REVIEW! Game of Thrones comics and more!

George R.R. Martins Hedge Knight

Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to all you patrons of the improbable, the surreal and the fantastical!

Today for your pleasure I bring a little-known treat for most and one I think is most appropriate now more then any time before.

The new comics variants!!

By now almost all of you will be familiar - either completely or at least in passing - with the phenomenon that is "Game of Thrones", the TV series adaptation of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of books by the amazing George R.R. Martin. We've all gaped in awe, shock and horror as we watched the beginnings of the deadly drama that would set the kingdoms of Westeros to the sword - the noble Houses of Stark, Baratheon, Targaryen and all the others that I'm sure you are remembering vivildy in full gory detail right now! And of course Khal Droga and his Dothraki, not to be forgotten!
Marvelous is it not? And not only was the show such a runaway success that they confirmed a second season after just ONE episode aired, but its become bigger still - recently there was an announcement for a Game of Thrones video game for which we saw the trailer at the E3 2011 event. And on top of that we have the recently released comic adaptation of the books themselves with some pretty awesome cover art by the legendary Alex Ross! (Oh and I have to be an arse here but can't help myself - I got a copy of #1!! Mine, all mine!! muahahahah!)

Anyway, with all this and the next season underway and soon to be back to the screen - anticipated with pounding heart by anyone and everyone who saw the stunning season finale - I decided to bring in a little something extra, something that got forgotten in the shadow of this mammoth saga, one that Martin is still writing to finish!

So without further adieu, I bring you George R.R. Martin's Hedge Knight! Produced years ago by the Image Comics and the now defunct Devil's Due Publishing, this was an adaptation of one of the stories from the Tales of Dunk and Egg, a series of short tales - novellas if you will - that take place in Westeros' past. More specifically these tales are set quite some time before the Song of Ice and Fire and in fact even before the rebellion of King Robert that we know about from these stories. In fact it is set a hundred or so years earlier in a more idyllic time when the vaunted and feared House Targaryen still rules supreme - the blood of the Dragon still on the Iron Throne!

Armageddon Expo 2011 (Auckland, New Zealand)

Myself and my awesome helper Renee

Again awesome Renee here with my other awesome helper fellow comic book creator, Susan Rugg.

I had been planning to launch our Online Comic Store at the Expo, which has been running now for a number of years. I had placed it in the top priority slot as its the biggest in Australasia. Numbers can usually vary around 18,000 and up - but this year it crossed 40,000!

This year was the third time I had attended but the first time I was there as a retailer myself. Being a retailer you get to see the amount of work that goes into putting in a such a huge effort into the smooth running of the events. I had a couple of very amazing young ladies help me out over the three days that we were there. The event itself was four days long. But I realised on Day 2 that it wouldn't be possible for me to stay the fourth day, so by the end of Day 3 we had packed up and left the venue, elated with the turnout and the response to us being there.

REVIEW: Ravanayan #3 & #4 - Double sized!

Ravan’s audition and Brahma’s casting ouch! (Spoilers ahoy)

Well written and equally well illustrated, Ravanayan issue 3 is a triumphant return to form after issue 2 which seemed more like an illustrated version of the “The story so far...” section of a book. The good folks at Holy Cow promised to treat us to a double issue this time round and the issue was a treat.

Coolest Indian Comic Cover Ever?

Most of Vijayendra Mohanty’s photos that I've come across till now depict him deep in thought. While most writers want to portray a brooding aspect to their personality, Mohanty appears to be someone who actually thinks. Ravan’s mindset throughout the issue is eloquently depicted in words. A noteworthy highlight is the dialogue between Brahma and Ravan - The conversation is quite interesting (though I sat in the brooding pose and have some questions which I shall raise later) and refreshing.

And speaking of refreshing, how cool is the way Brahma is depicted!!!

Being Thankful, Geek Style

Granted that it's a little bit past the date, but nonetheless, we here at Comic Addicts feel that we should do something to observe Thanksgiving. Recently Comic Geeks Unite asked fellow geeks what the best part of being a geek is. We're going to take that as a list of geeky things to be thankful for.

So without further delay, a geek's list of things and/or attributes to be thankful for:

We dig chicks.

We're smart.

Being a geek.

We're cool. Just 20 years ahead of our time.

Feel The ENIGMA - A wicked series in review

Enigma was a nasty little 8 issue series from Vertigo wherein the writer takes on everything from crazed vigilantes to road trips, the meaning of life and yes, comic books.

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So, what makes this different from other series' that have been lauded as "reinventing" and "reinvigorating" the comics genre?

Several things.

First, we don't know who the so called 'hero' of this drama is. Second.... even he doesn't.

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Orange Marmalade - no its not for your toast!

Orange Marmalade is one of those rare stories you come across that deals with social issues - albeit not directly since our protagonist here is a vampire-girl who wishes to get along with humans. I might have come across a few that deal with not-so-common life-issues, usually seen in Aya Nakahara’s work.

But this one beats them all with respect to how powerfully, yet subtly, the author has managed to bring out the plight of an outcast. 

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The story is a Korean supernatural drama web-comic written by Seok Woo. Apart from the fact that it is gorgeously drawn, making it look more like a series of screenshots from an anime, the perfectly paced story and narration makes it even more enticing to read.

More to Shonen then meets the eye!! (or ear...)

Hello manga fans, old and new!!

Tired of people recommending the same old titles like One piece, Bleach or Naruto when you ask them about good Shonen to read? Sick of finding no good feedback on anything but books that have been out for ages and/or long over instead of something more current? Well have to fear - your friendly neighbourhood ComicAddicts are here! 

To remedy this reprehensible situation our team has debated and finally made a shortlist which we now present to you, of five currently ongoing shonen manga (in no particular order) that you might want to try out:

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Blue Exorcist

The Son of Satan takes the fight to Satan by deciding to become an exorcist. Of course in typical shonen fashion he isn’t a very good exorcist, but he has plenty of raw power that he would need to control and master to be able to beat Satan! Varies from good to awesome, but the awesome is definitely pure awesome.