Staff Picks of the Week - March 31st, 2017 ⋆

Staff Picks of the Week – March 31st, 2017

It’s Friday! You know what that means! It is time for the Staff Picks of the Week! You know how the game is played. Each week a select few of our staff shares with you what has been keeping them entertained. Before we get to the picks, I usually share what’s new this week at Rogues Portal. We have comic book reviews for Black Hammer Vol. 1, Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special, Broken #1, Batgirl Annual #1, Letter 44 Vol. 1 and many more. Billy has been busy! Check out his review for The Boss Baby and his interview with Richard Oliver. Stephanie Cooke interviews Delilah Dawson, the writer of Ladycastle and Insha Ftizpartrick gives her review of The Zookeeper’s Wife. Don’t forget to check out our latest podcast episodes for Scooby Dos or Scooby Don’ts and The Comics Agenda. And we have plenty more for you to check out! And now it is time for the Staff Picks of the Week!

Christoph’s Pick of the Week – My pick this week is an iOS and Android app called Zombies, Run! If you like to run, but need some motivation or suspense while doing it, this is the app for you. Basically it’s a game and it wants you to get your ass out of the door. Its an interactive audio book, where you are a runner in a post-apocalyptic world. At the beginning of each mission you can set the desired distance or time of your run and then just get going. The missions (there are over 200) tell a continuous story. The coolest feature is the zombie chases. If you turn this option on, every once in a while you get a zombie alarm. Suddenly there are sounds behind you like groaning or gasping – now its time to really run. In order to escape the zombies you have to sprint for about 30 seconds and if they catch you, the app automatically discards an item in your possession.

The story, in combination with the chases, and the fact that you are free to run where you want, creates an immersive experience. It’s worth a try! You can use the app completely free of charge, but if you want more features its not really expensive (3€/month or 20€/year). One or two times a year there is also an event. The next one is from April 7th to April 18th. Its a new story and a worldwide virtual race, where you can compete with the other runners. You can even buy a themed T-Shirt and a comic. The creators clearly put there hearts into this project and I can’t believe I didn’t find this game earlier.

Rhian’s Pick of the Week – My pick of the week is the new Tank Girl comic ‘Two Girls One Tank‘, which is a fantastic read and a must-have for any die-hard Tank Girl fan! I was introduced to Tank Girl by some close punk friends in London and I’ve been obsessed with her ever since! She’s cool, she’s edgy ,and her hair cut is on point, reminds me of Mad Max! The new series from Martin and Parson carries on right where 21st Century Tank Girl left off and finds the eponymous hero faced with the question, “Is this world really big enough for two Tank Girls?!” It’s wild, action-packed, and quite sad in moments (don’t worry I won’t ruin it for you). It has a slightly dark undertone to it too. The comic is going to be a trilogy and I’m not quite if the other two comics are out yet, but I can’t wait to read them!

Michael’s Pick of the Week – My pick this week is a new podcast called S-Town. S-Town (clumsily censored from Shit-Town) is a podcast under the same brand as This American Life and Serial. The series seems like it’s going to be in the same true crime mold as Serial but it actually evolves into an exploration of a Southern town and the people who live there. A compelling Southern Gothic, S-Town is an engrossing true story that deals with clock repair, murder, theft, a hedge maze, and gold nipple piercings. All seven episodes of the series are available right now.

Robert’s Pick of the Week – By far, one of my favorite writers is Mark Russell. He is killing it for me in the last year and a half. Between Prez and Flinstones, he has changed my perception of what you can do with satire in mainstream comics. This week he released a Flintstones/Booster Gold Crossover and had a short story in Suicide Squad/Bannanna Splits crossover about Snagglepuss. My regular comic shop didn’t have the Suicide Squad book so I actually went out and hunted it down. I have become a huge Mark Russell fan in this last year and a half, because I rarely do that. The Flintstones/Booster Gold Crossover book this week is a wonderful issue about the bleeding effect and similarities between celebrity culture and messiah figures. What Russell is able to talk about in this book is unbelievable. And he is doing it with licensed products. The Snagglepuss story has turned the titular character into Tennessee Williams and all the societal consequences thereof. I’m so ready for his book to come out. I love the books that Mark Russell is writing and can’t wait for his next project.