[Kinda Book Report] Fantastic Four Vol 3

The Fantastic Four have always been a mystery to me as to why they always had some of the cooler adventures when their powers were so... Basic..

This volume of their early adventures all done by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby really created and expanded the Marvel universe. Here, we discover Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom with the power of the Surfer... the  Negative Zone with Blastaar. And finally Johnny gets a serious girlfriend, the Inhuman Crystal.

I had a blast reading this volume. Lee is in full form and Kirby just rocks... the stories move quickly and aren't bogged down by too much dialog and exposition (wait for review of xfactor 3).

While not the biggest fan of the FF, this was a delight to read. Exciting and fast paced. Just what I like in my comic.

So... I think this earns a 3.5 out of five. Rounded up to 4.

[Kinda Book Report] Beowulf

I received this a few years ago from Santa. Beowulf is a poem that is VERY interesting. I got a modern interpretation and will be honest in saying that I was hesitant to read a poem. I dislike poetry, it's just... not my thing. Any interest in it was crushed in Secondary 4 (10th grade)... Long ago...

Now we all know the story of Beowulf. A prince of the Geats who goes to Hroathar's hall and defeats Grendel, then Grendel's mother.

Now, I will admit that I found myself enjoying this book much more than I thought.

What I learned about the story is that it is one of the only book in Old English rescued from ~700AD. There are nods to a richer litterary tradition that is now lost to us. References to people we don't know about anymore. Links to events we forget about. I did not know that. There is so much we just do not know about it.

The story is well-known, but reading as close to the source material as possible is awesome. Gives you a snapshot of mankind in the past. What people thought at the time... What was important to them. What they believed. And Beowulf is no exception.

Not much more to say... I liked it. I would give it a 3.5, which rounds out to 4/5.

Grendel is the topic of one of my inspirational songs... From this post from 2015

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 5

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 5.

This collection moves after Secret Wars 1, the arrival of Rachel (Phoenix II), a lot of Hellfire Club, Storm losing her powers, the New Mutants becoming a frequent feature, New York as a sword-and-sorcery setting, Nimrod, X-Men and Alpha Flight with the begining of the Asgardian series, the Hellions, Magneto becoming a good guy...?

Now here we start with a series of really cool events, where the payoffs from vol 4 are falling into place.

This one is pretty entertaining and fun. The characters undergo several personal arcs: Rogue coming to terms with what she did to Carol Danvers, Storm losing her powers, Shadowcat becoming a solid team member, and Nightcrawler becoming the leader.

One subplot I really disliked was the dropping of the Shadowcat-Colossus romance following Secret Wars I.

Another plot I didn't feel went anywhere was the Rachel-Phoenix... It never seemed to have any resolution. She could kick a lot of butt but never integrated into the team.

Still, I loved this volume and read it with great delight. I'll settle on a 4/5.

[Review] Doctor Who: War Games in Colour

So it's been a few years since I reviewed Doctor Who. I just don't see the point in paying for Disney+. However, I got to watch it on DailyMotion.

And I must say that watching these classic Who stories always makes me giddy. The stories rely on characters a lot more than artifice and the "aliens" are often "humans" making the stories relatable. Also, while many of the villains are "obviously" evil, you never know if one of them may have a change of heart.

This story is particularly interesting because it is the Second Doctor's final serial.

The plot is pretty interesting as the Doctor and his companion arrive on a battlefield in 1917... And quickly things go odd. I was sitting down having a blast watching the plot unfold. The companions, Jamie and Zoe, were not overly deep but they got into trouble and both helped and hindered solving the problem. They acted as normal people would. Those companions are simplistic but relatable.

Interestingly, they added a regeneration scene from Patrick Troughton to Jon Pertwee, ending on the first first scene of "Robot" from 1970... That was a nice touch. They added a few touches like the images of the modern doctors to replace the images used in the 60s.

As usual for Doctor Who, the question I have is: Would I watch it again? Yes.

For a rating... It's so hard because of the low quality of modern Who, making it look like a masterpiece. I think was a strong end to the 2nd Doctor. But is it on par with great series, I'd say yes. So I'll settle on a 4/5. It's very good. Made better by the lore that was added to it by later stories.

[Kinda Book Report] Between two fires

I got this book in my Amazon recommendations Between Two Fires by Christopher Buelman. The blurbs is not quite descriptive as to the content. I went into it expecting a piece of historical fiction set in France during the 100 years war, and I got that

What I did not expect to find was a story filled with supernatural elements taken from medieval demonic literature. Monsters we are less familiar with but who are no less horrific. Therein lies their horror...

Add to everything a plot that could lead to the end of the world and you end up with this book. I devoured this book. The subject of it called to me, even if as the plot advanced it became less and less historical fiction.

If I have to rate it... I'd say a strong 4 or a weak 5, which I will settle on 4/5.. a great book overall and a surprise to me.

[Kinda Book Review] Colossus: Stone and Steel

I looked at this book for a while before pulling the trigger on it. It is set in 66AD at the outset of the Judea Rebellion against Rome. The story has, as its protagonists, twin Jewish stone carving brothers, Judah and Asher, caught in the chaos.

It focuses on the opening parts of the rebellion and the early Jewish triumphs. The book presents the usual Romans: Vespasian and his son Titus. But also (Flavius) Josephus, who wrote The Wars of the Jews. A large part of the story is the siege of Jotapata where the Romans besieged the jews.

This book is well-written and I want to continue reading the next volumes in the series.

As a rating, I will settle on a 4/5 as I tore through the pages, wondering what was going to happen next.

[Kinda Book Report] The Noise of War

I bought myself book 2 of the sertorius scroll by Vernon B Davis. I read the first tome previously and it left me with a positive impression.

Now tome 2 starts shortly after tome 1 ends with Sertorius gravely wounded, having lost an eye during the finale. As I read it, I kept worrying this would turn into a long presentation of a man suffering from ptsd. And believe me, there are many reasons for him to suffer from that. The first half was pretty bleak and depressing. It fit the story but it was not what I wanted to read. It turned me off more than a little.

However not so much as to want to quit reading.

Perseverance paid off and the story picked up steam as the plot unfolded. It had a number of interesting twist, namely how he got into his spying mission and the mission itself was an interesting twist.

There are so many bad things happening to our man... again.

What about a rating... I will give this a 4/5. It lost points for the depressing tone of the first half. But the writing is good and the topic interesting.

I'm not surprised to find I rated this second tome the same as the first one... consistent, I guess.

[July 3rd] UK1 - Beyond the Crystal Cave 1e to 5e AAR

Before I go any further on this, let me give HUGE thanks to ActionMan, Chad, Dennis, Jesse, Justin, and Justus for participating in this event. It was a great way to spend my post-July 1st (Canada Day) and pre-July 4th. You guys really made this event memorable.

On July 3rd, I brought together a small group of players at my home, most of whom I never met before. And ActionMan.

Why?

To run an adventure set in Ozaka, and iron out the few issues with the character sheets and find out how the iconics would play in a setting different than a "regular" convention environment.

I chose a classic 1e adventure, UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave. As the number indicates, this adventure was written in the UK. If you have never player any of their modules, they had a VERY different vibe than the Gygax-created adventure, with a different mixture of whimsical and grounded fantasy. It is odd to describe, but in many way, the adventures suit my style and preferences a lot more. This one is a strange sandbox and it is likely to play VERY differently from play-through to play-through.

Although there is a 5e-port available on DM's Guild, I chose to do the conversion myself and it worked out fine. I spent a few hours adding some notes. I have no intention of selling my port as I'm sure the existing one is decent.

So what happened?

Sent by Lord Azaki to investigate the appearance of a strange grey bubble where a hill used to be present, the party explored the homonymous Crystal Cave and the odd garden beyond. Of course, since I had to add some tie-in with the First Ones, because they are just so fun and exciting to run.

Now, I will be honest and say that this adventure contains a bit of a "gotcha" at the end (depending on the PCs' actions), which normally irks me because they rob players of some agency. This one though, does it in a way that is interesting and that creates more role-playing opportunities, leading the character to more adventure, more discoveries. So I have to say that I quite like

It has a charm all its own and I encourage you to try this one if you have a chance. I was so pleased with it, I think I may try to run more of that series but adapted to 5e.

The adaptation to Ozaka gave it a different spin a "regular" game setting would not have had.

If I have to give a rating to this adventure, I'll give it a 4/5 as written.

[Kinda Book Review] The Saracen Storm by JM Nunez

A random, impulse buy led me to check out this book on Amazon. I was not looking for anything in particular but I thought this covered a topic I did not know much about: The period of Post-Roman Spain.

This book is historical fiction in that it takes elements of the story we know and adds just enough to it to make it into something plausible.

Here, we have the story of Pelayo, bastard son of the Duke of Asturias. The plot weaves itself in a realistic way. One part that really felt forced was the women's escape from the Muslims, but it did not detract from the overall. It felt a little Hollywood-y, but fine.

I must say that I enjoyed this as what I see it: a gateway into doing some more research. The characters are interesting and realistic, with everyone seeing themselves as "the good guy."

The battle scenes are described well, from the perspective of a person who is present - so it is chaotic and unclear.

Now, having done some extra research, the events presented in the good as though they would happen within a few months-to-a-year took a decade. Small notch as a history nerd. However, not knowing that going in, I won't ding it.

How do I rate this? A 4 seems high but a three is definitely low. So I will settle on 3.5, which rounds out to 4/5. Generous but I can live with that.

[Spoilerless Review] Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie

This past weekend, I took ActionMan to see the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. The previous one(s) were... unfulfilling. I had little expectations. The trailers looked interesting and of quality, I thought "this could have half a chance!"

Then the OGL situation... I mean really WotC? Did you wanted to tank the movie? (Yes).

I knew I wanted to go see the movie. I didn't want to boycott it, but instead, as a form of protest, I delayed my attendance until I could see it at our local second-chance cinema. You may say this is just arguing semantics, but it made me feel good and right.

Things I enjoyed in the movie:
- The form of the story: How the party comes together while the plot advances.
- The introduction: Quickly we get in the action, giving us the background of the story at a pretty fast pace.
- The characters: The main cast is definitely like many D&D parties I know and play with.
- The look: Things looked good. Neverwinter resembles the Neverwinter we see in games.
- The lore: It felt interesting and well-woven into the story. Elements of the red wizards are dropped at the moment we need them.
- "The Cameo": You know who I'm talking 'bout.
- The cast looked the part and were entertaining in their role.

Things I disliked
- The marketing: again instead of focusing on the good elements, they again went to score woke point with Twitter. Please stop doing that. 1- You can never please Twitter. 2- You piss off your paying fans. 3- It is NOT uniting.
- Okay I could nitpick a number of "the game is not like that" but the one thing that really irked me was that the bard had no abilities once combat started. Chris Pine's bard should've had some magic to something more than just be a scoundrel. Nitpicking. I enjoyed his portrayal.
- Another nitpick: no cleric? At no point do any of the heroes call for healing... A cleric could've served well. Don't want to have a healer, then have a war cleric or a shaman.

Okay, I really enjoyed this movie. Much more than I thought going in. Sure, I can go through a bunch of nitpicks, but I had a good time. I laughed. I worried. I anticipated.

In short, I was entertained and that was really all I wanted. They provided that to me at a time when most movies have me not bothering to go see them or wait until they come to "regular" TV.

I will give this movie a 4/5. It is not a great movie, but it did what I wanted: have someone tell of their D&D game and their characters for two hours. That and I liked it better than most 3s I have rated.

[Kinda Book Review] Port of Shadows by Glen Cook

So early this year, I completed the final book of the Black Company, Soldiers Live, which I really enjoyed. Around that time, I found a copy of the latest book, "Port of Shadows", which was a story set between The first and second book of the series... A long time ago.

Now if you are interested in reading the books, I recommend you read them in publication order. This book includes many reference to names and characters that were not known at the time, and you would be extremely confused. Heck, having read the full story, I was still very confused in parts.

Now, this book has many things that drove me nuts, and made its reading difficult, chief of which are the many names used for the many characters: Baku, Blessed Baku, Firefly, for one. For most of the story you keep reading wondering where this whole thing is going and how it will end.

Now, without going into spoilers, this book gives me the clear impression that it should be part of another cycle, with a few book to complete or expand the story. Most of the books of the Black Company (and indeed most of Cook's other material), then to have an end where you can either decide to continue or stop reading. In the end, the final twist left me... unsatisfied. I expected something... better/ more exciting/ less vague and I refuse to set my mind on time travel as a way to tie everything together.

I waffled between a 3/5 and a 4/5 for this one. For most of the book, I was really invested and wanted more. I devoured the book, burning through its pages. Then the ending... So I'll average it to a 3.5/5 which rounds out to a 4/5. I'm not fully satisfied with this but it will do. It's an easy 3/5 for anyone picking this up without having read a few other novels of the Black Company.

[Review] Mobile Suit Z-Gundam

I was lucky enough to find a special sub'd version of all 50 episodes of Mobile Suit Z-Gundam. This series was originally shown in Japan in 1986-87.

Now when the show started, I expected something similar to the origanl series, with complex characters, both for the good and bad guys. Even if most of the villains were somewhat crazy with maniacal goals and short-term obsessions. But still, a few of the villains, such as the Zabi family and Char Aznable, had goals that could be understood. They may be evil but you can see how they do not see themselves as bad.

The basic story is ten years after the original series, with the defeat of the Principality of Zeon, the Earth Federation created a new group to ensure no group in space would grow powerful enough to threaten it, called the Titans. In the decade since, the Titans grow into a militaristic powerhouse that subsumes the Earth Federation Military.

And what happens when you give people all the best and latest weaponry and a decent dose of power?

You end up with a "Who watches the watchers" scenario where, on one side, the Titans want to assure and consolidate their power. And on the other, freedom fighters who oppose the move.

I won't go into the many twists of the series, but from the AEUG (Anti-Earth Union Group), the Earth Federation, and the Titans, we later add a group of Neo-Zeon trying to return to prominence.

Our heroes here are a gathering of random people from the latter group. Most have no ideological attachment to one side or the other. Some are there because of someone else. And others have a private reason to join one side. There are 50 episodes, so that makes a LOT of characters.

Of course, my favorite in Gundam-dom, appears here as a good guy. Char Aznable (going by the name Quattro) is a lieutenant in the AEUG and one of their best mobile suit pilot. His presence and participation in the events starts as something of a mystery but his charisma and intelligence shine through as the series progresses. He is Mr Cool throughout the series, keeping his eyes on the prize (most of the time). His reactions are very human and make him an endearing figure throughout the series.

The main character is Kamille. Many people make jokes that his is a woman's name (in French, it is a unisex name). At first, he is a petulant child, but losses and lessons hit him hard at the end.

One side plot involves the many women, on both sides, who try to prove themselves as pilots but also try to figure out their places as women. Their role is contrasted by the women who took on domestic roles. I found the questioning, the answers, and the doubts they went through to be surprisingly deep. They are not just eye candy (though some of their dresses in space are odd choices...). I found myself wondering about the two roles women have. I thought it was a well-presented dilemma overall.

---

A major element of the story has to be with the Titans trying to control the Earth Federation. The political aspect is important throughout the series because some characters like Char have to pull double-duty: pilot and politician.

Char's speech in Dakar is pretty powerful and one I thought was truly a highlight of the Gundam universe. (You can see the full speech on Wikiquote). It encapsulates everything that is right about Gundam. I copied the final paragraph because it speaks of a timeless truth, of a tyrant losing his grip on power and the extremes he will go to to keep that power.

The Titans have started a battle above us, disregarding the lives of the delegates of this Assembly. You can see the brutality of their actions for yourselves. They set themselves above the regular Earth Federation Forces, and smear anyone who opposes them as terrorists. But it is their own arrogance that is their greatest sin; it will be the ruin of humanity! Those of you who have been watching these events unfold on television must realize by now that this is who the Titans are. I admit, it was wrong of us to take over this Assembly, but what of the Titans, who are trying to destroy it with the representatives still inside? Would they even destroy their own supporters among them?!

---

Another thing the series does well is to draw in characters from the Original Series, give them a cameo role that plays into the bigger story. This is the case of Amuro Rey, of Frau Bow (now Kobayashi), and Mineva Zabi. These characters come in for a few moments or episodes before fading in the background as we focus on Kamille. Now I don't like "Uber good boy" Amuro but I liked that he stayed on Earth when Kamille returns to space. We touch base with him later when they return to Earth.

When we first meet him, I worried that we'd get a massive blob of characters, similar to the latest era of Doctor Who when fifteen characters all try to say something and everyone's plot gets drowned in noise.

The team of Z Gundam are not modern-day writers. They did it right. So much so, that I feel like a series could be developped around the adventure of Amuro and Hayato as they fight the titans on Earth. Their actions are important but do not detract from the gravitas of what we see. Though there is something there for sure. Well done team.

---

Now... one element that looks really odd has to deal with physical contact. Yes, some dudes just randomly grab the women's breast or butts and no subtly. They are quickly slapped but still it took me by surprise.

Another is whenever a subordonate refuses or challenges an order, the commanding officer slaps or punches the subordinate. Kamille gets his butt kicked a few times, especially early on.

---

Now... This series is ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL. I mean people die. A LOT. Named and unnamed characters meet their end. Their deaths are sudden, and even when a Titan gets killed, I felt sad about the loss. Long-time rivals like Jerid, Mouar, and Bask in particular.

The series ends on a sad note, with Kamille's mind getting completely broken. This series takes no prisoners and really lets you know that no one escapes war without serious loss. No one wins. Only, the Titans are defeated. A lot of people died.

---

So... I did not have to deliberate very long about this one. The animation is dated, but the fight scenes still deliver, the story is good, and the characters different and each with their own subplot and the questioning it presents spot on.

This is the type of great entertainment that, had I seen as a child, I would have loved it. Mecha, missiles, action, girls, everything I like (still). However as I watch as an adult... the questioning and dilemmas become most important. Pixar did that on a few of its products too.

My rating for this is a clear 4/5. This is a solid and highly enjoyable anime that's more than firing missiles and laser swords.

[Kinda Book Review] 2113 Anthology

Earlier this year, my childhood friend Francois-M came to visit us for what turned out to be whirlwind trip with his daughter Florentine. It was great to meet her for the first time.

I had not seen him since around 1994-95 (when we attended a Musical Box concert in Sherbrooke). So we caught up. He was always a music afficionado, knowing and keeping an ear out on what was hip at the time. Oh and classic rock too. Well now it is classic rock. It was just "rock" at the time...

But that's not why you are here. You want to know about the book.

I'm getting there. I'm getting there!

One day I went to his house with a cassette (which was forever to be known a #9) for him to put on some of the music he has me listen to when I went to his place. Those were NOT the bands that you'd hear at my house.

#9 included many different bands like Queen, Heart, and most commonly, Rush. Songs like Xanadu, Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Big Money, Subdivisions, Circumstances. Good stuff. Real good stuff. Almost all of these songs are still on my playlist today. But JP aren't a big Genesis fan? Yes. But that was #23. I got into it MUCH later... This was around 1986 (I know because Hold your fire was not out yet and Power Windows was the latest album).

So Francois brought me a book (he knows I'm a geek like that): 2113, an anthology of stories inspired by the music of Rush.

I had the relatively bland Ancient Japan on my reading desk. And man did I want to ditch that to move to 2113.

So if you are not a Rush fan, they have music that deal with a variety of topics, many of which have a clear science-fiction theme, the reality of life, and other questioning one asks himself during his life. I mean it is a match made in heaven.

I won't spoil the stories. But the idea was well executed, with some stories being more litteral with their story than others. One or two, I must say the inspiration was... distant at best. I was pleased to find that Fritz Lieber wrote a story in there (from where Neil Peart got inspired) and the story that inspired Red Barchetta.

One story I did not particularly like but it has some very clever writer's artifices was the story based on "Mission". I love how they presented the point-of-view transitions by having the sentence run on, put a divider, and continuing the sentence but as a different character. What? You don't really care? I thought that was a really cool thing and it enhanced the story.

Some stories had some clever endings that made me smile, some left me wanting more, some had an interesting twists. None were bad, just less interesting.

Perhaps my personal favorite is the final story of the book, the eponymous 2113. This is one of the most literal ones, a story that where the classic 2112 ends with the ominous and domineering Attention all planets of the Solar Federation, we have assumed control. And the story takes us to that mad vision of an Elder Race and of the Temple of Syrinx, in an almost Hemisphere-ian dichotomy. Loved it. The ending? Very well done. I put the book down on a high.

So a score... It's an anthology, so the stories ranged from 2/5 to 4/5. However, I think a better score would be 3.5/5, which according to my rules make me give it a 4/5, a score I can easily live with. I plan on going back and re-visiting these stories later, after I let the kids read it.

[Kinda Book Review] Ancient Japan by Captivating History

As I am working on Ozaka, a fantasy Japanese setting, I wanted to read a few books on the history of Japan. Something to serve as a reference.

Not speaking Japanese, I looked around for a while before settling on this one.

This book was not what I was looking for... It delivers what it promises on the cover A Captivating guide to the ancient history of Japan, their ancient civilization and Japanese culture, including stories of the samurai, shoguns, and zen master. But it does not provide much more.

I found this book dry and lacking depth. If I had no basic knowledge, then I would've appreciated it more. But as it was, it felt like I learned very little.

This seems like a wonderful book to read while on a plane to Tokyo. Not for the type of research I was interested in.

So... a score... I am going with a 2/5. However, for those with less knowledge about history might find it a good overview and introduction an rate it 4/5.

Blitzbowl Mini-Review

For Christmas, I bought and painted a full set of BlitzBowl for ActionMan and I.

Blood bowl? No. BlitzBowl. BlitzBowl is a trimmed down version of the classic game available only at Barnes and Noble, one of which happens to be nearby! I always wanted to play BloodBowl with ActionMan but wondered about the many rules.

This iteration is fast-paced and very involved, where you are constantly cycling players in and out of the field. Hogging the ball leads to more balls getting generated. So you are always playing offense AND defense at the same time as you run across the field looking to score. You can score many times in a turn. This is just a game of madness.

I painted the teams and the plastic tokens.The colors I chose are the Montreal Canadiens (humans) and the Quebec Nordiques (dwarves).

The box comes with cards to build teams using any of the classic teams: skaven, orks, goblins, elves, etc. You can even make halflings teams! I was happily surprised by it. It is very fast-paced and chaotic. I really enjoyed it. I don't think ActionMan nerdgasm'd as much as I was but that may be because he used the dwarves. We will have to play again.

I will rate this game a 4/5, because ActionMan's lack of enthusiasm. For 50$, you get two teams of 6, tokens, cards, dice, and two pitches. It's a pretty nice package, just like GW used to be able to put together in the days of old. And everything in the box fits into it, no need for carrying trays.

[Kinda Book Review] Soldiers Live by Glen Cook

Soldiers Live is the final (time-wise) book in the history of the Black Company. Here we get most of the answers for many of the mysteries from Water Sleeps, which I read last year. I bought the two in an omnibus I bought from Glen Cook himself. Like the final chapter of Julius, I didn't want to finish this book. I was excited and curious as to how it would end. Now that we have all the "main" characters together once again how would this go.

Without spoiling, in a very "Glen Cook"-y sort of way. While some characters survived to receive odd rewards, other get decent death scenes, some are killed off-screen during a battle, and others well. Others just survive.

We are given more explanation about the Plain of Glittering Stone, about the history of the Black Company (of which some elements remain nebulous enough to stay interesting). The future of the Company is effectively one rooted in the past. I enjoyed this book quite a lot and remained curious until the end.

I think this one was not as good as the Silver Spike but had enough interest to keep me reading morning and night.

This book is better, I think it is better than Water Sleeps. So between the two, I will settle on a 4/5 simply because it was good, but not 5/5 good.

[Doctor Who Review] Eve of the Daleks

With the rather bland Flux storyline coming to an end, I was not expecting much. The drop in quality scripts under Chibnall made me very wary about this one and I was really worried this one would be a cringe fest. But let's get into it...

So the plot begins with two people stuck in a storage facility on New Year's Eve, a few moments before midnight. Then, the Doctor, Dan and Deadfish Yaz arrive.

This is a time loop episode. My eyes rolled.

After two loops, I was invested and found myself really into it, wondering "how the heck will they get out of this?" This was the most interested Doctor Who plot I watched in YEARS, easily the best of the Chibnall era.

Now, again we have Yaz who has no personality and really brings nothing to the show other than "Token Indian Woman." She gives some generic sass to Dan but it would've been much more fun if the Doctor had those interaction. So again, she's useless and brings nothing to the show.

Contrast with the quips Dan keeps making - the Manchester vs Liverpool early on was just funny. He comes off as genuine and funny. He is definitely a highlight of the season. Too bad he has been constantly sharing screen time with Deadfish.

The two throwaways are also interesting. Both have relatable problems and issues, and in the end came off as genuine people, something I found was missing in a lot of episode. Although their eventual fate is quite predictable, they go through the first cycles making a lot of sense. I enjoyed them.

The Doctor's plan felt "Doctor-y". It was fine.

Now the biggest let down I have with the episode comes towards the end when Dan makes Yaz realize she has a thing for the Doctor, then tells the Doctor about it. The scene, which could be a character-defining moment, falls flat, and has no heart, no warmth to it, I rolled my eyes in cringe at how bad the scene played out. Another failed attempt at something the should've been a personal highlight. By now, I don't care about Yaz and just want her gone as I will not miss her. Boring. Bland. Without personality.

I really expected to downvote this like crazy, but I was really seriously into it and liked it. So I will give it a 4/5.

[Kinda Book Report] X-Men vs Avengers/Fantastic Four

Another book I drew from the bargain bin. This trade book includes the X-Men vs Avengers and X-Men vs Fantastic Four (FF) along with the issue where the two groups first meet. The oddest thing is that the more modern series is FOLLOWED by the first meeting, when it seems the other way around would be more natural.

The Fantastic Four vs the X-Men series comes first. Here we have Reed Richards having a personal battle with his demons, doubting himself and his capacities are he is challenged by the X-Men to find a way to save Kitty Pride who is phasing away following the mutant massacre (a cross-over event I really loved at the time when I began secondary school). After Richards refuses to help, the X-Men turn to the next brightest mind: Doctor Doom.

This is Chris Claremont at his best. Everyone of the characters gets to shine here. Reed Richards' crisis is not trivial and understandable. His relation with Sue and Franklin are strained. On the X-Men side, they have to deal with internal conflicts, their alliance with Magneto and working dealing with the coma of both Colossus and Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde's condition. They come of as very stressed and some of their decisions are rash but not foolish. The two teams clash multiple times but the pace and story keep moving on.

Easy 4/5 with re-readability.

Next we have Fantastic Four #28 where the X-Men are sent to kill the FF because the Puppet Master took control of Professor Xavier. This is a classic early hero vs hero issue serving as a way to expose FF fans to the X-Men. It's serviceable yet it's greatest value is its nostalgia of seeing these early X-Men before they became the accomplished characters Claremont later gave us.

4/5 (rounded up from 3.5) with good re-readability.

The third series are X-Men vs. the Avengers. The line-up of both teams is one I'm familiar with and timewise happened before the FFvXM series. Here, we have Magneto recently turned good guy with the Avengers trying to arrest him, the X-men protecting him, and the Soviet Super-Soldiers (SSS) trying to kill him for his crimes.

After fighting on and off for three issues, the two teams eventually join forces while SSS exit because the Crimson Dynamo manipulated them to go after Magneto. It's a little wonky, but works. I must say that I really like how Captain America, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Druid (who they are really trying to push) are pivotal to the plot.

The final issue has Magneto put on trial for his crimes. In the end, he is found innocent which only seems to fuel more anti-mutant sentiment. In a way, it's a very bittersweet ending, yes he is released but things are not going better.

The biggest downside I have with this is that there is a LOT going on, as does not feel as refined as the FFvXM. Still the final issue is absolutely reveting as Magneto tries to find if one of the judge is crooked and whether he should influence the judges. It really add gravitas and keeps his character intact: he may have decided to reform but he's not suddenly a goodie-two-shoes. He is still willing to do some underhanded actions. Claremont knows Magneto and this series advances him and the X-Men.

4/5 with high re-readability (5/5 on issue #4).

The final issue is X-Men #9 when the X-Men first meet the Avengers. Again the hero vs hero formula, though this time the X-men are going to deal with a problem when the Avengers show up and effectively tell these kids to stay out of the way. After beating up the X-Men, the Avengers decide to leave when Professor Xavier tells them he needs the X-men.

The villain is creative if his name (Lucifer) is not. He has a nuclear device that will destroy America if he is damaged. The Professor and Cyclops finally disable the device.

This is the weakest of the stories in this book, and my rating may be biased from nostalgia but I'll go with a 3/5 with some re-readability.

Overall, this book rates a solid 4/5 with the biggest issue I have with it is the odd order the issues are in the book. I would've preferrred a chronological presentation with FF 28, X-Men 9, X-Men v Avengers, and finally FFvXM.

[Kinda Book Report] Glen Cook's Water Sleeps

Way back in 2019, before everything stopped, I was lucky enough to meet Glen Cook and buy the final omnibus of the Black Company. In both my 2013 and 2014 retrospectives, I reported that I did not enjoy that the previous offerings. Going so far as nothing that I don't think I will read any more of this series [...]. The characters become stale and boring.

The sequel is Water Sleeps. This installment is very much a transition book, setting up the final mega climax of the series. Truth be told as much as I disliked the previous, this one seemed to provide more answers than the previous two which did not answer anything. They were just a slow build-up, building up towards nothing.

Water Sleeps moves to the endgame. Finally some answers are given, and though not everything is revealed, the final book, Soldiers Live should be filled with explosions and world-shattering events. I can't wait to read it.

I said the previous characters were stale... Well now most of them are gone! And ten years have passed! And the Black Company is "no more."

Okay Glen, you have my attention. I'm reading.

My one strike against this one is that it FEELS like a setup for the next book rather than a complete story. Most of the threads are still on-going, and we see a few resolution.

So a score?

I was stumped. This was NOT the best book ever, but I enjoyed it more than a little. So I did the following: I went to my list of other ratings on this blog and looked at the entries. Comparing to others, I can give this one a 4/5.

Yes, I will read the next installment in the series! I have an omnibus!

[Kinda Book Review] Action Comics Vol. 3

More Superman! This time, the 3rd volume of the Rebirth edition of Action Comics. After a lull in volume 2 where we set ourselves up for the next part, I was curious to see where this was going. Could really be a make or break issue for the series as far as my interest.

The main thread of this book is an interesting twist on the conundrum of "If you could travel back in time, would you go and kill baby Hitler?" It is an interesting dilemma because on the one hand, the baby is innocent and has yet to commit these crimes. On the other hand, you know the atrocities he will engage in.

Here, we have Lex Luthor accused of becoming a new Darkseid and taking over Apokolips. That's not a good thing.

Here the villains try put Superman in that position, and Superman intelligently has to deal with and react to the situation and the question. His resolution left me satisfied. It's not really surprising to guess what he does, but the reasoning he uses on the villains is not trivial and you can really go both ways.

Now there is no doubt that left unchecked, we'll have Darkseid Lex...

My final rating for this one is a solid 4/5. While enjoyable, the sidequests are less engaging than in Volume 1. The art is good and I could not wait to read more of it.