Author Archives: Bria

Cosplay Monday: Doctor Doom

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It’s time for another Cosplay Monday and we have to warn you: the following images might be disturbing… because they are JUST THAT CUTE!  (Yeah, we’ve fallen into a bit of a pattern here.)  But hey, when something this awesome appears on your tumblr dash, you just have to share it with everyone!

Enter the great and terrible Victor Von Doom!

Just try and tell me that’s not the cutest thing ever!  To top it off, his costume looks just as good if not even better than the costumes of some adult Doctor Dooms that I’ve seen around conventions.

    

Images from geekfest on Flickr

So You Want To Get Into Comic Books

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So you want to get into comics… but you don’t want to read about the superheroes of the big two companies.  That’s okay because comics can be about so much more than just superheroes!  In fact, there are even more comic book publishers than just Marvel and DC such as Dark Horse, Image, Top Cow, and countless other independent publishers.  The following recommendations are mostly the products of a DC Comics offshoot publisher called Vertigo and represent a range of genres.  They are not, however, the only books in the game.  I also avoided recommending any tie-in comic books but if you are a fan of something like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Star Wars, you could always begin with picking up those comic books as a way to see if you like the medium.  Although I’ve only included a few, I’ll also suggest that if you enjoyed a film or a TV show that was based upon a comic book that you pick up the first volume of that comic and give it a try.

Long story short, comics are great and are about so much more than just the Marvel and DC Superheroes.  There really is a book out there for everyone!  With that said, I’ll just get on with some of my own recommendations.

Watchmen
[Amazon – Comixology]
This is a very predictable way to start the list but Watchmen isn’t one of the best selling comics of all time for nothing.  Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did some amazing work when they created this book.  It’s a sort of alternate history where Nixon never resigned and costumed vigilantes began popping up in the 1940s and 1960s.  The story opens with the investigation into the death of one of those costumer heroes, the Comedian.  Rorschach, a former teammate, figures out that someone is trying to kill their entire team and takes it upon himself to warn them and the tale progresses from there.   Not only is the book a critique of the concept of superheroes but it also presents readers with a few ethical dilemmas and you have to ask yourself if the villain is really a villain or perhaps actually the hero of the piece.  It’s certainly a darker comic than some of the others in this article but oh man is it worth it.

In all honesty, Watchmen is probably one of those comics that you will have to read at some point during your comic reading career because it is just that iconic.  I’ll even go so far to say that this book is essential reading even for people who aren’t into comics.  And then you get to walk around for a week afterwards asking yourself, “Who Watches the Watchmen?”.

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Star Wars Ladies Go Disney!

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Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm was approved today which means one thing: there will only be more Disney-Star Wars mash ups in the future.  We may outwardly roll our eyes but inside, I think we can all agree that if we don’t see Jedi Princess Jasmine or Disney Princess Leia or some combination of Aurora and Amidala in one costume around conventions next year that we shall all be disappointed.  Endless possibilities, folks, endless possibilities.

I’m going to go ahead and publicly blame Brian for this post.  I’m a bit obsessed with messing around with doll makers and he decided that I should share these designs with you.  So the short version is that while I did make these, it’s not my fault.

And with that, I shall simply present my answer to the question “What would the ladies of the Star Wars universe look like if they were part of an animated Disney film?”

Princess Leia Organa Solo

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EU Retrospective: Attack of the Clones

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I took a few days off for Thanksgiving (and so I won’t completely kill Brian with my fast reading speed) but we’re back with more Prequel Era books!  This time, half of the books were obvious tie-ins to books from much further down the timeline and two of them were, well, Attack of the Clones based.  This one’s a bit more of a mixed bag than before.

Rogue Planet
Okay so you know how some people hate Boba Fett and get annoyed by how fans adore him and he gets all these appearances etc etc?  Yeah, that’s me except with Tarkin and the building of the Death Star.  Honestly, what is this obsession that EU authors have with him and the Death Star?  I mean, I know it was a cool looking space station that blew planets up but can we not credit everyone and their mother with its construction?

Overall, the book’s okay but it’s so obviously there for the New Jedi Order that it feels far too much like an extended short story sometimes.  Character-wise, it’s good.  I actually really enjoyed getting some insight into the early years of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s Master/Padawan relationship.  I also rather enjoy Thracia Cho Leem because anyone who can out sass Mace Windu and have his respect deserves your respect.  It’s too bad that she leaves the Jedi Order because wow is he going to need her in about a decade when Shatterpoint happens….  The only thing I’m really not fond of is getting beaten over the head with “Oooo Anakin’s going to fall to the Dark Side one day!”.  I get what Greg Bear was doing but at times, it felt like a bit too much.  Also, I will be forever sad that Anakin didn’t get to keep his ship.  Poor baby.

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So You Want To Get Into Marvel Comics

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So you want to get into Marvel Comics but don’t know where to start.  Well kids, pull up a chair and listen to your Auntie Bria because there are absolutely some good places to begin reading comic books and you won’t even have to go all the way back to the 1960s!*  Will you likely want to jump on Wikipedia and do some research about some aspects of the history of these books or characters?  Probably.  It’s impossible to jump into a medium with such a long history as comic books without there being at least some sort of background you’d like to know more about.  However, I think that each of these suggested titles can be picked up and read with minimal confusion.  Each of these suggestions also takes place in the main Marvel Universe which is also referred to as the 616 verse.  I also tried to refrain from any company wide arcs for reading ease.** With that, enjoy these suggestions and feel free to ask any clarification questions you might have in the comments.

Astonishing X-men
[Amazon – Comixology]
I have fondly referred to this book as my gateway drug to Marvel Comics.  Not only have I used this book to get tons of my friends into comics but I consider it to be one of my favorite runs of all time.  Written by Joss Whedon and with art by John Cassaday, Astonishing X-men takes the X-men back from the black leather street looks (thanks for that, X-men films) and back to their spandex superhero roots.  Mutants have always been treated with at least some fear and distrust by the public and the X-men want to fix this.

Whedon brings together Cyclops/Scott Summers, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Beast/Hank McCoy, and Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, a group of characters who certain have issues with each other but work together as a team because they have to astonish the world.   It’s a story that not only can stand on its own but also one which will introduce you to the characters in a way that will leave you wanting to know more about them.  Although Whedon’s run concluded back in 2007, it’s certainly a book worth reading if you’re interested in the modern X-men.  Plus, as an added bonus, Whedon introduces us to some awesome new characters, namely Hisako Ichiki/Armor and Abigail Brand.  If you have any interest in the X-men at all, this is the book to start with.

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Cosplay Monday: Hogwarts Founders

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For this week’s Cosplay Monday, we’re bringing you perfection in a photo.  No, not actually a character named perfection, just a perfect costume group!  Check out this AMAZING group of Hogwarts Founders: Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin!  I love the unique spins they each put into their costumes while making obvious the character they are portraying.  And Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff all have their special artifacts!  Honestly, I can’t say enough things about how wonderful each and every one of them look.  Job well done!

EU Retrospective: The Phantom Menace

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I finally gained a better grip on my sanity and decided to break these reviews up into slightly smaller chunks so next up are the Phantom Menace related books!   The good news is that not only did I not hate any of them but I actually loved one of them.

Darth Plagueis

I have Sith Fatigue and apparently the only cure is more Sith!  (They’re like cowbell.)  Seriously though, I loved this book!  Granted, I’m a bit of a political junkie but there really wasn’t anything I disliked about this book except that I would’ve loved another one hundred pages of it which really doesn’t count.  I positively loved how James Luceno takes everything that happened in the Prequel Trilogy and weaves together a background for it that not only makes sense but helps flesh out the story.  It’s the Long Con, folks, and it pays off so gosh darn beautifully.  After reading this book, all of the questions I had about Palpatine working both sides of the Clone War were answered.

It’s not just the storyline and the writing that I liked.  I was also rather intrigued by getting to see the characters we know from different angles.  In particular, I enjoyed the parts with Dooku and how his departure from the Jedi Order came about.  Palpatine himself was another character that I enjoyed getting to know better, much to my surprise.  What can I say?  I’m a sucker for a good descent into darkness tale.

Applause must also be given to James Luceno for handling the midi-chlorian situation well because those parts of the book had the potential to easily come off as ridiculous.  On top of that, I’m pleased that Anakin was NOT the result of Palpatine doing creepy things with the Force to Shmi.

Finally, I’m now left desperately wanting a political intrigue book about either Padme or Leia more than ever.  Come on, Del Rey.  Let’s do this.  Episode VII shouldn’t effect a book like that too much.  Pleeeeease?  I know at least a dozen people off the top of my head who would throw their money at you for such a book.  (I’m pretty sure that includes the entirety of the Tosche Station Staff so… please?)

Cloak of Deception

They may be by the same author but I’ll admit it was hard shifting from the perfection that was Darth Plagueis to Cloak of Deception.  That’s not to say it was a bad book but, well, everything else was going to pale in comparison for a little while.  Actually, I think that reading the two in rapid succession actually helped me enjoy Cloak of Deception more than I had previously.  The first time I read it about ten years ago, it made such an impression on me that I couldn’t remember any of the plot details.  This time, I enjoyed getting to see this specific focus of the political intrigue along with some more of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as a Master/Padawan team.

I also like how it sets up the political events in The Phantom Menace in a way that helps them make more sense.  For example, I always found that the vote of no confidence in Valorum was passed a little too easily but seeing the political mess that leads up to it helps seem more logical

I’d also like to mention that after reading two books in a row where he’s mentioned, this whole Bail Antilles and Bail Organa thing is ridiculous.  Can we just retcon all mentions of Bail Antilles and make him Bail Organa instead?  Bail Organa is much handsomer anyways.

The Phantom Menace

First things first… Jar Jar Binks is JUST as annoying in print as he is on the screen.  I’m writing this note only 100 pages into the novelization and I already want to strangle him so he’ll stop assaulting my eyes with his weird accent/dialect.  Pathetic life form indeed.

As for the book itself, I think it’s a pretty decent adaptation of the film.  It doesn’t follow the film word for word which I think adds something to it.  Plus, you get a chance to go inside Qui-Gon’s head and see that he definitely had suspicions about Amidala’s ruse from quite early on.  Speaking of the decoy queen, I’m just going to pause here and say how much I LOVE the Handmaidens.  Seriously.  These ladies are the BEST.  Of course, I can’t read this book without wondering how things would’ve turned out if Qui-Gon had survived.  There’s probably some alternate universe where he, Obi-Wan, and Anakin are one big happy family, right?

I’m not going to turn this part of the review into an essay defending the prequels because Bryan Young has you covered there but I am going to take a moment and talk about how I actually rather liked how Anakin was portrayed here.  He’s a kid who acts like a kid but has amazing abilities with both the Force and piloting.  Let me emphasize again… HE IS A KID.  This is chapter one in the story of Anakin Skywalker’s life and it’s the chapter that shows that no one is born evil which is another story type that I am apparently a sucker for.  And I’m sorry but if the part where Anakin has to leave Shmi doesn’t tug at your heartstrings at least a bit, then I really don’t know what might make you emotional.  Either that or you’re somehow immune to John William’s music (if we’re talking about the film.)

Rant over now.  I promise.  In short, I think all three books are decent reads especially if the Prequel Era is what interests you and I think that Darth Plagueis is worth the read no matter what.  Next up are the books that lead up to the Clone War!  As always, if you’d like to keep a real time eye on my progress, you can follow me on Twitter @chaosbria or the hashtag #WaruExpress.

EU Retrospective: The Really Old Republic

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It’s taken slightly longer than anticipated thanks to some difficulties with the library but I’ve finally finished the first leg of my Expanded Universe reread.  The short version?  There were certainly some ups and downs and WOW am I glad to be getting out of these eras and away from these old school Sith.  (Sith Fatigue is a real and dangerous disease, folks.  It claims hundreds of readers every year.)

The Old Republic: Revan:

I’ll freely admit to being a HUGE KOTOR fangirl back in the day.  Somewhere, buried on a harddrive, is probably a lot of half-written fanfic about the characters.  I was obsessed with Revan and had slightly ridiculous crushes on both Carth Onasi and Atton Rand.  (That was totally my right as a 14 year old girl.)  If you’ve never played either of the Knights of the Old Republic games, the one thing you should know is that your character (Revan in the first game and the Exile in the second) is essentially a blank slate.  You decide their gender, their looks, and their personality.  Therefore, I spent most of the first half of the book trying to reconcile the Revan in my head (a very snarky lady) with the canon Revan who is decidedly not her and is, in fact, a man.  (Curse you, canon!)  Also, I insist that Natalya Donn is totally a better name for the Exile than Meetra Surik.  I mean…. Meetra?  Really?

As a whole, the book left me feeling mostly underwhelmed.  The basic premise?  Great.  I’ve always been intrigued about what made Revan originally turn to the dark side and where he disappeared to in the time between games.  I wasn’t as thrilled with the execution.  For starters, the book falls just short of 300 pages; something that makes me glad I didn’t purchase this book as a hardcover.  I also felt that the many of the action sequences fell victim to video game syndrome where paragraphs often felt like they were queues of action commands.  Additionally, I found myself missing the presence of characters like HK-47 and Jolee although I can understand why they were left out of the book.

My biggest issue was with the pacing.  Obviously Karpyshyn was aiming to answer some of the questions players had about the gap between games which, as one of those players, I appreciated.  However, the ending felt rushed, weirdly open ended and I still don’t really know what happened.  (I’m also a bit miffed about the Exile’s unceremonious exit but that’s another rant entirely.)  Two-thirds of the book occurs in the gap between games and the last third post-KOTOR2.  It certainly could have benefited from a more even split and more pages.  Actually, upon further reflection, I’m comfortable with saying that I hated the ending.

This all isn’t to say that the book is horrible but it won’t be making my ‘Essential EU Reads’ list any time soon.  It’s certainly worth the read if you were a KOTOR player and if your Revan was male, you’ll probably have a much easier time getting into the book than I did.  I did enjoy the parts with Canderous (even wished there had been more of them) and I especially appreciated the nods to the Mando language.

At the end of the day, it’s not a replacement for KOTOR3 (honestly, nothing really could be) but at the very least, it’ll help fill the KOTOR shaped void in your life for a little bit.

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Cosplay Monday: Marty McFly

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This week, we’re headed back to the future to find a costume worthy of Cosplay Monday.  Check out this awesome Marty McFly costumer from New York Comic Con!  Not only does his costume look great but he definitely put some work into perfecting his poses.  Great work!

Should we be looking out of frame for Doc and the DeLorean…?

Photo by gluetree on Flickr

Review: The Old Republic: Annihilation

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As someone who hasn’t really kept up with the Old Republic novels or gotten around to playing the new game, I went into Annihilation not expecting anything more than a decent read where I’d have to continuously look up references to events I had no knowledge of.  What I actually got was an incredibly fun read where I only occasionally had to reference Pablo Hidalgo’s Essential Reader’s Companion for dates and general information.  Color me very pleasantly surprised.

Drew Karpyshyn’s latest novel, The Old Republic: Annihilation, centers around Theron Shan, a field agent for the Republic’s Strategic Information Services. He’s also secretly the son of Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan but has no connection to the Force.  (Spoiler Alert: This will definitely be a plot point later.)  The Sith Empire has at its command a technologically impressive and incredibly dangerous warship called the Ascendant Spear.  Under the symbiotic control of Darth Karrid, it is a ship that the Republic has to destroy if they want to ultimately beat the Sith Empire.  Cue Operation End Game: It’s up to Theron Shan and Jedi Master Gnost-Dural to find a way to stop Darth Kerrid and the Ascendant Spear.

The plot itself is entertaining and never really drags. The book is one part spy, one part action, and often left me fondly reminded of the X-Wing novels.   It opens with an unauthorized mission that helps establish not only the tone of the novel but also who Theron is both as a person and as an agent.  The book continues to move the overarching plot forward with just the right amount of missions/ action sequences to keep things interesting but not enough so that it feels overly excessive.  The threat of the Ascendant Spear also works well because it presents enough of a danger to warrant Operation End Game but doesn’t fall victim to Ridiculous Super Weapon Syndrome.

One of the book’s highlights was the brief chapter that focuses purely on the poor Imperial Minister of Logistics.  No one really appreciates the work he does and obviously the Empire wouldn’t function nearly as smoothly without him.  Efficiency is everything and the politics of the Sith Lords are a nuisance even if he does know how to play that game.  It’s amusing and a nice (yet relevant) break from the main storyline.

The characters are what really help the novel succeed.  Theron himself is an interesting protagonist who occasionally gives off a strong Corran Horn vibe because of his huge amount of self-confidence.  He’s self assured and a bit cocky at times but it never truly spills over to arrogance.  He also doesn’t fall into the expected trap one would expect of the Force blind offspring of the Jedi and never really broods on it.  Does Theron have some unresolved issues in regards to his mother?  Sure, but they never become a defining character trait and only really surface when prompted by circumstances.  Another entertaining character was Marcus Trant, the Director of SIS, who you just can’t help but sympathize with when he has to deal with Theron’s antics in the field.  He’s good at his job, struggles a bit with his personal life, and just positively had it up to here with Theron some days but can’t fire such a valuable agent.  Gnost-Dural, the token Jedi of the book, was another pleasant surprise who left me intrigued about his life from before the book’s start.  I also found myself soon warming to Teff’ith, the young smuggler who has a very weird bond with Theron.  She’s incredibly independent and doesn’t want Theron poking into her business.  Her speech patterns thankfully manage to walk on the right side of endearing or irritating and she ultimately has one of the best lines in the book.

The only thing that I wasn’t really a fan of was the family plot line.  Theron learns who his father is about a third of the way through the book and it is not exactly the shocker of the century.  As a whole, the plot line actually works with the book but the obligatory awkward family scenes left me rolling my eyes because they felt too expected at times.  However, they didn’t detract drastically from my enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I give Annihilation a 3.5/5 and say that it is definitely worth the read especially if you are interested in the era or are looking for a fun Expanded Universe book that’s not part of a giant series.

 

Thank you to Random House for providing us with an advanced copy of the book for review purposes.