Last Lingdom

From its earliest beginnings as a group of ronin brought from Edo to protect the Shogun when he is in Kyoto to see His Imperial ighness, the group had to face difficulties both from within and without. Commander Serizawa Kamo's corrupt practices threaten the group's very existence, as they try to recover from the bad reputation he left them with. Their redemption comes when they learn of Katsura Kogoro plans to gather men at Kyoto's Ikedeya Inn for his attack on the city. Along with Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, Kondo leads the group in an attempt to save Japan from the rebels.

This 6-part limited series by Peter B. Gillis of fame adapts Peter S.Beagle's novel of the same title into the medium of comic books, and for once, it's an adaptation done right. The story unfolds at a very smooth pace, as the unicorn first becomes aware that she might be the last of her kind and decides to find if there are others left. A simple enough premise yet it evokes such a strong feel for its setting and world that you almost lie back and immerse yourself in it. The art from Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon provide a soft, beautiful line with gentle colors that saturate and soak into the page. Their panel sequences flow into one another in a manner that cannot be achieved in any other media. Beagle's story points out that most people in its world don't recognize a unicorn when they see one; perhaps they've become too jaded, or have lost their sense of the fantastic. If you read The Last Unicorn you'll find any sense of the fantastic that you might have otherwise mislaid. All issues are Minutemen scans, save for the last and current issue #6 which is a just-as-good GreenGiant scan. Issues #1-3 are packed into a single-download RAR archive. The rest are individual comic book files.

Last Words of Famous and Infamous People

Here is the ultimate synchronisation of details and events which signalled the last six months of the greatest conflict the world has ever known. It involved over 100 countries, it killed 50 million people and absorbed six years of struggle and bloodshed for the peoples of half the globe.