arts / 8

 

Chairman of the Board:

I'm better than you

» ‘Superfight’ game review

Ed Appleby
illustrator
Miillustrator
@theotherpress.ca

 

favourite pastime of many

introverted intellectuals
is to ponder the big questions
in life, like who would win ina
fight. Now you can sharpen your
debate skills and answer the big
questions at the same time.

Superfight is a storytelling
card game for three to 10 players
designed and published by
Skybound in 2013. In the game,
players are dealt three character

: cards and three power/weakness

: cards. Players then pick one of

: each to build their fighter, then

: draw another power/weakness

: card at random to add to their

: character. Players then reveal

: their cards and debate about who
: would win. The table votes on the
: winner.

Superfight is definitely a

: game for nerds of all ages. The

: simplicity of the game makes

: it great to play with kids, while

: older players can find several

: different angles to approach the

: game. Some of the characters and
: powers are just ridiculous, which
: makes the game highly enjoyable.

The one thing to be wary of

: is the type of player who takes the
: game too seriously. Sometimes a

: player has a hard time accepting

: that their fighter won't win and

: will try to verbally beat down the
: other players until they concede

: just to shut that player up. The

: effect can sour the game for

: everyone, so either avoid playing

: with this type of player or institute
: a strict debate and voting policy

: like in games such as Werewolf.

Superfight is a fun game that’s

: great for large and diverse groups
: that enjoy thinking creatively and
: don't need a lot of complex rules

: bogging them down.

 

Comic Corner: Keeping it local

» ‘Mega Fauna’ anthology review

Brittney MacDonald

8 Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle

@theotherpress.ca

00000

 

Ms Fauna is a graphic :
novel anthology released by :
: conservation. This is juxtaposed
: against stories like Little Tiny :
: Giraffe by Kathleen Jacques, a less :
: serious and more laugh-worthy
: tale about a woman who wishes
: for avery interesting kind of pet
: from a magical fish.

Vancouver publisher Cloudscape
Comics. It features short stories
written and illustrated by local
writers and artists, who came
together to produce this work
with an animal theme. However,
with creatures like unicorns and

dinosaurs, the term “fauna” might :
: stories were well-researched,
: especially where their animal
: subjects were concerned.

: However, there were a few

be a bit of a stretch.
Since this collaborative work
is made up of 25 different short

: stories, discussing narrative

: and plot isa little difficult.

: Overall there is a good mixture
: of both serious and fun tales,

: and J enjoyed most of them.

: On the more serious side are

: stories such as A Grandmother's
: Tale by lan Thomas and Jeri

: Weaver, a beautifully illustrated
: dream sequence teaching

the importance of ocean

I found the majority of the

: exceptions, such as Amanda

: and the Mantis by Cameron

: Morris and Nina Matsumoto.

: The story is based on a widely

: believed praying mantis theory

: that’s less than factual, which is a
: little disappointing to see in this
: anthology.

Art-wise, this graphic novel

: is all over the place as far as styles
: and quality go. For the most

: part, the artists did a fantastic

: job. It was actually kind of nice

to experience so many different

: artists’ works in a single volume,
: and there are definitely a few that
: I will be following now.

Asa collective work,

Mega Fauna works really well.

: I certainly recommend it,

: especially if you're a Vancouverite
: looking to support your local

: comic book scene.

theotherpress.ca

  

Has the time of the

Avengers ended?

» ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ movie review

Jony Roy
Social Media Coordinator

Awe: Age of Ultron,

the newest addition
to Marvel’s ever-growing
cinematic universe, takes
place a few years after the
events of The Avengers, with
the superhero team facing off
against Ultron, a robot bent
on destroying humanity in
an attempt to achieve world
peace. The sequel boasts more
action, crazier visuals, and
more characters, but it retains
a lot of the humour of the
original.

Director Joss Whedon
explores the relationships
between the characters in a
much deeper way than before.
In particular, two characters
who haven't been as fleshed
out in past movies, Hawkeye
(Jeremy Renner) and Hulk
(Mark Ruffalo), both get a
lot more screen time and
development in this film.
While the trailers suggest a
much darker tone, the sequel
actually feels a lot like the
original, for the most part.
Whedon once again works his
magic with plenty of humour

heroes and villains.

James Spader is brilliant
as the voice of Ultron, and
definitely presents a very
interesting take on the
homicidal robot character.
Although the funny dialogue
Ultron delivers sometimes
takes you out of the movie, it
usually works and makes him
much more unique than your
typical robotic antagonist.

Other additions to the
cast include Scarlet Witch
(Elizabeth Olsen), Quicksilver
(Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and
Vision (Paul Bettany). Scarlet
Witch and Quicksilver don’t

: feel as vital to the movie as

: they could have been, with this
: interpretation of Quicksilver
eS gy gy eS ey : grounded but weaker than the
: version we saw in X-Men: Days
: of Future Past. That being said,
: they’re still welcome additions
: to the cast, and don’t take

: anything away from the movie.
: Vision is great and definitely

: shines the most as a new

: character.

definitely being more

The main thing that falls

: short about Age of Ultron is

: the fact that it lacks some

E of the magic of the original.

: When The Avengers was

: released three years ago,

: superhero team-up movies in
: ashared universe had never

: been done before. Combined
: with Whedon’s great chemistry
: and writing, the original film
: was a very novel experience.

: While this movie takes the

: concept of The Avengers

: further by introducing new

: characters and being more

: visually cinematic than ever,

: it fails to capture that novel

: feeling of the previous film.

Another issue with this

: film is that there is a certain

: romantic subplot that feels
corny and a bit forced. While
: not too much screen time

: was given to this subplot, it

and witty dialogue for both the : definitely had some issues.

That said, I would highly

: recommend this movie to

: anyone who enjoyed the first
: Avengers film, or to anyone

: who loves comic book movies
: in general. It is entertaining,

: hilarious, and visually

: stunning. This movie is best-
: suited to a larger theatre or

: IMAX.

Two movies you should

definitely watch before this

: oneare The Avengers and

: Captain America: The Winter
: Soldier. A lot of this film’s plot
: will make more sense if you've
: seen those films first.

Image courtesy of Disney