Had this comic cross my way a couple of times. Was always on the fence about buying that one, because I never really heard much about it. But if it's better than Hush, I'll be on the lookout for it. The only thing that I didn't really like about Hush was the ending. Wasn't really satisfied with that.
And about Killing Joke: I enjoyed the Story, and that's although I'm not really a fan of the Joker. I often feel like the writers don't do that much with the character outside of this whole "different sides of the same coin" with batman. Killing Joke has that too, but at least they're trying to give him more of a personality and some emotions, and don't just go with the "constantly laughing chaotic maniac, because everything's a joke".
What I did not enjoy much about the comic was the art. I can't really put my finger on it, but for some reason I just can't stand Brian Boland's style.
Oh yeah, that whole white/colored thing is always a bit awkward when your story is set in a world of anthropomorphic animals. I always assume, when they're talking about colored people, they literally mean color, and not just black. As in all the darker shades of the fur. I think there's even a hint at that in silent hell, when blacksad finds sebastian.
I don't really feel like the art in amarillo is rushed, but I'd have to give it another look since it's been a while I touched that one. Could be that Guarnido tried a different style, since the story of that book is also not really what you're used to from that series. However, it wouldn't surprise me if it really was rushed, considering that Guarnido probably also started to work on Les Indes Fourbes (about 160 pages) around that time. That also might be the reason why there's been no new blacksad books. But, if I can trust google, they're working on 2 new ones, with nr.6 apparently releasing on oct 26th this year.
I haven't played the game, but i heard it's pretty meh. I remember watching a random vid from YMS, where he made fun of it. Though, apparently the story is pretty solid.
- Its already been recommended here, but I thought I'd add it in just to show how many times I've actually read this series. Its hardboiled detective fiction stuffed with anthropomorphic animals, but don't let the furry labels put you off. In fact, to be real, the illustrations are so human like that there's barely anything animal about it. From the second tome onwards, all pretense of animal people is reduce to a paper-thin consistency, with very human-related themes that somewhat would never work with anthro animals, not that anyone would ever make an issue of it.
But as far as illustrations, story, and entertainment goes, this one's really up there for being both unique, and daring at the same time. Outside of kiddy comics, I've not come across another comic that features anthro animals that so well polished and not blatantly pandering to certain groups at the same time.
Ahh! I see, you're a gentleman of culture as well!
What's your favourite entry in the series? Mine's either Arctic Nation or A Silent Hell. Because of its subject matter and grey-ish colorpalette, Arctic Nation just has an awesome atmosphere that feels so serious and, well, cold. Silent Hell is pretty much the opposite of that imo. It feels so vibrant and almost wild, and the setting is also very interesting. New Orleans' jazz culture in the 50s, hell yeah!
I'll repeat what I said in the one for books, in case no one read it:
Quote From Me
I'd suggest Blacksad, one of the most successful european comics of the last two decades. It's a classic noir series: 1940s/50s America, private detective, and all that good old crime stuff. Juan Diaz Canales' writing is pretty good, but the real reason you'd want these books are Juanjo Guarnido's illustrations. His characters are just so full of life and expression, and he's a master at painting with watercolor!
A great series that got me into comics. There's 5 books with about 54 story pages each, and apparently there's a new one coming out later this year!
Other comics I'd recommend:
Batman: Hush by Jeff Loeb and Jim Lee - Just the best Artwork Lee has ever done
Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley - A retelling of the most famous Spider-Man stories with an interesting premise
Venom by Donny Cates and various artists - Just read it. It's fun. (There's a couple of crossover tie-ins and events, but, as far as I'm aware, you don't need them to understand the main story)
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley - Haven't read it yet, but by flipping trough it alone I already know it's gonna be awesome!
...and of course pretty much any european comic that you can find.
If so, then I'd suggest Blacksad, one of the most successful european comics of the last two decades. It's a classic noir series: 1940s/50s America, private detective, and all that good old crime stuff. Juan Diaz Canales' writing is pretty good, but the real reason you'd want these books are Juanjo Guarnido's illustrations. His characters are just so full of life and expression, and he's a master at painting with watercolor!
I've been playing Duels pretty much exclusively since the expansion launch, so let me tell you: Yes, it can get better - a lot!
There's still a ton of balancing that needs to be done. Like, some HPs are very overpowered, while others are just embarrasingly weak, there's treasures that are pretty much auto-pick, no matter what your deck does, while others are just completely useless, and then there's also a lot of trash buckets, that leave you wondering "what the hell?" (example: I played a lot of Rogue, and for some reason I get a Taunt buckets fairly often. I'm playing Weapon/Combo! What am I supposed to do with 5 Mana+ Taunts??).
Something else that should be looked at more is bans. Imo, there's more cards that deserve to be banned from that format than just Self-Sharpening Sword. C'Thun, the Shattered and Tour Guide are on my personal list.
I hope the Devs can gather enough data from these first seasons to improve Duels, because it has some really great potential! It combines the deckbuilding challenges that comes with rotating sets, and the crazy unpredictability of a dungeon run, which could be such a fun game mode.
Although I can't really comment on its quality from a decade ago, I only played a bit during Ikoria and Zendikar, MTG is pretty much the apex predator in the whole card game biz when it comes to art. I really like how much they got to offer on that. Not just in-game, with alternate card art and such, but also outside of it, with dozens of articles and blogs that talk about the creation process.
It's also really interesting to see how the card art has evolved. I mean, the difference between then and now so huge, it almost feels like you're looking at two different games. A great example for that imo is Nicol Bolas. Take his first card, where he looks like some old, dopey bookworm, and compare that with his modern badass-elder-dragon-god design. That stark contrast is kinda funny!
And in regards to expansion flavour: I'm excited to give the game another go later on this year! I sadly won't have the time for Kaldheim and the set after that, but, if i can believe what I've read, there's gonna be a gothic horror expansion during autumn, and I'm all up for that!
I like Duels, but that mode still needs a lot of work imo. DH and Warlock HPs are too powerful, while other are almost useless, some Treasures need to be put into other buckets, etc.
Maybe it'll get better when the mini-expansion comes out.
Cool article! I love that the hammer looks a little alive as well. The hammer heads have eyeslits and in the middle of it, there's a piece that might be a mouth. So the hammer is present in the shape of the Murloc's head and the Murloc is present in the design of the hammer. So cool!
I completely forgot to mention that, good catch!
What I like the most about this are the different hammer designs. With just a couple of characteristics, they can tell you so much about the wielder. Nr. 3 could belong to some kind of Warrior or Paladin, while Nr. 2 looks more like a wand for spellcasting classes.
Fingers crossed for Whizbang the Wonderful making a return!
There's two other minions on his ArtStation, if you wanna see more from this
And bookmarked!
Had this comic cross my way a couple of times. Was always on the fence about buying that one, because I never really heard much about it. But if it's better than Hush, I'll be on the lookout for it. The only thing that I didn't really like about Hush was the ending. Wasn't really satisfied with that.
And about Killing Joke: I enjoyed the Story, and that's although I'm not really a fan of the Joker. I often feel like the writers don't do that much with the character outside of this whole "different sides of the same coin" with batman. Killing Joke has that too, but at least they're trying to give him more of a personality and some emotions, and don't just go with the "constantly laughing chaotic maniac, because everything's a joke".
What I did not enjoy much about the comic was the art. I can't really put my finger on it, but for some reason I just can't stand Brian Boland's style.
Good. I'd rather have them work out all the problems DH has, than them throwing in even more half baked classes.
Damn, try to imagine being a zebra in that situation!
Oh yeah, that whole white/colored thing is always a bit awkward when your story is set in a world of anthropomorphic animals. I always assume, when they're talking about colored people, they literally mean color, and not just black. As in all the darker shades of the fur. I think there's even a hint at that in silent hell, when blacksad finds sebastian.
I don't really feel like the art in amarillo is rushed, but I'd have to give it another look since it's been a while I touched that one. Could be that Guarnido tried a different style, since the story of that book is also not really what you're used to from that series. However, it wouldn't surprise me if it really was rushed, considering that Guarnido probably also started to work on Les Indes Fourbes (about 160 pages) around that time. That also might be the reason why there's been no new blacksad books. But, if I can trust google, they're working on 2 new ones, with nr.6 apparently releasing on oct 26th this year.
I haven't played the game, but i heard it's pretty meh. I remember watching a random vid from YMS, where he made fun of it. Though, apparently the story is pretty solid.
Ahh! I see, you're a gentleman of culture as well!
What's your favourite entry in the series? Mine's either Arctic Nation or A Silent Hell. Because of its subject matter and grey-ish colorpalette, Arctic Nation just has an awesome atmosphere that feels so serious and, well, cold. Silent Hell is pretty much the opposite of that imo. It feels so vibrant and almost wild, and the setting is also very interesting. New Orleans' jazz culture in the 50s, hell yeah!
Oooh, now that's a thread I like to see!
I'll repeat what I said in the one for books, in case no one read it:
A great series that got me into comics. There's 5 books with about 54 story pages each, and apparently there's a new one coming out later this year!
Other comics I'd recommend:
...and of course pretty much any european comic that you can find.
AHEM.
Don't you think you're missing one??
Do comic books count?
If so, then I'd suggest Blacksad, one of the most successful european comics of the last two decades. It's a classic noir series: 1940s/50s America, private detective, and all that good old crime stuff. Juan Diaz Canales' writing is pretty good, but the real reason you'd want these books are Juanjo Guarnido's illustrations. His characters are just so full of life and expression, and he's a master at painting with watercolor!
I've been playing Duels pretty much exclusively since the expansion launch, so let me tell you: Yes, it can get better - a lot!
There's still a ton of balancing that needs to be done. Like, some HPs are very overpowered, while others are just embarrasingly weak, there's treasures that are pretty much auto-pick, no matter what your deck does, while others are just completely useless, and then there's also a lot of trash buckets, that leave you wondering "what the hell?" (example: I played a lot of Rogue, and for some reason I get a Taunt buckets fairly often. I'm playing Weapon/Combo! What am I supposed to do with 5 Mana+ Taunts??).
Something else that should be looked at more is bans. Imo, there's more cards that deserve to be banned from that format than just Self-Sharpening Sword. C'Thun, the Shattered and Tour Guide are on my personal list.
I hope the Devs can gather enough data from these first seasons to improve Duels, because it has some really great potential! It combines the deckbuilding challenges that comes with rotating sets, and the crazy unpredictability of a dungeon run, which could be such a fun game mode.
All it needs is just more tuning!
Completely agree!
Although I can't really comment on its quality from a decade ago, I only played a bit during Ikoria and Zendikar, MTG is pretty much the apex predator in the whole card game biz when it comes to art. I really like how much they got to offer on that. Not just in-game, with alternate card art and such, but also outside of it, with dozens of articles and blogs that talk about the creation process.
It's also really interesting to see how the card art has evolved. I mean, the difference between then and now so huge, it almost feels like you're looking at two different games. A great example for that imo is Nicol Bolas. Take his first card, where he looks like some old, dopey bookworm, and compare that with his modern badass-elder-dragon-god design. That stark contrast is kinda funny!
And in regards to expansion flavour: I'm excited to give the game another go later on this year! I sadly won't have the time for Kaldheim and the set after that, but, if i can believe what I've read, there's gonna be a gothic horror expansion during autumn, and I'm all up for that!
Thank you!
"Blizzard Costs A Hardworking Farmer His Job"
THEY TOOK HIS JERB!!
Mr. Popo, you may leave the lookout if you --
Really? I spent all my gold on duell runs to amass packs, and now you're telling me i could get all cards for 2000 G?!
Damnit! XD
I like Duels, but that mode still needs a lot of work imo. DH and Warlock HPs are too powerful, while other are almost useless, some Treasures need to be put into other buckets, etc.
Maybe it'll get better when the mini-expansion comes out.
I like that idea! What's the point of them anyway?
"With Hearthstone being older, they are more comfortable making more balance changes because the players can handle it."
That's right, we're big boys now!
I completely forgot to mention that, good catch!
What I like the most about this are the different hammer designs. With just a couple of characteristics, they can tell you so much about the wielder. Nr. 3 could belong to some kind of Warrior or Paladin, while Nr. 2 looks more like a wand for spellcasting classes.