Books – Queen & Country Gentleman’s Game

Greg Rucka’s
A Gentleman’s Game.

There where three things that first got me to pick up the Queen and Country comics.
1. The covers that Tim Sale did for the books.

2. Steve Rolston’s art on the first story arc, Operation : Broken Ground.

and of Course,

3. Greg Rucka.

Greg Rucka is one of my all time favorite comic writers. His work on Batman and Detective comics were the stories that first started me reading Batman.

Queen and Country was a creation of his own for ONI Press. Q&A follows Tara Chace, a Minder with Special Operations Section (SIS) on her various missions.

In a Gentleman’s Game we see a terrorist organization setting off bombs in the London underground killing numerous civilians. From there the story takes off as the SIS is assigned the task of taking action. Tara Chace is assigned the task of tracking down and taking out the mastermind behind the attacks. Which she does very well.

It was nice seeing these charecters in a new light. I really enjoyed seeing a bit more depth then you normally get in a floppy. I am really looking forward to reading the second book in this series!

The book goes to places where the comics have not gone. Going deeper into what makes Tara tick then they where able to before, while at the same time keeping the suspense and thrills intact.

Next up : book 2 in the series Private Wars

Television Tuesday

Spent some time on the internet catching up with shows this past week…

Terminator : The Sarah Conner Chronicles –

I had only seen the first three episodes of the first half of the season due to having a class when it was on… So when I saw that the it was returning last Friday I figured it was time to catch up. I was really glad to see that Fox had almost the whole season available on line for watching. over the course of a day I managed to watch all the episodes that I had missed and get all caught up.

I think that this might be one of the most underrated geek shows on television right now. Dont get me wrong, I love the big sweeping multi-leveled stories of shows like Lost and Fringe, but it is really cool to have a show that is just plain about action and adventure… I really like the story line that they have developed with Riley and cant wait to see where they are going with it. I have heard internet gossip that one of the females dies by the end of the season, I am really hoping it is the chick from Derek’s past (future what ever it is…) I can never really remember what her name is. All I know is that I can not stand here. She ranks right up there with Gaeta on BSG for charecters I think should be capped mob style… (at least Gaeta got the airlock…).

Fringe –

I really dont know where I stand with this show. Some of the episodes are really good and some I can barely stand to watch the whole thing… I like the cast and the roles that they play, I just wish that the story writting was a little more consistent…

XIII –

The second part of this miniseries was on… and I fell asleep before it even started… Now I have to wait to see if they replay it sometime soon.

Dollhouse –

Watched this one online last night. It wasnt bad for a first episode. At the same time as much as I liked it I just dont see this show lasting that long. It is on friday night, which is known for being a dead zone for TV shows. I really liked seeing Faith back in action (yeah I dont remember her real name…). The whole thing with naked guy watching the yearbook video at the end of the episode was a little creepy. I just hope that they have some kind of contigency plan to wrap up the story but the end of the year and give it some closure if the show does die.
Battlestar Galactica –

What?? That’s it the Mutiny story line is gone? no follow up what so ever? It was nice to see the apollo and the president dealing with the after shock of the government being wiped out. I also like that they finally brought the rest of the cylons back into the story.

Fridays Movies… On Sunday.

Ok… time to fix the mix up… here is what should have shown up on Friday.

The Mummy 3 – The Mummy was overshadowed this summer by the return of another franchise, Indiana Jones, but to tell the truth they might as well have been the same movie. At least this one didnt have Shia in it though so that was a plus.

This movie was another example of the studio bringing in a new young actor to play the hip young kid of our hero in hopes of rebooting the series and continuing on after the original is ready to hang up the hat.

I have always been a fan of the campiness that is Frasers Mummy movies and I did like this one. No where near as much as the first two but I still thought that it was a good adventure tale.

This one will be joining my DVD collection.

Hellboy 2 – Another sequel. This one I didnt think to high of. I thought that the cast seemed like they were just going thru the motions with a plot and story that just really didnt grab your attention. With how much they had to work just to get a studio to make this movie I was really hoping for something that really thrilled me the way the first one did.

This one might join my DVD collection once it hits the $7 rack or I find it for a really good used price. Otherwise I might just watch it again when they start showing it all the time on cable…

Comics Comics Comics…

Agents of Atlas #1

To say that I am getting pretty bored with most of the mainstream titles out there would be putting it pretty nicely. That is why I have been so drawn to picking up the titles that don’t have the big names in them as of late. Like say Agents of Atlas.

I was hoping for something adventure based out side the confines of the weight of the rest of the world (which was pretty foolish of me since it had the Dark Reign banner on the top of the cover.) so I was pretty disappointed to find Osborn prominently featured in the first issue.

Having said that I did like the story. It leaves you not really sure which way there are going… Or at least it did me, having not read any of the stuff that came before. I have to say I also like the idea of this unique blend of characters operating out of their secret underground society. Something about this story just has an oldschool feel about it to me. Which if you haven’t guessed by now is something that I really get into.

I will keep picking this one up for awhile and hope that it lives up to my expectations.

Legion of Superheroes #50

All I will say about this is that someone really should be held accountable for their crimes.

Walking Dead #58

There is a big chunk in between when I stopped reading this and when I started back up… I really need to get caught up on that.

I think that Kirkman has done a good job with this book from the start. This issue is a prime example of why I think that. Rick finally returns to his home town to find out what has become of those he left behind (and stock up on the most important of supplies). On the trip home Rick finds out that his boy and him are a lot alike and becoming more so everyday.

When this book started up, I never thought that a zombie book would last this long… or at least last this long and stay good. Kirkman continues to keep the story moving in a entertaining way while making you care for what happens to this people… which of course makes you hate them, because in the zombie apocalypse no one lives forever.

Batman #686

I have been a fan of Neil since Sandman #8. So I had to give this book a read. It was ok. I have not been happy with the whole batman universe as of late… Not since Hush anyway. I just think that it has gotten blah. The fact that they let whats his name (whose work I have never cared for in the first place.) have run of the bat has just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

I think that is all I will say about that one.

Books – Monster Nation

By David Wellington

I have to say that the only good thing about being sick is the amount of reading that I tend to get done while I am laying on my back side whining at my wife about how sick I am.

So Monster Nation

Page 1 – 27 Ok this is starting out all right…
Page 28 – 280 WOW This is a really good book!
Page 281 – 283 What? What? What is this where is it going???
Page 284 – 285 WOW THAT WAS A REALLY COOL WRAP UP!

When I got to the last few pages of this book I started to get confused a little… It might have been because I was sick (because of that I will probably go back and read the last forty or so pages again just to see if I got everything that was going on). My fears that I was reading a book with a ending like that of The Road was quickly put aside though, with what I thought was a perfect wrap up to this tale.

This book as of right now, is probably one of the best Zombie tales that I have read. I really Thought that the take on them was cool and even if I got just a tad confused near the end, it all came together before the last line.

I think what I liked most about this book, The story of the outbreak of the living dead and its spread across the country, is that one of the point of views that it kept visiting is that of two (dick and Nilla)of the Zombies.

I also found it a little more relaxing then some of the things that I have read as of late. So many of the books that I have read have felt they were trying way to hard to create so many characters and sub plots that they forgot that they were supposed to be telling a story.

When I read Zombie Lit one of the things that I am looking for is a good survival story, not descriptive gore. I think that the gore part of it is best left for movies and comics. This book touched on what was needed to make it a zombie tale and left the hardcore behind. The focus remained on the story.

I would give this book a four and a half out of possible five.

Next up : Greg Rucka’s : A Gentleman’s Game.

(I think I might be doing some reading on writing a good review before I do many more of these…)

Starbuck should have put a slug in him…

BattleStar Galactica – As much as I am loving BSG right now, I was a little let down in the episode Friday night. After the whiz bang fast pace of the previous week I think that the slowed this episode down way to far. I don’t think that a mutiny would really end that easily. Those people knew that they had gone way past the point of no return and thus I think that they would have fought to the bitter end.

I really wanted to see Gaeta and Zarek go down in a hail of bullets. The fact that they just shrugged their shoulders and said “Oh guess ya got us…” was just kind of a let down.

Supernatural – I love Sam and Dean, I think that the stories since season break have been good. Having said that I really really want them to get back to stories that move the over all myths ahead. I really liked the Siren story though.

XIII – ok. I really liked this show. (miniseries) but someone please tell me when Part 2 is on! I love me some spy thrillers and this ranks right up there with the best of them. I think that Dorf plays the role perfect and Val Kilmer plays the big bad to a T, I really wish he would do more stuff…

Heroes – Seriously I think this show is really taking off again. I love the old school Uncanny X-Men feel. Yes every story that has been told so far on this show has been a retread of a comic story, but then again correct me if I am wrong but aren’t all comics just retreads of themselves at this point? When was the last time you read something witty and new! I am liking that they have turned all the powers into fugitives who are being hunted by their own.

Ok… Red needs breakfast, I ll try to write as I watch this week…

Friday Movies on Saturday…

Well I am still not feeling up to 100% but I am up to more then just sleeping so I figured I would make up for yesterdays missing post and start working on Todays post… so here we go:

Eagle Eye – I have to say that I found this movie to be very predictable. Combine that with the fact that the main star was Shia LaBeouf an actor that I find to be very very annoying and you would think that I would have all out hated this film. Suprisingly though I didnt. I am not sure if it was the fact that Rosario Dawson was in the cast (although in to small of a role…) or just the fact that I was really in a mood for a action movie but I did enjoy it. The story follows a number of everyday citizens as they are manipulated by a unknown group to do their bidding and their struggle to understand what is going and save their own lives at the same time… This movie is by no means a movie for nitpickers or someone who is looking for a in depth thought provoking movie. If you were looking for something to give you a little mindless entertainment on a lazy weekend I would say give this one a try…