Z-View: Winter World #2 by Dixon & Guice from IDW

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Winter World created by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino.

Winter World #2 published by IDW Publishing.

Writer: Chuck Dixon

Artist: Butch Guice

Colorist: Diego Rodriguez

Letterer: Robbie Robbins

 

The saga of Scully and Wynn continues as they search for a fabled village by the sea where rumors tell of a warm heaven in this cold hell. Wynn is still in search of her parents and the village of La Niña may be the place they were heading when she was abandoned as a child. Scully just wants to find enough fuel to keep their new vehicle on the move. But will they find death at the end of the icy road?

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Chuck Dixon continues to write a story that moves.
  • Butch Guice’s art coupled with Diego Rodriguez’s colors is as Burgess Meredith would say, “a ting of beauty!”
  • Wynn is a kid who has had to grow up too fast and Dixon never loses sight of that.

The Bad:

  • I was expecting more action at the canal crossing, but Dixon is good at keeping us guessing.
  • Stepping into a trip wire when you’re sneaking in a place.
  • “The man is of no use to us.  We might use the girl…”

The Ugly:

  • “Scully tell me you have a plan.  I want to hear it.  I bet it’s good.”  “Sorry.  I’m so very sorry Wynn.”

 

Winter World #2 is for mature readers due to violence.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Who Killed the Black Dahlia? A Look at the Most Compelling Suspect!

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Who Killed the Black Dahlia?  A Look at the Most Compelling Suspect by Cheryl Eddy is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in the 68-year-old unsolved case.

Here are a few tidbits….

It was 68 years ago this week that the body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was found mutilated and sliced in half in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. Newspapers would give the victim of this crime an unforgettable nickname: the Black Dahlia.

Clearly, someone so maniacal would be easy to track down, right?… Clearly not.

Last year, retired LAPD detective turned private investigator turned author Steve Hodel made a splash with fresh evidence in the case against his late father, Dr. George Hodel…  Hodel believes his father killed Short in the basement while the rest of the family was out of town, having confirmed the dates aligned with Short’s murder…(and his father) was actually on the LAPD’s shortlist after the crime…

Source: i09.

Top 10 Biggest Design Flaws In The U.S.S. Enterprise

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I got a kick out of Charlie Jane Anders and Diana Biller’s Top 10 Biggest Design Flaws In The U.S.S. Enterprise. 

Here are my top three design flaws using Anders and Biller’s list…

9. No Seatbelts

We get it. It’s fun to watch a dozen or so people get tossed around a bridge during a battle sequence — definitely more fun than just seeing a camera shake up and down while all the crew members remain safely strapped into their seats. But seriously, you’d think that after enough concussions caused by people falling out of their chairs, the Enterprise designers would just add some damn restraints. Class action lawsuit, anyone?

6. Only One Transporter Room

Especially early on in the series, when they don’t seem to have shuttlecraft yet, this is a serious problem. There’s only one transporter room, and if you put that out of action, nobody gets on or off the ship. In “The Enemy Within,” the transporter conks out, and Sulu and his team are screwed, notes Altman. Also, in “Wink of an Eye,” Kirk fiddles with one component on the transporter, and the Enterprise is cut off from the planet’s surface. The ship’s blueprints actually show more than one transporter room, but on screen there only appears to be one, and it’s easy to put out of action.

3. Super easy to make the Enterprise blow up

This is a big one. In “That Which Survives,” we discover you can make the Enterprise explode by screwing around with the bypass valve in the matter-antimatter integrator room, “adjacent to main engineering — which is easy to get in and out of, especially for beautiful women without midriffs,” says Altman. And here’s one area where the Enterprise-D is definitely not superior: there are at least a half dozen warp core breaches listed on Memory Alpha. So why aren’t there better fail-safes in place? The crew was usually left to try to either eject the core, which wasn’t a particularly reliable procedure, or to separate the starship. If they managed to do one of those things and prevent a cataclysmic explosion, they would still only be left with impulse and battery power. Surely there must be a better way. (More pleasant, but potentially just as lethal: the Warp Core Breach cocktail.)

Check out the full list for more Star Trek  fun.

Source: io9.

Z-View: Winter World #1 by Dixon & Guice from IDW

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Winter World created by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino.

Winter World  #1 published by IDW Publishing.

Writer: Chuck Dixon

Artist: Butch Guice

Colorist: Diego Rodriguez

Letterer: Robbie Robbins

 

Winter is coming early! All new stories based on the Chuck Dixon/Jorge Zaffino classic! The apocalyptic international comics sensation of an Earth turned to an icy hell is back with Dixon returning to script and Butch Guice doing some of the best work of his illustrious artistic career as they take on the bleak and frozen future. Follow Scully and Wynn from their icy home of Wintersea into a killing wasteland where the coldest place is the human heart.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • The writing by Chuck Dixon is on point.
  • Butch Guice’s art has never looked better.
  • Diego Rodriguez’s colors enhance the art without being showy.

The Bad:

  • “No one remembers not being hungry.  Not being cold.”
  • “The motor is cooked.”
  • The attack at the bottom of page 17 is beautiful to look at and scary as anything you can imagine.
  • “Here comes the dead end I was talking about.”

The Ugly:

  • “We’re on fire, Scully.”

 

Winter World  #1  is for readers twelve and up due to some violence.  It should appeal to fans of Mad Max, Apocalyptic movies, and lovers of great art and writing.

Rating: 5 out of 5

What Song Will Be Played at Your Funeral?

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It was determined that the song for my memorial would be We’ll Meet Again by Vera Lynn…

Some of the lyrics from “We’ll Meet Again” that will be about your life: “They’ll be happy to know / That as you saw me go / I was singin’ this song”

When people hear this song at your funeral, they will know you wanted them to celebrate your life and feel at ease about your passing. Your life will have been spent caring for others and being optimistic, so they will follow your lead.

We’ll Meet Again is bit old fashioned but I think the theme is right.  If you want to have some fun, take the quiz and determine the song for you!

Source: PlayBuzz.

Z-View: Quatermain – Ghosts of the Nzadi #2 by Davis and Silva

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Quatermain: Ghosts of the Nzodi #2 was published by Blue Water Comics.

Writter: Scott Davis

Artist: Hoyt Silva

Letterer: David Hopkins

Myth, magic and reality start to blur as Quatermain continues his quest to find the body of his son, and faces his greatest foe; his own guilt. But time is running short and Quatermain must track down a powerful shaman that might hold the key to the mysterious were-creatures… or might be there creator. This is Chapter 2: Usiku Viumbe (“Night Creatures”) of new epic adventure serial featuring the original “super” hero-Allan Quatermain.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Hoyt Silva was the selling point for me. Hoyt did the pencils, inks and colors.
  • Nice twist on the last page.

The Bad:

  • There’s too much myth and magic for my taste.  I wanted Quatermain to be action and adventure!
  • “I’m so sorry.  I failed you… I failed you both.”  Later in the story, “… And I would do it all the same again.” Huh?

The Ugly:

  • That big, face-painted native that looks like Kamala sure speaks English well.

Quatermain: Ghosts of the Nzodi #2 is for readers twelve and up due to some violence.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Gravedigger by Mills and Burchett Going to Action Lab Entertainment!

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Chris Mills announced this week that Gravedigger, the brilliant crime comic that he does with Rick Burchett will begin appearing from Action Lab Entertainment‘s Danger Zone later this year.

Regular readers know that I am a huge fan of both Mills and Burchett [separately] and Gravedigger is one of my all-time favorite comic characters.  Hopefully Action Lab will get enough sales of  two existing Gravedigger sagas – The Scavengers and The Predators to call for a nice hardcover and more Gravedigger yarns.

You can believe that I will keep you posted.

Z-View: Quatermain – Ghosts of the Nzadi #1 by Davis and Silva

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Quatermain: Ghosts of the Nzodi #1 was published by Blue Water Comics.

Writter: Scott Davis

Artist: Hoyt Silva

Letterer: David Hopkins

 

While travelling on a somber mission to bury his recently deceased son, legendary hero Allan Quatermain is forced to confront both inner demons…and bestial undead ones too. When the body of his son disappears, he jumps headlong on a quest to reclaim the body and unburies several secrets some believe best left hidden. Woven into historical landscape of the brutal Belgian rule of the Congo, this new Quatermain adventure travels into the heart of darkness and remains true to the exploratory spirit of the original HR Haggard novels.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Hoyt Silva was the selling point for me.  Hoyt did the pencils, inks and colors.
  • Nice cover!
  • “Oi Frenchy! The lady has an opinion.”
  • Mixing fictional characters with historical characters.
  • “Reality is a lot less flattering.”

The Bad:

  • Henry Morton Stanley.
  • Finding your son’s casket is empty and there is a lot of zombie talk going around.

The Ugly:

  • “He’s lost a considerable amount of blood.”

 

Quatermain: Ghosts of the Nzodi #1  is for readers  twelve and up due to some violence.

Rating: 3 out of 5

“The Expanse” Trailer — Starring Thomas Jane

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I just heard about The Expanse — a ten episode series starring Thomas Jane.  Here’s how the Syfy Channel describes it…

A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expansefollows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

This hour-long, ten episode series is based on the popular New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey). Abraham and Franck will be show producers.

Count me in.

Z-View: Men of Wrath #3 by Aaron and Garney

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Men of Wrath is a five issue mini-series created by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney published by Marvel.


Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Ron Garney

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

Ira Wrath is ready to pull the trigger on the last remaining member of his family, and bring the story of his bloodline to a violent end.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Ron Garney’s art.
  • Love the cover!
  • “I still never seen no ocean.”
  • “Now tell me little lady… was I lyin’ then?”
  • “Wasn’t always a preacher. Not in Phu Bau in ’68.”

The Bad:

  • Ira Rath is so bad he is willing to kill his own son for money.
  • It’s a long time since ’68.

The Ugly:

  • The history of the Rath family.

 

Men of Wrath #3 is for mature readers due to mature language and violence.

Rating:

Z-View: Rasputin #3 by Grecian and Rossmo

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Rasputin is an on-going series created by Alex Grecian & Riley Rossmo published by Image.

Writer: Alex Grecian

Artist: Riley Rossmo

Colorist: Ivan Plascencia

Letterer: Thomas Mauer

Young Rasputin has the power to heal people, to give them energy, and to make them feel better than they ever have before. The ladies do not complain.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Riley Rossmo’s art continues to impress.
  • “You do not only give life, you exchange it.”

The Bad:

  • Not knowing what the giant monk did to your friends and agreeing to take him with you on your journey.
  • This issue was a little too supernatural/metaphysical for my tastes.

The Ugly:

  • “I have always known what my friends would do to me… and how this would end.”

 

I enjoyed Rasputin 3 and look forward to future issues.

Rating: 4 out of 5