Kick-Ass comics

I took a chance on Kick Ass, knowing that Mark Millar has the capacity to blow me away when given the creative freedom to do so. Just take a look at Wanted (the comics, not the film) for instance. Paired with superstar artist John Romita Jr., this was a surefire hit. Order numbers actually increased with each subsequent issue, contrary to the sales numbers of most titles, thanks to great word-of-mouth on it. I'm doing my part now to spread the good word.

Kick Ass is one of the best comic book series I've read in recent times. Ultra-violent, crude, coarse and action-packed with characters that endear nonetheless.

We have all dreamed of being superheroes, haven't we? But if I did what he did, I'd probably get my ass kicked. :)



I look forward to watching the film adaptation, now screening at your local cinema.

Outrage! - Steal the Crown Jewels

I like board games. Even more so when they're different from the usual Monopoly, Cluedo, Life sort.

I bought Outrage! at a gift shop at the Tower of London on a recent trip there. Costing 35 quid, the package looked pretty with solid production. It was based on the fact that the Crown Jewels have remained secure in the Tower of London for hundreds of years, with only one (failed) attempt to steal them in history. Therein lies the objective of the game - to steal the Crown Jewels.

The game was sadly disappointing - plagued by contradicting rules, lack of challenge, lack of opportunities for interpersonal encounters. It's probably good for about an hour of gameplay but one gets tired of it real quickly.

I could have spent the money on that complete Conan collection at the Forbidden Planet instead. :(


Box


Contents (admittedly they look nice)


Game board


Game paraphernalia


Crown Jewel pieces


Yeomen pieces

Lego 4504 - Millennium Falcon

I've been watching online auctions for this set for at least the past two years with many sets going for at least US$160 or more. I had a few near misses too with auction snipers snatching it from under my nose. Patience pays off one day when an email alert from ebay notified me of a "Buy It Now" auction at a fairly reasonable price. So it made its way across half the world and I built it this weekend.

It took me all of 5 hours or so to put together the 985 pieces. There was some monotony after a bit but it was a huge satisfaction to see it come to shape.

The ship is nicely detailed. The exterior is a good representation of the Millennium Falcon, and for play it can swoosh but care must be taken as its components do not have fantastic support. The interior is well detailed and very playable. There is the chess game area and the engine room. There is massive interior room and one could fit more figures inside. The top opens up like an onion and provides good access to the inside. It has a turret seat, an escape pod and a working ramp (although moving passengers along this ramp is impossible).

The cockpit is probably the only drawback as it only fits 2 figures snugly. The figures are great, but I was expecting to see Obi Wan AND Luke as they left Tatooine (even though it has Leia as in Episode 6). Also strange to have C-3PO and not R2-D2. The inclusion of an Imperial Snow Trooper and cannon is also odd and would have been a better fit with the AT-AT set. (EDIT 18 APR 2010 - I was informed by my brother-in-law that it's meant to commemorate Ep V... where Luke and R2 had departed for the Dagobah system to meet Yoda. Also, a snow trooper was seen hooking up a laser cannon to shoot at the Millennium Falcon as it makes its escape from Bespin).

This is also the first time I've seen printing a printing error in the instruction manual, which came with an additional B&W page with the correct pieces and instruction steps. The Han Solo figure in the manual had a tan body instead of navy blue.


Some of the more interesting and unusual pieces


I've never seen these pieces before

The following pictures detail some of the build process














Completed!


Top view


Thrusters



Cockpit


Movable ramp


Rear view






Opens to reveal the interior


Engine room with hyperdrive, tool racks and Han Solo's parka hood


Escape pod stowage


Hot and crowded in here


Chewbacca and Han Solo


Han Solo in Hoth outfit


C-3PO and Princess Leia


Imperial Snow Trooper


Instruction manual and errata page


Mis-coloured Han Solo body

A Tribute to Ray Harryhausen + Clash of the Titans

Cinemagoers are abuzzed with excitement by Louis Leterrier's remake of "Clash of the Titans" which I caught on the big screen this Easter weekend. The special effects and fight scenes were dazzling, but lack the magical feel of the original film. The original might look dated by today's standards, but I daresay it boasts the more stellar cast (Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Burgess Meredith etc.) and had a superior script that revealed the whimsical nature of the Olympian Gods. I quickly dug out my DVD of the 1981 version and watched it as a wave of nostalgia overtook my senses. This was a flick I had taped off the TV broadcast as a young lad and played over and over again, marvelling at the fantastical creatures animated by Ray Harryhausen (who also co-produced the film).

Back in the days before computer technology special efx, Ray Harryhausen was drawing and making models and animating them 24 times for every second of film footage. The man is the pioneer and visionary, who made the the Kraken and Medusa and Pegasus, not to mention the true hero of the film - Bubo, the mechanical owl come to life. This is for Ray, without whom George Lucas ("Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in the special visual industry. The art of his earlier films, which most of us grew up on, inspired us so much."), Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson (who wrote the foreward to this volume), Nick Park ("In my mind, he will always be the king of stop-motion animation.") might never have become the filmmakers they are today.


My Clash of the Titans (1981) DVD

I was very happy to purchase a signed copy of "The Art of Ray Harryhausen" from the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London on a recent trip there. Cost me all of 30 quid... it's a companion volume to the autobiographical "An Animated Life", which I am hoping to track down one day.




Signed by Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton!


Medusa!


Models of Bubo and scorpion from Clash of the Titans


Key drawing for Hydra sequence from Jason and the Argonauts


Key drawing for skeleton fight from Jason and the Argonauts


Key drawing of an attack by a Cyclopean centaurfor the Golden Voyage of Sinbad (scene was never incorporated into the film)


Key drawing for King of the Geniis