Seth Harris

Comic Book Review – Danger Street

Danger Street (2024)
Reprints Danger Street #1-12
Written by Tom King
Art by Jorge Fornés

Why do I pick up a new Tom King comic if I dislike his work? [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] You might be asking that. The premise for Danger Street is the sort of thing that would naturally hook someone like me. It’s based on First Issue Special, a short-lived D.C. Comics series from the 1970s, in which each issue served as a “pilot” for an ongoing project. The proposed titles spanned a diverse gamut from established but obscure heroes (Dr. Fate, Creeper, and Metamorpho) to reboots of concepts (New Gods, Manhunter, and Starman) to new ideas that used familiar tropes (Atlas, Warlord, Codename: Assassin) to complete weird left turns (The Green Team, Lady Cop, Dingbats of Danger Street, and The Outsiders). King takes all these characters, and attempts to weave a sprawling tale that mixes the epic feel of comics with the grounded takes of more post-modern comics. Like most of King’s work, the concept is far more interesting than the execution.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – CY_Borg Part Four

CY_Borg (Free League Publishing)
Written and designed by Christian Sahlén and Johan Nohr

You can purchase CY_Borg here

You can download the CY_litary De.file_ment solo rules here

Read how Zalec’s adventure began here

Before Zalec heads to The Fickle Fig, she doubles back to Blink the Tinkerer, tossing them the packet of Vurt. Blink grins from ear to ear and gestures that Zalec can take any item she likes. Among the shelves, the gearhead discovers a SmartMine. This object is just like a typical mine – triggered by pressure – but it has cloaking tech, so it blends into any surface you place it on. That could come in handy. The only problem is that Zalec can’t tell what the mine will do when set off.

(Because I double-backed, I’m making myself have to get through one more street before my destination.)

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Notorious: Outsiders Part Three

Notorious: Outsiders (Always Checkers Publishing)
Written and designed by Jason Price
Art by Torben Bokemeye

You can purchase Outsiders here

Read part two of Korris’s trilogy here

Korris Bek’s eyelids fluttered open as the stim moved through his system. He could see the blue skies of Talus overhead and feel the dread bore a pit through his stomach. Days earlier, the Nomad had been scanning what Guild contracts were available to him. Due to his first two missions, Korris has garnered a reputation for being a clumsy rookie who destabilizes the places he visits. The Guild had a reputation for handling things with finesse, but Korris contradicted that. The only open contract he could find that was available to him was issued by the Yonn Cartel. When he closed his eyes, Korris could still feel the ‘lectro-lashes’ of the guards in striking his back, singing his fur, leaving it a permanently blackened tone.

Movie Review – Au Hasard Balthazar

Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
Written and directed by Robert Bresson

Robert Bresson was not a part of the French New Wave. He was in his fifties by the time Godard, Truffaut, and company started their cinematic revolution. Bresson is a reminder that French films were already doing things far differently from their Hollywood counterparts. When you watch a Bresson film, you might feel a distance from yourself and his characters, which can be misinterpreted as “coldness.” To understand Bresson and his work, you need to know of his three primary influences: His Catholic upbringing, his time as a prisoner of war, and his love of art, particularly painting. He was never interested in filmmaking as a way to create great wealth, though he lived comfortably his whole life. Instead, film was the most apt means for the director to express his thoughts about the human condition.

Movie Review – The Passion of Joan of Arc

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Written by Joseph Delteil and Carl Theodor Dreyer
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

How could a Dane make a film about Joan of Arc and do her story any justice? This was the sentiment of many French nationalists when Carl Theodor Dreyer was invited by the Société Générale des Films to make a film about the historical figure as her popularity resurged in the 1920s. Dreyer spent a year studying the transcripts of her trial before starting to write the script. He would cast Renée Jeanne Falconetti as Joan, an actress who never appeared in another film and died at age 54 by suicide. When it was released, various institutions deplored the picture. The French government censored it so as not to offend Catholics. It was banned in the U.K. due to its accurate depiction of English soldiers. Critics claimed it was a bore and gave it poor reviews. Yet, decades later, it is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made.

Movie Review – Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing (1989)
Written and directed by Spike Lee

Every ten years since 1952, the British film magazine Sight & Sound has conducted a poll among invited critics and directors to determine an ever-shifting list of the 250 greatest films of all time. The most recent list of poll results was released last year, with Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (dir. Chantal Akerman) topping the list. I decided to pick a few films near the top that I have not seen or have only seen pieces of to further my cinematic education.

TV Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes 19 thru 26

Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episodes 19 through 26
Written by Hideaki Anno, Akio Satsukawa, and Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Directed by Masayuki, Masahiko Ōtsuka, Hiroyuki Ishidō, Akira Takamura, Shōichi Masuo, and Kazuya Tsurumaki

When I first started watching Neon Genesis Evangelion at the start of the year, I read that some fans hated the ending of the anime series. I wanted to know why that could be. Now that I have finished the show, I completely understand why some of the audience would not like this. I, however, am a big weirdo, and I loved it, yet I get that it goes in a wildly different direction and doesn’t provide the direct sort of conclusion you might expect from a show about giant “robots” fighting monsters from space. Of course, I will be watching and reviewing the two feature films that serve as a complementary ending next month, but for now, I just want to focus on the series.

PopCult Podcast – Challengers/Sasquatch Sunset

In one film we follow the complex intersection of sex, sports, and relationships. In the second, we see life from the perspective of animals where mortality is sudden & cold.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – CY_Borg Part Three

CY_Borg (Free League Publishing)
Written and designed by Christian Sahlén and Johan Nohr

You can purchase CY_Borg here

You can download the CY_litary De.file_ment solo rules here

Read how our last CY_Borg adventure ended here

For this playthrough of CY_Borg, I decided to go with one of the six classes in the core book. A d6 roll had me as an Orphaned Gearhead. Things are named very specifically in all the Borg games, but the text doesn’t define them. This evocative design makes it so that each player or group’s experience with CY_Borg will be very different while still following basic genre tropes. I interpreted “Orphaned” as someone who had been under the guardianship of a corporation and then dropped when that corp dissolved or was taken over.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Notorious: Outsiders Part Two

Notorious: Outsiders (Always Checkers Publishing)
Written and designed by Jason Price
Art by Torben Bokemeye

You can purchase Outsiders here

Read the first chapter in Korris’s trilogy here

The Nomads have let Korris know they are not happy with his performance on Oceron. Too much attention drawn to his activities makes the Guild vulnerable. As a result, Korris finds himself limited in contracts he can pick up, but he also gets a few more messages from other Nomads telling him they’re impressed he took down a Dreng warrior.