I Hate This Place! But also, Love, Death and Robots Volume 3 and Umbrella Academy!

Vampire: The Masquerade, Multiverse and The Shadow War.

And have I got some curious comics for you this week!

Let's start with DC and a somewhat familiar universe in DC: Shadow War Zone #1. I don’t know much about the Shadow War in the DCU but this special issue showcases the impact of that. Focusing mainly on Talia al Ghul who has put out a hit on anyone who has ever worked with Deathstroke, including Black Canary! But, Talia is sick of watching from the sidelines and joins the battle herself! Do you have much knowledge of the Shadow War ?

You may have read the book by Ben Aaronovitch, now the next chapter is out in comic book form - Rivers Of London: Deadly Ever After. The plot sees illustrations from a mysterious book of fairy tales drawn in the late 1800s coming to life in the 21st century and causing havoc. The illustrations were originally painted by a Victorian artist called Jeter Day who disappeared one night in an enchanted forest when he was spirited away by tree nymphs never to be seen again…

Jeter is twisted by his time spent with the nymphs and has now returned to a world he neither recognises nor likes. All he wants is his life returned to him and woe betide anyone who stands in his way. The story and the artwork here really are gripping and I am very much excited to read this next adventure.

Spectro: One Shot #1 is a quartet of quintessential horror tales from the multi-talented Juan Doe, exploring the unnerving spectrum of fear through four terrifying stories rooted in a cosmic game of twisted karma and phantasmagoric terror. This collection asks some seriously messed up questions like, what is at stake when sentient technology manipulates a man with projections of his desired self? Or what is discovered when an explorer travels to Mars to ascend the tallest mountain in the solar system?

Exploring new fears we didn't even know we had, I think Spectro will be a great addition to any horror fans collection.

Lastly on my line up of unusual titles is I Hate This Place #1 (you may notice the title on the comic itself is slightly different…) After inheriting a farm house, Trudy and Gabby are ready to start the next chapter of their lives together except it’s already home to a mysterious force that’s attracted ghosts, aliens, and all kinds of supernatural beings for decades.

Now, Gabby and Trudy must play by the ‘house rules’ in order to survive living among the most frightening creatures on Earth, from the reviews so far it looks like this is set to put the creepers up anyone! Are you brave enough to give it a read?

Movie wise check out Men this week. It's a brand new horror film directed by Alex Garland, who worked on Ex Machina and Annihilation, and distributed by A24 which has become synonymous with disturbing, creepy movies at this point such as Midsommar and Hereditary. And what do you know, Men certainly continues that trend as well. The trailer is incredibly unsettling and coils with mounting pressure, increasing in potential scares and leaving us wanting to find out what is really happening in the cottage.

However, the most exciting release this week (at least for me) is Love, Death and Robots Volume 3! The threesome we have been waiting for… I was totally obsessed with the first two seasons and this one looks to bring more sass, cats and dark twisted surprises. For those not familiar with the series, each episode is a standalone story pulled together by different creative teams with unique animation styles and science fiction elements. Subjects range from a group of farmers trying to prevent an alien invasion to sentient yoghurts that take over the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj2b0swdpX8

It was a tough call though with the last minute drop of the Umbrella Academy 3 trailer! I am obsessed with these graphic novels and even though the Netflix series differs slightly they have done a wonderful job and Elliot Page looks amazing! How are we going to cope with the new Sparrow family? It could be easy to get tired of time travel play but Gérard Way just writes it so beautifully, it's just unique!

The gaming world has been rocked by the surprise Alpha testing release of Multiversus from Warner Bros, a Smash Bros style fighting game featuring Batman and Superman…and Scooby Doo…and Adventure Time….and the Looney Tunes … watching Iron Giant get sucker punched by Arya Stark is a weird one and a universe I didnt realise I was missing out on!

Deliver Us The Moon is an adventure-puzzle video game released on PC in 2018. The game later saw an expanded release on October 10, 2019, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions landing with us now. Deliver Us The Moon was marketed as a science fiction thriller set in an apocalyptic near future; the game follows a lone astronaut who is sent to the moon on a mission to avert humanity's fate towards extinction after Earth's natural resources have been depleted. Whilst the original PC game might not have got very good reviews, I think this trailer looks stunning and could provide a very atmospheric experience.

Vampire The Masquerade: Swansong has been gaining momentum for a while now. A narrative-driven, single-player role-playing video game, the player controls three vampires with different vampiric disciplines (abilities),switching between them over the course of the game. Because your character is often surrounded by humans, you need to be careful about when and where you choose to use your supernatural abilities to avoid revealing your characters' vampiric nature. There have been some excited murmurs in the gaming community for this release, let's hope it doesn't disappoint!

So which is your favourite of the weird and wonderful I have found this week? Have you come across any other unusual releases?