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Wacky Wizard Games Imprint and Three New Games Announced by @wwizardgames

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Wise Wizard Games announced the launch of Wacky Wizard Games, a new brand imprint focused on family-friendly, lightweight games. Three games are planned for release in 2024 as part of this new brand imprint: Star Realms Academy, Caution Signs, and Pack the Essentials. If you are interested and attending PAX Unplugged they will have prototypes of Caution Signs and Pack the Essentials. "We are super excited to be adding this new family friendly product line to our catalog. We wanted to maintain the focus of Wise Wizard Games on strategy card and dice games with geeky themes, and have created Wacky Wizard Games as an umbrella for lightweight games with a more whimsical, cute vibe," shared Debbie Moynihan, COO of Wise Wizard Games. Star Realms Academy Forge your own star realms, overloaded with cuteness! A kid friendly but still fun for grown-ups version of the popular Star Realms deckbuilding game for 2 players. A little less math, no reading necessary, but still tons of fun! 

Imagination Centre Reviews: @Marvel's Age of Ultron, Indestructible Hulk, Uncanny Avengers @JohnMcCubbin3


Here are today's Guest Reviews by John McCubbin from Imagination Centre for Marvel's; Age of Ultron #10, Indestructible Hulk #9, and Uncanny Avengers #9. I have also added my rating after each review. If you have any questions about my rating or want to discuss anything just leave me a comment.


See the Review Rating Overview page for more information on how I rate each comic.


Age of Ultron #10 - Book Ten


THE FINALE!


The biggest secret in comics will be revealed to you! An ending so confidential...even the artists of this book don't know what lies on the final pages...! A surprise so big that comic book legend Joe Quesada himself returns to the pages of Marvel Comics to draw a sequence that people will be talking about for years.


Preview




Change is Coming! (I'd Rather a Refund)


Finally the end of Age of Ultron has arrived, and the series that I was so looking forward to, to only be a huge disappointment comes to an end. The only hope is that this issue will end the bellow mediocre story on a high, and even more so have a spectacular ending.

Plot

Time is running out, and can the events that have happened in Age of Ultron be rectified?

Review

This was a decent issue, and an very interesting way to end the series, but it was still far from perfect, and didn't rectify the series' overall poor quality. I hate to hate Brian Michael Bendis for what he's done here, as although the last few years of his Avengers run were poor, the entire run was relatively good, having a phenomenal start. I also find it hard to hate him as his current work on Marvel NOW! although at times slightly poor, has also been overall brilliant. I do however feel that he's seriously dropped the ball with this series, and although I wouldn't go quite as strong as to say that I hated him, I will say that I am very disappointed, as well as frustrated about this series, which I initially had high hopes for, and I seriously wish I'd just left it alone. Anyway, there were some good things about this issue, and it probably was one of the better issues in the series. At the same time it felt a little anticlimactic at times, as well as also re-printing parts of Avengers #12.1, but I'll talk more on that later. There was however a lot of excitement, and suspense in this issue, something that the series hasn't given much of, and overall it was enjoyable, just not spectacular, or overly memorable.

There were a lot of artist working on this issue, with everyone from Bryan Hitch, Alex Maleev, Jackson Butch Guice, David Marquez, Joe Quesada, and more. Now due to this I won't go into detail on every artists work, but I will mention the artists who's work stood out the most, as well as my overall feelings on the style, and layout. Anyway my favourite art had to be from Hitch, as although it was just a re-print of his work from Avengers #12.1, it was still amazing, and some of the most amazing, and explosive art this series has seen. It was also much better that his art on the earlier issue of this series that he worked on, having a lot more detail. The other art that really stood out to me was the small double page from Marquez, and the final few pages from Quesada, which were both truly phenomenal, with ton's of detail, and vibrancy. I did however find the overall style of the art to be inconsistent, which is expected when many artists collaborate on the same issue, and is the reason I don't like this sort of thing. Now I don't mind montages, in Finale issues, but as this was telling the end of the story I felt it should have had as few artists as possible, or artists with similar style, as although there wasn't one artist who's work I hated, the overall style didn't allow the story to flow as smoothly as it should have.

Read the rest of John McCubin's Review on Imagination Centre

My Rating


Cover & Solicit - 3/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 3/5
Layout & Flow - 2/5
Story - 3/5
Verdict - 2.9 - 
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Indestructible Hulk #9 - Blind Rage: Part One


"BLIND RAGE" PART 1!


Guest-starring Daredevil!


The secret of the friendship between Matt Murdock and Bruce Banner!


Hulk--on the witness stand?

Preview



The Devil on Hulk's Shoulder


This has been one of my favourite series since the start of Marvel NOW!, and although it's not always phenomenal, it's always good, and has been one of the more consistent series. It also doing something unique with the Hulk, and has been an amazing series.

Plot

After Bruce Banner arranges to meet his lawyer Matt Murdoch, better known as Daredevil whilst on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission in Hell's Kitchen it sees Hulk and Daredevil work together to take down a gunrunning group called Agent Byzantine.

Review

This was a fantastic issue, and a great start to the Blind Rage story. Mark Waid has been impressing me with this series, and he continues to do so here, as although this wasn't one of the better issues in the series, it was still good. With Waid also writing Daredevil it was nice to see him finally do a story with both Daredevil, and Hulk, and even more so due to it not being a crossover. I also loved how Waid used Daredevil enough to make him worth adding, whilst also keeping the main focus on Hulk, which was as it should be. Waid also did a good job with the drama, and suspense, and overall this was a great set-up issue, and I'm sure it will pay off in the following issue.

Matteo Scalera did a brilliant job on the art in this issue, and although it's not my favorite style, especially on the Hulk, it was still good. I did however find that the roughness of Scalera's art was a bit much sometimes, as although it was very cool at times, especially on Daredevil, it just didn't look right in other places. Scalera did however draw some amazing action sequences, as although there wasn't too many, they did look amazing. The facial expressions, and emotions were also shown perfectly, and Scalera really did a great job. The layout of Scalera's art also added more depth to the issue, also adding more drama, and tone, being perfect.

Read the rest of John McCubin's Review on Imagination Centre

My Rating



Cover & Solicit - 2/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 4/5
Layout & Flow - 4/5
Story - 4/5

Verdict - 3.7 - (Buy Indestructible Hulk #9) SAVE 10%


Uncanny Avengers #9


Ragnarök Now continues!

A team divided. The Apocalypse Twins triumphant.

Wolverine discovers The Midnight City and soon wishes he hadn't.

The Horsemen of Death shatter the Avengers body and soul!

Preview



Division


Although this series went through a rough patch at the beginning of the series due to shipment issues, it has really picked up, and is starting to become one of my favorite series. One of the major things to make this so has been this fantastic story, and I just love reading more, and more, and can't get enough of it.

Plot

The Apocalypse Twins, Uriel, and Eimin continue their plans, whilst the Avengers Unity Squad deal with their own problems, and question whether they can trust each other.

Review

This was yet another amazing issue, and although the pace has slowed down a touch, the quality is still very high. To be honest I'm actually happy that the pace slowed in this issue, as although I usually hate slow paced issues, it's sometimes necessary, and can really help the story, as this issue does. Rick Remender has really been impressing me with this series, and although I initially questioned whether he could continue from his brilliant Uncanny X-Force series, when this series started, he's certainly shown as of late that he can, as this storyline has been amazing. The dialogue in this issue was simply amazing, and I loved the interaction that we got between certain character's. I also love how Remender continues to grasp my interest towards the Apocalypse Twins, as although the haven't yet became as interesting as Archangel was during The Dark Angel Saga, they are becoming a force to be reckoned with, and although I don't see them becoming as interesting, or as big as Archangel, I do see them becoming a thorn in the Avenger Unity Squad's side, and there's already signs of that in this issue. I also loved that despite the fact that Remender took this back a step in the way of pacing, he was still able to add some action, which although scarce, still amazing, and entertaining.

Daniel Acuña once again produced some amazing artwork. His art is simply outstanding, with the detail being perfect most of the time, with very few imperfections, and I'm glad he's been working on this series. His layouts are also fantastic, adding depth, and drama to the story, whilst also giving a great feel, and tone. Acuña also draws every character perfectly, with my favorites being Wolverine, and the Apocalypse Twins. He just makes Wolverine look like the stubborn little maniac that he is, which I love. He also makes the Apocalypse Twins look more and more dominant with each issue, as they are really starting to look like the awe-inspiring villains that this story has been shaping. Acuña also handled the small pieces of action that featured in this issue perfectly, making them feel explosive, as well as making them look like an action scene from a film. With less action Acuña has also been able to show more emotion in the character's, which I've loved, as it gives yet again more depth, and drama to the story, whilst also giving some suspense. The thing I loved most about Acuña's art however was once again his colours, and the fact that Acuña does his own inks, and colours is the reason I feel his art is so good.

Read the rest of John McCubin's Review on Imagination Centre


My Rating


Cover & Solicit - 3/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 4/5
Layout & Flow - 3/5
Story - 4/5
Verdict - 3.7
 - (Buy Uncanny Avengers #9) SAVE 10%

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John McCubbin is a blogger at http://imaginationcentre.blogspot.co.uk/ and a comic book reviewer at Comic Vine. The use of this review has been authorized by the original author.

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