Friday JFK Blogging

Thursday Comic

Solanin - Inio Asano

Solanin is the story of a group of disaffected twenty-somethings muddling through life and practising for a band that never goes anywhere. Although they're always messing around, there's also an ever-present tension between their childhood dreams and the drudgery of adult life - something that's brought into stark relief when tragedy strikes.

This is hardly untrodden territory, but Asano has a keen eye for realism in his scripting and artwork, and his characters are both flawed and likeable. Above all what Asano gave this book that I loved was a real sense of place and ambience. I feel like I know what it would be like to hang out with these characters - although I suppose a big part of it might well be that I'm a twenty-something myself, also struggling to figure out how to mix the things you want to do and the things you need to...

Backups

I have been busy this week.

Monday Movie: Dawn of the Dead

The bodies of the recently dead are returning to life to eat the living, and civilisation is collapsing. Two TV reporters and two SWAT troopers steal a helicopter and take off, hoping to reach safety in the north. As the situation below them grows ever more dangerous, and their fuel supplies ever lower, they land on the roof of a mall with its own civil defence shelter. Except... a life in a safe room eating tins of spam isn't nearly as appealing as securing the entire mall and all the luxuries it affords...

George A. Romero's low budget, apocalyptic, anti-capitalist Dawn of the Dead has often been imitated, but never bettered. A lonely, undead atmosphere permeates every scene, and, on the flipside of that, there's also a strong vein of tongue-in-cheek humour and a dedication to satisfyingly over-the-top scenes of gory action. Romero also presents a far more interesting take on his brand of cannibalistic zombies than any of the other people who've followed in his footsteps. These are zombies with a haunting humanity to them - pathetic shades of their former selves that are drawn to shop without any real understanding of why.

This is the week!

This is the week that I finish my latest project.

Or die trying.

Besson Directing Something without 'Arthur' in the Title

Luc Besson, one of the most visually striking directors you'll find, has apparently begun work on Les Aventures Extrodinaire d'Adele Blanc-Sec - which, to generalise wildly and baselessly, looks like it could be something of a steampunk Fifth Element.

Twitch have the good news.

Small Worlds

Small Worlds does the kind of thing that seems like such an amazingly good, naturalistic idea, you're surprised you've never seen it before. It's an exploration platformer - but as you visit new areas, the old areas are always still visible. In other words, the map zooms out steadily as you venture further out into it. Supremely nifty.

Hat tip TIGS.