Star Wars - Jedi: The Dark Side

Star Wars - Jedi: The Dark Side is another example of how cumbersome titles get, especially when you have to stick 'Star Wars' on the front of them, but that doesn't seem to stop anyone though!!

'Jedi' is the story of Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Xanatos on a crucial mission to bring peace to Telos IV, which just so happens to be the homeworld of Xanatos. Anyway, let's crack on with some new stuff!

New Jedi

Orykan Tamarik
Species: Twi'lek
Sex: Female
Occupation: Padawan








Orykan is a young Padawan apprenticed to Master Tahl, she is grieving the loss of her former master and is scarred by the affects of the turmopiled planet she is visiting with her friend Xanatos.

A few Jedi get their first visual appearances here - Tahl and Feemor. Tahl is Orykan's master, assigned to help Qui-Gon and Feemor is a Knight, Qui-Gon's first Padawan.
















Map

Not much to see apart from the journey from Coruscant to Telos - but I still like making my maps!














Issue Review

Xanatos and Qui-Gon are called to Telos to settle a local dispute. When they arrive they are set upon by thugs who are part of a local rebellion. As they uncover more and more of what goes on events take a turn for the worse with Xanatos' sister being killed in a terrorist incident. As they desperately battle to find out who the true enemy is, civil war starts sparking out, fueling tensions between telosians and outsiders who they naturally mistrust. These events drive Qui-Gon into battle with Crion, Xanatos's father and ruler of Telos who had a hand in creating the turmoil. Qui-Gon takes down Crion in a move that turns Xanatos to the Dark Side forever.

My Two Credits

For once I'm going to be negative about a Star Wars comic!! I just didn't enjoy this one that much. The art was great and the story was good but I just didn't care about what happened. I'm not a fan of the prequel era (I do like the movies, but I haven't read any of the literature) so didn't really know who Xanatos was or the implications of what happened - I assumed he was dead at the end of the story but fans will know that he turns up as an opponent to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in other fiction. I'm not against fan-service at all, I'm sure tons of the stuff I've gone giddy over would leave other fans with the same reaction but still, as I'm not a pre-prequel fan this series had little to offer me this time.

Blogga's Video Game Diary - 25/10/11

More gaming goodness using Avatar Kinect!!



More soon!

SF at the Movies - October '11

On time! Let's see what Sci-Fi is on big screen this month.

Real Steel




And that, unfortunately, seems to be it so aside from robot boxing we'll have to wait for next month to see what Sci-Fi goodness there is!

Doctor Who - New series, new species, part 35

Ok so I'm massively behind on this as well but I'm going to write about the new alien species we encountered in the recent series of Torchwood: Miracle Day and hopefully soon I'll get round to Doctor Who and SJA too!!

But one thing at a time!

Brain Parasite









A fairly generic name for this beasty. They chucked this one in to keep us sci-fi fans happy with the generally spy-thriller and not so Sci-Fi running of the show. These are bog-standard alien wormy things, but they did the job of creepy monster in a box very well. It was interesting that they were a tool of the Trickster, in that he can use them and make deals with mob bosses to change the course of the 21st century but is himself limited in making deals with people and can be defeated by a noble sacrifice. I hope the end of SJA doesn't mean we see an end to what I still think is one of the best villains of the Whoniverse.

Brain parasites are a race of beings reviled for their effect on the nervous systems of beings they encounter. On several planets they are reviled, with one exception where they are considered a delicacy. Brain parasites are sometimes deployed as weapons by those seeking to cause chaos.

The Blessing









It's still unclear what the Blessing was/is and I'm not sure if I'm ok with that. I understand the point that the characters can't know everything but to be dragged through ten episodes waiting to solve the mysteryu only to be told 'we don't know what it is' was a little dissatisfying. That said the blessing was cool, the strange crack in the world that seems to run right through the Earth and is alive and influences the development of the human race.

The Blessing is a mysterious phenomenon located at the antipodes of Buenoas Aires and Shanghai, a break in the Earth believed to run through the centre of the planet and has an incredible influence on the human race. It causes immense distress to anyone who goes near it, often resulting in suicide and projects a patterned morphic field that affects the entire human race. When fed Jack Harkness's immortal blood it made the entire human race mortal, only returning the people to normal when fed Jack's now mortal blood. The Blessing was buried in the ensuing conflict and it's mysteries remain sealed for the time being.

And that's it - more on Doctor Who soon!!

Smallville - from strip to screen, part 2

Ok so I'm continuing to go through the DC Characters that are showing up across Clark's final journey as 'The Blur' before becoming the hero we all know and love. Here's part 2 covering episodes 5-10

The Suicide Squad













The squad made a few early appearances with Deadshot marking various members of Watchtower with the squad's symbol. It was later revealled that they were acting to stop the Vigilante Registration act and wanted to defend the heroes like Clark and Oliver from being rounded up by the authorities, of course Clark and the others don't agree with their methods - which include targeting Clark's soon-to-be father in law General Sam Lane.
In the comic the Suicide Squad is a government-assembled group of vigilantes who are sent on missions deemed suicidal and high risk. They have captured many notorious villains but also rubbed up against superman and batman and many others.

Granny Goodness












Granny Goodness has been playing a long game for Darkseid her master taking orphaned girls and raising them to be her Female Furies, then placing them in positions of power across the world. One of her orphans was Tess abandoned by her true father Lionel Luthor but who escaped her clutches. Granny tried to reclaim Tess but was unsuccessful but is still working towards Darkseid's ultimate rule.
In the Comics Granny is based on Apokolips, Darkseid's world and raises an army of super-soldiers to work for the dark one. She raised character's like Scott Free a hero who is one of the only ones to truly escape from her clutches. She also has her army of superpowered Female Furies.

Desaad













Desaad is another of Darkseid's minions, influencing the people through his underground clubs and other vices. He is significant in that he fought Oliver and in that fight Oliver revealed the darkness in himself, enabling Dasaad to brand him with the Omega symbol, placing him within his master's clutches.
In the comics Desaad is one of Darkseid's key henchmen never far from his master's side, with a muxh less down-to-earth look.

Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke













Slade Wilson is a U.S. Army General who is determined to stop the vigilantes like Watchtower and bring them under Government control. He is the driving force behind the Vigilante Registration Act, which calls for heroes to reveal their identities and join the Government, while secretly building prisons to contain them. During a conflict with the heroes he lost his eye and it was also revealed that he wears the Omega symbol on his skull, making him a servant of Darkseid, unwittinggly perhaps. During another conflict he killed Hawkman and Clark banished him to the Phantom Zone.
In the Comics Slade Wilson, or Deathstroke applied for an experimental army project which boosted his strength and durability. Taking up the life of a mercenary he has fought a number of hero groups, most notably the Teen Titans.

Mera













Mera is an Atlantean like Aquaman, capable of breathing underwater and controlling water and joined him in his quest to keep earth's oceans safe, they fell in love and were married. When they discovered that Slade Wilson was building prisons for heroes in secret oil rigs they teamed up to fight back.
Mera's origins are a little unclear in the comics, with various stories. She is Atlantean, was once an enemy of Aquaman but they fell in love and married and now she is the queen of Atlantis.

Clark Luthor/ Ultraman















Clark Luthor is from a parallel universe where things turned out quite differently. Instead of being found by the Kents he was found by Lionel and raised as his personal soldier, taking the persona of Ultraman and gaining more and more power for the Luthor name. When Clark activates a Kryptonian artifact called a mirror-box he is transported to this universe and Clark Luthor takes his place. Clark Luthor later returns in a following episode as everyone in his universe knows his weakness for kryptonite and Oliver made sure it was readily available - Clark forced him to return and begin a new the life of a hero.
In the comics Ultraman comes from a not-destroyed Krypton to Earth to rule it and test his powers against it's heroes, ultimately defeated by the Justice League he is still a threat to many on Earth.

And that's it - more soon!!

New Star Wars Comics announced!!

Apologies for lack of posting, work has been absolutely crazy and it's horrible how stupid things like 'real life' get in the way of writing about imaginary universes! Anyway to make it up to you a bit I've got some actual news that's recent - New York Comic-Con is on and new comic series' have been announced and Dark Horse has headlined it's new Star Wars line-up for 2012. There are probably a ton of other comics announced but I only really read Star Wars stuff in monthlies so I'll focus on that!!

In no particular order there is:

1) Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison

Presumably a follow-on from Darth Vader and the Lost Command. What I mean by this is not that it's necessarily a direct tie-in but that it's going to be another standalone series following Vader in the early days of the Empire

"Ghost Prison takes place a year after Revenge of the Sith and will showcase Darth Vader’s impact on the galaxy in ways fans have never seen. Darth Vader will serve the Emperor to the best of his abilities, after all – Darth Vader makes no mistakes. Ghost Prison also marks the return of Star Wars character Moff Trachta who will be vital to how the series unfolds."

Ghost Prison is written by Haden Blackman, with artwork by Agustin Alessio and will start releasing May 2012

2) Knight Errant: Escape

A new five-issue run of Knight Errant is no surprise due to the series' success and overall greatness but it is a welcome sight to see, we've few details on what Kerra's next adventure will be but it's sure to be fantastic if her current capers are anything to go by!!

'Jedi Knight Kerra Holt continues her one woman crusade against the Sith from behind enemy lines on her most dangerous mission yet!'

John Jackson Miller is writing the series, with artwork from penciller, Marco Castiello it will launch in June 2012

3) Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead












An eye-popping title and cover there. While I very much doubt the possibility that Fett is dead, unless this story is set a LONG time after the Vong war, it's still intriguing to see how it will play out. The original series was great, with amazing art - no word on the artist for this series but it's bound to be good!

"Boba Fett is dead. The most infamous hunter in the galaxy has been hunted. He's lying, broken, on the desert floor. He's more blaster-holes than man. It's the ultimate ending. However, this is just the start of our story. With the fall of Fett broadcast across the galaxy, someone rises to avenge him. But who would care about the death of a man like Fett? Bounty hunters aren't exactly known for their enduring, close friendships but even a man like Boba Fett has family... and now a Blood Tie demands blood."

Blood Ties is written by Tom Taylor and will be released in April 2012

4) Knights of the Old Republic: War












A welcome return for Zayne Carrick and the KotOR series. This will be a miniseries focusing on the Mandalorian Wars and Zayne's drafting into them.

The Republic and the Mandalorians are at war! Following the charismatic Revan, Jedi are joining the fight, despite the noninterference stance of the Council. One Jedi, however, has found himself on the front lines against his wishes—the peace-loving Zayne Carrick has been drafted!

Knights of the Old Republic is written by John Jackson Miller and published in January 2012

5) Dawn of the Jedi












This series made me gasp with excitement like no other seires has since Legacy and funnily enough it's made by the Legacy dream team of John Ostrander and Jan Duursema! No it's not a follow-on from their famous series - it's something even cooler (though a return to Legacy would be awesome too!)

Here’s your first look at the Star Wars of 25,000 years ago—before there were lightsabers, when the ties to the Force were new, and before the Jedi spread out into the galaxy. It began with the mysterious pyramid ships—the Tho Yor—scattered to the eight corners of the galaxy, and ended with the establishment of an Order that would change the universe forever.

On the planet Tython, in the center of the galaxy, an order of warrior monks strives to maintain peace and to balance the mysterious power known as the Force. But a stranger is coming—one who will destroy both peace and balance, and open the galaxy to exploration and conquest. This is where it all begins!

Dawn of the Jedi is written by John Ostrander and drawn by Jan Duursema and will be released February 2012.

Can't wait!!!

SF at the Movies - September '11

Late, but anyway, here are some of the things you could have watched in September!!

Apollo 18



...and that's it as far as I can see - some other good stuff out there though!