Hugh J. O'Donnell

Hugh Likes Comics: Ms. Mavel

October 14, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Comics HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, Marvel, Ms Marvel, review Leave a comment

Ms. Marvel
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Drawn by Adrian Alphona, and others.
Published by Marvel Comics

Spider-Man was the quintessential teen superhero. When he was introduced in the early sixties, teens in comics were either sidekicks like Robin, or less genre characters like Archie. But Peter Parker both fought villains and managed the travails of family and high school. Marvel has attempted to replicate this formula many times since, with varying levels of success. The most recent, and possibly most successful attempt, is “Ms. Marvel” by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona.
Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American Girl living in Jersey City. When a supernatural event gives her superpowers, she has to figure out how to navigate being a costumed heroine like her idols, Captain Marvel and the Avengers, while also dealing with her daily life.
“Ms. Marvel” is great because it is authentic where most most pulp fiction goes over the top. That isn’t to say that this isn’t a comic full of super-heroic action and giant robots, because it totally is. But WIlson has taken great care in not only creating deep characters, but also presenting a broad range of characters within the community of Jersey City. Identity is the central theme of this story, and the level of nuance she brings to the topic is stunning for a funny-book.
In a marked contrast to Stan Lee’s throwing a mountain of slang against the wall and seeing what sticks, WIlson starts off her book talking about concern trolling. In a media landscape where the Muslim community is so often reduced to images of terrorism and privation, this is a huge deal.
Kamala’s rebelliousness and her struggle with her own identity plays out nicely against her shapeshifting powers. When she gains them, she says she would like to be her hero, Captain Marvel, ‘in the classic, politically incorrect costume, and kick butt in giant wedge heels.’ but when she turns into that, she finds it is entirely wrong for her. She’s at her most powerful when she uses her powers to stretch or heal herself. Basically, she’s a shapeshifter who turns into herself, which is a really clever concept, especially in a teenage book.
Alphona’s art is great as well. His style is sketchier here than it was in previous cult-hit teen comic “Runaways,” but he still shows that he really gets how to draw teenagers, who all too often in comics come out looking like slightly shorter adults.
While the directness of this comic might be a bit off putting to adults, this is a perfect comic for teens of all kinds. And the reveal of the bad guy, The Inventor, is so much perfect comics fun, that I won’t spoil it here. But is well worth checking out for that moment alone.
Ms. Marvel is available from Comixology, The Marvel Unlimited App, or your local comics shop.
If you enjoyed this article, please share it! And consider supporting my Patreon for early and exclusive content!

Hugh Likes Podcasts: The Fantasticast

October 12, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Podcasts Fantasticast, HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, podcasting, review Leave a comment

The Fantasticast
Stephen Lacey and Andrew Leyland
https://fantasticflameon.wordpress.com/

One of the advantages of digital comics is that issues that were once collectors items are easily available for modern readers. Wether through reprinted omnibuses, black and white ‘essential editions,’ DVD editions, or online stores, there are more ways to read comics than ever before. Which in turn means that issues that might have been lost to time can be reexamined, enjoyed, and picked apart. Which is just what the Fantasticast does.
A team-up of two veteran comics podcasters, Steve Lacey of “Twenty Minute Long Box,” and Andrew Leyland of “Hey Kids, Comics!” The Fantasticast sets out to summarize, celebrate, and take the piss out of every issue and appearance of “The Fantastic Four,” in order. With well over six-hundred issues and innumerable guest appearances, this is no small task. After 100-and-something episodes, they’ve just gone from their original appearance in 1961 to the early seventies.
I’ve been listening along issue-by-issue using the Marvel Unlimited app, and it is great fun. Andrew and Steve have a great rapport, and it is interesting to hear the perspective of British fans to so American a medium as silver-age Marvel comics. The show is a lot of fun, and balances humor, reverence for the subject matter, and intelligent perspective quite well. Their synopses are entertaining and complete, and listeners don’t need a long box handy to follow along.
The Fantasticast is certainly a by-fans-for-fans presentation, and I don’t know if it would hold much interest for listeners who aren’t interested in the origins of the Marvel universe, or the Fantastic Four in particular, but it is well done and worth a listen for the comics geek who wants a bit of light perspective along with their heroism.

If you liked this article, please share it, or consider supporting me on Patreon for more articles and audio content.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Castlevania Aria of Sorrow

October 9, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Video Games Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania, GBA, HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, review Leave a comment

Hugh Likes Video Games: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Konami
Game Boy Advance, 2003

Today we’re skipping ahead a few years to look at “Aria of Sorrow,” the last of the ‘Metrovania’-style Castlevania games for the Game Boy Advance. This means that rather than consisting of numbered platforming stages that the player must complete in order, the game is instead one large 2-D map, with the player gaining access to new areas through the use of special abilities. For example, once the player gets the ability jump in mid-air, they can reach higher platforms and thus reach corridors they couldn’t previously. In the Castlevania series, this format started properly in Symphony of the Night for the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstaion.
Aria of Sorrow breaks with tradition in that rather than being set in the middle ages or 19th Century, this game takes place in the future. The game is set in 2035, but the future date doesn’t play much into it, except that you can score a sweet laser rifle later in the game. But at that point, your other options include powerful holy weapons, so it’s not really an upgrade. No cybernetic werewolves or anything.
The main character is Soma Cruz, an American teenager living in Japan. When he goes to watch a solar eclipse at a shrine operated by a childhood friend, he passes out. When he wakes up, he finds himself in Dracula’s Castle, and in possession of inexplicable power. As Soma makes his way through the castle in search of answers, he meets sinister missionaries, amnesiac exorcists, and other mysterious people.
Aria of Sorrow pushes the GBA to its limit with absolutely gorgeous graphics and a sprawling castle filled with monsters. Soma’s powers are a neat twist of the Castlevania formula, and encourage exploration in search of new souls to win and try out. It would be nice if they weren’t quite so rare, and packed a bit more of a punch, though. Especially early in the game, they don’t have the same heft to them as the classic subweapons. While this does give a sense of progress to the game as the player collects stronger and stronger abilities, it can be a grind to collect them.
Overall, “Aria of Sorrow” is a definite hit in the Castlevania score sheet, and not to be missed. If you can’t find a used copy of the cartridge, it is also available as a download from the WiiU store.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it, or support me on Patreon for early and exclusive podcasts and articles.

Hugh Likes Anime: Food Wars

October 8, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Anime anime, cooking, food wars, HLA, Hugh Likes Anime, Japan, review Leave a comment

Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma
Studio: J. C. Staff
Streamed via Crunchyroll

When I was a teen, I was really into Iron Chef, a competitive Japanese cooking show which might be viewed as the forefather of most of the Food Network’s current lineup. “Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma” is another descendant. An anime based on manga by Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki, it follows the adventures of teenaged hero Yukihira Soma through Japan’s most prestigious and rigorous cooking school. Soma is the son of a competitive and mysterious diner owner, and he’s been cooking since he was a child. At first, he looks down the other students, who’ve ‘never served a customer before,’ but as the series goes along, he learns a lot about cooking through competing with them.
Shokugeki no Soma falls in line with many of the tropes associated with anime aimed at teenage boys. There are lots of nonsensical rivalries, training, and challenges to overcome while forthrightly contemplating philosophical points. And also plenty of fan service. These are certainly the first chef’s jackets that I’ve ever seen with cleavage. But even the fan service has its own goofy charm. The series is constantly searching for new ways to express culinary language visually. These range from a group of people eating a pork-roast so good their clothes explode to a panel of judges piloting a lobster rocket into space.
The first season of Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma is currently streaming online at Crunchyroll, and is coming to DVD. While the show ends at a bit of a cliffhanger, and a second season has yet to be announced, this is an excellent series for foodies and anime fans alike. I’d like to give a hat tip to Jason Banks of the Talk Nerdy To Me podcast for the recommendation.
If you enjoyed this article, please share it! For exclusive content and podcasts, sign up for my Patreon feed!

Hugh Likes Comics: Starve

October 7, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Comics Brian Wood, Comics, Danjiel Zezelj, Dave Stewart, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, review, Starve Leave a comment

Starve
Brian Wood, Danijel Zezelj, and Dave Stewart
Published by Image Comics

So I’ve been really thinking about cooking lately. Not just how to cook, or where my food comes from, but the whole process, how something goes from a pile of disparate ingredients and becomes something else. I’ve also been reading “Starve” by Brian Wood, Danijel Zezelj, and Dave Stewart. Much like a fine meal, a comic that is more than the sum of its parts.
“Starve” is the story of runaway reality TV Chef Gavin Chruikshank. After the collapse of the global economy and the ruin of his marriage, he disappeared into the wilds of Southeast Asia. Three years later, the network comes looking for him, to force him to fulfill his season contract on a show that is very different than the one he originally began. “Starve” is no longer a travel show, but a competition for the benefit of the 0.1%, still on top despite economic and environmental catastrophe.
Starve is a fun little near future drama, with Gavin fighting for the soul of Chefdom and the love of his daughter against his estranged wife and the rival who stepped into his shoes. It’s politics, aside from F*CK THE 1%, are tough to pin down, but it is a joy to watch anarchic, barbarian chef Chruikshank work his magic. He’s nasty, belligerent, and entirely too much fun. He’s Hunter S. Thompson in a white jacket. While he is a master chef, the comic aims to shock rather than hunger. In the first issue, Gavin is asked to prepare a dog. Rather than being horrified, as is the intention, he carves up a slice, narrating that people all over the world eat dog.
The art is moody and heavily inked, with dark, brooding figures even under blazing stage lights. The washed out color palate further emphasizes the crushing blandness of the excess “Starve” represents.
If I had a complaint, it is I wish they would do more with Gavin’s sexuality. This is hardly a romantic book, but so far, (three issues published at the time of writing) Gavin’s homosexuality has been raised as an important character trait, but never explored. It’s simply treated like another vice, or another thing his ex-wife holds against him. He has had some interaction with his male handler, but almost all of his important relationships are with women.
While it may not whet your appetite, “Starve” is far from slight. Check it out on Comixology or in your local comics shop.

Hungry for more content? Support my Patreon for early and exclusive podcasts and articles!

Hugh Likes Podcasts: The Melting Potcast

October 5, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Podcasts HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, podcasting, review, The Melting Potcast Leave a comment

The Melting Potcast
A F Grapin and Erin Kazmark
TheMeltingPotcast.com
I listen to a lot of writing and fiction podcasts. Most of them try and cultivate a specific audience. The Drabblecast is narrowly focused on weird fiction. Ditch Diggers is specifically about the business side of writing professionally. Specificity is good, usually. But I really enjoy podcasts that go a bit broader. My own podcast, The Way of the Buffalo, is founded on the new, rather than specific genre or even medium. But I can’t think of a podcast that attempts to reach a broader audience that The Melting Potcast.
Billed as ‘a little bit of everything for everyone everywhere,’ they present flash audio fiction based on prompts, longer short stories not constrained by topic, and author interviews, amongst other content. For the sake of full disclosure, I have had one of my own stories appear on the show.
Hosts Erin and A. F. inject humor and passion into their presentations, and the quality is top-knotch. They are accompanied by regular and guest readers. The prompts so far have been clever and interesting, creating a surprising variety of stories that hit on a variety of genre and emotional beats. They’re still fairly new, but their passion for fiction, hard work, and supportive community all shine through. This is definitely a podcast to watch, because it’s only going to get better as it keeps going. Find The Metling Potcast in iTunes, or the podcatcher of your choice.
If you enjoyed this article, please share it, or join my Patreon for more print and audio content.

Hugh Likes Video Games: Castlevania

October 2, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Video Games Castlevania, Dracula Season, HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, NES, review Leave a comment

Castlevania
Konami
Nintendo Entertainment System

October is Dracula Season here in the Hugh Likes… HQ, and for my money there is no better modern representation of the character than the Castlevania franchise. The original, produced by Konami in 1987, is a classic example of the old-school challenge of the NES. Tough but never entirely unfair, the player controls Simon Belmont as he fights his way through Dracula’s castle to his showdown with the King of Vampire himself.
The original game has a fun, almost campy sense of atmosphere as Belmont fights his way through a laundry list of B-movie monsters. Famously difficult, the game really conveys the feeling of the environment itself as an adversary. This is a difficult balance to achieve, because it can more often feel like the player is fighting the programmers rather than the game. Like Nintendo’s flagship Super Mario Bros, Castlevania is a sprawling environment that relies on careful exploration, precise timing, and sharp reflexes. Belmont is armed with an upgradable whip and a variety of subweapons that he finds in the castle. While blindly rushing ahead and collecting every subweapon as it drops can result in a series of deaths, a careful strategy, admittedly formed through trial and error, guides the player through each level. A very generous continue system for the time lets the player keep trying for as long as they like.
With the sad news that Konami is scaling back its production to focus on the mobile phone market, we may not see anything new from the series for a while. What better time to dust of a control pad and take your journey through Dracula’s Castle?
Castlevania was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System as well as other 8-bit consoles and arcades. It is also available digitally for the Nintendo Virtual Console on Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

Enjoy Hugh Likes Video Games? Please consider joining my Patreon for more content!

Hugh Likes Video Games: Xeodrifter

September 25, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Video Games Gaming, HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, PS Vita, Renegade Kid, Xeodrifter Leave a comment

Xeodrifter
Renegade Kid
PC, PS4, Vita, 3DS, WiiU

Inspired by Metroid, Xeoodrifter is an shooter/platformer/exploration game in the classic style. The player guides their space-suited explorer through the interiors of four maze-like planets while collecting power ups that let him go further. Presented in a “pixel art” style, this Metroid-clone actually has a lot to offer, with deep exploration mechanics, and fun abilities like turning into a rocket or submersible.
This game is a colorful but short Metroid clone. The gained abilities are all fun and challenging without being too complicated, but the boss fights would have benefitted from more variety rather than having the same recolored sprite with slightly upgraded powers and health. The four worlds each have their own unique look, but all feel very similar. The game hints at depth but never really delivers beyond a few hours of gameplay. It is a free game in the Playstation Plus program, though, so it is well worth checking out if you are a member.
Xeodrifter is a fun little explorer that will charm old school gamers for a short time, but leaves nothing behind after the credits roll.

Hugh Likes Comics: Toil and Trouble

September 23, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Comics Comics, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, review, Shakespeare, Toil and Trouble Leave a comment

Toil and Trouble #1
Written by Mairghread Scott
Drawn by Kelly and Nichole Matthews
Published by Archaia

Shakespeare enjoys a peculiar place in the canon of English literature. Both a foundational document and endlessly mutable, it is performed, reenacted, remixed, and endlessly reinterpreted. Romeo and Juliet inspired the musical West Side Story. King Lear was translated into Akira Kurosawa’s opus film Ran. Recently, the tragedy of Hamlet was remixed into the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style game-book, To Be or Not To Be. Toil and Trouble takes up from Macbeth, focusing not on the Thane, but the Witches.
Structurally, it resembles the Tom Stoppard Play “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” which follows the two titular henchmen from before their introduction and up to their bumbling, offstage demise. (Spoiler alert for a four-hundred and a fifty year old play, respectively.) The comic follows Smertae, one of the three witches, returning to Scotland after being banished. The reason for her banishment is unclear, but seems to involve Macbeth. Like the Stoppard play, the action of the original Shakespeare drifts around and through the dialog of the comic. In this first issue, the reader sees an expanded version of the opening scene.
In Scott’s version of events, the witches are agents of Fate, tasked with ensuring the continuity of Scottish royalty. To accomplish this, they mean to strike down Macbeth in order to give Prince Malcolm a trial to ready him for the throne. Smertae is against the plan, but reluctantly agrees. We then follow the witches in their work cursing Macbeth’s camp, and in the battle the next day, where Smertae makes a decision that goes against fate.
I was drawn to this comic because I am a huge fan of the Scottish Play. The plot is an interesting take, and I’m excited to see how it interacts with the original. The writing is actually quite solid, and the dips into 17th Century language feel natural with the rest of the dialog. The world building is the biggest break from the original, but I’m a sucker for the concept of a fading magical world, struggling in the face of onrushing modernity, and Scott absolutely nails this fantasy milieu.
What surprised me is the exceptional quality of the art. The Matthewses style is absolutely gorgeous, and the designs, particularly of the three witches, are immediately eye-grabbing and carry a lot of the story’s weight. The three represent Sea, Earth, and Sky. Smertae has crab-like spikes jutting from her body, and her sisters equally expressive of their elements. The ‘acting’ of the characters is also very well done. The meeting scene is wonderfully emotional without relying too heavily on the dialog to convey meaning, for example. The art is helped by bright and detailed coloring and inventive layouts, such as the climactic battle splash page, which features small circular insets showing the effects of the witches curses in the epic clash.
“Toil and Trouble” is the first part of a series I can’t wait to read more of. Find it on Comixolgy, or in the rack at your local comics shop.

Hugh Likes Podcasts: The Voice of Free Planet X

September 21, 2015

hughjodonnell Hugh Likes Podcasts HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Jared Axelrod, podcasting, The Voice of Free Planet X Leave a comment

HLP-The Voice of Free Planet X

Produced and hosted by Jared Axelrod

jaredaxelrod.com

Over the course of over one-hundred and seventy-five episodes, Jared Axelrod has hosted a variety of projects on his podcast, The Voice of Free Planet X. It began as a presentation of his short fiction. It has also served as a platform for his sci-fi puppetry project, “Aliens You WIll Meet.” It featured the serialized steampunk adventure “Fables of the Flying City,” which is where I jumped on board. But the latest, recently begun project revives the original title, and is an outstanding podcast production.

Ostensibly published by GPR (Galactic Public Radio) The Voice of Free Planet X is This American Life for a fantasy world, a Radio Lab of the impossible. Jared interviews stranded aliens and out-of-the-casket vampires. He talks to AI musicians and post-apocalyptic road warriors.

It is a clever response to the post-Serial podcast landscape, and the production values are top-notch. It takes a discerning ear to determine the show was made in a home studio with actors, and not on the board of a WBEZ mobile truck. But the real strength lays in Axelrod’s writing, and the performances of his interview subjects. He’s managed to take spec-fic cliches, such as vampires as metaphors for sexual deviancy, and breathe new, and interesting, human life into them. The format does an end run around suspension of disbelief, but the voice, if you will, is what sells it. These interviews aren’t pulse-pounding adventure stories. They are the best sort of feature story for people that never existed. And like the best of this flavor of fiction, it bleeds into the way we see the real world. Because you never know when that youtuber will turn out to be an incarcerated computer intelligence.