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Is There A Place for Morally Ambiguous Characters?
Last week, Rawyle Nyanzi wrote about black and white morality in fiction, and JD Cowan expanded on why readers love them . Characters with clear moral codes make for compelling reading. Armed with an uncompromising view of right and wrong, they act decisively against evil wherever they find it. Yet, fettered by their same uncompromising…
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Comic Analysis: Batman: White Knight
What if the Joker became the hero and Batman is a villain? It sounds like an awesome concept, but in the hands of Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth, it is merely a superhero story without heroes. (Unmarked spoilers ahead!) Batman: White Knight opens with a scene familiar to Batman fans. The Joker is fleeing the scene…
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Movie Review: The Crimes of Grindelwald
JK Rowling’s Wizarding World franchise promises many things to the audience. Whimsical worldbuilding, cool and visually-exciting magic, high stakes and high adventure, a clash between clearly-defined good and evil. These elements enchanted a generation of schoolchildren when her books were published in the late 1990s, and bedazzled two generations of moviegoers in the film adaptations.…
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How I Survived 17 Days in Japan on Onigiri, Yakitori and Nut Bars
In late October, my wife and I embarked on our greatest adventure yet: a 17-day trip in Japan, spanning Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima, without guides or local contacts, armed with nothing but our maps and our wits. We were no strangers to overseas travel, but we’d always traveled in group tours. The tour…
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Have Cash, Will Conjure Part 5
“You gave Federov to the Seebs?” Jansen asked. “Yes,” I said. “So that’s where he went.” Jansen jotted something down. “You were carrying other weapons with you. A pistol and two knives. Why didn’t you use them?” “Why didn’t my client kill Federov, you mean?” Greenwald asked. “Mr. Lee didn’t have to. And if he…
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Have Cash, Will Conjure
“What about Vandemeer?” Jansen asked. “Did you do a séance too?” I shrugged. “I tried. Dry hole.” “Your file says you’re Tier One. You served in the Arcane Legion for twelve years, over half that in the Special Operations Support Detachment, with multiple combat tours. You couldn’t call him back?” “I’m listed as Tier One…