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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 26, 2016 14:07:40 GMT -5
I think you are making it more complex than it needs to be. {Spoiler: Click to show}Batman licks A, B, C and D. Batgirl licks B, C, E and F. Robin licks, B, D, E and G.
So after 3 minutes: If only Batman's tongue goes numb, it's A. If all three's tongues go numb, it's B. If Batman and Batgirl's tongues go numb, it's C. If Batman and Robin's tongues go numb, it's D. If Batgirl and Robin's tongues go numb, it's E. If only Batgirl's tongue goes numb, it's F. If only Robin's tongue goes numb, it's G If nobody's tongue goes umb, it's H.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 26, 2016 9:23:58 GMT -5
This riddle came from the game Zero Escape, so if you have played that you're out for this round. I'll change it a bit, to make it more comic-booky.
Batman, Batgirl and Robin are imprisoned by the Riddler. He has injected them with a poison which will kill them in exactly 5 minutes (cause this is comics and bodyweight and biochemistry are irrelevant).
He shows them 8 boxes, labelled A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H.
1 one of the boxes contains the vials with antidote, the other boxes contain just vials of water. They receive 1 key, which can open 1 box, but will dissolve when they use it, so they can open only 1 box.
To make it not a complete guess, each box contains a stripe on the top which is coated with the contents of the box (just not a high enough dose to cure the poison in case of the box with poison).
The antidote also has a special property. Just the tiniest bit of it touching your tongue will give a reaction after 3 minutes, it'll numb the tongue.
What should our heroes do?
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 23, 2016 3:12:05 GMT -5
And a short recap of Eagles of Rome #5 which just came out over here as well. In the train, so I'll be brief.
Eagles of Rome, less homo-erotic than the previous issues, also a lot more depressing. What love there was between the two main characters is completely lost as one has openly risen against Rome and the other is imprisoned for treason while trying to convince the Romans of the trap they are walking into. Trap is sprung, big battle the Romans are absolutely not prepared for and basically it could be the end of the series (if a very depressive ending. On the other hand, well, I'm not feeling too much sympathy for the Romans, so...). Marini is getting pretty cynical here as well: Priscilla's loyal slave, reveals to the main character that the source of his loyalty is that his brother will be killed, should he ever fail in protecting her. Also the brave Roman soldier that offers to ride out to get reinforcements only does so to get the hell out of there.
Artwise, I quite like Marini's portrayal of the German forests. I can't recall if his landscapes were this beautiful before (The Scorpion was mostly crowded buildings, sea and deserts IIRC) but this is the first time I've actively noticed his landscapes. Also the battle scenes are suitably gruesome.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 21, 2016 16:46:13 GMT -5
This week's comics (21st of December) were delayed till Friday over here, so time to review last week. Hawkeye #1 Written by Kelly Thompson Art by Leonardo Romero Colours by Jordie Bellaire
What went before: It's an issue #1, but if you have read Fraction and Wu's Hawkeye "L.A. Woman" story, you pretty much know what's going on. Kate Bishop, the other Hawkeye, has settled down in Los Angeles, rejected her family's fortune and tries to make a living as a private investigator. Summary: Life is not easy for Kate; she manages to foil a bank robbery, but in her personal life she recently started as an (unlicensed) P.I. and the vast majority of the people entering her office are looking for the other Hawkeye (usually to punch him). Just when she's about to give up a real case appears: Mikka, a young student who writes for the college newspaper and a blog, has been victim of harassment. The University and the police have been unable or unwilling to do much. Posing as a student herself, Kate enters the computer lab and gets another student, Quinn, to help her track down the source of the e-mails. Following Mikka, Kate notices another student taking pictures of her and chases him. She catches up with him and finds photos of Mikka and threatening e-mails on her phone. Congratulating herself on a job well done, Kate does not notice that Mikka is dragged into a van. Plot: A good start to a new series, Thompson's series follows Fraction's Hawkeye a lot and that's one of my favourite series of all time, so I'm fine with that (I didn't check out Lemire's series, but I've been reading a lot of Lemire lately and might have to correct that). It sadly lacks the interplay between both Hawkeyes which was my favourite part of Fraction series, but it has charm and humor. I think Kate is one of my favourite new Marvel characters from the past few years, a nice mixture of attitude, skill and bad choices (which comes with the Hawkeye territory). She takes down a bank robbery with minimal problems, so she isn't portrayed as too incompetent, but her detective work still leaves a lot to be desired so the series hits that sweet spot for me between well-meaning loser and boring hyper-competent hero. I also like that the first story seems to be a smaller, more personal story so far rather than pitting Hawkeye against some super-villain right from the start. Quinn and Ramone are two minor characters, but will probably go on to form her supporting cast and from what little we see of them, I think both can play well off Hawkeye. Art: Romero's art reminds me of the art on series like the previous Hawkeye, the Superior Foes of Spider-Man, Secret Avengers and Ant-Man. Clean linework with realistically proportioned characters and little humorous touches to it. In this case, Kate marks points of attention in her environment with imaginary archery targets and notes. It's an artstyle I like and it fits well with this type of story. Grade: 8/10 One of the better first issues I've read lately, eagerly awaiting the next issue.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 21, 2016 5:59:58 GMT -5
Congratulations both and in advance thank you for your time in helping our community.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 19, 2016 14:25:11 GMT -5
Carmen McCallum #4: Samuel Earp (no translation needed this time) Written by Fred Duval Art by Gess
What went before: Wait! This comic is from 2000? Why are you recapping/reviewing this now? Isn't the series on issue 10 now? That's right, I read issue 10 about a month ago, but was a bit lost as I hadn't read the series for a while, so a reread was in order. I started rereading this series last week and I remebered that I really liked this issue. So here it is. Back to "What went before": Carmen McCallum was hired by a Yakuza family to free one of their drug runners from a cryogenic prison. The drug runner, Naoko, turn out to have stolen a box of drugs from her employers who try to capture her using heavy military force. McCallum, betrayed turns on them and together with Naoko and some other alles, they find out that inside the box is a device that can digitalize the human mind into a computer program, allowing the Yakuza's leader to cheat his own death from old age and become a powerful A.I. Instead Carmen's friend Bugg takes control of the device and ends up as the A.I. Summary: It's 48 pages long, but a lot happens, so this is not going to be a summary so much as a longer recap: Inside an expensive restaurant, billionaire Samuel Earp is eating his diner, guarded by bodyguards. Carmen approaches him visually, distracting the bodyguards from Naoko who pretends to be a waitress. Together they capture Earp and jump from a window: the restaurant turns out to be on an airship. The bodyguards tell the staff to notify the authorities, but notice that the staff is talking to the Nevada authorities. The ship is travelling from Texas to California and should be above Arizona. The staff explains that they had to take a detour on order of Houston. The bodyguard then realises that this not a kidnapping, it's an arrest. Earp meanwhile seems rather calm by this arrest, even offers McCallum and Naoko a job because he was impressed by their skills during the extraction. UNO agent Mr. Young, Nevada sherriff Tom and tech-expert Sam await Carmen and Naoko. Sam has to disable Earp's cybernetic implants, but can't: the implants are connected to his pacemaker. Tom puts Earp under arrest, while Young thanks Naoko and Carmen. Earp uses this moment to activate his failsafe plan: on a satellite which houses his weapon's factory, 4 cyborgs kill all the staff with a nanobot weapon, then leave the station in 4 shuttles. Back on Earth, Carmen leaves, this being her last job. Naoko stays behind, having taken the job offered by Young. Meanwhile a TV program mentions that Earp is responsible for a disaster in Emigrant Valley, Nevada. Nevada's authorities have been trying to bring him to justice for years, but the US government and other states have protected the wealthy Earp for years now. In a small town a younger man watches this on TV and remembers the disaster in Emigrant Valley: the same nanobot weapon used a scene ago, was responsible for killing most of his village and seriously injuring many others (the man has a cybernetic arm to replace the hand that was eaten by the nanodrones). More flashbacks show Earp giving a speech how his nanobots will give the farmer of Emigrant Valley independence from the sellers of genetically manipulated seeds and offers a solution to the pesticide-immune bugs that threaten their crops. In the end, the disaster claims the lives of 123 farmers. McCallum tries to get some food, but is ordered to leave by the Nevadan sherrif and feels that something is wrong. Earp asks Young to enter his personal cyberspace with him to negotiate. Earp's cyberspace is a reenactment of the battle of Bull Turn, 1861. Young accuses Earp of producing illegal nanodrone weapons after the disaster at Emigrant Valley. He will protect Earp from prosecution in return for control of Earp's arms factories. Earp's counter-offer: 4 cyborgs have placed caches of his nanodrone weapons in 4 major cities accross the Earth. He has no direct control over them, but if he's not back in his office within 4 hours, they will release the nanodrones. The negotiations are broken off when Earp notices that an intruder has entered his cyberspace. Outside UNO's transport of Earp is attacked by forces, who turn out to be Nevadans out for revenge against Earp. Young tries to convince them that Earp's threats are real, but they don't believe him. The Nevadans want Earp dead and will hold a trial where the jury will be the disaster's survivors. McCallum wakes up, imprisoned by an older Nevada man who wants to keep her out of the situation, but Carmen manages to escape (with some mysterious help) and she breaks into the trial against Earp. Threatening to shoot hostages, McCallum manages to convince the Nevadans to let her, her allies and Earp go. Leaving inside an armoured truck to take Earp to the actual courthouse, but it's still a long road and the Nevadans won't give up that easy. Plot: As said before, I love Gibson style cyberpunk and this hits all those notes. Tech is around and important to the plot, but the core are human characters, each with their own personality, goals and methods. McCallum is the hero of this title, but when she claims that she will start shooting hostages if the Nevadans won't let them go, we know she is not bluffing. Earp is ruthless, but not stupid and remains calm throughout the story, being very impressed with Carmen and Naoko defeating his bodyguards with little trouble. Read that whole recap: it's a really dense stories that has worldbuilding, plot advancement and characterisation. Art: Gess get a lot of opportunities to do interesting things: the young man's flashback to the day his village died is completely without text and chilling. Then we get sci-fi cyborgs, action scenes, space stations but also an American Civil War era battle. The art is not super detailed, but expressive and actions flow nicely. Grade: 9/10: My favourite issue of this series so far, it has a lot going for it. The sci-fi enhances the setting, but with some minor changes the story could be set in the present and still be effective.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 15, 2016 13:31:46 GMT -5
Not American comics, but the Smurfs! Originally introduced as side characters in "Johan et Pirlouit", they have far eclipsed their original title in popularity and pop cultural impact.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 14, 2016 6:26:01 GMT -5
And the new Puzzler: A lone hijacker commandeers a jetliner that's on its way from Boston to Los Angeles with a stopover in Chicago. At gunpoint he instructs the pilot to land the plane at O'Hare, whereupon he further instructs the pilot to call the authorities and tell them that this hijacker wants a million dollars in cash and three parachutes. Sure enough, they show up with the stuff, and since they did this, he agrees to release half of the hostages on the plane. So, half the passengers get off, they load in three parachutes and the million dollars, and the plane takes off, headed for Los Angeles. He then tells the pilot to lower the altitude, he opens the door with the million dollars in the suitcase attached to one parachute, and himself attached to another parachute, and he escapes. The question is: What's with the third parachute? Here's the answer: RAY: The authorities knew that he needed one parachute for the money, and they knew that he needed one parachute for himself, and they had to assume the third parachute was for a hostage. Therefore, they could not run the risk of rigging the parachutes. Otherwise, they'd give him two parachutes that had holes in them. They couldn't take the chance, and that's why he asked for the extra parachute. Is it common for your police force to be psychopaths?
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 12, 2016 14:54:56 GMT -5
Rani #1: Bâtarde (Bastard) Written by Jean van Hamme and Alcante (Didier Swysen) Art by Francis Vallès
What went before: Nothing! It's issue #1. Though it's set in the real world, France, 1743: Austria is in a war of succession, France has allied with the Prussians and Spain against the Austrians who are supported by England and the Netherlands. Summary: Philippe de Valcourt has returned from Versailles to his father's estate. Charles de Valcourt is not happy at all with his son: the young man is spending money like crazy and even worse, has used his father's property to get a mortgage, faking his signature. So he tells his son that he'll leave his money and castle to Jolanne, his illegitimate daughter, whom he has recognized (I hope I'm using the correct english terms here). Philippe will have to accept the farmlands (at least what remains of them after Charles has sold them to pay of Phillipe's death). Anybody with some sense can see where this is going: Philippe murders his father and poor Jolanne has to hear that she is getting nothing and that her half-brother is marrying her off to some rich old guy and things go worse for her from there. Plot: I always enjoy period pieces that are set in times and places we don't often visit in fiction. The title of the issue is kinda clever, because you can decide for yourself which of the two siblings it refers to (it's Jolanne though as the titles of the rest of the series point in that direction: "Bandit", "Slave", "Mistress", "Savage", "Convict", "Queen" and "Marchioness" (Yes, I had to google that last translation). Plotwise, the story is not that surprising: Philippe needs money and is doing anything to get it: murdering his father, stealing his half-sister's inheritance, sleeping with next door's rich widow, trying to marry that widow's daughter for her part of the inheritance (Hands up who thinks that combining those 2 plans is a terrible idea?) and last but not least selling war secrets to the British. Somebody who needs money that desperate is bound to make mistakes and Philippe makes many serious mistakes, but lucks out when he can blame Jolanne for them (forgetting that the loans he received from the baron were on the condition that he could marry Jolanne, but I guess he'll realise that next issue). Jolanne, as our main character, receives less attention, but she has a character: it's clear that she is not impressed by her half-brother's claims, outspoken in her desire for freedom (having been schooled in a nunnery for the past few years, as was common back then, and now to be married off, she wants to see more of the world). She just is limited in her means to fight back against Philippe. She's definitely not as naieve as her neighbour (who is also her occassional lover back in the nunnery. I'm reminded of a recent QI episode, where Holly Walsh explains that because she went to a mixed school, they had nightwatchmen at the dormitories at night to check whether the boys and girls were not meeting up at night. Sandi Toksvig comments that she went to an all-girls school and they didn't have them; "They should have.") I quite liked that there is a whole group of people who are not fooled by Philippe at all: the widow next door, who is pretty realistic about why Philippe is meeting with her and refuses to let him marry her daughter and wants him to marry her instead (not out of love, she doesn't care if he cheats on her, but his cheating would break her daughter's heart). The British spy/soldier who he sells secrets to finds him repulsive: the secrets might save his comrades' lives, but Philippe is betraying his country for money. And the notary knows exactly why Charles died and what was in his will, but just can't prove it. Art: Vallès has been working with Van Hamme before on Les Maîtres de l'orge which I had in my top comics of all time we did a couple of years ago. The artwork is never spectacular, but as the story is grounded in reality, his art works well. Clothes and buildings look age appropriate (as far as I can tell). The only thing that bothers is me, is that the widow next door looks very young and attractive, while Philippe rejects her for being too old and it would harm his reputation to be seen with her. Grade: 7/10: A decent start to a series, but so far it's rather predictable.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 12, 2016 4:53:01 GMT -5
Deadpool. Started out as a villain mercenary in the dying days of the New Mutants title, then became an anti-hero over time, to carrying multiple solo titles and starring in his own movie. The Punisher, obviously, from his debut in ASM 129 to carrying three solo titles at one point and being the subject of two solo films.3 even (Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and whoever played him in Warzone). Maybe even 3.5 if you count the Dirty Laundry short.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 12, 2016 4:40:37 GMT -5
1977, so not exactly 40 years yet, but pretty close.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 11, 2016 17:38:01 GMT -5
Thorgal #35: Le feu écarlate (The Scarlet Fire) Written by Xavier Dorison Art by Grzegorz Rosinski
What went before: Thorgal's youngest son Aniel, has been kidnapped by a cult of Red Wizards. In the last issue he managed to catch up with the Wizards and find out that they believe that Aniel is the reincarnation of their founder, but he's too late. The Wizards have started their ritual and Aniel is now Kanahiel, the Grand Wizard of the cult, incarnate. Summary: Prisoner of the Red Wizard, Thorgal tries to reach his son and the cold-hearted Aniel turns out to be not as controlled by his ancestor's spirit as it appears at first. But is it really any better to have an emotional child with the power to turn burn the world? Plot: New writer time: Dorison already wrote an issue of the five billion spin-offs that Thorgal has now that Van Hamme has left (spin-offs which I haven't been following), but the switch from Sente to Dorison is pretty smooth, probably because Rosinski has been the main force behind Thorgal for these past few years. I do hope that this story-arc will be wrapping up soon enough, I'm actually more interested in Jolan's story right now than Aniel's. Plotwise it's Thorgal trying to save his son basically from the Dark Side. The Red Wizards have some advantages, Thorgal has been a pretty terrible father to the boy over the years (not all his fault of course) and the kid may be closer to them, but Thorgal has an ace they don't know about: Aniel's mother, Kriss of Valnorr is alive (again... long story, nevermind). Art: It's Rosinski, he's been doing this for 40 years now (though he did reinvent himself about halfway through by painting instead of pencilling), so you pretty much know what you're getting. Lots of fire this time as Aniel has the power to turn water into fire so we get everything burning in large illustrations. Most of the story is taking place in dark dungeons, caves and temples though and when we get outside it's a city in a desert, so not much landscapes around this time. Grade: 7/10: It's a pretty standard Thorgal story here, I'm missing the heights of The Archers or The Invisible Fortress. Dorison taking over seamless is both a pro and a con this time. Luckily I also got some Van Hamme comics to read, so let's see how those work out (Publisher Le Lombard has an action right now (not sure if it's just a promotion or a celebration. Le Lombard was founded 70 years ago, so it might be that) where several series have their first issue available for 3 euros and there are some great series there (sadly I've most of them, but I picked up Van Hamme's Rani which I haven't read yet. Other series include Jeremiah, Largo Winch, Djinn, Thorgal, XIII, Lady S, Barracuda, Michel Valliant and Alfa. Maybe more on Rani when I've read the issue. Other series include a new Meta-Baron series by Jodorowsky, which I finished, but it lacks the crazyness of the original Meta-Baron series.
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 11, 2016 16:21:21 GMT -5
Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme #2 Written by Robbie Thompson Pencils by Javier Rodriguez Inks by Alvaro Lopez Colours by Jordie Bellaire
What went before: Merlin has gathered a group of Sorcerers from various time periods to defeat the Forgotten, a foe Merlin had banished before but has escaped and is threatening Camelot. The sorcerers fight the Forgotten, but it easily kills one of them. Summary: The Forgotten is not alone and the Sorcerers quickly decide that they are at a disadvantage, so Wiccan teleports them away. We get some scenes from Wiccan's own future. Finally the heroes make their way to Camelot, but Wiccan takes another path. Plot: A bit more focus on Wiccan this time, but we also get a bit of info on some of the other new characters. The Forgotten also has an interesting scene where it talks to itself and its face keeps changing with every voice, so I'm getting the idea that this is a combination of the various beings that Merlin imprisoned underground. Also interesting to see that it calls its minions friends, this together with the scenes from the first issue, makes me think that it not might be evil as such. So overall, a lot of new characters that I'm still interested in. Art: The art is pretty good as well, Rodriguez and also Bellaire get the opportunity to do some interestings things with the magical traps and mystical characters (see the scene with the Forgotten above for instance). Grade: 8/10
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 11, 2016 16:03:30 GMT -5
Seven to Eternity #3 Written by Rick Remender Art by Jerome Opeña Colours by Matt Hollingsworth
What went before: Adam Osidis, our main character, has travelled to the court of the Mud King/God of Whispers, offering himself to restore his family's honor, but the Mud King has offered to cure his deadly disease instead. Before Adam can chose, a group rebels enters the court in an attempt to slay the tyrant. Summary: So the first three issues turn out to be intro to the main concept of the series: the rebels manage to knock out the Mud King (with some losses and the assistance of Adam). The leader of the rebels explains that they can bring the King to a certain wizard, he can severe the connections between the King and his followers without killing them. So the seven survivors (Five rebels, the King's former concubine and Adam) set out to bring the King to the wizard, but they will have to travel through hostile territory filled with the King's loyal subjects. Plot: It's pretty quick read as most of the story is one long fight scene, but most of the characters get some establishment (we get to see most of their abilities and a few of the King's strongest allies) and we get the main premise explained. So there's enough happening. The world is still fascinating and I'm eager to see more of it. Art: I love Opeña's work and he's one of the big draws to this series. There are some great designs for various characters and a shame that some of them don't make it into the rest of the series (though who knows?) Grade: 9/10
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 5, 2016 16:09:33 GMT -5
Yep, that's the way.
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