Normally, I reserve the space in this column to warn my readers about what to do in the event of a zombie infestation or to help inform their buying decisions. But this week, I’ve decided to look inward, and use the space to help one of Shox Studios’ own. If you enjoy any aspect of our little website: be it the blog, the webcomics, the Shoxmon Cometh strip, or even this very column, you have one person to thank. Studio director Michael White is the foundation of Shox, the one who makes sure everything runs smoothly due to his tireless work ethic. He’s incredibly dedicated, outstandingly creative, and just an all-round great guy. So you can understand my shock when I learned recently that the last videogame he played was 2000’s Diablo II. Now, I’m in no way bashing D2, which is a great game, but it’s been nearly a decade since he played anything new. So, in the name of friendship, I’ve decided to help Michael move on to something new.

Now there are many reasons why people love D2, the most common being the loot. In this action/RPG, slain enemies constantly drop new and useful items, with the more powerful foes giving up the rarest of weapons and armor. This collect-a-thon aspect makes the game incredibly addictive, as players are constantly trying to get their grubby hands on unique items. Luckily for Michael, there is no shortage of these kinds of games on the market. Unsurprisingly, the best substitute is another Blizzard Entertainment game. It’s one you may have heard of before, a little title called World of Warcraft. Like D2, WoW, (Holy acronyms Batman!) features an absurd level of items to collect. But the best part is, because it’s played online with millions of other players, you get to show off that sweet new armor set that you just picked up.

Persona 4

Of course, WoW is a fairly lighthearted game, and it may be the demonic themes of Diablo that kept Michael coming back for more. Now there are several choices when it comes to games with similar thematic elements. There is the Persona series of role-playing games, which put the player in the role of a high school student in modern day Japan. The twist is, while your days are spent going to class and flirting with girls, your nights are filled with lots and lots of demon slaying. Additionally, players can summon their own demons–the titular personas–to aid them in battle. The anime aesthetic ensures that it’s not as dark as Diablo visually, but the themes are certainly there.

But the problem with both these games is that they require a significant time investment to fully enjoy. Something which, sadly, I know our faithful leader doesn’t have in abundance. So a game that can be played in short bursts may be the best option. And the best place to find these kinds of games is probably on the Nintendo DS. Games like Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and The World Ends With You can be played for as little or as long as you want, and provide all of the dark themes and role-playing elements you could want. And since we know Michael is in to art, a game like Hotel Dusk: Room 215–a gritty detective story with a beautiful, pencil drawn art style–may be just the thing.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

The World Ends With You

Hotel Dusk Room 215

These are, of course, just a few options. Over the past 8 years, there have been a metric tonne of incredible games released, so narrowing it down to just a few is no easy task. I’m hopeful though, that this list will do the trick, and that the man behind the Shoxmon will once again be able to call himself a gamer. And if that doesn’t work, we can always wait until the release of Diablo III, which will certainly re-ignite the gamer flames.

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

It’s that time of the year, a stressful period full of crowded stores, long lines, and jam-packed parking lots. So, in an attempt to alleviate some of the Holiday induced stress you may be experiencing, we here at Shox have put together a handy dandy gift guide for the comic book geek on your list. Whether it’s comics, games, or movies, we have you covered.

Books

Watching the Watchmen
With the upcoming release of the Watchmen film, it’s pretty safe to say that Watchmen fever is at an all-time high. So what do you get the consummate Watchmen fan who’s already read the graphic novel dozens of times? Well how about this companion piece by the original artist Dave Gibbons, which features never before scene pages, sketches, and character designs from the classic book.

Serenity Vol. 2: Better Days
It’s pretty safe to say that Joss Whedon’s sci-fi western Firefly was short lived, but thankfully the characters are continuing on. It may not be TV or film, but this graphic novel gives more insight into the 9 inhabitants of starship Serenity as they take on a brand new adventure.

Teen Titans: Year One
For those of you who like your heroes a little smaller, the latest refresh of the Teen Titans franchise comes out this month. Featuring the likes of Robin, Wonder Girl, and Red Devil, this paperback goes back to the beginning to tell the origin story of the tiny hero group.

Movies

The Dark Knight
Ok, this one is really a no-brainer. The biggest film of the year, The Dark Knight also happens to be without a doubt the best comic book movie ever made. It’s almost certain that the geek on your list has already seen it, but it’s just as certain that they have plans to watch it over and over. And don’t cheap out, get the special edition.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
A wonderful visual spectacle, in the sequel to Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro moves the franchise towards the mythological side of things. This allowed him to create some truly incredible and imaginative creatures for HB and the rest of the BPRD to battle. The best part though, is that the movie introduces Johann Krauss, a containment suit filled with the ectoplasmic spirit of a deceased psychic.

Wall-E
If that person on your shopping list has any interest in animation, be sure to pick up Wall-E. Quite possibly Pixar’s best film to date–and that is saying something–the film is one part adorable love story, and one part scathing social commentary. It’s beautiful, entertaining, and has a message, putting it amongst the best films of the year.

Games

Fallout 3
Have you ever wanted to explore a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Well, this is your chance! In Fallout 3 players venture throughout a devastated Washington, D.C., a lonely place filled with mutated monsters and all kinds of strange people. The choices you make throughout the game affect the story, allowing you to be either a do-gooder, an evil jerk, or someone in-between. It’s available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Persona 4
For the Japanophile on your list, Persona 4 mixes a very cool anime aesthetic with a hardcore Japanese role-playing game. Throw in some dating sim elements, a countryside setting, and an intriguing murder-mystery plot, and you have one of the most interesting games of the year. Pick it up for the PlayStation 2.

Zombies!!!
If the person you’re buying for prefers games of the board variety compared to video, be sure to check out Zombies!!! This board game takes the best parts of B-movie zombie films, and combines them with a 2-6 player strategy game. In order to win, players either have to kill a specified number of undead ghouls or reach the heli-pad before the horde takes over.

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

Being a super-hero is a tough job. There’s the patrolling, the fighting, the mystery solving, the evil plan foiling. Basically, there is a whole lot to do. So it’s no wonder that so many heroes have a sidekick tagging along to give them a hand with all of the heavy lifting. The goal of these semi-heroes is to help in any way they can, without stealing the limelight from their mentor’s. But this isn’t as easy as it sounds, and being a sidekick is not for everyone.

The first important aspect of sidekicking is your look. You need to look tough, but not too tough. If you look too tough then people might start getting confused as to who is the real hero. Take Robin, for example. While Batman is all dark and threatening in his black ensemble, Robin looks bright and chipper in red and yellow. There’s no confusing who’s in charge there. With but a single glance onlookers know that Batman is here to save the day, while Robin is his back-up, just in case.

Keeping in line with this general demeanor, you also have to be careful about what you say. Do not, under any circumstances, use any bad-ass one liners. These are reserved solely for the purpose of the main hero who needs to sound threatening. You, on the other hand, are relegated to lame, nearly non-sensical catch phrases. Robin is infamous for his “Holy (insert terrible, terrible pun here) Batman!” exclamations, while Fallout Boy (no, not the band) loves to start sentences with “Giminy Gillickers.” This of course, only makes Radioactive Man look cooler. It’s like the sort-of pretty girl who hangs out with the ugly crowd: by comparison, she’s gorgeous.

Now you may be saying to yourself, “Well this sucks. Why would I want to be a sidekick if it means I have to look and sound like a loser?” Good question. There are two main reasons why you would want to subject yourself to such humiliation. The first, is the element of surprise. By becoming a joke of a hero, you eliminate much of the threat that super-villains feel. Because of this, they will be much less suspecting when you eventually smack ‘em in the face with a car battery. Who’s the sidekick now! …Ahem, anyways. The other reason is, of course, the pursuit of justice. It may not be fun, but being a sidekick means you get to make the world a better place, one bad pun at a time. You get to learn from the best, and fight all kinds of evil.

Just don’t expect any respect in the process.

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

For many super-heroes, the key to maintaining anything close a normal life is their secret identities. These alternate personas allow them to escape from the stressful world of crime-fighting and just be regular people for once. But not all secret identities are created equal. In fact, some are downright terrible. So here we have the official Shox Studios ratings scale for super-heroes secret identities, with one being the worst and five the best.

1. Superman/Clark Kent

The most notorious secret identity in the heroism world is used by arguably the most popular super-hero out there, Superman. In order to switch from the Man of Steel to the reporter Clark Kent, Superman simply puts on a pair of glasses. No, really, that’s it. He puts on glasses and somehow, no one recognizes him. Apparently the citizens of Metropolis all have some sort of mental disorder, or else they’re just too scared to tell Kent that they know who he really is. He does shoot lasers out of his eyes you know.

2. Hellboy/Hellboy

Only slightly less terrible than Superman’s glasses is Hellboy’s trenchcoat. When you are a huge, bright red demon it can be hard to disguise who you are, but Hellboy does an admirable job. But that doesn’t mean that he’s fooling anyone. I mean come one, just because you have on a fine lookin’ coat and your horns are ground down so they look like goggles, that doesn’t make you any less of a spawn of Satan. But, I suppose, they do make you at least look a little less scary. And that’s something.

3. Spider-Man/Peter Parker

Peter Parker makes the list for being smart enough to wear a mask. Unlike glasses, it’s pretty hard to tell who’s face is behind a mask. But his problem is his profession. As a photographer he’s quite close to Spider-Man, getting all of the best images of the web-slinger. Any astute observer could tell that the two are never actually in the same place at the same time, and Parker’s closeness to his subject only makes this more suspicious. But at least he has a mask.

4.Iron Man/Tony Stark

What better way to hide yourself then to do it behind an inch think layer of iron. It is pretty much impossible to tell who is behind that suit, which of course works to the benefit of billionaire playboy Tony Stark. Really, the only thing linking Stark to the suit is the cost: it’s pretty obvious that a get-up like that costs a pretty penny, otherwise, we’d all be flying around in one.

5. V?

V’s secret identity is so well hidden that really, we still don’t know who he is at all. behind that Guy Fawkes mask lies quite the mystery, and one that we probably will never solve. We do know that he was once a prisoner who was subject to a series of horrific tests, but beyond that, nothing. Not even his real name. Bravo sir, bravo.

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

Just as there are many different kinds of heroes and villains, so there are many kinds of lairs.  Where a superpowered being chooses to spend their time says a lot about them. The various caves, castles, and condominiums where heroes dwell tend to reflect their personality, expressing some of just what makes them tick inside. Let’s take a look at the three different categories that these lairs can fall under.

Heroes Homes - As I said before, a heroes home base is a reflection of themselves. The most obvious example is the Batcave. Bruce Wayne took on the mantle of Batman in order to confront his childhood fear of bats, so what better place to keep his secret then in a bat cave. But Wayne is not only about facing his fears, he is also terribly rich. So the Batcave is no ordinary bat cave. Loaded with all kinds of gadgets and gizmo’s that probably cost a fortune, Batman’s HQ is like a stone manifestation of its crime fighting inhabitant.

Then there’s Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.  Despite his clever disguise of a pair of glasses and a suit, we all know that Clark Kent is just the secret identity of the alien known as Kal-El. Because of this, there are times when Superman needs to just get away from humans and go off on his own. It’s a way to stay in touch with his deceased alien roots. In fact, the Fortress is actually a fragment from Superman’s home world, and like his secret identity, is cleverly disguised.  Well the Fortress isn’t hidden but the key is. Under the snow. Which can blow away. Never mind.

Villainous Lairs - Heroes aren’t the only ones who need to get away once in a while. In fact, villains probably need the time off more. But like the heroes, a villains home says a lot about them. Take Castle Doom, for instance. Dr. Doom is a vicious and brutal dictator of Latveria, who many would describe as evil. Hence the dark and ominous look of his chosen home. Doom started out life as a poor gypsy child, but eventually gained control over the small Eastern European country using his various powers. And because of this, his choice of HQ is the perfect way to make up for his various insecurities about his upbringing. The castle was built during the 16th century for a Latverian noble, which helps Doom feel like a real, old-fashioned dictator.

Group Homes - Of course, not every hero fights on their own. There are many different crime-fighting organizations out there, and each of them has its own base of operations, just like solo heroes do. But unlike those who fight on their own, these group homes tend to be much more extravagant. A good reason for this is that these organizations are often government funded. Just look at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The BPRD is housed in a massive building disguised as a garbage depot in New Jersey. But behind those walls lies some of the coolest and most advanced technology on the planet.  There is some incredible security (to keep Hellboy from escaping), a massive aquarium (so Abe can be at one with the water), and even, one would assume, some heavy duty fire retardant walls (so Liz doesn’t  burn the place down).  But what’s so great about BPRD HQ is the mix of the old and the new. Not only does it contain all kinds of technological wonders for dealing with mythological creatures, there is also an encyclopedic library of centuries-old texts that cover everything from trolls and elves to demons and angels.

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.