Suggested Reading & Viewing Material

For some reason I had never read, or even know of, Warren Ellis' Freakangels. I had heard the name, and seen some of the art on Comic Con advertisements, but I never sought it out. However, a Comics Alliance post about it made me finally find it.



And Man is it good.

Freakangels is a free webcomic that Ellis has been doing for a couple of years now. It's about a group of 12 kids, born on the same day, with pale skin and purple eyes, who all have the same mysterious powers of telepathy and telekinesis. As teenagers their powers are revealed and, naturally, the government starts hunting them down. They make a stand, using their powers in unison to drive their enemies back, but instead they push too hard, causing an apocalyptic backlash. England gets flooded. Time gets altered. The world changes.

The story begins years after this event, with the group, who call themselves Freakangels, having created a settlement in Whitechapel, taking in refugees, and using their brilliance and natural abilities to enhance the lives of the people they protect. It's fantastic.



Considering how many main characters Ellis has, it's remarkable how fleshed out each of them are, how unique and interesting each one is. It's at times hilarious and dark and always compelling. And the art is gorgeous. Exactly the type of art and pacing I love in a comic.


I read the whole thing from the beginning online in just a couple of hours, but they've been collected into trades which I will be picking up as well. It's so good I want to support it with money, though it has already become a weekly tradition for me to check the site on Friday, when a new installment is posted. www.freakangels.com Check it out.


As for something to watch, I discovered Slings & Arrows during my college years, watching it on my computer in the library when I should have been writing papers.




It's a Canadian show, set in the fictional town of New Burbage whose claim to fame is a famous theatre festival that showcases the best Canadian acting talent doing Shakespeare.

Each season, and they only made three, focuses on the genesis, rehearsal, and performance of one Shakespeare play. (Hamlet first, then Macbeth, and finally King Lear.)




It is staggeringly well-written, with humor and intelligence, and full of layered and engrossing characters. Obviously one should start at the beginning, and as an added incentive the first season showcases Rachel McAdams' debut. However the entire run is wonderful. Watch it.