Geek Culture Reviews

  Enter Codenames France & Paris... Over the last few weeks, Mark Millar has really delivered with his new superhero series. With the first two issues scoring a perfect 10/10, does issue #3 follow suit?  With Choon-He's superhero draft finding its way to France, it gives Millar the chance of yet another origin story, as well as expanding upon the wider narrative that's been slowly picking up  pace in the background. This issue focuses on Hotel worker Yasmine Gauvin who's writing to Choon-He in the hopes that she is picked to become the Ambassador for France. In her letter Yasmine delves into her personal life as she speaks about the fears for her son, and what his future could possibly hold. Suffering from being bullied in school, and not having a role model, Yasmine's son Jean-Luc is one bad decision away from becoming a number within the French judicial system. Not only does he dream of revenge against his tormenters, he's also losing connection with his moth...

The Ambassadors start to assemble… After it’s perfect opening act, Mark Millar ’s superhero epic returns for its second outing. With the next two Ambassadors recruited, we get to see what life is like for a superhero in training. Focus on this issue centres on the young Binnu Bhatia - who’s selfless act changes his world forever.  We first set eyes on our soon to be hero as he’s caught up in a terror attack at a mall in India. Not content with simply standing by and doing nothing, Binnu offers to trade places with one of the hostages, which results in him getting shot. This act of selflessness then attracts the attention of Doctor Choon-He who then conscripts Binnu into her Ambassadors program. Due to being a native of India, Binnu’s new identity is a reflection of his heritage. As such Codename India is born.  Where the first issue built around the mysticism to what The Ambassadors are, this second chapter starts to brake down the walls. As we follow Binnu across his training...

Rob reviews The Magic Order 2 #6... Mark Millar has crafted The Magic Order 2 like a brutal magic show. Over the series, we've seen plenty of illusions, mysteries, and tricks of the mind as Millar and Stuart Immonen have sent us on a mystical tour of emotion. But like every good show, the curtains will eventually fall. And for The Magic Order 2, Millar has saved the best till last!  The action kicks off with Cordelia and her Magic Order chums deep in their battle with Viktor Korne and his followers. Krone has managed to summon the mythical demon; Othoul'Endu and is poised to finally take out the Order and then rule the wider world. But in true Millar fashion, it's not that simple.  We then take a trip to the past as we see Soran Korne attempt the same plan 1000-years ago. This time around. However, on the cusp of defeat, the Lovecraftian terror retreats into its dimension, thus the proto-Order defeat Soran and as they say "the rest is history". Sadly...

Rob reviews The Magic Order 2 #5... We are on to the penultimate issue of this series as a comic heavyweight, Mark Millar ramps up The Magic Order 2 to blockbuster levels. It's a tempo that we've come to expect from Millar , and it's certainly no different here.  Millar starts this issue off with more backstory as we see inside the illustrious Magic Order. This history lesson is soon interrupted by the suicide of Francis King. Since King's introduction, we've seen the troubled magician wrestle with his demons. Whether it was an actual demon or just Francis' imagination is still to be seen. But whatever it sadly drove King to take his own life by playing into his guilt of killing Harun. It's quite an emotional scene, and part of me had hoped that someone would come to his rescue. Alas, it's not the case - and if anything this death foreshadows what else is to come in this issue.  I won't ruin what happens as the event is cert...

Rob reviews The Magic Order 2 #2... Mark Millar 's The Magic Order 2 launched itself with a bang last time out. Not only did we catch up with Cordelia and her magic-wielding family. We were also introduced to the Korne family - the "anti" version of the Order. There's a lot of information thrown at us on this issue. To begin with, Francis King is back on the scene after two years in rehab. On the surface, this powerful psychic seems to have it all. He's got all the charm and looks that someone who can manipulate minds would have. And he's also Cordelia Moonstone's ex. Aside from this revelation, Millar also touches upon Francis' internal struggle as he's still got his demons. We're then hit with a literal punch as we rejoin the Order as they tackle a particularly nasty monster in Chelmsford. What makes the Osedax gruesome is that it likes to eat the bones, blood, and guts of its prey. Not only that it strings up its victim's fl...