"Heroineburgh," is a Fun Comic AND Live Action Web Series

Creators of indie comics will sometimes reach out to me and ask me to check out their works. I was intrigued when, "Heroineburgh," contacted me as they weren't only a comic, but also a long-running web series. They found me when I was trending on comics-twitter due to certain posts I'd made on a subject I have now said I'm done discussing. They didn't care about that controversy, they just saw I was trending, read my blog, and noticed when reading my site how I often wrote about cool indie comics. Therefore, they told me about their comic and show then asked if I was interested in learning more. I thought such a thing made a lot of sense as with so many big-name superhero characters getting shows and movies it sounded pretty smart for indie creators to do a similar brand synergy of, "If you like the comic, check out the show (and vice-versa)." I read the first two issues of, "Heroineburgh," and watched some of the latest episodes of the show. I will say I enjoyed both!

The plot of, "Heroineburgh," is that the city of Pittsburgh (where the comic takes place and the show is filmed) had a mysterious meteor explode overhead one night and it bestowed a number of people (mostly those with XX chromosomes) with superpowers. Now, many superheroines are officially recognized by the city as being a public safety force. There are a number of women who have become criminals with their powers and that has resulted in trouble at points. The two issues of the comic that have been released so far all follow different heroines who also appear in the show. The issues tell different fun stories about the diverse cast. I especially liked a story in the first issue which features a genetically modified lizard turning into a Kaiju that the cleverly-named, "X-Machina," fights. What makes all this even more fun is then seeing the characters from the comics come alive on your screen.

The, "Heroineburgh," web series is currently in its second season with 19 episodes total. Some episodes are split into two parts, but whether a full episode or a, "Part," they generally are a bit less or more than 30 minutes. The shows are fun and while not by any means high-budget, do have enough funds put into them that they manage some charming special effects--the costuming is always on point too. The acting tends to be pretty good and the whole show just has a nice fun vibe. Watching it reminded me of the shot-on-video (SOV) horror movies of years past not because things were by any means scary, but because back in the day people would get together with a cool idea, film it, and get it released as a VHS tape that sometimes became a cult hit movie. 

Now we have the internet so instead of SOV we're doing things digitally, but that has allowed even more people to take their ideas and create fun shows. "Heroineburgh," has the same, "We're going to try a bunch of stuff and see what works and what doesn't and we're gonna enjoy ourselves along with way," feeling as SOV movies from the past did and I think that is a major element of why I found it so fun. It is incredibly enthusiastic and eager to share its stories with us via a mixture of seriousness and just the right dose of self-awareness. Another thing that a viewer can appreciate about, "Heroineburgh," is that unlike basically any other hero movies or television shows, there are a ton of female heroes. 

If I may complain a bit, Marvel took more than 10 films to give a female lead-billing ("Captain Marvel,") and DC has been good to, "Wonder Woman," and gave us a movie with Harley Quinn, but female-led properties seem to be the exception rather than a regular thing with some of the big properties these past years. Marvel will be debuting their second female-led movie with, "Black Widow," this Summer, even though they already kind of did her dirty with the way the character was treated in, "Endgame," in my opinion, but I digress. My point is outside of team movies that at least include a female or two and some of the superhero television shows there isn't much with female characters--especially female characters of color, various religions, gay/bi characters, etc.

To much credit of, "Heroineburgh," it is focused on diverse female characters in a way that doesn't seem like it's fishing for compliments for being progressive, it simply has a story to tell that involves a lot of superpowered females and it tells it well. Whether they're dealing with corrupt police mad that funding has been cut due to the superheroines becoming an official branch of the Government, fighting evil business tycoons out to make them look bad, or combatting super-villains, there is a big focus on women. 

Yes, it isn't giving us over-the-top special effects that cost millions of dollars, but it's fun and earnest. You can see everyone making it had just as much fun making an episode as we do when we watch it. Plus, thanks to there being so many heroines featured in different episodes you can basically watch any episode from the first or second season and not be lost or confused as you might be if you tried to watch a later episode of a hero show on the CW or Disney+ (I mean, I don't know who would watch, "Wandavision," without having watched at least some Marvel movies, but if they did they'd be confused).

I feel like I've rambled a bit in this post, but the summary of all this is that I found, "Heroineburgh," to be a very enjoyable comic and fun web series that succeeds thanks to how charming and genuine it is. While it was stressful when I angered certain parts of the internet expressing my opinions, I was happy to see it got me trending and it helped even more folks discover my blog and reach out about their own works. I always love hearing from indie creators and thank Heroineburgh for getting me into their show and comic! You can buy the comics and episodes of the web series on their site, and I'd encourage you to check them out!

5 out of 5 stars for the comic and show.

Note: Issue one and two of, "Heroineburgh," as well as episodes 17 and 18 of the show were provided to me for the purpose of review; you all know the drill by now about me getting press copies of stuff, but I always like to make sure I mention it somewhere.

"Analog Nightmares," is the Best Book about SOV Horror You'll Ever Read

SOV stands for, "Shot on video." It is a term used for when in the 1980s moviemakers started realizing they could make movies on tape instead of film to save money. It made stuff look cheaper, yes, but with much of television on tape, it wasn't too big a deal. This opened the doors to many wild and bizarre SOV movies, with the horror genre especially benefitting. Despite about two decades worth of history to be found in these marvelous low-budget wonders, there ain't much written about SOV horror. A recent-ish book by Bleeding Skull about weird 1980's horror flicks touched upon things, yes, but we needed someone dedicated to make a veritable encyclopedia of SOV horror. Well, Richard Mogg created a 400+ page tome of SOV horror from 1982-1995 and he named it, "Analog Nightmares." It is a sight to behold.

"Analog Nightmares," is a large book. Not just in page count, this thing is tall and wide. I am thankful for this, as it allows Mogg to cram a ton of stills from movies, images of posters, advertising, and astounding behind-the-scene snapshots. Mogg doesn't present everything in a sterile way you'd expect from an encyclopedia-styled book either, he reviews what he personally liked in the many movies, what he didn't like, if he was unable to watch a handful, and his love for cinema--and horror flicks especially--is quite clear. That Mogg himself has made some flicks is no surprise as this man seems to live and breathe movies. 

Between chapters that break-down every SOV horror film from a year that Mogg knows of he offers insight into the film and video rental industry at that time, interviews a wide range of directors, actors/actresses, and otherwise provides more detailed knowledge of SOV horror than you'll find anywhere else. Seriously, Mogg has probably casually forgotten more about SOV horror than 99% of us know. I also appreciate that Mogg comes at these at times hokey and low-budget features with a measure of appreciation and love, trying to find something to like in even the most miserable SOV production. While other books that touched upon SOV horror a bit-such as the aforementioned Bleeding Skull book--at times are a bit prone to mock how messy and wonky SOV horror could be, Mogg has an abiding appreciation for it all that is readily apparent in his writing.

"Analog Nightmares," was a delight to read and I recommend to anyone interesting in movies, horror, or exploring weird sub-categories such as the realm of SOV horror. As Mogg observes about our present time, now that we all have phones with cameras and can make movies with ease it isn't necessarily that era of DIY movie-making is gone, if anything it has only grown and become even wilder. That makes this look to the past in some ways an interesting glimpse at what the future of filmmaking is like today with more and more people setting out with little (or no) money and making their own backyard epics. The present is indeed a wild time, but reading about the past in Mogg's extensively detailed book was a pleasure.

5 out of 5 stars.