Staff Picks of the Week – March 23rd, 2017
Friday is here and it’s time for the Staff Picks of the Week! Each week, a select few of our staff share with you what has been keeping them entertained lately. And each week, you guys endure me sounding like a broken record! Maybe next week, I will type it all out Russian. Russia is all the rave lately, so why not? Before we get the picks, I always like to catch you up on what is new this week at Rogues Portal. Comics! We all love them, we all read them! Check out reviews for Transfer #1, Snotgirl Vol.1, Underwinter #1, The Gamma Gals #1, Helena Crash #1, and Ghostbusters 101 #1, plus a lot more! Check out Billy’s Interview with Dan Freeman, the creator of The Minister of Chance and The Light of September. Ryan shares his impressions of the Lawbreakers beta. We also have reviews for Assassin’s Creed, just released on Blu-Ray and the latest episode of Legion! Check out all the latest episodes of our podcasts! Take a listen to Comicsbound, Scooby Dos or Scooby Don’ts, The Comics Agenda, and Not Enough Resources. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, И теперь сотрудники выбирают неделю!
Amelia’s Pick of the Week – My staff pick of the week is the Wonder Woman storyline Blood & Guts. Back when DC switched up to The New 52, fans were disappointed with a lot of the changes to characters. I, myself, was furious with what they did to Constantine (but that’s a rant for another day). I honestly didn’t expect that characters would get better, but then Blood & Guts came along. This Wonder Woman series is fantastic! Charged with protecting an illegitimate son of Zeus from Hera’s wrath, Diana is thrown into an adventure that reveals her own origins and has her travelling from Hades to Mount Olympis to London to discover her own past, gather her new found family, and, of course, to kick-ass! The art is gorgeous, the story non-stop entertaining, and Wonder Woman herself? The most powerful I think I’ve ever seen her. Plus, the story arc is titled Blood & Guts. How can you resist?
Josh’s Pick of the Week – My pick of the week is without a doubt the new Power Rangers movie. While I have my hesitations about the movie, mainly the weird costume/character designs and more serious tone, it seems like a genuinely fun movie. Power Rangers has always done pretty great with diversity -with some hiccups along the way- and they continue down that path with this movie; not only is the main cast the most diverse superhero team we’ve seen on the big screen in regards to race, but one of the Rangers will also be gay in the movie and another will be on the Autism spectrum. I’ve been a huge fan of the franchise since I was a kid, so I’m pumped to see it make it’s return to the big screen, I just hope it lives up to the original. I say that knowing full well that the original was more bad than good, but I have so much love for that movie regardless. Every detail about this movie released, other than the design concepts, has gotten me more and more excited and hopeful for this movie. The cast seems likable and relatable while part of an interesting plot that adds new twists to the classic Power Rangers story. Power Rangers is out today (March 24th), so it looks like It’s Morphin’ Time!
Stephanie Pouliotte’s Pick of the Week – Whenever she gets anxious, Jenny Lawson doodles, and she’s been posting them on The Bloggess for a while now. Aside from helping us cope with own mental weirdness by getting lost in the intricate patterns, fantastically strange scenes, and inspirational quotes, it’s made us all realize that she’s even more wicked talented than we thought! Her online community The Bloggess Tribe (yes, we have a name. JOIN US!) loved them so much that she decided to collect them in an adult colouring book! You Are Here is a beautiful and functional guide for people who sometimes don’t know how to deal with their chronic anxiety, who need something to do with their hands when their brain can’t stop obsessing, who need a way to mend the broken bits with some therapeutic art making! Huzzah! It’s a book that was made by accident, but with love and care and support from her dedicated online community. It’s an outlet for all your pent up creative energy, it’s a meditative space filled swirls, maps, flowers, and cats, and it’s also the Jenny-hug you didn’t know you needed. Maybe you won’t find yourself, just know that YOU ARE HERE and you are loved. It’s An Owner’s Manual for Dangerous Minds so “Weird on, you bad-ass motherfucker!”
Greg’s Pick of the Week – The truth is after the fiasco that was Civil War II I ended up dropping most of my Avenger themed comics in my pull list. The one Avengers book that I am picking up is Occupy Avengers which is really a Hawkeye book. Since Civil War, Barton has been trying to redeem himself in his own mind for having to kill Bruce Banner. While his fellow superheroes are not happy with him the public is happy with him.
Instead of focusing on big world changing events Occupy Avengers is more of a street level book. The first couple of issues had Hawkeye investigating tainted water on an reservation, while recent issues have taken Barton and Red Wolf to Chicago, where he clashed with Nighthawk while investigating what turns out to be a factory full of life models. The series has been filled with action, comedy while being socially relevant. If you are looking to get away from world spanning heroes fighting heroes then Occupy Avengers may be for you.
Billy’s Pick of the Week – I love Gilmore Guys way more than I thought I would. A podcast by Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe, it’s a show where two male friends decide to watch Gilmore Girls in an episode-by-episode analysis. Do I have a thing for podcasts that go through shows episode-by-episode? With an intent to joke around? With a strictly enforced segmented format? YES. Although I’m glad I can proudly claim I hadn’t heard even ONE EPISODE of this before we started our own.
I’ve been listening to this podcast since I was told about it during the prep for our Gilmore Girls event last November, and it’s just so absolutely fun and positive. These guys have great chemistry and you can tell they genuinely enjoy the show. They’re not afraid to get weird, and I think they have a good perspective on enjoying a show when you’re not actually in the target demographic. Porter is a veteran fan, but Adejuyigbe is going through it for the first time. Listening to him ask questions about the future of the show or comment on the Simpsons-like nature of the side characters makes for a great time.
