Great write-up of I Play The Bad Guy #2 by Reading with a Flight Ring...

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I Play the Bad Guy #2

January 30, 2015 at 7:04am

I Play the Bad Guy #2
Bliss on Tap Publishing 2014
Created & Written by Andy Arnott
Art, Lettering & Design by Alex Cormack


This is a perfect example of why people should search through Previews and read various reviews of small press books because then you’ll find some of the most interesting stories being published today.  Free of the constraints of big corporate decisions saying what they can and cannot do with character.  So far this is an interesting story we’ve got super-powered folks who work with something inside the military to make good soldiers.



In the here and now Adams’ is on the run in complete control of his powers and more than likely stronger than he’s ever been.  As the latest mission to capture him has failed and we see a play by play as they analyze him and what he’s capable of doing it becomes clear someone thinks he’s a massive threat, uncontrolled and possibly someone that needs to be neutralized.


Major Sullivan is a bitch there’s no getting around that and honestly it’s totally what you picture a woman in the military trying to prove she’s as good if not better than any man around her.  She’s also ruthless and doesn’t mind using a child to get what she wants, oh and she’s not making any friends along the way.   This is after Frank messed Al up while he was with his granddaughter in a supermarket.


Enter Mr. Venona who can read minds.  He goes in and tries to make contact with Al  and learn what Frank is up to for Major Sullivan.  I like this because these people are sticking by each other and not giving a crap what Sullivan wants.  There’s some good subterfuge happening here and the Mazur boys, that’s what they are called those with powers, they are a tight fraternity and it’s interesting to see.


The characters are interesting and the characterization is freakin phenomenal!  These people are complex and their motives are unclear and the story has yet to really unfold to tell us who is good and who isn’t though for all intents and purposes it would seem they’d like us to think it’s Frank whose the bad guy.  Me I think they are trying to make him out to be one and that they are using him and forcing his actions so they can blame him for something.  After all the military can’t let them just be if they aren’t working for them or learn their secrets so they can create more for themselves.


This is some great thought provoking stuff.  You really have to read it, pay attention to it and try to read more into what is going to see if your right.  This is heavier stuff than you see at the so-called big companies because it’s a more realistic view and what would happen if people with powers existed.  This is the exciting kind of stuff that grabs your attention keeps you reading the story.


Alex is really in his element as well and more than coming into his own as bona fide illustrator.  His work is original, fun and fast paced and descriptive plus there are plenty of instances with great attention to detail.   Plus the effects of the powers were just incredibly well done.   Each individual character is full of life and personality.


Bliss on Tap is a prime example of why you NEED to pay attention to the little guy.

New Future Proof #2 review by Reading with a Flight Ring

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Future Proof #2

January 27, 2015 at 7:55am

Future Proof #2
Bliss on Tap Publishing 2014
Created by Brian Phillipson & Alex Murillo
Written by Alex Murillo
Art by Alex Cormack


One of the things I got from reading this issue is that this is kind of like seeing Blue Beetle and Booster Gold without their suits traveling through time trying to stop evil from happening.  It’s filled with all the fun that would entail in two characters who seem to have good intentions but bumble their way through it all.  Murillo has managed to weave an interesting tale of time travel and stopping terrible things from happening with some of the best buddy antics around.


So our boys have made it to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on October 28th 1943 and the U.S.S. Eldridge.  As they are going to board they are approached by a hooded figure who as it turns out is actually Albert Einstein.   He thinks the mission of this ship must not be undertaken and that it’s doomed to fail.  A cryptic warning from someone of his caliber.


On board their commanding officer is quick to put them in their place and point them in the right direction.   I dunno about military life but this guy is an ass and he likes to yell, a lot.  I’m guessing that this is semi-normal for this era and those who are in command.  Of course there is a mystery surround this ship like why are there empty animal cages on board?   Still the boys retain their sense of humor throughout the inspection and duty assignments.  Where of course another sailor thinks the boys are up to something and will do whatever he can to find out what.


As luck, fate, the gods would have it our boys now Hopper and Brody are assigned to the MP’s since they are short handed.  So while changing into their new uniforms they take a peak at what it is their mission is.  This was awesome because it appears to be some sort of Nazi weapon, well it has a swastika, in the form a bell.  So while they are learning what the parameters of the mission the one who thinks something is up is spying on them and jumps to the wrong conclusion cause he’s an idiot.


So what happens from here on out is a series of events that do and don’t go as planned.  I’m really beginning to think that whoever recruited these two had no idea what they were doing.  However the circumstances that they find themselves in are incredibly weird, fun and interesting to put it mildly.  Including the man who created the Bell on board the ship for them who is a defector of the Furor and stole the original plans one Dr. Strughold.  This is where Cormack shines, I mean the boys look amazing and slightly bromance sexual but Dr. Strughold is beyond creepy and all sorts of don’t trust me i’m still a Nazi looking man.

To understand the things that happen around the table when they are talking you have to read this but suffice it to say that Tesla is dead and Einstein doesn’t want anything to do with this so they’ve got this defected German helping them.  So on a time deadline the boys have to work fast but that guy who wants to bust them rushes them into action and well yeah it all hits the fan.  The result of what they do to the bell can be seen in Cormack’s impressive artwork.


It’s interesting how the mind works to create this story because its them trying to prevent events like others using time travel but end up influencing the course of history the way it’s supposed to unfold.  It all looks like it’s happening by accident to boot.  With a discovery found in ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs pointing everyone in the right direction this is freakin creative stuff.  Both Alex’s have gone above and beyond the call of duty here.  This is what the imagination used to create something special is all about.

Latest Future Proof review, courtesy of Steven Alloway and Fanboycomics.net

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‘Future Proof #3:’ Advance Comic Book Review

Written by  Steven W. Alloway, Fanboy Comics Contributor

In each issue of Future Proof, things get just a little more complex and a little more twisted. As we learned in the first issues, time travel always has repercussions, and though the purpose of our heroes’ mission is to fix those repercussions, their new adventures can’t help but have repercussions of their own. The threads from previous issues are becoming entwined with one another, and someone is using them to accomplish something sinister.

While previous missions have been to cause the Kennedy assassination and stop the Philadelphia Experiment, this issue’s seems a little tamer. It involves hanging out with Babe Ruth. It’s fairly straightforward, but things aren’t always what they seem—the issue ends with a sinister “Continued in Part 2.”

This is a fun issue, less intense than the previous one, with a bit of dark humor, and just the right amount of intrigue. Every issue draws us further into this strange web of time travel. Issue #3 is one you won’t want to miss.

A nice talk up about Future Proof #3: Comic Book Chronicles Ep. 103 - 1/22/2015

Future Proof #3 is out & about!

First Look at the cover of FUTURE PROOF 5...in stores May 2015!

I Play the Bad Guy #2 digital download links

I Play The Bad Guy #2 is available for digital download at the following sites:

Comixology

Amazon

eBooks

I Play The Bad Guy issue #2 has been listed as one of the "5 Comics Not To Miss This Week" by Word of the Nerd Online!

In stores starting 1/7/15.

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5 Comics Not To Miss This Week 

It’s the first New Comics Day of 2015 and we’ve got an excellent group of comics to recommend to you.  First up from DC Comics is Green Lantern #38.  Carol Ferris guest stars as Hal Jordan returns to Earth for a little R&R.  From Marvel Comics comes Avengers No More Bullying #1.  This one-shot issue guest starring a number of Marvel stars sees the Avengers attempt to stamp out bullying.  Next from Image Comics is Nailbiter #9.  Is it possible for every child in a small town to become a serial killer?  I Play the Bad Guy #2 from Bliss On Tap Publishing makes their 5 Comics debut.  Frank has a lead on his daughter and starts to assemble a team.  And last from Dark Horse Comics comes the critically acclaimed Usagi Yojimbo Senso #6.  Prepare yourself for the final, titanic battle to decide the fate of Usagi’s world!  We’ve sorted through this week’s comic book releases to bring you in no particular order the five comic books that you should simply not miss this week!

Great Fanboy Comics advanced review of I Play the Bad Guy #2

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‘I Play the Bad Guy #2:’ Advance Comic Book Review

Written by  Steven W. Alloway, Fanboy Comics Contributor

The story continues of Frank, the former government superhero who’s now willing to do whatever it takes to recover his daughter from that same government. In the last issue, we saw him betray, torture, and brutally kill his former partner from the old days in order to get information. This issue opens on a scene from those old days and shows us the kind of bond, the kind of friendship, that they had back then. Seeing the two of them interact, joke around, and help each other out really heightens the gruesome violence we saw last issue. After that camaraderie, how did it ever come to this?

We also get to see a more thorough display of Frank’s superpower (telekinesis) as he uses it to fight off a strike team who’s been sent to take care of him—and who is woefully underprepared. Finally, we meet Lloyd Venona, another super, this one with the ability to read minds—particularly those that are comatose or otherwise incapacitated—by jacking into them like a pair of headphones.

It’s a very exciting issue all around. The violence in this one is less gory, like the previous issue, and more action-oriented, which makes it less intense—even though it’s on a larger scale. One interesting thing to note, though: as we learned in the previous issue, Frank’s reason for all of this is to find his daughter who has been taken and perhaps recruited by what he sees as a corrupt organization. Though normally a good guy, it would seem he’s been forced to “play the bad guy” in order to get her back. Only it becomes increasingly apparent that maybe being “forced” into villainy isn’t such a big step for him. The look on his face as he kills and destroys those who have been sent after him is one of maniacal glee.

Another thing that makes this comic interesting is the age of many of the characters. In today’s youth-obsessed culture, even a lot of “seasoned” protagonists are late twenty-somethings. Frank and company, however, got their powers at around 40 years ago. They were at least in their early 20s then, which makes Frank—and a number of others—retirement age. His daughter, rather than a helpless, kidnapped, little girl, is an adult who presumably went with this “evil organization” of her own free will. It makes for an interesting dynamic throughout. It’s also kind of fun to see characters in their 60s who still know how to kick butt.

This is a fun issue in what’s turning out to be an interesting story arc. It’s probably not for kids, but those who enjoy action and mayhem and stories that are just different from the norm should enjoy it quite a bit.

Future Proof #2 digital download links

Future Proof #2 is available for digital download at the following sites:

Comixology

DriveThruComics

Amazon

iTunes

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