Rogues Portal Staff Picks 8.3.2018

Hard to believe that summer is starting to wrap up and before long we will be intimidated by the amount of pumpkin spice choices that we have in our lives. But we do have a few more weeks left of summer. What shows, books, and podcasts should you be listening to and watching these last few weeks? Well, thankfully, we have a few ideas for you.

Without any more delay, here are the Rogues Portal Staff Picks for August 3rd.

Anelise’s Pick

Goliath

A two-season amazon prime series was my binge of the week. Unlike a lot of lawyer shows, this series does two things right: one, cast Billy Bob Thorton, obvi, and two, spend an entire season looking at just one case. Too many lawyer/cop shows have a different crime every episode, and for me, this distracts from the central characters, and I never feel fully invested. Here that’s not the case. Thorton plays a has-been lawyer who gets back into the game with a very personal case. And, despite all his flaws, his character is so gosh darn likable! Fantastic acting and interesting cases make this a fun, over-too-soon summer binge.

Michael’s Pick

The Immortal Hulk

Marvel started rolling out their “Fresh Start” comics earlier this summer, and Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk series is the freshest of starts.

Bruce Banner is back from the dead, and he’s hoping from town to town trying to keep a low profile and failing miserably. The stories so far have been dark and in the realm of horror. After all, as Bruce says, nighttime is “his” time.

We’ve had three issues so far, and each one is an example of Ewing’s masterful storytelling. I was particularly impressed with the third issue in which we get told about a Hulk sighting from different witnesses who all have their own version (and corresponding artwork) of the story. It was brilliant.

Hulk, horror, and honestly amazing (I know…the alliteration was a stretch) storytelling makes The Immortal Hulk a must-read.

Molly’s Pick

Joan of Arc: A Life by Mary Gordon

We all know about the “Maid of Orleans” who spoke with God, led an army to victory, and then was burned at the stake. I didn’t know much more than that before I started this book. Now, I’m full of names and dates and places from Domremy to Burgundy and beyond. Gordon has clearly done her research, and that allows her prose to move briskly through decades of military and religious conflict. It’s a short but powerful volume— even though the drama is 600 years out of date, it’s completely engrossing.

Greg’s Pick

Sport? With Katie Nolan

Anyone that knows me knows that besides comics, sports fill quite a bit of my free time. This includes watching live sports, listening to talk radio, and yes even podcasts. The one thing that does drive me crazy with some sports talk radio is the constant hot takes that have very few facts to support arguments, and in many ways lack any type of humor. 

Enter Sports? -With Katie Nolan. The podcasts start innocently enough, with a voicemail from listeners. However, those podcasts have little if anything to do with sports. In fact, they have run the gambit from helping to name someone’s dog, to trying to figure out why another called has been gifted three waffle iron’s over the year.

When it does come to the sports talk, Nolan is more often to take a light-hearted approach to the subject at hand. If and when the subject matter becomes more serious, instead of screaming over everyone else she often presents well balanced and well thought out arguments. Often, she will even do it debate style. She plays both parts, showing just home either complicated or ridiculous the argument is.

New Episodes come out once a week typically on Thursdays. So, if you like sports, or kind of like sports, or hate sports, Check out Sports? With Katie Nolan for some great entertainment.