Category Archives: Fantasy

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Reviews

Alt★Hero # 2 – a Review

1 Comment

Alt★Hero #1 was set in Europe, and concentrated on an EU-sanctioned supergroup. This one is set in the states, focusing on a subversive superteam organized to pursue American interests. Obviously this puts them at odds with the Deep State and gives them a lot tougher “row to hoe” than their European counterparts.

The pivotal character in both issues is an aesthetically appealing, nubile heroine–a shrewd marketing decision, if nothing else.

Arkhaven/Alt Hero is improving rapidly on all fronts. The artwork and composition is better in this issue, and we’ve got a clearer picture of where the story is taking us, now: (a superteam showdown, eventually, I hope. But not too soon…)

Hammer is my favorite character so far, while Ryu no Seishin is my favorite to look at. The writer(s) teased us with just enough of Martel’s backstory to make us want to know more. I’m also curious about this subplot the bureaucrats mention regarding the President and Singapore.

I’m not sure exactly what Rebel’s metahuman abilities are. Invulnerable skin is one. Super-strength, too? I’m guessing Hammer already has that, but it’s hard to tell in comics, because even “normal” human heroes are drawn as if they have superhuman strength. Physique is no indication, because non-powered heroes look just as sculpted as superpowered characters. And regardless of whether a human or superhuman hero throws a punch, the recipient of the punch usually goes flying backwards out of the panel.

So far, we’ve been introduced to SoulSight, who can read other people’s memories; Quantum Kitty, who can phase through solid objects; Ryu, who is kinda’ like the Human Torch, I guess, though her whole body doesn’t turn to flame; Rebel; Hammer; and the dude in the black tee-shirt. No idea what he does, yet. There’s a couple more team members mentioned but not seen. Guess we’ll meet them in forthcoming issues.

It’s really a shame this issue was only 28 pages. It was over too soon. I hope they compile the first 12 issues or so into a graphic novel one day. In any case, I look forward to Alt Hero #3.

BTW, I’ve seen Issue #1 of Avanon now, and will review it soon, hopefully.

Fantasy, Historical

Gods & Proxies–the Supernatural in Antiquity

Leave a comment

An excerpt from the afterword in Gods & Proxies, discussing how belief in the existence of “other gods” is not necessarily pagan, anti-Christian, or unbiblical:

There’s a famous road paved with good intentions. One good intention of theologians in centuries past was to eliminate or explain away any passage in the Bible which could be construed as supporting polytheism.

The Bible clearly portrays Yahweh (El Elyon/El Shaddai/”The God of Many Names”/etc.) as the One True God; but it also documents that He judged the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12). In the Commandments we are warned not to put other gods before Him (Deuteronomy 5:7). The Adversary, called “the devil” and “Satan” in English, is referred to as “the god of this world” or “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) depending on translation (or “prince,” which is also how the messenger* in Daniel 12:1 referred to the Archangel Michael).

Acknowledging that the ancient pagans were worshiping living entities, and not just the idols formed to represent them, is not polytheistic. It is simply biblical.

Those of us who learned the Bible from an English translation (or worse yet, from “preacher talk”) have inherited many assumptions about our Creator. For instance, we assume that “God” is His name.

One of the Commandments forbids us to misuse His name (Deuteronomy 5:11). Well, what exactly is His name? Most Gentiles have no idea, except for the cryptic statement given to Moses via the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). But where our English translations call him simply “THE LORD,” the original text used one of His names.** How many times have we seen references to His name in our English translations, without actually seeing His name in the text? Those translations also use the word “God” as if it is a name (hence we assume “God” is his name), but the word “el” that is translated “god” was a more generic term in Hebrew for a supernatural being that is not necessarily the Creator God. Many of us were taught that the word Elohim, which includes the word for “god” with a Hebrew plural suffix, is a reference to the Trinity–one God in three persons. But some Hebrew scholars insist it refers to a pantheon, the Divine Council, or Heavenly Assembly.*** (Not that they deny the Trinity, as there is textual evidence of that concept elsewhere in Scripture.)

*The word angel means “messenger,” but, in our lexicon, has come to refer exclusively to created celestial beings. Certainly the word often refers to those; but sometimes a human being can be an “angel,” and sometimes the Messiah Himself plays the role of a messenger, or “angel.”

**That is, the “Tetragrammaton.” This has been pronounced “Yaweh” or “Jehovah,” historically, though exact pronunciation is not certain because there were no vowels in the original Hebrew. It’s like an acronym formed from the Hebrew phrase the Creator used to answer Moses: “I am that I am.”

***Psalm 82:1 “God has taken his place in the Divine Council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.” Deuteronomy 32:8-9 “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the Heavenly Assembly.” Job 1:6 and 1 Kings 22 also give us a fleeting glimpse of this Heavenly Assembly.

Another phenomenon mentioned in Gods & Proxies is “spiritually charged objects.” This sounds like a pagan or Wiccan concept, but it’s also Biblical. In the New Testament, certain people were healed and/or delivered merely by physical contact with aprons and handkerchiefs touched by Paul (Acts 19:11-12).

If the Holy Spirit (working through Paul) could spiritually charge an inanimate object, then it’s entirely possible that evil spirits could supernaturally charge objects as well–such as the items in Jericho that the Israelites were forbidden to take as plunder (Joshua 6:17-18, 7:1).

Those who like to deny the supernatural also insist that witchcraft is nothing more than a myth perpetuated by tricksters and illusionists. But the author(s) of the Bible saw it much differently. God considers witchcraft a serious manifestation of evil, not to be dismissed as harmless Halloween stories.  The Bible also documents how Pharoah’s magicians, and the witch of Endor accessed some sort of actual power that no huckster could ever duplicate.

 

Adventure, Fantasy, Historical

Paganism Vs. Reality

Leave a comment

Or perhaps “Religion Vs. Truth” would be a better title for this scene:

Some priests, and others from the L’vim sat with the visitors all that day. The offer was made early that the visitors were welcome to come outside the outer court of the Temple and worship Hashem.

“Thank-you, but no,” the ambassador said, with a nervous laugh. “That won’t be necessary.”

“I beg your pardon?” a priest asked, brows knitting. “You traveled all this way to make peace with us because you’ve heard that nothing and no one can stand against our god…yet you don’t want to know him?”

The visitors all glanced around their own countrymen, but eventually their collective gaze focused on the ambassador. He wiped sweat from his forehead and said, “True. We don’t want him to destroy us, but we’d prefer to serve our own gods.”

“You mean your own gods who can’t protect you from him?” a priest suggested.

“Well, um…yes,” the ambassador said.

The priest pointed at the stone idol resting on a wooden pedestal at the center of the visitors’ encampment. “That is the god you prefer to serve?” he asked.

“It is a representation of our god,” the ambassador said, uncomfortably. “It is sacred, because it bears his likeness. He dwells within it sometimes. It can receive our worship in his stead, when he chooses not to show us his image directly.”

“Let me make sure I understand this,” a priest said. “You have an opportunity to know the ultimate god, who created the world; and the wood, the stone, the metals that your so-called “gods” are made out of. And he created man, who formed your ‘gods’ out of wood, stone, or metals. But you would rather worship lifeless objects?”

“We wouldn’t expect you to understand,” the ambassador said.

“I think we do understand,” an angry-faced priest said. “You want Hashem’s mercy; you want his blessings; but you don’t want to give him anything in return.”

“It’s not just a stone idol,” one of the ambassador’s men stated, hotly. “It has power it is foolish to disrespect.”

Now Pinchas rose to his feet. “Let me give you a practical demonstration of religion,” he said, strolling toward the idol.

The visitors watched him apprehensively, some twitching as if about to stand.

Pinchas poked the statue with his staff. It toppled off the pedestal and thumped on the ground.

The visitors gasped. Some of the escorts shot to their feet, hands on weapons.

“Why would you disrespect our god this way, Yacovite?” demanded one of the escorts.

Pinchas turned to face the guests, shrugging. “When he puts himself back up on this pedestal, I’ll apologize.”

Gods & Proxies has gone wide. You can get it for most e-readers, including the Kindle.

Adventure, Fantasy

Sheik of Mars

2 Comments

Ben Wheeler’s debut novel is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Superversive has really gone retro-cool with this concept:

Haroun Rashid has found his true love, Zira Al-Zuwar and she has been taken from him by the powers that rule Mars on their wedding night. Gathering allies from the most unlikely places, he storms the palace of the Sheik of Mars, searching for Zira. No one can stand against him, but the price he will pay in suffering and death may be too much even for his resolve. The greatest beauties hide the worst snakes as A Princess of Mars blends with the Arabian Nights to create a tale like no other.

Action, Fantasy, Reviews, Satire

Alt★Hero Hits the Virtual Stands

Leave a comment

Arkhaven Comics’ Alt★Hero #1: Crackdown is out. Being a backer, I received an electronic copy before it went live on Amazon.

The haters have generated a few different narratives about Arkhaven. One narrative was intended to convince us that the (record-breaking) crowdfunding revenue to launch Arkhaven had been imbezzled by Vox Day, because it’s all a big scam, and no comic would ever be produced. A more popular knee-jerk proclamation is that the comic is garbage (as judged by people who haven’t read or even seen it.)

As somebody who is disgusted by what’s happened to DC and Marvel, and what they’ve done to the characters they inherited, I’ve been enthusiastic about Alt★Hero since first hearing of it. I make a point to support any artistic endeavor which defies the Thought Police sent from the Leftist Hive Mind. Sometimes I’m burned, as I was with Amerigeddon. Sometimes I’m rewarded, as with Alt Hero.

Arkhaven has some tightening up to do–particularly with the artwork and composition/layout. And I believe it will be tightened up. But even as-is, this series looks like a lot of fun.

In this first story a European supergroup (sponsored by the EU) recruits a new member (given the name Dynamique) to help them purge thought criminals from around the continent. This is basically what Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook have been doing to people…but with progressive extrapolation: enemies of the state aren’t just censored; they’re arrested and imprisoned. And it’s super-powered international thought cops in tights who round them up.

It’s actually a lot like Hank’s story The Greater Good, but without the over-the-top humor. And it’s illustrated.

Alt Hero is a comic I wouldn’t mind letting my son read. Also, Chuck Dixon is writing a series for Arkhaven called Avalon, which I am probably also going to check out. Dixon’s portfolio speaks for itself. I’m pleased he was able to find paying work outside the SJW insanity that is status quo in the comics industry. Based on everything I know so far, I believe any investment in Arkhaven titles will be money well-spent.

Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Reviews

Marco Polo – a Review

2 Comments

Even the most fanatic revisionist white knights couldn’t ruin a story set in the Mongol Empire during the conquest of south China, right?

Ahem.

I wish I could say I’m surprised by what they’ve done with the subject matter.

First off is the main character, Marco Polo. His motivations are sketchy at best, beyond some vague desire for a father figure. In the first season he’s habitually stupid…but not as stupid as the series writers assume their audience is.

The sad fact is, that assumption may prove correct.

There’s all the formulaic theater, white-knight feminist tropes, and contrived plot devices you can find in any other TV show, and the Trojan beach head of perversity we can expect from a Weinstein Company-backed tale of palace intrigue.

(But to be honest, it’s doubtful Harvey Weinstein is any worse than the other producers in Hollywood. In fact, he’s probably mild compared to some of them.)

But the sterling character of the morally pure saints headquartered in Homowood, Commiefornia never rests until it has delivered a hypocritical moral message. And so their favorite perversion (pedophilia) is represented not accurately (like, say, in the character of an entertainer or leftist politician), but in the form of a Christian Mongol.

Nothing special here.

 

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical

Pick Up Your Sickle Sword, Follow Me…

Leave a comment

I’m the Bronze Age infantry.

Tribal shock troops

Patch on my shoulder…

Free for the Amazon Kindle right now: the new epic fantasy novel Gods & Proxies.

This is not yet another Tolkien wannabe book. And, like other Virtual Pulp titles, it eschews the “strong female character” and all the accompanying feminist tropes which are obligatory across seemingly all entertainment media, ESPECIALLY fantasy novels.

If I were going to try to emulate some famous fantasy author (which I’m not), it would be Robert E. Howard.

What you have here, kind of, is opposing gods fighting a proxy war via Bronze Age nations. One nation is human, and its enemies are mostly Nephilim (giants, or Titans).

For the small price of zero dollars and no cents, you can indulge in high adventure…for the next few days.

Action, Reviews, Superhero

Justice League – A Review

1 Comment

Last year I reviewed Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and opined on the possibility that the next DC team-up blockbuster might be a formulaic clone of the other superhero movies (of which, the Marvel flicks have rather defined the cookie-cutter).

Well, it happened. Some god-like supervillain wants to control/destroy Earth (domination and destruction are interchangeable in these movies), but first he needs to collect some ancient mystical object with cosmic power…blah blah blah. (In this case it’s three boxes–one guarded by the Amazons, one by the Atlantians, and one by the humans.)

This age-old baddie (“Steppenwolf”) captures two of the boxes, bringing Aquaman and Wonder Woman onto the Batman’s bandwagon to form a super-team and stop him from obtaining the third, or Steppenwolf will achieve total…villainhood…or something.

I rather like Steppenwolf. I also like Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and the Lovin’ Spoonful. Wonder if one of them will be the next all-powerful supervillain. But I digress.

JusticeLeagueClassicLeadership

So, Superman is still dead from the last blockbuster, which is one reason why the Batman thinks this team is necessary. If you don’t know much about the source material (comic books), then you probably aren’t aware of the characters and team dynamics that get trashed in all the virtue-signaling revamps by screen-adapting creative teams. Batman and Superman were “honorary members” of the Justice League. Obviously Batman had no super powers, but he was the superior tactician of the bunch and therefore the de facto leader of the team when he was there. But now it’s the current year (you mysogonistic bigots!) and Wonder Woman has to be the leader…because vagina. That’s one of the sub-plots of the film–Batman trying to push her into her rightful supreme role.

wonder-woman-batman

Since the main plot is nothing new, I guess I’ll just give you the down-low on the characters, as they are in this depiction.

SUPERMAN: (spoiler alert!…not) He comes back. And he’s got possibly one of the best lines in the movie. At first, after his ressurection, he’s a vengeful anti-hero willing to kill his allies…until Lois Lane gives him a hug. Then he is restored to his Boy Scout super-Samaritan god-dom as fast as you can say “applause-inducing plot device.” Because vagina.

BATMAN: He’s the old, over-the-hill version from Dark Knight Returns in this movie. Some good lines. Same pros and cons from the last movie. At least the writer/director is consistent in this case.

WONDER WOMAN: She’s not just attractive, she’s likeable. Unlike women in real life who think they ARE her.

CYBORG: I don’t remember much about him in the comics–he seemed little more than a token minority character. Here they’ve done a fairly good job fleshing him out and giving him some useful abilities that help the team. Not a marquis character yet, but OK.

flashcyborg

AQUAMAN: He’s basically Wolverine in a different costume, but more effeminate. Oh yeah–he doesn’t have to swim; he sort of flies underwater.

THE FLASH: The character in the TV show is whiny, but bearable. This Flash is the worst incarnation of him I’ve ever seen. Kind of like what the film makers did to Spiderman in Homecoming, only much worse. He’s pathetic. By the time his character arc brings him some backbone, I’m too irritated by the goofy appearance of his costume to pay full attention. They should have just borrowed the one from the Netflix series. This costume looks like something that would be worn to a Gay Pride Bicycle Race.

Nice visuals, of course. Some good dialog. The Batmobile was badass for about 30 seconds, before it (like every other cool multi-million dollar asset in these movies) met its obligatory destruction.

Not a must-see in the theaters. Wait ’till you can stream it at home.

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical

Sword & Supernatural

Leave a comment

…That’s what I’m calling this foray into epic fantasy.

I meant to reveal the cover prior to the release of the book. Oops. But here it is now.
I meant to reveal the cover prior to the release of the book. Oops. But here it is now.

As for the setting…for now, all I’m going to say is that it’s not unlike what Robert E. Howard did with his “Hyborian Age.”

I’ll share more on this later, but if you don’t want to wait, you can always buy the kindle version now. The paperback should be out by Christmas, and E-books for non-Kindle readers should be available in February,

Action, Adventure, Non-Fiction/Documentary, Superhero

Keep Watch for Alt★Hero!

2 Comments

We’ve blogged at length here about the culture war, and we’ve worked (as time and opportunity have permitted) to provide alternatives to The Narrative being rammed down our throats in every medium of pop culture. Comic books have been so blatantly cultural Marxist for so long, many people have given up on them completely, in disgust.

An alternative to the Leftist Hive Mind’s monopoly is long overdue. Maybe, just maybe, it is almost here.

 After reaching its initial funding goal in only four hours, a new right-wing comics series, Alt★Hero, concluded its historic crowdfunding campaign by reaching the $245,000 mark. 2,190 backers signed on to help the alternative superhero series wage cultural war on the social justice-converged comic duopoly of Marvel and DC Comics.

Alt★Hero is being written by prolific Marvel and DC Comics veteran writer Chuck Dixon and six-time Hugo Award Finalist Vox Day. It will be published by Castalia House, Finland’s leading independent publisher.

The series is the creation of game designer Day, who is best known for being a member of GamerGate and publishing the political philosophy bestsellers SJWs Always Lie and SJWs Always Double Down. Alt★Hero features unconventional villains such as Captain Europa of the Global Justice Initiative and controversial heroes such as Michael Martel, a vigilante who drops off criminal undocumented immigrants at the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, and Rebel, a Southern girl whose superhero outfit incorporates the Confederate battle flag.

The breakout star of the campaign, however, has been Dynamique, a chain-smoking French model whose indifference to current events is only surpassed by her pragmatism.

“This is only the beginning,” said Alt★Hero creator Vox Day, who is writing six volumes of the series as well as co-designing the role-playing game. “Fans and retailers alike despise how Marvel and DC are trashing characters they have cherished for generations. That is why it’s not going to be too long before you’re going to start seeing Alt★Hero games, and eventually, movies.”

“I have an entire year’s worth of continuity funded to build a cast of characters in a brand new universe. Very inspiring, Very exciting,” said industry legend Chuck Dixon, the longtime Batman writer and co-creator of Bane, who is writing the first six volumes of the Alt★Hero series Avalon as well as a standalone novel entitled Avalon: Vendetta. “The city of Avalon is already a very real place in my mind. I think readers are going to enjoy visiting.”

“Astonishing demand,” added journalist Mike Cernovich on Twitter in response to the news that Alt★Hero had shattered the previous record for a new comic being crowdfunded.

In reaching 978 percent of its original $25,000 goal, the Alt★Hero crowdfunding campaign was the most successful in history for a new comics launch, and is the 22nd most-funded of the 10,553 historic comics-related crowdfunding campaigns.

What I hope is that Alt★Hero doesn’t descend into the poo-slinging, purity signaling “muh white nationalism” circlejerk that consumes so much of the “Alt-Right.” With writer Chuck Dixon involved at such a high level, I tend to doubt it, but we’ll see. I’m at least going to give Alt★Hero a chance. I continued to waste my hard-earned cash on irritating drivel from Marvel and DC  even after being sucker-punched multiple times, so it’s only fair I give Alt★Hero the same chance(s). I’m a backer of the Alt★Hero crowd sourcing campaign, so I should get to see the first several comics, digitally, once they’re released.

I hope it is a truly right-wing comic, but actually, I’d be happy with an apolitical endeavor that just concentrates on good storytelling, without contriving all the obligatory sodomiphilia and Grrrrrl Power tropes tripe which usually causes me to stop reading /watching something, never to finish.