"Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another."
- Iliad (1.1-8), Homer
Quantum Mortis — The independent planet of Rhysalan provides Sanctuary to 1,462 governments-in-exile. It is the responsibility of the Xenocriminology and Alien Relations department of the Military Crimes Investigation Division to keep a firm leash on the hundreds of thousands of xenos residing on-planet. Assassinations, revolutions, civil wars, and attempted planetary genocides are all in a day's work for Chief Warrant Officer Graven Tower, MCID-XAR. In addition to a missile-armed aerovar, his trusty Sphinx CPB-18, and MCID's extremely liberal policies concerning collateral damage and civilian casualties, Chief Tower is assisted by his extreme xenophobia as well as a military-grade augmented machine intelligence that believes it has found God. QUANTUM MORTIS is an action-packed Mil-SF mystery series.
This time I decided to try recreating in Heroforge Private First Class Graven Tower from the Quantum Mortis prequell Tell it to the Dead. Based on the first episode, Tell it to the Dead looks like an exciting military sci-fi thriller, Considering that it is free to read, I can't recommend it enough to any fans of Space Marines.
Here are the results.
You can find the link to the model here.
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| Photo: Arktoons |
With all 30 comics now published in the first week since the launch of Arktoons, I decided it's time to take a look back, and declare winners. First by day, and then by genre. This is of course all subjective, and based after my own taste, so feel free to disagree with my choices, and tell me in the comments why some other comic should win. You can also agree, I won't mind.
First, my winners by day of the week:
Wednesday
Thursday
Ascendant: Star Spangled Squadron
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
And my winners by genre:
The Hammer of Freedom — Every record has been destroyed or falsified. Every book has been rewritten. Every picture has been repainted. History has stopped. Nothing exists except the endless present and there is nothing that stands against the end of history and the enslavement of Man. Except The Hammer of Freedom!
Ever since I read the first two episodes of Hammer of Freedom last week, I'm looking forward to the next episode. And while that is the case with great majority of the title at Arktoons, Luciano Cunha's Hammer of Freedom is a bit special.
Forgotten Ruin is a first book in a new epic military fantasy thriller series by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. After the success with Galaxy's Edge series in military sci-fi genre the two decided to try their hand at fantasy.
And after finishing the book I can say they succeeded. Described as "Tolkien meets Shock and Awe" Forgotten Ruin follows an elite task force of U.S. Army Rangers who find themselves in a fantasy world not unlike something out of Dungeons and Dragons with the mission to (re)establish modern civilisation.
Since there will be potential spoilers, consider yourself properly warned.
Personally I found the narrator, who is also the protagonist rather annoying. In time I learnt to appreciate him. Especially once we were past the necessary infodumps that were disrupting the natural flow of the story. That is the only criticism I have of the book.
Having read Cole & Anspach's Galaxy's Edge series, there is resemblance in plot to the Legionnaire. Considering both Forgotten Ruin and Legionnaire are the first entry to the new series I can understand why the authors chose tried and true formula.
The Rangers in Forgotten Ruin are the underdogs trying to figure things out. Strangers in a strange land full of dangers they don't know or understand. Dangers they are incapable of fathoming. This allows the authors to put the characters through a number of dangerous scenarios and allow the reader to get to know them, root for them, and by the end of the book empathise with them. And when it comes to pulling on the heart strings of the reader, Anspach and Cole are professionals.
I heartily recommend this book to any aficionado of military sci-fi and fantasy.
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| Art by Minna Sunberg |
I first came across the short graphic novel about a bunch of bunnies living in a world with social credit system a month or so ago. It was Brian Niemeier who brought "Lovely People" by Finnish author Minna Sunberg to my attention.
As Niemeier put it:
"The artist behind Lovely People, Minna Sundberg, is an unapologetic Christian, which probably won't win her much acclaim in her home country of Finland.
What's most striking about this delightfully dystopian comic is the fluffy bunnies. Its next most impressive aspect is how the creator nailed the cloying, effeminate nature of Death Cult coercion.
The Cult won't be satisfied with you mouthing the right platitudes, signaling the right virtues, and conspicuously consuming the right product. Just as Christian missionaries genuinely hope their new flocks will enter into personal relationships with Jesus Christ, the Death Cult's anti-evangelists want you to really love Big Brother."
I'm glad I took the time, and read it, because I can't recommend it enough. I love the art, the story, and the message of hope. Sunberg managed to weave the central message of Christianity into a story about dissidents in a world of social credit system.
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| Art by Minna Sunberg |
It makes me want to get Lovely People on Arktoons, so more people would be exposed to it. Until then, Lovely People remains free to read on the internet in its entirety.
Enjoy.
