Episode 352 - Razor versus Warrior Nun Areala - Faith

Episode 352: Razor versus Warrior Nun Areala - Faith

Nineties comics were a bit silly, weren’t they?


Not to be confused with Areala versus Razor, this is an entirely different and yet still near identical book. Straight from the horrors of nineties bad girl comics, we have a tale of... well, not much really. There’s some demons, and there’s a pair of ludicrously dressed, impossibly proportioned women who fight them in festivals of blood-soaked cartoonish violence. Oh, and they also fight each other, which is basically a given, what with the ‘versus’ part of the title. Throw in the Generic Anime Villain’s guide to dating and you basically have a wrap. So get your Sword of Catholic Guilt, stab a demon through the eyeballs and kick over a gravestone for the generic crossover action of Razor versus Areala.

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.

Art Fail - Reusing the panel

Ben Dunn had something of a reputation of being lazy, unimaginative and unoriginal, as well as copying artwork. In fact, he even was supposedly known for copying his own art. But is that reputation justified? Well, let's just take a look at some panels from Warrior Nun Areala versus Razor and see.

Art Fail - Headband people fight headband people

It's tempting to call all of Robotech: The Sentinels Rubicon one gigantic art fail. It's... a mess, with awkward characters that don't look anything like their original animated designs, skewed perspectives, weird-looking mecha and ships, cluttered backgrounds full of techno-junk and all manner of other things. Added to that is the heavy-handed and ugly inking and then the awkwardly executed tones in part one, and you have one gigantic mess.

Oh, and the terrible dialogue doesn't help any either.

Episode 315 - Warrior Nun Areala versus Razor - Deceiver

Episode 315: Warrior Nun Areala versus Razor - Deceiver

He's a grizzled old cop who as seen too much. She's a leather-clad killer who is driven by vengeance. It's an odd choice for a RomCom, but not entirely unwelcome either.

There are few things more nineties then 'Bad Girl' comics, featuring massively endowed, under-dressed women who all apparently suffer from severe spinal trauma. But when you have a crossover between two of them, then it gets really silly (and possibly even 'xtreeeeeem'). That's exactly what happens when Warrior Nun Areala (Wielder of the Sword of Catholic Guilt) and Razor (Your basic stabby psychotic stripper) encounter each other and, because the comic has no plot otherwise, fight in a battle to decide who's costume is more blatantly fetishy. But it's not all fun and games and splayed crotch leaping as evil is afoot and something that resembles a story is happening, forcing our two anti-heroines to put aside their differences, work together and beat people up while they're in the bathroom. It's paint by numbers crossover only with more sweaty priests!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.

Episode 310 - Robotech the Sentinels Rubicon #2

Episode 310: Robotech the Sentinels Rubicon #2

Yeah, I know that most people prefer Generic Space Bikini Girl With Face Junk #1, but I'm more of a Generic Space Bikini Girl With Face Junk #2 man myself.

As Robotech: The Sentinels Rubicon continues to be determined to avoid its main plot at all costs, it has to find all sorts of ways to fill up space instead. So while there’s some cosmic event out there doing cosmic stuff we get to instead hear about ship launches, diplomatic luncheons, why translating from one language to another is hard, Carnegie Hall, alien date-rape drugs (thanks comic, thanks so much) and why JC is the greatest human being to have ever lived and why we should all be thankful for something he did offscreen at some point maybe. And to help pad it out not only do we have a swarm of identical people with long hair and headbands, a cheap Final Fantasy VII joke and almost a Sentinels character, but we also suddenly shift to rough pencils in the process! That’s right, it’s a comic that’s inept at every level and you’ll struggle to decide which one’s the worst!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.

Episode 306 - Robotech the Sentinels Rubicon #1

Episode 306: Robotech the Sentinels Rubicon #1

So far, the message of this comic seems to be 'Bright light that goes EEEEEEE.'

If you like high-concept Sci-Fi about man’s conformation with the unknown and incomprehensible, then you’re definitely reading the wrong book. But if you want to be bludgeoned by an incoherent mess about stuff being exploded by a white light in space that goes “EEEEE” then your dream has come true. Robotech: The Sentinels Rubicon may share it’s title with an already existing novel, but it’s content has no connection to any prior published material and, mercifully, none that would follow either. Instead what it does have is the world’s most confusing poker game, space strippers, miscellaneous aliens, spaceships (which explode), giant robots (which also explode), somebody called Featherhead, somebody called JC and/or Lancer and some very awkward dialogue. It’s the mass of process wood pulp that the fans demanded!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.

Episode 303 - Warrior Nun Areala and Glory - GOD and COUNTRY

Episode 303: Warrior Nun Areala and Glory - GOD and COUNTRY

She's here to kick arse and take communion!

When you're engaged in a legal battle over the ownership of intellectual property, there are a number of things that you can do to improve your case. Collaborating on a comic where you depict your opponent as a demon worshipper who sold his soul and spills the blood of innocents in exchange for popularity isn't one of them, but that's exactly what happens in this thing written and drawn by Ben "Obvious Nun Fetish" Dunn with assistance from Rob "Obvious Pouch Fetish" Leifeld. None the less, that's exactly what you get as Areala (Leather clad nun with a sword) and Glory (Chinese bootleg Wonder Woman) go to a con and fight deadly foes like booth queues, the concession stand and Jason, a twelve year old kid that you'll want to smack the instant you meet and yet is vital to the whole mess. Features very little God and almost no country! Diesel!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.

Episode 252 - Wings of Gibraltar, Issue 2

Episode 252: Wings of Gibraltar, Issue 2

Only Wings of Gibraltar would dare to present a story about lasers blowing things up.

Despite the best efforts of all involved, the plot finally arrives at the top secret space lab in space of Gibraltar. No amount of block exposition can hold back the forces of Major Generic Bad Guy and his armies of faceless hordes, so it's up to our designated protagonists to save the day. Fortunately, they're armed with the powers of Science and the fact that you know they're going to live anyway, which would ruin the suspense if there was any to begin with. Add in a robot arm (Whose purpose will shock you) and a clumsily shoe-horned anti-war message and you have the sequential art-like substance that is Wings of Gibraltar! Two!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.

Episode 250 - Wings of Gibraltar, Issue 1

Episode 250: Wings of Gibraltar, Issue 1

I think Chase is only peripherally aware of the existence of other people.

From the depths of the ninties comes Wings of Gibraltar, a fanfic totally legit for reals comic about awesome new robots, top secret research bases and the incredibly dull people who develop them. Thrill as Rick Hunter and Max Sterling go on a guided tour and have weapons demonstrated to them! Be amazed as percentages are discussed in detail! Gasp in wonder at the description of a fusion reactor! Hold on to the sedge of your seat as the villain tries to edge the plot along and gives up trying! Check your watch to wonder how much time you’ve lost as you realise this is only a two-issue series! That’s right, if you love lectures about how asteroid mining works, then you might like this!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Mat Simmons and Rick R. Mortis

Written by: Rick R.