Modern Gaming: I'm Out.

 

I was undecided about what to do when the PS5 I own reached the end of its lifespan. Part of me considered building a PC for myself or even getting a Steam Deck, but I was too undecided. However, typical of the modern gaming world, certain events came to pass that pushed me to the conclusion that I just can't do it anymore.

The first was the announcement of the PS5 Pro.

This is something that I feel will shape console releases in the years to come. Announced without a disc drive, the console will cost $700/£700, and sure, it boasts some nice graphical performances. But, is it worth that cost? Not as far as I'm concerned. But that wasn't the worst part. If I wanted one with a disc drive, I'd need to pay an additional $80/£80 for the drive as an add-on. If that wasn't enough, I'd also have to pay another $25/£25 for the vertical stand, something which came as standard with regular PS5s. All that together would cost $805/£805, which is an insane amount. I can only wonder who the hell thought this was a good idea. It reminds me of when Ken Lay was asked a question at an Enron meeting on a question card he read out:

"I would like to know if you're on crack. If you are, it would explain a lot. If not, you might want to start, because it'll be a long time before we trust you again."

Spending that much on a PC would get me a pretty good build, but I simply can't be bothered to do it anymore. Such a move from Sony, I can only describe as greedy, and it's a real shame.

The second instance came with the announcement of the PS5 Anniversary Edition.

This one really pissed me off.

Having been an owner of the original PS1 and having some fond memories of it, I really liked the design of the Anniversary Edition. But, one of the first things I read about the console was that Sony was only making 12,300 of them. As soon as I heard that, I had a feeling they'd all be bought up and put on eBay, going for stupid prices, sold by scalpers. Sure enough, it happened, and I was so disappointed. Again, Sony really screwed up, and it led to some of the consoles going for around $5000-$6000 on eBay. If any of you scalpers are reading this: fuck you. I really hope nobody is stupid enough to pay those prices, but since eBay is the only place one can be found, you never know.

I had forgotten about those two examples until recently, when Nintendo announced the Switch 2. I decided to take a cautious approach to the release, whereas my wife was really excited about it. That was until the prices started to trickle out. There are too many for me to be bothered to list in this blog piece, but this tweet from GameStop showcases most of them. By the end of the week, my wife's excitement for the release had gone, and it got me thinking again about how much longer I was going to keep gaming.

After a while, I decided it just wasn't worth it anymore. The price of games is creeping up, micro transactions are a regular thing, thanks to all the idiots who used them, and the consoles themselves are getting more expensive. And then there's the quality of modern games, something I could go on about forever, but I'll just say almost nothing that's being released is worth the money. My last purchases have been remasters, remakes, and older releases in a sale. See a pattern there?

So, once my PS5 reaches the end of its lifespan, I'm done. I've decided I'm going to go back to retro gaming. I have the money to do such a hobby now, and can afford some of those classic consoles I never got to own when I was younger. A (modded) Sega Saturn is at the top of my list because a lot of the classic, 2D arcade shooters have the best versions on that console, including some Japan-only exclusives. Will they be expensive? Sure, but will they be worth it? Yeah, because I know I'll get much more enjoyment out of them than most modern games. 

Will I get a Steam Deck, or one of these rumoured Steam Consoles? Maybe. There are enough old releases out there that I never got to play, I might not. Time will tell, I guess, but given the potential prices, maybe not. But, just thinking about getting a Saturn, or even getting a PS1 again, gets me excited for what games I can play, or play again. I've not felt that level of excitement about any modern console or game release, and that's really telling.

Celebrating the Good Stuff: Charlie's London: From Walworth to Wartime.

 

In past blog entries, I've written of my now distaste for crowdfunded comics and how I simply won't back most of them anymore. One of the creators I'm still happy to back is Ayse Fennelly, and her series of books on the life of Charlie Chaplin, Charlie's London. The first book, From East Lane to the Limelight, dealt with Chaplin's homecoming while a dark cloud hung over him. From Walworth to Wartime covers the mixed fortunes of Chaplin's movie career, his love life, and the outbreak of the Second World War.

The story jumps back and forth in time, from an aged Charlie reminiscing with his wife, to the younger man toiling on movies while his marriages crumbled. It is equal parts poignant, tragic, and even celebratory when setting the sun on his most famous character. The art from the artist known only as Mickey is nothing short of beautiful, and Peter Gilmore's colours are the icing and cherry on top of an already nice cake. The book is of great quality and bigger than the original, offering an additional thirty pages. When this was announced in a campaign update, myself and many other backers were more than pleased.

I've been critical of previous crowdfunded projects and Charlie's London is no different, but the reasons for such criticisms are. Yes, the book was late, but there were issues with the printing company, and Fennelly herself suffered from a minor illness. But, a glance at the campaign's comments section shows that while all this was going on, Fennelly showed remarkable customer service by answering the concerns of her backers.

It must also be noted that book two took much less than book one, a difference of £19,065 between them. This was because, in my mind, Fennelly wasn't on Twitter or YouTube engaging in the rage-baiting that other creators have done (you know who you are,) she has simply been doing the work. It's daft that's where we are with crowdfunding, but sadly, many have muddied the waters and made it harder for others to sell their product, and I think Charlie's London has been a victim of that.

I will happily look forward to the next book, as I know that not only will the quality certainly be there, but I also know that Fennelly's mind will be focused on the work, not the online drama.

2024 for me.

 

When I thought about what I was going to write for this blog entry at the end of November, it was going to start something like this:

The year has been a real rollercoaster ride, but it finally settled down with me in a good job, a great plan for the future, and my writing projects all laid out. It's so nice to feel settled after all I've been through after being made redundant from my old job. Onwards and upwards.

But, just when I thought life had finally settled down and things were going my way, the rug was pulled from under me spectacularly.

On Monday the 2nd of December, I arrived at my job to find the depot boss already in. He asked if I had a minute. After sitting in his office, he sighed, and I knew something was up. He informed me that, because of the Labour government's budget, the company had been forced to introduce cost-cutting measures, and since I was at the end of my probation period, I was being let go. I'd never truly felt the sensation of everything crashing down around me until then. Don't get me wrong, some moments in the past had come pretty close, but that moment tops them all. What made it hurt all the more was that the week before, I'd expressed my concerns about my job, and he had assured me I was safe. But, over the weekend, the upper management had overruled him. He was genuinely sorry to let me go, and I could tell by the look on his face. So, I said my goodbyes and left.

It was the coldest, loneliest walk home I'd ever had, and it's painful to remember as I write this. The worst part was that I had to go home to an empty house. Nobody was there to talk to except the horrible silence. I was a mess.

I started job hunting right away, but there was no luck. I was unemployed for two weeks before friends at my old job put me in contact with the agency the company used. I ended up back there, the one place I'd thought was long behind me. It was nice to see a lot of the old faces, and that made it easier, but the pain of losing a job I loved was still heavy in my chest. I went back there to pick up a Christmas hamper that had been ordered for me before my departure. My former boss and I talked, and he said the place hadn't been the same since I'd left. They were tough words to hear but also nice in some small way. He suspected there was a slight possibility of me returning there, depending on how things went over the next few years, but I couldn't see it with this current government. So, I collected my things and left. I can't see myself ever going back there, but life is funny like that, isn't it?

During my year, I'd managed to get Detective in Mind 2: Rogue finished and released. Given all that I'd gone through, I had even forgotten to blog about its release, and I feel stupid about that. However, the book sold well, and books 1 and 2 are still selling to this day. I'm insanely grateful to the community for that, and at the time of writing this, book 3 is in the works. My old job's main office area has a small bookshelf consisting mainly of cookery books. My old boss bought a copy of each and put them there without telling me. When I spotted them, I was so touched, and I take some comfort in the fact they are still there. It's like I left my own little mark on the place.

"Justin was here," I suppose.

I don't know what 2025 holds for me. I'll watch for a full-time job, but with this current Labour government, who knows. I know I'll never vote for either them or the Conservatives ever again. Say what you like about that, but one party put the country in a fine mess, and the other made it worse, trying to improve things. In the UK, we're truly at the point where there are no good choices anymore, and it's such a shame.

But, I shall carry on. I don't want my life or writing to suffer, but I've had one hell of a hurdle to overcome. The wound of my job loss is still raw and will take some time to heal, but I can be thankful I have some great family and friends around me to help with that.

I'll finish this blog entry by encouraging anyone reading this to treasure those around you. You'll never know when you need them the most.

Celebrating the Good Stuff: Kamen America.

 

When it came to backing Yaira, or anything to do with Rippaverse Comics, I was late to the party. When it came to backing Kamen America, or anything to do with Antarctic Press and Iconic Comics, I was very late to the party. This wasn't the fault of those involved, I had been burned by the lateness of certain CG products and had become much more selective with who I gave my money to. The online drama certainly didn't help with this, although those involved with Rippaverse, Antarctic, and Iconic have been involved with that the least, as this documentary shows. Still, I was apprehensive.

After Yaira was such a fun read, I decided to try Kamen America, given what I had seen of it on Twitter. I got hold of a copy of issue one, Stars and Strife, and was immediately taken with the fun and vibrant art within. After being caught in an explosive accident, our heroine, Carly, gains superpowers and is signed up by a media relations agency, given a crappy super hero name and back story, and sent out to fight monsters and villains. It isn't smooth sailing. She learns to navigate these choppy waters before eventually going it alone.

The writing is fun, contained nothing cringe-worthy, and gave us a character worth investing in. The art also comes across as fun, not to mention colourful and dramatic, especially when Carly finally becomes Kamen America.

It's obvious that the series has a legion of fans and quite rightly so. As far as I'm aware, Timothy Lim and Mark Pellegrini have only ever been late with one book. That was by three weeks, and it was due to a delay with a perk that was shipped with the book in question. They have smashed their funding goals for each issue, as was the case with volume 9, shown here on Kickstarter.

I'll be investing more in this series in the new year, and I highly recommend you do, too. Because, if anything, at the very least, you'll get the books on time.

Celebrating the Good Stuff: Transformers.

 

Until the release of Skybound's Transformers issue 1, I had stopped collecting comics for almost a year. What was out there just wasn't for me and, to be frank, a lot of it just looked like crap. So, I emptied my pull folder and cancelled all my subscriptions. I'd pop into the shop once in a while to buy a collectable here and there, but there was nothing on the shelves that really grabbed me.

That was until I watched Thinking Critical's video on the new release, written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson, someone I had not heard of before. What the video showed, great art and a story to match, was enough to prompt me to visit my store and buy the issue. I even went one step further and bought the Orlando Arocena variant cover, something I don't often do.

Now, I'm an old-school Transformers geek and have been all my life. I had been buying the series IDW produced before this, but thinking back on the story, I can't remember anything about it. Nothing of real note happened. Upon opening this comic, I was treated to the story of the Transformers coming to Earth, crash-landing in their ship, but told with more menace on the part of the Decepticons, and utter bad-ass moments from the Autobots. Hell, one of the best moments is Optimus Prime suplexing Starscream during a fight, one in which he takes quite a few hits himself.

And then, saving the human characters who helped him, and getting the hell out of there when he knows he's outnumbered, in a moment which looks amazingly cool.

The first story arc ends with, not only one hell of a fight, but two moments of tragedy, and left me wanting more. Sadly, Daniel Warren Johnson has only drawn the first six issues and is only writing the first twelve. The artist that has taken over from him, Jorge Corona, has done a great job, but I can't help but worry about who will take over writing duties. It's been documented that certain comic writers have a habit of writing poor stories, and putting in self-insert characters, breaking the immersion. The video by comic shop owner Glenn O'Leary talked about this, leading to many in the industry attacking him. 

So, I will wait with caution to see who takes over the writing duties from Johnson, but I will give Skybound their dues. They started this series off strong and I hope it continues this way.

But, this series provided something else for me. Something I consider to be my holy grail. A collector had Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen, sign a copy of the Arocena variant cover back in April of this year, and had it graded via CGC. I purchased that comic from eBay and it now sits proudly on my desk, something I smile at whenever I look at it.

A thing of beauty, I'm sure you agree?

Celebrating the Good Stuff: The Mythicals.

During my time on the Bargain Bin show with my buddies Aria, Dave, and Rob, we had some cool guests on. One of them was H. Wayne Desper, and we talked with him about his comic, The Mythicals, which he was funding.

After a job interview that doesn't go so well, Nancy Moon goes out to drown her sorrows with a friend. As they head home, the women are attacked by a supernatural creature, an event that will change Nancy's life. At the time of writing this, two issues have been funded and published. Issue one ends with one hell of a twist, which, of course, I won't spoil. Issue two progresses the story nicely, allowing it room to breathe and time for us, the readers, to get to know the characters. The future looks promising for the overall arc.

Desper is one of a few creators out there who has my money the moment a project of his is announced. Both issues of The Mythicals are the only comics I have backed, besides Yaira, that actually arrived on time. That tells me that Desper is a man who has his shit together where so many others do not. While he is active on Twitter, the man has not allowed the dramas to distract him. He has delivered two quality packages, thanks to the hard work he and his team have put in. These include card stock covers, quality paper within, trading cards, and even metal trading cards, which I personally love. Part of the package of issue two was a cool standee of one of the characters, Samuel, whose introduction is nothing short of hilarious.

It has a place on my desk, but some days I wonder if it's a good idea. I swear the damn thing is quietly judging me when I'm not writing, especially with the gaze artist Irene has drawn it with.

I look forward to the next issue and recommend that everyone check it out. The story is excellent, the art is the same, and you'll get the books on time.

It's a shame other independent creators can't do the same.

Celebrating the Good Stuff: Yaira.

 

At the time of writing this, I am still awaiting the fulfilment of four comics from people identifying themselves as ComicsGate. They were due on the following dates: October 2020, February 2021, November 2022, and July 2023. As a result of such lateness and some questionable behaviour on Twitter (I'm not calling it X,) I simply won't back around 90% of the 'creators' out there anymore. A few will automatically have my money when they announce a project simply because they have delivered good products in the past. But that is a tiny list now.

I had been aware of Eric July and the announcement of Rippaverse Comics but had not backed any of his graphic novels. The first reason is an obvious one, how badly I'd been burned backing a lot of CG stuff. The second reason was simply because I didn't have the money to do so. Postage becomes a significant factor for us international backers, especially when it almost matches the cost of the book we're backing. But, I watched nonetheless as Isom #1, Alphacore #1, and Isom #2 were launched, each to a fantastic success. Each time, I wished I had backed the books.

During the run of the previously mentioned campaigns, I also noticed the negative attention directed at July and those working under him at Rippaverse Comics. Nearly all of it came from creators attached to ComicsGate and, amusingly, those who struggle to get their books out on time. To me, a lot of it was borderline abuse, especially when a masked individual took a photograph next to the grave of July's Grandfather, whom he named the character of Isom after. Perhaps I was naive in thinking that creators would celebrate and support each other in such trying times, but a friend reminded me that all this is very much 'Crabs in a Bucket.'

Then Yaira was announced, supported by animated videos, a live-action trailer, and some cool merchandise. Before all this, I had been aware of the writers, the Soska sisters, but to a small degree. I knew they were popular in the horror scene and had written Black Widow for Marvel, but nothing else around those. The trailers alone got me interested in Yaira, and I really liked the art. So, on March 11th this year, I took the risk and backed the book. My books arrived on June the 4th, yesterday at the time of writing this. That's the quickest I've ever received any product I've supported through crowdfunding.

But is it any good?

Yes. The story was fun and had plenty of entertaining action, including some excellent airborne combat. It also gives Yaira a great origin story, which provides the reader with a firm understanding of why the character behaves the way she does. The art from Debora Caritá is also excellent, but I've seen it criticised to a degree I consider nitpicking. I never saw anything in the comic that really jumped out at me as bad or stupid, and when I finished the book, I wondered once more where such attacks on it came from. Again, 'Crabs in a Bucket,' I guess.

In closing, I'll be buying more books from Rippaverse Comics because I firmly believe I'll be getting value for my money. The books are well made, are a good-sized read, and I know I won't be waiting three or four fucking years for one to arrive. Finally, a special mention must be made of the packaging in which I received my books. The cardboard was shaped in a fantastic design and protected the books perfectly. If that is the continued effort put into the postage alone, I'll definitely be coming back for more.