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Imagine a world where underground parks are the norm. That concept has become a real possibility thanks to James Ramsey. He’s the creator of the Lowline, a project that, if all goes well, will turn an abandoned trolley terminal on the Lower East Side into a living, breathing, underground park by 2018. Ramsey tells us how he hopes to create more green spaces in unlikely locations.
Source: Bloombergnews
It has been said before and it’s worth repeating — it is an AWESOME time to be a nerd — and for Black nerds, we are finally seeing more creators and characters of color push through in the graphic novel/superhero genre both in film and print, conglomerate and indie produced. This week is no exception.
“Legend of the Mantamaji: Book Two” published by And…Action! Entertainment is the second book in television director Eric Dean Seaton’s new graphic novel series. It was set for release on Dec. 10, 2014, “Book Two” brings new characters, lots of action and open-mouth-catch-flies twists.
In this series installment, Seaton has to carry the expectations that readers embraced in the first book in the series — a smart plotline, good pacing, great artwork, layered characters, lots of action and those darn plot twists that got us in the first book. He also has to work hard to avoid the pitfalls that plague the second anything in a planned trilogy. No one enjoys settling into a good second book or movie only to feel like the series was stalling for time until the good stuff happens in the final installment (looking at you Matrix Reloaded).
Fortunately, Seaton and his collaborative team have exceeded expectations with “Book Two.” Part of what makes “Book Two” work is continuity in the team that worked on “Book One.”
Eisner-nominated letterer Deron Bennett brings his talented pen to the piece with consistency and skill.
Artist Brandon Palas continues to produce fantastic work. The action scenes are epic, yet easy to follow and there are panels that you want to pull out simply to admire the work. Palas is also careful to avoid female “same face” that often happens to female characters in the superhero genre. If you listen to Seaton’s numerous interviews to date, he is adamant that the women in the series are every bit as powerful and influential as the men — a powerful declaration of his female characters’ value and purpose — which surely influenced Palas’ art direction.
Colorist Andrew Dalhouse brings Palas’ work to life with brilliant, focused color. There is real depth in his work and deliberation in color choices, from the body armor of the Mantamaji to the intricacies of the splash pages. His long-time experience with the big comic companies is evident and demonstrated throughout the series.
Seaton, of course, is the man behind the entire story that keeps readers engaged from page one. A critically acclaimed television director with 198 episodes and 38 series under his belt including hit shows like NBC’s Undateable, BET’s Reed Between the Lines, Disney’s Austin and Ally and Nickelodeon’s The Haunted Hathaways, Seaton manages to make each chapter of the book feel like both television show episodes and weekly editions of a comic book series. This creates nice stopping points, even though the book compels you to keep reading if you can hold off work, family and everything else for close to 200 pages.
Seaton also keeps the books very clean, with an eye on a wide audience range, he leaves out swearing and excessive violence. The books are listed as being for ages 9 and up.
The Good:
The Story: “The Legend of the Mantamaji” storyline is terrific with well-placed plot twists that keep readers guessing the entire time. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Seaton throws you for a loop. While this second book picks up where the first one left off, you don’t have to read “Book One” ahead of “Book Two,” BUT without “Book One” you miss much of the backstory that marries the ancient African warrior vibe with modern-day resurgence of the Mantamaji very well. It does have the signature middle book cliffhanger, but you never feel like you’ve wasted your time. “Book Two” is definitely not a standalone book in the sense that you can get to the end and be completely satisfied. Readers will want to pre-order “Book Three” for February release.
The Characters: Seaton continues to supply his characters with interesting backstories and opportunities to rise or fall down on the job. He even instills humor as a way to help readers identify with all of his characters, good and bad alike.
We learn more about top cop Sydney who continues to hold her own against the city’s bad guys — in the occasional party dress no less. The social media popular Sanctuants, the sisters to the Mantamaji, reappear as well. And fortunately, we don’t see any butt to the camera fighting action that seems to be the pose du jour for female characters in the superhero genre.
The Action: Most of the action involves the Four Horsemen who are as intimidating as their names. The battles between the four and Elijah spill all over the place — the city, the woods … it’s exhausting and rewarding at the same time as Seaton has been teasing the Horsemen as a part of his social media campaign since before the first book launch. We also get to finally see the rebirth of Sirach, which is both frightening and intense.
The OK:
The Dialogue: As previous reviewers have mentioned, the dialogue can get a bit stilted. Some of it works with specific characters, other times it feels not as natural as you would expect in something that is clearly very modern.
Overall, “Legend of the Mantamaji: Book Two” lives up to the hype and at $14.99 is worth the investment. Unlike many indie works, the series is available in all formats [except braille and audio] and through a variety of sellers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble stores and online, Comixology, iTunes, comic book stores and the “Legend of the Mantamaji” website. Previews of all three books are also available at the “Legend of Mantamaji” website and on Amazon.
Source: Terreece M. Clarke at legendofthemantamaji.com
Gail Simone’s magnum opus returns to shelves this week in the form of a brand new volume. Needless to say, expectations are huge as Simone’s original series won a lot of people over due to her excellent characterization and her ability to provide these villain characters with sympathetic backgrounds that made them seem almost heroic. The team frequently saw new members join as old members either died horribly, quit through means of betrayal, or both. With a team populated by villains, this shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, but somehow Simone always managed to shock audiences with every turn of events.
Because DC doesn’t like us to have nice things, sadly the new series isn’t a continuation but a fresh start. Issue 1 see’s Catman, who originally had a very prominent role in the first incarnation of the series, is front and center of this issue as we find out what this New 52 (at what point do we stop calling it new?) incarnation of Catman is capable of. Unfortunately the pacing of this book makes it hard for readers to get a closer examination of the characters outside of Catman. Although characters do make minuscule first impressions, it fails in comparison to the attention given to Catman. Admittingly, this is a good first issue, but it may leave little to be desired by hardcore fans of the series as it left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. While some of these characters are new to this series, plus the modifications made to the returning characters, the core of what Secret Six was can definitely be could definitely be felt, and fans of the previous volume should be willing to give this iteration a fair shot.
Source: Tajaye Williams at blacknerdproblems.com
Oh Square Enix, what have you done?
For years and years, Final Fantasy fans have been hoping and praying for a full-fleshed, updated, super high-end Final Fantasy 7 game for the next gen systems. It didn’t happen on the PS3, so like with Kingdom Hearts 3 expectations arose for it to finally happen on the PS4.
Whether you like Final Fantasy 7 or think it’s the most overrated of all the Final Fantasies, there’s one thing you can’t deny, it’s popularity. Final Fantasy 7 has transcended its original single-game format and has had movies and a prequel game expanding on its lore.
So here we are in 2014 with Square Enix hyped up about a Final Fantasy 7 announcement for the PS4! Could it be what fans have been clamoring for all these years? No, the answer is no. Instead of an HD remake with new everything, what fans get is a port of the game for the PS4. If you don’t know what that means, I’ll explain. Instead of HD graphics and high-definition they’re instead re-releasing the original game on the PS4, which they’ve already done for PC and for the PS3 on the Playstation Network.
There’s already been a lot of backlash for this, so instead of adding to it, I’m going to go a different route with this.
The fact of the matter is that Square Enix fans want to feel like they are appreciated and loved. A remake of Final Fantasy 7 would have solidified that fact. Giving the fans something they’ve asked for would put Square Enix back on that pedestal they used to be on. The recent Final Fantasy games haven’t been able to capture the magic that the old ones used to bring. That sense of “Wow this game is the best game of all time!” hasn’t been said for the recent Final Fantasies, and I think fans are trying to relive the Square Enix of old.
Maybe I’m wrong in my assumptions, but I’m speaking from my personal point of view on the whole situation. Final Fantasy 7 isn’t my favorite Final Fantasy but would I throw my money at Square Enix for a full-on HD remake? I’ll answer my question with another question. Is Rock Lee the realest ninja out there?
Someday, we might get that remake that other fans and I have asked for, but, sadly, today is not that day.
Source: William Young at blacknerdproblems.com
A countertop garden with an automated light and watering system. Grow vegetables and herbs anywhere.
Source: Future Ideas & Technology
In the race to connect sensors and devices into an Internet of Things, Dell doesn’t want to get left behind. The company opened a lab dedicated to researching, testing and building Internet-connected systems for enterprises.
Source: CIO
After months of waiting, the long-anticipated comic release of Dynamite Comic’s Shaft is upon us! The series reboot, written by David Walker, reintroduces the late Ernest Tidyman’s iconic character from the 1970s in a comic that gives a first-time exploration of the origins of John Shaft. Whether the name conjures images of Richard Roundtree’s afro and sideburns or Samuel L. Jackson playing his nephew in the 2000 sequel, the name is synonymous with toughness, badassery, and one of the best theme songs of all time.
Issue 1 begins in the criminal underbelly of New York City with a racially charged dialogue that sets the tone of the story. Junius Tate is the gangster who runs Harlem, only anyone who knows better understands it’s really his boss who runs the streets. Shaft knows better. Either way, as Shaft wraps up his hands to get into the boxing ring, he knows he has a decision: take a dive that Junius set up, or be a fighter that lays down for nobody. Which man would you expect John Shaft to be?
With references to Vietnam and a nod to Cassius Clay turned Muhammad Ali, Walker captures the climate while simultaneously revealing the man’s character developed through childhood, war and personal heroes. One of those heroes was Bamma Brooks. Bamma was the one who taught young Shaft to box, who taught him to never lie down for anybody. Imagine what it would do to your psyche to see that same man working for Junius Tate, the man paying you to take a fall and commanding you get tuned up in an alley after you refuse. These are the events that molded Shaft the man, to Shaft the legend.
If I had to choose a drawback to issue 1, I would only cite some expressionless faces. The artwork is great as a whole, except some fight scenes have characters whose faces look less like they’re fighting and more like they’re waiting for the crosstown bus. You might catch yourself staring at a panel wondering if you could ever look so stoic throwing a punch.
That aside, Shaft’s first issue has every sign of being an awesome series worth following closely. He makes his own decisions and faces each consequence. And the last page shows the insecurity you need as a reader to care for his character and cheer for him every step of the way: “Now, all I had to do was decide what to do with the rest of my life.” I’m excited.
Source: Jordan Calhoun at blacknerdproblems.com
AI is more than just a bad guy in sci-fi films. How close are we to creating computers that actually think on their own?
Source: The Verge
Oct. 31 was a Friday, and despite the fact there was already plenty of reason to celebrate because it was Halloween and the end of my workweek, it was also the opening day of Ohio’s Comic Con as a part of the Wizard Con circuit. I clocked out of work, threw on some jeans and my Attack on Titan Survey Corps shirt and headed straight for the convention, since there were precious hours left for the day.
Once I made it down there, grabbed my press pass (weoutchea) and made it to the floor, it was as I expected: steeped in glorious geekery. As Leslie had written about so eloquently before, not everyone can make it to New York or San Diego for the mother and father of all Cons in North America, and the smaller ones definitely have value. As this was my first year attending, I was just trying to make the rounds and soak in as much as I could without committing to anything or really planning on writing about it (you see how that worked out).
At some point, between my buying an original sketch of Master Chief and taking a picture of a homie in an awesome Deathstroke cosplay (Arkham: Origins edition), a guy came up to me pointing emphatically. “Awesome shirt, man!” I thanked him, but it is, in fact, an awesome shirt, so I get that a lot. “Check this out.” He put a long box on the table in front of us and pulled out a replica Survey Corps blade. While not sharpened steel, it was solid metal and polished, a nice collectible whether you intended to hang it on the wall or wander into the woods beyond Columbus and hunt titans. I nerded out with my new-found friend and enthusiast for a moment before making my way to the very display he had made the purchase from.
The table was glorious, just about every bladed weapon from nerd lore were on the tables, all handled with care, all available for a price. There was Jon Snow’s “Longclaw,” Cloud Strife’s sword “Buster,” Nariko’s “Heavenly Sword” and many, many more. I picked up “Buster” and marveled at its weight. This thing was awesome. I had no idea where I would put it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t contemplate dropping some credits on it. I mean, come on: FINAL FANTASY VII MEMORABILIA!
Read more from William Evans at blacknerdproblems.com
Review written by Sherese Francis of FuturisticallyAncient.com
Experiment: Write a letter to your future self or past self. Try to meditate and astral project yourself into the body of one of those selves before or while you are writing to do so. Can you remember past and future memories?
(Not from the book but in the style of it)
If you study metaphysics and archetypal psychology, you might have heard the term synchronicity. Popularized by Carl Jung, synchronicity is defined as “the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events … that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality” or as he describes it, “synchronicity is the coming together of inner and outer events in a way that cannot be explained by cause and effect and that is meaningful to the observer. I’ll be honest. I do believe in synchronicity because I have had numerous strange coincidences maybe because I was intuitively looking for something and happen to come across it, or I set things into motion by looking for something in one place and stumble across something relevant in another. For example, I applied for a poetry fellowship and I was compelled to go through the list of the previous fellows; one of them was Reginald Dwayne Betts. I read some of his poems and happened to like them. About a week or two later, I went to the library and randomly decided to look through the poetry section and found a collection of Robert Hayden poems. I remembered enjoying his poetry as well, so I flipped to the forward and started reading. The writer’s description sounded familiar and I didn’t realize why until I looked at the cover again and realized that it was written by Betts. How did I stumble across a collection introduced by Betts soon after I just found out about him? Hmmm? Does it mean something? I don’t know, but it was spooky.
Why am I beginning with this? Well a similar circumstance happens to the character Khepri in Rasheedah Phillips’ experimental book, “Recurrence Plot and Other Time Travel Tales.” For synchronicity to happen, time itself works not only in a surface-level linear fashion that implies causality, but it works also at deeper, circular, interwoven movements of several times. Phillips explores the complexities of time and memory via concepts found in metaphysics, physics, philosophy and quantum theory. The book begins and stays for a majority of the time with the main character, Khepri, whose name is the same as the Egyptian scarab beetle god of rebirth and sunrise (note: her mother in the book actually names her after the Capri Sun name but with a variation in spelling, which could be considered a play on synchronicity). Khepri is a journalist who is investigating a series of virtual reality experiments done on young teen boys who are committing violent acts afterwards for no reason. But during a day off and a travel to a thrift shop, she stumbles across a book called “Experimental Time Order,” a book within a book, which she was meant to find and is a mash-up of quotations from several thinkers and reflections on the mind, memory, time, physics, quantum physics, spirituality and metaphysics. This opens the door to conversations with her future self, which help her to reveal suppressed memories of her difficult past that will help her present self.
The major linchpin of the book is Phillips’ slippage between reality and fiction. It pervades throughout the entire book as well as in a metafictional sense. Walls between the reader and book seem to break down at several points with the inclusion of chapters of Experimental Time Order interspersed, and especially in one of the later chapters, it seems as if the reader is the one to whom the book addresses. From early in the book, it is introduced that the stories are interpreted as computer programs and the readers wonder if they are on the same experimental PTSD machine that is creating these virtual realities for the young boys and main characters. The characters in the first three stories, Khepri, Deenah and Afina, all suffer from some kind of memory issue. Khepri’s memory issues, based on this slipperiness of time and reality, make it questionable whether she is actually speaking with her future self or that her past self writes reminders to her present and future selves. All of these reinforce much of the major themes in the book of the interconnection between the observer and the observed, the slipperiness of memory and identity, the interconnectedness of all things, and the quantum concepts of life as an illusion or hologram.
Phillips also uses these themes of metaphysics, quantum physics and the construction of realities to write a commentary on social systems. Social systems are not the results of passive linear progress or the way the world just is, but a result of a mix of intentions and actions that we put into motion under the superficial surface of the results we see. We created them and there are multiple levels to life beyond what we do see. It is much like the movie of the Matrix: it takes conscious action, a mental and emotional awareness of oneself and the world around them and a recognition of patterns to cause a shift in the system (think back on synchronicity). One of the pieces of information mentioned in Experimental Time Order is the types of memory – ones that are mechanical and habitual and others that are consciously constructed. When social systems fall into the former mechanical one, it becomes dangerous because we no longer question other possibilities that exist; our attention is focused on that one possibility that we see much like the observer in the wave-particle theory. Khepri’s development of awareness of her past, present and future selves helps her see her connection and the complexities of herself in relation to institutional racism, racializied scientific experimentation and cultural philosophies about human existence.
Another linchpin of the book is its matriarchal, womb-like structure of it. The main characters of the book are all women and while they are not obviously connected or related, you sense a kind of lineage and interconnectedness of each character and the reader feels an embodiment of the characters. Each character is like a reincarnated presence of another building on the book’s idea of recurrence. Based on Phillips’ own personal stories reimagined in a speculative way, the book reinstates women as creators of worlds, a status that is often refused to them in traditional religions and other public institutions. In the ending stories, “The Shift (Afina)” and Zero Point (You), the stories ascend from more personal stories to more social and cosmic, the latter much like 2001′s “starchild” about to descend into its avatar, both in the divine being descending into human form and the computer representation of someone sense. Whether the book is read forwards or backwards as it suggests in the end, “Recurrence Plot” manages to find balance between its own chaos and order.