August 2023 | Otaku No Culture

A Nerd’s Guide to the 2023 Victoria Fringe Festival

A lot more shows are offered in this year’s Victoria Fringe Festival, and fans can delight in this guide that’s sure to satisfy fans of pop culture!

Victoria Fringe Festival 2023 Poster The annual Victoria Fringe Festival to close off the summer is looking bigger than before! That’s because previous years had the event scaling itself in accordance with BC Health rules, but now that life has settled back to where it must exist, I can’t wait to check out this year’s event. There’s now more touring shows, so for those who can’t plan to visit this garden city, there’s always the Vancouver version or the one near your locale!

The following is my nerd’s guide, and are arranged in no particular order. The links go to show dates and how to purchase tickets.

Dave and Jon’s Mixtape

Dave and Jon's Mixtape Aug 24 05:00 pm
Aug 25 08:15 pm
Aug 26 02:15 pm
Aug 27 03:45 pm
Sep 02 04:30 pm

Dave and Jon are talented Improv artists, and by combining that with music, this show will no doubt be interesting to see. Just what kind of curves can be thrown at them depends on whether they can combine Ozzy with Pee Wee Herman, and anything else audiences can throw at them.

https://www.djmixtape.ca/

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When Ghost Month is in Full Swing in 2023, How Can We Identify the Types of Spirits Said to be Visiting?

Sometimes, the best known spirits that linger around during Ghost Month are those from folklore and time honoured tradtions! Are you ready to face them?

Singapore Orchard Grave Veneration during Ghost Month Ghosts from South Asia come in different shapes and forms, and some are feared whereas others are revered. And it’s terrific they get loved in entertainment. In the past, I’ve explored the best of what cinema and literature have offered. However, when new releases are few and far between every year to recognise Ghost Month, I’ll have to look elsewhere to get my scares in.

As a result, the only book I’ve come across to bring various tales together, ranging from folklore to original works, is Asian Ghost Short Stories! This covers areas east of India. Although it’s not the perfect collection due to glaring errors with the folklore, and being mostly stories rather than recounting alleged encounters, it’s still a good primer to introduce paranormal enthusiasts to the lore from this region.

To honour this occasion, which started two days ago (Aug 16 to Sept 14), I’m going in a different direction this time. Through my research, I’ve learned nine types of spirits can roam the land! The book, Śūraṅgama Sūtra (PDF link) gives a great outline, and furthermore, the Hungry Ghost type (which gets its own festival Aug 30th) are sub-categorized! On the list are:

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When Dreams Becomes Horrific Nightmares in Panya: The Mummy’s Curse #2

Just what lurks in the dreams of Panya in this latest issue hints that all is not well for her!

Dark Horse Comics
Spoiler Alert

In issue #2 of Panya: The Mummy’s Curse, we get to see how some places of worship have rebuilt themselves after Akhenaten’s rule. Now that he’s fallen, the old gods are back. As for the title character, she’s much older now, and is quite the dutiful caretaker as life is as it once was.

But her days are being tormented in gentle ways. Something is calling to her in her dreams, and while what we see is her role in the ongoing fight between Apophis and Re in their animal forms, there’s something else calling to her in the aether. Also, like the past issue, there are lots of cats! As for who the new antagonist is, it’s hard to tell. Since the heretic king is no longer present, someone else will have to get involved.

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Resident Evil: Death Island Houses More than Just the Spirits of the Dead Prisoners, There’s also….

Resident Evil: Death Island certainly links back to that first outbreak, but we’re left hanging for a while before we see how everything connects.

Resident Evil Death Island Blu-ray Cover — Available to Purchase on Amazon USA

Sony Pictures
Available on home video and VOD.

If anyone needs a guide on what films and series belong in the animated Resident Evil series, I have a guide! Thankfully, there isn’t much, as the 2017 film Vendetta and 2021 Netflix series: Infinite Darkness is it. In this latest, Resident Evil: Death Island, which was released not too long ago, the focus is on Jill Valentine (Nicole Tompkins). She’s dealing with the zombie outbreak in San Francisco, where a new T-virus has been made.

Meanwhile, Leon Kennedy (Nicole Tompkins) is looking for a kidnapped DARPA scientist, and someone else is on the hunt for killer sharks. Just when people thought getting to and escaping from on Alcatraz Island is safer these days, the people in thie world better think again! Also, we meet other familiar names from this franchise–Chris Redfield (Kevin Dorman) and Rebecca Chambers (Erin Cahill) are introduced and just how their investigations come to head is when they all have to team up if they’re to survive.

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About Mavka, The Forest Song and Dancing Your Troubles Away

There’s a lot more going on in Mavka, The Forest Song than just be an adaptation of the poem by Lesya Ukrainka.

Shout! Studios
Release Date: Aug 15, 2023
Available to order on Amazon USA

It seems opinions about the Russian invasion into the Ukraine have filtered into children’s entertainment. When it hits that hard, that’s because one side doesn’t want the fighting, and prefers that all countries get along. When the conflict in Mavka, The Forest Song rears its ugly head, just how this title character can be a protector depends on faith.

Although the commentary was most likely not Lesya Ukrainka’s intent in her original 1911 play The Forest Song, what’s modified for this animated treatment certainly makes callbacks to other similar works, like Fern Gully than anything Disney would produce.

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Examining IDW’s Dungeons and Dragons: Saturday Morning Exciting Adventures in Full, and Hoping There Will Be More.

There’s a few more months left to the 40th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures and let’s hope there’ll be more product to enjoy!

IDW Publishing
Trade Paperback due Nov 7, 2023
(Available to preorder on Amazon USA)

I often say it’s best to wait for the collected edition of some comic book mini-series than to buy the monthly releases, and Dungeons and Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures is no exception. That’s because an episode is parted out as four issues/chapters. While I applaud bringing back a beloved 80s cartoon to print, it’s a much better read when I have them altogether. A lot of ongoing titles depend on how well this title sells.

With this release, the goal is to put them in another Saturday Morning Adventure where they’ll one day realise home is where the heart is. Either fans can cue in Elvis Presley’s song or interpret this phrase differently.

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