March 29, 2017
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Comics, Review
Coffee, Comics, Dystopia, Fabian Rangel Jr, Helena Crash, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, IDW, Warwick Johnson Cadwell
Helena Crash #1
Written by Fabian Rangel Jr.
Drawn by Warwick Johnson Cadwell
Published by IDW
In the future, coffee is illegal. Highly skilled courier Helena Crash has the goods, but will a delivery to Rojo, the city’s second most powerful mob boss, cost her her life?
Helena Crash is a weird and wonderful Sci-Fi adventure comic for fans of Samurai Jack and Tank Girl. It’s a fast and breezy look into a smog-choked future filled with delightfully designed robots and mutants. Building this grim pulp future with coffee as the macguffin is a brilliant choice for an all-ages take on the sub-genre.
Rangel’s script is spot on and does just enough to let the art do the talking. Cadwell’s style is sketchy and has the perfect middle-school-notebook tone to match the action. The designs are all real winners, from a mutant punk with a blowfish for a head, to Rojo’s wolfman bodyguard. There’s always something cool to look at on the page.
Helena Crash has zoomed her way into my heart. You can find her in your local comics shop or on Comixology.
Thanks for reading this review. If you enjoyed it, please share it. You can also support me on Patreon for podcasts, fiction, and more!
March 24, 2017
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Fiction, Review
HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, Legends, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, review
Norse Mythology
Written by Neil Gaiman
Published by W W Norton and Company
From the comics pages of Sandman to the upcoming television production of “American Gods,” Norse mythology suffuses Neil Gaiman’s writing. Which makes a collection of tales written in his signature easy-to-read prose a perfect fit.
In a book that feels neither scholarly nor bowdlerized, Gaiman brings new life to the fragmentary records of Norse mythology that still remain. His choices take us from the beginning of the world to Ragnarok, the end of the cycle, and beyond. Gaiman’s excitement to share these tales is palpable in the writing. The gods and giants that populate the book aren’t figures of superstition or sociological interest. They aren’t big-screen superheroes and villains. The author captures what makes the Aesir living, breathing people. He captures a lost age of monsters and magic, but also beings with incredible power and equally human flaws. From Odin, infinitely wise but also petty and occasionally grasping, to Loki, whose mischief gets the gods out of almost much trouble as it causes.
In an early myth, Loki shaves the goddess Sif’s head. When Thor, in his anger, asks him why, he is honest. He was drunk, and he thought it would be funny. These gods will be familiar to Gaiman’s fans, but newcomers will perhaps see something they hadn’t before in these ancient legends.
In Norse Mythology Gaiman has poured a mighty horn full of the Mead of Poetry. Take a seat on the bench, and have a drink.
March 22, 2017
hughjodonnell
Podcast
anime, CCR, Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, Commentary Track, Costumes, Eyebrows, Gundam, Gundam Wing, hugh, JRD, Opopinax
Listen to me geek out at Jurd and Opopinax as we watch “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Episode 1: The Shooting Star She Saw.”
Click HERE to download the commentary track!
And HERE to watch along with us!
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it. You can also support me on Patreon for bonus episodes, fiction, and more!
This podcast was originally posted at Skinner.FM on March 21, 2017.
March 14, 2017
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Comics
Adam P Knave, D J Kirkbride, Dark Horse, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, Nick Brokenshire, The Once and Future Queen
The Once and Future Queen #1
Written by Adam P. Knave and D. J. Kirkbride
Drawn by Nick Brokenshire
Published by Dark Horse Comics
The Legend of King Arthur evokes a particular place in the imagination of Western Literature. It’s a foundational document of Chivalry, Knights and Ladies, and the pacification of Pagan Britain by more ‘civilized’ Christian forces. And like all canon literary myths, it has been shaped and reshaped over the centuries to fit that era’s taste. From Malory’s Le Mort Darthur to Disney’s kid-friendly adaptation of “The Sword in the Stone,” to “Monty Python And the Holy Grail.”
“The Once and Future Queen,” from the creative team behind the “Amelia Cole” Urban Fantasy series leaves yet another modern stamp on the legend. The story centers on 19-year old Portland chess champ Rani Arturus. In Cornwall for a tournament, she quickly catches the eye of a local girl, loses the tournament, and pulls The Sword from The Stone. The story proceeds from there, spilling from slice-of-life drama to full on fantasy epic. It comes complete with some decidedly un-cute fey planning an invasion and visions of Merlin speaking in riddles on the nature of time while wearing a spacesuit.
Knave and Kirkbride are having fun with the source material, and Brokenshire’s art has a sketchy quality that likewise feels relaxed and quickly draws the eye across the page. But like the chess metaphors that litter the comic, they’re still setting up their pieces. We get a glimpse of Morgan, a YA author who is clued in to the magical goings on, and a hint of tragic past and Merlin maybe exceeding moral boundaries in setting up his new/old Queen.
The game is just starting, but I’m onboard for this super-heroic, speed-chess take on the classic legend. You can pick up a copy at your local comics shop, or in digital at Comixology.com.
March 5, 2017
hughjodonnell
Podcast, Uncategorized
CCR, Commentary Track, Exhaustion, hugh, Insanity, Jessica May, JRD, Kamen Rider Gaim, Opopinax, Rich The T T, Sentai, ToQger
Listen along as two Americans and three Canadians have no idea what they’re in for when two of Japan’s most beloved live-action toy commercials cross paths in Ressha Sentai ToQger VS Kamen Rider Gaim!
Click HERE for the commentary.
And HERE to watch the video online!
Highlights:
Citrus-themed space armor!
A lady robot that sells bento!
Straight-up hitting a monster-suit with a train!
A literal railgun that shoots train tracks.
February 26, 2017
hughjodonnell
Podcast
CCR, Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, hugh, JRD, Monster From A Prehistoric Planet, Opopinax, Podcast, review, Rich The T T, Stupid Burned Lizards
Join Hugh, Opopinax, Rich the T T and Jurd as we watch a non-Toho Kaiju movie whose title is a complete lie.
Click HERE to listen to the podcast
Watch Monster from a Prehistoric Planet on Youtube!
Chrononaut Cinema Reviews is presented by http://skinner.fm and Way of the Buffalo, and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it! You can also support Hugh on Patreon for exclusive fiction, podcasts, and more!
February 20, 2017
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Fiction, Review
HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, Matt Wallace, Novella, review, Sin Du Jour, Tor, Urban Fantasy
Idle Ingredients (Sin du Jour Book 4)
Written by Matt Wallace
Published by Tor
Matt Wallace is back again with the fourth course of his ‘Sin du Jour’ novellas. Each bite-sized course of these epicurean Urban Fantasy series is an utter delight, and I’ve been looking forward to this one. As usual, Wallace doesn’t disappoint.
Still reeling from their last big job in Los Angeles, Sin du Jour line chef Lena Tarr goes on the lamb. Bronko and Nikki bring her back to the kitchen on the very reasonable assumption that the armies of Hell that are after them will kill her without the protection Sin du Jour provides. But there’s a new face at the catering company, ‘Government liaison’ Luciana Monrovio and Lena is immediately suspicious of the hold she seems to suddenly have over all of them, particularly the guys.
This novella is a bit more serious than the last three, but that’s not surprising after the major throw down at the end of “Pride’s Spell.” The thing I did like about this one is that it packs in a lot of character growth for characters we haven’t seen too much of before. Darren gets some nice page time, and really starts to come into his own, even as Lena is shown as more vulnerable than we’ve seen her in the past, and planning assistant Jett gets a cool arc too. Wallace’s strength is in keeping all of his plates spinning so flawlessly. Sin du Jour, as in his previous novella series, Slingers, has a huge cast of characters. Matt manages to breathe life into all of them, and progress their individual stories, in a breathtakingly short amount of pages. Each bite-sized book contains more character growth and personality than your average doorstop fantasy epic.
Sin du Jour book four, Idle Ingredients, is out now from Tor. You can purchase it from Amazon or wherever you get books.
February 15, 2017
hughjodonnell
Podcast
Audible, hugh, Patreon, status update, The Dark Wife, Wattpad
Hello listeners!
This is a short update to let you know what’s up with me and the podcast, as well as to let you know some of the other stuff I’m up to. Thanks for your patience and support!
Click HERE to listen!
You can read The City on Wattpad!
You can find my Patreon HERE!
and you can now listen to The Dark Wife on Audible!
Thanks again, and stay tuned!
February 12, 2017
hughjodonnell
In Case You Missed It, Self-Promotion
Audible, audiobook, Hatching Phoenix Productions, Sarah Diemer, Self-Promotion, The Dark Wife, Veronica Giguere, YA Lesbian fiction, Young Adult
Fantastic news, Friends!
After a lot of work these past few months, I’m ecstatic to announce that The Dark Wife is now available on Audible and other Amazon-related audiobook services!
This version of the audiobook is read by Veronica Giguere and is music and sound-effect free! So if you are the type of listener who prefers to hear the narration without any extra embellishments, this one’s for you.
The podcast version of The Dark Wife remain up at The Way of the Buffalo podcast site, and will always be available for those who can’t afford or do not have access to the Audible version. A central part of this project has always been to make this novel available for anyone who might need it regardless of their circumstances, and that hasn’t changed.
So if you haven’t listened to The Dark Wife yet, go ahead an give it a listen. And if you have, please review and spread the word so we can share this amazing story with as many people as possible!
February 11, 2017
hughjodonnell
Podcast
anime, CCR, Commentary Track, hugh, I'll Form The Head, JRD Skinner, Opopinax, Robot Lions, voltron
Watch along with Hugh, Opopinax, and Jurd as they watch the first episode of Dreamworks’ “Voltron: Legendary Defender!” It’s lion-robot-tastic!
Click HERE to listen to the commentary!
“Voltron: Legendary Defender” is available on Netflix Streaming in the US and Canada!
This podcast was originally posted at Skinner.FM on February 9, 2017.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please review or share it! You can support Hugh on Patreon for more great content!
Older Entries
Newer Entries
Hugh J. O'Donnell 
Podcast: CCRC21: Gundam Wing
March 22, 2017
hughjodonnell Podcast anime, CCR, Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, Commentary Track, Costumes, Eyebrows, Gundam, Gundam Wing, hugh, JRD, Opopinax Leave a comment
Listen to me geek out at Jurd and Opopinax as we watch “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Episode 1: The Shooting Star She Saw.”
Click HERE to download the commentary track!
And HERE to watch along with us!
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it. You can also support me on Patreon for bonus episodes, fiction, and more!
This podcast was originally posted at Skinner.FM on March 21, 2017.