Cooking for Brevitt

Go Read DMZ!

Stop what you are doing right now. Put down the coffee beverage and/or the juice cocktail you are working on. Put the kids to sleep. Tell your boss it's important and just get up from your desk. Walk outside and head to the nearest comic book store and buy DMZ.

Yes, this series is that good.

Developed by the one and only Brian Wood, DMZ is a graphic novel that I believe everyone should read. Given our current political climate both at home and abroad, this couldn't have come out at a better time. Here is the introduction straight from Wood's site:

In the near future, America's worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militia scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand - Manhattan or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ. Matty Roth, a naive young and and aspiring photojournalist, lands a dream gig following a veteran war journalist into the heart of the DMZ. Things soon go terribly wrong, and Marry finds himself lost and alone in a world he's only seen on television. There, he is faced with a choice: try to find a way off the island, or make his career with an assignment most journalists would kill for. But can he survive the war zone long enough to report the truth?

What I love about this series is how emotionally attached you become to Matty and the other main characters, but probably more importantly - just how plausible this story truly is. Think about it for a bit, we as a nation are so spread out bringing 'freedom' to the world that we often neglect our own internal issues. Even the addition of Trustwell plays right into the current scandals of Blackwater and what they truly are to the current administration.

Could this actually happen - well I sure as hell hope it doesn't, but what DMZ does brilliantly is craft a story about the other side of war. The people that survive and lead their lives amid the scandal and scars. This is one of those books that make you think about life, our place in it and just how much it could all change in a heartbeat.

Go buy all of the DMZ books now and thank me later!

Walking Dead Volume 6 Review

It's been a wicked long time since I did my review for The Walking Dead Volume 5: The Best Defense, but Volume 6 of the Walking Dead series 'This Sorrowful Life' came out recently and I was finally able to pick it up.

Much like the previous volumes the story line and character development in this series is amazing. You become attached to the characters and it's a strange feeling to see them placed into the situations that are presented in This Sorrowful Life. The creators of this series truly have developed something special and it will be very interesting to see how it all turns out.

I won't go over too many details, but although Volume 6 is dark like the rest of the series, it also feels as if a large weight has been lifted from the story arc in Volume 5. There is still trouble brewing and the next Volume appears to be shaping up quite nicely, but This Sorrowful Life does a great job of moving the story along, closing some personal situations and still laying the groundwork for the next big event.

Go get this - fans of zombies should already be reading this series, but others who are just fans of great stories or graphic novels need to give The Walking Dead a try.

AMV Wake Up

Turned to Ninjatune this morning over coffee and emails and what was the first song that came on.....none other than Handsome Boy Modeling School's Holy Calamity - a turntabilist dream. So, went over to YouTube to search for the video and came across this AMV made by running Holy Calamity over Samurai Champloo. Most AMV's have pretty shitty tracks and even worse editing - this one is done perfectly.

You say you like scratching? You say you like samurai fury? Watch it!

Extralife Comics

The boys over at Extralife are always good for some laughs - they are on my list of weekly web comic reads, so good stuff indeed. They picked up the top comic award over at JoyStiq for the Wii Santa comic, but I'm partial to these as well.

• Myth Busters and Gaming = perfect
• Making fun of Batman & Robin is always fun
• Mortal Kombat stylee

 

 

Walking Dead Volume 5 Review

So finally after a few delays, The Best Defense came out last week and I scooped it up over the weekend. Just like the rest of the series - this is a great read and shouldn't be missed if you are a fan of the genre.

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a little history. The Walking Dead is a comic following the lives of a group of survivors who are trying to survive a zombie infestation. The world has changed and they are no longer safe, so how do they survive now? I know it sounds like many other titles and movies that cover the zombie genre, but The Walking Dead excels with an amazing story and how that story is presented. Kirkman's writing is among the best in the industry and the reader quickly gets attached to each character.

The Best Defense continues this tradition and brings some new twists to the survivors. Without revealing too much - just remember that sometimes your neighbors are not your best friends.

Fans of zombies and incredibly well written comics should invest time in this series.