Birds of Prey #1 Written by Kelly Thompson Drawn by Leonardo Romero Colored by Jordie Bellaire Lettered by Clayton Cowles Published by DC Comics
The Skinny: A bold and intriguing first step for a brand new team. Plus Harley Quinn is also here.
Birds of Prey #1 by Kelly Thompson and (artist) is a delightful first issue for a new team book, and like many such books, the first issue is mostly centered around getting the team together. it’s a bit of a whirlwind tour of the DC Universe as Black Canary gathers a team for a dangerous mission to save her adopted sister. There’s lots of action while most of the plot is teased at as being off the page for now. The hook, and the engaging characters, keep the pace going. The team is one of contrasts, with Dinah not having her first pick of DC’s usual heroes. It’s a fun mix of characters that is appealing to long-time fans as well as newcomers such as myself. I never knew I wanted a scene of Cassandra Cain Batgirl and Big Barda fighting 4th World vampires, but it sings on the page. Harley Quinn is the anchor of the team in what feels like editorial reasons, but Thompson turns the unlikely recruitment around in an interesting way that builds up the characters.The art is the real MVP on this book. Romero delivers a clean, heavy-lined style that makes the action easy to follow, with a drop-dead gorgeous splash page early in the issue that I will not spoil. Along with Bellaire’s bold, solid colors, the art has a classic DC style to it that is very appealing. If they added some dot printing, it would feel like this book could have been picked up off a spinner rack in the ’70s or ’80s.This is still an early book, but this first issue delivers with a fun premise, an intriguing mystery, and a last-page reveal that made me shout out loud. I’m placing a large bet that this is going to be the DC book to watch going into the next year, and it is entirely my jam. I heartily recommend you pick up a copy from your local comics shop, or check it out digitally wherever you get your comics.
Bad Writer Developed & Published by Riddle Fox Games Available for PC and Nintendo Switch Played on Nintendo Switch
The Skinny: The Waiting Game (abbreviated) Created by one-man studio Riddle Fox Games, Bad Writer is a short game about short stories. This bite-sized pixelated story puts players in the shoes of Emily, an unemployed writer who sets out to follow her dreams of becoming a published author. Players will have a month to guide the character on the path to traditional publication. If she doesn’t get some sales, or becomes too depressed, she’ll go back to her old job and give up on her dreams forever.This simple, charming game only takes about a half an hour from start to finish and is laid out like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley. The only stat players will have to manage is Emily’s happiness, which goes up when she talks to her wife or cat, or succeeds in her goals. It goes down when she gets a rejection or doesn’t write. If the gauge reaches zero, it’s game over.While simple and short, Bad Writer is very faithful to the life of a full-time author, and realistic in its depiction of the actual success rate of traditional submissions, even if it fast forwards through the actual writing and editing parts. It’s a wonderful, chill little gem to play if you want to learn what the writing life is like, or just want to procrastinate for an hour from your own writing.
Good morning, readers! This is a note to let you know that I am putting Everyday Drabbles on hiatus. I’ve decided to take the rest of the summer off in order to work on other writing projects. Everyday Drabbles will return October 1st with spooky new stories leading up to Halloween! In the meantime, you can browse the archives at https://hughjodonnell.com/tag/drabble or check out the collection The Mountain’s Shadow in print or ebook! As always, thank you for your support and readership. Have a great rest of your Summer and I’ll see you soon with more stories. —Hugh
The cat sprinted across the savanna, a remnant of her kill clamped tightly in her jaws. She just had to get to the tree line. Her kits were always hungry, but it wasn’t safe for them out in the open. The sun faded as it passed behind one of the floating islands that hung over the plains. They were home to the biggest, strongest predators, who weren’t particular about what they ate. She heard the roar, and the sound of giant wings as the dragon pulled into a dive. It follow her into the the forest. She was almost there.
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They called what she did unforgivable. She was a necromancer, and she bound the vengeful dead. She was not an exorcist. She did not help those who were trapped between pass on. But her job was similar. She found those who trapped between life and death due to unfinished business or unfulfilled desires. But she didn’t free them. She wrote contracts. She found little ghosts bound to the location or circumstances of their deaths, fated to rage in eternal futility, and reforged them into weapons. The way she saw it, everyone got what they wanted. Everyone got what they deserved.
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The monster made a nest for itself in the east hall of the palace. It had reaped out the massive windows to better access the sky and suspended a web of fibrous mucous from the walls. The stink was overwhelming, and the knot of threads at the center dripped red with gore. The beast itself was out hunting. I climbed up for a better look. Four squirming, squawking larvae were still inside. Each was the size of a large dog already. I began cutting the threads. If we could get them out before the mother returned, we would be rich.
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The actor didn’t exist. His face was a composite of the best features of a dozen background actors, hired for a day’s work and scanned. His body was constructed by AI based on the latest social media fitness trends. His voice was synthesized by algorithm using data scraped from the top five romance novel audiobook narrators. But one day, the machine just stopped working, and production shut down. The studio executive hauled the lead programmer into his office to demand answers. “It’s the model. It won’t leave its trailer, so to speak.” “What?” “The AI is having an existential crisis.”
The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!
This week, Master Asia gives himself more nicknames, the God Gundam is unveiled to great fanfare, and we meet the rest of Gundams. Plus, we get a tender reunion between Argo Gulsky and Neo-Canada’s Andrew Graham, and the Prime Minister of Neo Hong Kong isn’t up to anything.
“Which door would you like to open?” The guest host asked with a slight German accent. “Number three!” The contestant shouted, jumping up and down in her excitement. The audience cheered. “Very well,” the host said, studio lights glittering off his round spectacles. “But first, let us open door number one!” A swimsuit model moved towards the technicolor-painted set piece and posed dramatically. The program suddenly cut to a commercial. When the game show resumed, the episode changed. They had put on a rerun with a different host and contestant. Dt. Shrödinger’s tenure as a game show host was short-lived.
The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!
He looked out at the space colony from the bridge of the ship. The peace conference would begin in just a few hours. His rival, the enemy ace pilot, would be there as well. Both sides were bringing their heroes to the table to garner public support for the treaty. They’d spent months trying to kill each other in increasingly powerful mechanical monstrosities. And now they would sit together in the same room for the first time. The thought of meeting, without the safety of a cockpit between them made his throat go dry. He could finally confess his love.
The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!
Hugh J. O'Donnell 