Geek Culture Reviews

Macross makes its way west, but does this shoot’em up survive the journey?   Fresh from watching a bootleg copy of Akira that was kindly provided by a friend's older brother, I had my mind blown by these Japanese “cartoons” that were cooler, and a lot more action-packed than the ones that were shown on UK television. On a weekend trip to my local video rental store I happened to come across Macross: Do You Remember Love? Sitting on the shelf. While I wouldn’t learn until years later that it’s just a small part in quite a large series, this adventure of Hikaru Ichijyo took me on the grand sci-fi adventure I had always dreamed of. Macross - Shooting Insight is a shmup that has players battle their way across a unique story that’s set within the Macross universe. Featuring a cast of characters who are all pulled tighter from the various sides of the intellectual property, on paper Macross - Shooting Insight should be the one game Macross fans have been waiting for. However in reality ...

Swashbuckling Pirates and nefarious necromancy collide as John A. Short brings the legend of Captain Cinnamon Wylde to the Kickstarter tavern…  ‘Year of our Lord 1727... The golden age of piracy! Captain Cinnamon Wylde is the scourge of the waters around Dead Man's Straits... Raiding slaver vessels and freeing their cargo! Along with her clockwork hand (only losers have hooks) and her homunculus sidekick, Erasmus! But she has a deadly rival in the form of Captain Godiva Dunaway who uses black magic and a crew of zombies to rule the seven seas. Dunaway has plans to take Wylde down using an ancient curse and necromancy! She plans to raise the deadly creature known as the Black Reaper from the waves... a headless horror that cannot be killed because it is already dead.’  As descriptions go, the one for Captain Wilde & The Headless Mariner is a good’en. Promising an old-school action and adventure tale on the high seas with a hint of mysticism, you’ll be forgiven if you read i...

The hunt for the Lumia Seal takes Magik and Cal deep into the heart of Tokyo. But who is watching from the shadows? And has Cal teamed up with Earth’s saviour or its prophesied destroyer?  Magik #1 set this standalone series off in spectacular fashion . A series of events has caused Ilya to be thrown into a grand mystery that started with a demon-killing a mutant. With investigating this death, Ilya is now part of a wider conspiracy that centres on the demonic entity Luminal and its attempt to invade Earth by destroying the five seals that are keeping it at bay. With one seal being destroyed at the end of the opening issue, Ilya has now teamed up with the mage - and seal protector - Cal to stop Lumia from wreaking havoc. Now the duo forms themselves deep in the underground of Tokyo, and well let’s just say their journey is about to get a lot tougher.  Needing time to figure out where the next seal is, Magik #2 opens to Ilya and Cal in a cat café weighing up their options. Ca...

Love and rebellion in a cyberpunk world…  Cable: Love and Chrome #1 did a fantastic job in throwing Nathaniel Summers into a future where the Techno-Organic Virus had won and subsequently taken over the world. Across the opening issue writer David Pepose introduced us to the status quo of this world as Nathaniel was introduced to the people of Salvation Bay, their leader - and potential love interest - Avery Ryder, and their enemy; the Prime Conclave. Much like the opening issue, Cable: Love and Chrome #2 continues its spectacular action-centric narrative as Cable battles across the time stream. However, it’s the budding romance between its two central characters that’s the more interesting aspect of this story. It’s been clear since the last issue that there are some romantic feelings between Cable and Avery. The duo enter combat like a fine-tuned machine, and they’re throwing flirtatious insults at each other like it’s a Valentines' Day lovers tiff. As such it’s no surprise th...

Dave Metcalfe-Carr is back with the third issue of his spine-tingling anthology. With interrogations, little dogs, a fabulous T-Rex, demons, and larger-than-life comic book characters, does Shrieek! 3 go bump in the night?  So we’re three issues into Shrieek! And it seems for this issue at least that the pressure of creating an instant impact within the crowded indie market has been reduced. As such Shrieek!3 feels a little different to its sister issues. Where the debut issues focused on old-fashioned body-shock horror, #3 takes on a more psychological role to wow its readers. Much like my reviews for the previous issues I am going to be quite vague when it comes to talking about each strip. With Shrieek! 3 making its way to those who backed the issue on Kickstarter soon, you can safely read this review without any major story spoilers.  Joining Dave Metcalfe-Carr for this issue are the familiar faces of Ed Doyle, Alan Holloway, John H. Short, Christoff RDGZ, and Dan Pollard ...