Trick or Treat!

A Happy Halloween and a Blessed Samhain to you all!

If you're looking for a good Halloween read, hunt down Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson's Beasts of Burden. Helluva good series about neighborhood pets who fight the supernatural. Way less twee than you would ever suspect and damned creepy in parts. A damn fine read. Failing that, check out these pugs in superhero costumes! (I am easily amused)

If you want something to just give you the flat-out creepy-crawlies, I suggest hunting down the manga Uzumaki. It's the creepy tale of a town haunted by a spiral that makes people into freaks and lunatics via anything remotely "spiral" shaped. Some portions are just laughable (Deadly curly hair!) but the bit about the human snail . . . brrrr.

Lastly, enjoy this creepy Bonus Video Content! If you haven't played Batman: Arkham Asylum yet, btw, it's a terrific game . . . and the Scarecrow is one of the best parts. :D Enjoy these easter eggs - little taped interviews from the so-called Master of Fear in Arkham Asylum.

Am I Blue?

Linky link links for you all!

I just found an intriguing manga about everyday life. Seems very lovely and subtle.

Speaking of lovely and subtle, have you heard of Twilight Guardian yet? It's a contest-winning story about one girl's quiet misadventures patrolling a suburban neighborhood as a 'superheroine'. I like it quite a bit and plan on buying more of it when it comes out regularly.

And speaking of contest-winners, or at least, contest runner-uppers - I'm intrigued by I Hate Gallant Girl. The premise sounds cute and sort of Empowered-esque. We'll see if it lives up to both the premise and the cute preview.
(SIDEBAR: I sent in four submissions for that contest and while I was a bit saddened that none of them got in, I remember this idea being the one that got my vote out of the top five that did make it.)

And hey, speaking of that title of the post - animated Batman and Blue Beetle ahoy! I want approximately 17 of those little marshmallow amoeba thingies with laser guns as my pets, like, right now. Also, this looks pretty damned fun, no? One nitpick - I kinda wish they'd given Jaime just a little bit of an accent but considering that I'm a Hispanic guy with no accent, I'm totally okay with him not having one. See, that's how much I like this - just one nitpick! Fingers crossed that the rest of the series is just this fun and cute.

And speaking of animated things that amuse me, I hope to try out Spider-Man: Web of Shadows sometime in the future. Geeky confession: playing one of the first Spider-Man video games - with the web-slinging action and movement - was one of those rare moments where a video game made me feel like I was a kid again. I've had a weakness for Spider-Man video games ever since (save for that damnable Atari version and the Ultimate one where the web-slinging dynamic was just a hair off and it drove me a bit nuts). Anyways, this game looks like a lot of fun and I dig all the previously unused Marvel NY residents shown as having guest spots. Luke Cage smashin' stuff is always fun. Of course, I still need to finish Marvel Ultimate Alliance, so it's pretty clear that my Comic Book Video Game Geek-Fu is weak (I'm gonna see Deadpool save the universe someday if it kills me, dang it).

And hey, I know I've been bad about keeping up the blog again. Sorry, folks. I've been a bit blue. But hey, much in the spirit of Batman, I plan on turning my personal bucket of emo into motivation. Or maybe just a stirring jazz song -

Also of note

The only correct way to review Manga can be found here.

And if you enjoy fine art, I suggest you go here to see classic paintings improved via superhero photoshop.

Kitty Pryde is a walking, phasing anime cliche

Look people - let's all please stop the bitching about this upcoming X-Men Manga. The people writing it are superhumanly nice and prone to creating adorable art.

More to the point, there's no superheroine more perfect for a manga style digest than Kitty Pryde. While I've never been much attached to the character, one way or the other, Kitty Pryde in a shojo just makes freakin' sense. She's always been just one Sailor Scout outfit away from being a Japanese archetype (and sadly, that sort of outfit would be better than most of her in continuity ones).

Need proof? Let's go down the list, shall we?

Name or code names that are cute to the point of absurdity?

Check.

Mischievous yet helpful pet?

Check.


Magical weapon she can summon out of nowhere?

Check.

Rarely, if ever, seen without her important neck jewelry?

Check.


Pwns all comers despite her improbably young and inexperienced nature?

Check.

Super bad-ass ninja skills?

Check.

Falls in love with a dark-haired, older co-worker?



Check and DOUBLE CHECK.


Insanely over-sexualized by a bunch of fanboys who really should know better than to letch on a fictional teen/early twenties girl (not to name names but seriously, c'mon, stop it Schmis Schmlaremont. And yes, even you too, Choss Chedon.)?

Sadly, check (see also the "naughty schoolgirl" picture I've used at the very top of this post to illustrate my disturbing point).

You know, I could go on and on but really, I think the case is closed.

Don't you?