The Pull List: 5 August 2015, Part II

Of the 20-odd new titles launched by DC Comics in June, I think my favourite has been The Omega Men. It's partly Barnaby Bagenda's artwork, which bypasses inks and follows a generally quite rigorous nine-panel structure on each page. That's then enhanced by Romulo Fajardo's nice, subtle colours.

Tom King is telling an intriguing story, in which a group of renegades appear to be launching a terrorist attack on an alien empire. They've already kidnapped and faked the death of former Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. Here they launch a kidnapping attempt on a princess named Kallista, with unexpected results. One of the strengths of this series is the lack of an explanation. Each of the first three issues has loaded intrigue on top of intrigue, to the point where it's all set up for an outstanding revelation. Of course that also adds another layer of pressure: the more the mystery is developed, the more critical it is that it adds up to a thrilling explanation.

It's nice to see DC publishing something that looks great, has a great sci-fi setting, and gives another outing for the vastly underrated Kyle Rayner. Sales of the first issue were a bit on the low side - I really hope a solid, regular audience finds this book and gives it the longevity it deserves. (4/5)

DC Comics. Written by Tom King. Art by Barnaby Bagenda. Colours by Romulo Fajargo Jr.

Under the cut: reviews of Detective Comics, Ms Marvel and The Wicked + the Divine.

Blake's 7: "Star One"

It's 3 April 1979 and time for the Season 2 finale of Blake's 7.

Here's a hell of a line for a character: 'As far as I am concerned you can destroy whatever you like. You can stir up a thousand revolutions, you can wade in blood up to your armpits. Oh, and you can lead the rabble to victory, whatever that might mean. Just so long as there is an end to it. When Star One is gone it is finished, Blake. And I want it finished. I want it over and done with. I want to be free.'

Blake (Gareth Thomas) finally reaches Star One, the Federation's top secret control centre, with a plan to destroy it and throw the whole of human civilization into chaos. The problem is that Star One is already going horribly wrong. Climate control is failing on dozens of worlds. Orbital traffic control is throwing starships into each other's flight paths. Communications are disrupted across the galaxy. As Supreme Commander Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) leads a coup d'etat of the Federation, Blake finds himself fending off an alien invasion alongside one final confrontation with Space Commander Travis (Brian Croucher).

"Star One" is, within the fairly tight limits of the Blake's 7 production budget, just about the perfect season finale. It ties up long-running story arcs from both Season 2 and the whole series to date, it progresses the characters into a new dynamic, and it ends on the mother of all cliffhangers. While it's let down on the edges by some very cheap model work and one or two weak performances, it's nonetheless the best episode of the series so far.

Babylon 5: "The Face of the Enemy"

It's 9 June 1997, and time for more Babylon 5.

It's a busy episode. Franklin (Richard Biggs) and Lyta (Patricia Tallman) arrive on Mars to continue preparations for Sheridan's offensive. The Agamemnon joins Sheridan's fleet. Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) lures Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) to Mars with news that his father has been captured by Clark's force - only to have his world turned upside down by Mr Bester (Walter Koenig).

Garibaldi's season arc hits its crisis point at this episode. Not only does he finally make his choice between serving Sheridan or serving Edgars - something which he immediately regrets - the answers behind his mysterious disappearance at the end of Season 3 are finally revealed. That alone makes this a satisfying episode, and that satisfaction only grows thanks to some slick direction and progression of a future storyline on the side.

NES30 #25: Wizards & Warriors III

In 2015, Nintendo's hugely successful Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) turns 30 years old. The NES, an adaptation of Nintendo's already successful Famicom console, re-invigorated console gaming internationally after the collapse of Atari and went on to sell 43 million units worldwide. NES30 celebrates this anniversary by counting down my favourite 30 games for the system.

Wizards & Warriors was a fantasy platforming franchise, originally developed by Rare in 1987 for the NES. It was a sufficient hit to warrant a 1989 sequel, Ironsword, which was developed on Rare's behalf by Zippo Games. That game led to a third and final game, Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power, which was released in 1992 in the USA and 1993 in the UK. As is often the case, I think the final iteration of the franchise was its best: videogames often benefit from constant improvements in coding and technology, and the ability to see how previous games went with players and adjust accordingly.

In the game players control the amnesiac knight Malkil, who has woken up in an unfamiliar city without his armour or memory. This handy tactic, similar to one used in Metroid sequels (Metroid's sprawling non-linear game maps are a clear influence here), allows the player to slowly level up without questioning why their character isn't as powerful as they were when they finished off the last game in the series.

The Pull List: 5 August 2015, Part I

For some reason I find myself drawn to continuing with Ultimate End, the five-part miniseries that is supposed to herald the end of Marvel's Ultimate Universe. It's like hate-watching a bad TV show: I am paradoxically addicted to reading a comic because I genuinely can't fathom just how egregiously awful it is.

Here's the thing: we're through four issues of five now, and I still have not got the foggiest clue of what is going on. There are multiple versions of all of the characters running around, but little to directly show which one is which, or how they got thrown together, or what's going to happen. It's an absolute mess of confused story fragments and over-written and highly over-indulgent dialogue. It is, in my opinion, the hands-down worst thing Brian Michael Bendis has written.

Mark Bagley's artwork doesn't seem much better - it feels very rushed, and lacks the careful compositions and attractive design work that he brought to Ultimate Spider-Man.

Some might argue that Ultimate End makes more sense if one is also reading Secret Wars - which I am not reading. To that I would argue that every comic book should stand on its own. I shouldn't have to read Secret Wars. If this is the grand finale of the Ultimate Universe, then things are definitely going out with a disgracefully sloppy whimper. (1/5)

Under the cut: reviews of three much better comics that are more deserving of your money: Broken World, Darth Vader, and The Fly: Outbreak.

Blake's 7: "The Keeper"

It's 27 March 1979, and time for more Blake's 7.

Blake's wild goose chase leads him to the planet Goth, where a Federation cyber surgeon once went underground - leaving behind the coordinates of Star One behind. Blake, Jenna and Vila teleport down to investigate, only to discover that Servalan and Travis are already there.

It's very difficult to pin down Servalan's relationship with Travis this season. First he's working for her, then he's being put on a show trail so she can save face, then he's a runaway from the Federation, then he's captured by Servalan and let go, then he's captured by Federation troopers, then he's living rogue in Freedom City before being captured by Servalan and rigged with an explosive booby-trap in his mechanical arm, and now he's working with Servalan again. It's been so inconsistent that it's difficult to take seriously.

Cha Cha for Twins (2012)

Mini and Poni are twin sisters enrolled in their senior year of high school. They're both star players on the basketball team. When Mini begins to be pursued by one of the boys in their school, and then by a second who's confused Mini for Poni, Poni begins to crave a life for herself outside of her sister's shadow.

Cha Cha for Twins is a 2012 Taiwanese teen drama. It seems to get pitched mostly as a comedy, which I dispute: while there are plenty of laughs - okay, smiles - in the first half, it all gets rather melodramatic and serious by the end. It's best thought of as drama with light-hearted moments, rather than as a full-blown laugh riot.

Huang Pei-Chia does a sensational job playing both Mini and Poni. She's so good, in fact, that I was not aware while watching the film that one actor played both roles. The film is technically marvellous as well then, since the incorporation of both sisters into so many scenes and shots is done seamlessly. More surprising is that this was apparently the acting debut for Huang, who had previously only worked as a fashion model.

Babylon 5: "The Exercise of Vital Powers"

It's 2 June 1997, and time for more Babylon 5.

Dr Franklin (Richard Biggs) continues his attempts to revive the human telepaths, who have been in cryogenic suspension since their rescue from the Shadows. When Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman) visits the medlab, a fortunate accident reveals that she may hold the key to healing them. Meanwhile Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) arrives on Mars for a face-to-face meeting with his elusive employer William Edgars.

This is, all things considered, a pretty dull episode. It's not an overtly bad one. It doesn't have any serious missteps in plotting, or weakly contrived attempts at comic relief. It does push two storylines forward, and in both cases the storylines will probably hit quite interesting beats down the line. On its own merits, however, it's simply pretty boring stuff.