Not a lot of TV this month so lots of time to read and see movies and play games. Here’s how I spent the month of April!
Film:
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
This is a movie that captures everything I love and don’t love about mainstream comics: it’s really only enjoyable if you’re caught up on the individual films and if you’re caught up on everything else then you’re gonna find something to enjoy. With that said, I’m also really impressed with the consequentiality that’s explored here. There are legit stakes and I appreciated that level of surprise and suspense from a movie like this.
Green Room (2015)
I’m not sure I’ve ever been more stressed during a film. The pacing is great, the characters are charismatic, and holy heck is this a…violent film. Not in a Saw sort of way, but in a way that makes me think this is what real violence with knives and guns looks like. If you can stomach it, it’s worth the watch.
A Quiet Place (2018)
Another really tense, engaging film, and a brisk 1.5 hours long! The creature design really grew on me and while the final shot was…a departure from the rest of the film, it was a really great execution of a solid premise.
Ready Player One (2018)
Now I understand why people either love or hate the book. It was the cinematic equivalent of how I felt walking into a comic book store as a child: lots of cool stuff to look at and a clear vibe that if I didn’t already know what everything was then I had no right being there. It wasn’t a great feeling then and it isn’t a great feeling now.
Television:
The Good Place (Episode 2.01 to 2.13)
To share a lot of why I like this show may be to reveal a lot of the plot and I think that’s a disservice. What I want to say is that it’s been a while since I’ve watched a show that was briskly paced and was built on a premise that had me genuinely wondering where the show would go next. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for some fantasy, or maybe it’s because this is a tight cast and an engaging plot. If you haven’t tried the show out, don’t do any research and go check out season 1.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Episode 5.12 to 5.18)
Oh it’s good to be back. Still a beautiful cast and now I realize 2/3 of my current tv is made by Michael Schur. And Pimento!
Terrace House: Opening New Doors (Episode 1.01 to 1.04)
It’s good to be back! I like the vibe of this as it more closely captures the spirit of the first season i watched (Boys & Girls in the City). The northern environment also adds a nice touch. Very excited for what’s to develop and Mizuki is obviously the coolest.
Reading:
The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
(Complete)
Ugh what a fitting conclusion to the series. I suppose it could keep going, but it really wraps up in a way that if there were no more stories, I still feel satisfied. I can’t recommend it enough and if you haven’t gotten into the world of Johannes Cabal yet, start with the first novel, Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe by Ryan North & Erica Henderson
(Complete)
This is a perfect graphic novel. It told a standalone story yet made me immediately want to pick up the ongoing series! It’s all ages and is super super funny and Squirrel Girl is the sort of well-rounded individual who SHOULD be a superhero. Also if anyone knows how I can get the gig to do one of Deadpool’s Guide to Super Villains Cards Trading Cards, lemme know.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Vol. 5 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Mateus Santolouco, Cory Smith, Dan Schoening, and Sophie Campbell
(Complete)
This volume made me realize that the story of the ninja turtles is one of family and gangs/factions. The turtles, the Foot, Krang and the Utroms, and now the Mutanimals all have their own agendas and schemes. This volume dipped into more of the side stories of the series (Turtles in Time!) and I still can’t recommend the series enough to any Turtle fan.
Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection 3 by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley
(Complete)
I found the first conflict in this volume (a burglar dressing up as Spider-Man) to be a little underwhelming. Then I realized it was setting up Peter to be ready to change costumes (the black suit that becomes Venom) and it was a brilliant stroke of writing. The ultimate version of Venom (and the version in the Spectacular Spider-Man series) has always been strong for giving him a greater history/connection with Peter and the book is stronger for it.
Audio:
Eternal Champ II by Sweet Valley (2018)
I’ve been so ready for this album! Eternal Champ is fantastic and the sequel doesn’t let you down. There are classic video game samples and a few unexpected ones, but the whole album is solid.
Deadly Manners (Podcast)
Ten episodes of pure murder-mystery fun! The characters and plot are a lot of fun and the whole thing has a nice radio drama vibe. Kristen Bell plays the host of a dinner party and RuPaul is a lot of fun as a fortune teller. The rest really needs to be heard for itself. Go listen.
Gaming:
Dungeons & Dragons Hexcrawl Campaign (Wizards of the Coast)
The party has finally set out on an adventure again! They’re waltzing right past some of their easier tasks because they found out about an ancient temple to a dragon god and now they wanna check that out. We’ll see what happens!
Dungeons & Dragons Homebrew Campaign (Wizards of the Coast)
This adventure is back underway! When last we left off, the party was surrounded by a traitorous duke in a sneaky forest and the threat was actually the druid’s sister! Now the group has healed said sister, thwarted the duke (via axe and octopi and firebolts) and are now on their way back to homebase to recover and plan next steps.
And that’s it! As always, I’m up for any recommendos you may have so send them my way and happy Monday!
Andrew Kolb
Kolbisneat
Illustrator Andrew Kolb first garnered attention with his illustrated version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." Since then, he has created illustrations for clients including ChickaDee Magazine, The Toronto Zoo and Pixar. In 2015, he published his first picture book, Edmund Unravels, with Penguin.