Nick Knack

“Batman: Rebirth” by Tom King Batman has been and always will be my favorite superhero and Tom King and company are certainly doing the caped crusader justice. This run of Batman had a decent start but has since elevated to the most engaging story out of all the runs I’m reading. Tom King is showing a unique side of Batman; we’re seeing a character who is devoted to crime fighting beginning to find an alternative to his life, a happier life that doesn’t consist of Jokes and Riddles. If I had to recommend one DC: Rebirth line to pick up, then this is it. “Superman: Rebirth” by Patrick J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason I’ve written a separate blog post all about this run (which you should check out) but I’m gonna reiterate its greatness anyway. Tomasi and Gleason have put together one of the best Superman comic lines in years thanks to a unique approach to the man of steel with the inclusion of a strong family aspect. Clark’s wife and son add a new layer to his character as well a...

Major Spoiler Alert for Seasons 1-3 of “Game of Thrones” so read at your own risk! The fall of Robb Stark of Winterfell also known as the “The King in the North” is one of the most tragic stories in Game of Thrones ; there’s no denying that. The young wolf was betrayed by those who swore allegiance to him, saw his beautiful wife and unborn child gutted and lost everything he ever loved and fought for. The most common reasoning for Robb’s downfall is that he broke his vow to marry a daughter of Walder Frey and while this is certainly a large component of his downfall it was not the only cause of it. Quite frankly I don’t even think it was his worst mistake. Robb Stark was a brilliant strategist and he knew how to motivate his fellow northerners in the War of the Five Kings, yet he still made “stupid mistakes” like his father as his own sister, Sansa, put it last season. Robb won every battle and still lost the war, so it makes sense that he must have made some rather foolish mist...

Superman is one of my favorite superheroes because of his undying determination to do what’s right, his love for his companions and perhaps most of all, his desire to just fit in. Writer, Peter J. Tomasi along with partner and artist, Patrick Gleason, have been creating a comic series for a new yet familiar version of Krypton’s last son in a masterful fashion with their run, “DC Rebirth: Superman”. This current run of Superman is about 30 issues in and mostly follows Clark Kent, his wife, Lois, and their son, Jon, who has powers of his own inherited from the man of steel. When I realized this run would focus heavily on the Kent family I had my concerns; I love the adventures of Superman like when he’s saving the world from Darkseid or thwarting one of Lex Luthor’s evil schemes. Kal-El’s romance with Lois Lane is one of the greatest in comic book history but the idea of them having a child and it being the pivotal point of the story seemed like it could be the incorrect approach for ...

Now you should know my Halo experience really took off with Halo: Reach but I have played many of the great classic Halo maps from the original trilogy in the Master Chief Collection, forge remakes and the actual games themselves. Enjoy! 10. Zanzibar, Halo 2 Many would rank this map higher and rightfully so (there are just 9 more maps i like better). This is one of the most unique maps in Halo's history as it is a landmark map for Halo 2 and 3. This map offers intense action from its open areas, the beach, the platform next to the wheel, to the small corridors in the structure behind the wheel (not the most avid description I know) and of course the wheel itself provides memorable, fun combat and the variety of vehicles just adds to the mayhem. 9. Epitaph, Halo 3 One of the most slick and gorgeous maps in Halo. Epitaph is one of my favorite close quarters, small team maps with players never knowing what’s around each corner or if they'll get hit out of nowh...

Recently I attended a screening of the 1976 film, “All the President’s Men”, for the first time. As I’m sure many of you already know the classic is about the Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who reported on and revealed the Watergate scandal to the United States with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman staring in their respective roles. I am currently a journalism major at Western Kentucky University with a strong interest in Political Science so I was quite interested in viewing this film as you can imagine. Like many others, I learned the basics of the Watergate scandal and why it led to Nixon’s resignation, the attempted cover-up, Ford’s pardon and you probably know the gist of it. However, I’d like to look a bit deeper into Nixon and Watergate. The consensus taught in school that Nixon broke the law and payed the price is true but there’s more to it than that. Beneath the wall of scandal and obstruction lies a sacred value, loyalty, and it cost the N...

Before I delve into my thoughts on “Blade Runner: 2049” allow me to divulge some valuable information regarding the film. “Blade Runner: 2049” is a sequel to Ridley Scott’s “Bladerunner” which released in 1982 to a mostly negative response. It wasn’t until years later that the film gained a bit of a cult following and eventually became a hailed masterpiece by many. I watched the theatrical cut of “Bladerunner” the night before I saw 2049 and I very much like it. However, there are many cuts of “Bladerunner” and I’ve been told by reliable sources that the final cut released in 2007 is the one to watch but I only had access to the theatrical cut. After viewing 2049 I am very excited to watch the final cut of the original film as well as see 2049 again.  I would recommend seeing the original “Bladerunner” before going to see the sequel as watching the original will mostly help to establish the state of the world of Bladerunner and increase your enjoyment of the sequel.   N...

Rockstar games has established itself as the best when it comes to the open-world sandbox videogames due to their wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series among other brilliant games the famed studio has produced including my personal favorite game of all time, “Red Dead Redemption”.  With the sequel releasing next spring, I'd like to revisit this legendary game. Before I first played Red Dead, I wasn’t much of a Western fan until the story of a former outlaw hunting down his old gang to save those he loves in the dying wild west changed my life. If I were to convey everything I love about his beautiful game this post would turn into a novel so today I’m just going to explain how brilliant “Red Dead Redemption” is just from the opening scene. “Red Dead Redemption” presents an opening that perfectly establishes everything the gamer needs to know about the world, story and characters. A variety of people exit a steamboat from preachers in black to ladies in fancy dresses and one o...