I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
In this episode, I have a chat with the folks behind the brand new graphic novel BUBBLE – writers Jordan Morris & Sarah Morgan and artist Tony Cliff – about Bubble, eyes, long games, dreams, Moosejaw clubs, adaptation, long distance regrets, dabbing, Dolly’s folly, scabs, nibs, other stuff, large Lads, LEGO food, pub names, future hats, and monsters.
Hello and welcome to the last MFT of 2011! It has been a good year and I’d like to thank all the visitors to FRED for helping to make it one I will always remember. But there is still business to be done so check out my favourite things from the past month.
1) Kerry Callen’s Super Antics
For those who don’t frequent Kerry Callen’s blog she’s a super cool comic artist. She recently did a series of classically styled Superman comics. So far she has only done three but I’ve included two of them below (the other is a little longer but you can see it by clicking here). I love them due to some great humour and a real likeness to that old comic look.
2) Paolo Rivera’s Christmas Devil
Over on Paolo Rivera’s blog he recently shared his artwork for Daredevil #7 which came out this month. This cover is not only beautiful but really shows the difference between the Daredevil of the past 10 years and his current re-incarnation.
You can see more more of his great art and a lot of behind-the-scenes info that goes into it on his blog so be sure to stop by there at some point.
3) Comic Twart
Some more comic artwork from another blog (seeing a pattern here this month?). This time the wonderful team over at Comic Twart, which includes the likes of Francesco Francavilla, Chris Samnee, Evan ‘Doc’ Shaner, and Tom Fowler pick a subject for everyone to draw. They try and do this once a week but with so many working comic artists among them, it often gets stretched out.
There is so much cool stuff to choose from, but to give you an example I’ll show you the work submitted for the subject “Judge Dredd”.
Both by Francesco Francavilla
by Dave Johnson
by Ramon Perez
by Evan Shaner
4) Canyon Defense 2
The original Canyon Defense game over on Miniclip.com has killed (at an accurate estimate) about a million hours of boring work time for me. I can’t even lie about it. I’ve played this game more than I’ve done work. If my employers ever noticed I’d be fired for sure. So when I say “I liked this game” you can understand the severity of my statement.
I squeeled with delight when I saw that they released a sequel this month and I’ve already burnt my eyes to a crisp with gameplay.
The premise is simple. It’s a typical tower defense game. Stop the enemy from reaching your base by setting up automatic-firing posts along the road in. You get more money with every enemy you kill and more tower types open up as you progress.
This time round it’s a little more complex with a hell of a lot more maps and a better learning curve, so beginners will have an easier time to figure out the common strategies that help you get by.
I feel like I shouldn’t have to sell this too hard for you. If you like these sort of strategy games, I’m sure you’ll have a crack at another one like this. Canyon Defense 2 is not the first of it’s kind I’ve recommended here, so give it a go.
5) What Are You Doing New Years Eve?
I’ve always been of the mindset that you should finish everything with a song. So to play us out of 2011…
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And that’s it! My favourite things of the last month.
– Aaron Poole is the creator of the song “Auld Lang Syne”. He is also more accurately an internet whore and rarely leaves the house. If you like what you read here check out his blog http://aaronfever.blogspot.com
This month I have been mostly watching youtube videos so November’s round-up is going to heavily reflect that. I’d argue that I may need to get out more but if I did, I wouldn’t have anything to share with you in this column and what would be the sense in that?
1) Battle of the Brick: Built for Combat
In this mostly wordless stop motion animation Alex Kobbs recreates the Halo map Zanzibar pretty damn accurately with nothing but lego bricks. In the 30 minute movie he pits Reds versus Blues in a crazy capture the flag game. And there is a lot of really clever stuff involved.
Not only is it extremely faithful to the Halo franchise with lots of the weaponry and moves used but it also captures the hectic and sometimes hilarious moments of online multiplayer gameplay. Over the top action sequences combine with some nice direction on behalf of Kobbs to make for the most enjoyable Lego movie I’ve seen in quite a while.
Unfortunately the youtube video was taken down (youtube is really starting to become a nightmare for blocking things) but luckily it’s still available thanks to the guys at GameTrailers.com. So check it out below!
Ain’t It Cool News reporter Quint has been giving updates from the set of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. I was a massive fan of the Lord Of The Rings movies so obviously I’m giddy to see what Jackson does with Tolkein’s material this time round.
Jackson has been doing some great behind-the-scenes blogs himself. In fact, I think it’s kind of amazing that so far he has released 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage. It’s really a testament to how much Jackson respects the fans that he’s willing to give such an advance look. Of course, they keep lots secret but I love seeing film crews work so it’s a delight to watch.
Here’s the first video if you’re too lazy to go to the channel.
3) Avenging Spider-Man
The first Spider-Man comic I’ve bought in 10 years (and considering he’s my all time favourite comic book character, that’s a long time) and it’s all Joe Madureira’s fault.
God damn, he draws a good Spider-Man. It’s slightly cartoony but has so much energy and character. It fits perfectly for this kind of book too. It’s a continuity light, action heavy, team-up book. Spidey gets to hang out with some of his Marvel friends and beat-up bad guys while wise-cracking along the way. The first issue was released this past month so jump on now. I enjoyed the hell out of it.
4) WWE Cat Wrestling
Do you like kittens? Do you like wrestling? Then you’ll love kitten wrestling!
5) “Twas me Burfday yesturday”
That was both a highlight and a lowlight. I’m now officially 28. It’s been a great year and I can honestly say I’m happy with how things are going in my life right now. So yes, being alive is one of my favourite things of November. Deal with it.
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And that’s it! My favourite things of the last month.
– Aaron Poole is the creator of the word “snuggle”. He is also more acurately an internet whore and rarely leaves the house. If you like what you read here check out his blog http://aaronfever.blogspot.com
I don’t know about your area, but the weather this summer has been crap. August especially so. Which means there is no better reason to revel in some of the madness the internet has brought us in the last month.
It beats going outside.
1) Astronaut Suicides
No, I’m not sick. I don’t revel in the death of others. This is actually the title of an art project by Neil Dacosta, a photographer with a point to make about NASA’s lack of moon exploration.
It’s a series of photographs taken of an astronaut who isn’t taking the news very well. Here we see the astronaut reading about the story.
Then, as the title suggests, we are shown a number of different attempts to end it all. Here are two of my favourites.
You can see all the pictures and in their full size by clicking THIS LINK. Despite the dark subject matter, they’re really fantastic looking photos and make an interesting protest towards the NASA budget cuts.
2) The Lonely Island – Threw It on The Ground
I’m probably not exposing a hidden gem, considering that at the point of writing this the video has accumulated 4,444,404 views (wow, that is a lot of fours) but this is a list of my favourite things after all and for that reason, it qualifies.
It’s not the best Lonely Island song either, not by a long stretch, but like others it is an ear-worm that you’ll find yourself humming a lot. I also actually laughed out loud at the phone bit. Enjoy!
3) Mattias Inks
Remember Jesse Lonergan and his comic sketches I had talked about before? Well he tipped me off to another sketch blog which he adores and now I do to. http://mattiasa.blogspot.com/ is the home of Mattias a Swedish illustrator with an amazing talent.
Just check out this “doodle” in his moleskin book.
Click here for the large size so you can really see all the detail.
And this traffic scene. Look at all the car designs and other crazy things.
Miniclip has created another game this month worthy of wasting your time. This strategy game is based around the idea of raiding buildings and controlling the land. It pits the Aztecs, the Romans and the Chinese empire against eachother in some sort of strange alternate universe where this was going to happen.
Unlike some stategy games, you have to be quick on your toes if you want to win. Each level starts with a mad dash to cover as much ground as possible and steal the empty buildings before your enemy does. Then it’s time to try and take your opponent’s base with an attack dependant on having the most troops.
You can employ some magic attacks too but I found that building up the stats of your troops after each round can be sufficient in taking down most enemies.
There are some big bosses which are quite difficult because they are timed challenges. So again, a frantic gameplay experience can be found at every turn with this one.
There are lots of extra modes that you can unlock along the way, like Zombie mode, which really stretches the replay-ability of the game. To give it a go and waste away the hours, like I did, click this link here!
5) Shameless Self-Promotion Time!
Coming up very soon is Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia. This year once again both myself and Ken Plume will be doing some panels for your entertainment. I’ll just quickly plug the two we’re doing together as to give you the full list of our individual ones would take far too long.
So if you’re there please pop in to say hello at the following:
FRED Panel-Palooza-Extrava-Thingee-a-Doodle
Time: Fri 04:00 pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Regency V – Hyatt
FRED Presents Yet Another Panel About Doctor Who
Time: Sun 01:00 pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: International North – Hyatt
Rumour has it we’ll even have an actual dragon there. Rumours.
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And that’s it! My favourite things of the last month.
– Aaron Poole is the creator of birthday balloons. He is also more acurately an internet whore and rarely leaves the house. If you like what you read here check out his blog http://aaronfever.blogspot.com
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Welcome to Hands Down, FRED’s own look into the world of the folks that frequent this sordid world of geekery. Follow Aaron, Brian and Colin (and a menagerie on the way) as they traverse the light fantastic or some such nonsense… What? It’s an online fortnightly comic strip, what kind of description did you expect?
Santa Claus gets along with every child except one ““ his own feisty teen-age daughter, JINGLE BELLE. Jingle’s creator Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series,Gotham City Sirens) and illustrator Stephanie Gladden (Hopster’s Tracks, Girls of Monster Paradise) present ALL NEW Jing strips here at FRED. Check in each Thursday for more arctic antics!
CLICK BELOW FOR THIS WEEK’S STRIP
Jingle Belle and all related characters ™ & ® 2010 Paul Dini all rights reserved
Santa Claus gets along with every child except one ““ his own feisty teen-age daughter, JINGLE BELLE. Jingle’s creator Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series,Gotham City Sirens) and illustrator Stephanie Gladden (Hopster’s Tracks, Girls of Monster Paradise) will be presenting ALL NEW weekly Jing strips here at FRED. Check in each Thursday for more arctic antics!
CLICK BELOW FOR THIS WEEK’S STRIP
Jingle Belle and all related characters ™ & ® 2009 Paul Dini all rights reserved
Santa Claus gets along with every child except one ““ his own feisty teen-age daughter, JINGLE BELLE. As a special Holiday Havoc treat, Jingle’s creator Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series,Gotham City Sirens) and illustrator Stephanie Gladden (Hopster’s Tracks, Girls of Monster Paradise) will be presenting ALL NEW weekly Jing strips here at FRED this Christmas season and into the New Year. Check in each Thursday for more arctic antics!
CLICK BELOW FOR THIS WEEK’S STRIP
Jingle Belle and all related characters ™ & ® 2009 Paul Dini all rights reserved
Santa Claus gets along with every child except one ““ his own feisty teen-age daughter, JINGLE BELLE. As a special Holiday Havoc treat, Jingle’s creator Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series,Gotham City Sirens) and illustrator Stephanie Gladden (Hopster’s Tracks, Girls of Monster Paradise) will be presenting ALL NEW weekly Jing strips here at FRED this Christmas season and into the New Year. Check in each Thursday for more arctic antics!
CLICK BELOW FOR THIS WEEK’S STRIP
Jingle Belle and all related characters ™ & ® 2009 Paul Dini all rights reserved
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
