Wait, Is that Henry Rollins?

Huh, it sure is... Some times I just play the first thing I see that looks remotely interesting on netflix when I just want some thing on in the background while I work on else, Once in a while I end up pulled away from my task. Such was the case with "He never died".
It's been years since I thought about Rollins as anything other than a "media personality", long ago he ceased to be the black flag/Rollins band guy and became the guy I saw with enthusiastic opinions on various tv shows that occasionally did small parts in movies and tv shows and for what its worth I've enjoyed him in that capacity more than as a musician. I doubt Rollins will ever make a jump to leading man status in major films, I feel like he is better suited as a supporting character (He was great as the white supremacist in Sons of Anarchy) that being said He is great in "He never Died".

The movie is nothing spectacular, It was is a fun movie to watch on a bored Saturday even if you will forget the bulk of it by the time next Saturday rolls around. The standout part of the movie is definitely Rollins performance as Jack, the awkward immortal that just wants to be left to his own devices but of course never is. I'm not sure if its a testament to Rollins skills as an actor or its just a peek at a strange part of Rollins real personality but he definitely feels believable as a man who is uncomfortable with the dance of social niceties most people two step their way through daily strictly out of years of conditioning. I find it especially entertaining how Rollins character seems to consider his answers before submitting and telling a polite sociable fib. I myself (and I suspect most people) occasionally like to daydream about being honest in my interactions with the world, Some times youd rather tell some high spirited sales clerk to fuck off rather than make small talk.

Editors note: I removed about four paragraphs worth of example conversations  here where I imagined where I was honest with people in mundane encounters. Writing those examples did give me some insight on the necessities of nicety after I read over them and realized what a hostile world it would be if we were all honest. Thanks polite deception!

Rollins does a good job of portraying jack,  A man who has almost convinced himself he has no concern for anyone or anything other than himself.

When we are introduced to Jack it's apparent that Jack keeps his world fairly small and simple, He likes to sleep through most of the day with only interruptions to Eat at a diner, Play bingo and of course pick up mysterious packages from a medical intern. Jack seems to be content with this existence but of course we wouldn't have a movie to watch (aside from some strange art picture I suppose) if events didn't transpire to that would interrupt his schedule.
In this case the two events are A) Jacks daughter shows up for a nice little "oh by the way, you have a daughter" visit.  and B) Someone kidnaps the medical intern that supplies jack with the aforementioned mysterious packages.
What we get is not your normal action flick, Jack isn't hell bent on revenge or overcome with parental joy. As a matter of fact, Jack isn't even sure if he is going to get involved in either case.
One big question that a lot of the movie revolves around is that of what/who Jack is? It's clear Jack isn't your normal guy but it isn't instantly clear exactly how he is different. I imagine that the title and cover art alone makes it safe for me to say he doesn't die easily and within a few minutes of the movie I was fairly confident I was pretty sure what Jacks deal is.  Turns out I was wrong and the reveal of Jacks back story was one of my favorite parts of the movie.
There isn't a whole lot I can say here without spoiling things but I will say that "He never died" is a decent way to spend a couple of hours if it's one of those days when you have been through every category on netflix 5 times and nothing is really jumping out at you. You may forget the movie in a few weeks but I can't imagine you'll regret the time you spent watching it and if your a fan of shows like Supernatural or X-files you may even find yourself hoping for the unlikely prequel or sequel giving us more of Jacks backstory.

I give "He Never Died" 7.5 douche bags with black flag tattoos who have never listen to black flag out of ten.

Ahhh! sorry kid, you can't read this one..

I'm generally a tights and capes comic book type of guy (reading not wearing.... Hey that was just once, lets call it a phase..) but once in a while something else catches my eye. on my last trip to my local comic shop my son asked the clerk about a saga poster on the wall she started heaping praise on the book. Generally I take recommendations from sales people with a grain of salt (I'm not sure why but I always feel like they are out to sell me something..) But this time I gave the book a glance because the cover art reminded me of the excellent dc/vertigo book "Y the last man". When I mentioned this to the clerk she told me not only was it the same artist it was the same writer. While this turned out to only be half true (Brian K. Vaughan wrote both books but Fiona Staples didn't have a hand in Y) I'm glad for the mistake because it cinched my purchase.
It was funny that the clerk was telling my son about it for a few because I joined the conversation, As I said she was telling my boy what a great book it is so I picked it up figuring that it would be something my wife would enjoy and after I had read it my youngest could read it, Boy was I wrong about that.. At home while reading my monthly titles I knocked the book down and when I reached to pick it up the page that it was opened too had one tv headed human body working through the karma sutra with another tv headed human body.... Yikes... not for the kiddies, and that's why I pre-read comics and trades before my kids. That being said for those of us mature readers (giggle suppressed)
 this book has a lot to offer,
To break it down to its simplest for Saga is about an intergalactic Romeo and Juliet, born to two different warring races that have fallen for each other and procreated in the strangest of places and circumstances. Our space born fall mouthed Juliet is Alana a winged native of the planet Landfall who was a soldier reprimanded to prison guard as a punishment for refusing to kill civilians. Her position of prison guard is how she encounters her Romeo, Known to us as Marko, He is a citizen on Landfalls moon Wreath, He left as a gung ho kid inspired to fight for his people but due to circumstances that haven't yet been made clear to us he later turns himself into the enemy, declaring himself a conscientious objector, and this is how he finds himself being guarded by Alana.
The story starts sometime after Alana has helped Marko escape prison with the couple in the process of childbirth. I won't reveal anymore particulars but the tale that ensues contain a crazy mix of sci-fi and fantasy. I'm sure every reviewer of this book has set at their keyboard and tried to figure out what two big name franchises they should call this a mix of, while I won't do that I will say that the idea of mixing sci fi and fantasy isn't new (I'm looking at you "Hyperion cantos") but it hasn't been beat to death and for most readers is probably a fresh genre (one that I am striving to coin a term for).
I love the idea that space ships can grow like a tree and that a sword is reasonable match for a firearm when when the swordsman can also cast spells. The beautiful part of that is not so long ago I would have scoffed at either idea and once again I found myself being surprised that  such notions can not only be captivating but meaningful with proper handling from the writer and an open mind by the reader. Unlike lots of comics that are wildly unrealistic, Saga doesn't require that the reader continually remind himself he needs to suspend his disbelief, you just need to read the first few pages to get drawn in and then you wont question a single flying tree or talking cat.
The characters are wonderfully varied, from heroes that talk like you or I (not always pretty language but always believable) to varied antagonists that range from strictly despicable scumbags to a bounty hunter you can't help but rooting for as he puts himself at risk to do the right thing when he comes across a truly deplorable situation.
Image comics took a chance with this book and while I'm sure its not for everybody I have to say that I think its intriguing writing and style will grab the attention of readers of all types of comics. If you like Capes, Zombies or even tentacle obsessed anime girls, there is probably something in Saga that will grab you and hold you tight.....As long as your a mature and sophisticated reader like myself, now if you'll excuse me, My action figures need reposing..

I give "Saga, volume 1" 9 tv headed couples going at it doggy style out of ten.

Futon comes alive!

They say that every asshole has a blog nowadays, And I'm finally doing my part to make that true!
This blog will contain Game, movie and book reviews and most likely more than a few of my thoughts, opinions and insights.
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