Brian K. Vaughn (Runaways, Y: The Last Man) returns to comics with a very clever SF/fantasy fusion called Saga, illustrated by Canadian artist Fiona Staples. It’s the tale of Hazel, newborn daughter to soldiers on opposite sides of a galactic war; father Marko is from a race of men with horns who wield magic, and mother Alana is from a race of winged humanoids. Hazel narrates the story of her own birth as her fugitive parents try to escape from soldiers, bounty hunters and other dangers.
If this sounds a bit like Star Wars, it should; Vaughn first conceived of the series when he was a child, and has described it as “Star Wars for perverts” due to its adult content. I was initially lukewarm about the fit of Fiona Staples’ artwork for this series, feeling that the style of a P. Craig Russell or Charles Vess might be more suitable; but Staples quickly grew on me for her rendering of the various alien races that she and Vaughn have designed. It’s a hell of a ride and I am looking forward to the next volume.
Beyond the Black Rainbow is a new film crafted to look and feel like an old film; its promotional materials describe it as a “Reagan-era fever dream” but it reminded me of the late 60s/early 70s stream of consciousness psychodramas that used to show up on Shock Theatre sometimes when I was a kid. It is the tale of Elena, a young girl with mysterious powers who is determined to escape a facility called Arboria and the demented Dr. Nyle.
I happened across the first volume of Chi’s Sweet Home by Konami Kanata at Little Island Comics in Toronto, and picked it up because a quick scan indicated that it was one of the most adorable comics I have ever seen. It is the tale of a curious kitten who gets separated from her mother and siblings one day near a park; fortunately she is found by a wayward child and taken in by his family, with the intention of finding her a permanent family since they cannot keep pets in their building. They have trouble finding an adopter, however, and eventually decide to keep the kitten (named “Chi” – Japanese for “pee” – by the child who is potty training).
Milla Jovovich returns as the unkillable, dead-eyed Alice in this fifth instalment of a film franchise that has been outstripped in terms of storytelling and acting by the video games that inspired it. The film opens with a recap of the franchise, a useful reminder for those of us who are vague on the details or who skipped the last film (RE: Afterlife) entirely.
Being the masochists that we are, Nicole and I went to see The Possession at the drive-in on the long weekend and it was truly one of the worst films I have seen in a while – and of course, it claims to be based on a true story. Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars as a recently-divorced dad who gets custody of his two daughters (10 and 16) on the weekends. He takes them to a yard sale, where the 10 year old decides she wants a creepy old box covered in Hebrew carvings.
Fall is upon us once again, and the most exciting TV-related news for this reporter is the discovery of the 
I was pleasantly surprised by this film set in Newfoundland by director and co-writer Deanne Foley. It’s the story of Fran Whiteway (Marthe Bernard), an 18-year-old young woman who has been raised by her father Whitey (Trailer Park Boys’ Robb Wells), who was once a pro wrestler called White Lightning. Fran wants to be a wrestler too and is good at it, easily subduing all of the boys in the gym run by the local priest (Andy Jones); but Whitey forbids it, muttering about how it will only break her heart. When Fran meets her father’s former tag-team partner Dark Thunder (Tony Nappo), she discovers that her father has not been entirely straight with her about his past, and joins Dark Thunder’s wrestling tour against Whitey’s wishes.
Whew, once again I’ve been slack on this blog; mainly because I’ve been working hard on my webcomic 
