COMICS!! Review: Cloak & Dagger #1

Cloak and Dagger are more accessory than actual team at this point in comic continuity. Certainly, their current place in the Marvel Universe is a far cry from the paling around with Spider-Man that I remember so vividly from my childhood. Hell, Cloak and Dagger are the team that I remember most vividly from my youth, but have read nearly next to nothing from in the prevailing years that I've come back to reading comic books.

Out of the void (the Darkness Dimension one might say) comes a Cloak and Dagger mini-series for the Spider Island event. Is this dynamic duo worth investing your money in?

Polarity

Cloak and Dagger have fallen on some hard times. Not being on a team, and not being the "go to" heroes in New York City, they find themselves on the verge of eviction. Even worse, unbeknownst to one another, their extremely different personalities have them thinking of very different plans for the future. With the Spider Island outbreak, Tandy and Tyrone are pulled into the fray, but only time will tell where they wind up after the dust has settled.

Nick Spencer pencils this off-kilter mini-series. His writing of Cloak and Dagger, not as heroes with a strong sense of duty, but as people with super-powers who are having just as much trouble skating by as anybody else, is absolutely brilliant. In-particular, Tandy's interaction with a building inspector trying to get them to leave the building is both hilarious and entirely believable. Splitting the team's inner-monologue also helps distinguish them as individuals rather than the joined at the hip pair they're often passed off as. In fact, this monologue allows Spencer to show that not only do they not agree on everything, but there's also a ton of tension between the two. Of course the two don't completely shirk their heroic qualities, but it's fun to see a superhero book in which the strife the heroes face just trying to get by and get along is the focal point.

The Beauty of Contrast

Spencer's script is great, but since I was a kid, the draw of Cloak and Dagger was their visual style. The team's perfect contrasting look is among the best in comics. That was my thought before laying eyes on the gorgeous artwork of Emma Rios, but if anyone had a doubt to my claims, they need only look at the first few pages of Cloak and Dagger #1. Rios has a beautifully penciled style combined with imaginative use of panel space. Her portrayals of heroes are unique, if not always fantastic, but the way she nails both Tandy and Tyrone is beautiful. Her style is somewhere between a comic book artist like Marcos Martin and contemporary video game artist Ayami Kojima.

It's amazing and can sell the series all by itself. When bolstered with Nick Spencer's smart writing, it's almost impossible not to suggest or recommend this series to everybody. Okay, maybe it's not for those expecting an extremely tight connection to the rest of the Spider Island stuff, but for people who just want a beautifully drawn book about one of the most underutilized duos in Marvel, this is it.

Cloak & Dagger #1 easily gets a 5 star rating.

i-Rix Review: Catherine

Catherine has a lot going for it. It's got the same quirky characterization as the incredibly popular Persona 4, and shares that game's same penchant for high concept and style. Like its titular titillating temptress, it’s incredibly alluring from face value alone. However, thanks to a story whose oddness borders on the inane, and gameplay that can get a tad TOO procedural, Catherine isn't a game that everyone can enjoy on the same level.

STORY

The tale of Catherine follows 32-year-old Vincent Brooks through the worst week of his life. His girlfriend of 5 years, Katherine McBride, has started to become impatient with his lack of commitment and begins pushing him to tie the knot. Not content to give up his "free and easy" lifestyle, however, things become infinitely more complicated for Vincent when a blonde bombshell named Catherine literally falls into his lap and, before he even knows what he's doing, he's cheating on Katherine with her. This doesn't even take into account the nightmares that Vincent starts to experience every night. When he goes to sleep, Vincent is faced with hellish towers of blocks that he must climb in order to escape a very real death.

The quirk of Catherine's story and characters does a fantastic job of selling it. Vincent is written and voiced hilariously, being both relatable and impossibly stupid/irresponsible at the same time. The bit characters and acquaintances in Vincent's life are similarly well-written, and the sheer style of it all carries a lot of the weight. Sadly, Catherine's story occasionally falls flat because of two fatal flaws. For one thing, the central conundrum of Catherine vs. Katherine is almost a moot point, as both ladies start off almost insufferably unlikable. In the case of one of the ladies, she eventually becomes more tolerable and even a fairly deep character, but the other remains so one-dimensional and outright absurdly written that this "choice" is one that's not horribly compelling. Secondly, that absurdity permeates so deep into the story and it saps it of a lot of its humanity and punch. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining as all hell, but some people may take the late game twist as an insult to their intelligence.

CONTENT

Simply playing through Catherine gives you a good chunk of game to chew on. It'll take you about 12-15 hours on a standard playthrough of the game's Normal difficulty. Strangely, the additional modes and fun you can have with Catherine revolve around not only finishing, but doing well in the game's main story. For example, there are cooperative and competitive block puzzles to tackle. Sounds pretty cool, no? Well you're going to have to complete that 12-15 hour campaign before you get to play even one level of it. There's also a fairly deep trials mode known as Babel that is unlocked level by level when you achieve a Gold Trophy in various stages of the game's main story. That might seem reasonable, but realizing how difficult Catherine can be at times, getting those Golds to unlock more game content is daunting task.

It all adds to the occasionally old-school feel of Catherine's challenge, but it's puzzling that Atlus would hide so much of the good stuff it has to offer behind such high watermarks. There's a ton of good stuff in Catherine to get at. It's just going to take a while to get at it all.

GAMEPLAY

The actual gameplay of Catherine is perhaps the simplest aspect of the game to convey. During the day, you control Vincent at the Stray Sheep bar. Here, you interact with the various patrons and answer texts which play into the way things will proceed in the story. It's not hugely variable, but it's nice to have the freedom to effect little things in the narrative. You'll also be doing things that play more directly into the gameplay aspects as well. You can play a retro-styled version of Catherine in the bar, and this can provide you some additional practice for the night portions of the game. Additionally, seeing as the Stray Sheep is a bar, you can drink. This might seem useless (aside from the fact it provides you with some truly interesting trivia about alcohol), but the more you consume, the faster Vincent moves during the night-time portions.

And that is essential because, as the song goes, the freaks come out at night as you're forced into Vincent's nightmares. In these, you'll take on the game's main source of action, and that's block puzzles. Essentially, you'll be staring down a staircase made completely of blocks, and you must push, pull, stack, hang, climb, and do all manner of mind-bending actions to climb them. You don't have all day, however, as not only does each stage slowly crumble underneath you, but many blocks are traps that can kill you or send you into unfavorable situations. At the end of each floor of the tower, you'll even have to face off against a boss doggedly pursuing you as you attempt to solve each puzzling staircase.

The block puzzles of Catherine can be described in a few words. Challenging. Rewarding. Frustrating. Repetitive. If you don't dig procedural aspects of games, or don't want to punch a baby from the sheer difficulty you'll face, then don't come within a hair's breath of Catherine. Few games are this challenging, and thus more rewarding when you take out another stage. This is a puzzle game, make no mistake. It's an extremely mechanical game, despite trappings to the contrary.

PRESENTATION

One thing that is undeniably solid about Catherine is its presentation. The graphics are unique and stylish. As good as everyone looks in pixels, the well-done anime cutscenes only bolster the experience. The standout aspects, however, are those that reach your ears. The voice acting is fantastic, with voice acting for Vincent and his posse being particularly excellent. The OST for Catherine, much like the Persona games before it, should be owned right alongside the game.

VERDICT

But whether you wish to actually own Catherine is dependent on your tolerance of what the game is... and that's a puzzle game with a nonsense story attached. The sheer style and zaniness of Atlus's latest may be enough for you to want check it out. Indeed, the curious would be well-served in at least seeing if Catherine is their type of game. It's challenging, it's unlike anything out there right now, and it's just the right type of weird that even the wholly unfamiliar with this type of Japanese craziness can appreciate it. It's a great game, but one that's difficult to recommend to everybody.

People who become enamored with Catherine within the first hour or so are going to love it. People who are put off by that first impression... well...

Based on its own ample assets and merits, Catherine gets 4 stars out of 5 from me.

Questionable Review: Captain America: The First Avenger

Despite Cap being one of my very favorite comic book characters ever, I had little faith in the ability of anybody being able to bring him to life on the silver screen. Regardless of my affection for ol' Steve Rogers, it's just a little tough to picture the red, white, and blue boy scout being taken seriously when given flesh and blood.
But somehow, some way, not only is Captain America: The First Avenger a wholly entertaining piece of period fiction and faithful to the hero's long lineage, but it manages to be the most humanly satisfying superhero movie that's come along in a great while.

WHAT'S THIS MOVIE ABOUT?

Captain America follows the exploits of Steven Rogers (Chris Evans) during World War II. Having an uncanny sense of duty and desire to do what he feels is right, all the scrawny Rogers wants to do is serve the country he loves. The problem is that aside from being only 90 pounds, Rogers has myriad health problems that prevent any recruiter from taking him. Hope for Rogers comes in the form of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci). He is looking for young men to join an extremely secretive "Super Soldier" project, and Steve has just the intangibles (selflessness, strength of will, integrity) that he is looking for. It isn't so long after Rogers finally becomes that titular "Super Soldier" when the error of Erskine's past in the form of the maniacal Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) rears its ugly face. Now, the newly christened Captain America must run a covert campaign against the mad man and his legion of HYDRA soldiers to help bring an end to the war and this threat on all of humanity.

WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THIS MOVIE?

CHARACTERIZATION! Sure, director Joe Johnston doesn't necessarily paint a visage of incredibly complex characters here, but the way each seems so naturally human through their interactions and relationships with other characters is incredibly well done. Evans in particular embodies the wholesome nature of Captain America without feeling cheesy or forced. This is aided by the over the top, yet completely believable performance of Hugo Weaving as "The Red Skull". The characters are unapologetically two-dimensional, sure, but they own up to that. In fact, the best performance may be attributed to Hayley Atwell as the Captain's love interest, Peggy Carter. She effortlessly skirts the line between the hard, no-nonsense operative, and the caring person who is willing to fight for something on principles alone. The fact that she never plays damsel in distress is refreshing. Tucci as Erskine, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and the various "Howling Commandos" bit parts all play their roles admirably.

Captain America is also a movie that isn't afraid to provide a deeper timeline of events to its audience than most other superhero films. A whole heck of a lot takes place in the Captain's standard running time, and all the build-up at the beginning pays off with the punchier second half. It doesn't attempt to shoe-horn in plot details and character development in the film's climax, and the movie is better for it. It allows for the action to take center-stage, and for the most part, it's done well. It has a pulpy retro feel while also being wholly modern. In fact, that feel is what gives Captain America its unique edge. A mid-movie segment that shows "Captain America" touring the USA selling war bonds exemplifies this perfectly. It really wraps the audience up in its setting, while still subtly showing an awareness of its retro feel.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THIS MOVIE?

Conversely, certain action sequences feel incredibly artificial. It's nothing too distracting, but during some of the more chaotic or grandiose scenes, the special effects can take the audience out of the experience. After all, when most of the scenes feel so authentic and period appropriate, scenes that use heavy green screening effects and CGI are that much more apparent.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Fans of the character will love all the affection towards past storylines and costumes. Also, I need the "Captain America" song that plays during the USO tour and credits RIGHT NOW!

WHAT'S THE FINAL VERDICT?

Whether you want to call it a superhero film, a pulpy period piece, or a summer action flick, Captain America delivers on all fronts. It's an affectionate, well-made movie that audiences of all ages can easily enjoy. This may be the most well-done film Marvel studios has put out, and should serve alongside films like The Dark Knight as a template for what the genre can achieve.