Catalyst Castle

Hey, if you haven't read No Need for Bushido, you're missing an awesome, often hilarious, action-romance, samurai webcomic saga. You can read it for free online (Warning: PG-13 Content). The artwork is pretty amateur in the beginning, but has gotten very good recently.

Unfortunately, the artist is taking a break from creating the comic due to circumstances. In order to get the comic back on track, they artist and writer duo are running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to support the continuance of the comic. They have already raised over $13,000 in money pledged to the project, but they only have 1 week left to raise the remainder of the $30,000 they're hoping to get. This money will go towards helping them to go professional and make the comic a commercial venture, instead of just something they do for fun in their spare time.

Pledging money towards the cause isn't just giving your hard earned cash away. Contributors will get cool rewards, depending on how much they pledge - anything from buttons and posters to printed, hard copy volumes of the comic when they're released. If you pledge now, and they don't get their $30,000 in pledged funds by the end of the week, then they won't take a penny and there is no loss for you.

I'm not really trying to push anyone to contribute to this project. I really have nothing at stake in them succeeding, except that I enjoy their comic and would like to see them continue making it. But I do think this is a really cool opportunity to support a creative team that want to take their hobby to the next level and actually make a profit from their creativity. It would be awesome if more artists and writers could take that step. So, that's why I wanted to bring this to people's attention. ^_^

1. Sooner Dead by Mel Odom
Sooner Dead is novel set in the universe of Gamma World, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi role-playing game. For those unfamiliar with role-playing games, the general idea of a game like Gamma World is to give the players a detailed and interesting setting, and to let them create their own characters and stories in that setting. So I found it interesting to read what an established author had come up with given the same resources as the common gamer.

The novel itself was pretty straightforward, but it had a few surprises. The characters were entertaining, but not too complex. It was fast paced and featured plenty of action. I think one of the things I enjoyed the most were some of the author's descriptions. Just the opening chapter contains a really cool description of the way that lightning illuminates a dark landscape, and really goes a long ways in building tension.


2. Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, Volume 1
Legends of the Guard is a spinoff of the excellent Mouse Guard series by David Petersen. Legends is a collection of short stories set in the Mouse Guard world and framed as a bunch of tales told around the table in a tavern one night. Each story is written and illustrated by a different writer and artist, making for an interesting variety in themes and presentations. I'm looking forward to getting back to the main Mouse Guard story with the publication of The Black Axe within the next year, but Legends of the Guard made for an entertaining diversion in the meantime.


3. Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories
The awesome musical tragicomedy webseries, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, from creator Joss Whedon, was something of an origin story in itself. It artfully portrayed the rise of Dr. Horrible from a hapless do-badder to evil criminal genius. Interestingly, this graphic novel goes back even further, showing the origin of Horrible's grudge against the world, the beginning of his rivalry with Captain Hammer, the origin of the Freeze Ray, and other details. This graphic novel is really a collection of short stories, but the way they are woven together is delightful and funny. Though not written by Joss Whedon himself, this tale definitely has the Whedon flair and style.


4. Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, 4th Edition
This core book for the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game is one of the most masterfully written roleplaying game books that I've read. The rules for the game are straight forward and do a great job of invoking the flavor of the setting. The setting, a sort of fantasy version of ancient Japan mixed with elements of other Asian cultures, is very compelling and artfully conveyed. Nearly every other page or so of this 400 page book contained some detail that sparked an idea for a story or character that could exist in this setting. The book is also beautifully illustrated throughout, and stands as one of the most well put-together roleplaying books I've read.


5. Bunny Drop, Volume 1
A cute an endearing manga series by Yumi Unita, Bunny Drop tells the story of Daikichi, a 30-year-old bachelor who, through a strange set of circumstances, ends up raising Rin, his 6-year-old aunt. It's touching to see how these two strangers gradually take to each other, and the sacrifices Daikichi makes to adjust to his new role as parent. The artwork is pretty good throughout. Rin, especially, is adorable. Not that I have any real experience with the subject, but this story struck me as a fairly realistic depiction of the challenges and joys that might come with suddenly being a single parent.


6. Kamikaze Girls (manga adaptation)
Having already read the original novel and having seen the movie adaptation, I wasn't sure what I might get out of this manga adaptation of the story. The artwork was pretty good, but it was rather typical of shojo manga. The way Ichigo was drawn she really looked like a boy, which was kind of odd. The story itself was considerably abridged. It wasn't bad, but for me it didn't really add anything to the novel and movie, which already compliment each other so well. The real charm of this manga volume was Ichigo's Case, a short sequel to Kamikaze Girls that portrays a budding romance of Ichigo's. This story was a nice addition. The book also contains The Pinky-Ring Princess and The Middle-Finger Princess, two parts of a short story written by the artist of the Kamikaze Girls manga. These stories are somewhat entertaining, but have no real connection to Kamikaze Girls. It seemed like they were put in there either to pad out the volume because of the short length of the main story. Or, it could be that Kamikaze Girls was simply being used as a hook to promote the artists own story.


7. Amulet: The Stonekeeper, Book 1
I read the first few pages of this full-color graphic novel on amazon.com and was immediately hooked. The opening pages of this book are just gripping. It seems surprisingly dramatic for a book aimed at younger readers. Overall, this is a sci-fi/fantasy adventure story about a couple of kids who journey into a fantastic world in order to rescue their mother, who has been kidnapped by monsters. The older child, Emily, becomes the keeper of an amulet that grants incredible power to its wearer. The story conveys a sense of wonder and excitement, but there also seems to be something more sinister going on in the background. It's hard to tell if Emily should really trust the power of the amulet. This was a fun and fast read, and I'm really looking forward to picking up book 2.


8. Dengeki Daisy, Volume 1
Dengeki Daisy is not quite like any of the other shojo manga I've read. At its core, it is a pretty simple relationship story with the added complication of a secret identity, but surrounding that is a much darker story involving a conspiracy and some pretty ruthless people who seem desperate to get their hands on something the main character may or may-not have.

Basically, Teru is a high-school girl who's left alone in the world after the death of her older brother. Her brother left her with a cellphone, however and the email address of a mysterious person called "Daisy". Teru and "Daisy" communicate through email and "Daisy" becomes Teru's protector and confidante. Meanwhile, Teru breaks a window at school and ends up working off the debt incurred by the damages doing chores for the Kurosaki, the school's custodian. Kurosaki is a relentless bully who Teru quickly grows to hate. Of course, it should be no surprise to anyone that Kurosaki and "Daisy" are actually the same person.

The real intrigue begins when it begins to become apparent that Teru's brother was a computer software engineer and was involved with some rather shady people before he died. Now those people are after whatever project her brother was working on before he died, and they think Teru must have it. Excitement and action ensues.


So, those are a few samples of the books I read this year. I'm looking forward to reading another 52 books next year. I've already begun making a list of a few I intend to read, but I'm always open to recommendations. Feel free to sound off in the comments. ^_^

So, I've already posted a review of Mascara, my favorite manga on the web, but I thought I would share a couple of other web comics that I follow from week to week.


No Need for Bushido is set in ancient Japan and weaves an intricate tale of love, war, intrigue, deception, ninja assassins, samurai warriors, blind Taoist priests, pointy hats, and dysfunctional families that historians forgot to put in the history scrolls... Go figure. This is actually a pretty great comic. It has an intricate plot, interesting characters that you actually come to care about, lots of humor, action, drama, and the most hilarious use of onomatopoeia. The art starts out very simple, but has really advanced over the course of the comic. The most recent pages are simply beautiful. There are currently over 400 pages and the comic updates with 1 new page every Monday. (Fair warning: some of this comic is PG-13)

The Adventures of Superhero Girl is a comic I've only started following more recently. It is actually published in a Canadian newspaper, but the artist is republishing the strips online. This comic tells the story of "Superhero Girl" and her mostly ordinary adventures - trying to find a job to support her superhero gig, trying to fit in with normal society, and her search for a fulfilling hobby. The art is pretty consistent throughout, as the artist has written and illustrated other comic strips in the past, and thus has had plenty of time to develop her skills and style. This comic doesn't have any overarching storyline, instead it mainly focuses on some kind of gag on each page. It is always a fun read though.

I've spent most of the day cleaning my room. It's amazing the things you rediscover when you open boxes you haven't unpacked in years. Here are a few of the interesting surprises:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published beginning in 1999. According to Moore, the concept behind the series was initially a "Justice League of Victorian England" but quickly grew into an opportunity to merge all works of fiction into one world. There was a very loose feature film adaptation of the same name, released in 2003 and starring Sean Connery. I’m not recommending either the comic or the movie, because I’ve never read the comic and the movie was pretty lame. But the idea of assembling a team of heroes from various works of fiction really appeals to me.

The original League presented in the comics consists of Allan Quatermain (King Solomon’s Mines), Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), Dr. Jekyll (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), The Invisible Man (The Invisible Man), and Mina Murray (Dracula). The movie added the characters of Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray) and Tom Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).

So, I got to thinking about this idea and decided to assemble my own League. Here are my picks and a little information on how they would contribute to the team.


Sherlock Holmes (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
After the murder of Dr. Watson during the course of one of Holmes’ investigations, the brilliant detective falls into a deep depression and is completely overtaken by his cocaine habit. He becomes even more of a recluse, turning away all cases and calls for aid. Finally, in England’s most desperate hour, agents of Queen Victoria herself come to Holmes for aid in uncovering a conspiracy against the throne - a mystery that seems to have connections to the death of Watson. Eager to bring Watson’s killer to justice, Holmes pulls himself together and accepts membership in the League.

The unquestioned leader of the group, Holmes would use his logic and investigation skills to identify their opponents, deduce their plans and devise effective countermeasures.


The Artful Dodger (Oliver Twist)
The most notorious thief London’s ever know, there isn’t a place or a pocket Jack Dawkins can’t get into and out of without getting caught. That is, until he tries to steal the crown jewels. He is finally arrested while attempting to escape Buckingham Palace with enough loot to buy a small country. Rather than going straight to prison, the Artful Dodger gets an audience with the Queen herself, who is curious to meet the infamous young outlaw. Recognizing his good nature and considerable skills, she offers him a pardon if he’ll lend his services to the League.

The Artful Dodger is the team’s sneak, using his skills for covert missions to infiltrate enemy strongholds or misappropriate enemy resources.


Frankenstein’s Monster (Frankenstein)
Following clues from the letters of Captain Robert Walton, Sherlock Holmes tracks down the monstrous creation of Dr. Victor Frankenstein deep in the Arctic Circle. Weary of the miserable life he has led, the monster has gone there to die. Holmes finds that he sympathizes with the creature in light of his own depressive episode connected to the death of Watson. Through logic and philosophical reasoning, Holmes helps the monster to see the value of his continued existence if he turns his efforts towards accomplishing good. In the process, Holmes manages to reaffirm his own confidence and self-worth after the loss of his friend.

Frankenstein’s monster is the team’s muscle, using his brute strength to go head-to-head in combat with their toughest opponents.


Red-Handed Jill (Peter and Wendy)
On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Wendy Darling yearns to escape pressures of growing up. To her surprise and delight, Peter Pan appears again at her bedroom window and whisks her away to Neverland. While this is exactly the escape she was looking for, she quickly finds herself disenchanted with Peter’s immature bravado. She soon falls in with the pirates, who are have been lacking a firm leader since the death of Captain Hook. Before long, she takes up her pirate name, Red-Handed Jill, and leads the pirates in a war against the Lost Boys. Peter is heartbroken by the betrayal, and Neverland begins to wither under the pirate onslaught. As the pirates and the Lost Boys battle to a stalemate, Jill realizes the destruction she’s brought to Neverland and feels remorse. She offers a truce, and as penance, leaves Neverland with the rest of the pirates, never to return again. Back in England, she offers the services of herself and her crew to Queen Victoria.

Red-Handed Jill has a sharp tongue and a sharp blade. She also has a crew of loyal buccaneers at her command and a rogue fairy as her companion. Her flying galleon, the Jolly Roger, provides transportation for the League.


The Phantom (The Phantom of the Opera)
Searching for more extraordinary people to round out his team, Sherlock Holmes investigates the great fire at the Paris Opera House and rumors of the opera ghost that once haunted the place. Through an interview with a ballerina named Meg Giry, Holmes learns that the phantom was actually a deranged genius named Erik, and that he survived the fire and escaped Paris. Holmes pursues the Phantom all the way to Manhattan where the he now operates an amusement park called Phantasma. Holmes and his team are promptly captured by the Phantom after discovering that he intends to assassinate Queen Victoria. Through careful questioning, Holmes deduces that the Phantom is being manipulated by another villain who is holding the Phantom’s son Gustave hostage. Holmes convinces the Phantom to join the League and they’ll help him rescue the boy.

The Phantom’s cunning is almost a match for Holmes’, but his expertise lies in devising traps and ambushes for their opponents. He is also an inventor, a magician, and a ruthless combatant.


Those are my picks, along with some rough ideas about how each of them would end up joining this elite team of crime fighters. Just for fun, do you have any thoughts on this concept? What fictional characters would you choose for your own League of Extraordinary Folks?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a prequel to the X-Men movie trilogy explaining the origins of the character known as Logan or Wolverine. The majority of the story takes place 10-20 years before the events of the first X-Men film. The movie explains the relationship between Logan and Sabretooth, shows Logan’s involvement with Colonel Stryker and the Weapon X program, and reveals how Logan lost his memories. One minor detail I enjoyed was an explanation for why Logan adopted the name Wolverine.

I went into the movie expecting a lot of action and only enough story to link the various action scenes together. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie had a fairly good plot with a couple of twists and surprises throughout. The writing and acting was pretty good, and the casting was well done. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine, and his portrayal of the character was spot on. While the movie featured a number of new characters, for me the most memorable was Wade Wilson portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. The only character I was somewhat disappointed with was Gambit. In the film he didn’t have enough of a Cajun accent to do the character justice.

My biggest complaint against the film is the special effects. Some of the effects were so obviously fake it was distracting. The most notable example I recall is when Sabretooth drags his claws along the hood of a truck and rends the metal as he goes. The tears in the metal were very obviously drawn in.

Overall, the movie delivered exactly what I expected and a little bit more. I’d say it was about on par with X2 in pretty much all respects. I wouldn’t mind seeing the sequel or the Deadpool spin-off, both of which have already been confirmed as in-production.


Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to watch most movies and shows with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here’s an idea from X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Playing an Origin Story: When playing a long running RPG campaign, it could be fun to take a session or two to explore each character’s origins. This would especially be true in playing a superhero RPG, but it could really work in any RPG that brings a number of characters with very different and involved backgrounds together. I think you would want to play a few sessions first in the setting’s “present”, but then periodically play a session as sort of a “flashback”. During such origin stories, the other players could take on the roles of new characters that are important to the featured character’s background. It could be an opportunity for character development and a chance for everyone to try something a little different.

Superman: Doomsday is a direct-to-video animated film about the supposed death of Superman. The story is loosely based on the comic book story arc: The Death and Return of Superman. The plot begins with Lex Luthor’s company, LuthorCorp, accidentally digging up an alien spaceship buried on earth thousands of years ago. The ship opens, releasing a creature called Doomsday, the ultimate killing machine. Doomsday was created as the ultimate soldier, but he couldn’t tell friend from foe so he was conveniently disposed of on Earth. Before long he makes his way to Metropolis where Superman must intervene.

Here is where the biggest mistake in the plot occurs. After a lengthy and brutal battle, Superman finally destroys Doomsday by grabbing him, flying him out into space, and then slamming him back down into the Earth. The reentry through the atmosphere and the final impact kill both Doomsday and Superman. Question: Once Superman got Doomsday beyond the Earth’s gravitational pull, why didn’t he simply hurl him into the sun? There was no indication that Doomsday could fly, so even if the sun didn’t kill him he would have no way of getting back to Earth. I guess Superman just didn’t think of that, which is why Superman will never be as cool as Batman. Batman would have thought of it.

After Superman’s death, we see a little of what the DC Comics universe would be like without him. Crime rates skyrocket, and super villains stalk Metropolis with no one to stop them. Lois Lane and Martha Kent mourn his passing. Then, as suddenly as he was gone, Superman returns. Digging his way out of his grave, he flies to Lois’ rescue as she faces death from the Toyman. All is not as it seems, however. It’s quickly revealed that Lex Luthor secretly removed Superman’s body from his grave and clone him. The returned Superman is actually Lex’s evil clone. For now he is impersonating Superman well, fighting crime and protecting the citizens of Metropolis, but at the same time he is doing the bidding of Lex Luthor.

While the clone Superman genuinely wants to protect Metropolis, he lacks the strong moral center of the original Superman. After seeing a news report that Toyman, one of Superman’s villains, has killed a small child, Superman kills the criminal instead of turning him over to the authorities. Lois Lane becomes suspicious and begins investigating Luthor. She discovers the true nature of the returned Superman, and that Lex is cloning an army of Supermen. The clone Superman has rid himself of Luthor’s control and destroys the unfinished clones along with the cloning facility. By now, however, the government has become concerned about Superman’s recent lack of discretion, and sends the military to apprehend him. The attempt is futile, of course, and it seems that the clone Superman’s reign of terror is unstoppable. Until… The REAL Superman returns from the grave. As it turns out Superman is truly invulnerable and he has merely been in a death-like coma while he’s been gradually recovering. After being resuscitated in his Fortress of Solitude, the real Superman flies to do battle with the clone Superman, and saves the day.

Other than that one HUGE error in the plot near the front of the film, the rest of the story is fairly interesting and coherent. The portrayal of Superman and the other characters was appealing, especially the clone Superman as a foil for the real Superman. Lois Lane almost did more in this movie than Superman actually did. The art was in the action-cartoon style typical of DC’s superhero cartoons. It wasn’t anything exceptional, but it wasn’t bad either. This movie was rated PG13, which is unusual for an animated superhero film. However, the action was quite brutal at parts, with a fair amount of onscreen animated blood. There was also some PG13 rated language that you wouldn’t expect in a Superman cartoon. This Superman may be animated, but it is definitely not a kids’ movie.


Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to watch most movies and shows with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here are some ideas from Superman: Doomsday.

The Altruistic Villian: The clone of Superman genuinely believed that he was doing what was best for Metropolis, even in fighting the real Superman at the end. It reminded me of the value of the misguided villain, who wants to do good but goes about it the wrong way. I’ll have to use that archetype more when I’m the GM for a game.

The Danger of Being Invincible: Superman is one of those characters who, in my opinion, are just too powerful. Stories about Superman have a major weakness. The only way to effectively threaten Superman is to resort to a gimmick, like Kryptonite. This means that you either lose the tension in your story, or the gimmick gets old very fast. The only way this kind of character seems to work is if you plan for them to have only a finite story arc before moving on, such as the major villain whose one weakness the heroes must discover before they can finally destroy him. This isn’t so much inspiration for roleplaying, but rather a warning for GMs: Don’t let characters get too powerful if you expect to keep them around.

Mouse Guard is a series of comic books published bi-monthly since 2006. The creator, writer, and artist for the series is David Petersen. Mouse Guard takes place in a fictional world where humans are absent, and mice have developed a medieval society of their own. They live in well fortified towns and villages built in under rocks or in the hollows of trees. The world is full of dangers for the mice, with the wild, untamed lands between their towns populated by such monsters as snakes and owls. To defend themselves from such predators, the Mouse Guard was formed. These brave warrior mice act as pathfinders and escorts, protecting other mice as they journey between towns.

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 collects the first six issues of the comic into a single volume. The story begins when three Guardsmice, Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, go in search of a mouse peddler who attempted a journey alone but never arrived at his destination. This simple search and rescue mission quickly puts them on the trail of a dangerous conspiracy to destroy the Guard.

This series reads like a mix a classic storybook and an epic fantasy novel. While the content is appropriate for all ages, this is not a children’s book. While the main characters are mice, the story presents well developed characters and a fully realized fictional setting. This is a tale of heroics, where it’s easy to root for the good guys. The fact that they are simple mice makes their humanity that much more poignant.

The art is an interesting aspect of this book. The art is well done. It’s not too cartoon-y. The mice have fairly realistic proportions, they just tend to stand on two legs, dress in capes, and wield swords. The illustrations are done in full-color and are beautifully painted. It’s a nice departure from typical comic book art, be it American or manga styles.


Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to absorb most material with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here are some ideas from Mouse Guard: Fall 1152.

Mouse Guard Setting: Interrestingly, there is actually an official Mouse Guard RPG available. It uses the system of game mechanics from the Burning Wheel RPG. I own Burning Wheel but have never played it. I’m not sure if I want to buy the official RPG, but it might be interesting to play in the Mouse Guard setting.

The Guard: One of the things that I like about Mouse Guard is the role that the Guard plays as protectors and pathfinders. I think this could be an interesting role for players in any setting. It would work great in just about any fantasy setting, but also in sci-fi as well. The idea of a group of people defending isolated bastions of safety in a dangerous world creates a neat sense of adventure and camaraderie.