Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter- Comic Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Series 2 Review

LINK- Ms Marvel Can Change the World

Costume Quest Season 1 Part 2 Review

November 21, 2019

Costume Quest is the animated show based on the popular indie games from 2010 and 2014. It took many years to get the animated treatment but boy but when season 1 part 1 released was it a real treat.

For the uninitiated, the story concerns four children; Wren, the strong headed girl, Reynold, her nervous and scaredy-cat twin, Everett, the confident young boy, and Lucy, the shy, quiet girl, who battle against the dark forces of the nougat eating monsters that lurk in their sleepy village of Auburn Pines. To help them in their quest they use a variety of magical costumes that have transformative powers.

The initial 7 episodes were a short, breezy watch and I said at the time that the story arc developed well as the characters went through strong personal growth. Now, after a few months of waiting part 2 of season 1 dropped a few days ago and it builds on all the good stuff that had gone before but now goes in at a deeper level.

The characters internal struggles come through and affect the group dynamics. Lucy worries if the reason she doesn't connect with her mother is because she's a nougat eating monster, Wren and Reynold struggle to reconcile their difference of opinions on how to tackle evil Bob and Everett is concerned that his dad is too 'boring'. There are high states as Bob Dickerson becomes Nougatown Mayor and takes control of the nougat mine, providing his Repugnians with the supply they need to become powered up and take over the world. This whole season ups the ante somewhat and it is a real rollercoaster ride of emotions as the kids find themselves costume-less and unsure who to trust.

I won't spoil the ending but it is an extremely satisfying conclusion that wraps things up pretty nearly, but there is an ending stinger that could mean season 2 with a new group of kids in a different town. I hope the series continues as it's cute, quirky and just beautifully animated in its own endearing way.

LINK: Costume Quest Season 1 Part 2 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 1 Review

The Unfinished Swan- Video Games As Art

November 17, 2019

The Unfinished Swan came out for the PlayStation 3 several years ago but I only recently got it on the PS4 and boy is it a unique and satisfying experience. You control a child who has a magic paintbrush and you make the scenery come alive by throwing splashes of black paint around. This creates a stunning visual experience as the world appears in front of you slowly. I loved this short 2 hour experience and think that there is definitely space for video games like this in the gaming landscape.

Check out some of my screenshots.

Bahrain Repaired Our Fixed Mind(set)

November 12, 2019

After 12 looooong and gruelling weeks of meetings and teaching at our new school, my family and I finally had a holiday. Woohoo! Term times internationally are different and due to the way Eid fell this year, it has had a knock on effect on term times at our school in Saudi Arabia. Take into account that we also had Saudi National Day, where the school had to close for a few days, and you're looking at a confused timetable with a 10 week term of chalkface time with the kids!

As you can imagine, after all this we were looking forward to our break as we didn't get one over the summer, what with moving abroad and the school term starting on August 1st.

When we were thinking of where to go we though Bahrain would be a good place to travel to. It's only an hours flight from Riyadh and is made up of over 30 islands, so the fact that we would be surrounded by the blue sea whilst living it up on the beach resort rather than just the beige desert appealed to us immensely.

Having booked our stay for 4 nights at the 5 star Sofitel Thalassia Spa and Sauna Hotel in Zallaq, we were looking forward to proper spoiling ourselves. The hotel had a private beach, kids club, splash pad and a sense of extravagance these two teachers from England wanted to experience after years of being unable to do anything like this. We knew that Bahrain would be expensive as it is £1 to 2 Bahraini Dinar but how bad could it be really? Well, to give you a glimpse as to how expensive this was I will use the universal conversation code of the cost of a McDonald's Fillet of Fish meal (regular size mind you, I've watched Super Size Me and it scared me sorta slim-ish). Well, it costs 2.8 dinar, that's about £5.60! By triangulating the cost of staples like a can of Coke, Pringles and Mini Babybels I worked out that Bahrain has a 33% markup premium on goods and services when compared to England, it's science! But more on the cost factor and how it would affect our holiday later...

Anyways, we arrived after the most expensive cab ride in the world (£45 for about 30 mins) and saw that the term palatial would be an apt description for the Sofitel. Another would be proper pimp as it was all marble floors, crystal chandeliers and bell hops with those posh looking trollies…. a mark of true class. We checked in and went to our room and it was okay, slightly dated but nicely appointed. Our balcony had a great view of the palm trees and the beach beyond that.

We had a lovely view of the entire complex and a stunning view of the beach and sea.

We saw the stage going up as preparations were underway for the Halloween Beach Party blowout we had been emailed about a week or ago, about a month after we'd initially booked the room. We then went for a reccy and saw the pools, beach and sea. All looked well but the large crowd gathering for the Halloween party had us a little concerned. How busy was this thing gonna be, how loud and did the parents know where their teenage looking kids were? Well, we found out the volume of the party later as we put our kids to bed amid the most thumping bass I've experienced since seeing Crystal Castles way back in 2008 at the Electric Ballroom in Camden! Our kids are troopers though and fell asleep amidst all the noise, I'd like to think that the spirit of my trance loving formative years from 1996 to 1999 took over in their genes and acted in a soporific way to lull them into sleep... much like Cafe Del Mar did for me all those years ago.

Anyways, my wife, Jeannie, was like a she-wolf and went downstairs to complain. She's really good at that after being married to me for nearly 9 years (with good reason I might add) and the duty manager upgraded us and offered us access to the exclusive 6th floor lounge area with access to free sandwiches and stuff- but as the hotel was fully booked that would have to wait until tomorrow. I have to say, when it comes to complaining I'm proper British in that way and don't want to make a fuss but my wife, she knows what's fair and right and she fought the good fight for customer service. Who puts a family with two young kids on the side of the hotel with an all-out rave going on on the beach? Years ago, I might have joined in with the festivities but with two young kids in tow and my dad dancing I’m sure I would have been asked to leave! Also, without a babysitter we weren't going to McGann our way through it either.

So anyways, the kids slept through the crazy loud music whilst Jeannie and I endured the noise until midnight when, thankfully, the gig finished. The kids woke up the next day knackered and we were shattered too. It took a lot of the day to recover but after that the holiday really started to come together. We spent loads of time at the beach, building sand angels, castles and stuff, hanging at the splash pad and chilling out in the cabanas. We were proper European about it, getting to the cabanas at 7am to lay down our towels before we went for breakfast to ensure we staked our claim to this prime beachside real estate. We had a buffet brunch as it came as part of the holiday package and that worked out well as the food was plentiful and delicious. I followed the holy trinity of breakfast brunch rules of course; full greasy English, followed by pastries, finished off with fresh fruits and juices to atone for the earlier unhealthy food sins.

With lunch and dinner, however... well, that was another matter entirely. I thought we'd fake it til we make it, pretending not to being poor teachers... after all they didn't know our professions! I could be some relation to some royal family keeping things on the d-low, an eccentric tech. billionaire who liked to keep it 'real' or someone suitably nouveau riche who was adjusting to being ‘new money,’ but that lasted only as long as I saw the drinks and food menu. The average mocktail cost the equivalent of £10 and a cup of something stronger considerably more. The food was about £25 to £30 for nothing too fancy and they didn't accept the Taste Card so we couldn't get 2 meals for the price of 1 we often enjoyed back in Blighty. I mean £22 for a lasagne, sans garlic bread I might add! I've never been so stereotypically east London Asian hood rat in my life but more than once I thought to myself, "For that I could get 3 Kennedy Fried Chicken buckets from opposite Barking Station, or if I'm feeling flash, a whole butterfly chicken, 2 sides, a fino side and a bottomless drink from Nando’s with change to spare."

So being the prudent folks we were, we snuck a few bread rolls ‘for later’ and I went and found the local mini-mart where I got some vittles that would help tide us over… nothing fancy, just the essentials like milk, cheese, crisps, noodles, biscuits etc… and tide us over it did! We were careful where we ate and what prices we paid, only paying for a buffet dinner on one night and ordering a single room service dinner each other night to save moolah but also because the restaurants didn't open until 7pm, our kids bed time when they were shattered after a day at the beach.

However, one afternoon whilst the family was sleeping, I was in the sauna by myself, cleansing my body and soul when I had a kind of epiphany... Why were Jeannie and I sweating the small stuff? We were being so very careful with our money as since we'd been married it had always been an issue, but no more of an issue than it is for most people living in England. As two teachers living and working in east London and then Kent most of our wages went on rent, bills and childcare. We had got into a mentality of frugality, which is no bad thing but it had kind of led to us being super careful all the time and not being able to enjoy the nicer things in life. Even now, when we were on holiday we felt guilty for ordering meals and drinks that would cost us over £50 in total. So, on the final night in Bahrain I bought that £10.60 strawberry mocktail that I’d been eyeing up on the menu but had been ordering the bitter lemon because it cost half as much, and even though it wasn't that tasty, metaphorically it was sweet.

Jeannie and I had a chat on the cabana enjoying our £20+ drinks, watching the night sky as our children watched a sub-par digitally animated cartoon on the projector on a grassy knoll as we decided that we would still be frugal but we needed to chill and not live like mendicant monks, foregoing all pleasures and joys in life.

The next day we had our final buffet brekkie and nabbed two bread rolls for the flight to Dubai ... Hey, I didn't say breaking the habit of a lifetime would be easy!

Sky: Children of Light- Video Games As Art

November 10, 2019

ThatGameCompany has built a reputation on creating stunningly beautiful worlds which convey a message and their latest game, Sky: Children of Light, carries on this pattern. You play as a child who can fly and you traverse several gorgeous worlds, lighting candles, flying and holding hands with other people. The experience is gentle and quite cathartic. The game is easy to play and the bloom effects make the whole thing pop. Check out some of my screenshots I’ve taken as I have been playing the game.

Carmen Sandiego- Complete Season 2 Review

November 8, 2019

I've been eagerly awaiting season 2 of Carmen Sandiego as I stated that the first season was an excellent series with a compelling story arc. It seems that the old beards at the Emmy's agreed as it is now an award winning show, garnering an Outstanding Achievement in Individual Animation nod.

Carmen Sandiego Season 2 is a stunning series.

So how is the second season? Does it build on an excellent first season? Yes, yes it does! The story continues from the major plot twist at the end of season 1 and Team Carmen now have Shadow San in their ranks. He assists with taking out VILE in the formats 'caper of the week'. However, it's not all standalone episodes with a 'bad guy of the week' as this season we are treated to get the back stories of how Zack and Ivy met Carmen and about Shadow San's ascent to VILE faculty member.

Finding out they have been betrayed by a member from their faculty, VILE spend a lot of the episodes searching for a new member to join their nefarious ranks. Along the journey we find out more about Carmen's family and she builds a base of operations with her surrogate family, Shadow San, Zak and Ivy after she nearly dies. It's all very heartfelt character building stuff and with this show it feels earned, not cheaply melodramatic.

The standout episodes for me are when the creepy Paper Star returns and Carmen squares off against her in Tokyo, whilst Shadow San shows just how bad ass he is, defeating goons with the use of chopsticks... trés John Wick. Also, the caper in New Zealand set to Swan Lake is very creatively and artistically beautiful as the choreography is wonderful.

The season is a delight and the finale ends on a cliffhanger as we get some insight into Carmen's real family and the true story about how Shadow San found her. This sets up the next season as Carmen knows who she is looking for now…

So, overall the stylish animation by Chromosphere is still as beautiful as ever and the voice acting by Gina Rodriguez is a lot more natural sounding as she seems to have found her groove. The voices of Zak and Ivy have grown on me too and I have become used to their broad Baaaahstaaan accents. Season 2 of Carmen Sandiego is still a beautifully animated edutainment *shudder* show that revels is dropping knowledge bombs whilst delivering a fun and at times gripping storyline. Alongside She-Ra, Netflix is really the home of quality retro animation revivals, that honours what went before but does its own more modern thing. Check this show out folks!

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 1 Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 2 Review

Disenchantment Season 1 Part 2- Series Review

October 31, 2019

It's been a looong wait for the second part of Disenchantment season 1 but now it's finally here.

The original show ended on a cliffhanger as the last 3 episodes of series 1 part 1 were heavily narrative driven with a story arc that had a more emotional core. King Zog was after the Elixir of Life but things took a dark turn as Elfo was killed to make the Elixir of Life and Bean had to choose between reviving him or bringing her mother, Dagmar, who had been turned to stone, back to life. She chose her mother, leaving with her to travel to Maru to fulfil a 'prophecy' but this decision had devastating consequences as the people of Dreamland were turned to stone, leaving Kind Zog alone.

So the new episodes kick off straight after these cliffhangers as Bean now lives in Maru with her mother but realised that there is something sinister occurring all around her. She find out the truth about her mother and the devastating consequences, but not the details, of being a key part of the prophecy.

Bean and Luci go through heck to get Elfo back!

This leads to Bean realising her error and literally going to Hell to find Elfo. These first 2 episodes are excellent and truly creative, but after our main protagonist are reunited it's pretty much standalone episode of the week until the last 2 episodes. Whilst solid the standalone episodes do not really move the story forward but rather world-build, adding texture and richness to this land. A couple of standout episodes change the status quo of the world and show that there is plenty of scope with the introduction of other lands, especially Steamland, but as it is, we end up in a similar impasse with lots of balls in the air but yet none have landed.

The show raises a chortle or, dare I say, titter but there was no belly laugh for the duration of the season. There were plenty of Easter eggs linking it to Futurama but on the whole, the show is more of the same. If that was your thing that's fine but if you struggled the first time round, this will not ease your pains.

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review

LINK- The Dead Of Night- Cult TV Review

Donut County- Video Games As Art

October 29, 2019

I’ve played a fair few video games in my time and during those many many hours I’ve been in the shoes of many characters, vehicles and avatars but never a sinkhole… until now! Yup, in Donut County you play a sinkhole and your goal is to swallow up everything.

It’s a short but charming game with a pastel colour aesthetic and, at times, cutesy low poly art style. check out some of my screenshots from my play through!

Source: thedeadpixels.sqsp.com

All's Faire in Middle School- Comic Review

October 25, 2019

I am a huge fan of comics and believe that it can help promote reading, especially among the more reluctant readers. A couple of years ago I placed several graphic novels (collected comics) in my book corner at a school in England and saw many children take an interest in the medium. I've moved school (and country) since then and at my current school the library has an impressive graphic novel selection and so, I've been jumping in.

One of my favourite young adult graphic novels was Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl. I reviewed it a couple of years ago and thought it was a well written and illustrated graphic novel, so since then Jamieson has been on my radar. I was pleased to find her sophomore effort, All’s Faire in Middle School, and read it over a couple of days.

The story is pretty straight forward stuff; Imogene is a home-schooled girl but at the end of grade 5 decides to go to middle school. So far so basic, but what makes this a more interesting premise is the fact that her family are part of a Renaissance Faire and quite eccentric.

And so, over the course of the graphic novel we see Imogene struggling to fit in at school. There's a lot of stereotypical high school drama stuff but this graphic novel definitely owes a lot to Mean Girls, especially when Imogene gets in with the 'cool girls' and draws unflattering drawing of less popular people in the school. When things go south with her pals these drawings are revealed to all of the school, with devastating consequences for Imogene. So far so trope-y, but the twist in all this is the Renaissance Faire stuff. It is here that we get Imogene's redemptive arc as she makes amends and realises that she isn't the hero of the story.

Overall, Jamieson has written another solid graphic novel with a twist on the usual trope-y high school shtick but it's no Rollergirl. The artwork is bright and friendly but won't set the world on fire.

This is a good graphic novel overall and well worth a read but not a classic.

Erica- Video Games As Art

October 20, 2019

Full Motion Videos (FMVs) are having a bit of a resurgence. What with Bandersnatch and Her Story, FMVs are no longer a joke from the early 90’s joke as they’ve become more accepted in gaming society. It is with this said that Erica becomes an intriguing proposition; a 2-hour or so interactive narrative in which you take charge of Erica, a young girl who takes part in a ritual in her youth with her father, who later ends up dead. You make decisions as an older Erica as she tries to uncover the mystery of his death and why the mysterious symbol carved into his chest is so prominent in her life.

The game is a wonderful palette-cleanser from all the open-world games and also intriguing in its own right. It feels like one of those creepy BBC shows from the late 70s and early 80s which still haunt my dreams. The cinematography is impressive and the lead actress, Holly Earl, portrays a vulnerable and fragile woman well. The game is on sale at the moment and at just over a fiver, well worth the investment.

LINK- Supernatural- Cult TV Review

LINK- Children of the Stones- Cult TV Review

Life in Saudi Arabia 3 Months On

October 15, 2019

So my family and I have been in Saudi Arabia for nearly 3 months now and we've started to get a lay of the land. So how was our life here initially and how do we feel now?

Well, the first thing to know is that we live in the capital, Riyadh, and it's a city undergoing a massive transformation. It is being developed at an incredibly fast rate with a new rail system, road network and enlarged business district planned to be completed in 2030. They are investing over 30 billion dollars into this project and it shows. However, as a result of this development travelling around by car can be difficult as diversions are commonplace and in a country where drivers are fast and often aggressive, it can be a challenge... Like driving down Ilford Lane on a weekend in rush hour. If you miss a turn you often have to take a grand tour of the city before being able to come back to give the turn-off another go.

We live on a compound (some of my British friends prefer to call it a ‘campus’ as it sounds less harsh), this means that it's a securely gated community. Within, we live in an approximation of 1950s American suburbia; kids riding bikes in the very clean streets, a few cars driving very slowly (there's a 20 km limit whilst driving around the compound) and amazing facilities like a fully kitted rec centre with a football (*sigh* soccer) pitch, virtual golf centre and several courts for various ball games. The gym is fully kitted and has built in screens on many of the treadmills so that is where I often go to watch Netflix and catch up on the numerous animated series I'm watching. It's great because I've been to the gym a couple of times each week since we arrived, which equates to more than I've ever been in my entire life.

On site we also have a mini mart (think Tesco Express but filled with more American products), a Burger King, Sports Direct (and yes, I still feel the same shame when I go to buy some sport related good here as I did at home) and a mini cinema that has seating for about 20 people and shows unedited films from Hollywood.

There are also 4 swimming pools and one is heated for all seasons, and yes, there ARE seasons over here, or so I've been told. So the compound itself is amazing with great facilities but it is definitely an Expat bubble, a lovely bubble though!

Outside the compound, Riyadh is much more an interesting mix of Middle-East meets West. The call to prayer is heard wherever you are as it is a requirement that for every new housing or building development there be a local mosque. This is intermingled with vast amounts of American fast food chains and international shops and shopping centres (*sigh* malls). The shops are a strange mix of extremely expensive high end good mixed with their Chinese knock-offs, its very strange. You'll be walking around a large department store and see Gucci watches costing over 1000 dollars and then you'll see a fake Peppa née Baby Pig playset for 40 dollars... Pricing is inconsistent and often seems a bit arbitrary.

The range of shops is amazing, you have all the big chain brands from America interspersed with some shops that are struggling or have gone the way of the Dodo in England; Virgin Mega Store, Marks and Spencer, Mothercare, Forever 21 and Debenham's. As well as that there are many shops I wouldn't expect to be here, Victoria's Secret and tonnes, and I means tonnes, of makeup shops. Obviously I knew there'd be some makeup shops but not in the vast quantity that exist here.

Grocery wise, when you buy fresh fruit and vegetables you have to pick it, bag it and get it weighed at a counter manned by a clerk who must get polythene bags thrust at him for hours on end.

When you do buy something you will see the longest reciept you've ever seen in your life, even if you've just bought a pack of gum. They are working towards developing the recycling but ‘Bags for Life’ are not a thing here yet. We have started to re-use some of the plastic bags to ensure we don’t get new ones but the shop assistants look at us like we’re a bit weird and keep trying to give us new ones. The local supermarket knows us now and we get a rueful smile when we bust out the old used bags. Every little ‘elps though!

The shopping continues during prayer times but the counters are shut, which I think is quite good as it places the emphasis on host country's religious leanings, much like Sundays used to be in England once when only a couple of shops would be open so your parents would drag you to see some country pile or go to a museum to fill the day before that 'Songs of Praise' Sunday evening dread set in as you knew you’d have school the next day. Being a teacher that feeling never left me!

Saudi's are very family oriented and so all malls have a theme park at the top. Seriously, carousels, roller coasters, arcades etc... all in the malls. Due to prayer times and different business hour timetables compared to many other countries, this is a night culture and many families will eat out until 11pm at least. As a result, the behaviour expectations of many children is slightly different from what I've been used to in England. Saudi Arabia will have a very excitable next generation coming through!

I feel incredibly safe walking around as petty crime is nearly non-existent, it just wouldn't be worthwhile here. I feel happy that I can wander around and know I won't have people asking me to lend them 20p i. e. nick your wallet, or to use my phone, i. e. nick my phone, or some of the more serious felonies I faced on an almost weekly basis when living in east London.

Disney is massive here, and I mean massive. The Netflix has loads more Disney films than in England and the children's fashion is similarity Disney-tastic. I wouldn't be surprised if the rumours about Disney creating a theme park in Saudi were true.

I have travelled to the 'Old Town' in Riyadh and this is where the multicultural diversity and socio-economic differences are most stark. This is where much of the manual labourers and service sector workforce live, it's also where you get the most authentic south Asian spices, cuisine and best tailors at a good price.... Kinda like Ilford Lane... great food but at night a bit edgy and dangerous.

Overall, we are really enjoying our life in Riyadh and it is a country where our presumptions have been proved wrong again and again. It is a dynamic country and things are changing at a fast pace. Since we've arrived, the first load of tourists have been granted visas and the abaya, a dress which is worn as an outer garment for modesty, will not be required for visitors. I'm excited to see how the country changes further during our time here.

The Joy of Now

October 12, 2019

We live in amazing technological times where many things can be done instantly at a touch of a button... ordering anything online (food, goods, medicines), online banking, research (Googling it bro), dating (insert the myriad of dating sites here) and watching movies and shows. It makes me think back to simpler times, when I'd load up my monochrome Amstrad CPC 464 and watch the tape deck counter slowly crawl forward before a game (hopefully) loaded.

This old pic of me is sorta connected to the concept of time and nostalgia.

Maybe in these times when everyone wants everything now there's something to be said for days of yore where we enjoyed the games more because we had had to wait. The anticipation was maybe half the joy; watching the loading screen slowly appearing and bathing the bedroom in a green glow while that annoying screeching noise reverberated all around.

No doubt these idle thoughts seem like an old man wishing for a past bathed in the cathode ray tube glow of nostalgia, but recently I bought a new game for the PS4 and had to wait quite a while for the system to update and download a patch and it had me reflecting back to my youth.... The waiting sucked, it did then and it does now! In these busy times who can wait for a hefty day 1 patch to download? I’ve got box sets to get through, digital friends to chat to so I can ignore real pals, tonnes of images of my mates food to appreciate... In my youth there wasn't much to do and the pace of life was slower so sitting, waiting for a crappy port of Double Dragon to load for 20 minutes was fine, but now.... yeeesh it's painful! I could watch an episode of Carmen Sandiego in that time!

I think there is much to be said of slowing down and smelling the roses and that Bueller quote but really, life has so many more options now and waiting is boring. Now making time for yourself, being present and mindfulness are another matter, but we'll save that for another time.

Just to note- this was an off the cuff devil’s advocate piece. My thought are a lot more nuanced than stated*

Anne of Green Gables- Graphic Novel Review

October 6, 2019

L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables is a literary classic, I know because I've heard of it and my wife keeps banging on about the ‘amazing’ 80s series! However, I've just never got around to reading it, seeing the many film adaptation or any other medium type that would give me an idea as to what it is about.

However, this all changed with Mariah Marsden and Brenna Thummler's graphic novel adaptation appeared at my school's library. Being a huge fan of graphic novels, I thought this was the most opportune time to get acquainted with the story in a quick and easily accessable format, so in I went!

I’ve known of the book for many years but have just never got around to reading it… until this graphic novel version came out that is!

The tale is a simple one: a husband and wife require an orphan boy but instead recieve a girl, Ann, who prefers to be called Anne with and 'e' as it sounds better. Over time Anne bonds with the family and builds friendships and frenemies. We see Anne grow up, attend school, then college and go on the path to becoming a teacher.

Whilst the story may be simple the artwork is anything but. The small town charm of Avonlea is beautifully realised with lush whimsical drawings that had me smiling in pure joy. When we are first introduced to Ann at the train station the artstyle makes her instantly awkward yet incredibly likable, from her flame red hair, face full of freckles and artistically triangular nose. When she does speak, Ann takes us on her flights of fancy and the wordplay is lyrical, poetic and full of heart.

However, it is the splash pages where nothing is said that stand out. These could almost be read as a silent movie, so filmic and cinematic is it's artistry. The emotions of the characters is beautifully rendered through the use of the colour palette and artistic flourishes.

I loved this graphic novel and hope to make time to read the novel proper sometime soon. This is a wonderful graphic novel that deserves to be read.

Firewatch- Video Games As Art

October 4, 2019

Firewatch is a beautiful game, set in the Wyoming wilderness. As Henry, a newly appointed fire lookout, you wander around some gorgeously rendered woodland and solve an intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young boy.

At about 3 hours or so, the game isn’t long but I found myself just standing in some stunning landscape, taking in all the colours and hues. Living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where everything is beige, the colours on display really overwhelemd me and warmed me with their colourful glow. It’s a lovely game and has moments of pure beauty.

Twelve Forever- Complete Series Review

September 28, 2019

Twelve Forever is a 25 part animated series centred around Regina (Reggie), a 13 year old girl who doesnt want to throw away her toys. She instead travels to a fantastic land, called the Endless, where her toys come to life and she becomes Twelve, the super awesome athletic hero of the world. Todd, her best friend, has morphing powers and their friend Esther has flying abilities. Together they fight the ills of society and puberty. The show is cute and sweet as it is presented in a superflat art style, familiar with fans of Adventure Time, but it deals with real weighty emotional issues such as dealing but being a young carer, societal expectations of beauty, negative formative experiences and much more.

In episode 2, we are introduced to the big bad of the show, the Butt Witch, voiced by Matt Berry of It Crowd and Disenchantment fame. For the duration of the series he tries to destroy the optimistic and fantastical world of Endless by corrupting its citizens.

Across 25 episodes the three lead characters go through many of the perils we've all probably experienced in our lives but it is presented through the fantastical world of Endless. If I were being pretentious I would say that the series was showing the pre-pubescent to pubescent forms of Ego, Super Ego and the Id and its effect on youth. According to Freud's psychoanalytic personality model, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains our innate human drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the superego. The three characters represent the 3 parts of Freud’s theory which is a characterisation common in many stories ranging from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings; Reggie is the Id, Esther is the Super Ego and Todd is the Ego.

As you can see, for a 'kids' cartoon this show does get deep and it presents quite difficult concepts at a child friendly level. As a grown up man-child the show had me reflecting on my own childhood and some of the trials and tribulations I faced. Twelve Forever is a solid show that looks at positive representation and with each episode being only about 13 minutes long, it is easily bingeable if that's your wont to do. Check it out on Netflix!

Carmen Sandiego Season 2 Trailer Drops

September 24, 2019

Carmen Sandiego is the latest rebooted animated series on Netflix which is based on an older property, in this case many edutainment video games and multiple prior animated series. I reviewed the entire first season and liked it a lot, praising the art style and character development. So, it is with bated breath that I’ve waited for the next season to drop and lo and behold, a new trailer landed recently that announced the new season would be showing on Netflix on 1st October. I can’t wait!

LINK- Carmen Sandiego- Complete Season 1 Review

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Series 2 Review

LINK- Ms Marvel Can Change the World

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

Zita the Spacegirl Trilogy- Comic Review

September 23, 2019

The Zita the Spacegirl trilogy is a young adult graphic novel series that starts with a simple premise but builds into something so much more over time.

The story begins when Zita and a friend find a mysterious box with a huge red button on it, which seems to have fallen from space. Being ever adventurous, young Zita presses the button, a portal opens up and tentacles grab her friend and drag him through it. As she is to blame for her friend’s kidnapping, Zita feels that she must rectify the situation and so she presses the red button once again and travels through the portal and this is where her wild adventure begins. She soon realizes getting back to earth is not going to be easy and spends three graphic novels travelling through space helping various aliens she meets along the way whilst still trying to find her lost friend, kinda like an intergalactic Littlest Hobo.

After saving a planet in her first adventure (in Zita the Spacegirl) she discovers that fame has its price in the second novel ( in Legends of Zita the Spacegirl) and must recover her spaceship after a doppelgänger robot assumes her identity and goes off on a mission to fight an evil alien horde. In the third and final novel, The Legend of Zita, she must stop a crazy dictator as he plans to invade Earth with his galactic army. Can she stop him? What do you reckon?

The character of Zita is wonderfully realised as she no real powers, just her intelligence, determination and her sense of loyalty. She makes friends with some pretty reprehensible and unlikeable people but through her sheer good will and kindness, she commands loyalty and respect and turns some people around... like a pre-teen Teen Angel (yes, my references are old)

Writer and illustrator Ben Hatke has a fun, almost naive art style but this betrays a world building masterclass; what he has created is similar in style to the imperious Saga or Star Wars... high praise indeed, but when you read the novels you know that there is a bigger world with a wide and varied bestiary with potentially an entire lore-filled universe.

The Zita trilogy is an excellent graphic novel series that I wish I'd had in my youth, alongside Asterix and Tintin. Its premise is fun and instantly engaging and, with an expanded universe potentially presented at the story's conclusion, ripe for an imagination to let loose on and let fly. Check it out or miss it at your peril graphic novel fans!

LINK- Comics in the Classroom (article)

LINK- What Comics Have Taught Me

LINK- Roller Girl Comic Review

Disenchantment- Season 2 Episode 1 Review

September 21, 2019

Matt Groening's follow up to Futurama and The Simpsons was Disenchantment, the tale of Princess Tiabeanie 'Bean', the hard drinking, hard burping princess of Dreamland, a medieval fantasy land straight from many tales of yore. She is fated to be married to a Prince of whatever land her father sees as the most politically advantageous. However, Bean is a driven woman and her fate is linked to Elfo, an elf who escapes his magical land of pure maniacal happiness and Luci, a demon with a dark and mysterious past. Over the course of the 10 part series, the trio go through numerous adventures which builds a strong bond between them.

I said that the series was promising but rang a little hollow as I was not invested in the characters as they hadn't been developed enough and the stories, while fine, were just not interesting enough overall.
However, the last 3 episodes of season 1 were more narrative driven with a bigger story arc and a more emotional core. King Zod was after the Elixir of Life but things took a dark turn as Elfo was kidnapped and died. Bean then had a tough decision, revive her mother, who was turned to stone, or Elfo... She chose the former with dreadful consequences for the kingdom.

Bean goes through hell… actually hell, to get to Elfo.

This left the series at an exciting juncture and I hoped it would hopefully be built on to address some of the issues I felt the show had. So, after a year-long hiatus, how is the first episode for season 2?

Well, the episode takes off exactly where the last one ended. Bean travels to Maru with her mother and King Zod is left with his subjects turned to stone. Bean realises that her mother is evil and that she was born just to fulfill a dark prophecy.

Overall, the episode is not really funny but it is story driven and moves the plot forward. We find out who the 2 watchers who kept an eye on Bean in the Oracle Fire are and how they are connected to her. We also see Bean try to rectify her mistake and try to meet Elfo again… in hell!

This season definitely feels like a true hero's journey is starting and I'm here for it and there is more growth to Bean and the plot seems more cohesive and focussed. I look forward to watching the rest of the series this week and will, of course, provide a review right here!

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review