#who witnessed the death of her beloved grandmother and was chased off by her own family

[fly-sky-high-bug-games]

Zeeke of Highgrove

Species: beetle

Design based of (but might be adjusted): Atlas beetle

Growing up in Highgrove and part of the rich family, he had everything served to him on a silver plate. Even if his family was small, making of his older grandmother and younger sister Lotus only, they held the transport business in all of Highgrove. Being a kingdom with a lot of levels, platforms and climbs depending on traffic of flying bugs to carry the public and nobles where ever necessary, it is a very profitable business.

His family was also one of the few rich ones that supported and witnessed the overthrowing of king and queen, making a deal with rising Magnolia family to secure their position and offer full loyalty to the new rule of Lady Magnolia. While not officially part of their faction but stayed as their own strong and influencing family, Zeeke’s grandmother still kept good connections with Magnolia until her passing. With Zeeke taking over, he knew how to benefit from the fact that their business was crucial for functionality of Highgrove and managed to secure even more money for him and his sister but the connection with Magnolia family was lightly shaken. Now they are only keeping things mutual on business level and no other.

Zeeke now has his own unit of guards and people to lead his business. Lolo is constantly left on the side to live the life of luxury and hidden loneliness. While Zeeke cares about her well being, he always failed to learn about her and get too close to his own sister, always being more focused on finances, benefits, business, money... He is certain he is giving her the best life he can.

Years ago, sometime when members of Magnolia and other nobles from Highgrove visited Hallownest, he stumbled upon a small, wandering vessel. Through their stay in the kingdom, learning about the Hollow Knight and digging out more information, he learned what vessels were originally meant for. Zeeke hid them and taken them back to Highgrove, knowing that the discarded treasure of a king was rare and precious and that he could use it himself. If the vessels were built to serve with no will, mind or voice, then he would give this one a purpose to serve him...

Eventually named Trail by Lolo, Zeeke payed and provided for what ever was necessary for the vessel to grow strong and skilled while also making sure it stayed loyal, perfectly obedient and reactive to any of his commands. He thought Trail that, as a vessel discarded by their father and king for being impure, they should still have a use and serve those who still find themselves bellow the kings and queens like them. While seeming with good intentions to Trail at first, they cling onto this purpose, later learning fear that they might be discarded once again. This put pressure on Trail to never act out of line or fail at tasks given by their master Zeeke.

With Trail, Zeeke happily spent earnings on travels to other kingdoms, finding what could be different treasures, items and alike to put in good use. It helped Trail grow into a very skillful fighter as well, spending time training with different masters but also fighting in rings and such, which Zeeke found amusing and productive. He could do anything with money.

Returning to Hallownest for the Trial of Fools where Trail lost to God Tamer, he learned that there are more vessels seen around the kingdom. Not liking the idea of someone else potentially having something as strong as Trail, he set himself a new mission to either take in small ones he finds to train if cooperative and if not to just have them killed.

An encounter with Yonna and Pilgrim the vessel at the Colosseum ended up in a dispute, causing a problem that alarmed even God Tamer who chased Zeeke and his guards away from the place. Zeeke lost an eye to Yonna while Trail, for the first time ever, disobeyed their master by refusing to kill Pim, playing it off as too busy saving their bleeding master before fleeing the scene...

After locating the troublesome group at the crystal mines, Zeeke ordered an assassination on them while using Trail to draw out Pim and Trav. While others barely escaped death and dying in flames after the place was set on fire, Trav suffered injury from both Zeeke and Trail and Pim was kidnapped. Zeeke’s plan was to train and introduce Pim to Lolo, who visited Hallownest shortly after. He planned them as a gift, a pet or a useful companion for Lolo so she would leave Trail be when training, not considering the friendship the two built.

Soon, they were located within the city by Yonna, Silva, Trav and Mugo and Lolo was held hostage by the moth. Zeeke was furious but also terrified for his beloved sister. Trail could only surrender and beg to follow along as the group used Lolo as a way to escape with Pim. Lolo was reunited with Zeeke later, but not before learning the truth about her brother... she confronted him, demanding he stopped the nonsense with the vessels and hurting people. While frustrated, Zeeke loves Lolo too much to lose her. He is afraid of loneliness. He complied, and the two returned to Highgrove without Trail...

Zeeke as also arranged a meeting with the leader of White Magnolia, having an information to spare about a certain moth the dragontail butterfly might be interested in...

---

Characteristics:

Zeeke: +: Smart, strong, organized, leadership skills -: Obsessive, vulnerable, emotionally detached, arrogant n: Stubborn, wealthy, influencing

Inventory:

Zeeke:

A lot of money: either from his home currency or the local one

A weapon: (TBA, due to current events, possibly the pictured charged lumafly nail)

The Training Whistle (currently to be replaced as the original is in Pim’s possession atm): Certain blows mean different commands that only Trail knows and responds to with amazing speed and accuracy.

Whispering Dread Charm (installed on left eye): Awakes fear and doubt within enemies if looked at, intimidating the enemies.

“They are just tools!”

Zeeke uses ‘it’ instead of “they/them” to refer to vessels. It’s rude and it objectifies them, discarding their capability to hold personality or emotion.  

A BIT MORE ON ZEEKE

#hollow knight #oc #muse: Zeeke of Highgrove #muse: Trail the Swift #muse list #gods I need to come up with the names for his family members #and family itself #in due time #I'll also eventually update on his items #the eye might be interesting~

[comixconnection]

CHOOSE YOUR THREE FREE COMICS!

The following titles will be available at Comix Connection on May 4th (while supplies last!). Everybody gets to pick three! For every food donation* you bring in for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank you may select an additional free comic book!

*food donations must be at least two months in date to allow for food bank processing time! expired or soon-to-expire items will not be accepted. please check your labels!

We know the line for the FCBD comics can get long (if you want to come in and shop first, you can skip the line and head straight inside!) so in an effort to both entertain you while you’re in that long line and to help it go a little faster by giving you a preview of the various titles so you can decide ahead of time what looks good, the Comix Connection Counter Monkeys have read and reviewed all of the available FCBD books! Take a peek!

CHOOSE YOUR FREE COMICS:

This preview of the Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale graphic novel introduces us to a young, pre-Catwoman Selina Kyle and the difficult adolescence that led her to become everyone’s favorite feline fatale. Plus, get a sneak-peek at the upcoming Teen Titans: Raven graphic novel coming from DC Ink later this summer for $16.99. Want more? Pre-order Raven now or grab a copy of Under the Moon off the shelves today!

CONTENT NOTE: while this sample has been rated ALL AGES it does deal with some heavy subjects, including animal death, and the books themselves are intended for TEEN READERS.

Shiver your way into a galaxy far, far away in this spooky one-shot starring Han Solo and Chewbacca on a galactic treasure hunt during their pre-Rebellion scoundrel days! Want more? Discover the whole era-spanning adventure in the Tales from Vader’s Castle graphic novel, on the shelves now! [ALL AGES]

Marjorie is not excited to go visit her grandmother in the country for Mother’s Day, even though her best friend is coming along for the ride -- secretly of course, because Wendell is a ghost! This down-to-earth haunting pits Majorie against the pressures of growing-up and finding herself, but it’s Wendell who gets the star make-over in this issue! As in the graphic novel, this one-shot deals with the topics of grief and loss in a way that is both approachable and touching for all ages. Want more? Pick up the Sheets graphic novel where the two friends first met, on the shelves now! [ALL AGES]

This two-for-one issues gives you the first ever comic book venture for the beloved video game Minecraft, a teaser for the upcoming graphic novel. in the first story, a cheerful “Griefer” gets some grief of her own when real life consequences collide with her digital destruction. Plus, everyone’s favorite super-siblings decide to give mom and dad the gift of a “Date Night” that gives them more than they bargained for in a short story set after Incredibles 2. Want more? Pre-order the $9.99 Minecraft graphic novel now, or picks up the latest issue of Incredible: Secret Identities on the racks now! [ALL AGES]

A hilarious, lighthearted romp through the world of the Justice League as the world’s greatest heroes answer their fans’ most pressing questions -- such as Superman’s biggest mistakes and Hawkgirl’s dietary preferences. This two chapter preview of the upcoming graphic novel, Dear Justice League exposes the funny side of ordinary super life. Want more? Have us pre-order your copy of the $9.99 graphic novel out later this summer! [ALL AGES]

In this special preview of the upcoming graphic novel Ghost Hog, new ghost Truff the hog gets some lessons in how to haunt -- and the dangers when things go wrong! -- from her friends. Plus, catch a preview of Pilu of the Woods, a sweet graphic novel about family and woodlore as a lost little girl meets a lost little dryad and both have to fight their own dark sides to find their way home. Want more? Have us set aside the first Ghost Hog book for you at $12.99 when it comes in next week, or grab a copy of Pilu of the Woods off the shelves now! [ALL AGES]

It can be hard being a Villain Kid in Auradon and even harder when you’re coming from the Isle of the Lost. Dizzy Tremaine is worried about her first day of school so she seeks out some fortune telling from Celia Facilier, but can she trust what the cards tell her...or Celia? Sneak a peek at this preview of the upcoming Disney Descendants: Dizzy’s New Fortune graphic novel coming out later this month. Pre-order your copy now for $12.99 or grab a previous Descendants story off the shelf now! [ALL AGES]

Discover the beginning of Ash Katchum’s partnership with Pikachu in this preview of the Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You graphic novel -- and if you think it was all smooth sailing for these two famous pair, you’re in for a rough surprise...just like Pikachu! Then, follow Red as he captures his first Pokémon and begins his journey to being a great trainer in the preview of Pokémon Adventures Volume One. Want more? Order the full story of each volume today! [ALL AGES]

A long, long, long time ago -- 40,000 years in fact -- neanderthal siblings Lucy and Andy founded an Adventure Club with their human neighbors to explore their prehistoric world. When they go chasing a meteorite that fell from the sky, they might have found more than they bargained for! But don’t worry: every Lucy & Andy story comes with a back-up feature where modern scientists fill-in the details that Lucy and Andy haven’t figured out yet! Find out more in this one-shot adventure, and then check out their ongoing hi-jinks in the collection of Lucy & Andy Neanderthal graphic novels. Grab one off the shelf or order yourself a copy today! [ALL AGES]

The Lumberjanes are a sensation of adventurous scouts who best magical monsters through the power of friendship, and this issue spotlights two of their stories: first, get a preview of the first part of the upcoming Lumberjanes: Shape of Friendship original graphic novel when a visit to the boys’ camp gets a little knottier than expected and second, enjoy a short story of one time Ripley had to use her wits to save Jen from certain doom! Want more? Pre-order the Shape of Friendship OGN today, or pick up a previous volume of the intrepid scouts’ many adventures from the shelves today! [ALL AGES]

In this collection of short, spooky tales, Casper the Friendly Ghost struggles to stop his friends from pulling mean pranks on one another and goes out of his way (and out of orbit...sort of) to make new friends. Enjoy a haunting from the world’s kindest ghost while you alternate groans and giggles over the antics of his less-than-kindly friends and neighbors. Want more? Grab a Casper issue off the racks today! [ALL AGES]

This underwater one-shot introduces us to Alex the Parrotfish, who is eager to head to the big city of Coralton and find a job! Unfortunately for Alex, his quest runs into a few hiccoughs (some with big, pointy teeth!) that threaten to leave his plans high-and-dry, not least of which is that on the reef everybody has a very specific role in the ecosystem...which you can learn more about in the backup Guide to the Bahamas which identifies all the different fish Alex met along the way, and more! [ALL AGES]

Meet Gillbert, a small sea creature, and his underwater friends. Gillbert is the son of the king and queen of all the oceans, but today he just wants to sleep in! Too bad for Gillbert that today is Everything Day, when you can do Anything...except sleep, at least if you have friends like his! Read the first chapter of Gillbert’s newest adventure by Art Baltazar, creator of Tiny Titans and one of the greatest cartoonists of kids’ comics working today! Want more? Check out the first volume of Gillbert’s adventures, Gillbert the Little Merman vol 1, on shelves now, or grab some of Art Baltazar’s earlier work and see where all that AW, YEAH! got started! [ALL AGES]

One of the classics of comic book history, in this FCBD special Little Lulu is as bold, troublesome, and adventurous as ever! Despite being created in the 1930s, Lulu remains an empowering little girl: assertive, independent, and imbued with expert comedic timing, Lulu was a defining comic of post-war America today this protofeminist icon is ready to bring her gags and giggles to a new audience with a collection of reprints starting later this year. Get in on this not-so-lost treasure early. Want more? Sign-up for the upcoming first volume now, or begin with the John Stanley: Giving His Life to Little Lulu HC and learn about her seminal creator and the history he and Lulu influenced. [ALL AGES]

In this one-shot issue, the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends find themselves in an interstellar amusement park for some rest and recreation (and don’t forget the snacks!) until a rigged game of chance exposes a darker underside to all the shiny, happy fun. Can Yaz, Ryan, Graham, and the newest incarnation of the BBC’s famous Time Lord save the day? Find out here! Want more? Grab an issue of the new Thirteenth Doctor series off the rack, or explore the exploits of the previous twelve incarnations in some of our collected adventures off the shelf or by special order! [ALL AGES]

Written, drawn, and colored by legally blind (no, really!) New Zealander Richard Fairgray, Blastosaurus is the story of the titular mutant triceratops with fists of fury and a heart of gold and the two young kids who become his best friends. Overcoming his beastly nature, good ol' Blasto fights monsters, vampires, and mad scientists who use farts as a weapon. The result is a fun comic with a goofy sense of humor where anything is possible. Think Hellboy running through a MAD Magazine, with a little bit of the bizarreness of Creepy or Eerie thrown in. If you like dinosaurs, punching evil, and think flatulence is funny, this is the book for you (and your kids)! Want more? Grab a collection, or dig into the recent back issue bins for some single issues! [ALL AGES]

This treasury of British comics stacks-up a monstrous plethora of humorous hi-jinks, from sharks to soccer to super heroes and back again! In the grand tradition of classic comic strip funnies, this packed-to-the-brim collection of short tales is ready to tickle your funny bone from dawn to dusk to full moon! [ALL AGES]

Co-created by football star (or “soccer” for we uncultured Americans) Cristiano Ronaldo, this new secret super team stars a fictional version of the famed kicker turning his sports skills toward world-protecting. It’s bright, silly, and kids-centric, fleshed-out with sidekicks like the super-baseball bat-weilding Sita Shaolin and the hammerhead shark-headed hockey stick-swinging Kaiju King, but the key of the team is the power-borrowing sphere that Ronaldo has to deliver to the bad guys via his super soccer kicking skills! Think Teen Titans Go, but with football (soccer). Want more? Keep your eyes peeled for more Striker Force 7 comics in the near future! [ALL AGES]

Brought to you by the producers and animators of the hit TV show and features all your favorite characters; Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene & Louise, this issue reprints three impossible Bob’s Burgers stories: one featuring a carnival ride that does a lot more than just spin, one that involves a magic wish melting with regret, and one of Tina’s fanfiction extravaganzas! Want more? Order one of the earlier Bob’s Burgers collections and relive watching the show all over again! [ALL AGES]

The world of Marvel’s movies might have reached an end point for the moment, but things for the comic book Avengers are dicier than ever! Preview upcoming adventures for two series in this issue. First, Tony Stark finds himself facing eerily familiar faces in a time he never wanted to see, while Namor and the Squadron Supreme heat up the oceans and Captain America and Captain Marvel lead a team of heroes deep into Shi’ar space! Then, read the first chapter of the new Savage Avengers series staring such “classic” Avengers characters as Wolverine, Elektra, Punisher, Venom, Blade, and...Conan!? There’s no slowing these heroes down, True Believers! Want more? Grab the first issue of Savage Avengers off the shelves today, or dive into the ongoing Avengers title for adventures both near and far! [TEEN]

Read the full first issue of Hope, a brand-new ongoing superhero comic. The “Ultras” first showed up five years ago, changing the world with their powers. Some people love them, some people fear them, but for unassuming mom Julie Lavelle they were a carefully-guarded secret...until the car accident that changed everything. Where will the ultra named Hope go from here, and with so much loss will she be able to find her namesake within herself ever again? Find out here, than come back later this summer for Issue #2 where things, somehow, get worse! [TEEN]

Two of television’s most beloved series (one long-running and one far, far too short) return to comics! First, preview the new Firefly series set before the tragic events of the Serenity movie that reveals some ugly skeletons from Mal and Zoe’s wartime closets and strains the crew’s bonds like never before. Then, go back to Sunnydale where everything old is new again with a modern reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy is back in high school again for the first time, surrounded by familiar faces...but how different will things be when she’s slaying in 2019 instead of 1997? Enjoy a modern twist with a classic taste (of blood!) and grab your stakes...and browncoats! Want more? Find the first issues of either series on the shelf today, or delve into the classic collections of the previous Dark Horse stories. [TEEN]

This two-for-one issue explores both the darker and lighter sides of the Spider-Man mythos! In the first story, prepare yourself for danger as Eddie Brock introduces us to the brutal beginning of Absolute Carnage, a Venom-event starting this August. Then enjoy the lighter side of super-heroics as Miles Morales and Peter Parker face-off over an epic conflict of their own...who really has the best pizza in NYC? Want more? Check out the latest issues of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Miles Morales Spider-Man, Venom, or Amazing Spider-Man on the shelves today -- or read-up on previous events in our extensive collection of various spider-rific comics! [TEEN]

What if experiencing a school shooting was so traumatic that it, and other natural and human-produced horrors of the 21st century, actually triggered superpowers to manifest in the survivors? That is the brainstorm behind Humanoid’s first ongoing comics initiative, H1. This FCBD “Ignition” preview gives us a story about these brand-new superheroes (and villains!) trying to find their place in the world...and they aren’t content to stand by and watch the status quo! Also take a behind-the-scenes peek into the creative process and characters of this blisteringly topical political premise: Spearheaded by comic book legend Mark Waid, Humanoids looks ready to break into the superhero market with a set of relevant and wholly original stories. Want more? Sign-up for the first issue next month’s debut of Ignited now. [TEEN]

It’s School Picture Day in Riverdale, and that of course means drama -- but there might be more at work today than Cheryl Blossom’s demands for more flattering lighting! When nasty notes turn up anonymously dropped in the yearbook suggestion box, will our small town friends be able to stick together and solve the case, or will someone do something that everyone will regret? The new Riverdale: Season Three comic series features adventures set between the episodes of the hit show, and as always in the town of Riverdale the moment you start digging for answers the more secrets you expose! Also enjoy some behind-the-scenes sneak peeks as well as an excerpt from the prequel novel Riverdale: The Day Before. Want more? Grab the latest issue of the new Riverdale series off the rack, or explore our variety of collected editions from the traditional Archie Digests to the modern re-vamp of the Archie and Sabrina series and, of course, the show-inspired Riverdale comic itself! [TEEN]

Canada's perennial titular superhero has seen sporadic publication since its creation in 1975, but has been appearing more consistently since 2015 as part of Chapterhouse Comics. This preview of the newest Captain Canuck series starts with a "top secret" dossier to catch you up on recent in-world history, as well as background on some of his allies and enemies. We also receive a small hint of the action to come as the Captain and his French Canadian partner, Kebec, fly into an underground lair for some robot-bashing action! [TEEN]

The beloved Robotech series continues with a revolutionary new revisioning! Jump on board for the next big event right here with this mind-blowing first chapter of Robotech: Event Horizon, beginning this summer with Issue #21!  Plus a Curtain Call backup featuring...Minmei!? Check it all out here, then grab a collected edition of the previous issues or sign-up for the start of Event Horizon this summer! [TEEN]

Time-displaced warrior-queen Malika struggles under the burden of the Dragon’s Doom in this preview of her newest adventure, Malika: Fire & Frost. An enchanted sleep sent Malika 500 years into the future but ancient curses do not give up their hold that easily...and neither do her adversaries! The quest for the Dragon Stones is a dangerous one, but what happens when someone new gets caught-up in the fight? Read the first chapter here, then check out the previous two volumes in her epic chronicles: Malika: Warrior Queen on shelves now! [TEEN]

What if one day, all the animals all over the world woke up and started talking? That is the story of Animosity, an epic adventure following human girl Jesse and dog Sandor across the resulting cataclysm. But Jesse and Sandor are not the only ones with a story to tell. In this one-shot, bio major Meredith and Neon, the beta fish who loves her, have to face the terror of life outside the tank. Want more? Grab the first volume of Animosity off the shelves today! [TEEN]

Mel has a secret: she thinks she’s dying. She’s also a clandestine superhero tasked with protecting all of mankind. A chance meeting in a cemetery between the bleeding woman and a kid hiding-out with her sketchbook changes everything...except the fact that being a superhero isn’t easy. Is Jessie up for the challenge? Find out in this FCBD reprint of the first issue of Punchline, the new super-powered super-star from Antarctic Press! Want more? Order the first volume of the sold-out series, Punchline: Blood Sisters, today! [TEEN]

In this adorably meta story, witness the epic throw-down between Sakura and Karin -- both in and out of the game! Can Sakura’s hard-earned skills perfected through after-hours practice at the arcade where she works compete with Karin’s meticulous, expensive training? Who will be the world champion of Super Chibi Puzzle Gem Fighter Ultra Turbo Arcade Edition? Fine out here! Want more? Raid the back issue bins for previous issues of Street Fighter, or grab a collected edition today! [TEEN]

This manga-style two-for-one issue features a story from the world of My Hero Academia and one from The Promised Neverland. In the first, enter a world where 80% of all people are born with “quirks” that give them super-powers! It’s an exciting, hyper-active world full of heroes and villains...but what about the 20% of people who aren’t born “super”? Jump straight into the action with a fight scene that’s more than meets the eye, and find out! Then in the second story, visit the orphanage where eleven-year-old Emma lives with her thirty-seven beloved siblings, enjoying an ordinary life of family, games, and companionship...along with the strange Daily Test, numbers tattooed on their necks, and a fence to keep them from ever going outside! Want more? There are multiple volumes of both manga available now, so grab one today! [TEEN]

Worlds collide in this special FCBD one-shot! When Tala and Eddie, estranged father-daughter duo on the run from good guys and bad guys alike, finally get their hands on an “escape hatch” to another world it seems like all their troubles are solved -- but the world where the Goon lives is never trouble free! When one pair contains a man trapped in the body of a pug and the other contains a newly-minted dogcatcher with a love of violence, is there any way things can end well? Plus, a back-up featuring Eric Powell’s appalachian horror comic, Hillbilly! Want more? Collections of all three series are available now, or grab the first issue of the new Goon today! [TEEN]

Red 5 Comics brings out a two-for-one sampler of high-concept post-apocalyptic stories. In The Dark Age, a mysterious mist destroys all the metal on Earth, immediately plunging society back into a medieval kingdom of wood, brick, and glass. In Afterburn, the world is scorched by a super-powerful solar flare and the story follows a group of thieves and mercenaries breaking into the most dangerous areas of the old world, attempting to recover lost artifacts for the remaining aristocracy. For readers looking for dark, mature stories of a dismal future, this comic is a perfect choice! [TEEN]

In this two-parter from Dark Horse, enjoy a one-shot set in the aftermath of Stranger Things where Nancy struggles to reconnect to her brother and find a way for both of them to return to normal life. Then preview the new series Black Hammer ‘45: Tales From the World of Black Hammer with a foray to the werewolf-riddled battlefields of World War II and a glimpse of the future of the ghostly Jack Sabbath. Want more? Pick up the first volume of Black Hammer, a series that takes the traditional tropes of the super hero world and twists them into new, marvelous, and weird new shapes, or grab the first volume of the Stranger Things tie-in comic exploring Will’s time in the Upside Down off the shelves. You can also sign up for the prequel series, Stranger Things: Six due out later this month! [TEEN]

In the sci-fi/horror world of Midnight Sky, things are always dark. But things are not always what they seem. In this unexpected dystopian tale, we enter a world where light reveals the people who have been replaced...but by what, and why? And how far will one mother go to protect her children when one of them is no longer human, and the other has a strange power that might save -- or doom -- them all? Plus, a preview of Long Live Pro Wrestling, when a fed-up announcer gets a little too honest for his boss and becomes a social media sensation, a short haunting by Gutt Ghost, and previews of several upcoming titles from Scout Comics! Want more? Sign-up for your favorites today! [TEEN]

Discover the strange, steampunk world of Lady Mechanika in this special issue which reprints her original 2010 debut one-shot as well as excerpts from two of her neweer adventures: The Clockwork Assassin and La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The mysterious mechanical woman stalks the streets in search of answers to her own origins -- but could she be a murderer herself? And how will she protect her friend Mr. Lewis from the dangers posed by an even more mysterious woman than herself? Gawk at the breadth of Lady Mechanika’s world, then grab a collection of her adventures off the shelves today! [TEEN]

In 1992, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn burst onto the comics scene. Today you can relive that moment with this reprint of that very first issue, complete with an exclusive new cover by Francesco Mattina. Enjoy a look back at the moment that started it all...or if you’ve never read Spawn before, now is the perfect time to jump on board before the movie! Want more? There are almost 300 issues of Spawn out there today, available in back issue singles and collections! Grab some today! [TEEN]

This two-part issue from Valiant Universe begins the newest saga in the life of nanite-infused ultimate soldier, Bloodshot, as well as setting the stage for the events of the Fallen World event due later this year which will pit the aforementioned Bloodshot against Rai, a haunted cyber-samurai. First witness Bloodshot at his most unstoppable as he seeks to save a doctor from those who would use her talents to make more beings like him; then explore the strain between truth and faith when “heaven” falls out of the sky in the opening salvo of Fallen World. Want more? Pick up a collection of Bloodshot or Rai or sign-up today for their new adventures in either the solo series or the Fallen World mini-series! [TEEN]

Return to the classics with this excerpt from Zagor: The Alien Saga. Originally created in 1961, the story of Zagor combines science fiction, horror, and westerns in one adventurous whole. Here, discover how the titular Zagor and his friend Chico first encountered beings from another world...and the darker, more familiar face beside them! Want more? Order a collection of this classic comic book today. [TEEN]

The main story of this one-shot features Dragonfly and Dragonflyman -- the same hero, but in two different worlds: one colorful and campy, the other gritty and dark! Juxtapose the biff, bam, pow! aesthetics of old school heroism with the grimdark hyper-violence of the nineties and today, and see how familiar faces can turn strange. But what will happen when cheerful Dragonflyman and grizzled Dragonfly change places in The Wrong Earth? Lay the groundwork of their worlds here, and then check out the back-up features introducing Captain Ginger, the feline captain of a ship full of interstellar cats, and a quick trip through the unfriendly world of Edgar Allen Poe’s A Snifter of Terror. Want more? All three series have collections available now! [TEEN]

When humanity left planet Earth behind, fleeing a dying world for a new start in the stars, they nuked it behind them in an attempt to wipe-out the vampires left behind. Unfortunately, in the shadow of that nuclear winter, those vampires evolved. Now with the bloodsucks on the brink of achieving space flight and coming after their wayward food source, humanity has one last chance to save itself: the Interceptor program. One surgically-modified, heavily-trained, even more heavily-armed warrior to wipe-out the vampire threat for good. But when she gets to Earth, she finds something she never expected... This kinetic, fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek comic sets up a battle for Earth the likes of which you’ve never seen! Want more? Pre-order the $17.99 graphic novel due out later this summer that reprints the original series, or jump straight to the sequel with the new four-issue Reactor mini-series, available now! [TEEN]

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the first appearance of the Vampirella character in Vampirella #1, a Warren Publishing horror magazine and sister publication to the company's Creepy and Eerie magazines. As is befitting such an anniversary, Dynamite Comics is bringing out a new series with a new creative team to craft stories for the wry badgirl vampire. In this preview, we see our favorite scantily-clad bloodsucker endure assaults on social media, determined to discover her whereabouts and her secrets. The real treat in this FCBD exclusive is a bonus story, originally published in 1993, written and illustrated by comic book legends Kurt Busiek and Arthur Adams. Want more? Sign-up now for the new ongoing Vampirella series beginning later this summer! [TEEN+]

Jump in mid-action to the latest adventure of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they race through the city to save their friend and survive multiple ambushes! Then, discover the history of the saga back to the very beginning a long, long time ago in the back-up feature. Want more? Check out the reading order in the back of this issue for where to get started and then grab one of the TMNT’s collected editions off the shelf, or just keep going from here with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes #94, out later this month! [MATURE READERS!]

Jump feet first into the frenetic world of Deadly Class, ongoing comic and hit television show! What do kids going to assassin school do to blow off steam? Hit a concert, of course...but sometimes the work comes with them. Does making art actually change the world? What about revenge? And can you hold onto who you are when the world is trying to shape you into something else? If all that can be packed into just one issue, imagine how much goes on in the entire series...or stop imagining it, and pick up the first volume today! [MATURE READERS!]

In 2017, Emil Ferris published her first graphic novel, the unprecedented and brilliant My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, an exploration of everything from the trauma of a lonely childhood, the Holocaust, and totally awesome horror comics, all drawn with ballpoint pen and a perspective never seen before in comics. This only came about after Ferris experienced severe brain damage from a severe case of West Nile Virus and used drawing with a ballpoint pen as a form of physical therapy. This FCBD-exclusive provides an inside look into how My Favorite Thing Is Monsters emerged from that tragedy and includes Ferris's own guide to drawing monsters. Want more? Find the original graphic novel on our shelves today! [MATURE READERS!]

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED AND ALL FCBD TITLES ARE FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED! WE SUGGEST YOU HAVE IDEAS IN MIND FOR BACK-UP BOOKS IN CASE YOUR FIRST CHOICE IS GONE!

Many of these books tie-in with comic series or graphic novels currently available in our stores, while others are previews for books that are soon to be released! If you enjoyed your free comics, or if you saw an interesting one in the list that you didn’t have the chance to grab that you’d like to read, ask one of your friendly neighborhood Comix Connection Counter Monkeys for help! We’ll be glad to give you more information -- or even order you some goodies!

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[readingsanctuary]

I started the month in a really bad reading slump, so my main goal for the month was to get over that. Thankfully I successfully revived my love and enthusiasm for reading, and managed to have a really successful reading month. I’ve never read so many books in a month before in my entire life, and I’m feeling really good about it. I picked up what I felt like, and that meant I read a lot of graphic novels.

The House with Chicken Legs – by Sophie Anderson

All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with. 

But that’s tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It’s even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga. That means no school, no parties–and no playmates that stick around for more than a day. 

So when Marinka stumbles across the chance to make a real friend, she breaks all the rules . . . with devastating consequences. Her beloved grandmother mysteriously disappears, and it’s up to Marinka to find her–even if it means making a dangerous journey to the afterlife. 

With a mix of whimsy, humor, and adventure, this debut novel will wrap itself around your heart and never let go.

This was such a quick, enjoyable read, and an interesting twist on the Baba Yaga story. It’s such a whimsical story, I loved all the interesting details that were woven throughout the book. I was quickly absorbed by Marinka’s life, and invested in her story. There are some really interesting themes explored throughout, and Marinka’s reactions always felt really genuine. I loved watching her character develop and grow throughout the story as she came to terms with her situation, and explored her identity. I can see why this book was released to so much praise, I’m just so glad I picked it up.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Their Fractured Light – by Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner

A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now-infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness LaRoux Industries’ corruption. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were the only survivors of the Icarus shipwreck, forced to live a double life after their rescue.

Now, at the center of the galaxy on Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players in the fight against LRI. Gideon Marchant is an underworld hacker known as the Knave of Hearts, ready to climb and abseil his way past the best security measures on the planet to expose LRI’s atrocities. Sofia Quinn, charming con artist, can work her way into any stronghold without missing a beat. When a foiled attempt to infiltrate LRI Headquarters forces them into a fragile alliance, it’s impossible to know who’s playing whom–and whether they can ever learn to trust each other. With their lives, loves, and loyalties at stake, only by joining forces with the Icarus survivors and Avon’s protectors do they stand a chance of taking down the most powerful corporation in the galaxy—before LRI’s secrets destroy them all. The New York Times best-selling Starbound trilogy comes to a close with this dazzling final installment about the power of courage and hope in humanity’s darkest hour.

This book took me so long to read, it just seemed to go on forever. I know that this is mostly because of my reading slump which hit right as I was reading this book, but I also feel like a lot of this book was about moving the characters towards a meeting point where they could then go on and finish the story. It almost feels like it could have been two books in that sense. One following Sophia and Gideon, and then a final book following all the characters once they meet.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Before She Ignites – by Jodi Meadows

Before

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland.

But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

After

Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect.

No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.

Why aren’t more people talking about this book? It’s just so good, I loved every minute of it. I’m actually kind of mad that I don’t have the second book ready to start right away, but I will be pre-ordering that very soon. There is so much that I like about this book, firstly, this book has actual dragons in it!

Rating: 5 Stars

Bruja Born – by Zoraida Cordova

Three sisters. One spell. Countless dead.

Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister’s newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula’s bruja healing powers can’t fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life.

Then a bus crash turns Lula’s world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself. But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn’t the only one who’s been brought back…

This was everything I hoped it would be. I really enjoyed seeing more of the world in this book. I really love the magic system and the world building. I was worried about whether I would enjoy Lula’s perspective as much as I did Alex’s, but I needn’t have worried. This book was fantastic, and I already can’t wait for the next one.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – by

A brand new edition of this essential companion to the Harry Potter stories, with a new foreword from J.K. Rowling (writing as Newt Scamander), and 6 new beasts!

A set textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since publication, Newt Scamander’s masterpiece has entertained wizarding families through the generations. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable introduction to the magical beasts of the wizarding world. Scamander’s years of travel and research have created a tome of unparalleled importance. Some of the beasts will be familiar to readers of the Harry Potter books – the Hippogriff, the Basilisk, the Hungarian Horntail…Others will surprise even the most ardent amateur Magizoologist. Dip in to discover the curious habits of magical beasts across five continents…

I borrowed the audiobook from my local library, and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure if this book could work well as an audiobook, but it really does. It’s narrated excellently by Eddie Redmayne, who is in character as Newt Scamander for the entire book. The whole thing is just really well done.

Rating: 4 Stars

Giant Days: volume 4

It’s springtime at Sheffield University — the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and fast-pals Susan, Esther and Daisy continue to survive their freshman year of college. Susan is barely dealing with her recent breakup with McGraw, Esther is considering dropping out of school, and Daisy is trying to keep everyone and everything from falling apart! Combined with house-hunting, indie film festivals, and online dating, can the girls make it to second year?

The Eisner Award-nominated series from John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) with artist Max Sarin delivers another delightful slice-of-life adventure in Giant Days Volume 4. Collects issues 13-16.

This was a birthday gift from my auntie, and I was so excited that I read it that same day. I loved it just as much as the previous volumes. It’s highly entertaining, and I definitely consider this to be one of my favourite graphic novel series.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Giant Days – by Non Pratt

Based on the hit graphic-novel series from BOOM! Studios, the publisher behind Lumberjanes, Giant Days follows the hilarious and heartfelt misadventures of three university first-years: Daisy, the innocent home-schooled girl; Susan, the sardonic wit; and Esther, the vivacious drama queen. While the girls seem very different, they become fast friends during their first week of university. And it’s a good thing they do, because in the giant adventure that is college, a friend who has your back is key–something Daisy discovers when she gets a little too involved in her extracurricular club, the Yogic Brethren of Zoise. When she starts acting strange and life around campus gets even stranger (missing students, secret handshakes, monogrammed robes everywhere . . .), Esther and Susan decide it’s up to them to investigate the weirdness and save their friend.

I really enjoyed this book, and was so happy when it lived up to the awesomeness of the comics. Non Pratt has done a fantastic job of writing something that can stand alone from the comics, while matching the tone of the comics, and making subtle nods to the source material.

My Review

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Giant Days: volume 5

Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird.

Their freshman year is finally coming to a close and Daisy, Susan, and Esther say goodbye to Catterick Hall forever. Literally forever. It’s being bulldozed and re-purposed as a luxury dorm next semester. But as one door closes, another opens and between end of semester hookups, music festivals, and moving into their first home together, the life experiences are just getting started.

Written by Eisner Award nominee John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrated by Max Sarin, Giant Days Volume 5 finishes off freshman year in style, collecting issues #17-20 of the Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated series.

I’ve already said how much I love this series, and this volume changes nothing. It’s great. I love that they are showing the passage of time, and allowing the characters to move forward and progress through life. I’m really looking forward to finding out what the girls will get up to in their second year of university.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Ms Marvel: volume 9 – by G. Willow Wilson, Nico Leon

Kamala Khan has vanished! But where has she gone, and why? Jersey City still has a need for heroes, and in the wake of Ms. Marvel’s disappearance, dozens have begun stepping up to the plate. The city’s newest super hero Red Dagger and even ordinary citizens attempt to carry on the brave fight in Kamala’s honor. Somehow, Ms. Marvel is nowhere…but also everywhere at once! Absent but not forgotten, Ms. Marvel has forged a heroic legacy to be proud of. But when an old enemy re-emerges, will anyone be powerful enough to truly carry the Ms. Marvel legacy – except Kamala herself?

COLLECTING: MS. MARVEL 25-30

This is another of my favourite ongoing graphic novel series’, and one of the only Marvel titles that I’m interested in keeping up with. I really enjoyed this volume. I liked that they focused on Kamala’s friends, and how they cope without her while also covering for the missing Ms Marvel. It was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Rating: 4 Stars

Ancient Magus Bride volumes 2,3,4,5

Great power comes at a price…

Chise Hatori’s life has recently undergone shocking change. As a sleigh beggy–a person capable of generating and wielding tremendous magical power–she has transformed from an unwanted child to a magician’s apprentice who has been introduced to fae royalty. But Chise’s newly discovered abilities also mean a cruel fate awaits her.

I’m really enjoying this manga series, the anime is a pretty faithful adaptation so far, so no surprises, but I love the art, and I’m really enjoying reading the source material. I especially loved all the tiny details and explanations that weren’t in the anime, that really add to the story. I loved the anime, but I feel like I’m getting to know the characters and the world a bit better in this format, and I really like that. I love the magic, and the large, interesting world that’s being set out in these books. Also, I really like the bonus content in the collected volumes, it makes me so happy.

Ratings: 4 – 4.5 Stars

Sorry this post is a month late, I don’t know why I didn’t post it sooner, it’s been ready for a while. I’ve been such a mess this past month, I need to be more organised.

Want to chat, about books or anything else, here are some other places you can find me:

Twitter @reading_escape

Instagram: @readingsanctuary

Goodreads

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August Reading Wrap Up I started the month in a really bad reading slump, so my main goal for the month was to get over that.

#book blog #book blogger #book recommendations #Book Review #bookish #books #bookworm #reading wrap up #Review #YA #ya books #young adult #young adult books

[aion-rsa]

Netflix’s Never Have I Ever: Great TV Comedies to Watch Next

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If there’s justice in this world, high school comedy Never Have I Ever will return for at least a third season. The story of 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar, a Los Angeles teen reeling from her beloved father’s sudden death while trying to navigate all the usual boys/school/friendship mess of adolescence, deserves to continue long into the future. (Here’s our spoiler-free season two review.)

While fans wait for news on a third season commission, the 10 great shows below are well worth discovering or (re)discovering. They’re not all teen shows, nor are they all strictly comedies, but somewhere along the line, they share some DNA with Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s Never Have I Ever. Add your own additional recommendations below.

Fresh Off the Boat

Six seasons (2015 – 2020)

Since the cruel early cancellation of her show Don’t Trust the B**** in Apt. 23 (Krysten Ritter’s funniest performance to date) it’s pretty much mandatory to watch anything Nahnatchka Khan makes. Fresh Off the Boat was her follow-up comedy for ABC, based on the early life of celebrity chef Eddie Huang as his family moved from Washington DC to Orlando. It’s set in the 90s and concluded last year after six seasons. The cast is great, in particular Randall Park (WandaVision, Always Be My Maybe) and Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) as young Eddie’s Taiwanese immigrant parents, each of whom has very different mileage on adjusting to life in the US. 

The Mindy Project

Six seasons (2012 – 2017)

This romantic comedy was Mindy Kaling’s post-The Office project – the story of self-absorbed, pop-culture obsessed, lovable OB/GYN Dr Mindy Lahiri (Kaling) and her search for love in Manhattan. After some cast changes in its first season, it really found its feet and settled into a sharp workplace comedy with a great ensemble. It survived a post-season three cancellation by FOX thanks to being picked up by Hulu for a further three seasons, and ended in 2017. US comedy fans can enjoy playing actor bingo too, thanks to appearances from many of Kaling’s The Office co-stars, including writer-producer B.J. Novak, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms and more. 

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Four seasons (2015 – 2019)

Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna’s comedy-musical series is inventive, boundary-breaking and packed to the rafters with talent. Like a few of the shows in this list, it’s distinctly adult in theme and not a high school comedy but still shares the wit, high-key colour and bold approach to life’s harder moments as Never Have I Ever. It’s the story of high-flying NYC lawyer Rebecca Bunch, who gives up everything to move to a backwater Californian town to pursue her summer camp first love Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III). Rebecca’s love of musical theatre bleeds into the show, turning it into a mental health musical complete with funny, original, sharply written song-and-dance routines.  

Popular

Two seasons (1999 – 2001)

The debut series from super-producer Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Pose, Glee, Nip/Tuck) co-created by Gina Matthews, Popular is the story of Brooke and Sam, two high school sophomores from opposite ends of the popularity spectrum who are forced together when their single parents become a couple. It ran for two seasons on The WB before being cancelled, and has since attracted a cult following for Murphy’s characteristically sharp blend of comedy, romance and serious themes. It landed in the 90s, so yes, the teens are played by 25 year olds, the unpopular nerd (Carly Pope) has model good looks, it’s not exactly diverse (though there is LGBTQ representation) but it’s seminal in Never Have I Ever’s genre. 

Sex Education

Three seasons so far (2019 – )

Laurie Nunn’s charming British comedy-drama is a frank and funny look at sexual hang-ups and teen relationships. It has a great ensemble cast led by Otis (Asa Butterfield), a shy teen embarrassed by his sex therapist mother’s forthright attitude to all things physical. When Otis teams up with ‘bad girl’ Maeve to offer anonymised sex therapy to their schoolmates, he discovers that he’s not the only one with issues. It’s a bright and funny high school series with characters to invest in, a stand-out performance by Ncuti Gatwa as Eric, and oh, the sex therapist mother is played by Gillian Anderson. Season three arrives on Netflix this September.

Read more

TV

Never Have I Ever Season 2 Review: This Netflix Teen Comedy Deserves to Run and Run

By Louisa Mellor

TV

Never Have I Ever Season 2: Episode 3’s Last-Minute Celebrity Narrator Change

By Louisa Mellor

Freaks & Geeks

One season (1999 – 2000)

A must-see high school comedy. Paul Feig and Judd Apatow’s 1980s-set series is most discussed these days for the outstanding cast of unknowns gathered by Allison Jones (who went on to cast The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Arrested Development, Veep and basically every US sitcom worth watching). The prematurely cancelled NBC series kick-started the careers of Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Busy Phillips, Linda Cardellini, James Franco and more. It’s the story of Cardellini’s Lindsay Weir, a maths star who crosses social boundaries from ‘geek’ to slacker ‘freak’ after the death of her grandmother. It’s brilliant, weird, funny and painful, and a total antidote to mainstream, slick, rich-kid Beverley Hills 90210 high school glamour, so of course, hardly anybody watched it, the network didn’t get it, and it was cancelled well before its time. 

The Wonder Years

Six seasons (1988 – 1993)

Husband and wife team Neal Marlens and Carol Black created a classic in The Wonder Years, a coming-of-age story about Kevin, the youngest son of a suburban American family, growing up against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. It’s fuelled by nostalgia and the sweet romantic yearnings of its young lead Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage, now a top comedy director-producer), but doesn’t gloss over life’s more serious moments. Never Have I Ever’s choice of John McEnroe as its wry adult narrator may well have been influenced by Daniel Stern’s role on The Wonder Years. It’s available to stream now on Hulu in the US.

Skins

7 seasons (2007 – 2013)

Not strictly a comedy, but with plenty of comedic moments, Skins has to be in the running for the best British teen show ever made. The first four seasons especially are filled with great writing, strong performances, and characters whose lives – and complicated love lives – are easy to invest in. It followed the students of a Bristol sixth form college through their A levels, giving it the chance to renew the cast every two years as the previous generation graduated/dropped out/ran away/were murdered. Like Freaks and Geeks, its cast of young actors, from Nicholas Hoult to Dev Patel, Joe Dempsie, Daniel Kaluuya, Jack O’Connell, Kaya Scodelario and more went on to very big things. Much more layered and satisfyingly weird than the reputation it was given by the British press as an orgy of sex, drugs and bad behaviour, it’s another must-watch. 

Daria

Five seasons (1997 – 2001)

Developed from a character created for Mike Judge’s animated MTV comedy Beavis & Butthead, Daria Morgendorffer is a cynical 16-year-old with a gimlet eyed take on suburban US life. She’s a 90s icon with a monotone voice (provided by Tracy Grandstaff) and a wry take on her schoolmates, parents, and cheerleader sister Quinn. Her witty, dry animated series aired for five seasons plus feature-length TV specials, and is soon to have a new spin-off coming to Comedy Central, focused on Daria’s classmate Jodie’s travails in the modern workplace.

My So-Called Life

One season (1994 – 1995)

When My So-Called Life aired its only season on ABC in 1994, it was the anti-teen TV show. Muted and realist rather than upbeat and aspirational, it cast actual teenagers, not models, and ventured into areas avoided by many other teen dramas of the time: alcoholism, sex, domestic abuse… Its first-person narration from Claire Danes’ lead character gave it a distinctive voice, and influenced many shows to follow. It’s worth saying that My So-Called Life is a drama, not a comedy, and paints teenage life with a totally different colour palette to bright, satirical Never Have I Ever. Acknowledging that, it’s a cult favourite, and possible to trace a line from Devi’s love triangle with nerdy academic Ben and hot, popular Paxton, and MSCL’s Angela Chase’s love triangle with nerdy academic Brian and hot, popular Jordan (would that line continue all the way back to Pretty in Pink? Probably). 

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Never Have I Ever season 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Netflix’s Never Have I Ever: Great TV Comedies to Watch Next appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[back-and-totheleft]

An epic memoir for an epic life

In a 1992 interview with Arthur Miller, Charlie Rose asked him what quality the great playwrights have shared in common, distinguishing them from the not so great ones in any given age?

After a pause to gather his thoughts, Miller replied that the “big ones share a fierce moral sensibility” and that “they are all burning with some anger at the way the world is.” “The littler ones,” Miller continues, “have made their peace with it. The bigger ones can’t make any peace.”

Oliver Stone is an artist whose work (his early work especially) is, as with Miller’s and all the “bigger ones”, suffused with the passion and fire of a man who refused to make peace with the world he both experienced and observed around him after serving two tours in Vietnam as an infantryman, prior to emerging determined to live life on his own terms or not at all.

The period covered in Chasing the Light runs from Stone’s his childhood and formative years all the way to the mountaintop that is Oscar night in 1987, when he picks up the Oscar for best director for Platoon, which also wins the award for best picture, editing, and score. In between we are taken on a journey of Sisyphean magnitude as he battles to overcome personal demons as a result of fraught-ridden teenage years in the midst of his parents’ divorce, which shatters any semblance of security and certainty he’d enjoyed as a child of relative privilege and affluence. Those demons were key in his decision to volunteer for Vietnam, which he does bent on either death or spiritual rebirth in this hell of his own choosing.

Greek mythology is a key theme in the book and in his life during this seminal period — in particular the epic character Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin), hero of Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, and also a key character in its prequel, the Iliad. Stone uses Odysseus as his inspiration in choosing to forego the safe and steady path of convention and instead embrace the wisdom enshrined in Nietzsche: “The secret of realizing the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment of existence is: to live dangerously!”

Stone’s struggle to mount the ramparts of the fortress that is Hollywood would have broken the spirit of all but those in possession of the kind of adamantine tenacity and perseverance that takes you to the edge of madness. Reading of his struggles, his years of rejection, of climbing the ladder of hope only to be kicked off it again, you are reminded of the agony of Vincent Van Gogh, expressed in his letters to his brother Theo, or of Knut Hamsun in his classic semi-autobiographical novel Hunger, chronicling his early failed attempts to establish himself as a writer.

To wit: Hamsun: “I was conscious all the time that I was following mad whims without being able to do anything about it … . Despite my alienation from myself at that moment, and even though I was nothing but a battleground for invisible forces, I was aware of every detail of what was going on around me.”

Stone: “I drew hurt and perverse pride in being able to take rejection. Yet my wounded ego interfered with my ability to understand the reasons for these rejections….Beyond the paper world of rejection, there was also the in-person wound of being told no in face-to-face meetings — when they could be had — the hard-to-come-by lunches, the unreturned phone calls.”

In one the most powerful passages in the book, Stone garners renewed strength from visiting his beloved grandmother in Paris on her deathbed. Amid the flux and tumult of his parents’ split during his adolescent years, she had been both sanctuary and emotional anchor.

But then: Meme [grandmother] wanted me to go — quickly, before it was too late. I couldn’t hear but it was clear what the shades were saying: We, the dead, are telling you — your lifespan is short. Make of it everything you can. Before you’re one of us.

After many fits and starts, Stone’s breakthrough comes through his writing — first with Midnight Express, for which he wins the Oscar for best adapted screenplay in 1979, and then Scarface in 1983, a cult classic to this day. The writing in both movies crackles with a rare kinetic energy, jolting you out of your comfort zone with the unvarnished truth of the human condition in situations of extremis. If the famed and controversial Method system of acting has its parallel in screenwriting, Oliver Stone was perhaps its first and still most notable exemplar.

But despite his success as a writer, Stone’s calling is as a writer/director, with his fierce sense of how his words and vision should be captured on screen driving him on through setback after setback, until in 1985 with Salvador (released in 1986) his moment of truth arrives. The drama involved in getting it over the line more than parallels the drama captured onscreen.

At the time, Salvador’s impact on the conscience and consciousness of America when it came to the disjuncture that exists between the mythical depiction its role in the world as a force for good, and the grim truth of its litany of crimes in places that most Americans, trapped in a bubble of celebrity culture and a news information ghetto, don’t even know exist, can’t be underestimated. Salvador was crucial moment in my own political awareness, as someone who grew up in Scotland on a diet of American pop culture and Hollywood movies, becoming imbued in the process with the idea of America as the place to be, the place where you had to be if you wanted a shot at an exciting, meaningful and fulfilling existence.

When it comes to Platoon, there really is nothing more to say or write that hasn't already. It remains the Paths of Glory of our time, a withering riposte to the flag-waving, chest-beating, unthinking patriotism on the part of those whose belief in the myths of Americana personified by John Wayne and the heroes of Iwo Jima has trapped them in a prison of false consciousness. Platoon — not only a masterful movie in its own right in terms of its writing, acting, cinematography and brute authenticity — exploded in the midst of Reagan’s America as a subversive and delicious j’accuse, levelled at a status quo which two decades on from the social upheaval of the sixties, had sought to repackage and resell Vietnam to the American people as a noble if failed attempt to thwart a Communist drive for world domination in service to the God of democracy.

The movie’s depiction of the internecine struggle that rages within a combat platoon polarised along racial, class and cultural lines mirrored and still mirror the faultlines which continue to polarise American society today. In this respect, Platoon is as much social commentary as it is a dramatic piece, retaining its force and relevance thereby.

Throughout the book Stone writes with commendable candour about his fears and insecurities, his relationships, and also his lapse into Hollywood hedonism and drug use, which all serves to make him three dimensional and relatable in equal part.

Ultimately, in reading Chasing the Light, you are reminded of Theodor Adorno’s admonition that “Behind every work of art lies an uncommitted crime.” If Stone had not succeeded as an artist and his creative powers applied constructively, you come away from his story convinced that those powers would have found destructive expression, given what he experienced in Vietnam and his struggle to readjust thereafter. Given his remarkable body of work, we can only be thankful that the former rather than the latter prevailed.

-Jon Wight’s review of Chasing the Light, Medium, Aug 31 2020 [x]

#oliver stone #chasing the light #books #reviews #medium