Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

The new Tomb Raider comic book series from Dark Horse is now officially a year old. We’re also less than a week from the release of Issue #13 , and the start of a new story arc that will (reportedly) lead directly into the highly anticipated next game, Rise of the Tomb Raider – out for Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles before Christmas 2015. So, with 12 issues on the shelf , what can be said of the new Tomb Raider comics so far? In the plus column, the new Tomb Raider books are far removed from the typically exploitative Top Cow series that ran from 1999 to 2005 . Under the watch of writers Gail Simone and Rhianna Pratchett (yay for female creators!), we have yet to endure a single gratuitous shower-monologue scene, shirtless beefcake love interest or panel centred on the heroine’s perfectly shaped posterior, or, uh, other jigglier assets. Oh, and for the record, Lara’s bedtime attire this time around is a very practical lounge pants and tank top combo as opposed to a Victori...

As a TV series, Avatar: The Legend of Korra has definitely had its ups and downs. Its supremely popular predecessor, The Last Airbender remains the consistently better show. Then again, the uneven Korra experience can be blamed on a few obstacles that the original show never faced – such as impromptu season length changes and budget cuts. But I’m not here to excuse The Legend of Korra’s flaws. I’m also not here to squee in delight over Korrasami leaping out of the closet and into canon (I’ve done enough of that on Twitter over the last month). What I want to do in this post is make a case for the show as the more emotionally complex, relatable and rewarding of the two Avatar series. Simply by focusing on the title character. Whereas The Last Airbender was a high-spirited globe-trotting fantasy adventure for the whole family (with a hero band of 12 to 15 year olds), The Legend of Korra always pitched itself at a higher level. We meet the next generation Team Avatar in young ...

Just a quick post this Monday to make anyone who doesn't follow me on Twitter aware of my two most recent cosplay projects. They're Tomb Raider -centred of course, And you find the shoots in their entirety on my DeviantArt page . Admittedly these costumes aren't spot-on - there are a few key elements missing - but it was all about having a bit of fun while seizing an opportunity at the time. The first suited cosplay is based on this Hitman -tribute skin, featured in the recently released Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris . The second cosplay combines elements from the 2013 reboot , upcoming sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider and a little Classic Core Era Lara Croft . I did a  Summer tropical beach shoot shoot back in Mozambique in September 2013 . This can be considered the follow-up Winter shoot, shot in Northern Japan in January 2015. Enjoy.

I confess that since my move to remote Northern Japan, I have largely been out of touch with a lot of pop culture consumption. Like the fact that I have been to the cinema just once in the last 6 months, when it used to be my main form of entertainment. *gasp* Anyway, I plan to have some short reviews up in the near future of high profile 2014 movie releases that I did manage to catch. Until then, here's something funky to see in the new year... And help you catch up with chart toppers if you've been out of the mainstream music loop (like me). Greek DJ Robin Skouteris has done it again. His third Pop Love musical mash-up has just been released - and once again you can download it for free, with his other amazing work, on his Soundcloud page . I think last year's Pop Love was catchier , but overall I think 2013 was a better year for music and game releases, certainly.  Now let's see how things shape up in 2015. Happy New Year!

Whether you are spending the festive season with a special someone...   Source: ipodger Or with family in whatever form that takes...   Source: raccooncitizen Or even if you're lone wolfing your way through the holidays... Source: Brian Horton I wish all of my blog readers and Twitter friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you get to see 2014 out and 2015 in, in style! Just look after yourself the next week or so....   Source: LaraRobsGraves Because you need to be fighting fit and ready for 2015. Here's to a wealth of exciting adventures and experiences waiting in the New Year. It's time to rise...

Cue Julie Andrews... Comics and movies. Two of my favourite things. And evidently DC Comics  knows that there are a lot more people like me out there... In March 2015, comics and film collide with a set of 22 variant issue covers based on classic movie posters (all from parent company Warner Bros , naturally). You can check out the full set here , along with the original poster art they're based on. I'm in love. Particularly with this one. Appropriately epic and utterly gorgeous.

I didn't get around to doing my pop-culture-post-a-day Advent Calendar this year, but in substitute, for the next 9 days I encourage you to check out 2 fun Christmas countdown projects from Tomb Raider fans. Over on Twitter, Lady Scion is using the #TRAdvent hashtag and tweeting entertaining Lara Croft content daily. Meanwhile, on Tumblr, there's ipodger 's adorable Advent Endurance , which sees Lara and Sam preparing for the holidays. Finally,  today completes a special holiday season fanfic I wrote - and released in 3 weekly installments - called A Croft Christmas . Check out the unapologetically melancholy story in full here .

Maybe you have a Tomb Raider enthusiast in your life, or perhaps you are the Lara Croft fanatic yourself? Either way, if you’re looking for something suitable for Christmas, and haven’t picked it up already, you may be considering the recently released novel Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals , written by husband-and-wife duo Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent . Adding to the temptation, no doubt, is the absolutely delicious cover art by Brian Horton , the Senior Art Director for the new Tomb Raider games. In fact, it’s worth noting at this point that The Ten Thousand Immortals (out since 20 October) has been endorsed by game publishers and makers Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics , so the book can be considered canon in the rebooted Tomb Raider universe. It is set directly after the events in the 2013 game, sandwiching itself between the game and current Dark Horse Comics series . Anyway, without giving too much away, The Ten Thousand Immortals sees young archaeologist Lara ...