The Passover Story
So, I watched Prince of Egypt on Wednesday night to celebrate Passover. Then, I noticed some people watching it to celebrate Easter, which, okay, fine. It’s not like you’re holding a Seder and it is an excellent movie.
Recent Posts
LFG YVR – Tell Me Your Nightmares, Season 3 Episode 1
The Third Season premier of Tell Me Your Nightmares hits Our Town on Tuesday, January 14, and you should come see it.
Shout Out – Crypt TV
It’s hard to find good horror in the modern era – the few outstanding efforts in that genre of late have seemed all the more spectacular because of their rarity.
God of Comics – They Called Us Enemy
George Takei recounts the time America gave into racism, paranoia, and lies to imprison children.
LFGYVR – Alice in Glitterland
The Geekenders have put together an exceptional experience for this year’s Fringe Festival, and you should go check it out.
Petrolandia – Lotto Players
During my first few shifts, Sandor would sometimes do things and explain their need as time went on. One of those things was waiting until five fifty-eight and then printing lottery information. Every day – every single day for four years – two men would …
God of Comics – Die
God of Comics returns to take a look at Kieron Gillan and Stephanie Hans’ latest masterpiece, Die, and talkj about why it matters.
Lords of Lonsvale – Alissandrae
Do you hear the Hidden? And so Alissandrae Socasio. Elven thief. Good with a blade, quick with a smile. On vacation and here for the thrill of the thing. Always helpful and always has a plan. Found on the streets of some human city, joining …
Lords of Lonsvale – Farcore
The Plot so Far. She dreamed of the world, of everything in it. She saw into the infinite, the voices that made up the whole of everything. The underlying voice underneath it all, the thrum that worked around it. A question was asked, an answer …
Lords of Lonsvale – Harkas Rockonian
Speak for the Land. Raised among the Earth Speakers of Clan Rockonian, they have been tasked with protecting the land, seeing to both geography and the people that live there. Harkas learned the patience of arrow craft, the deep breaths and strong shoulders needed to …
The Lords of Lonsvale – the Lion of the Streets
Buy-in is $20/session, payable in advance. The Way Forward From Before. There was a tradition, Mykan told the boy, of Orcs taking inspiration from the natural world, finding things in the wilds to take inspiration from. He’d heard stories of a type of cat called …
Lords of Lonsvale – Maricuria Everett-Blaine
A Smile in the Darkness. In her late teens, Maricuria started hearing whispers in her dreams and awoke with great power. A book lay under her pillow, a gift that contained mystic secrets that strengthened her. She knows in her bones that there is some …
The Lords of Lonsvale – Thomas Everett
Who Watches the Nobles? We do. That’s what Thomas’ mother explained to him. It was his job – the job of their family – to watch what the other nobles did and bring them to task when they stepped out of line. They belonged to …
LFGYVR – The Lords of Lonsvale
Starting August 8th, 2019, Bard By Trade will be running an original weekly Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition game entitled The Lords of Lonsvale every Thursday at Big Pete’s Comics and Collectibles starting at 4pm and going to 9pm. The campaign is designed for four-to-six …
God of Comics – Black Widow: No Restraints Play
Jen and Sylvia Soska continue their ongoing narrative of navigating shadows to build a better world, and Black Widow plays to all their strengths.
Petrolandia – Crazy Jones
The man that broke the truth about chemtrails would regularly hide in our freezer.
LFGYVR – Gentlemen Hecklers present The Neverending Story
The Gentlemen Hecklers prepare to visit the classic Neverending Story. Childhoods may or may not be ruined.
Bard By Trade
Looking to hire a DM? I’ve got thirty years experience running everything from convention one-shots to long-form multi-year campaigns.
LFGYVR – Tell Me Your Nightmares
Looking for group in Vancouver? Something to do between work and sleep? How about a show that will help you avoid the latter, and give you something to think about during the former?
My Judaism – Abraham was Trouble
When people tell me that religion is a tool of obedience and oppression, I just sort of chuckle to myself. I mean, sure, it gets used as one, but the people saying this are usually the sorts of people that think religion begins and ends …
Detective Pikachu Reviewed
Mike Cohen from the Thunderquack Podcast Network invited me chat about Detective Pikachu, and how could anyone turn down such a delightful gentleman? We review the movie, theater-going experiences in general, Pokemon games, reveal our favorite Pokemon, and maybe some other stuff, too. We talk …
Petrolandia – A Mighty Combination
“I am on a mighty combination of heroin and speed,” the kid said, licking his lips as an older guy walked in past him and made a beeline for the coffee. “And I need Prime Time.” Prime Time was a cheap brand of flavored cigarillos …
Petrolandia – The Job Description
I’d been writing freelance for film and television before the crash. It was a gray market job, the sort of thing that anyone with a lick of sense would have avoided, but I was young and foolish then, not like the old and foolish person …
Petrolandia – A Man and His Son
It was one thirty in the morning when they came in. It’d been a quiet night and I’d fallen into the lull, letting my guard down after too many hours where nothing had happened. I glanced up from my laptop as they entered – the …
Hellboy – the Thunderquack Spoilercast
Mike Cohen from the Thunderquack Podcast Network invited me to Hellboy on opening night and then invited me into his offices to chat about the experience. We review the movie, the audience, both attempts at a Dark Universe, compare Marvel and DC, and talk about …
My Jud@ism – The Egyptians are My children, too.
Passover is my favorite of the Jewish Holidays. Christians might know it better as Good Friday – if you’re wondering why Good Friday and Easter move around on you guys every year, it’s because your holiday is directly connected to ours. If the last supper …
Captain Marvel – Higher, Further, Faster
“This was pretty okay,” a friend of mine said, walking out of the theater. “I mean, I guess.” He guesses. I’ve heard similar things from a lot of people. This movie was not meant for them. This is a movie meant for people that are …
My Jud@ism – Purim
There are three kinds of Jewish holiday. Firstly, there’s you worked hard, so take a day off. Go drink, hang out with your family and friends… relax, man. That one happens every week. Secondly, there’s trees are awesome! Let’s get drunk and talk about how …
My Jud@ism – The Choosing People
I was born a Jew; I will die a Jew. My mom was Jewish and I was raised Jewish in a world where the word “religion” usually means “Christianity” and most people lump in my faith with that one and Islam, despite the philosophical differences …
Night and Tree
“You’ve been following me.” The words were said in a careful neutral tone. He looked up from his book and into her eyes, sighing and noting the page before putting it aside. To her ears he seemed more annoyed than ashamed, breath swollen with words …
Kobe Steakhouse Vancouver
A quick word before we get started: this review is going to be heavily biased, because this is my favorite place in the world to eat. I’ve been to the Middle-East and feasted upon the traditional fare of a half-dozen cultures. I’ve traveled to France …
Insomniac Radio: I’m Just A Shadow
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There are periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image …
Critical Hits Show
With the modern popularity of role-playing games in general and Dungeons & Dragons in particular, and the massive hit that is Critical Role, one might think that a six-year Vancouver-based ongoing live D&D campaign would be super popular, and one would be right. Led by …
The Dragon Prince
I recently had the pleasure of rewatching Avatar in its entirety. Bree had never seen it, so we kicked the Last Airbender off about a month before we went out to Hawaii to get married and finished the Legend of Korra a couple weeks ago. …
Insomniac Radio: Blackened Call
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There are periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image …
Weekly Stories
Storytelling is about the oldest kind of magic there is. We use stories to tell one another who we are – the legends, tales, and myths that exist around us show us different ways to be, our memories of stories of how we got to …
Gentlemen Hecklers present the Howling Part II: Your Sister is a Werewolf
Some movies are unwatchable garbage. It happens. We’ve seen a lot of them. Other movies are so bad they hit the other side of quality and become good again, just not in a way the auteur intended. We’ve seen a lot of those, too. And …
Corebooks: Endless Realms
Gods, this book is beautiful. It’s nice to be working on something this lovely. Seven months ago, I met some people at a convention that were piecing together a new tabletop role-playing game that made use a contested d10 system. They had some mock-ups of …
Insomniac Radio: The Night
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There are periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image …
Castlevania III / Castlevania Season II
I used to speed run Castlevania. I was seven years old and fresh off seeing the Lost Boys and the Exorcist, a double-feature that my uncle brought over one sunny summer afternoon. I think he was trying to scare me, but it just gave me …
Geeks versus Nerds: October Spooktacular
One of Vancouver’s best shows came to us from the other side of the country – a little show called Geeks versus Nerds got a west coast variant and it’s one of the best things going in Vancouver nights. Best described as dinner theater, West …
Broadway Station Sushi
The Rio Theater feels like my home away from home. I’m there two or three times a month on average, and sometimes more. I got married there. It’s a cultural hub, the soul of the Vancouver creative scene, as much a part of the creative …
Insomniac Radio: The Wolf
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There’s periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image searches …
Good Reading: The Initial October Daye Trilogy
I picked up Rosemary and Rue on a whim. I need that noted. Bree and I were visiting my family in California and we managed to sneak away to a bookstore. She found a Rogue Squadron book she didn’t know existed and we picked up …
A Fatal Game of Make-Believe
A couple good friends of mine recently moved to Calgary. They used to live down the street, and it’s annoying that they’re gone. I miss them; there’s a quiet comfort in knowing that you have friends close by even if you don’t see them as …
Crazy Rich Asians
So, when Bree and I were off in Hawaii fighting a hurricane and getting married, we also took the time to see a couple of movies. Both of them were great in very different ways. This was the first of them. There’s been a number …
Insomnia Radio: Nic Cage Wants Cake
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There are periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image …
Off-Key Musical Improv
Off Key Musical Improv (Experience) Improv again? And, just like before, it’s the Instant Theater Company doing something wholly unique – like the universe, they are finite but unbounded. Finite in that they are going to improvise a musical before your very eyes. Unbounded because …
Shakespeare After Dark
I have mixed feelings about improv. My love of narrative is well documented by this point. It’s sort of my entire thing; I like stories. I like characters and watching them develop, I like plot and how deftly it can be handled. These are the …
Insomniac Radio: Dark All Day
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There’s periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image searches …
Lindsey Stirling and Evanescence
There’s something amazing about someone living their best life. I’ve expressed similar thoughts about Lindsey Stirling before; she’s this adorable force for good in the world who was beaten down by so many of this world’s demons and she still came out and triumphed. There’s …
Good Reading: The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
I read a lot. My home is a library; between Bree and I, we’ve literally had to get a storage locker for our books. One of my friends semi-jokingly got me a book stamper so that I can keep track of my books because they …
Hooked Poke Bar
I really like poke bowls. They’re about my favorite thing to eat these days – tasty, healthy, cheap, filling. What’s not to like? And because they’re super trendy, Vancouver is full of them right now. Our city can best be described as an easily-distracted but …
Insomniac Radio: All Eyes On Me
I’m an insomniac. Been one for years. There are periods of time where I want to sleep but some level of executive dysfunction keeps my body from shutting down. I become too tired to write, read, or even think clearly. I usually go on image …
Considering Star Trek
Video – the final frontier. This is a think piece about Star Trek. The franchise mission – to present thoughtful, nuanced explorations of science philosophy, to inspire a better future for all living peoples, to boldly hope for a world better than this one. Or, …
Gentlemen Hecklers present Batman and Robin
Six years. It’s been six years and every month the Gentlemen Hecklers have brought us the best of the worst. It’s an astounding accomplishment achieved by some outstanding people, though the roster has changed somewhat: one heckler felt the siren call of adulthood and got …
Good Reading: Chronicles of Lumis
Been a busy few months – got married a few times, fought off a hurricane to do it, and am currently staring at a black silver ring that my partner put on my finger. Did you know that black silver is a thing? I didn’t. …
The Question of Fandom: Star Wars Edition
So… this happened. And… just… wow. There’s just a lot to unpack here. The whinniness of it. The entitlement. The sense of a triggered browflake in need of a safe space. And it’s making me think about criticism as a whole and the process by …
Redefining Fatherhood Through Kratos
With Father’s day just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a father and what the role of fatherhood is in popular narrative as opposed to what it could be. To start, I’m going to level with you: I obsess …
NXT Takeover Chicago
Well, it’s happening again. The WWE is throwing on a couple of different events this weekend – one featuring the main roster (WWE Money in the Bank), and the other featuring the training league (NXT Takeover Chicago). I’ve got mixed feelings about most of the …
God of Comics – On Marriage in Life and Media
I’ve got a wedding coming up. Not one I’m officiating – I do that from time to time – but one where I’m tying the knot to a girl I met through the Vancouver geek community. I was on assignment, she answered a Craig’s list …
Gentlemen Hecklers present Green Lantern
Last month was the end of an era. For almost six years, the Gentlemen Hecklers have done their level best to defend us from the worst must-miss craptaculars that Hollywood has seen fit to inflict upon an unsuspecting public, providing hilarious commentary to movies that …
Anne Bishop’s World of the Others
I love Anne Bishop books. She’s an expert at what a friend of mine calls emotional blackmail – she’s skilled at using the right words to make you care about her characters, her worlds, her mythology. It gets so bad that you’d give almost anything …
Once On This Island
We’ve spoken before about how there is a war in Vancouver, a battle for the city’s soul. Damon Bradley Jang is another person who is on the forefront of that struggle, a director, writer, and actor for Fabulist Theater. He has a knack for …
Story Story Drive and Story Story Lie
Storytelling is the basis of humanity – it’s what brings us together, it’s the means by which we define ourselves and communicate with one another. Our memories our tales, our religions rooted in fables from thousands of years ago. Personally, we form bonds based on …
Gentlemen Hecklers present Hard Ticket to Hawaii
There are some movies that could only possibly be made in the eighties. You know the sort: America flirting and deeply enmeshed in its love affair with racism, celebrating the stupidity and greed that America was seeing on the side, and adoring the big dumb …
Seven Minutes in Heaven
Every year, a thing called Storyhive rises up to say hello and promote new voices in film. It’s a popularity contest – whoever gets the most votes wins the money and the grant and their film will get made. This year, Breanne Fultz has thrown …
Content Warning: Fanfiction Deathmatch Season One Finale
It doesn’t seem that long ago – the last great North West Fan Fest was only a few years past. During it, someone had the brilliant idea of doing a live reading for erotic fanfic. Voice actors were called, the audience was allowed to participate, …
Professor Evil and the Citadel of Time
There’s been a whole explosion of board games over the past decade that are amazing to play. They’re fun, they’re creative, and they’re what happens when people grow up with the likes of Clue and Monopoly. One of the ones my fiancee and I have …
NXT Takeover: New Orleans
I love wrestling. Love it. There’s nothing else like it – a spectacle that has more in common with a live-action comic book than anything else, wrestling features complex stories and nuanced characters acting out giant morality plays that always begin and end with a …
Critical Hits – Live Improvised Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is all the rage right now. It went from being a fun game that old and evil people used to demonize kids to gaining a sort of renaissance, finding wide-spread acceptance thanks to media like Stranger Things and Critical Role and just …
The Captain’s Boil Restaurant (Coquitlam)
“Hey, I know that place,” I said to my skeptical friend, pointing out a restaurant marked by a smiling pirate. “There’s one opening up near where I live.” “The Captain’s Boil? Like a plague?” “I think they mean a boiling pot.” “What the hell,” quoth …
Save the Rio Telethon at the Rio Theatre
Are there finer examples of the creative genius the Rio Theater has fostered in Vancouver than Eric Fell and Patrick Mahlia? It’s a question asked only by those that don’t know any better. The answer is simple: No. No, there is no finer example. These …
Geekenders present Star Wars: A Nude Hope
Can anyone overstate the importance of Star Wars to geek culture – to culture in general? Star Wars laid the groundwork for the summer blockbuster, changing the cinematic landscape forever. It percolated into every aspect of the modern world, its language and scope becoming a …
Fighting for the Soul of a City
The Rio is in danger, and we are the Rio’s only hope. There are some people that would like to demolish the Rio and replace it with Condos that no one can afford to live in, as Vancouver continues to struggle against a future where …
Do the Thing
A couple days ago, we talked about the troubles artists of all stripes face when it comes to creating things. That was all well and good from a story-telling standpoint, but what about the practical end of things? What does that look like? The practical …
The Fictionals present Ladies Against Humanity
It was always weird to me that lady comedians would get a bad rap. I’ve been an insomniac since I was a kid, and sneaking downstairs to watch the comedy channel in the basement was something I’d do often. I don’t remember many names, but …
God of Comics – 100 Demon Dialogues
This is an odd one for me. I went down to Emerald City Comic Con in 2018, like I do pretty much every year. I love that con, and my friends know I go down there and one of them contacted me and said, “Hey, …
Endless Realms Role-Playing Game
Endless Realms (Lunar Games) I’m a bit of a gamer. Board games, video games, role-playing games… I’ve got a bit of an addiction. Grew up playing Palladium’s Transdimensional TMNT and moved into AD&D and d6 Star Wars and Shadowrun. Spent my childhood with Beyond the …
God of Comics – The Black Monday Murders
Black Monday Murders (Image Comics) I have a single issue with Jonathan Hickman as a writer. He’s good; this is something that needs to be said off the bat. He’s got good-to-great concepts, an interesting pace that makes his work addictive, a decent ear for …
Gentlemen Hecklers – Twilight
Ah, Twilight. Does it deserve the hatred it gets? There are various people I have a great deal of respect for that have become, if not apologists for it, then at least more open to the idea that it isn’t awful. It’s spawned some pretty …
God of Comics – Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness (Dark Horse Comics) It’s amazing the way effects of greed-based propaganda still linger. Here’s a collection of misinformation put out from the thirties through to the forties about the reefer, the marijuana, the weed… one of the most harmless things people have used …
The Broken World – Hooves
Centaurs. He did not know where he had heard the word, but he knew it from somewhere. Horses whose heads had been replaced with the torsos, arms, and heads of men or women. These atrocities, though, were not headed by men and women but by …
West Coast Geeks vs. Nerds Episode 40 – Secrets and Ice
One of Vancouver’s best examples of live dinner theater returns for its fortieth show this coming weekend, with a new location and a new time to match the new showrunners. A whole new topic where actors, comedians, and show people use facts, fiction, and trash …
God of Comics – Ice Cream Man #1
Ice Cream Man #1 (Image Comics) Okay, we did an anthology comic on Monday, we can do another one… I’ve mixed feelings about anthologies, which is fitting given the mixture that anthologies of any sort are. Some stories are going to come across as stronger …
Tell Me your Nightmares
Nightmares. Everyone has them. Some of them are so bad that they keep us up long after they’re over, scared of closing our eyes, scared of ever sleeping again. I’ve always found the waking world much scarier than my subconscious, but, well. Other people feel …
THE BROKEN WORLD – Thunder
The forest stretched on as far as Avaescent could see – twisted branches beseeching the heavens, clouds heaving like waves in a storm. Gale winds whipped his face with leaves and twigs, rainwater pressing like glass slivers against his cheeks. The first bolt of lightning …
Story Story Lie – Pillow Talk
There’s something great about watching masters at work. Vancouver has some of the best and weirdest storytellers you’re likely to find anywhere – the city is a tapestry of artists and madness, where anything can happen at any time. You’ve got actors, writers, musicians, players, …
God of Comics – WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Special #1
WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Special #1 (BOOM! Studios) I love wrestling. I’ve been a life-long fan, initially getting into it when I was five or six so that I’d have something to talk about with my father. He grew out of it, but I stuck …
God of Comics – The Shadow #6
The Shadow #6 (Dynamite Entertainment) I’ve been writing comic reviews for almost six years now. I started doing smaller reviews of more comics, then shrank it down to more in-depth reviews of fewer comics. I found myself repeating the same things regarding the same comics, …
The Broken World – Run
Avaescent ran through the dark and the rain. Lightning curled into the clouds above him, sparking white through the twisting canopy and allowing droplets carried by howling winds to paint his flesh. The flashing light did not harry him, the dark hiding nothing from his …
God of Comics – Rose #7
Rose #7 (Image Comics) Ooo… fantasy trifecta. We’ve gone from a reconstruction of fantasy tropes with an eye towards gender identity and politics to a deconstruction of the cost of prophecy in both urban and classic fantasy worlds and come all the way to this, …
The Broken World – Awakening
The cold water raked across his bare flesh like a lover’s fingernails, drawing shaking breath from tired lungs. His eyes blinked back tears as he curled into himself, the muck and shattered masonry below him seething against his skin. He opened his eyes, kept them …
God of Comics – Birthright #30
Birthright #30 (Image Comics) I love this comic. It’s such a good take on one of fantasy’s oldest tropes – the idea of the savior from another world turned on its head and made to suffer a truth that goes too long overlooked: leaving behind …
God of Comics – Rat Queens #7
Rat Queens #7 (Image Comics) This comic consistently interests me. Yes, there’s a smog of weirdness behind the scenes that isn’t nearly what people think it is, was dealt with, and can be ignored. The people making this comic are exactly who they say they …
Capture – Always Faithful
The firelight flickers, a solitary figure huddled near it on the mountainside. The storm shatters the mountaintop, unknown powers unleashed above, but the figure does not look towards the breaking stone; instead, he cares for the shelter he has cobbled together and the fire it …
Gentlemen Hecklers present Flatliners (1990)
Rarely in life, you might get a chance to see something utterly unique. It is the sort of chance that, when taken, will change you. Your life is clearly marked by this event: there was the you that existed before that moment, and the you …
Story Story Drive
Today, a day that will live on in infamy, I’ll be taking the stage with fellow Vancouver performers and local celebrities Breanne Fultz, Andrew Lynch, Jalyn Euteneier, May Thomas, Montana Roselle, and the infamous Anne Honeycutt for a little live show called Story Story Drive. …
God of Comics – Crosswind #6
Crosswind #6 (Image Comics) I love Gail Simone’s writing. It’s hard not to – she’s got a perfect understanding of how to start with basic character and weave in a larger narrative, creating heart-wrenching stories while adding unexpected but very sensible depth to those characters. …
Capture – Twilight Kingdoms
“I’m looking for Ja Dathi,” the newcomer said. She was trying to keep her voice steady, but the one so named heard that little quiver of fear. It was a sensible thing for her to feel. She had come to one of the cities of …
God of Comics – Batman: White Knight #4
Batman: White Knight #4 (DC Comics) There are a lot of Batman stories out there. Why not start the new year off with one of the most original takes on a familiar franchise? Writer and artist Sean Murphy has a new sort of Batman story …
God of Comics – Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #4 (Image Comics)
Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #4 (Image Comics) Hollywood is a vicious monster. Hunter Thompson once said, “The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a …
Capture – Ebony Traditions
The Traditionalist had stopped in the middle of the road, mumbling to herself. Her sister looked at her and sighed; she had not been born able to speak with spirits, but was long used to the signs of spirit-speaking. Taking her sister by the hand, …
God of Comics – Tomb Raider: Survivors’ Crusade #2
Tomb Raider: Survivors’ Crusade #2 (Dark Horse Comics) It’s another Tomb Raider comic, but that’s not a denigrating statement. Since the video game reboot, the comics have seen some talented writers hop on board – Gail Simone to start, video game writer Rihanna Pratchett to …
Capture – Jagged Shield
The Traditionalist faltered and fell to her knees. The young Shield stood over her, feeling the grin that split his features as she fell, the sweat that worked its way over his musculature. He towered over her as she crawled in the dust at his …
God of Comics – Genius Cartel #5
Genius Cartel #5 (Image Comics) All that build and that’s where you end it? The hell, guys? How long do I gotta wait for the next part? Why would you do this? Genius was a mini-series that came out years ago and was built around …
God of Comics – The Shadow #5
The Shadow #5 (Dynamite Entertainment) Leviathan. It’s a loaded word with massive spiritual, biblical, and philosophical undertones. Biblically, Leviathan was the largest creature created by God, a creature that lives in the ocean. In the Old Testament it’s an active force and swallows Jonah for …
Capture – the Gentle Consortium
“Interesting.” The doctor walked away from her patient, sitting down at her desk, turning to her notes while tapping her temple with one finger. She stared at the long thread of information, adding another line, weaving it around the nails in her wall, taking care …
God of Comics – the Wild Storm #10
The Wild Storm #10 (DC Comics) Wildstorm was everything great about nineties comics. Jim Lee art, wild conspiracies, super-beings who were all about the shades of grey, warring and secretive aliens, angels and demons, the occasional apocalypse, cool tech, vampires, werewolves, covert action, high concept …
Capture – Grassland Nomads
She made certain to appear unimpressed as she entered the temple. Twelve Emperors ruled the Empire of Sand and Stars and all sought hints of weakness from those they dealt with. They made slaves of those they thought weak, and she knew they thought they …
God of Comics – Dark Nights: Metal #4
Dark Nights: Metal #4 (DC Comics) I have got some opinions on Scott Snyder. Most of them are based on a fallacy. For years, I thought he wrote Hush, a comic that was better in theory than execution. It was an okay story that got …
Patrick Maliha’s 5th Annual Naughty Little New Year’s Eve!
Who is Patrick Maliha? It’s a question asked by those who have their finger far from the pulse of Vancouver’s vibrant nightlife. If that’s you, come in from the cold – Patrick is waiting, and he’s one of the best people you could hope to …
God of Comics – Jughead: The Hunger #2
Jughead: The Hunger #2 (Archie Comics) I’ve mentioned before that everyone has Archie comics somewhere. Growing up, they were unavoidable – even people that didn’t like comics had them. Even people that didn’t like comics had them. They percolated through houses and minds alike, infesting …
Capture – the Candle Cult
“Do you wanna be infected?” the man asked, pressed against the wall, his skin slick with sweat and eyes glossy. Even paces away, the boy could feel the heat radiating off the man. “Come on. You know you want to. Be another vector. Just a …
God of Comics – Judas #1
Judas #1 (Boom Studios) I’m Jewish. As I’m writing this, it’s ChaJewnakah and I’ll be lighting the second candle on my Hanukeah tonight. I mention this as a matter of context; Jews do not believe in the New Testament. We don’t think Jesus was the …
Gentlemen Hecklers and Star Trek: Generations
The argument is constant and ongoing: Kirk or Picard, who is the greatest Starfleet captain? The answer is “Janeway,” or maybe “Sisko.” But out of Kirk or Picard…? It’s hard. Both of them are radically different people that come from very different times. It could …
Capture – Nation of Scribes
How long had it been since she’d slept? She could no longer remember. Stacks of books towered over her, distant arched ceilings, covering the sky and making any measurement of time impossible. There was merely one scroll followed by the next, lore traced from ages …
God of Comics – Grass Kings #10
Grass Kings #10 (Boom Studios) Matt Kindt is quietly writing a quiet meditation on the quiet death of America’s dream. I know that’s a triple use of the word quiet, but it’s the only word that fits. The story here focuses on a small group …
God of Comics – Watchmen
The comics industry was in a weird place in the mid-eighties. The sixties and seventies were in the past, a decade on politics and a decade of self giving way to a decade of greed. The children of those two decades had come of age, …
A New Year’s Eve Costume Ball at Wayne Manor
At the top of the week, I mentioned in passing that Tim Drake is a bit of a control freak. He is. We’re seeing it over in Detective Comics right now and that’s pretty great – but there are other places you can witness that …
Capture – Empire of Sand and Stars
The Emperor sat in shadows, watching the play of starlight on the floor before him. His throne was at the top of a grand temple, his throne in the black of an overhang. He glanced up at the stars, careful to avoid their light, speaking …
God of Comics – Comic Publishers
So. I’ve been reviewing comics for the past five or six years, what with that whole God of Comics thing. I’m going to keep it going it a slightly more limited capacity – three times a week I’ll talk about whatever comics have caught my …
Capture – Web Walkers
He awoke when the spider’s legs scittered across his side. He opened his eyes a slit, staring at the large arachnid as it opened the webbing that held him, pushed itself inside and moved closer to his face. He groaned and rolled over, batting at …
Geekenders present How I Met My Mother
Here’s the thing about Geekenders: they highlight the best parts of geek culture’s sacred cows and address whatever problems those cows might have. Doesn’t matter whether they’re doing interactive theater, nerdlesque, or an off-Broadway style musical, Geekenders will bring out the best parts of whatever …
God of Comics – The Woods #36
The Woods #36 (BOOM! Studios) It’s funny. This comic started at about the same time I started doing God of Comics, I think. It’s been a journey – a good one, a tragic one, a path that has let those who walked it be and …
God of Comics – Maestros #1
Maestros #1 (Image Comics) Millennials get a bad rap. We’re the most educated and hardworking generation in the history of the planet. We’ve been trained, programmed, bullied, and finally enslaved by older generations, working for nothing or not enough to live on, forced into debt …
God of Comics – Atomahawk
Atomahawk #0 (Image Comics) You know Heavy Metal Magazine, right? Back before older conservatives could blame video games or smartphones for their kids not being what they wanted them to be, they blamed comics. This resulted in the creation of the Comics Code Authority and …
God of Comics – Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1
Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 (Image Comics) The Industry is vicious. Let’s get that out of the way now. It’s vicious and arrogant enough to call itself the Industry, and anyone that works in it knows exactly what it looks like. You get offered good money …
God of Comics – Hi-Fi Fight Club #1
Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 (BOOM! Studios) This comic makes me impossibly happy. Do you understand the weird lives of late-eighties and nineties kids? Caught between ever-increasing technologies? We were born to 8-tracks and were there when cassettes gave way to compact discs gave way to …
God of Comics – Genius: Cartel #1
Genius Cartel #1 (Image Comics) Okay. So. Follow me on this. You’ll occasionally get a certain type of person that will say things like “You can’t abort those cells~! What if those cells grow up to be the doctor that cures cancer~?!?” or something along …
Bye, Marvel.
I have an awesome geeky friend who happens to be a girl (like about eighty-ninety percent of the writers on this site). She knows more about Star Warsand Star Trek and Doctor Who than I do and she’s flirting with comics. She liked Captain America as a kid and we keep getting DC …
God of Comics – The Shadow #1
The Shadow #1 (Dynamite Entertainment) I’m never quite sure what to think of Dynamite Entertainment. On one hand, they do thoughtful looks at things like feministic theory set in a fantastic backdrop (the Gail Simone run on Red Sonja) or weirdly introspective time-travel heist stories about …
God of Comics – Redlands #1
Redlands #1 (Image Comics) I don’t know a lot about this comic, not going into it. It’s being published by Image, it’s a horror book, and it’s being written and illustrated by Jordie Bellaire. That last one? That alone is enough to get me interested. …
God of Comics – Samaritan: Veritas #3
Samaritan: Veritas #3 (Image Comics) And so ends another chapter in Matt Hawkin’s high stakes political thriller series. These books have always been about give and take, so the only thing we’re sure of going in is that there won’t be a happy ending. Our …
God of Comics – Injection #14
Injection #14 (Image Comics) It feels like every time a new issue of Injection graces our shelves, we talk about it. We urge you to pick it up and read its pages, to partake in the mind-expanding brilliance and deep mythology that it this comic. How can …
God of Comics – Girls Next Door
Girls Next Door (Web Comic) God of Comics. The name started as a joke – new comics come out on Wednesday, Woden’s Day, so we figured we’d have a little fun and speak for the All-Father. The implication, though, is we’ll cover anything that is …
God of Comics – Tomboy #12
Tomboy #12 (Action Lab Comics) Quietly, over in a corner that needs more light, Mia Goodwin has been writing a tragedy that is like nothing you’ve ever seen. Tomboy is a story about corporate greed and political corruption in a small town rocked by the murder …
God of Comics – Crosswind #2
Crosswind #2 (Image Comics) Fresh off the finale of the epic Lovecraftian-by-way-of-Scientology horror series Clean Room, Gail Simone is starting something new and a little more personal and equally as terrifying. I’m not sure why Gail has decided to delve into horror so much, but I’m …
God of Comics – Captain Canuck #1
Captain Canuck #1 (Chapterhouse Comics) I think I talked about this comic when it was initially re-released way back when. Issue number 3 is out today, by-the-by, and you should pick that up, too. Why am I focusing on this issue instead of that one? …
God of Comics – the Wild Storm #6
The Wild Storm #6 (DC Comics) We like to say that Warren Ellis is the best writer in comic today. Yes, he has his tropes and fallback techniques, the most egregious of which is writing interesting characters and complex stories. This is the guy what …
God of Comics – Mage: The Hero Denied #0
Mage: The Hero Denied #0 (Image Comics) Matt Wagner returns to the world of the Hero. These comics were everywhere when I was a kid and with good reason: they were so damn cool and they’re just as cool as they ever were. Check this …
God of Comics – Generation Gone #1
Generation Gone #1 (Image Comics) So… we’re kinda fucked. Millenials and Xellenials, we’re kinda being destroyed by the people that came before us. Their greed and shortsightedness is basically costing us everything, and making sure there won’t be any generations after us. Boomers accuse us …