Magen Cubed's Blog, page 16

Comic book review: Infinity #6

All roads lead to this! The over-sized conclusion of the Marvel Summer event! The heroes of Earth versus the forces of Thanos!  From writer Jonathan Hickman and artists Jim Cheung and Dustin Weaver.

Infinity draws to a close in this oversized issue, seeing the Avengers’ return to Earth (with help from the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Imperial Guard) to stop Thanos. Taking back The Peak, coalition forces are able to punch through Thanos’ defenses and touch down outside of Orollan, Thane’s Inhuman birthplace. Meanwhile, the Illuminati are at the Necropolis, trying to save Black Bolt from Supergiant as she readies to activate their doomsday weapons. Just as things look grim, Maximus the Mad and Lockjaw arrive to save the day, killing Supergiant and ensuring Black Bolt’s rescue.

At Orollan, Thanos prepares to kill his last heir. The Avengers arrive to stop him, dropping Hulk onto the scene. Soon Hulk is overwhelmed in the skirmish with Proxima Midnight and Corvis Glaive, but Captains America and Marvel arrive with Thor and Hyperion to provide back-up. Looking on helplessly, Thane is held captive by Ebony Maw, made to take a side while Earth’s heroes do battle with his father. To help and protect others, as he had in the past, or to give in to his true nature. As the battle rages, Ebony Maw releases Thane and tells him to make his choice. He uses his powers – from one hand, death, and from the other, living death – to encase Thanos in an amber cube.

The day seemingly saved, the Avengers regroup with the Illuminati. Black Bolt and Maximus abscond to the Himalayas, the site of the now-fallen Attilan, revealing that Black Bolt had always planned to use the Terrigen Bomb to usher in a new Inhuman age. While the Avengers help to rebuild in the aftermath of Thanos’ attack, the Ex Nihili, Skrull and Shi’ar resolve to begin anew, even as the Kree remain wary. Annihilus assumes control of a razed planet to claim it for his own, and Thane leaves to study under Ebony Maw and become something far worse than his father could have anticipated. In the end, Iron Man swears to the rest of the Illuminati to keep their true plans secret from Captain America, and they take Thanos to the Necropolis to prepare for the next menace awaiting them.

While a strong issue that brings this event to a sweeping and satisfying close, as a conclusion to the series, it does suffer from many of the problems that have plagued this storyline. Hickman has yet to resolve how the Builder and Thanos storylines intertwine, beyond Thanos discovering the doomsday weapons. With the Builders now brushed aside, ignored since their thrashing at the hands of Captain Universe, they appear to be largely forgotten, their storyline closed prematurely in order to focus on Thanos. The world is still ending and, despite the victory of the Avengers and their alien allies, it all feels a little pointless as the Illuminati simply shifts gears to the larger threat. Ultimately, Infinity feels a bit like a transitional storyline rather than a complete narrative, a preview for the next big event.

Even for these shortcomings, Infinity #6 is still an enjoyable read from a fairly enjoyable series.  On its own merit, it stands as one of the strongest of the event, with some memorable moments and great imagery. Hickman delivers a compelling script, Cheung and Weaver bringing it to the page with dynamism and strength of storytelling and design. This issue answers as many questions as it needs to satisfy its premise, leaving others unresolved as Marvel gears up for Inhumanity in December. While not completely satisfying for many readers, who want to see more closure in this storyline, it forces us to come back next month to see what happens. I have a feeling that was what Marvel wanted all along.

Comic book review: Hawkeye #14

THAT THING THAT HAPPENED TO KATE IN THE ANNUAL IS TOTALLY FOLLOWED UP ON! This one has it all! Characters! Plot! Story! Dialogue! Theme! Meaning! Message! Action! A little exposition! Fire! Arrows! Criminals! Neighbors! Large bodies of water! Clients! Cops who don’t care! A system that victimizes the victims! The dog! In a broken town where cynicism and apathy has its claws around the throat of the good and decent, LADY HAWKEYE is the only hero you can trust! By Matt Fraction and Annie Wu.

In this issue, Fraction finally catches up with Kate Bishop after the events of the Hawkeye Annual. Taking a break from Clint’s ongoing problems back home in New York, we get to see how she and Pizzadog are doing in Los Angeles. While Kate is enjoying the change of scenery, she soon runs out of money and options. She needs a job and, relying on her superhero training, tries to freelance as a hero-for-hire. This brings her to her neighbor’s doorstep, an older couple looking to finally tie the knot, to figure out who stole the orchids for their wedding.  The seemingly straightforward case grows increasingly strange as Kate tries (and fails) to work with one local detective and establishes a weird rapport with another, whom she meets in the cat aisle at the grocery store.

After a strange series of events, Kate is able to nab the culprit after a hit-and-run. While unable to retrieve the stolen orchids, she’s able to offer some closure to the couple, who go on to have their dream wedding regardless. Just when everything seems to be going right, the grocery store detective turns out to be some kind of specter or a figment of Kate’s imagination. Whether a hallucination resulting from a possible concussion, or just a friendly face when she needed it the most, Kate remains unsure. In the end, however, the orchid theft is tied back to Madame Masque, who’s still looking for a rematch with Kate.

This issue features another solid script from Fraction, as well as pencils by Annie Wu, who returns to Hawkeye to cover Kate’s solo stories. Her artwork perfectly complements Fraction’s script, capturing the balance of action and humor, while still maintaining the inherent noir sensibility of the title. Kate is a somewhat bungling detective, but a detective nonetheless, and the tone of the artwork brings that home through the strength of conscious composition and design. The brightened palettes from Hollingsworth successfully lighten the tone of the story but still preserve the visual cohesion of the book. This is very much a West Coast story, far removed from the dreary purples and grays of Clint’s story back in New York, and very much a Kate Bishop story, too. Everything about it works.

Overall, Hawkeye #14 is a pleasant break from the title’s recent darker tone, and serves to widen the book’s scope. Fun and funny, with a few tender moments interspersed throughout, this issue cleverly brings us up to speed on Kate’s misadventures and hints to future exploits. A solid read from start to finish.

Comic book review: Avengers #23

INFINITY TIE-IN “AVENGERS UNIVERSE: VI” The Avengers versus the Black Order. The battle for Earth moves planet-side. Thanos takes center stage. From Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu.

Fresh from their victory over the Builders, the Avengers and coalition forces unite once more to bring the fight to Earth and stop Thanos. The issue opens on a private conversation between Captain America and Iron Man, as Iron Man keeps the Illuminati’s plans under wraps. Still maintaining secrecy over Steve’s mind-wipe, Tony seems to be determined to keep all of this hidden from Steve. Just how this plays out remains to be seen as we’ll next see Tony and the Illuminati in the upcoming issue of New Avengers.

Meanwhile, the coalition mounts an attack on The Peak, now under control of the Black Order. Trying to punch their way through Thanos’ defenses, it’s up to the tired and traumatized members of the Avengers and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard to clear the path to Earth. The ensuing skirmishes are tightly scripted by Hickman and wonderfully realized by Yu, capturing the tension and drama of this all-out assault with compelling page design and panel compositions. The narrative tension that Hickman sets up works well here, carried to a visually pleasing fruition through Yu’s sumptuous quality of line. Few artists can make violence look as lovely as Yu, and his work on this title has been a highlight of this event for me.

Culminating in a satisfying final showdown between Ronan the Accuser and Black Dwarf, the last of the Avengers tie-in issues ends with Captain Marvel flying the team back home to take-on Thanos one last time. Another enjoyable issue with a solid script and great art, Avengers #23 helps to bring this event to an entertaining close as Infinity #6 is set to release by the end of November.

Fleshtrap: Pre-order on Amazon today

Hello, everyone. As Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, and your various pagan holidays of choice advance upon us all, I bring glad tidings of stuff you can buy your loved ones this season! My horror novel Fleshtrap is now available for Amazon pre-order, for sale on December 17th. Did you read this book before as an online serial? Do you want to read it again? Do you want to read it for the first time? Do you want to support indie authors and/or very attractive people on the internet? Do you want to send something gross and uncomfortable to your mother-in-law? If you answered yes to any of these questions, keep reading. And even if you answered no, keep reading anyway. I’m going to change your mind.

What is Fleshtrap?

It’s my debut novel from Post-Mortem Press, of course. I wrote it between July 2010 and May 2011. It ran as a free-to-read online serial from October 2011 to May 2012, with sixty-two chapters and an epilogue. But, to be fair, it’s about a lot of things. It’s a book about damage, family secrets, and how trauma can leave scars so deep that they affect the world at large. It’s about Casey Way, a guy who’s been haunted by visions of his dead father for the last twenty years. His father, a pedophile, was murdered by his stepmother Alyona in revenge for abusing Casey’s stepsister Mariska for much of their lives. The trauma of these events have left Casey burdened with guilt, and over time Casey has dealt with almost debilitating insomnia, which causes violent hallucinations of people that he sees with holes cut into their chests. Sure, sometimes he sees these people’s faces on missing persons fliers, but he isn’t about to tell anybody about that part. There’s only so much crazy Casey can really deal with.

What’s the synopsis?

From Amazon.com:

Casey Way has been haunted by visions of his dead pedophile father for the last twenty years, tormented by hazy recollections of his father’s murder at the hands of his stepmother. The trauma has left Casey burdened with guilt, which has manifested in debilitating insomnia and violent hallucinations. As the anniversary of his father s murder approaches, his step-sister Mariska takes him back to the scene of the crime: their childhood home, to confront their past and finally get some closure.

Instead, something follows Casey back out into the world, something ugly, violent, familiar. It begins a vicious spiral of insanity as people around him begin disappearing and dying, hiding behind the faces of Casey s loved ones. Somehow tied to his father s murder, Casey begins digging into his fragmented memories for an answer. What he finds instead brings Casey face-to-face with his greatest fears as he struggles to end the nightmares that have haunted all of their lives.

What’s so different about this book?

Different is such a loaded term, but I’ll play ball. Fleshtrap doesn’t have the most conventional of protagonists, and that was a conscious choice on my part. The plot follows the exploits of Casey, his boyfriend Joel, and Casey’s stepsister Mariska as they try solving this evolving mystery from different angles. They’re complicated people with complicated relationships, and each of them have a lot of baggage to work through over the course of the book. But ultimately this is a story about people who overcome horrifying obstacles in order to defeat monsters, real and imagined, internal and external. Yes, this story is creepy, and yes, this story is a bit gruesome at times, but I wanted this book to be as poignant and painful as it is disturbing. Ultimately I think that’s where its strength lies, and I hope people can appreciate that.

Why should I read it?

It’s horror, but it’s also mystery. It’s a family drama, but it’s also a love story. There’s gore, but there’s also thoughtful discourse on the relationships between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters. I wrote this as the horror story that I wanted to see in the world, a combination of several genres and concepts that people could relate to. I can only hope that others will feel the same way.

Are there any excerpts available online?

Just the little bit of the first chapter that I’ve posted on Tumblr. From the first chapter:

For twenty years Casey Way dreamt without sleeping. He slipped into the spaces between death and waking where his father still walked the streets and behind Casey’s eyelids. There his father met him, in alleyways between city blocks and in the basement beneath the library, tucked into the corners of his apartment and hiding under tables when he wasn’t of mind. It was his father that woke Casey now, dreaming of David Way’s face as raw meat, lips peeled from straight teeth and nostrils flayed open to the bone. He sat down beside Casey on the three-twenty-five cross-town bus with the squeak of plastic upholstery. From his seat, Casey watched sunlight filter dirty-gray through the sweat-filmed glass, a halo around his father’s missing face. He felt nothing, just the hole his father left there.

And the middle of the book:

Casey licked his dry lips and reached out to trace the edges of the padlock, sealing the box shut as though it had never been broken. He regretted his decision not to call Joel. Joel would have had something good to say, something warm and soft and reassuring. He would have made this alright. Now there was no calling him, because Casey knew Joel had no answers that he couldn’t find for himself inside the box.

Retrieving a butter-knife from the silverware drawer, he pried at the lock, twisted the blade in the shoddy catch to lever it open. The lock gave out in a jerk and scrape, and holding a breath he pulled back the lid. The smell of rotting meat struck Casey first, like the stink of an animal carcass left in the sun. Inside the metal box was a lining of sweating flesh, thin and heavily veined by blue arteries. Fingernails and tiny canines like a baby’s milk-teeth flanked all sides of the box in staggered rows, circling the throat at its center. A wide gullet of corded musculature, flapping open and shut in a wet slap of flesh and smelling like dead animal and intestinal juices. Slap, gurgle, sigh.

Gagging, Casey slammed the box shut and scrambled back across the kitchen, tripping, falling. The room lurched and narrowed his field of vision into a motion-sick tunnel.  His pulse beat against in his temple until his sight cleared, grabbing the edge of the counter to drag himself upright. He disregarded the decorative pot of spatulas and spoons that he had sent across the floor, grabbing instead for a kitchen knife from Joel’s cutlery set and brandishing it at the box.  The box didn’t move. The sounds of its digesting gullet thinned into a tight sucking noise. Another sigh and the box sounded pleased with itself.

Sound good? Good. Pre-order your copy on Amazon.com and receive 25% off. It’ll make a great holiday gift. And by great, I mean awkward. But, hey, it’s the thought that counts.

 

This Week in Comics: Interviews, Reviews, and Fun-Stuff

You want to read about comics? Good. You want to read what I write about comics? No? Then why are you here? Whatever. Here’s a round-up of all my recent contributions to the field of comic book journalism. From Captain America to Sex Criminals, witches to World War II.

Why You Should Be Reading Sex Criminals

Sometimes you just read a book that’s too good to put down. Sex Criminals from writer Matt Fraction and artist Chip Zdarsky is one of those books. Don’t let the cheeky title fool you, the warning on the back of the book that offers a new disclaimer every issue. At first glance its slick and humorous packaging may seem flippant, the flat figures on its covers teasing sex cloaked pop sensibility, but Sex Criminals is a thoughtful gem from cover to cover. It follows Suzie, a librarian who discovered during puberty that having sex stops time, and Jon, a man she meets at a party who shares her love of literature as well as her particular time-freezing sexual quirk. Then they start robbing banks. Yes, that’s the book. No, I’m not kidding.

A Return to the Jungle with Mike Heimos: Fever Ridge #4

IDW takes us back to the jungle in the latest issue of Fever Ridge: A Tale of MacArthur’s Jungle War. Penned by Mike Heimos with artwork by Nick Runge, this unique historical comic focuses on the U.S. military campaigns in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II, topics not often broached in mainstream WWII fiction. This series successfully takes on the familiar conventions of the genre and infuses them with literary sensibilities and elements of magical realism, creating a layered, evolving narrative that demands revisiting with each new issue. Heimos plays the long-game in crafting a rich and well-researched story, while Runge sees it through with dynamism and an incredible strength of page design.

Halloween Reading: The Witching Hour #1

Continuing its recent efforts to revive classic anthologies, Vertigo’s The Witching Hour is a brand new collection of horror from some of the most talented names in today’s comic book industry. Originally published from 1969 to 1978, this iteration of the anthology features nine original supernatural tales of witchcraft and magic across a wide swathe of genres. From sci-fi to speculative fiction, haunting stories of child abuse to campy horror fun, this anthology covers a lot of ground with inventive storytelling and compelling artwork. These witches come from all walks of life, and have something to offer just about any reader interested in some timely Halloween reading.

Captain America, The Odd War of Dimension Z: A Review

Rebooting after Ed Brubaker’s acclaimed run on the title, the newly rebranded Marvel NOW Captain America from writer Rick Remender and artist John Romita, Jr. recently wrapped up its first arc, The Odd War of Dimension Z. In a story that spanned ten issues and twelve years, this bold new chapter in Captain America’s enduring saga saw the rise of a surprising new status quo. Steve Rogers finds himself abducted by Armin Zola and whisked away to the bizarre wasteland of Dimension Z, with only the principles he learned from his mother Sarah to keep him going. A stark departure from that Sentinel of Liberty we know, he’s stripped of his usual power and authority, haggard and battle-scarred after over a decade on the run, without the luxury of superhero friends and A-List guest stars to bail him out. Now a single father, he’s charged with caring for his son Ian, the heir he rescued from Zola’s clutches, raising him to the best of his limited ability in the face of constant danger. Suffice to say, this is definitely not your parents’ Captain America.

 

Comic book review: Captain America #13

The main event! Captain America vs. Nuke with the lives of thousand, and a nation’s future, on the line. The Iron Nail rises again! The first appearance of Captain America’s newest arch-nemesis is not to be missed! From Rick Remender and Nic Klein.

As the Loose Nuke storyline continues, Remender takes another detour, this time to 1969 to delve into the backstory of U.S./Chinese tensions. Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan and Winter Soldier all make appearances in this dramatic flashback sequence that further develops the present-day SHIELD’s growing problems. The main story follows Sam’s attempts to steer Steve clear of Nuke’s vicious rampage across Nrosvekistan, trying to give him a chance to heal after losing Sharon and Ian. Maria Hill, however, is running out of time and options in keeping the situation off the media’s radar. Once word gets out that a nationalistic zealot is killing people overseas there will be little she can do to contain the controversy, and SHIELD needs Captain America to get in front of the issue and take Nuke down.

With no other recourse, Steve and Sam are dropped into Nrosvekistan to take Nuke on. All Steve can do is try to prevent any further bloodshed, and try to curb the inevitable anti-American backlash. Meanwhile, a journalist on the ground is documenting these attacks from a safe vantage, looking to expose the senseless slaughter and SHIELD’s ensuing media blackout. Steve tries to clear out of the soldiers and civilians but Nuke is unrelenting, using any and all means to inflict as much damage as possible. The issue ends on a dramatic four-panel page of rising flames, as Steve buys some time for evacuating soldiers, and Nuke levels his Gatling gun for another spray of bullets.

Remender delivers another solid script in this arc, bracketed by action with some brief character-oriented scenes in the middle. I enjoyed seeing Sam try to talk to Jet during her training session, decidedly uneasy about the surviving Zola’s relationship with Steve. Jet is brusque but interesting to watch as she urges Steve to let go of his past, trying to exorcise the demons of Dimension Z. For all of this, Steve feels remarkably absent from the issue, as he spends this entire section asleep while Sam, Maria and Jet talk about him. I understand that Steve’s not emotionally present as he struggles to reconcile the last twelve years, and holding him at a distance from the story while others try to sort out his life for him does make sense. However, this makes Steve’s appearance toward the end in the fight with Nuke feel a bit abrupt, so I’m not sure how well it works.

From an illustrative standpoint, the arc shifts gears slightly as Klein takes the artistic reins on this issue, stepping in after Carlos Pacheco. His style is visually compatible with Pacheco’s work from the last two issues, with the help of White’s unifying color palettes, and doesn’t feel like too much of a break. Still, a lot of his panels feel pretty static, lacking the sense of motion and emotional resonance I’ve become accustomed to with this arc. There are some interesting page layouts peppered throughout the issue, keeping the plot moving at a good clip, however the better work is loaded toward the end of the issue. Klein certainly gets the job done, but I’m not won over just yet.

Overall, this is a solid issue. Some of the narrative and visual mechanics feel a bit wonky, but it’s an enjoyable installment nonetheless. I’m already looking forward to the next issue to see how all of this plays out.

Comic book review: Avengers #22

INFINITY TIE-IN – “AVENGERS UNIVERSE: V” The Avengers return to our Solar System. The battle for Earth starts in the heavens. The Black Order makes their move. From writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Leinil Francis Yu.

After being made aware of Thanos’ plot in Infinity #5, the Avengers shift gears from the Builders to address the threat at home. With the coalition preparing to defend Earth, the tone of the book changes as the effects of the war settle over the team, from blooming romantic entanglements to questions of fate and faith. The differences in personality and leadership play out here in a well-deserved break from the space-farring battle of this event, making for an interesting change of pace and focus. Meanwhile, from The Peak, Black Dwarf mounts a defense against the coalition as they secure strategic advantage on Titan.

A welcomed shift from conflict and warfare, this issue serves as a solid connecting story in the transition from the Builder threat to the defense of Earth. On its own it is a little awkward to read, as it needs to be held against the larger storyline for context, but Hickman gets the job done with some solid scripting. I enjoyed seeing the fallout of the Builder war and its effects on the team, such as the exchanges between Eden and Captains America and Marvel, and later with Thor. It’s nice to get these glimpses of team dynamics peppered throughout the event, which have been largely seen in tie-ins. I can see the argument that it comes off as a bit jarring, especially the Cannonball/Smasher romantic interlude in the beginning. Given the stressful nature of the superhero business, however, spontaneous hook-ups are bound to be pretty frequent.

As always, Yu’s artwork really sells the book. His pencils, with the color palettes of Gho and Curiel and Alanguilan’s inks, carry the story through dynamism and strength of design. The full-page splash of the coalition ships arriving on Titan, which is paralleled with the closing scene of the ships making their way to Earth, are some of the visual highlights of the issue. They make great use of scale and motion, developed by lovely coloring and the implied glow of engine thrusters to create really striking imagery. It’s the little things like this, from the innate sense of power in these scenes of space-travel, to the movement and vitality of battle, that really pop out issue after issue.

Like Infinity #5, this issue serves as a connective piece, a transition into the last leg of the event. It has a strong script from Hickman with some nice character-driven scenes, well-executed by Yu and the rest of the creative team. A solid read all around.

Comic book review: Infinity #5

The Avengers Universe. The Heroes of Earth rally to defeat Thanos. The war for Earth begins. From writer Jonathan Hickman and artists Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver.

Buoyed by their recent victories, this issue opens with dramatic scenes of conquest as coalition forces defeat the Builders on all occupied worlds. Here we see Hickman’s commitment to the symbolism he established in the early issues of Avengers, as on every liberated world they erect an A to stand as a symbol of their triumph. An obvious parallel to the allied victories in Iwo Jima during World War II, the coalition mark these planets as Avengers Worlds and get down to celebrating, in a brief but humorous break from the action. However, the merriment is short-lived as the Avengers are told that Earth has fallen in their absence and Thanos is in Wakanda, searching for his son.

Meanwhile, as Thanos tortures Black Bolt for access to the Illuminati’s planet-destroying weapons, Ebony Maw captures Thane. He places the newly-minted Inhuman in a suit to dampen his powers, gifting him to Thanos for execution. With the Avengers on their way home to save Earth, the Illuminati returns to Wakanda with the help of Maximus to strike back against Thanos and retake the Necropolis. Everything is about to come to a head, as all the major players find themselves on Earth again, and it doesn’t look pretty for Thanos.

In an overall satisfying end to the Builder conflict, Hickman delivers a solid and well-paced script. As this event winds down, I’m glad that Thanos has finally made it on the Avengers’ radar and both of these storylines are coming together. Still, I would have liked to see a little more about what’s going to happen with the Builders. Did Captain Universe kill all of them? Where there no survivors, except for the one that limped away in the recent issue of New Avengers? It just feels a little anti-climactic for this vast and unrelenting army to just disappear from the story with no apparent corollaries, given that she did wipe out an entire species. I haven’t yet read all the tie-ins this week, so perhaps there’s something to do with this issue there, but it felt like a bit of a misstep. I also would have liked to see more of Thane, who is a little underdeveloped at this point, but what we’re given of his scenes with Ebony Maw gets the job done.

As always, the respective artworks of Opena and Weaver are dynamic and engaging. Their styles complement one another, meshing well from segment to segment to carry the book to a visually satisfying conclusion. The opening tableau of battle scenes was especially lovely, with great panel compositions and a beautiful sense of motion. As ham-fisted as the flag-raising scene could have been, it reads as composed and meaningful through the strength of page design and scale. To boot, Ponsor’s color palettes help to successfully unify the pencils in a strong and consistent reading experience.

Infinity #5 is another solid issue in this enjoyable event. Not the best chapter overall, but a good transition issue as the series comes to a close. Strong scripting and great artwork all around.

Horror, Video Games, and You

With it being close to Halloween, and with me being a horror writer and all that, it’s pretty safe to assume that I’m thinking about horror. The aesthetics of horror, the nature of the genre, the evolution of the genre across different mediums and platforms — the usual creepy business. Right now I’m taking a bit of a step back from my own horror projects to work on my superhero fiction novel series, but that doesn’t mean the genre isn’t on my mind when I’m looking to future books. With that said, some of my recent research and internet travelings have led me to a better appreciation of horror in video games.

So, as you can imagine, as a kid I grew up playing a lot of horror games of all different stripes. Doom? Yup. Doom II? Absolutely. Galerians? Yes. The Silent Hill series? Sure. The Fatal Frame series? Alone in the Dark? A bunch of others I’m probably forgetting? You get the idea. Unfortunately, a few years back I developed a really bad case of motion sickness and equilibrium problems that kept me from playing any of my favorite games. The threat of puking every time I loaded Doom just didn’t  sit well with me, so I abandoned these titles for safer, less nauseating alternatives like The Sims series. But over the years I really missed horror games and wanted to get back into things, relegated to the sidelines watching developer conferences and trade expos instead of playing.

Recently I discovered the world of Youtube Let’s Plays, recorded play-throughs of games across various genres and platforms by gamers of all skill levels and backgrounds. It’s a fun way to experience games without playing them yourself, which, if you’re like me and they make you puke, is kind of a blessing. Getting into Let’s Plays, I’m now reacquainted with the genre I missed so much through various Youtube personalities and video gaming bloggers who cover every square inch of horror gaming. From the history and controversy of certain games, to full play-throughs of unknown indie horror titles, it’s been a good way to expose myself to horror in the video game medium, as well as get a look at some of the innovations coming out of indie developers.

So, if you’re like me and you like your video games with a side of creepy, here’s a list of my favorite Youtube channels.

SomeOrdinaryGamers

Offering extensive play-throughs of cool little indie horror games, creepypasta reviews, and entertaining commentary on various other games and genres, this channel is one of my favorites. There’s a little bit of everything on this one, and it’s definitely worth checking out. If nothing else, just watch the above play-through of Imscared, which is one of the most deceptively simple, inventive and unsettling games I’ve ever encountered. You can find their videos here.

Harshly Critical

Local to me here in Texas, Harshly Critical posts new videos almost every day of Let’s Plays covering a wide variety of games. From big well-known franchise titles to intriguing indie games I would’ve never otherwise heard of, I really look forward to his posts. He’s a pretty bright guy with an English/writing background and a lot of his commentary is spot-on. That and watching him freak out is hilarious, so don’t judge me. You can find his videos on his channel.

Creepy Gaming with Mullet Mike

Hands down my favorite channel, Mullet Mike covers the history of creepy controversies, Easter Eggs, and other weirdness through video game history. He also covers creepypastas and internet urban legends, and posts thoughtful reviews of horror games like Slender: The Eight Pages. He does his research and really cares about what he’s putting out there, balancing humor and due diligence to come up with great videos. He also has the best Arkansas accent on Youtube, which doesn’t hurt either. So if you’re interested in the creepiness of your favorite video games, Mullet Mike is your man. You can watch his videos here.

Comic book review: New Avengers #11

INFINITY TIE-IN – “BUILDING WORLDS.” The Illuminati travel to another Earth during an incursion. Thanos in Necropolis. The Builders on Earth. From Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato.

With another incursion breaking the horizon in Australia, the Illuminati races to deal with the next threat as Thanos wages war on Wakanda. In an unexpected about-face from what we’ve seen of the Builders in the spacefaring battles of Infinity and Avengers, an Aleph appears in Australia and proposes a conference with the team. The Illuminati soon finds themselves whisked away to a Builder ship in another universe, meeting with a group of Builders and Gardeners offering help. We learn that this group is part of a survey mission of sorts, moving through the Superflow to follow the breakdown of the multiverse and track the incursion as it rippled between their dimension and 616. After one of the Gardeners rids Doctor Strange of the psychic leftovers of his recent possession by Ebony Maw, the team comes around, accepting the offer. The Builder explains that his race isn’t wrong about destroying Earth, the nexus of the incursion, but that war isn’t the answer. If the Illuminati hopes to stop the incursions and save what’s left of the universe, they have to destroy all Earths across the multiverse, including their own.

With Thanos marching on the Necropolis and this alternate group of Builders guiding the team to destroy the world, the stakes of this event are reaching staggering heights. Even for it, Hickman steers this issue to an intriguing conclusion with his strong scripting and a good balance of narrative scope. The arrival of these kinder, gentler Builders makes for an interesting twist, and plays well into the events of Avengers #21. This meeting successfully sheds some light on the mentality of their kind, which has been seen as merciless and hostile up until this point, and provides a little diversity for this otherwise antagonistic species. How all of this shakes out, however, including the effects of Black Bolt’s Terrigenesis Bomb, is still pretty up in the air. It raises a lot of questions on just how the heroes of the story (or perhaps anti-heroes, given some recent events) can still save their world, especially when the only way to save the universe at large is to destroy Earth. If nothing else, it certainly makes for an engaging read.

As always, Deodato’s pencils really sell this story with a consistent strength of page design and panel composition. There’s really nothing I can say that I haven’t already before about earlier issues, but I’ll say it again anyway. His sense of scope and framing in action sequences really makes the narrative pop, with his use of dynamic panel transitions and smart layout choices. Still he nicely tempers this energy with the tension of his character interactions, evoking a great deal of emotional subtly and quiet dignity with his treatment of the principal cast. Well-complemented by Martin’s great color palettes, it’s just really lovely work all the way around.

Swinging for the fences with its cosmic ramifications, New Avengers #11 is pretty successful in raising the stakes for Earth’s last defense while the Avengers battle the enemy abroad. Both Hickman and Deodato deliver a strong read with this one, posing some interesting questions for the Illuminati as this event draws to its conclusion. Good stuff, definitely worth picking up.