Category Archives: fantasy
Outlander S03 E02: ‘Surrender’
On the last episode of Outlander, we saw Claire and Jamie move on with their lives without each other. Claire and Frank are raising little Brianna as their own, while Jamie escaped execution and was returned to Lallybroch. How did they fare this week? (There are spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen the latest installment).
Creations of Chaos: Kubo and the Two Strings
In this edition of Creations of Chaos, it’s the film that teaches that music, storytelling, and paper, can be mightier than the sword. It’s Kubo and the Two Strings.
Outlander S03 E01: The Battle Joined
It seems like an eternity since we last saw a new episode of Outlander. Was the start of the third season worth the wait? The following contains spoilers, if you haven’t watched the episode yet.
The show opens with a gruesome landscape, the bodies of soldiers who didn’t survive the Battle of Culloden, strewn about the battlefield. Jamie Fraser lies seriously wounded atop a pile of fallen brothers. In his haze, he witnesses redcoats relieve bodies of any weapons that they find. Soldiers found still alive are killed, and Jamie lies still to avoid detection. He has flashbacks to the battle. We see Murtaugh (how I’ve missed his wit)! We also see Jamie wage a personal battle with Jack Randall, and it appears that Jamie cuts him down, as the body on top of Jamie seems to be Randall’s. Jamie thinks he sees Claire walking toward him as the snow falls, but it’s a fellow Scot who removes him from the pile of the dead to safety. We see a dragonfly in amber on the ground.
Claire and Frank seem to be faring better than Jamie. The year is 1948 and they are in Boston because Frank has taken a job at Harvard. They are checking out a home that they will buy to accommodate their growing family. (Claire is pregnant with Jamie’s child). It appears they are trying to resume their lives, but when a busybody tells Claire that she won’t find a man like Frank again, we can see in Claire’s face that she is thinking of Jamie.
Songs for the Dead
Questing! Swords! Necromancy! All of these things are completely foreign to me, sadly. Should it be sad that I’m not familiar with necromancy? I guess there is somewhat of a negative stigma attached to the esoteric art of RAISING THE DEAD. My upbringing tended to skew more science fiction and less fantasy so I was very curious about the independent comic book Songs for the Dead when it was brought to my attention. How did I feel about it? Hit the jump to find out!
BBP! Guide To Fan Expo Canada: Day 4 #FXC17
Day four of Fan Expo Canada 2017 starts with an early rise and shine, a cold shower, a healthy breakfast, and a cup (or two) of coffee. Grab your backpack – we’re heading out the door for our last, but still busy, day at the Metropolitan Convention Centre.
It’s a long weekend here in Toronto, and that means today you’ll see lots of kids saddling up next to their favourite cosplay superhero or Pikachu for a chance at a photograph. School starts next week, and you can be sure that tales of #FXC17 will echo through the locker-clad hallways.
There’s always one-more-thing to get, isn’t there? So, as you pick your brain for that last item of fancy, here are the things Biff Bam Pop! thinks you should be checking out between the Sunday hours of 10 AM to 5 PM…
BBP! Guide To Fan Expo Canada 2017: Day 3 #FXC17
Two days of Fan Expo Canada have passed, and you’ve been a good little pop culture soldier.
Perhaps you’ve got a full weekend pass. Perhaps this is your first day in line. Either way, today is giant-sized Saturday – and the Metropolitan Convention Centre kicks it up into its highest gear today!
Certainly the busiest day of the four day convention, Saturday, Day 3 of Fan Expo Canada, offers up a whole host of challenges and opportunities. Your adrenaline, for one, will be coursing through your body like you’ve never experienced. But you’ll need to be a pro, and temper that enthusiasm with the knowledge that you’ll most likely be in some long lines. It’s a natural occurrence and the real test is how you can deal with that pressure.
Pro Tip: go to the bathroom early. 10 AM to 7 PM makes for a long day.
Still, it’s all worth it, as you’re bound to bump into friends you know, and the exhibitors start talking with an aim to sell product. Some of the biggest programming events are today as well – and you can find all of them here in Day 3 of Biff Bam Pop’s Guide to Fan Expo Canada!
BBP! Guide To Fan Expo Canada 2017: Day 2 #FXC17
So, how did things go yesterday? Did you find what was on your Holy Grail list?
Thursdays are meant to be a sort of Fan Expo Canada scouting mission – getting the lay of the land, what the price ranges are for the goodies you want, and meeting up with some friends…some of whom you haven’t seen in a long, long time.
Remember, it’s not a race – Fan Expo Canada is a four-day marathon.
But things really start to get heated today!
Still got those comfortable shoes on? Today’s a longer day, starting at 10 AM and running until 7 PM. So, loosen up those hamstrings and follow us into the fray of Friday’s Day 2!
Here are some of the things Biff Bam Pop! thinks you need to experience today!
#FXC17 Exclusive Interview: John Bolton On Horror, His Art & His Graphic Novel: Shame
Artist John Bolton has had a long and storied career in comic books and sequential art. He made the jump from working in English magazines such as Warrior, to burgeoning American periodicals like Epic Illustrated, in the early 1980’s. He’s been working in and around the mainstream comic book industry ever since, as comfortable drawing superheroes as much as he is painting fairies, vampires and demons.
Drawn to the genres of fantasy and horror as both an illustrator and painter, Bolton has worked alongside some of the greatest writing names the comic book industry has known, including Chris Claremont on Marada The She Wolf and Black Dragon, both for publisher Epic Comics. With Neil Gaiman in The Books of Magic for DC Comics, he created the look of the reluctant boy-wizard, Timothy Hunter, based on his eldest son. His acclaimed graphic novel series, Shame, alongside writer Lovern Kindzierski, is where Bolton’s efforts most currently dwell, with the first three acts being recently complied into a single hardcover volume.
There’s a sense of wonder, amazement, power, and sexuality inherent in Bolton’s work, combined alongside an overt menace that makes a viewer full of trepidation. Even when his sense of horror is not manifest, nothing is ever as it seems in Bolton’s completed visual offerings.
On the eve of an infrequent visit to Toronto via the 2017 edition of Fan Expo Canada, JP Fallavollita caught up with John Bolton in an exclusive interview via email, and asked him about his process, his female-driven subject matter, and his recent work on Shame.
BBP! Guide To Fan Expo Canada 2017: Preview #FXC17
There’s a well-known, partly tongue-in-cheek saying, that every Torontonian knows: The City of Toronto sees two seasons – winter and construction.
With the gut-bursting pop culture excitement of this coming long weekend, I’m wondering if we can’t add a third season into the mix, even if it is a relatively short one! Canada’s largest and most anticipated pop culture experience that ranges from comic books to movies and television to anime to gaming to toys…and so much more… is finally back!
Fan Expo Canada 2017 is here!
After waiting through twelve months of winter and construction, the most eye-popping weekend of the year begins on Thursday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and runs through Sunday afternoon. And, of course, Biff Bam Pop! will be there!
Here, then, is our prelude to all the sights, sounds, symposiums, breakout sessions, photo-ops and merchandise you need to experience over the coming four days…
With an expectation of over 129,000 people in attendance this year, make sure you hydrate, wear comfy shoes, and follow us around the pop culture floor of Fan Expo Canada 2017!
Game of Thrones S07 E07: The Dragon and the Wolf
Can Game of Thrones‘ final episode allow us forgive and forget a season with supersonic Dragons ex Machina, wormhole-riding navies, and characters acting completely out of character? Could it bring the shortened, crazy season to an end with the things that have made this the greatest show on Earth: Excellent pacing, tense storylines, and characters you love to hate and hate to love? Could it end on a note that makes us howl with frustration because we know we’ve got ten long months before we get a new episode? Find out all this and more, after the break.
