Category Archives: San Diego Comic Con 2013
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant is a feast for the eyes and mind
Here at MITNG, we talk a lot about positive female role models/characters. We don’t try, mind you, it’s just something we do, so it’s with a considerable amount of joy, that I present to you, Firstsecond Publishing’s amazing new graphic novel Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.
Set in a vividly drawn landscape, compliments of writer and illustrator Tony Cliff, Delilah Dirk weaves a wonderful tale, not unlike the greatest adventure stories of our time. One can’t help to be taken aback by images of worlds that some may never get to see, but are alive and in flawless detail in this book.
In 19th-century Turkey, an officer in the Janissary army must struggle to repay a brash adventuress for saving his life, even though she was the one who endangered it in the first place. The webcomic unfolds with four or six new pages each Saturday. The number of pages varies each week in service to the story, usually determined by which page would make a more cruel, heart-wrenching cliffhanger.
I will say this, she isn’t a role model in the stereo typical sense, but she’s a role model, in a world, that unfortunately isn’t that far from our world today. Delilah is a leader and not a follower, but strangely enough, the one who does follow, in this male dominated society, is a man. A man, who knows all too well, the trouble Delilah could and has gotten him into, but there are forces stronger than greed and adventure that are at work when it comes to why he follows and the writing “brilliantly” eludes to that fact without becoming cheesy. Her unfortunate counter part, Mr. Selim, was once a wealthy subservient in the Turkish army, but unforeseen circumstances has him on the run, with Delilah, from the same people he used to work for and Delilah’s own nemesis, known as Zakul.
This trade boast of “never a dull moment” and there isn’t. Delilah Dirk, is a swashbuckling, adventure seeking, death dealer with a heart of gold. The story is told in such amazing detail and fun, I didn’t want to leave. Course, what would any good book be without it’s element of magic and that comes in Delilah’s flying boat, that unfortunately get’s blown up, but it’s really cool while it last. It’s a modern day cliff hanger, only it’s set in the 19th Century. From page to page you will be hooked by the clever dialog and outstanding art. I recommend this book to anyone whose a fan of Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean or the Mummy.
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant has it all and is an amazing accomplishment by Tony Cliff
This series is available in web format or hard copy. I recommend the hard copy.
For more information on Delilah Dirk checkout these sites.
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- Review: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant (clarissasbooks.wordpress.com)
- NYCC 2013: First Second Books (graphicpolicy.com)
- As Promised Tragic Love Chapter One (msbrannon.wordpress.com)
- NYCC ’13 The Beat Podcasts! More To Come NYCC Interviews 3 (comicsbeat.com)
- Chase & Status Time ft Delilah (machanica.wordpress.com)
Absolutely gorgeous and moving tribute to the cosplayers of Dragon Con 2013
So I know you’ve seen a lot of cosplay videos from conventions as well as smart ass geek-youtubers interviewing/hurling insults at cosplayers and groping women, for the sake of their ignorant fans…well this is not what this is. This is an outstanding tribute to those who dream of other worlds and once, twice or three times a year, they become the physical manifestation of that idea. I know because I used to cosplay…quite frankly I don’t know why I quite, but watching this video makes me want to do it again.
The footage in the following video comes from the annual Dragon Con held in Atlanta Georgia. In recent years Dragon Con has grown to epic proportions and shows no signs of slowing up.
I won’t say to much more cause you really need to see this…and for those who mock their friends and family for doing what they love….schools in bitches and the cosplay is here to stay!!
Beatdown Boogie’s YouTube Channel
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ANOMALY proves to be much more than expected
It took awhile, but I finally got around to finishing Anomaly. I first set eyes on this magnificent book at the Phoenix Comic Con 2013 and became an instant fan. Developed by Anomaly Productions started by VFX artist Skip Brittenham and comic book writer and editor Brian Haberlin , Anomaly is a visually groundbreaking augmented reality graphic novel. Every other page in this enormous book, weighing in at almost ten pounds, contains augmented reality that can be accessed by downloading the app onto your smart phone, ipad or iphone. Once downloaded you point the camera at specific pages and voila, the characters come to life in exquisite detail.
The app allows you to rotate your ipad or phone, to see the character on all sides. Each character also does an action when you swipe your finger across the screen, but I wouldn’t be telling you any of this if Anomaly wasn’t a good story in itself.
If you can get past the size of the book, it’s actually quite a good read!
SYNOPSIS:
Dishonorably discharged from the Conglomerate’s elite Enforcer Corps, Jon is doing a job too lowly for a robot. He leaps at the chance to go on a peaceful, first contact mission to an untainted world. Playing armed babysitter to Samantha, the daughter of a powerful Conglomerate executive shouldn’t be too hard. What could go wrong?
Everything…
For Jon, it’s a relief to get away – on an easy assignment protecting a couple of do-gooders visiting a peaceful new planet. For Samantha, it’s a mission to change the world. For Jasson, it’s a chance to put his theories to the test.
Being marooned on Anomaly where technology doesn’t work, the terrain is lethal and the creatures even more so, Jon quickly learns he’s not the man he once was. Dark secrets surround the various species that call this world home. Jon’s actions here have the potential to ripple across the void of space, and touch everything in it… Maybe even the Conglomerate…
But when Anomaly sprouts synthetics-eating viruses, flesh-eating mutants and deadly magic, it becomes a race against which form of death will come first. Who will survive? Who will return?
The story flows well as we follow our protagonist to this primitive planet, where large mutants live and magic still exists. The danger’s Jon’s crew face are well beyond human understanding, but watching them apply western arrogance to a problem beyond reasoning, is kind of a hoot. The banter isn’t too cliche, but they border on it sometimes, however the scope of the world is beautifully laid out in long pages that gives you a panoramic of the planet in every turn of the page.
I must say that a few of the creatures, structures and scenes, take huge sips from the Peter Jackson cup, but I was able to look past it. It’s almost an homage to games like Halo and movies like Lord of the Rings with a sprinkle of AVATAR…for good measure. I also wasn’t able to look at all the augmented stuff while I read, simply cause I was too busy reading and the augmented stuff was slowing me down, but that’s not to say you can’t go back when it’s done and look til your hearts content.
I still think there are a few kinks to work out before we start seeing augmented reality books on the shelf, but I think they are making vast strides in the field. An idea, I think, that would up the stakes on this technology, provided they haven’t come up with this already, is for someone to develop glasses that allow you to experience the augmented reality without taking your hands off the book, wait a tick…Google Glasses!! We could take that idea a step further and put headphones in the glasses, that would give you a soundtrack, narration if needed or sound effects. This of course is an interfacing nightmare, but one well worth looking into.
As for Anomaly, it’s a brilliant look at what will be the future of comic books and I am eagerly awaiting the next issue.
ANOMALY WEBSITE
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Summit Entertainment’s Ender’s Game experience, encourages fans to join the Battle Academy
Well it seems Summit Entertainment in cooperation with HGTV…whaaa?…is working hard to impress the shit out of us and…get you to forget about Orson Scott Card’s foolery. They’ve constructed an exhibit at Comic Con 2013 that shows off some of what we will be seeing when the film hits screens on November 1st.
These images, compliments of Firstshowing.net , shows props from the battle school Ender trains at complete with bunk beds, digital tablets and uniforms. It also gives the viewers a glimpse into Ender’s home life with clothing that his sister wears in the film it also has some of the zero G obstacles that the recruits use in the battle room and last, but not least, the gravity suits.
It’s all quite the “to do” , seems everyone is stepping up their game this year to get you to spend some money on their film. I’m guessing in another five years the SDCC will just be one big amusement park. It’s still no World’s Fair yet, but I garauntee it’s on the horizon.
In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite.
Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
