The Cipher 03/24/11: “Evian backwards.”
March 24th, 2011 by david brothers | Tags: cipher, metal gear solid, persona, pharoahe monch, rapcreated: I feel like I’m so behind on stuff all the time. I’ve got a lot in progress, but not enough done, as far as I’m concerned. Gonna have to play catch-up this weekend.
–Q Hayashida’s Dorohedoro is ill.
–Marvel makes comics, here are some good ones
consumed: Pusha T and Young Dro dropped mixtapes that are, at best, mediocre. Far as I’m concerned, that translates to “unlistenable.” There’s not much worse than somebody with talent, whether for punchlines or scorn, to come anything less than 100% correct. Ain’t no half-stepping, fellas, so do us all a favor and get it together.
–Jared draws two of the best fictional characters ever. I don’t really want to buy any more original art, but seeing artists take on Akira makes me second guess my stand. Akira is basically the best comic, and I don’t even know. It provokes reactions I keep forgetting I had. And that tac vest is such a sharp look, too, bird chest or not.
-How good is Asaf Hanuka’s The Realist? I love the art and the kind of airy way the strips progress. You get to fill in a lot of blanks yourself, and sometimes that takes a little mental legwork. It’s alternately funny, melancholy, and real.
-Nardwuar interviews Das Racist, Odd Future, Lil B the Based God, and Curren$y. Nardwuar is dope, and all of these are pretty entertaining. Curren$y is super weeded in his, too.
-Nardwuar’s interviews always end so poorly, man. He gets some good footage out of people, but he’s just so oppressively awkward that nobody knows how to take him.
-DC rolled out a bunch of new good digital stuff. We3, Flash, Garth Ennis’s Hellblazer, Catwoman, and New Frontier. I’m a fan of all of these, and while We3 is overpriced, these are all worth owning. Those Brubaker/Cooke issues of Catwoman are all pretty good, and I think that the Comixology run has the point where Brubaker really hit his stride. Get those!
–Amy Poodle takes on Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles for the second time. You can read part one here.
-Video games! I was going to make this a post on its own, but ehhh, it’s just some brief thoughts.
-I play games for work, so I generally avoid games at home. They’ve gotta be all-star affairs, you know? I don’t have time for mediocrity or “just okay.” Why would I waste that time?
-Currently playing: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
-I graze. I haven’t played a few of these in months (most particularly FF7 & P4). What I tend to do is focus on one game for a few weeks, then move on, eventually cycling my way back as the spirit moves me. Right now, it’s Brotherhood. Next is probably Persona 4.
-What I look for is an experience broken down into discrete portions. I like being able to drop in, get something done, and drop out. Sometimes this means ill multiplayer. Sometimes it means a compelling story with a lot of subplots. Anything that lets me sit down and have a bit of fun and leave it right there works. Shooters don’t really cut the mustard any more, multiplayer aside.
-I play games to relax, not to get frustrated, so something that pulls me in and is a brief escape is what’s nice. I purchase like… four new games a year. Last year, I don’t think I bought hardly any. Just Tekken, maybe?
-Sometimes, less is more, is what I’m saying. I could easily get a full year of gameplay out of what I own right now, but the way I play means that I sit down for 20 minutes or two hours (rarely), have some fun, and come back a week or so later. I could probably not buy a new game until 2013 and be okay. That’s a nice feeling.
-That new Pharoahe Monch is good, innit?
David: Hellblazer 277, Hulk 31, Power Man and Iron Fist 3, Uncanny X-Force 6
Esther: Yes: Batman Incorporated 4
Maybe: Batman: The Dark Knight 2, Superman/Batman 82
Gavin: Batman Incorporated 4, Green Lantern Corps 58, Green Lantern 64, Justice League Generation Lost 22, Invincible 78, Astonishing Spider-Man Wolverine 5, Daken Dark Wolverine 7, Deadpool MAX 6, Deadpool 34, Hulk 31, Namor The First Mutant 8, Power Man And Iron Fist 3, Uncanny X-Force 6
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The Realist is incredible! He’s a hero for flipping the art on the English version, too. (Eat it, manga purists.)
FEAR OF GOD wasn’t as good as it should have been, but I think Pusha proved he can make more than the standard “coke” record. His talent is still undeniable, as evidenced on “My God” and “Alone in Vegas”
I haven’t grabbed my floppies this week yet, but when I do it’ll be Batman Inc 4, Captain America 615.1, FF 1, and Power Man & Iron Fist 3. If the store has it, I’ll also pick up the Stumptown hardcover, but since I didn’t pre-order it I doubt it’ll be there.
Speaking of collections, I pulled Hellblazer: Red Sepulcher, Five Fists of Science, and Beasts of Burden, off my bookshelf over the week and read them, and added Daytripper and the new edition of Hellblazer: Original Sins to my collection of stuff to read.
Videogame-wise I’m not playing as much as I used to, but I’m still buying something every week it seems like. Played a bit more of Yakuza 4, and will be picking up a 3DS/Pilotwings/Street Fighter 4 tomorrow night, but whenever I turn on my PS3 or 360 it’s usually either for Hulu or Netflix.
@Neil: How is Yakuza 4? I played the demo, but it was purely combat, which is a strange choice for a demo.
Those Carey Hellblazers were pretty good. I ran through those again a few months ago.