Engage!! My Star Trek Discovery Season 3 theory.

So, I'm still working my way through Vanguard and, while I had originally said that I was going to talk about the comics I've been reading every week on this blog, I thought it best to just talk about all three volumes of Vanguard in one go.

As a result, I have nothing to talk about for the second week running.

Now, I had planned to just take a break this week but I recently started Star Trek Discovery season 3 on Netflix and, this far, it's good (although it would be better of they just released it in one go). However, two episodes in and I had a theory about this series and where it might go. As a result, and because I have a gap in my schedule, I just thought I'd ramble on about this theory here, even though it is probably one which has already been shared.

(So, I'm going to be talking about every Star Trek Discovery episode released to date. So if you are still catching up, be warned that there are spoilers).

So, my theory goes like this: I think that the 32nd century iteration of the Federation, when it finally appears, will turn out to an organization which is something of a cross between the Terran empire and the America that is revealed in Scott Snyder and Charles Soule's comic series, undiscovered country.

The reason I think this is because, so far during these first two episodes, there has been an abundance of love for the late great, Federation. So far all the characters that we are introduced to, particularly Kal, the alien on the colony world, to the communications expert Sahil on Relay, have bigged up the legend of Starfleet to what feels like an almost godlike proportion. However, while the Federation's reputation very much proceeds it in a good way, all of this rose tinted belief is based on nothing but myth as Starfleet's finest have never really been seen.

Therefore, I genuinely believe that the third series will be this whole 'the Federation was awesome. They will come back and save us' belief from everyone that Discovery meets on its journey. However, as with the revelation of Lorca in series one, I think that (certainly this far) all of the excessive praise that seems to be given is setup for a similar mini-series twist where Discovery will find the Federation but as some xenophobic, dystopian, damaged reflection of its former self.

Now, I don't think this is entirely without precedent as both Discovery and Star Trek Picard have hinted that Starfleet is certainly capable of such thinking. In Discovery, while they were on the brink  of losing a war, Starfleet's senior officers were happy to utilize the Barbaric mirror Georgiou to commit genocide. Meanwhile, in Picard, the fleet's top brass were equally content to let the Romulans die after their star went supernova. Neither example seems fitting of Roddenbery's original vision of the Utopian, enlightenment organisation.

However, going this route of making the Federation out to be this mythic Camelot-like entity to a galaxy who don't know them first hand, only to reveal the opposite is the case feels like the only way to shake up the story. As a result, I also theorize that this would lead into series 4 as Discovery lead a war/revolution against this new, more oppressive regime for the soul of the federation. This too has precedent because (as I was recently reminded) Discovery has always been a series whose characters vehemently believe in the ideals of those they serve.

But this is all conjecture at this point because, only two episodes in, the story could really go anywhere. However, regardless of where everything leads, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the series (to the point that I wish they just released it all in one go).

I just now have extra skin in the game as I get to see just how close my theory is.

Project Hail Mary

I'm currently working my way through all three volumes of Vanguard (I'm just finishing up volume 1 as I write this) and so I didn't have anything comic book related to post this week.

So, instead I thought I'd bore everyone and talk about what a project I've been working on for what feels like years.

As the title suggests, this project is called Project Hail Mary. Having previously spoken to Ryan K Lindsay and David Pepose regarding the reasoning for using project names (as well as how cool it sounds), I decided I wanted to do the same thing instead of just talking about 'this project I'm working on. I also, wanted to a totally talk about what I'm doing without giving too much away about what km actually doing (although I've talked to so many people about it, I'd be surprised if it wasnlt common knowledge).

For years now, I've wanted to write my own comic. There are two reasons for this: firstly, I feel it would help me appreciate the creative process more when I review other people's comics. This is because it is easy to critique someone else's work but I don't think you can fully appreciate the work they put in unless you do it yourself. The second reason is simply that I've been having ideas of my own for years, almost all of which are stored in the funky looking green notebook I have by my bed.

Back in 2017 (wow, that long) I took part in a short comic competition run by Matt Garvey. Now, I didn't win but, working with the fantastic Ayoade Adobarin, we still created the Hipster Beard, which I've since given it's own page on my blog for everyone to see Ayo's skills for themselves.

However, after creating that short strip, I have found myself thinking up more and more ideas in the same vein, short little strips with this horror vibe and a bit of twist at the end. They are probably not the greatest compared to the greatness already put there but oh well.

Therefore, this has become Project Hail Mary. I call it Project Hail Mary because this is my ... well, my Hail Mary Pass, my one desperate attempt to do this (because I'm unsure if I would be able to have another chance).

My plan for Project Hail Mary is pretty simple (from my perspective). I've so far written 9 short stories (including the Hipster Beard) which totals around 50 pages (I do have two additional stories that I haven't written than I think could add an extra ten pages but for now we'll stick to 50). All of these stories have this kind of 'classic horror tropes (Dracula, the Wolfman, etc) set in the present day' notion to them that are probably incredibly derivative but I got a kick out of as I wrote them.

From there, my plan would be to have different artists create each story in a very sin city look (I.e. black and white hit with hints of colour). I already have a (very) long list of artists I want to work with for this (because of it's my one shot then I want to take advantage of it) but they would probably depend on budget.

However, once the art is done, I would produce a pdf file and make it digital only (to keep costs down) and then sell it at £1/$1 per copy. I'm thinking this price because I feel it would A. Entice more people to take a look (because 50 pages for £1/$1 sounds pretty good to me) and also because while I'm sure the art would be fantastic, I don't want to overcharge people for what could be crap stories from an unknown quantity (i.e. me).

So, that's where I am with this. Now, I'm sure anyone who has gotten to this point is wondering 'why haven't you done this yet?' and the answer is pretty simple. Firstly, I'm still tinkering on the stories. First drafts are written but changed are needed on at least three of the ideas, while I still want to add two more ideas to the collections. Also, I want to flesh out the characters with a sort of 'character bio' for each idea, just so artists aren't working from scratch.

The other thing is that I, currently, don't have the money to get this thing made. I'm considering running a Kickstarter to get this funded, but I feel that I'd need some, if not most, of the art created before I get to that point. Unfortunately, I don't have the capital to hire the artists in advance at present (and I'm SO not willing to ask them for the payment of 'exposure' and the hope of money later). Therefore, I'm a little bit stuck in a holding pattern for the time being.

However, it's still on my wish list of things I want to do in my life and I'll keep tinkering away at it. I just figured, with nothing to write I'd just share this while also giving some insight as to what I'm talking about whenever I mention it in future.

Oh, and before I forget ...

My review for this week over at Pipedream Comics was Daniel Reed's the Mycelium Complex #1 & 2, which is currently coming to the end of its Kickstarter campaign. I've got to admit, I was intrigued by this one, mainly because of the word Mycelium and my wonder if Daniel Reed was a Star Trek Discovery fan.

And, in a way, I enjoyed reading this. As I feel I reiterated several times in the review, I was intrigued by what was going on. However, I also found it extremely frustrating. There is so little information as to what is going on in either time zone, how they connect, how the world ended, anything. As a result, the more I read through, the more of a slog this was becoming. It wasn't helped by the fact that very little is given about the characters beyond a name and some brief intro to their personality. In fact, only Pat and Benny are more filled out and neither I would call a 'sympathetic character'.

The art was solid (minus a small niggle here and there) but it really was a frustrating read because I'm certain this comic has so much potential. If the author offers up some information to the seeming time travel aspect, Pat and Benny's connection to the world ending or what happened to Evelyn, then I'd be more than happy to go back but, for now, I'd be hesitant to return until the whole story was available.

 

So, that's another week done. It's obviously a bit less comic-focused and, hopefully, that's something I will rectify for next weeks post (although, at 14 issues, I'm skeptical I'll complete Vanguard in that time). However, for now, I'm glad I took the time to air my plan/dream/idea.

Even if it is a little pie in the sky.

Kickstarter Catch up

Well, it's been a week!! Since last Monday, I must confess that my life has felt non-stop with all that I've had. This is because beyond my standard 9-5 working days as well as trying to help control two under 5's, I've (somehow) scraped the time to read a comic before reviewing it and then sending over to Alex to post up on Pipedream Comics (which only got finished by Friday night), wrote what became an immensely long-winded post on the Black Panther: Man without Fear series and submitted mine and Ayoade Adobarin's short comic, the Hipster Beard, to the Platform Comics short comic competition (oh yeah, and done my half of the Christmas shopping(which, admittedly, isn't much).

So, by the end of it all, it didn't leave much time to get through my next planned read, Dan Butcher's Vanguard, by the time I needed to write this post. However, I instead decided to push it back a few more days (because what's a few more days after nearly eight months) and just clear through a bunch of one shots and single issues.

Fortunately, I happen to have a bunch of those courtesy of Kickstarter. This is because, although it has been a while since I last pledged to a campaign on Kickstarter, I haven't yet managed to make the time to read some of the rewards which came from those successful ones. Therefore, what better time to do that than over a (presently) comic free weekend. And so, with that in mind, I burned through four comics from two campaigns: Samuel George London's Milford Green from that campaign and Ryan K Lindsey's Fatherhood, Little Man in the Big Housr and Tree from his Skyscraper campaign.

First up was Milford Green by Samuel George London and Mikael Hankonen, which sees the titular Victorian village become the target of an alien invasion when a fleeing intergalactic agent crashes there and entrusts a local with the safekeeping of a mysteriously powerful relic. Now, I've probably downplayed the complexity of the comic by breaking it down to its essence, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this was a fun and enjoyable read. I'm not going to lie, the story was a little confusing in places but I found this to be a minor inconvenience as the direction and pacing were solid and so I got the general idea of what was going on, even if I missed on the minutiae (which in fairness, may have been due to me being tired when I read it). It also helped that the characters (maybe with the exception of George) were just so likable, which really helped keep me invested I think.

The art was exceptional as well, with Mikael Hankonen's art fitting the tone and atmosphere of both the story and the location in my mind with a look that reminded me very much of Sarah Millman's work in A Heart of Time (which makes sense as they are both predominantly based in the Victorian era). By the end, I realized that I had a lot of questions about this series such as;

• With all the LOTR references, is Alfie destined to become Tolkien or something (given LOTR doesn't get published for another 50ish years)?
• What does Mary see in George? She turns on him right at the end, but that seems a little odd given all he's done up to that point.
• Also, why did Mary's dad offer George up so willingly? Did he know what was going to happen/how it played out?
• Finally, funny how they were so quick to believe Fandalg's story.

Anyway, just some thoughts which came to my mind but, nonetheless, it was still a fun read that I need to find out how it continues. I'll have to reach out to Sam about buying the sequel instalments.

The next read was Fatherhood Ryan K Lindsay, Daniel Schneider, Paulina Ganucheau and Brandon Destefano which told the story of one man's mission to make his daughter happy, and the damage it causes to any who get in his way. Now, this comic absolutely blew me away by the time that I was finished reading it. I had expected a noir story based on it's gorgeous cover (and I'm not sure I could reiterate that enough) but while I was partly right (as the second half really comes across that way to me), this story about the love of you child and what you would do for them was so incredibly (and brutally) captivating. The thing is, I think I found it so captivating was down to how I connected to the main character. This because while the protagonist is a real nasty piece of work, I completely understood why he did the things he was doing. As RKL alludes to in his notes at the back, a parent will do anything for their children (as I myself have often stated to people) and so this character is just a manifestation of that promise.

 

Meanwhile, the artwork in this comic was just as perfect to me as the story it accompanied. The style is fantastic, with Mr Schneider and Ms Ganucheau's respective pencils and colours marrying to give the story such an awesome, vibrant look. In fact, the scene and the page where the protagonist nearly runs down a woman in the street still stick in my head it was so gorgeous. This only continues when the protagonist dons the noir trademark hat and coat, as the art takes yet more gorgeousness in some great monochrome colours, and letterer Brandon Destefano makes me giddy with joy as I read the narration on a very fitting 'written on line paper' look that is just inch perfect for this noir vibe. I have to admit, by the end I feel heartbroken that this is only a one shot, but in truth it's perfect as just that (although I am curious why the guy is being arrested). All I can do is hope that RKL brings this team back for something equally awesome in future (which, given his pedigree, I doubt would be too long a wait).

In the meantime though, I move onto Little Man in the Big House, the next free comic from Ryan K Lindsay's Skyscraper kickstarter by Lindsay himself, Paul Tucker and Ryan Ferrier and told the story of a former size changing superhero called Little Man who is called in when the occupants of a Super-Villain prison undertake a hostage situation. Now, this was another fun little comic, with a really cool concept that feels perfect for a character of this ... stature (no pun intended .. well, maybe a little), in the same vein the Ant-Man movie was a heist movie. I really love the ideas that are thrown in here, and thought the use of Little Man's powers are used in fun and unique ways.

That said, the art was good but it wasn't really my thing. Mr Tucker's style had this slightly rough, 80's, almost Valerian and Laureline look to it that I did find a small bit confusing as I read along. That said though, maybe that's something I would get use to if the comic was longer than nine pages because, I would certainly enjoy seeing more of this.

Finally, I read Tree, the third of Ryan K Lindsay's works that I went over the week, with this one created with Mitch Collins and Thomas Mauer as it told the story of a quirky, Deadpool meets Veronica Mars bounty hunter as she attempts to track down the man she's been hired to find. This was a short comic, totally only 14 pages, but its length was the only downside to it as I really loved this comic. I thought the script was so quirky with it's unusual narration and made me think of some fourth wall breaking series like Deadpool and ... well, that's it really. Nevertheless, I thought that idea was fantastically unique, like reading the comic equivalent of Enola Holmes crossed with Human Target (or better yet, Burn Notice). The art meanwhile, was equally gorgeous, with Mitch Collins style making me think of Matthew Dow Smith (whose work I certainly adore after that recent Star Trek one-shot). By the end, I don't know if more of this story was made, but if it was then I've gotta get it.

And so that's all for my comic reading in the last week and, I just confess, I wish I'd gotten around to them all sooner. It was a fun selection of reads which confirmed that the pledges I had made at the time were worthy investments.

Oh, and before I forget ...

This past week I got the chance to read the full graphic novel of Future, the sci-fi, time travel story by Tom Woodman and Rupert Smissen, for Pipedream Comics. Now, I recall that I had enjoyed the first issue when I reviewed and felt the comic had potential but, after reading full story, I really felt like it exceeded all expectations.

The review (as usual) is more depth but I felt the story was so engrossing, watching these two people never giving up on each other. Woodman really found their voices and made I think it was that and their dynamic with each other which made Future so captivating.

As for the art, this was equally gorgeous and so reminded me of Alex + Ada but with a much more stylish, cgi-esque look. This isn't a downside to me but a plus as this style really makes Future look unbelievably beautiful.

I'm gonna have to start thinking about my favourite comics for the Pipedream top 50 of this year, but after this read I think Future is going to be one of them, because it was one hell of a read.

So, that was my week (and then some). Hopefully, I can now get started on Vanguard (as I've been planning to do for some time).

Although, I'm sure something else will come up first. It usually does.

Black Panther: the Man Without Fear - The Complete Collection

About a year ago, with the number of people in my family growing and the size of my house ... well, not ... I (with a heavy heart) decided to sell off a few of my comic series in order to maintain some semblance of space. Among the many series that I sold included David Liss and Francesco Francavilla's Black Panther: the Man Without Fear. Unfortunately, (as I did with almost all other sold series) it was mere moments after I had send the parcel containing those issues out that I severely regretted the decision of selling them on.

This is because, at that moment, I realized that Black Panther: the Man without Fear, despite it having been a while since I had last read it, was a truly entertaining comic series and one which kind of stuck with me. It was a series that I thought of with optimism whenever I did think of it and so, selling all those issues, when the enormity of my actions sunk, really made me want to kick myself.

Fortunately, it would appear that the Panther God was smiling down on me because not long after disposing of the singles, Comixology did me a solid by offering the collected edition of the run on a sale, such that I was able to turn a (immensely tiny) profit on what I had sold.

Well, it's been a while since I sold and subsequently re-bought it but I figured that, this last couple of weeks, I'd go back through it.

Black Panther: the Man without Fear, written by David Liss and drawn by Francesco Francavilla and Jefte Palo (with Shawn Martinbrough and Michael Avon Oeming in the final arc) takes place after the Shadowland and Doomwar events as it sees T'Challa, fresh from his failure in the latter decide to take over for Daredevil, who disappeared after the events of the former, to defend Hell's Kitchen as a way to prove himself. Setting himself up as the manager of a local diner under a fake name, T'Challa begins his one-man war on crime. However, Hell's Kitchen is not Wakanda, as T'Challa finds as he faces off against, new gangsters, old enemies, newly created threats and some of New York's most famous Supervillains in a bid to remake himself back into the King he once was.

I don't really know what to say beyond this point. I like to think that I like almost every comic I read. Sure, there are some that are better than others, but overall the cast majority get on my good side. Therefore, it's probably fair to say that I'm easy to please. However, after re-reading Black Panther: the Man without Fear - the complete collection over the last two weeks, I feel that there is something about this run which makes it far more than that.

To me, David Liss wrote a compelling, exciting and all engrossing story about how one man pulls himself up from the ashes of his own life, one which saw him fail on the grandest scale possible, to reclaim that sense of identity. Indeed, Liss actually states this in the opening page's text scrawl to help catch the reader up on past events. I have to admit that, while the series is called Black Panther and the character is a world renowned figure, it's surprising that no other characters clock that they are one and the same. By that same notion, I do ponder why T'Challa dresses as a Panther if he wishes to be anonymous during his tenure in Hell's Kitchen. I can only surmise that, for him, it is the only identity he knows while always a constant reminder as to what he strives to be, regardless of whether he thinks he deserves it. As for the general public's viewpoint, maybe it was that Liss didn't feel it to be important.

Identity comes across as the core tenet of this series, as almost every character we are graced with has some kind of dilemma regarding their identity: Vlad and his own dual identity as a mirror to T'Challa, Brian and Kraven with their lack of identity and direction respectively, Hate Monger and the need to usurp already established identities and even Overdrive (and maybe to a lesser extent Kingpin) has the need to to confirm his identity via reputation. I really do think that identity is the major theme as this series progresses.

This is no more so shown than with T'Challa. I feel that David Liss really nails T'Challa (or Mr Okonwko to use his new secret identity)'s voice through this series, to the point that I could hear his regal Wakandan accent in my head as I read his words). Of course, it's not just T'Challa's voice that Liss nails as he seems to completely get the former King of Wakanda's personality and mindset as of this moment to perfection. In the final issue, T'Challa speaks of how it isn't about the destination bit the journey and this line encapsulates the entire run. I think this because, as we all know, the illusion of change that big two comics are famous for will see T'Challa return to Wakanda, retake the title of Black Panther and resume his reign as King. As Thanos would say 'it's inevitable'. Therefore, the end doesn't matter to us, only what T'Challa does to get there and how he goes from the broken man at the beginning to the king we all know by the end. It's all about the journey, not the destination (as T'Challa points out).

And what a journey it is! I really enjoyed the various arcs throughout this story, more so than I remember doing when I initially read the series. Liss offers a final word in this collection where he states that writers like to see characters fall (or words to that effect) and he really tests T'Challa as the story unfolds. However, as we know he's going to win (it is a superhero comic after all), what I think kept me hooked was the manner in which T'Challa won. The character seems to start the series adopting a very Daredevil approach but, as time progresses, alters his viewpoint as he realises his strengths lie elsewhere. As a result, the series seems to adopt a 'what if Bruce Wayne/Tony Stark lost all their money and resources' approach, a little too literally at one point as the series does feel like an audition to write Batman. However, this isn't a negative as almost every issue and every story kept me completely hooked, from Urban Jungle and its battle of wills between the Panther and Vlad, Storm Hunter and the former's rapport with his wife, Fear and Loathing in Hell's Kitchen and it's portrayal of hate and bigotry in society (I'd even say uncomfortably so) and the final war for the soul of Wakanda. In fact only the Spider-Island tie in felt like a weak point as I read through the whole thing but even then, it was so well weaved into the overall arc that it ended feeling like a prelude to the final arc and a sort of 'calm before the storm's moment.

Of course, these stories would be nothing without the characters within them and, after T'Challa, I found myself (for the second time) absolutely adoring so manga of them. First, there are the Daredevil stalwarts of Foggy Nelson and the Kingpin, both of whom feel as though this book wouldn't be right without their presence. However, Liss has created some great new characters such as Vlad the Impaler and the Panther's sidekick Sofija, both of whom have made an instant impact on me to the point that I wonder why they have never returned. Then there are all the characters from every corner of the 616 like Luke Cage, Spider-Man and especially Storm, whose two issue appearance really is adorable as it helps T'Challa show a (slightly) softer side. Other characters also appear, such as Detective Kurtz (who looks so much like Commissioner Gordon it's scary) Dr Holman, the Hate Monger (who looks eerily familiar if you added 40 years to him) and American Panther who didn't make as much of an impact on me but still did enough to move the story in the right direction (although, who was that who found the American Panther outfit? Were we ever meant to find out?)

Now I've gone on a lot about the story, the writing and the characters, but I haven't really said much about the art. This of course is for good reason; I don't think I know the words that could best exemplify just how fantastic a contribution Francesco Francavilla, Jefte Palo and the army of artists and colorists behind them have made to this series.

However, I'm not gonna really leave it at that comment so I'm going to say my thoughts in the best understated way I can. I absolutely loved Francavilla's work on this series, as his style and colours give his contributions to this series a really golden age/noir look that just (at least I think) looks incredible. I also feel that his work here has such a unique quality to it that it helps give this run a unique vibe that stands out from any other (not that I've read many Black Panther comics mind). Given Francavilla's prior work (or should I say future given he did it after Black Panther ... I think) on the Black Bat, his style really works well during the opening crime-centric arc, while his deep reds and yellows against shadow (which I loved during Afterlife with Archie) gave the Hate Monger arc a real horror vibe (as well as a shot above of Vlad the Impaler looking very Dracula-esque) which worked incredibly well against the nightmarish story being told. As a result, despite his presence being only just over half of the full run, it's his memorable work here that makes me realise why I always call this run the 'Liss/Francavilla run'.

Of course, that should in no way diminish the solid work done through the rest of the issues. Jefte Palo's work is a lot less 'flamboyant' (I really couldn't think of another word) than Francavilla's but his style works a lot better for the more Batman-esque, crime solving arcs that he finds himself on. This is helped, I think by the paler colours by Jean-François Beaulieu, whose work combines with Palo's to really fit the night time crime seeker the the Panther is being (although I do have questions as to why he's drawn SO big). The final arc is probably the let down for me as, while it's solid work by Palo, artists Shawn Martinbrough And Michael Avon Oeming along with colourist Felix Serrano and Jesus Aburtov, I struggle to connect with Oeming's which just looks so ... plain next to his counterparts. Nonetheless, that's just my opinion and what do I know about art, really?

What I do know is how fantastic I think the covers are throughout this series. I seldom talk about covers (don't know why, I just don't), but with these gorgeous works by Simone Bianchi, Andrea Silvestri and Simone Peruzzi, I just have to bring attention for them. If there is nothing else which makes regret selling the single issues, it's the loss of these covers (as well as the ones by Francavilla himself).

I remembered Black Panther: the Man without Fear being a great read, but reading again now has made me realise that my views were a severe understatement. As such, I'm gonna try and get this series as a print copy (most likely a trade) one day, because this is something which deserves pride of place on my shelves.

Oh, and before I forget ...

Also over the last week (and a bit), I've had a couple more reviews go up over at Pipedream Comics. The first was for Vault Comics recently released series Engineward #1 & 2 late last week and that was followed by Decapolis #1 from Geovanni Flores and Fayth Studios early this week.

Now, I won't go into too much detail because A. most of my thoughts can be found in each review and B. I've gone on (more than) long enough in this post. However, I found both titles to be something of a similar mixed bag where I loved their art but the story was something of a struggle to keep engaged in as I read through them (to differing levels).

Now, that didn't mean that I thought they were bad, as I think both are just brimming with potential. However,  but I also think more installments would be needed to flesh out the story and maybe some more backstory for their characters before they really grabbed me. Therefore, I'd maybe check them out again when they hit trade.

So that's another week (or two in the case of reading time) done. It was planned to move to Vanguard for the next few weeks, but a big review has shown up so I'll have to stretch that out.

Guess I'll have to find something else to write about in the meantime.