Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Memories is a set of three animated science fiction tales. These three stories are adapted from manga short stories by the legendary writer Katsuhiro Otomo. Katsuhiro Otomo worked on Akira, Robot Carnival, and Steamboy. All three animated yarns total 113 minutes of content. Memories was released in 1995.

There is light violence and adult themes in the stories but overall Memories is pretty tame. Amazon rates the DVD at PG-13 and I think that is accurate.

I purchased the standard edition version of Memories. I will be reviewing that version in this article.

-== What I Like ==-

The first story on Memories is the favorite of many reviewers. Magnetic Rose is the story of a space garbage collection team who gets a distress signal that leads them to a “haunted” residence of a former opera singer. As they search the place they get pulled into the life of the former owner. The story is both creepy and seductive. The artwork is clean and fresh. I give this story an 8 out of 10 paws.

Stink Bomb is the second story. This Memories tale involves an employee who mistakenly takes an experimental drug thinking it is flu medicine. Things go from bad to worse when everyone start dying around him. The protagonist is completely clueless to what is happening which loads the story full of black comedy. The writing is wonderful. The story is funny, charming, and smart. I give this story 9 out of 10 paws.

The final story of Memories, Cannon Fodder, is a gorgeous glimpse into the steampunk aesthetic. The story involves a schoolchild in a city at war with a nebulous foe. His father goes to work each day to work on the cannons. The child’s big dream is being the one who gets to fire the biggest cannon. The artwork is looser than the other stories but it really matches the tale perfectly. Cannon Fodder is not anything like its title…it is top notch. I give this story 8 out of 10 stars.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The extra DVD features include trailers and a “making of” piece called “Memories Of Memories“. The extras are not exciting.

-== Summary ==-

Memories is strong collection of science fiction anime tales. At a price point of below $15 this DVD is a real steal. Go make some of your own memories watching anime writer Katsuhiro Otomo at his best.

I give it 8 out of 10 paws.

You can get a copy at Amazon for $14.97 at this URL. Surprisingly RightStuf.com does not have copies of Memories for sale.

-== What is it? ==-

Samurai Jack Season 1 is an animated TV show about a powerful samurai who gets sent to the future by an evil Chinese devil known as Aku. Season 1 originally aired from August 2001 to November 2001. It was produced by Genndy Tartakovsky.

There is no nudity in the series and no sexual references. Combat involves the destruction of robots and strange beasts only. Fight scenes in Samurai Jack are very violent but they are done in a light cinematic fashion. I would rate the series at 10 years and up.

I purchased the standard edition version of the DVD boxed set. There are XIII episodes that are roughly 22 minutes length. The DVD entry on Amazon says that there is 299 minutes of material in the boxed set.

-== What I Like ==-

Samurai Jack is an iconic cartoon series and one of the things that helped catapult Genndy Tartakovsky into the spotlight of animation greatness. Each episode of the series is presented as a small movie with sweeping cinematic images and fantastic storytelling. Season 1 of Samurai Jack lays the groundwork for the rest of the series.

The individual episodes in season 1 are not as strong as those in season 2 but there are still some standouts that deserve mention. Here are the episodes that I would rank at 8 out of 10 paws or higher.

• I – 10 out of 10 paws – The main story of Aku and Jack. The training scenes with young Jack are breathtakingly done and capture the attention of the viewer. The artwork style is clean yet fluid. The music is sweeping in scope and really sets the tone for the epic nature of the series.
• III – 8 out of 10 paws – A very A-Team like episode. The extended fight scene in this ep ebbs and flows through its course.
• V – 8 out of 10 paws – Astronauts trying to return home. Jack allows them to escape but traps himself in the future.
• VI – 10 out of 10 paws – A fantastic yarn where Jack meets a strange woman in black who has a prophecy about a gem that can return Jack to the past. The pair travel across the land facing dangers. Wonderful ending. Iconic Jack ep.
• VII – 10 out of 10 paws – This might be my favorite ep of the first season. It involves a legend of a pool that can grant wishes and three blind kangaroo archers of superior skill. The casual opening is just fantastic. It is a calm before the storm. The way music and sound are used and taken away in this episode is off the charts beautiful. Listen to and watch one of the greatest Jack stories of the entire run.
• IX – 9 out of 10 paws – In this story Jack visits an underwater city. Fantastic fish creatures and ships. Wonderful plot twist.
• XI – 9 out of 10 paws – This ep is Jack’s first meeting with the Scotsman. The scene on the bridge is fantastic and wonderfully done. The Scotsman is by far my favorite recurring Samurai Jack character.
• XII – 9 out of 10 paws – Mobsters who befriend Jack for their own gain. This ep shows the vast range that the design crew was willing to take with the series. From the Scotsman to dog mobsters. Don’t get much better.
• XIII – 8 out of 10 paws – Nice story of some kids telling fairy takes about Jack and Aku. The ep gets really funny when Aku tells his version of the stories where he is the hero. Classic ep.

There are not a lot of extras with the Season 1 boxed set. The only extra worth commenting about is a “making of” piece. It is nicely done but I would have liked to see a bit more. There are also episode commentaries which vary in relevance.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

There are a couple of episodes in the first season that are not that strong. I am not fond of ep II where Jack gets his name or ep VIII that really has no plot besides a bunch of bounty hunters trying to kill Jack. Both lack the heart of other episodes in Season 1.

-== Summary ==-

Samurai Jack is one of my favorite animated TV shows of all time. The only animated series that even comes close is Batman: The Animated Series from Bruce Timm. Season 1 of the series is a GREAT collection and is highly recommended. The price point from Amazon is also quite good.

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.

You can get copies of the DVD on Amazon for $15.49 at this URL.

-== What is it? ==-

The Adventures Of The 19XX (19XX) is a pulp web comic that has been bound and published by it’s creator, writer, and artist Paul Roman Martinez. The collection of web comics are split into two stories called Rise Of The Black Faun and Montezuma 1934. Each story is bound into a separate hardback book. Funding for the books was conducted through a kickstarter.

The 19XX books have color covers and beautiful color interior art. The books are 10.25” x 6.75” and are roughly 130 pages in length. The pages are not numbered so it is a bit hard to calculate the exact length of each book. I am reviewing print copies of 19XX that I bought through the kickstarter.

-== What I Like ==-

The 19XX is a group of elite heroes who travel around the world on a massive zeppelin called the Carpathian. They use their talents to fight evil before the start of World War II. Adventures have some mystical elements that really pump up the storytelling.

The writing for 19XX is top notch. Each storyline is split into several action filled chapters. Tension builds in each chapter until is reaches a climactic finish where the stakes are very high. This is great pulp writing.

The various main characters and people that they meet along the way are dynamic and chock full of pulpy goodness. Some of my favorite 19XX characters include the baseball swinging Penn, The Kid and his intelligent rabbit friend Togo, and Vera the tank driver. Some really memorable villains include the undead Shining Skull, the elder god tainted Demonhand, and the twisted beekeeper Modomnoc. One really neat addition to the stories is the presence of historical figures. The main characters will meet or mention people like Nikola Tesla, Howard Hughes, Freida Khalo, and the ghost of Isambard Brunnel.

The artwork in 19XX is detailed but not cluttered. Focus is put on the characters and the gear/vehicles. Backgrounds are often left empty or lightly rendered. You can tell that the artist took a lot of care when drawing the various vehicles. It really adds a nice touch of authenticity to the stories.

The production quality of the books is wonderful. The front covers for the 19XX books are full color with cloth bindings. The interior pages are bright and vibrant. These are high quality books.

One really fun aspect of the 19XX “franchise” is that you can pickup lots of different products related to the property. From the online store you can get the books, patches, t-shirts, bags, models, and prints. I got some of the patches and they are top quality. Next I think I may get a t-shirt…but which one!!! 😀

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

My only complaint with the storytelling in 19XX is that sometimes the pacing can feel a bit jerky. I think this is because each strip was initially presented as an individual web comic. In my opinion this is more evident in the first book. The second book flows a bit better.

There are a lot of main 19XX characters, villains, and side characters. (See the associated picture with this article. This picture shows the 19XX heroes only.) At times I wanted to hear more about a given character. As part of the kickstarter I also pledged for books called Secret Files. These books contain additional information and stories about some of the characters from the books. These really added to the experience for me. I recommend purchasing these with the main two collections.

-== Summary ==-

The Adventures Of 19XX might be my favorite pulp comic strip and I have read quite a few of them. I’m waiting for the next story to finish so I can buy the third book. Each book has a price point of $19.95 which is VERY reasonable for the quality of the presentation, artwork, and storytelling. If you want high-action stories full of pulpy goodness then look no farther than The Adventures Of 19XX.

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.

You can get copies of the books at this URL for $19.95. Here is a link to the main 19XX site.