issue 09 / volume 41 Comic Corner: Bored to death... » ‘The Walking Dead: Compendium One’ review Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor OOOOS f you love zombies and have existed within society for the past few years, you've likely The award-winning television show began as a successful comic series written by Robert Kirkman and featuring art by a plethora of talented contributors including Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, and Tony Moore. Though I was mildly interested in the show, issues with the narrative voice prevented me from getting too deep into the comic series. The book begins with Rick Writing-wise, my biggest issue with this series is the way : in which exposition is narrated. : Countless times I found that : characters often narrated their : current or future actions. As : an example, a group of the : characters encountered a : truck that they wanted to use, : Grimes waking up from a coma, : then follows him through his : journey in finding his family : : and leading a group of survivors : : to safety, or as safe a place as he : can find. The group first stops : at an idyllic farm, which then heard about The Walking Dead. : 8'V€° W¢Y fo an abandoned : prison once it becomes : : apparent that something a little : : more fortified might be needed : to keep the brain-hungry : masses at bay. so they stood in the middle : of an abandoned road and : painstakingly went through each step verbally before : making any physical effort ; towards checking out the truck. : Asa reader, it was like having ; the world’s most boring ESP. : The art was really engaging and featured a high contrast : ratio that seemed to accentuate : the drama of the storyline. : But there were issues with : consistency, probably because : there were so many artists : involved. Overall, I probably won't read any more from this title, : but I might recommend it to : fans of the show looking for : their between-seasons fix. arts // 9 Animesque: Beyond Pokémon » How I learned to stop worrying and enjoy Anime Adam Tatelman Senior Columnist Wwe I was growing up, it was all about Pokémon. Every kid got up Saturday morning to watch the cartoon, ripped off other kids at school for the playing cards, and locked themselves in their rooms to play the video games instead of doing their homework. Every kid, Animated Series, read Spider- Man comic books, and played Starfox. Most of the Poké-fans against those not of the faith, so I kept to my obviously superior hobbies and that was that. No Pokémon, and by extension, no Anime. Strange as it may sound, I began to avoid Japanese animation on principle. I was one of those kids who just didn’t get it. the odd cultural anomaly T occupy. I grew up witha Nintendo in the house. Sushi is a delicacy to me. You say Orson Welles, I say Akira Kurosawa. I’ve spent 10 years : practicing karate and I’m : absolutely obsessed with : ninjas. Yet I’ve never watched : so much asa single frame of : Anime in my life. So, after : much deliberation, my course : of action has become clear: | ? must undertake a critic’s hit : list of influential Anime. In my generation, Anime : has become equally a fixture : of western popular culture : as eastern. Entire archives of that is, except for me. I was the : modern film and television— kid who watched Batman: The : : drawn—have been inspired : by the efforts of Japanese : animators. TV channels like : Toonami are dedicated to enforced an exclusionist policy : playing Anime 24/7. The : massive influx of Anime in : need of English dubbing gave : work to a new generation of : voice actors in the ‘gos, most : of whom now rule the field. : The concept of animation : being “just for kids” was : obliterated by the “seinen” : (mature audience) genre of Only now dol understand : Anime, which incorporated : more cinematic elements and : darker, more mature themes. : I feel it is finally time for me : to acknowledge the global : impact Japan has had on all : forms of modern media. both live action and hand- The rules for this column : are as follows: : - Anime only, not Manga- : dependent series : - Feature films only, since a : whole Anime series would : take too long : - Dubs only, so the subtitles : don’t detract from the artwork : - Seinen only, since “shounen” : (younger audience) series have : entire litters of movies and : choosing one film wouldn't : represent the entire series This doesn’t mean I’m : finally going to watch all : that Pokémon I missed out : on when I was five years old. : Given the show’s premise : of children capturing : wild animals and training : them to do brutal battle in : tournaments for the glory : of the trainer, I’ve always : felt Pokémon had some : questionable undertones. But : Iam going to do my level best : to “get it.” So join me in the next : instalment of Animesque : as I dive into the incredibly : immodestly billed “work that : becomes a new genre itself,” : Shinichird Watanabe’s Cowboy : Bebop. iO me | a) hairman of the Board: Game-night of the living dead » ‘Zombies!!!’ game review Ed Appleby ilustrator Millustrator @theotherpress.ca [Tn could understand the zombie trend, and I just don’t get why they’re so understand why this zombie- themed game is so prolific. Zombies!!! is a tile exploration game for two to six players designed by Todd Breitenstein and published by Twilight Creations in 2001. Players move their characters around a city, attempting to escape before the zombie hordes overwhelm them. I found the mechanics of the game really simple. The game encourages a bold attack strategy and features a death mechanic that will set you back but not take you completely out of the game. You are encouraged to manage : your resources and hunt down : bullets and health instead of : attacking the horde head-on : all the time. There are also : cards that you can collect that : both help you and hinder other : players, and a limited play : mechanic stops the game from popular. However, I completely becoming too one-sided. The gameplay is fast- : paced, but can slow down : once you have more than : four players. I would suggest : between three and five fora : good game. The downside is : that the gameplay isa little : too simple in the base version, : with things quickly getting out : of hand in the 13 expansions. If you are a fan of the : zombie genre and/or you want : a quick fast-paced game, this : one is for you. The simplicity : of the game may wear thin : on you after a while, but it’s a : nice game for breaking in new : players.