RedShirtCrew will be on Temporary Hiatus

Hello, Internet!  The Red Shirt Crew will be taking a brief brake for the month of December.  As you may or may not be aware, our amazing staff is populated entirely by volunteers, most of whom are currently students.  As such in the coming weeks they will be completing final projects, studying for and taking exams and then attempting to spend time with their families over the holidays, likely with plenty of travelling involved.  Since we don’t have the money to pay them to work despite their personal lives, we’ve decided it’s best for our writers and our site, that we should take the month off.

Fear not, internet crew members.  We shall return in January, with new ideas, hopefully a little new structuring and bring you more of the wonderfully delicious writing you’ve hopefully come to expect from our site.  Happy holidays, happy New Year, and we promise to see you again soon.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew, and currently running an experiment in “frugal Christmasing”, which is not going well.

Stephen Watson, a.k.a. Doc Watson, is an editor and writer for the Red Shirt Crew, who’s family has already begun driving him crazy, with weeks to go still until Christmas.

Chase Wassenar, a.k.a. MaristPlayBoy, is an editor and the founder of the Red Shirt Crew, and as usual, is currently trapped in a foreign country.

Review: Brain Boy #3

This is the moment that I’ve been both waiting for and dreading: the next but last issue in this brief Brain Boy mini-series.  Oh, Fred van Lente, please find it in your heart to give me more glib psychic goodness!

This is a terrific conclusion to the story, because it leaves everything wide open for a continuation of the story at some point in the future.  There is a twist that I genuinely didn’t see coming and some surprising revelations about Price’s past.  All and all, an amazing mini series.

I always nitpick though, when little things aren’t right, and I spotted a few things in this issue that didn’t make sense.  First, in the intro, Luisa and her father a speaking.  They are naturally speaking in Spanish, with the text in English and “” brackets, a fairly typical way of noting the use of a foreign language.  And then her father uses the word “hija”.  It’s translated from Spanish.  There should be no Spanish words.

Fine, so I’m nit picking, but then there is a bubble of air from which Price “could breathe indefinitely”.  That’s… it would become carbon dioxide.  You couldn’t possibly breathe indefinitely from a bubble.  You just can’t!  Still too nit picky?  Well there is a huge continuity issue between the start of the mini series and the conclusion (I won’t say what for spoiler protection sake) but it’s kinda a big issue because the end is in congruent with the start of the story!

A few little issues don’t a bad story make, certainly still worth $2.99.  I still recommend this, but I also recommend a little more care on van Lente’s part.  You know those nerds out there will attack you for your lack of science in your fictional world!

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  If he were a psychic, he’d probably use it for cheap parlor tricks, completely disregarding his Uncle Ben’s sage advice.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: Dark Horse Presents #30

Chapter 1’s and one shots abound in this issue of Dark Horse Presents, which can only be for the better in my opinion.  If you’ve read my last two reviews, I’ve not been particularly fond of the latest issues.  Thankfully this one is back in league with what I’ve come to expect from Dark Horse Presents.

Chapter 1 of Saint George: Dragonslayer is the tale of a Roman hero, Draconarius Georgius, fighting to quell an Egyptian uprising.  There is action, secrets, camaraderie and the promise of adventure.  I’ve been loving Fred van Lente‘s Brain Boy and while it’s still early in this story, I have a feeling I’m going to really enjoy this too.

Chapter 1 of Integer City is a new private investigator story in the futuristic Interger City from Jamie S. Rich.  This story is okay.  There are a number of references to how Integer City was planned out to be mathematically perfect, and my mathematician side is intrigued to know more about the setting, but the plot isn’t anything exciting: Jonny Kilmeister is on the case to find an unknown stolen object.  That’s about all we know.  I won’t say this is a bad comic, but I’m not excited yet.

The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy is clearly inspired by such childhood TV cartoons as The Smurfs and the 1960’s George of the Jungle.  But where they are perfectly happy to kill characters.  The villain spells out the plot aloud, to himself, as one would expect of a kids cartoon.  Stan Sakai could have at least given him a familiar to talk to!  It’s cute but definitely aimed at a younger audience.

Chapter 11 of Alabaster: Boxcar Tales follows where Dancy Flammarion was during the events of the previous two chapters, something I was certainly wondering, seeing as she’s the main character.  It’s mostly plot and exposition, but it’s engaging enough to work.  Most every chapter in an issue of Dark Horse Presents is 8 pages, and some that are all background can feel very long, but Caitlin R. Kiernan makes it feel really quick.  Well done.

Chapter 5 of Nexus: Into the Past is better than the last issue, mostly because we now know what Hellpop’s daughters have to do with the plot.  I love mysteries, but I hate not knowing.  And the time traveling chase continues!  I still love this series, and am looking forward to the next chapter as always.

Chapter 1 of Monstrous is the new comic I am most looking froward to seeing more of.  This race of demon/alien/monsters are called the Lacerti and they methodically round up and kill the last remnants of the human race, but one victim, our narrator, found himself trapped in the body of his killer.  Great post apocalyptic setting, I can’t wait to see where this goes, though I have a few suspicions.

Chapter 9 of Crime Does Not Pay is much like the other chapters in this series, in that it’s not really my thing.  Corrupt cops running around with little to no plot.  But I do have a major complaint this time that anyone following this series should know: in my preview copy, the 55th page is replaced by a duplicate of the 49th page (the title page for this story).  If you are following this story in particular check for this before you purchase at your local store!

Chapter 4 of Mr. Monster: Dark Stern is much better than it has been.  I think it’s interesting that I like chapter 1 and chapter 4, but not the two in the middle.  And that I felt the two in the middle were too slow.  Maybe if they were compressed into 8 pages, I’d have liked this series more.  If you liked the series thus far, it’s definitely a well done conclusion.

Chapter 3 of The Strain: The Fall – The Silver Angel is the conclusion of a series that I’ve been kind of if-y about thus far.  We finally see the connection between the flashbacks the Silver Angel has been seeing and his apparent suicide mission.  I think given the conclusion, this isn’t a bad total story, but it doesn’t work well deconstructed like this.

Now & Then is a one shot by Chad Lambert which explores the curious nature of memory.  And I have a weird deja vu sensation, which if Lambert somehow induced that, then my hat off to him.  Regardless, it’s a deeper comic than most found in Dark Horse Presents and that change of pace is nice.

Finally, FINALLY, I’m back to being able to recommend the Dark Horse Presents issue.  It is once again worth the $7.99.  Thank you Dark Horse, I was starting to get a little concerned.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  He is glad to have some new series, as the old ones were getting stale.  Now, if only they could get something interesting to happen in the City of Roses… You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: X #7

This is a very unusual issue of X, because X barely shows up.  This issue actually focuses on the officer we met in the last issue, Officer Ruidoso, as he hunts X with a band of police misfits and has to deal with the meddling of Lt. Setter and his Dogs of War.

Ruidoso’s team is oddly perfect.  They each have points in their background which speaks to their incorruptibility, but also skills which make the team well rounded and capable in just about any normal situation.  Unfortunately, X is not a normal situation.

I really like this team.  They have a sort of chemistry.  They crack jokes, they have their own personality.  They’re brave and they work well together.  There’s this one scene where they are sitting around in their civvies, and I swear they look like they could be a superhero team chilling out of costume.  I’m really wondering which/how many of them are going to end up working with/for X by the time this series is done.  It would make for an excellent team: them, Leigh and X dishing out some Vigilante justice.

Unfortunately for this review, there is a lot of major stuff that happens in this issue that for reasons of spoiler protection I just can’t reveal, which sort of leave me no choice but a brief review.  I really enjoyed this issue and definitely recommend this series, if you aren’t already reading it, you should be.  This issue, like all the others, is just $2.99.  If you want to get caught up, this may be issue #7, but it’s only the second issue in this story arch, so you can just get #6 to be all caught up on the action.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  he hopes that Duane Swierczynski reads this and reads The Occultist, because they are referencing ‘the X-Killer’ and I would love to see X’s next adventure feature a magical big bad.  You can follow Holmes on twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: S.H.O.O.T. First #2

I was rather unkind in my last review of S.H.O.O.T. First.  This was mostly because their own universe collapses in on it’s own rules.  This however is issue #2, and so I will give the series carte blanche under suspension of disbelief.  Because once you ignore the inherent flaws of the structure of the setting, the story told in that universe is not bad.  Not great, but not bad.

This comic takes us a couple months after the initial story and last time’s new member, Infidel, is still struggling to get used to what he now knows about the world.  I won’t spoil the who, but it looks like he might not be the only one having a bit of a crisis of faith.  To me, this is what this issue is about.  Not crises of faith specifically, but it’s about the members of the team.

Bett does needlepoint and tells Infidel a little about he background and we learn why Mrs. Brookstone’s son seemed magical/cursed/nonhuman at the end of the previous issue.  Byron has a much sillier sense of humor than the traditional British stereotype, but does love his alcohol.  I don’t really feel like I learned much about Robot or Kenshin.  This helped a lot because now I feel like the characters are actually characters, not just manikins with guns.

But the big thing that’s missing is interpersonal relationships.  Not necesarily romantic, but anything between them.  Bett is the one exception.  Like I said, she talks to Infidel, the needlepoint (“Smile!  There’s no God!”) is a gift for Byron.  She acts like they are people and like she wants to get along with them and wants to know the people she’s fighting along side.  The others act like player characters in games that don’t really care about getting to know the NPCs fighting beside them.  I realize that some of these things take time to introduce in a series, but both of the tidbits about Bett that we know came in interpersonal interactions.  Give us more of that!

This was better, but I’m still not convinced it’s worth $3.99.  But at least this issue inspires hope that there is a future for this series.  We’ll see.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  He plays a lot of pen and paper RPGs and puts a Hell of a lot of effort into his character’s story, personality and so on.  No one wants to play a gingerbread man.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes, or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: Bloodhound: Crowbar Medicine #2

Crowbar Medcine is heating up.  Clevenger is loaned to the US military and there’s a vigilante in town who impressively enough can stand his own against Clev.  It’s a race to hunt down Dr. Morgenstern, but can Clev get to him before his plan come to fruition?  I don’t know yet, I just like rhetorical questions.

There’s a lot going on in this issue, as you can see from the above.  First of all, Clevenger is now working under Major Boudreau, not the FBI, and he’s clearly not used to people defying him.  They will not get along well, and I like this.  Clev does just about everything he can to annoy the Major and it makes a number of the scenes quite comical.  I love it.

Then there is the vigilante, Terminus.  A number of things about: him he has powers… maybe?  Maybe it’s just another trait of his bulletproof suit?  He also carries two revolvers, which is like “why have revolvers if you have powers and are a pretty kick ass fighter?”, you know?  Massive props to either Dan Jolley or Leonard Kirk, whomever is responsible for Terminus’s emblem, because I’m a nerd hand have been looking for a cool way to incorporate either a contour integral or a section symbol into a superhero insignia.  The eye shape is elegant and beautiful.  It’s a little bit mystic, a little bit Eye of Horus, a little mathematics.  It’s fantastic.  I am such a nerd.

The last thing I just want to briefly mention, because I don’t want to go into any spoilers or anything, is that Dr. Morgenstern has at least one person willing to take him up on his offer that we know of, who I’m guessing will become our “mini boss” before Clev and company take on Morgenstern himself (and possibly an army of mutants?).  Looks promising!

I can’t wait to see what the next issue brings us.  Go check it out, $3.99 for 32 pages is a great deal.  If you didn’t catch part one, you can read my review and then purchase a copy of that too, to get caught up.  It’s worth it, I swear.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  He just can’t get over the walrus mustache on the Major, and doesn’t blame Clev in the slightest for not taking him seriously.  You can follow Holmes on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight

I can’t figure out if this is the end of the story or not… but I guess I’m getting a little ahead of myself.  This issue of Grindhouse continues the story of the Bee Vixens From Mars and is mega action packed.

I’m not even sure where to start with this comic.  I guess I should start off by saying that the first issue didn’t even begin to express how bad-ass Garcia is.  She kicks some major ass in about four different ways in this issue and it’s pretty boss.  She’s Ghost Rider, the Punisher and Hercules, in a package that looks like a female, tattooed Nick Fury.

In my last review, I talked about the visual design of the Bee Vixens, and this time we get to see their queen and she is every bit as beautifully designed as the drones, just the right combination of alien and insect.  I am a little disappointed because the first third or so of the comic is monotone orangey-pink.  I don’t have a problem with mood lighting, which is effectively what this is, but it goes on just a little too long.  I don’t know, maybe I’m being over picky.  A little later they add some purple and then quickly some green which is still a limited pallet, but much more tolerable.  Yeah, I’m probably juts being over picky.

So the problem I get is it feels both final, and like there should be more to Garcia’s story.   Like she’s done with this adventure, but she deserves another, you know?  I want to see her kick more ass, but there just really isn’t much ass left to kick in this little town anymore.  The comic ends with “The End” followed by the comment “Next month: Hot girls do hard time in outer space in Prison Ship Antares” , so I guess we’re moving on.  Unless Garcia’s a prison guard or something…

I recommend this series you can find part 1 here, and part 2 here, both for $3.99.  If you aren’t going to read both, it’s not worth it, but I think the whole story (64 pages, nearly regular comics in length) is worth the eight bucks.  Here’s to looking forward to their next story!

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  He would not like to meet an angry Garcia in a dark… well anywhere dark really… or sunny for that matter.  Not alone.  Not without and army, or at least a mech.  You can join his army on Twitter at @BStreetHomes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: Occultist #2

The Occultist continues to be exceptionally well done.  Which is quite an accomplishment when the issue is almost entirely plot development.  Actually might be one of my favorite plot development stories because you can just see the collapse of all things good coming.

Okay, first I want to put a huge “Hells yes” to the writer, Tim Seeley.  Why?  Because I also read X for the Red Shirt Crew reviews, and he made a reference to the series!  It really made me want to go back and look through the first series to see if there were any hidden references in that one.  I just like the other series as well, and it’s really cool to see that Seeley is a fan too.

Of course, the comic in its own right does deserve praise for the writing, not just for referencing something else I like (otherwise they could just reference jelly beans in every issue and I’d be elated).  Like I said in the intro, there isn’t much action in here: Rob meets some fellow college students, they hang out, they also use magic together.  In a nut shell that’s all that happens.  But you get enough glimpses of threats and things possibly to come that it still holds your attention.  I get bored easily when a comic doesn’t have action (assuming the genre is action oriented to begin with), but that didn’t happen here.

We also get to see a little more of Anna and Mr. Charles.  They only have brief appearances, but they are both enlightening and curious.  Not too much.  There is still a considerable focus on Rob, as there should be, but there is enough of the other two that we learn something new and (those of us who are new to the Occultist characters) don’t forget who they are.

I have a feeling this was super obvious already, but total recommendation.  I was shaky regarding my recommendation from the last issue, but now that things have gotten moving, I am totally on bored.  Grab yourself $3.50 and get to a comic store.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  He’s writing this article very late at night, as he was distracted by YouTube.  We’ve all been there, haven’t we?  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes, or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

AoaRD #10: An Orc’s End

After much postponing, the adventures of Urbal gro-Dushnikh begin again.  Skyrim is a strange and fantastical place, filled with mystery, adventure and surprises, but Urbal just want to learn how to smith and for the rest of the world to just leave him alone.

Flashback     Part 1     Part 2     Part 3     Part 4     Part 5     Part 6     Part 7     Part 8     Part 9

3rd of Heartfire, 201

Uthgerd and I left not long after the incidence with the ghost.  Neither of us could sleep with it babbling on about his soldier friend.  Markarth was near. We made it to the gates just as the shops were opening for the morning.  It was a quick visit, only long enough to buy supplies and assure those we’d promised to help that their requests had been completed.

After we’d set out for Riften, we were attacked by another dragon.  I still don’t like these fiddly bows, but I have a hard time arguing when Uthgerd can knock a dragon from the sky with one.  I’m getting more comfortable with the prospect of fighting dragons, although I still wish they’d simply leave — they can go to Elsweyr and bother the Khajit.  Sounds like most of them’ve left anyhow.

Started to rain late afternoon. Chose to duck into a little cave to keep dry. Some sabre cats in there, but nothing we couldn’t handle.  We also found an old sword, still in great condition.  There was a note with it that said it was the sword of the last Blade, the old king’s guard in Cyrodiil’s Imperial City. I doubt it. The skeleton next to it wasn’t clad in blade’s armor. Still fine craftsmanship, none the less.

We’re staying the night in the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverrun. I like this inn. The locals leave me alone.

Urbal gro-Dushnik
________________________________________________________________

4th of Heartfire, 201

After deliberating with the innkeeper and Uthgerd late into the night, we decided the southern mountain pass would be the faster route to Riften, even if the weather might slow us down if it turned ugly.  Following the river North just seemed like it would take forever and I have already delayed the start of my Journmanship too long.

As we climbed through the mountains, we met an Orc standing sentry by the roadside. I inquired as to his purpose, but he told me he had none, that he was past usefulness. There is an old Orc saying Ghorza used to say all the time — that an object without use should be destroyed.  He was waiting for a worthy assailant who could give him an honorable Orcs death in combat.  For all her battlelust, I doubt Uthgerd will ever understand why he and I crossed swords.  

May Malacath exalt his soul.

In the afternoon, we were struck with a blizzard, as we had feared we might.  We took refuge in a cave, which turned out to be the home of a vampire coven.  As we delved deeper, we found the old dog Barbas and a great statue of Clavicus Vile.  Like his dog, he seems able to speak to my mind.  I’m not fond of these mental invasions.  He wants me to bring him an axe from the other side of Skyrim.  As if all of the dragons weren’t enough of a problem.

We’re resting in the small town of Ivarstead for the night, just on the other side of the mountains.  We’re almost to Riften.  Looking forward to working with Balimund with great anticipation.

Urbal gro-Dushnikh

Review: Dark Horse Presents #29

So my last review of Dark Horse Presents was less than flattering.  In fact, it was the first issue of Dark Horse Presents that I’ve ever not recommended.  So you can understand my hesitation when this month’s issue came out.  It’s not as bad, but it still only get’s a conditional recommendation.

Chapter 2 of The Strain: The Fall – The Silver Angel is better than last time at least.  Some action, a little bit of story, but the Silver Angel doesn’t seem to have any motivation for what he’s doing, unless it’s a death wish, I guess.  Looking to next month’s conclusion of the miniseries to see if there’s any point behind his actions.

Snip Snip is a bit of a whimsical variant of the Underground series seen in issues 25-27 of Dark Horse Presents.  Themed gang wars.  It’s above ground, and very cartoon-y (the hero looks a little like Steamboat Willie).  I can’t really call it “bad” but it was in the unfortunate position of following close behind a similar story.

Alone with Mag the Hag is another Edgar Allen Poe Work brought to the page by Richard Corben.  In the last issue of Dark Horse Presents I said that this only worked as a one shot.  I realize in retrospect that that is a little ambiguous.  What I meant was that particular story did not need more pages.  I would love a collection of short stories by Edgar Allen Poe from Corben, and with any luck, this piece is an indication that he may be working towards just that.

Chapter 10 of Alabaster: Boxcar Tales is much more interesting than last time.  The big hole in the last chapter was that nothing productive really happened.  This time at least, we get some emotional plot development, even if the characters don’t get anywhere.  I do worry a little that the pace picks up too much and that they wouldn’t lay well next to each other, even though they are clearly intended to.

Chapter 5 of Nexus: Into the Past is different.  Until now it’s been a chase through time and that’s about it.  Entertaining, but straight forward.  Now, we have some intrigue, some surprise, something going on more than just Hellpop’s hunt for Clayborn.  We see a scene for Hellpop’s daughters, no clue how they’re involved in the story yet though, as well as his wife.

Chapter 6 of Trekker: The Train to Avalon Bay is the final chapter of this story and rightfully ends with a great fight scene and some witty banter.  I’ve liked this series, but I think I’m done with Trekker for a while.  Nothing against it, but it took six months to get this story told, so it feels like I’ve been reading it forever.

Chapter 4 of the Nosferatu Wars is… very strange.  Imagine watching Inception and then finding out at the end that the whole time they were in the mind of a werewolf.  It’s that level of twist ending.  It’s just a bad aftertaste for an otherwise excellent series.  The art is still beautiful, I’m just not so sure about the decisions on how to conclude it.

Chapter 3 of Mr. Monster: Dark Stearn is more of the same from last time.  It just seems like a bridge (an unnecessary one) to the finale.  I think this chapter and the last one could have been compressed into one, and we could have gotten to the conclusion a little quicker.  Still, they say the fourth chapter will be the last, so there’s a blessing.  Doc Stearn has been a really boring protagonist since he split from Dark Strean.

Chapter 10 of Blood is confusing to me.  I mentioned in my last review that I hadn’t gotten to read the first 8 chapters and that this left me a little out of the loop on the setting and situation that I found myself in last time and it just gets worse this time.  I’ve never seen someone use hemokenesis to pull blood out of their own body to attack someone (see cover of the issue).  It’s very different from anything I’ve ever read and I was just left lost from the weird place they picked the series back up.

Brainbot Jr. is just a single page this time, even shorter than the one that appeared back in Dark Horse Presents #26.  It’s still cute, and like I said then, it’s well suited to short pieces like this.

I would only recommend this issue to those who are following a series.  Trekker is a good conclusion, Nexus is interesting, at least things happen in Alabaster.  Hell, if you know what’s going on in Blood, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad of a read.  The question come down to if keeping up with your series of choice is worth $7.99 to you.  But I’d be willing to bet that if you aren’t following anything in here currently, it’s not worth that to you.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and the lead editor for the Red Shirt Crew.  He is glad to hear there will be a number of new comers next time, and has higher hopes for Dark Horse Presents #30.  If you wish to follow him on Twitter, you can find him at @BStreetHolmes, or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.