I’m sure you’re all a bit Tomb Raidered out by now, so this is intended to be my last comic on the subject… for now anyway. There are likely to be some one-shots/single panels in the near future. Mostly though I am just really tired of dirtying up Lara every time I draw her! Anyway, I imagine Life of Pi would have been a much shorter movie if a certain young archaeologist had climbed onto the life raft.

P.S. I always hated having to kill animals, especially the exotic, endangered ones, in the Tomb Raider series. I’m proud to say I got through the new game with a grand total of 10 creature kills, if that – and most of those were in response to wolves and boar that attacked me.

—–

If you got a kick out of this Girlz ‘N’ Games comic, please “Like” the Girlz ‘N’ Games Facebook page.

Oh, I could do five more of these at least…

After everything that poor young archeologist goes through in this year’s series reboot/prequel – not to mention the ice-cool badassery she demonstrated in her previous adventures – Lara Croft really deserves her own Chuck Norris-style meme.

—–

If you got a kick out of this Girlz ‘N’ Games comic, please “Like” the Girlz ‘N’ Games Facebook page.

Honestly, before March this year, the last game I pre-ordered was Batman: Arkham City. The 2013 Tomb Raider reboot/prequel, however, finally dragged me away from my back catalogue and into something brand new.

What can I say? If you follow me on Twitter or read my Pop Culture blog (here specifically), you’ll know I’ve been completely fangirling over the game… to the point that I’m considering an attempt at fan fiction for the first time in my life. And this when I didn’t even know what “shipping” meant until a fortnight ago. So, yeah, I think you can expect at least one more comic strip centred on Tomb Raider on this site.

I must have  played the original 1996 Tomb Raider game at least 5 times from start to finish. This was despite having never watched any of the cutscenes because the geriatric family computer couldn’t handle them. What wasn’t to like about heroine Lara Croft back in the early days? A  sexy, badass archeologist who travelled the globe, solving ancient mysteries and finding treasures along the way… ostensibly just for kicks because she was a rebellious, if loaded, British aristocrat. For better or worse, Lara Croft remains the most iconic female character in gaming. It’s just that over the years she’d slipped into full-blown fantasy mode and lost relevance. She became just tits in a tank top.

However, Tomb Raider is now back, having been given much the same gritty reimagining treatment as James Bond since 2006′s Casino Royale. In fact there’s a very strong comparison to be made between the new Lara Croft and Daniel Craig‘s bloody, frequently beaten, shot and tortured take on Agent 007… particularly when you compare Craig’s version of the spy with Pierce Brosnan‘s smirking, bullet-proof and ultra-glossy portrayal from the 1990s. Sound familiar?

Anyway,  Tomb Raider 2013 isn’t perfect (what game is?). There’s plenty to have a laugh about, and there could have been more tombs to raid and more challenging puzzles to solve. However, the game is about as good as the action adventures genre gets – immersive, cinematic in style, technically polished, gorgeous to look at and all-round gratifying fun.

Best of all, the new Lara Croft – a novice-archeologist-turned-hardened survivor -  is incredibly likeable. You wince and squirm through the whole game as the poor girl goes through… what? Hell? Apocalypse Now? Not to mention presumably a long course of antiretroviral drugs and antibiotics after her little island adventure. The point is that with the new Tomb Raider, it feels like the character of Lara Croft has been reclaimed, particularly for female fans. The new LC is someone you root for; someone you admire. Psychologically, she’s finally believable and not just a CGI-sexpot.

I hope the sequels continue in this vein, presenting the exploits of a flesh-and-blood Lara Croft. And I certainly hope the new credible outfit stays. Down with the silly shorts and bare midriff!

—–

If you got a kick out of this Girlz ‘N’ Games comic, please “Like” the Girlz ‘N’ Games Facebook page.

All I really want to know is when did dwarves get so damn sexy? Are you absolutely sure you guys don’t need a fifteenth member for your company?

P.S. Curiously this isn’t the first, second or even third Girlz ‘N’ Games comic revolving around facial hair…

P.P.S. I’m a stubble fan myself.

—–

If you got a kick out of this Girlz ‘N’ Games comic, please “Like” the Girlz ‘N’ Games Facebook page.

My latest comic – for the romantics at heart… and Body Horror nerds.

Yeah, this strip should have been up for Valentine’s Day but time got away from me. Anyway, here it is now. Just consider it Girlz ‘N’ Games’ 2013 V-Day comic, regardless.

I know the reference may be a tad on the obscure side for some readers. Then again, if you’ve ever watched the likes of The Brood, The Fly, eXistenZ or Crash – or even the trailer for Cronenberg Jnr’s Antiviral – I think you’ll have a pretty good idea what I’m talking about.

Of all the cinematic sub-genres, I’ve always found Body Horror (consider The Human Centipede another recent example) to consistently rank among the most emotionally potent and memorable. Perhaps because these films tend to be so nightmarish that you just can’t erase them from your memory. Then again, I am very squeamish when it comes to authentic-looking “medical’ violence – I thought Regan’s hospital examination in The Exorcist was by far the most disturbing scene of the film, and I almost fainted watching 127 Hours.

Anyway, film nerds, and their sometimes rather bizarre obsessions, FTW. You know you’re with someone special when you’re discussing orifices and nobody is freaked out.

—–

If you got a kick out of this Girlz ‘N’ Games comic, please “Like” the Girlz ‘N’ Games Facebook page.

Hey, back again… Sorry for the large gap between updates. I’ve just started a new day job and I’m still adapting to its demands.

Anyway, apologies aside, this comic was admittedly inspired by PVP’s recent strip centred on much loved British costume drama Downton Abbey. I’m certainly a fan of the TV series. It’s just such wonderful (mostly feel-good) escapism, removing the viewer from frenetic, crass contemporary life and plunging them into a world where manners, rules and appearances are paramount. Could you imagine if online discussions regarding gaming – or, more specifically, women and gaming – were just as “proper.”

P.S. There were a lot more characters I wanted to introduce to the conversation thread depicted in this comic. Alas, the likes of Thomas and Mrs Hughes (one of my faves) had to be chopped to prevent the strip becoming too unwieldy.

I seemed to spend a lot of 2012 playing through my gaming backlog. Few of the year’s big releases had any appeal for me. One of the exceptions though was Telltale Games‘ The Walking Dead.

Even though I only got around to it in December (post Fall Steam Sale), it was definitely a highlight experience, well deserving of its currently expanding Game of the Year awards haul.

Granted the puzzle aren’t particularly difficult, and granted the game yanks your emotional strings in the most obvious way – like being forced to look at the grave of a boy and his beloved dog as you shovel soil over it, one spadeful at a time). However, The Walking Dead is an outstanding adventure game for grown-ups: dark, affecting… and a very successful replication of the original Image comics in content, tone and visual style. Of course, you’re in the middle of the undead action yourself, making the tough split-second decisions that series fans know all too often end in violence, shock and sobs.

The Walking Dead video game is tense, fun and very emotionally involving. I challenge anyone not to care about some characters, loathe others and always, always want to do their best by adorable (but never helpless) Clementine. She makes you want to be a better person. And how often can you say that about a video game character?

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone had a Clementine to be responsible for?

You’re either on the WoWcrack, or off it… So far, surprisingly, I’ve managed to stay clean post-Cataclysm, and avoid the temptation of the cute but deadly warrior bears that are so central to the latest expansion.

Anyway, I imagine the situation depicted in this comic isn’t that different from the decades-old Disney dilemma of having Pluto and Goofy inhabiting the same universe.

Last week or so, comic creator Tony Harris took to Facebook to rant about “fake geek girls” – more specifically female cosplayers who pop up in revealing outfits at cons and bask in the slobber-flecked nerd attention… despite the fact that the majority of these “superheroines” have little comic knowledge.

For the most part, online outrage was the response to Harris’s outburst. “Boo hoo, poor socially inept white men, preyed on mercilessly by succubi masquerading as geek girls.”

My 2 cents?

I don’t disagree that there are cosplayers out there who are more interested in dressing up and feeling good about their bodies than grappling with the headache-inducing minutiae of comic book continuity. But fuck it, these women are having fun. They’re not doing it with any insidious intention. They’re not trying to bait anyone. They’re not there to snicker and demean. They’re not hurting anyone…

Put more simply: it’s not about you, boys. And if you feel that it is, you need a reality check. If, as per Harris, your reaction is frothing outrage, take a deep breath and just ignore the “attention whores.” Be strong, keep your eyes set straight ahead, walk past – and don’t give them what you think they want. It’s that simple.

It’s that simple for geek girls too, actually. Ignore the critics. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about navigating the geek gender minefield – online where everyone has an equally loud, anonymous opinion – it’s that if someone wants to hate you, they will find a way to discount anything you do that’s in opposition to what they want to believe. Similarly, they’ll magnify any flaw, any error you’ve made. It’s a game almost impossible to win.

Ladies, I know how frustrating it is to be continually interrogated about the authenticity of our fandom. Flashlight in face. “What are you doing here? Show me your pass.” It’s demeaning.

It’s not helped by the fact that “geek girl” is a term that’s pretty much impossible to define. The criteria to qualify for the title are easy to alter by whoever is administering the test. You enjoy Terry Pratchett but have never read Douglas Adams? Tut tut, that’s a fail. You own the Battlestar boxset but don’t like Star Wars? Whoops for you. You can’t name all the Green Lanterns, past and present, of Sector 2814? Pathetic.

The list goes on and on. You can be the world’s most dedicated pop culture consumer but you still will never watch/play/read/hear it all. At the end of the day, the only advice I can suggest comes via a paraphrased motivational quote:

“You can’t please everyone but you can do what makes you happy.”

The real trick these days seems to be defying those bullies who try to strip away all the enjoyment you receive from your interests. Just keep at it; ignore the haters and try to outlast their interest in undermining you.

Resuming transmission in 3… 2… 1…

And we’re back. My apologies for the lack of comics over the past month or so. I was on vacation and then going through the painful process of readjusting to reality.

Anyway, there’s not much to say about the new comic other than we’re easing into things with some Fifty Shades of Grey absurdism. Because really, what 22 year old American woman in the 21st Century is so completely and utterly ignorant about sex? That’s stretching credibility a bit far…

P.S. Pop culture has a distinct shortage of time-travelling sexual predators. They should totally be the next trend…

—–

If you got a kick out of this Girlz ‘N’ Games comic, please “Like” the Girlz ‘N’ Games Facebook page.