The Legends of Aveon 9 : The Road to Vexadus

We have often missed that great leap of quality in Indian comic books, one that not only provides us the impetus to build many more lines based on its success but it also satisfies the creative hunger of the eponymous reader. Aveon 9 may be a small step in taking us there. I would not hesitate to say that I haven’t seen such good art in an Indian comic book(if you consider the popular genre), in its complex detailing and depth.



When one looks at such promising art there is often the fear of getting underwhelmed. This book, however, delivers on all accounts, and wins with its confident narration. The plot is essentially Avatar meets Tron meets your standard edition meek protagonist(Harry Potter/The Terminator Kid/Luke Skywalker). The protagonist relying on a strong female character also reminded of a lesser known but brilliant web series called Delilah Dirk.Similarities aside, Aveon 9 is a solid gripping sci-fi tale spanning an epic distant universe. The team at Rovolt is geographically diverse, and the effort shows in the final product which is sleek yet feels familiar and talks to all age groups of readers. The team boasts of internationally renowned names like Ron Marz.


The Good News: Some world-class art(a la Jim Lee), cool sci-fi epic saga, well explained and detailed backstory
Minor quibbles- the romantic plot gets a tad too cheesy at times, the look of few characters tries too hard at an Indian connection.
Verdict: Cheers!



Official Synopsis:

Thousands of years into the future, humans find themselves the masters of a new planet, Aveon 9. While establishing their supremacy, they pissed off more natives than they pleased and of course there were repercussions. Now there is chaos and anarchy all around. The continent of Xanundium torn between three warring human kingdoms of Vexadus, Naugra and Chunargh; is a boiling cauldron of various natives Eyars, Bonakins, Gnorms and Simians all fighting for their own dominance. An eventful journey of  two star crossed lovers and a native with some extraordinary power who have put themselves at a great risk, against the potently evil forces in their bid to achieve a state of peaceful co-existence. In this journey of love, hatred, deceit, passion, greed, trust, friendship, war who will survive as the quest has just begun.

Gallery

Dr Ajax Army of Bees: An Indian Detective with Nano Force

One of the many takeaways from Bangalore Comic Con was discovering cool new Indian comics and a whole new group of independent comic book artists and writers that deserve a wider audience. Dr Ajax is a series by Pipedream Labs, written by Anniswans, and illustrated by a group of artists like Devaki Neogi Kiran. There are 4 books out now. which are all standalone one shots in themselves. The genre is detective thrillers peppered with slight doses of science trivia and humor.



Now to talk about the first book I read, Army of Bees. The title has a nice rhythm to it, and some great cover art pulled me in right away. The book opens to a no-nonsense good old bank robbery, only involving animals instead of your standard edition Reservoir Dogs. The panels are neat and maintain the tension through the action sequences. There is a nice transition to the humorous 'team' elements where one meets the companions of Dr Ajax - Simantini(aide and sometimes adversary in his schemes and countless theories and hypotheses) and Mark & Monica(the miniature/nano results of a personality modifier experiment gone wrong). There is a fine balance between the dialog and art as we move through this particular mystery. Dr Ajax and Simantini are engaging in their petty arguments and remind one of the deductive banter between Holmes and Dr Watson.

The book goes further into some cool science lessons where you explore the central theme of how an attack can be planned using sound frequencies as a force and humans/bees/animals as the medium. There is good arc to how Dr Ajax applies his suspicions to the case which I can't give away for sake of surprise to reach a conclusion and this unlikely team combines concepts of human sciences, physics and nano force and unravel the mystery behind the Army of Bees.

Engaging,original and laudable outing for a comic book set in a neutral universe. I am excited to catch up on the next editions in the adventures of Dr Ajax and his mad team. 

Comic Con Express Bangalore 2012

Time to rejoice! The geeks have won. Very happy to see a comic con in my backyard. I thoroughly enjoyed the frenzy, the cosplays, meeting up with few Indian artists(that I shall be writing about soon), sampling pop culture in India(a rare occurrence), and generally colliding with Green Lanterns, Jokers a plenty and some work-in-progress superheroes. Way to go!

happythankyoumoreplease.

Some great fan-films and web series

Batman : Puppet Master
I couldn't care less for Nolan's Batman but this short film gets all the beats correct, goofiness in place. This is exactly how dark I want my Batman film.

Some great twists, a smooth flowing dialog, great acting make it a well-made Batman film, Nolan or not.
Film Blog


But I Don't Like Superhero Movies!
This funny short plays smart satire through geeky melodrama, and makes for a hilarious repeat watch with its rehab setting and its great actors. I loved that it doesn't try too hard and respects the geek.



H+
This is the new Bryan Singer web-series which may put its big screen counterparts to shame. Some great post-apocalyptic sci-fi in the vein of I Am Legend along with great potential for all the goods a web series can bring make this a promising and exciting venture to look forward to.


Some more...
Batman : A City of Scars
Y: The Last Man - Fan Film

Sweet Tooth & Jeff Lemire's Bleak World

Sweet Tooth is one of the finest indie titles to have come out from Vertigo, or any other publisher in recent years. It is the bleak road tale of Gus, a boy with confused eyes and a pair of antlers chasing him like fate. The world is much like Animal Man, Lemire's run from the new 52, dystopian, existential, hollow. Lemire lends a gravity and ethos which keeps the book afloat and makes for a breezy read, even though what you read is Class A gory stuff with hybrids being tortured to depressing musings of outcasts.

The book is now nearing conclusion in its 40th volume and is divided into arcs called Out of the Woods, In Captivity, Animal Armies & Endangered Species. I am about to finish the 3rd arc and can't stop just trying to run to the end. This is same kind of response Animal Man evokes and I have lined up Lemire's Essex County next in my stack.

 “SWEET TOOTH is like Mad Max with antlers. . . . spellbinding and offbeat.” –USA TODAY.com

“Like a Coen brothers road-trip drama, “SWEET TOOTH,” by indie comics fave Jeff Lemire, is a fantastic post-apocolyptic comic.” —AM NEW YORK

 “Excellent.” –USA TODAY/POP CANDY

“Jeff Lemire’s amazing postapocalyptic comic SWEET TOOTH: bloody and gentle all at once.” –New York Magazine (Approval Matrix Lowbrow/Brilliant)

“Sweet Tooth is a grabber from the get-go . . . Lemire retains his gift for imbuing ordinary moments with a sense of wonder.” –THE ONION/AV CLUB

The Avengers Assemble and How!

Joss Whedon's The Avengers is all that you prayed for, and more. Thankfully the 'more' is more words than action. For such an anticipated superhero tentpole, Whedon keeps it nicely grounded. Almost all of the first half is build-up, and the conclusion has some intelligently woven interactions amidst all the earth(Manhattan) shattering set-pieces. While some sequences moved as I had expected(thank you, Mr. Impatient Trailer-Man!), some were surprisingly well-crafted- the confrontations, the minutely detailed and precise back-arcs, the interconnections, the self-references really make this one a balanced and satisfying blockbuster, quite a rarity.

Whedon makes you sit through long conversations(usual dysfunctional family stuff but with costumes)and lets you relax and work your geek-logic out while the newbies are still trying to figure out who is who. His affinity for few characters(Black Widow, Cap) is pretty visible here and lends an individual voice to the genre which is fresh and not Nolan(what more could a Silver Age fan want?!). Cap definitely leaves an impression, with all his out-of-place-ness, and that's all credit to the writers and Whedon. It is easy to make an Iron Man or Agent Coulson look cool(they are, aren't they?) but fleshing out arcs for a Hawkeye(why should we care about him anyway) or Natasha Romanoff and her 'red ledger'? Interesting stuff. Having said that, the money shots do make you leap from the seat and revel in what may be the only few films to bring the head-rush on screen this year, Spidey and Bats may take a hike in darker realms.

Poster Courtesy: Rhys Cooper

Action Figure-ing

Wonder Woman- Justice League Unlimited Metal Collection
Wonder Woman as she appeared in the Justice League animated series and based on the Wonder Woman character models from the official 2001 Justice League Animated Style Guide.

This figure is die-cast metal from the waist down and plastic from the waist up. Articulation at the waist.





Company: Mattel
Release Date: 2004 - 2007
Dimensions: 2 3/4" H
Points of Articulation: 1


Web Slinging Spider Man from Spider Man 3 Series

This super-articulated figure has a web running through his hands and clings to the included wall-hanging web that attaches to some walls and windows.













Company: Hasbro
Release Date: 2007-2008
Dimensions: 4.5”’
Points of Articulation: Multiple

Supergirl- DC Superheroes Mattel Select Sculpt Series

This rare figure is from DC Superheroes, a collection of action figures originally produced by Mattel in early 2006.



The line began as a successor to Mattel's Batman toyline. Since Mattel only had the license to Batman and Superman characters at the time (with the exception of the Justice League Unlimited line), only Batman and Superman characters were able to appear in the line. Instead of primarily using variations on a single character, the line focused on secondary characters and villains.



At New York City's Toy Fair in 2006, the first five assortments were announced (though the fourth series was postponed). The entire line (with the exception of Robin and Nightwing) was sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios. The figures have around twenty one points of articulation and initially came with a comic book centering around the character it came with, but in 2007 figures came with cardboard dioramas instead.



On June 28, 2007 Mattel's license was extended to include all of the DC Comics characters, including all movies and TV shows past, present and future. At San Diego Comic-Con International, Mattel announced they would be re-branding the line into DC Universe Classics. The first series was viewable at SDCC 2007 and was released in January 2008.
Company: Mattel
Release Date: 2007-2008
Dimensions: 3 x 2 x 5.5 inches ; 1 pounds
Points of Articulation: Multiple; comes with Diadrama as a colorful backdrop

Iron Man #021 Marvel HeroClix Secret Invasion

Since debuting in 2002, HeroClix has stood out among all the superhero action RPG games thanks to its ever expanding gallery of miniature figures that do double duty as game pieces and as tiny works of art. In the past nine years over three thousand of them have been individually molded, decorated and bound by a common set of rules.