowledge a hint at what’s to come in future film projects from the House of Ideas. Case in point, the Vision was merely a visual character for me, but I now know him to be one of the deepest characters in Marvel. Also, I didn’t know he was an android, but that’s not the point.

I stared at this image for hours at the local shop; its so powerful and wrong on many levels.
I stared at this image for hours at the local shop; it’s so powerful and wrong on many levels.

After shedding light on most characters in the MCU, Casey goes on to discuss major events throughout the years. He outlines Civil War and Secret Invasion with passion and precision, bringing major plot points to life with minimal wording. During my stays at the comic shop, I had always wanted to pick up the comics containing these events, but for some reason or another never did. Now I wish I had—I will eventually—as those stories mark things I want to see in future films.

Similar to the Greek Gyro, but ever so mysterious and provocative.
Similar to the Greek Gyro, but ever so mysterious and provocative.

The end of the book holds some neat things Avengers fans should try outside of films and comic books. Most interestingly for me, there’s a Shawarma recipe by Natasha Feldman and Julianna Strickland, the women behind Cinema & Spice. While I’ve yet to try this mystery food, I do have plans to film my attempt. The last chapters also hold a call to action for comic book fans everywhere in hopes that the community can give back, celebrate Free Comic Book Day, and find a local comic shop.

Nerducopia, another local comic shop, has an awesome logo and equally awesome people behind it.
Nerducopia, another local comic shop, has an awesome logo and equally awesome people behind it.

These last few things on the Avengers-fan bucket list are very important. I will attest to the awesome potential hidden down alleys. Some of my best memories of college come from behind the glass doors of my local comic shop. Dan Casey and I, advise everyone to find a shop and experience one of the greatest things about loving comics: having friends as passionate as you are about fantastic stories portrayed in panels.

After reading Casey’s book, I feel more confident in my overall knowledge of Marvel’s heroes and heroines, as well as being a part of the comic book community. I feel like I just finished studying for the mid-terms in Marvel 101 and I’m ready for the test. Professor Casey, I can honestly say I had more fun in this class than any other. Will you be teaching Marvel 102, also?

100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Dan Casey is available through Triumph Books. 

Also a big thanks goes out to Triumph Books for sending me this book and Dan Casey for toiling away for its completion. Stay cool.

All images and videos belong to their respective owners.

 

Silent Hills Cancelled, My Hopes Shattered

It’s official. My hope for a new and improved bad-ass, amaze-balls Silent Hill game has been dashed, destroyed.

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It was too good to be true honestly: Guillermo del Toro, Hideo Kojima and Norman Reedus all working together on a new iteration for a series I love and cherish. P.T. alone is amazing, so Silent Hills was bound to be something incredible. Now we’ll never know. Maybe, when Kojima has officially moved on, he can get the gang back together and create the horror game we were promised; it won’t be Silent Hills, but I think we would be cool with that.

Konami is committed to new Silent Hill titles, however the embryonic ‘Silent Hills’ project developed with Guillermo del Toro and featuring the likeness of Norman Reedus will not be continued. — Konami to Kotaku

Konami tries to downplay the bad news by explaining there is still hope for a new Silent Hill game, but it’s not going to be the same and will be years before a decent team can make it happen. We all know Silent Hill hasn’t been great in years. Numerous developers have tried to spark some life back into the series—Double Helix Games (Silent Hill: Homecoming), Vatra Games (Silent Hill: Downpour), WayForward Technologies (Silent Hill: Book of Memories)—but all have failed to fully capture what really made Silent Hill frightening, suspenseful, intriguing, addictive, a true psychological horror.

What is really happening behind the scene at Konami? Last November, the publisher notified its investors that it planned to voluntarily delist from the New York Stock Exchange, which went into effect on April 24. Konami claims delisting is not a sign of trouble, but there is a definite pattern happening. Why such a huge fall out between the publisher and Kojima? Of course Konami has not given a clear reason as to why Kojima is leaving. Some only confirmed Konami fired Kojima. Something big is going down. I really can’t imagine hearing any good news from Konami anytime soon.

From the Controller to the Big Screen

Five Nights at Freddy'sPrince of Persia, Doom, Hitman, Max Payne, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider—yeah I can do this all day. There are more than enough examples of gaming franchises that have made the leap to the big screen. What about it though? With Five Nights at Freddy’s going to the big screen, a thought occurred to me: I have never been a fan of gaming movies. Before you bemoan me, let me explain.

First and foremost, a lot of these movies are terrible. Except for Tomb Raider, they were all pretty poor representations of what the games actually are. Don’t agree? Take Street Fighter for example: what were Ken and Ryu even doing assisting in a military operation like that? What was Deejay (played by Juwanna Mann’s Migel A Nunez, Jr by the way) doing working with Bison? And why, God why were the fight scenes so dry? The entire franchise is in the fighting genre and is usually centered around the conflict between Ryu and the dark hado within him (see: darkside of the force). They chose not once, but twice to focus on the military struggle between Shadoloo and basically the rest of the world.

street fighter

Then there’s Mario with John Leguizamo. You can love that movie all you want to, it was doomed from the moment the gumbas were 6 foot tall. Star power is all well and good, but most of these characters have been around longer than the people they try to get to play them. Under no circumstances did I want to see Jake Gyllenhaal play Prince Dastan in Prince of Persia. Find some random, hungry actors who—gasp—actually resemble the characters they’re suppose to portray.

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I won’t be completely negative. There are magical times when the jump to a movie does actually work out. There’s one trick to it: animate it. There is no more shining example of this than Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Done hands on by SquareEnix to ensure it was legit, fit with the story, and looked beautiful. There is a clear difference when a team truly loves and enjoys what they’re working with instead of simply doing it for the love of money and deadlines. Not to say that it’s perfect, but the way the Japanese markets cinemate—just made that up, means to make into a movie, you’re welcome—their manga is usually animated. They may not always be cannon, but you never have to worry about wild creative tangents that mean nothing to the source material.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

There’s always hope for the future. The current Marvel cinematic universe shows that not everything has to fall apart once it hits the big screen. With blockbusters like Uncharted and Assassin’s Creed gaming could get a better look as well. Fingers crossed, I would really hate to see Nathan Drake embarrassed in front of the masses.

Preview: Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse

It seems like everywhere you turn there’s a new post-apocalyptic show popping up somewhere. New among the throng is the indie film Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse.

While Diani & Devine is not quite complete, it should be released some time in the next year thanks to its incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign (the film raised over $100,000). Diani and Devine is written by and stars Gabriel Diani and Etta Devine, and it tells the story of two comedians struggling to live in a post-apocalyptic world.

DDMTA Etta Devine & Gabriel Diani
Etta Devine and Gabriel Diani

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The film also features performances from Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Arye Gross (Castle), Barry Bostwick (Spin City) and many others.

Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman

I’m interested in seeing what sort of take Diani and Devine will have on this popular genre. What caused the end of the world, and will our two heroes survive it? Only time will tell. Make sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Review

Ever fire up a new game and within the first twenty minutes feel morbidly depressed? I have. Recently.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is a remastering and localization of the PSP title of the same name. This release comes out of the Square Enix pattern of remastering their games; however, this one is unique because this is the first time it is playable in English. The game follows the story of a country being torn apart by a war comparable to World War II, focusing on a powerful group of young adults trying to make a difference.

SONY DSC
The PSP housed some experimental game design from Square Enix.

Before I go into this review, let me assure my readers that I did take the fact that this is a PSP game on the PS4 into consideration in all aspects of my criticism.

Those teens are members of the most elite group in Akademia, Class Zero. These characters each have their own style, making it fun to experiment with several characters to find one that fits. The combat engine is set in real time, but common battles take place in their own separate space most of the time. Many main quests actually stay in a battle mode, allowing players to engage in skirmishes in the overall war or avoid enemies altogether. There is even a real-time strategy inspired mechanic that appears from time to time. While it adds variety, these segments usually lack depth.

Golem is acquired by talking to someone. . .
Golem is acquired by talking to someone. . .

There are many side missions that often reward curious players with items, spells, and abilities. These missions are fairly bland, but are a nice option, since the main game is fairly short. Unfortunately, there are many rewards that are worth putting up with lame missions. Players will find themselves running back and forth for much of the game just to find cool content.

Sice is one of my favorite characters, even though she fits so many anime cliches.
Sice is one of my favorite characters, even though she fits so many anime cliches.

Visually, Type-0 has an anime inspired look and feel, with detailed character models and effects. Compared to previous Final Fantasy games, Type-0 is much darker in tone, even though it pays homage to several other games in the franchise. Violence drives much of the drama with characters dying on screen with sprays of blood. Classic Final Fantasy creatures are also given an interesting spin and feel more dangerous.

The summons of Type-0 are awesome in design and execution.
The summons of Type-0 are awesome in design and execution.

Class Zero’s warriors each have unique animations that flow well and look great. The choreography alone is worth praise as monsters are chopped up, blasted away, or lulled to sleep by pleasant flute music. Summons still hold up as some of the best moments of the action as powerful allies burst into existence. These beings are also controllable, adding to their presence on the battlefield. The way these creatures are designed are always interesting to compare to past iterations.
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One of the biggest drawbacks to the game is its graphical issues. Action is fast paced, fluid, and cinematic, but the game’s camera has a hard time keeping up. This is especially true when trying to manually pan the camera, as many assets simply disappear in an attempt to have motion blur. I also found the game to be hurtful to the eyes in long stretches, making it hard to play.

Please Square Enix, fix the frame issues.
Please Square Enix, fix the frame issues.

Adding to this is the dreadful pace to the game. The first hour or so of play is filled with gorgeous cutscenes, tons of action, and culminates in the summoning of Odin. These moments set the stage way too high for the rest of the game. Players must prepare for missions by poking around the world in search of events.

The opening segment of the game also forces me to mention another problem I have with Type-0: character development is almost non-existent. This is a game with fourteen playable characters and not a one gets any sort of development in the first three hours. The driving drama of the story is the death of a completely unknown character. Even though the scene is tragic just from its direction, there’s no reason for players to care, unless they’re a Chocobo rights activist. Even after about ten hours of play, I have no idea who any of the characters in Class Zero are, what their motives are or why they’re together. Even side quests don’t offer those key character details that could make the game great. It’s a shame too, cause many character interactions, like those between Ace and Mother or Rem and Machina, ooze possibilities.

I WANT TO KNOW THEIR STORY IN A PALATABLE WAY!
I WANT TO KNOW THEIR STORY IN A PALATABLE WAY!

Before giving my final thoughts, I’d like to take this chance to clarify that I have not finished Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.

Many of the technical complaints I have about the game could, and hopefully will, be fixed in a patch. There could also be more character development towards the end, however, the game’s awesome opening left me with a lot of expectations that have yet to be matched. I want to love this game for its style, darker tone, and fluent combat engine, but its flaws make that impossible.The only thing keeping me playing is the art style.

Well, the trailers were cool. . .
Well, the trailers were cool. . .

In fact, I had lost faith in Final Fantasy after buying Final Fantasy XIII the day it released. Type-0 was a glimmer of hope for me, but I was let down. Luckily, the demo packaged with Type-0 rekindles that hope. Final Fantasy XV looks to be one of the greatest games of all time, but I won’t know for sure until it comes out.

Chichiri-and-Izana-Type-0-HD

Even considering its origins as a portable title, Final Fantasy Type-0 gets six dead chocobos out of ten.