Herald 4

While Earhart fights her way through the Elsewhere dimension, Lovecraft and Tesla spend an evening graverobbing before attending Mark Twain’s retirement party. The critically acclaimed Action Lab series continues!

Who would have thought that even more big names could be thrown into this series?  Well, not I, that's for sure.  I'm certainly not complaining about it though, just as long as they don't go too crazy with it.  The madness continues as we dive into the fourth installment of Herald.

Not long after their run in with the cultists, Lovecraft and Tesla head to a graveyard to try and recover the Necronomicon.  With no luck, they continue on to their destination of a retirement party for none other than Mark Twain.  It appears the trouble followed them though, as what looks to be more cultists plan a very strange interruption of the festivities.  All the while, Amelia Earhart who we've only really heard about, is seen making her way across the Elsewhere dimension.

Keeping the same artistic flow throughout the series, we had some particularly neat visuals this time.  The most appealing as you'd imaging were the imaginative illustrations and colors following Earhart in her otherworldly adventure.  Of course, the introduction of another historical figure gave way to an opportunity to successfully represent them in comic form.

With this kind of setting, bizarre and way out of the box are completely, uh, normal.  It only gets more and more insane as we get deeper and that's a great thing.  I can't wait to see what new thing pops up, and you should join the madness before it gets too far along.

For more on Herald or other Action Lab books, check out Action Lab.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Herald 3

A botched break-in attempt of the Athenaeum Library ends at the barrel of a gun as Cthulhu Cultists interrogate Lovecraft and Tesla while looking for their own copy of the Necronomicon. In Rome, two old men approach a young artist to discuss the nature of sacrifice.

For so long there has been a face off between the hard facts of science and the beliefs of anything supernatural.  Who ever thought that two of the biggest names from each side would end up working together?  I certainly didn't, but I'm sure glad that the third issue of Herald continues to make that a reality.

Lovecraft and Tesla have been caught red handed trying to snatch away a copy of the Necronomicon  by Cthulhu Cultists.  They have no patience, no mercy, and have split up the two in an effort to get their ways.  Fortunately, the crafty mind of Tesla manages to get both himself and Lovecraft out of the situation.  At least for now, as they now have the cultists on their tail.

The artwork still keeps up the good quality it started with in the first two books.  I've really enjoyed following along with the visuals of this adventure, especially having the likeness of these two illustrated so well.  There were some fun "special effects" portions in this issue as well that were done nicely.

Things got pretty rough early on in the series and have only gotten more challenging for the pair in a short time.  Between the two, Tesla was the more prominent "hero" in this chapter and I'm sure we'll see more shining moments for both as the story continues.  I was pretty much hooked from book one, and would gladly mention this as a new grab to most anyone.

For more on Herald or other Action Lab books, check out Action Lab.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Herald 2

After an unwanted guest threatens to derail the partnership before it begins, Tesla is told to find a copy of the Necronomicon at Brown University. Lovecraft's former professor, however, has other ideas.

Not every dynamic duo has to involve superheroes.  Or tights for that matter.  This particular pairing certainly does however have an above average adventures in this next issue of Herald.  Fortunately, they do so without tights.

Tesla and Lovecraft have teamed up and are already off to a rough start, facing off against a creature from another dimension.  After managing to take care of that issue, they move onto the next.  That of course being their extremely different views on the world - that of science and that of pseudo-science.  Hopefully they can get past their differences, as the problems they faced at the beginning may soon escalate.

The first issue started off quite well artistically, and the follow up has stayed just as strong.  It had even more opportunities to shine with some of the "special effects" of certain scenes and definitely did so.  Given just what we've been shown so far, I can't wait to see more of what the art team does as the story unfolds.

Even if you have little or no knowledge of the two lead roles here (shame on you), this should be a fun read regardless.  As a fan of both, I can say that being aware of them and what they did makes it all the better.  I definitely want to keep catching up on these and can't wait to grab the next issue when I get the chance.

For more on Herald or other Action Lab books, check out Action Lab.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Herald 1

When Nikola Tesla’s fiancée, Amelia Earhart, steals a dangerous prototype engine for a trans-Atlantic flight, Tesla seeks out the interdimensional expertise of HP Lovecraft to save her. Lovecraft, however, has problems of his own as he investigates the identity of Cthulhu’s Herald.

This is probably one of the most interesting “crossover” books I’ve ever had the opportunity to read.  I’m not sure if pairing up historical figures as opposed to superheroes is the new craze, but I’m totally ok with it.  I was instantly psyched to read the first issue of Herald, in which two of my favorite people are the new dynamic duo.  I had no idea what I’d be in store for, but I was totally ready to see.

Nikola Tesla, the often overlooked genius whose influence still affects us today.  HP Lovecraft, the literary genius who wasn’t appreciated during his time.  Put the two together dealing with other dimensions and the creatures from within and that is a winning recipe.  Oh, and did I forget to mention Amelia Earhart and Harry Houdini being in the book?  Double win.

On top of this being a fantastic story, the artistic team amped it up even more.  Heh, amp pun.  Everything from the linework to the inks and colors all come together so well to illustrate this unusual tale.  I give two big thumbs up for capturing the likeness of real people so well, along with throwing in a shot of the famous Tesla tower.

This was seriously such an entertaining read and would highly suggest it to everyone.  Fellow fans of either (or hopefully both) Tesla and Lovecraft will definitely want to pick this up.  I got to the party a little late, so they’re a few issues in already.  So get to the store soon and find a possible new favorite for your pull list.

For more on Herald or other Action Lab books, check out Action Lab.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Geek-o-Rama's Geeky Gift Guide

Over the next 6 weeks, some of our favorite Geek-o-Rama contributors will be sharing pieces of their Christmas wish lists with all of you. Not sure what your favorite geek wants? Hopefully this will help give you some ideas. Up first? Justin!

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Are you a geek? Do you have geeks in your life and you wonder what you can possibly get such odd people for the holidays? Look no further! Here are my suggestions for 5 gifts you or your geek might enjoy.

Item 1: I'm a big fan of Dr. Who and especially of the bad guys. One of the finest of his reoccurring bad guys are the cybermen and their repeated refrain of DELETE! What better gift for your geek than a CTL-ALT-CYBERMAN t-shirt?  Available from ThinkGeek for about $20.

Item 2: What better way to mix Dr. Who and another geeky passion, muppets! Here's another t-shirt, this one with lovable Dr. Grover.  This Near....Far T-shirt features our favorite blue muppet and our favorite blue phone box. Available from RedBubble for $25.

Item 3: What's more geeky than tinkering with stuff. What's geekier than engineering? What's geekier than the good old Erector set! I used to have these as a kid and I built mighty objects of metal and they stretched to the sky! Those of you outside the USA might have had Meccano sets. Mostly the same thing. James May built a bridge over a river with these things! Price: $39.99

Item 4: A death ray. Ok, not a death ray, but the Wardenclyffe Tower in Long Island, New York was where Nikola Tesla was working on creating free power for the entire world. Learn about Tesla and maybe donate a few dollars in the name of your geek to help restore the lab of the original mad scientist. And, by the way, he was working on a death ray at the time of his death and the US government confiscated his notes on the project.

Item 5: Know how when you get a new computer, you can't figure out how to get your stuff off your old one? Know how much of a pain it is to have to deal with multiple external hard drives? Well now you can have this. It's plugs right into your USB port and then you can plug any SATA drive into it and viola! An external drive. This also works with laptop SATA drives and those are small enough that you can practically keep 3 in the front pocket of your jeans. Price: $36.99