Crazy Busy :(

I'd like to start off with an apology to anyone who reads this blog, as I know this last week or so has been empty with reviews and such.  I do have good reasoning for it though, but unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that it still happened.  This week, as you all know, was Thanksgiving and Black Friday week in the USA, but the way it affects me is that it kicks in my depression and it also makes me have to deal with a lot of driving with idiots on the roads, which makes my stress level go worse, and thus causes me to go into a manic-depressive state.

Top things off with us not being able to afford the fuel to go see family for Thanksgiving and my wife being made to work that day, it just made things worse.  Sunday, 11-25-2012 (today in fact) I'm going to be incredibly busy as well, but hopefully Monday I'll be allowed more time and ability to get cracking down on these book readings and reviews, starting with my finishing and posting the review for Michael Mendheim and Simon Bisley's The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse 3-book series.  I have digital review copies to finish reading and reviewing, thanks to Michael Mendheim himself, so I'll be getting those up finally & very, very soon.

Again, apologies all around, but nonetheless, it shall be & will be done.  Thanks again for visiting and reading my blog folks, see you soon!

Reader Review: Locke & Key - Clockworks, a hardcover graphic novel.

Good day readers, are you still with me?  Well Locke & Key has really taken off, hasn't it?  I like to think that it has anyway.  Well, if you're like me, then you probably didn't wait for this review before tearing into Clockworks.  For those who have yet to dive in, allow me a brief moment to give you a quick, spoiler-free review.

This fifth installment will temporarily be the final installment in this review series, as chapter one of book six (Omega) has just begun it's circulation on comic store shelves.  Once the hardcover is released for that book also, I shall present you with a review of it as well, but don't allow that to stop you from reading it beforehand.

I'm sure you're likely frothing at the mouth by now, just aching to find out how this story will turn out in the end, but also take note that Hill and Rodriguez are also now currently planning on releasing a multi-branch spinoff of the series.  Each branch, apparently, will be based on the lives of each of the Locke family members, one series per character.  Nevertheless, until those days come, I present to you the fifth installment in the Locke & Key book series, Clockworks.

 

Chapter one, entitled The Locksmith's Son, is a twenty-four page explanation of how the magical locks and keys were forged and manufactured, the purpose of their creation and an account of the time period of which their creator was alive.  Chapter two, Smash! begins with tragedy and hooks you by the throat all the way throughout.  With Bode's body having it's new inhabitant, lots of creativity is allowed to flow onto these pages.

From Tyler's being milked constantly for the location of the Omega Key to Kinsey's bedroom being ransacked, "Bode" is quite the busy little devil.  Two little unwanted beasts find new life, causing serious issues for Tyler and causing Kinsey to take some serious emotional responsibility for a change, and just before he was about to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life.  During the fracas that occurs, yet another key is discovered, and it's usefulness is found to be almost immeasurable.

In chapter three, The Tamers Of The Tempest, we see that Tyler and Kinsey are once again tempted, and naturally they cannot resist.  So begins a journey, forged out of curiosity, a journey that quickly proves itself educational.  Tyler and Kinsey, thanks to the insight given to them from this journey, are presented with an opportunity to tie up some loose ends that have been running through their minds.  One should consider this chapter one to "close out some accounts".

Chapter four, The Whispering Iron, adds onto the explanation, giving a more in-depth exploration of the growing relationships within Rendell Locke's friend circle.  One can easily find themselves screaming inside of their head, "Are you insane?!", in addition to feeling a great desire to smack all of these children upside their heads for being so unbelievably arrogant and stupid.  This of course is typical of most any scenario, so it's honestly to be expected at some point.  I cannot say any more about this chapter without giving away any spoilers, believe me I tried to figure out something, to no avail, so I'll leave it at what it is.

With that, we move on to chapter five, Grown-Ups.  You can now no doubt guess, some bad things happen (this is Locke & Key after all), of course involving the children, and we're finally able to reach an understanding about the depths that we've been teased with all this time.  At this point in the story, things will be revealed which will blow even the minds of Rendell Locke and his friends.  Loyalties get pushed to their limits, trust is tested and some realizations must be come to.  We're even presented with the luxury of finding out as to why some of the people are better able to understand what's going on than others.

Bonus: This should be pretty easy to spot, but let's just see how keen your observational skills are.  At the end of this chapter, there's a fairly major mistake shown.  In the comment section below, tell me what that mistake is.  Chapter six begins with another one, same type, so tell me what that one is as well if you can spot it.  I moderate all comments before they're posted, so if you're correct, I'll just leave a comment saying so and hide your comment, but if you're not, I'll post your comment and respond.  Thanks for participating!

Chapter six, Curtain, is a bit shorter than the rest, and this section of the review is much shorter than the others in reflection of that.  The focus is centered on Dodge, mainly what he did which was so horrible that it caused his friends to become afraid of him and turn against him.  As the rest of the book has gone, so too is this chapter, in that it is designed to tie up loose ends.  Oh, and feel free to scream at the author now, lol, I surely did.

The first part of Locke & Key - Omega (book six) has just began a presence on comic store shelves this month, so I'll have to wait awhile before presenting it's review as well, but don't fret, I've just recently went to my local library and snagged up quite a decent collection to read and review.  From Hellboy to Queen & Country, to Iron West, to Ghost World and with plenty of others in between.  I'll see you again very soon, stay tuned and don't forget to subscribe.  Until then, keep on reading, I know I will!

Title: Locke & Key - Clockworks (hardcover)

Year of release: 2012
Publisher: IDW Publishing www.idwpublishing.com

Writer: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters & Collection Designer: Robbie Robbins
Collection Editor: Justin Eisinger
Series Editor: Chris Ryall

ISBN-13: 9781613772270
ISBN-10: 1613772270
MSRP: $24.99 USD

Reader Review: Locke & Key - Keys To The Kingdom, a hardcover graphic novel.

Good day folks!  I'm glad to see that we've made it this far together, and I look forward to finishing the series with you as well.  I'm honestly surprised as to how much I do like this series so far, even with some content that I find objectionable, things such as I'd described in my first part of the series, for Locke & key - Welcome To Lovecraft.  Anyway folks, without further ado, I present to you my review of Locke & Key - Keys To The Kingdom.

 

In this fourth installment of the Locke & Key series, we begin with yet another key-induced adventure.  One that, yet again, also plays a very good role in explaining parts of the main characters' relationships with one another.  With a pleasant blend of seriousness and humor, in addition to a unique ensemble of illustrative methods, this opening sequence shows how even young Bode Locke can still be of great use during these times of trial and terror.

By now, we've all learned what the intentions and primary characteristics of Dodge are, and because of this, you either love him or you hate him.  We've also taken note of Kinsey's now-gone senses of Fear and Sorrow, both of which had appeared to be holding her back before, hindering her growth during a time when she's been "coming-of-age".  Tyler has finally been growing up as well, and at what seems to be quite an accelerated pace, especially in the realm of love.  Nina and Duncan, on the other hand, are more likely to confuse the emotional senses, as one struggles to figure out as to whether their circumstances are of their own accord or solely that of outside influences.

As we progress into the second chapter, more pieces of the dark and twisted puzzle begin to rear their ugly heads.  We soon meet yet another individual from Dodge's past, and so begins a challenging adventure for young Bode and Kinsey.  As you can already guess by now, more special keys are soon discovered, with the next one being quite useful indeed, and is one that also helps to teach a good moral lesson to the reader.  Following next, we find that Tyler has finally found a place where he fits in at school, and we also get to see more of his relationship with Jordan blossom.

This component of the book plays out in a style reminiscent of an action film, almost also like a crossover of Hellboy and The Watchmen.  Quickly playing through an abundance of time flashes, it displays only the most key elements of the part of the story, though swiftly and efficiently.  In a way, it also pays homage to some of the greatest classic mythos, which are still well esteemed and held in high regard, even unto this very day.

I have to now say, admittedly, that the fourth chapter happens to be one of my favorites thus far, primarily because it centers around Rufus, and secondarily because it allows us a first-class trip into the previously unseen fantastical realm of which he is a permanent resident.  We also are blessed with the opportunity to see more depth of character for none other than one Sam Lesser.  This invokes even more revelations as to the control that the demon, which possesses Dodge, has over him.

My description now, of chapter five, will be more brief than those before.  Yes, I am well aware that it's a slight change of pace, however I feel that I cannot possibly tell you as much as I desire, without giving away too much detail, and thus spoiling the surprise.  I haven't done so to you just yet, and I've no intentions of it any time soon either.

In regards to chapter five, part one, Tyler begins to now pay more attention to the details of his surroundings (the goings-on, those involved, etc. and so-forth) and less to the environmental distractions which had been ultimately clouding his vision up to this point.  Also, to point out a small detail without giving away any spoilers, by the time you're this far in, you should also be able to now see why the chapter begins with such a layout as it does.  Part two, however, features more depth as to the current ongoing investigations, regarding the string of murders left in the wake of Dodge's involvement with the Lockes.

On a final note, I leave you with a word of caution about this part, prepare to be hooked.  What's that?  By now you're already hooked?  Well, as you've undoubtedly seen already, this series, unlike most others, doesn't just grab you with a single hook early on, keeping you interested for at least most of the duration of the story.  Locke & Key grabs you with every hook it can muster, and it keeps on tugging every time you think it's going to leave you alone.  You can rarely predict the moments of which it will grab you by the throat, but each time that it does, it rides you hard, like a stolen steed, and gives you minor bouts of rest in between.

Happy reading folks, I'll see you soon in the next review, for the fifth installment of the Locke & Key book series, Clockworks.

Title: Locke & Key - Keys To The Kingdom (hardcover)

Year of release: 2011
Publisher: IDW Publishing www.idwpublishing.com

Writer: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters & Collection Designer: Robbie Robbins
Collection Editor: Justin Eisinger
Series Editor: Chris Ryall

ISBN-13: 9781600108860
ISBN-10: 1600108865
MSRP: $24.99 USD

Reader Review: Locke & Key - Crown Of Shadows, a hardcover graphic novel.

Good day folks, are you caught up with books one and 2 yet?  If so, then hooray, you made it this far and are still interested!  If not, then why on Earth are you reading this yet?  It's okay, I understand your curiosity, trust me I do, but if you haven't read the other two books yet, then reading this will be pointless.  Anyway, we shall commence forth, prepare yourself for a bit longer of a review than before.

I present to you, Locke & Key - Crown Of Shadows, the hardcover graphic novel review.

 

 Early on, we see that Tyler Locke is still feeling troubled by the curiously unusual experiences brought on by the Head Key, which was first introduced to us in Locke & Key - Head Games.  Additionally, we are presented with Nina's ever-increasingly dangerous alcohol abuse problem, and of course, more displays of arrogance emanating from none other than the male version of "Dodge", who by this time has also been called "Echo", "Luke/Lucas", and "Zack".  Another key revelation, about Dodge, will surprise some readers, but perhaps not all of them.  Nevertheless, more is revealed to Sam Lesser, about his purpose in all of this, with a nice little tussle thrown in for good measure.  This is clever thinking, in part, for the authors, as it exposes the growing tension between Sam and Dodge, and to an extent, brief hilarity also ensues.

Tyler soon (and finally) decides to make a move with his love interest, Jordan, whilst Dodge is busy swooning Kinsey every chance he can get.  Kinsey also meets a pair of interesting new friends, who quickly convince her to come along on their adventure, to a place where, naturally, they ought not be poking their noses around.  Make preparations for more startling revelations to soon follow, as curiosity gets the better of a select few folks, and we learn more about who Kinsey and her new-found friends are as individuals, humans.  More keys, of course, are discovered, and it's not long until we see the true intent that Dodge has been slowly revealing to us, page after agonizing page.  A decent judgment call can easily be made, by this book's title, about the primary subject matter within, so this part should come as no surprise really.

It doesn't take very long, at all, for the Locke children to figure out what's happening to them at this moment, because quite frankly, it doesn't appear that much really does surprise them any more.  I do have to admit that, by this point in the story, a great many moments have passed, but now it seems to build like a rolling snowball on a mountain.  Tyler even decides to man up, for once, and take action rather than just "letting things happen".

Boundaries for loyalty are also discovered, as well as tensions which will really put a nice couple of them in check, to reveal precisely how far certain people can go before they will snap. Finally, we get to see far deeper into Nina's heart.  What makes her, what breaks her, and even a long-expected display of her desperation.  I'll leave the rest of it up to you, the reader, to find out, however.  I don't want to spoil your appetite after all, as that would just ruin your fun.  For now, happy reading, and I'll see you back here soon folks.  Thanks for tuning in!

Title: Locke & Key - Crown Of Shadows (hardcover)

Year of release: 2010
Publisher: IDW Publishing www.idwpublishing.com

Writer: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters & Collection Designer: Robbie Robbins
Collection Editor: Justin Eisinger
Series Editor: Chris Ryall

ISBN-13: 9781600106958
ISBN-10: 1600106951

MSRP: $24.99 USD

Reader Review: Locke & Key - Head Games, a hardcover graphic novel.

So, here it is folks, the second in a series of six reviews for the graphic novel series "Locke & Key", one article for each book in the series.  Now get ready for another quick run-down, I'll make it as intriguing and speedy as possible.

Locke & Key - Head Games, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, published by IDW publishing, continues somewhat where the first book, "Welcome To Lovecraft" left off, with young Bode Locke having found yet another mysterious key.  As the first book also had done, this one immediately begins with yet another Prologue sequence, revealing a key part to something that soon plays out in more depth.  Again, I'll try my best to stick to the method of telling you about it, while not spoiling it, so bear with me.

Starting out, we see a new character, Joe Ridgeway, enter the fold, though for how long I shan't tell.  All I'll say is that he recognizes a familiar face, and that alone causes an issue.  We also see the introduction of the coach's son, Rufus, who appears to be mentally handicapped somehow, though it's hard to tell exactly in what manner or to what degree. 

The unusual head-shaped key has of course captured the curiosity of young Bode, who is the most curious and cantankerous of the entire Locke family, which of course tends to get him into some rather odd and sticky situations.  If at this point you've already read through Welcome To Lovecraft, then you're obviously familiar with this (If not, then why are you reading this article yet?).  What this particular key unravels will cause some pretty wild things to happen, especially once certain folks decide to get experimental with it.  Love will be gained, love will be lost, mysteries revealed, and most of all, crazy things are going to happen all across the board.

In this book, we also see some more depth added to certain characters, such as Uncle Duncan, for instance.  We learn details about who he is and how his role is taken into account in the Locke family.  We also learn some unusual, and for some perhaps startling, revelations about him and at least one other character.  For the most part, we get to see precisely how much humanity has actually been added to these characters in general.  Some family history is revealed about Coach Ellie, as well as her relationship with "Dodge", including how she became involved in this "predicament" that she's now in.  Add a touch of irony here, humor there, and a dash or two of "What the... " as well, and you have yourself the second book of the Locke & Key graphic novels, "Head Games".  Happy reading folks, enjoy.

Title: Locke & Key - Head Games (hardcover)

Year of release: 2009
Publisher: IDW Publishing www.idwpublishing.com

Writer: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters & Collection Designer: Robbie Robbins
Collection Editor: Justin Eisinger
Series Editor: Chris Ryall

ISBN-13: 9781600104831
ISBN-10: 1600104835
MSRP: $24.99 USD

Reader Review: Locke & Key - Welcome To Lovecraft, a hardcover graphic novel.

Hello folks, have you read anything interesting lately?  Well I've been doing my best to get back into reading over the last four months or so, and it's been working out fairly well.  Aside from the collection of books we have here at home, such as our enormous Stephen King collection, I've been checking out books at our local library.  I mostly pick up graphic novels from there, as that particular section has been getting a lot better over the last six months.  While most of them are books that I won't bother to read, as they're of no interest to me, there are a few solid gems in there.  Hellboy, Sin City, Locke & Key, and especially The Walking Dead (currently I'm awaiting their order of the hardcover Book Eight).  Anyway, without further ado, this is my brief review of the first hardcover book in the Locke & Key series, cleverly entitled "Welcome To Lovecraft".

Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft, a 158 page hardcover book, not including the intro and art gallery sections, is a graphic novel from the rather creative, yet very disturbed minds of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.  Welcome To Lovecraft is the first book in the series, released in 2008, is a collective of six softcover graphic novels "Welcome To Lovecraft Volumes 1-6", and was released by IDW Publishing.

This first book in the series follows the beginning of a multitude of unfortunate events that befall the Locke family, starting with a surprise visit to their vacation cottage, by one Sam Lesser and one Al Grubb, two very disturbed and troubled teen boys.  The family consists of the father, Rendell Locke, the mother Nina, and their three children: Tyler, an older teen male, Kinsey, a teen female and Bode (pronounced bo-dee), a young male.

I won't give away too many details, but a tragedy that occurs at the cottage causes the majority of the family to move back to Lovecraft, Massachusetts, to Keyhouse, a mansion full of magic and mystery and of which is also where Rendell and his brother Duncan grew up as children.  In this first book, quite a bit happens, from the beginning incident at the vacation cottage, to Bode finding a mysterious key, to a cunningly deceptive woman in a well, to Tyler meeting a strange new friend who, like the Locke children, is also new to their school... or is "he"?

There is a lot that's going on in this first installment in the series, a lot more than in the next volumes, however with it only being 158 pages in this particular book, I was left with a feeling of it being rushed.  There is also the issue that this series is for adult eyes only, as the content in it is rather... "mature" and "graphic", to a fair extent.  From the over-the-top foul language, to the surprising way that Sam Lesser "convinces" a male truck driver to give him a ride to "somewhere" (you don't think I'm going to spoil that part of the story, do you?), there's quite a lot of depth to the characters in this book already.  This particular volume pays attention primarily to giving the reader a quick run through of what started the incidents, who the main characters are, and what the house is all about, but thankfully they do leave out a lot of other things that are later revealed in the rest of the series.  If you're interested in reading it, and have any inquiries beforehand, feel free to leave me a question, and I'll respond as soon as I am able.  until then, keep an eye out for the next installment of this blog, you never know what's going to pop up.

Title: Locke & Key - Welcome To Lovecraft (hardcover)

Year of release: 2008
Publisher: IDW Publishing www.idwpublishing.com

Writer: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters & Collection Designer: Robbie Robbins
Collection Editor: Justin Eisinger
Series Editor: Chris Ryall

ISBN-13: 9781600102370
ISBN-10: 1600102379
MSRP: $24.99 USD

What's this? Three in a row? Inconceivable!

So yeah, here goes my third post on this blog today.  Tired of reading this crap yet?  Well it gets more entertaining, at some point, I swear I read that somewhere!  Well, anyway, I have a small rant and something to sorta-kinda be happy about.  Well, my family and I primarily use my Xbox 360 (I have the Halo 3 Ltd. Ed.) for streaming digital content from my PC (videos like TV show episodes & movies, and music sometimes, too), using TVersity.  Well all was great until two days ago, when suddenly, out of nowhere, after FIVE years of killer awesome service, the video output decides it wants to start doing that crap where it'll be all like "Hey, yo, uh yeah I get that you want to watch stuff, but I'm feeling a little trippy right now, so here watch these funny colors...", and then after a second time of trying to diagnose it, no video signal at all, the stupid thing totally blacked out on me.  So now we have to save up some $$$ and see what's going on with it.  I've a feeling it's the video chip itself, but Idk for sure, because the first step is replacing the cable, and we have to save up just for that.

On to the good news.  I had almost forgotten that we had a Nintendo Wii, because we don't really have a lot of time to mess with it much, and then it occurred to me that TVersity also allows media streaming through the Wii console, via the Internet Channel on the Wii's menu.  Awesomesauce!  Well, I went online, Googled it and voila!  I got a post right on the TVersity page that wasn't there when I'd checked it a few weeks ago.  While the connection isn't nearly as good as on the Xbox 360, it's tolerable, at least for the most part anyway.  The guy who wrote the blog post, about setting up the Wii to work with TVersity, is very technologically gifted, so do listen to what he has to say.  If you're interested in the article, here it is: http://dangross.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/setting-up-tversity-with-your-wii/

In the meantime, we're just letting the good ole' 360 sit right where it is, and I'll toss up an update when we figure out what's going on, and can afford to fix it/replace it/whatever.  Regardless I just hope it won't break the bank, so to speak.  I hate when things are expensive.  Heck, I won the Xbox 360, and until two days ago it hadn't a single issue, so it's done pretty well, all things considered, but I just hate the idea of having to pay to repair a prize that I'd won for free, lol.  Anyway folks, thanks for reading and have a good day/night.

So I grew a pair...

EDIT 12-22-2012:

As of early December, 2012, deviceunknown is no longer and as such I am currently working to fix the links by replacing them with the review articles placed elsewhere and my files to be hosted elsewhere also.  Thank you for understanding. - Ronald PM_DMNKLR Smith

Here are a couple of reviews that I've posted thus far, if you find them interesting and/or informative, or even if they anger you greatly and make you want to vomit profusely, let me know regardless, lol.  I want your feedback!

Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance 3D:
http://deviceunknown.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=98

Antec Advance Cleaning Wipes:
http://deviceunknown.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=99

The Sh33p is aah-live!

Aloha-aah folks, and welcome to The Black Sh33p Bl-aah-g!  This is my own personal blog for all things g33ky that I like, and would like to share with you!  While I'm not 100% set on what all will be featured, prepare for review articles on such things as graphic novels that I'm reading, TV shows I'm watching (though there won't be many), awesome toys I have and will potentially acquire, video games and other items of mass geekery!  It's a mad house in here I tell you, a mad house, hahahahahahah!!!

Anyway, now that my brief moment of idiocy has passed, I'll let you go before another one comes upon us.  :P  Have a great day/night wherever you are folks, and thank you for visiting!  If you wish to, at some point in your life, feel free to sub to this blog (not sure how, lol, maybe become a member?  Idk, we'll figure it out at some point I'm sure XD), there should be plenty more weird and geeky fun coming forth soon.  Until then, baah-ger off, eh, you hoser!  :P