World Cup Fever Raises Temperatures In Riverdale

Main cover art by Dan Parent

Seems like my "new-found" love for the beautiful game has spilled over into the world of Archie Comics.

Scheduled for release this June, just in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Archie American All-Stars one-shot comic is not only part of the publisher's 85th anniversary celebrations but also introduces a new sporting character into the canon: football star Eternity Fields.

"It’s almost time for the big Boy vs. Girls All Star Soccer Game and Reggie wants his team to do whatever it takes to win — but when a mysterious new girl named Eternity Fields joins the girls’ team and makes them unstoppable, the boys are going to have to work extra hard to beat them... but will they heed Reggie’s advice? And just who is Eternity Fields, and how is she so good?! Celebrate the World Cup with this fun, sports-themed issue!"

Written by Tania del Rio with interior art by Dan Parent, who also provides both the main cover and variant cover art, Archie Comics 85th Anniversary Presents: Archie American All-Stars (One-Shot) is guaranteed to be an emphatic victory for readers, no matter who actually wins the game.

Variant cover by Dan Parent

The Twilight Sword Will Be Drawn on April 7

Way of The Blade, art by Daniela Giubellini

A beta PDF of the Twilight Sword roleplaying game, along with the starter set, will be released - to those of us who backed the crowdfunding campaign last year - on April 7, according to a recent update from publisher Two Little Mice.

The update added that the:

"...BETA will be pretty advanced, with maybe some typos left to find, and some artwork missing. But you can expect the full Twilight Sword experience, including an introductory mini-campaign ready to play."

Work is also proceeding at a pace on the Lands of Radia supplement, detailing the default setting for the game, so that is also expected to be finished soon.

The company - which is also responsible for the ever-expanding OUTGUNNED catalogue of action movie-themed games, Household, Memento Mori etc - calls Twilight Sword its "most ambitious project to date", which has me even more excited than ever for the game's arrival.

The print edition of the anime and video game-inspired, sword-and-sorcery ttrpg Twilight Sword is still on track to be shipped to backers at the beginning of August.

Lumino Inn, art by Donata Poli

Exploring The Afterlife in Dungeons & Dragons

Image by Nanne Tiggelman from Pixabay

Complementing my thoughts on resurrection in a fantasy setting from back in January, the excellent YouTuber DnDHunter has just released an inciteful 15-minute video on what happens to characters that die in the 'official' Dungeons & Dragons mythologies.

Hiking Up A Hill To Touch A Tree

Our objective: the majestically scrawny tree at the centre of the ridgeline 

As promised, the tree safaris have resumed.

Rachel, Alice and I went for a walk around the extensive grounds of the Penshurst Place estate yesterday, allowing me to take more pictures of interesting-looking trees and a surprising number of small lakes.

I think these bodies of water were private fishing lakes.

The afternoon's ramble turned out to be not only my longest walk to date - about 45 or 50 minutes-worth of exercise - but also the most challenging.

I spotted a lone tree at the top of a hill and ambitiously declared that as my objective. 

Up the hill we go!

We hiked all the way up the hill, then left the beaten track, waded through deep grass (only Alice's head was visible at times) and made sure both Rachel and I touched the tree - to prove (to ourselves) that we had made it.

After admiring the gorgeous landscape arrayed before us, we headed back down the hill, our target now being the Porcupine Pantry Café (and gift shop) in the grounds of the stately home.

After a rewarding bite to eat (I had a gorgeous sausage roll and Rachel a slice of cake), we wound our way home, but were both incredibly knacked by all the exertion - hence my posting this now, rather than last night. It was a good, satisfying exhaustion though, buoyed by the knowledge of a job well done.

Sure, it's not mountaineering, but I'm still slowly building up my strength, stamina and stability.

I made it - the view across the estate from up there was magnificent

MUSICAL MONDAY: Anytime Anywhere (milet)

Japanese singer-songwriter milet performs Anytime Anywhere, the closing tune from the first season of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

HEALTH UPDATE: Biscuit Club Is Over!

I got a certificate for completing my Postural Stability Course (aka Biscuit Club)

After nine months of weekly classes (barring Christmas and weeks when our trainer was unavailable), Biscuit Club is over.

It's rather sad, really.

While I am proud of my 100 per cent attendance record, I'm going to miss our weekly get-togethers, my two inspiring fellow participants, our primary coach Caroline, and her two volunteer assistants, Barbara and Sheila.

Those months of increasingly arduous exercise have seen me turning up, early on, in a wheelchair and then - over the weeks - regain the ability to walk "normally".

I'm also definitely more stable on my feet; it was my frequent falling over that sent me on this course in the first place.

The osteoarthritis diagnosis came later and, let's be honest, I couldn't have been in a better position to face that issue head-on.

Without this course, Rachel and I are adamant I'd still be in the wheelchair... with all the additional complications to everyday life that that would have brought with it.

For our final session this week, we had a truncated exercise class, then everyone gathered for tea, cake, and biscuits and a good old chinwag. Although I'm now on a diet (also part of this new fitness regime) I allowed myself a "cheat day" with a couple of chocolate biscuits and a small slice of lovely chocolate cake.

In the short time I've been on this "no snack" diet (what is it, six weeks? Seven weeks? I've stopped counting now), I've lost over a stone in weight and it was remarked upon in the class that my appearance has noticeably changed. I confess my t-shirts are feeling slightly baggier and my shorts aren't as tight these days, either.

I'm now in the process of trying to get myself enrolled on an exercise course that the borough council runs at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge, but my initial emails and phone messages were ignored (which was rather frustrating) and so now I've tried filling in an online form that will hopefully open the door for me.

There's also the possibility that the charity which ran Biscuit Club might have another course beginning soon or even that Caroline will have a window in her hectic schedule to start a new pilates class that I could sign up for.

In the meantime, I must remember to do regular exercises on my own and - now that our run of weekend events is over for the moment - get back to my weekly "tree safari" walks with Rachel and Alice.

Why Aren't These Movies Cult Classics?

WhatCulture Horror presents a selection of classy genre movies, which are all too often mistakenly overlooked. These 10 films should be classed as cult classics, the 13-minute featurette argues, but aren't.

It's an interesting selection, although I firmly believe that the number one film, Near Dark, is a cult classic. I certainly regard it as such.

This Summer Belongs To Supergirl, According to DC

Summer of Supergirl Special #1 main cover art by Belén Ortega

Ahead of the release of the upcoming Supergirl movie, a 48-page comic, the Summer of Supergirl Special, is due to hit stores on June 24.

According to the publisher:

This celebratory anthology brings together an all-star roster of writers and artists for a trio of stories honouring Kara Zor-El’s legacy across the DC Universe.

The creators involved include writers Sophie Campbell, Mark Waid, and Gail Simone, and artists Belén Ortega, Cian Tormey, and Emma Kubert.

The main cover is illustrated by Ortega, with variant covers by Tula Lotay and Pablo Villalobos, plus a Supergirl movie variant cover by Mahmud Asrar.

The book's lead story is by the current ongoing Supergirl writer Sophie Campbell, with artist Belén Ortega. It sees the quiet town of Midvale shaken when Supergirl comes face-to-face with the galactic bounty hunter Lobo. Can the Maiden of Might stand up to the Main Man?

Clearly this is to echo the movie where Lobo and Supergirl cross paths in live-action, but I suspect in Campbell's hands the story will be more light-hearted and Silver Age. The movie trailer looks like it's positioning her halfway between Guardians of The Galaxy and the Snyderverse. I could be wrong... I often am.

I have to admit I've also never been a fan of Lobo (although, surprisingly, I enjoyed his appearance in the 2019 Krypton TV series, where he was portrayed by the excellent Emmett J Scanlan). The character was always seemed too much of a one joke/one note creation who outstayed his welcome.

But then again I felt the same about Deadpool and Venom when they were first "breaking out" and I've subsequently changed my mind on both of those characters (although comic book Deadpool will never be as funny as cinematic Deadpool).

The Summer of Supergirl Special also includes two other stories - one by Mark Waid and Cian Tormey, and another by Gail Simone and Emma Kubert - each celebrating Supergirl as she resumes her rightful place as the Heir to El.

Supergirl movie variant cover art by Mahmud Asrar

Variant cover art by Tula Lotay

Variant cover art by Pablo Villalobos

When The Raven Flies aka Revenge of the Barbarians aka Hrafninn Flýgur (1984)

Having survived a Viking raid when his parents were killed and young sister kidnapped, Irish youth Gest (Jakob Þór Einarsson) spends 20 years planning his revenge.

Arriving in Iceland, it isn't long before he's Yojimbo-ing things up between his two targets, the blood-brothers Erik (Flosi Ólafsson) and Thord (Helgi Skúlason).

These Vikings had fled to Iceland with their men, to escape the wrath of King Harald of Norway after a failed coup attempt, so they're not exactly trusting to start with.

Gest very quickly starts playing them off against each other, and when one is killed you expect the film to be heading into its final act.

However, things get complicated when Gest discovers not only has one of the men married his sister (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), but also fathered a child, Einar (Gottskálk D. Sigurdarson) with her.

An almost legendary film that's hard to track down these days, When The Raven Flies goes by several names (the "When" seems to be optional in the main title, for instance), including Revenge of The Barbarians in the States and Hrafninn Flýgur in its original Icelandic.

Touted as the "most authentic Viking film ever", this Icelandic-Swedish co-production from 1984 certainly benefits from its shooting locations in Iceland, complete with black beaches and craggy hills; and unremitting weather, alternating between torrential rain and gale-force winds; as well as a cast speaking Icelandic.

But When The Raven Flies also owes a debt to the sword-and-sorcery genre so prevalent in cinema at that time, not that there's any magic or monsters in this one, but it has that gritty, Earthy, small-cast feel of so many similar cinematic stories featuring people swinging swords and axes.

While the overarching plot may not be that original - we've seen it played out with samurai, Wild West gunslingers, fantasy warriors, and gangsters - the Viking period, with its set attitudes to honour and ritual, gives it a fresh feeling.

The verisimilitude is heightened through the use of unusually-fashioned weaponry, which I'm presuming are the 'real deal' compared to flashier Hollywood armaments.

I also loved the fact that everyone rode the small but powerful horses native to Iceland, just adding another layer of authenticity to the drama.

The film is, naturally, violent throughout, but the bright red 'blood' - and avoidance of too much dwelling on injuries - lowers the gore factor down to almost Saturday evening family viewing.

Easy to root for, Gest is a pretty cool hero, armed with his spear-concealing shepherd's crook and an array of deadly throwing blades.

While he's barely set foot in Iceland before he's killing off bad guys, it's all part of a methodical, long game.

And I couldn't stop myself from making Batman comparisons (inspired by the murder of his parents before his eyes), even though it's never expressly stated how long Gest spent on his training and how long on actually setting his Machiavellian scheme in motion (we discover that it began quite some time before he arrives in Iceland).

Possibly because it's subtitled, I must confess at times I felt this 105-minute tale dragged a bit in the middle (there is an English-language cut of the film on the DVD, but that was about quarter of an hour shorter and I wanted the full experience).

However, the pay-off at the end is worth the time invested, especially as it sets up the potential for another cycle of violence... as happens with blood feuds.

When The Raven Flies turns out to be the first part of a Viking Trilogy, but, except for brief trailers on the disc, I know nothing (yet) about the subsequent films, In The Shadow Of The Raven and The White Viking.

I was lucky enough to snag a DVD - via eBay and shipped in from Germany - for just over £3, around a tenth of the price I've seen the film listed at (when it crops up on either eBay or Amazon).

If you like Viking films, then I'd definitely say this is one worth hanging on for, just be careful not to pay over the odds.