Spirit Blade

I’ve been meaning to mention this for far too long, but never got around to it. It’d be a shame to never mention it as it does deserve some attention, so here goes. It’s a great audio drama called Spirit Blade that, although is the kind of future set tale in which the government controls everything, still offers something intriguing, with its refreshing spiritual tones and surprisingly, even a few songs. I must admit, I was rather taken aback when I first heard singing, as I wasn’t expecting it at all, but everything about this production is classy and professional. Now, I’ve never been a regular listener of audio dramas, but i did find this quite believable and entertaining.

I recently moved house, and before I did I used to listen to this on my hour long train rides each day. Since I’m now closer to work, I don’t listen to anything really as my journey is now made up of two much shorter train rides. That means it’s been a few weeks since I last listened to this, so I’ll let the team behind Spirit Blade explain it.

SPIRIT BLADE is a full-cast Audio Drama that uses cinematic sound design, a pulse pounding score, and dynamic acting and musical performances to unleash an action-packed experience for your ears and imagination!

In a future where the government mandates the spiritual beliefs of its citizens, only a few rebellious “Seekers of Truth” remain to free the world from deception.

On his quest for meaning, Merikk follows a path that leads him across our world, and into another. Against his will he is thrown into action alongside members of the Underground Liberation, standing face to face against forces human, alien and demonic. Science fiction and the supernatural collide in a genre-bending adventure! Open your mind and then brace for impact as you discover the power of the Spirit Blade!

Spirit Blade is designed to appeal to fans of science fiction, fantasy and big action films. It is a dark and edgy story with songs and a soundtrack that fans of industrial electronic music will enjoy.

The voice acting and sound effects are great and once Merikk has his eyes opened to the world he’s really living in, the pace and scale and intensity of the story ramps up considerably. For a long story, it’s always easy to follow and the creation of the world just by dialogue is convincing.

You can find heaps of freebies about this unique production here, such as previews and interviews, to see if it’s your cup of tea. Honestly, this is a great time for Christian produced art, with the likes of church driven Sherwood Pictures getting mainstream attention for films like Fireproof and the upcoming Courageous.

Spirt Blade is a 2 and a half hour audio drama and you can buy it in CD ($13) or Mp3 format ($10) right here, as well as other audio dramas, such as the sequel to Spirit Blade, Dark Ritual, which was produced more recently and seems more polished.

Trailer for Spirit Blade below.

Green Lantern’s Toes

Could Warner Bros. have undone all the progress they made with those awesome 4 minutes of Green Lantern film footage shown at Wondercon? Quite possibly, and here’s how – 3 full body looks at Ryan Reynolds’ CGI costume. Will people ignore the fact that we can see his individual toes or will the lack of proper footwear be this millenium’s Bat nipples (as seen in Joel Schumacher’s late ’90s Batman films)?

The domino mask still looks wonky but I can understand why the film makers chose the approach of making the GL suit like a ring constructed body glove, rather than thousands of superhero costumes on different alien races, as it puts the film more in the sci-fi category rather than the superhero category, but it’s still not quite right.

On a positive note, Warner Bros. have chosen their new big screen General Zod wisely, as actor Michael Shannon (TV’s Boardwalk Empire) will portray the Kryptonian villain. From the few films I’ve seen him in, he exudes a confidence and creepiness rather well. The film is now officially called Man of Steel and will be released in December 2012.

Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force

Any excuse is a good one to show some Simone Bianchi art.

Marvel Announces Williams and Bianchi On FEAR ITSELF: UNCANNY X-FORCE

This July, red hot writer Rob Williams and superstar artist Simone Bianchi dispatch Marvel’s breakout mutant black-ops team right into the heart of the year’s biggest comics event in Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 (of 3)! The end is nigh and a group of hate-mongering extremists know just who to blame – super humans! But as fear rains down upon the Marvel Universe, Uncanny X-Force will be the only thing that stands between this band of frenzied zealots and mass murder on a global scale.

“What exactly is a mutant super hero kill crew afraid of? That’s the question we had to ask,” said Williams. “A rogue cult of Purifiers believe that the actions of Fear Itself are the early stages of Armageddon and that they must kill many people as possible so their souls can ascend ‘before the devil knows they’re dead.’ You can’t question X-Force for wanting these crazies dead. But was it the actions of ‘heroes’ like X-Force that actually brought about the potential Armageddon of Fear Itself?”

Can X-Force cut down the Purifiers before they touch off a worldwide genocide? Or, with the God of Fear ascendant, will the team’s own trail of slaughter prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy? In their darkest hour, Wolverine, Deadpool, Psylocke and the rest of Marvel’s most cutthroat strike force will discover that nightmares really can come true, only in Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 (of 3) – on sale this July!

For more on Fear Itself, check out Marvel.com!

FEAR ITSELF: UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 (of 3)

Written by ROB WILLIAMS

Pencils & Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI

Parental Advisory …$2.99

ON SALE THIS JULY!