It's a while ago that I got my hands on perhaps the best comic I have read in ages. I'm talking about Blacksad. Blacksad is a comic about a private detective called John Blacksad who lives in a perfectly normal world with all its normal flaws and intrigues our real world faces. Except everyone's an animal. Well just like our world as well really.
Apart from the good, and moody, characters and stories it's the art that really makes the comic stand out. It breathes atmosphere from every paperfibre and just grabs you from the start only to let go when you flip the backcover. The 2 albums I own focus on Blacksad investigating and solving a murder and a kidnapping. In the first story he finds an old love has been killed by someone and he, who else, goes and stirs things up. In the end it turns out a high placed frog (how fitting) is the killer and he has to fight the urge to finish the slimey toad himself, but will he... ooooeerrr cliffhanger! The second comic has John investigating a kidnapping of a girl... anitlope (or something) in a part of the city where racism is abound. And as a black cat he's got a real treat in facing a pack of hungry white wolves. Will he survive and find the missing girl? Cliffhanger deux! All this happens in a rather realistic tone and way so that while they are all animals it never strikes you as too comic'esque. The characters are perfectly normal human beings, but with fur and tails.
Unfortunately there have only been 3 comics released so far and they are hard to find, which is why I only own the first 2 thus far. The english distributor went down a while back and it appears nobody has picked up the rights ever since, making the comics scarce. Also apart from the 3 stories created nothing else is out and it doesn't look like the spanish creators are giving anything new any work so this just might be it. So we have what we have; 3 great stories about a cat called John Blacksad who investigates murders in a "film noir" backdrop while kicking ass and having the occassional smoke.
Interested? Go out and read it!
Thursday July 23, 2009 -- #83
The day before yesterday I finished Metal Gear Solid4 and early today the final cut-scene finally ended. I jest a bit. The final scene cleared up some pf the questions sure, but boy did it drag on and on and on. That's probably the 90 minute cut-scene "everyone" has been talking about.
Anyway, the final act took place on a highly modern submarine which I, dressed up as Solid Snake, had to infiltrate to take down 1 of the AI computers and prevent it from launching a nuke. The infiltrating part however was a lot harder than it may sound. Problem is that you have to move from 1 side of the deck to the other, open a door and... get in. So anyway, the deck is crawling with enemy soldiers and a couple of GEKKO (unmanned robots). This part perfectly illustrates, to me, some of the problems I have with MGS4. On the 1 hand you're forced to sneak unseen past the enemy and get off the deck. On the other hand it's nearly impossible to evade them and not be forced in a shoot-out, once you get stuck in that shoot-out however there's no chance on hell you're gonna open that door.
Sneaking however is hard is marble on this boat. Once you're spot you can go gung-ho Joe, hence all the guns you can buy and find, but if that happens you're done. No way can you clear off the deck and so you have to restart the level. Every damn time again. Which is what most part of my last few days looked like. The problem with sneaking is that it's near impossible to stay well hidden and find out the patterns the enemy soldiers are walking thus going around a corner turns into a gamble rather then a well plotted move.
Some people might call this old fashioned hard, or "old skool", but I just felt it was annoying as hell. Luckily MGS4 has more then enough of the right stuff in the right place, so much even that I want to do a second run right now. Odd.
Thursday July 16, 2009 -- #82
The summer really is the time to be off from work/college and watch sports. With Wimbledon just behind us (wp Federer!) and the Tour De France right smack on us these are great days to spend indoors watching the good old tele. Especially if it's cold and rainy outside like now. Once I get a job and doing 40 hour workweeks I'll be sorry for missing days like these. Dreadfully so.
Best to make the most out of it. Starting with another MGS4 sitting. I find I'm finally getting to terms with the play mechanics and am on my way to finishing it. The whole presentation of the game is excellent and, for me, makes it stand out from so many other games on the market today. Even though I only played the "inferior" Twin Snakes on the GameCube, act 4 has been a nostalgic part for me. I'm also playing some PES2009 now and then, but that game really falls short. If it wasn't for its addictive Become A Legend mode I wouldn't have it on my harddrive anymore. Fifa '10 will probably be the cream of the crop. Until next year.
Friday July 10, 2009 -- #81
Metal Gear Solid 4 infuriates me! Just when I think I have the game figured out and I can enjoy the sneaking, the graphics and the many many guns it has to offer, it throws a curve ball at me and I end up wondering wtf I'm supposed to do. Just yesterday I spend quite some time playing it and thinking I was on the ball, when I went around a corner right into a heap of unmanned sentries ready to bite my tail off. It's moments like that I just don't know what the game expects me to do; sneak or shoot the whole lot.
So I end up figuring the game doesn't know what it is and it's up to me to decide, even though it seems the game prefers it if I try sneaking around as far as it'll let me. Frustrating.
Wednesday July 08, 2009 -- #80
I promised myself I'd buy a new PS3 game as soon as I finished college. So here I am with my degree in hand, but what should I buy? I'm partial towards a fighting game like UFC or Fight Night 4. UFC has the more interesting kickboxing style, but Fight Night has all the bells and whistles and proper presentation. And what about Resident Evil 5, any good in singleplayer?
What's that I hear you say? "Why buy a new game now?! Weren't you supposed to finish Metal Gear Solid4 first, and what about Little Big Planet, you haven't been paying that much attention have you!".
"Shut it!" is what I say.
Monday July 06, 2009 -- #79
There's an exciting game being played right now between Roddick and Murray at Wimbled0wn! And just to spite all the english supporting Murray, I really hope Roddick takes the win! Only to lose the final to Federer of course. He's still the hero obviously.
Friday July 03, 2009 -- #78
And I continue the tubefest with... ROBOGEISHA!
Thursday July 02, 2009 -- #77
I forgot to mention it, but the day I scored my degree was also the day that Michael Jackson died. A freakish coincedence or some dark scheme designed by the devil himself? Yup, just a coincedence. His demise doesn't fill me with tears, but it really is something I never did expect and the stuff you never expect makes the most impression. But when I hear his music again and watching some of his videos and see his moves and his way I suppose there is some sadness about his death. Not because he died last week, but because he had this stunning effect on the entire world one time and many generations, including me, ever since that it is so sad that he will never be able to be that sparkle of inspiration in the flesh anymore.
So there is some sadness. Not because the man Michael Jackson died, but because the artist Michael Jackson did.
Tuesday June 30, 2009 -- #76
I fuckin finished the fuckiest fuck school. Fuck yeah! Yes it is true. For the past 3/4 weeks I've been oozing sweat and dreaming the scary dream, but yesterday I was told by the "powers that are", that I am smart enough for a bachelor degree. Yes, this means I'm finally done with school! For a long long time it didn't look like it would ever come to this, but I've done the extra work to get there and I'm glad for it.
A couple of weeks of joy and quiet for me now and then off looking for a job. Not sure where, how or what, but it'll come to me. There should be plenty of stuff for me to do, even in these perilous times.
Anyway, some more updates from me the coming week on me and what I likes. Probably some small ramblings on Metal Gear Solid 4 as I've always told myself I was gonna finish it after getting my degree.
Until then, enjoy this wave:
Saturday June 27, 2009 -- #75
I love these little stories/poems about animals, and their view/relationship with man:
"One day when little water was to be found, Man spend a while in thought and realized that he might one day die, never to rise again. Man send Dog to God to ask that he might come back to life again, like the flowering plant, after death.
Dog went off and followed his nose toward God. He was soon distracted by the smell of soup, and followed his hunger toward the source. Leaning close to watch it boil, Dog was content and forgot his mission.
Seeing that Dog was lost, Frog took it upon himself to go to God and tell him that Man did not want to live again. If Man were to reborn, thought Frog, he would soon muddy the rivers and destroy the birthplaces of frogs.
Dog finally arrived to tell God Man's message. Leaning low, he crooned Man's need for rebirth in the song of his howl. God was touched by the devotion of Dog for Man.
But God granted the frog's wish, because he got there first."
Tuesday April 07, 2009 -- #74