Staff Picks of the Week – November 11th, 2016

Staff Picks of the Week – November 11th, 2016

Friday is here! The weekend is right around the corner! It is 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. But first, let me share with you a little bit that has been going on with the site this week! Check out our new column New This Week where Greg keeps you informed of the hottest new releases from books to movies and more!  We have reviews for Who Killed Kurt Cobain? The Story of Boodah, Violent Love #1, Mayday #1, Mother Panic #1, and more! Stephanie Cooke continues her first time viewing of Twin Peaks. Robert gives us his thoughts on The Tick and  I promise you that we DID NOT know how the election was going to end but go take a look at Billy’s Top 10 Post-Apocalyptic Hellscapes That Might Be Better Than Tomorrow. Don’t forget our podcasts, Comicsbound, Scooby Dos or Scooby Don’ts, The Misfits, as well as Episode 3 of The 5 People You Meet in Hell. Plus much much more! Do I sound like a salesman, yet? Oh! And you also have six days left to enter our Collecting the Constellations giveaway! Let’s get on with the Staff Picks of the Week!

Greg’s Pick of the Week – My pick of the week is March Book 1 by John Lewis, Andre Aydin, and Nate Powell. With the elections taking place this past week and the USA still in a bit of shock and panic, it seemed like the perfect chance to go back and revisit John Lewis’s graphic novel March. March Book 1 came out in 2013 and follows Congressman John Lewis’s life from growing up in Alabama to the battle to end segregation through non-violence. March starts with the powerful ideal and image that a group of young African American men marching to protest segregation may have to jump off a bridge to save themselves whether they can swim or not. March is a stark reminder of the plight of African Americans and what they have been through in this country and where we as a people should strive to get to, instead of where we are now.

Stephanie Pouliotte’s Pick of the Week – My pick this week falls back into familiar territory with Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel Creatures of the Night. The comic adapts two of Gaiman’s stories from his collection of short fictions Smoke and Mirrors (which I also highly recommend!) and artist Michael Zulli delivers some absolutely stunning artwork that brings an earthy, mystical charm to these two dark tales. Known for his beautiful wildlife illustrations, Zulli was a perfect fit for adapting The Price and Daughter of Owls, which both feature some wild and peculiar creatures who aren’t quite what they seem. Zulli also worked with Gaiman before on his acclaimed Sandman series for Vertigo, pencilling (among others) the story Men of Good Fortune (The Sandman #13), which introduces one of my favourite recurring characters of the series: Hob Gadling. The issue spans centuries and Zulli had to nail various cultural styles and dress; you can tell he draws on this past experience as he revisits the 17th-century in Creatures of the Night. The graphic novel was originally published back in 2004, but Dark Horse is releasing a redesigned second edition in hardback on November 16, 2016.

Josh’s Pick of the Week – My pick of the week this time around has to be the new mobile game from DC and WB, DC Legends. It’s certainly nothing ground breaking with a simple story inspired by Darkest Night, basic gameplay similar to that of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, and other small tasks and events within the game. The most fun comes out of collecting heroes and villains to form your dream team; my roster currently consists of The Flash (of course), Wonder Woman (duh), Zatanna (for some heals), and Deadshot (only because his rank is higher than Green Arrow’s). This game, like most mobile games, isn’t aimed for the hardcore gamers, but the casual ones like myself who usually only play while on long trips or in the restroom. It’s a fun game and a nice change of pace from DC’s last major mobile game, Injustice, which had gotten very monotonous to me. It’s free to play so there’s really no reason not to check it out.

Ryan’s Pick of the Week –   My pick of the week is Titanfall 2. The multiplayer of this game has been a great distraction from the shit show that is this week. I have been playing on the Xbox One, which has had a very active community, but I feel that it will drop off soon. Matches are already taking a couple minutes of search time to boot up, which is worrisome for the future of the title. But it is damn fun. Like Overwatch, the game really emphasizes movement through the space, and the 7 main abilities you can chose from provide different options that counter each other well. Do I take the grapple ability over the super sprint ability? What about cloaking, sacrificing movement for stealth. The ability to modify your load-out mid match is awesome, and allows each player to be adaptable on the fly. And that isn’t even counting the Titans. Once they start dropping, the gameplay shifts dramatically. Each Titan is, on the whole, less customizable than the pilots, but it feels like a fighting game when you go one on one with another Titan. Despite different abilities and stat pools, you don’t feel like you are under-powered against other Titans. The balance struck between Titan design is awesome, and really helps drive the game above and beyond the likes of Battlefield and Call of Duty.

David’s Pick of the Week – My pick this week is the new Nintendo Classic that got released today. Small enough to fit in your palm and packing a total of 30 classic Nintendo games for the price of $59.99, you really can’t go wrong! A few of the games are Legend of Zelda, Mega Man 2 (lucky for me, my favorite Mega Man), Super C, Double Dragon II, and even Tecmo Bowl!  A couple of the positives are it is small, so it is easy to transport and it connects with an HDMI cable. A couple of negatives for me is that it only comes with one controller and the cable isn’t even long enough to hang yourself. But of course, they have to find another way to make money since this is only going for $60. So you can purchase another controller and a longer cord if needed. If you are dying for some video game nostalgia, you might want to try and grab one today. There has been news that once they are gone, it isn’t a sure thing that they will be back in supply for the holidays!  I’m looking forward to playing this weekend!