Intro to Devilman, a Demonic Manga Masterwork

Coherent Cats

Here’s my second lecture-style panel from this year’s Kumoricon. Again keep in mind this lacks the slideshow, delivery, and discussion time of the full panel.

Among the many manga by Go Nagai, this tale of a virtuous young man with demonic power stands apart with chilling art and poignant story. Since the 1970s, the Devilman universe has expanded with spinoffs and adaptations as well as influenced modern creators. There is a lot of Devilman-related media out there and it would be impossible for me to talk about everything, so I’m sticking to ones I consider important or noteworthy or just a personal favorite. It will be difficult, but spoilers will be kept to a minimum in this panel. One big spoiler in particular cannot be avoided, so I’ll only partially talk about it. If you’ve already read Devilman, you can probably guess what I’m talking about.

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Review: Gankutsuou

Crappuccino

Judul: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Episode: 24
Tahun: 2004 [Japan], 2006 [US]
Studio: GONZO

Death is certain; its hour, uncertain.

Catatan: Saya tahu review ini telat 4 tahun, tapi setidaknya ijinkan saya fangirling okeh?

Seperti banyak novel terkenal lainnya, bukan pertama kalinya Count of Monte Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) diadaptasi, utamanya ke format layar lebar atau layar kaca. Kali ini, GONZO mengangkat novel karya Alexandre Dumas ini ke bentuk anime dan saya bilang… keren abis! Di satu sisi, plot asli Count of Monte Cristo sudah menarik. Cerita balas dendam selalu menarik. Versi animenya mengambil paruh terakhir buku, di mana Edmond Dantes kembali sebagai Count of Monte Cristo untuk membalas dendam pada orang-orang yang mengkhianatinya. Bedanya, di sini Count diposisikan sebagai tokoh antagonis. Karakter utama dipegang oleh Albert de Morcerf, anak dari Ferdnand dan Mercedes. Untuk kepentingan balas dendam, Count bersahabat dengan Albert, sebagai pintu masuknya ke kalangan…

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Reviews: Gay/Queer Webcomics

Crowning Moments of Awesome: Wonder Woman

Captain Nihilist, where can I find real horror/experimental webcomics?

The Webcomic Overlook

Reader Bey Lee sent me an e-mail with regard to the “Incoherent Ramblings” article I linked to from Savage Critics. He challenged one of the revered tenets of webcomics, as query where he could webcomics of a certain specific style.

That one article you linked to suggested that you could find webcomics of near every premise if you just looked. But finding stuff in the vein I want is hard now that I no longer play videogames.

Where’s the horror comics? I looked around and besides Split Lip it’s pretty much bog standard stuff with stuff from horror thrown in as a way to say “hey this is different” which would be fine if I wanted a Questionable Content imitation where all the chicks hanging around Marten are sexy zombies or cthulhiod superheroes, but none of it’s really spine tingling stuff.

Are there any webcomic artists who…

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One Punch Reviews #82: Our Bloodstained Roof

The Webcomic Overlook

I remember it vividly as if it were yesterday. The skies were clear this morning, but the temperatures were below zero. I had a scarf wrapped around my mouth and nose because it almost felt like ice crystals were forming. I was walking from my the parking lot to the building I work at. It was about a quarter mile walk since city restrictions prevented a parking garage from being built, so the company compensated by making the parking lot very, very large.

Fortunately the walkway was covered. However, as I walked down the path, I noticed something weird. There were lumps on the ground covered in frost. At first, I thought they were leaves. As I looked a little closer though, I discovered to my horror that they were birds. About a hundred birds, all littering the ground, dead and frosted. They’d taken shelter under the roof in an…

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Mystique: how a shapeshifter fights

Arousing Grammar

Before we get into Wolverine’s revenge on Mystique (who sent him to Hell a few articles ago), we should have her take a starring role first.  Mystique collected quite a resume in her time, including membership in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, being the mother of X-Men Nightcrawler and Rogue, and a confirmed birth date sometime in the 1800s.  Past stories have shown her hanging out with Wolverine in the 1920s, fighting in World War II, and participating in all sorts of historical events far after that.

More importantly, her mutant ability lets her shapeshift into whatever person she wants.  Certainly not as combat effective as say, claws and a healing factor, but it’s important to understand that Mystique may be one of the more formidable opponents in the Marvel universe.

She’s even Ms. Marvel’s arch-nemesis.  Her first appearance was actually in 1978 in Ms. Marvel #16, written by Chris…

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40 Reasons Why Cats Are Better Than Kids

Funnier In Writing

When I met my husband over eight years ago, we each had two cats – mine were female and his were male. We fell in love and, upon combining our households, became the feline version of the Brady Bunch – except I had slightly better hair than Carol Brady and our backyard wasn’t covered in astro turf. Like the Brady’s, our kitties bunked together, fought frequently over who got to use the clubhouse, and shared a single bathroom.

When we married five years later, we decided against breeding (kids, not cats) after weighing the pros and cons of Kids vs. Kitties. The Kitties won and here’s why:

1) Fur hides bruises better than makeup. (No, I don’t beat my cats. I find whisking makes them fluffier.)

2) Though socially unacceptable in the United States, it’s not illegal to kill and eat your felines if facing starvation. Do that with your…

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No-Kill Policy?

I like hero that have strong sense of morality. Really. But… I have problem with character that have over-the-top “no-kill” policy.

I remember several character from show like that. Take character A (initial) for example. A is a rookie police woman with strong moral code. She’s a bit naive, but it’s okay since she’s a rookie. She’s also smart and have perfect score at test. She’s an excellent shooter too! Sadly, the narrative didn’t treat her like that. She will do something like this:

1) The main villain captured Y, her friend. The only way to save Y is kill the villain. But, A hesitant to shoot the villain because afraid it will kill him. So, for the rest of episode, I must watch the villain torture Y while A do NOTHING. Just watch. Well, she tried to shoot but it missed. I found it weird since she’s supposed to be excellent shooter. And finally…. the villain kill Y and walk away. Will will A do? Chase the villain and captured him? I wish. She’s too shocked to do anything. Even to to chase the villain or checking Y.

2) A and her friend finally captured the villain. Before fainted, her friend begged her to kill the villain since the villain is ~special~ and the law cannot punish him. If he’s captured alive, there’s a chance he will escape and kill more people since he’s genius criminal mastermind. What will A do? She ignore her friend request because killing is bad. The result? The villain escape AND kill more people including her friends (again).

Despite that, I don’t hate A. I like her passion plus she’s do good job at the end of show. I understand her reaction. Killing people, even for self-defense is scary. BUT she’s a police woman. And it’s her friend that being captured. Her friend, a helpless injured woman, crying and begged “Please save me, A. I don’t want die.” And A just let her die even though she have chance to save her *sigh*

Another Day, Another Man Appropriating Women’s Lives For The Lulz