Hammer and Bolter - Old Bale Eye - Review Thread

[Petitioner's City]

Hi all, as they are written by the BL stable of authors, I am putting review threads of H&B in the BL forum. 

 

Today (25th Aug) three episodes of Hammer and Bolter are available to view; this thread is for Old Bale Eye, which was also up over the weekend. Guy Haley confirmed he wrote it. As with all of Hammer and Bolter, it was animated by Farside Features (a sister company to Sun and Moon Studios), co-directed by Louis Jones and Dylan Shipley

 

 

I must say I was surprised by how negative the reaction to this was. I thought it brilliant! And it caught me up with things I'd never really read too.

 

EDIT: Adding the following WHC article on making the art of the series:

 

 

We wanted to take a closer look at some of that great art, to see how background scenes and character concept art come to form the worlds you see on screen.

Let’s start with some background visuals. Touching on humble Imperial scribes, paranoid Inquisitors, and the hero of Armageddon facing down Ghazghkull Thraka, production pieces like this are essential for establishing the atmosphere of the scene while integrating details that seasoned fans of the 41st Millennium will recognise.

It looks rather cosy, doesn’t it?

The Hammer and Bolter episode, Bound for Greatness, is a rare look into the daily drudgery of an Imperial adept, surrounded by sweeping gothic architecture and icons of the Emperor’s faith. What might seem like a safe and easy life is anything but.

It wouldn’t be the Imperium if even the bookcases weren’t the size of cathedrals

This episode takes place at the very heart of Imperial civilisation, and great care was taken to ensure that every last detail drips with Warhammer atmosphere. Naturally, this means that skulls and aquilas adorn every surface, even down to these delightful-looking feeding tubes. Here we see how moving elements like the character’s hands and delicious grey gloop layer over the background artwork to create a complete scene.

We often wonder whose skull was chosen to eject gruel for eternity

The characters themselves are drawn by hand, so even hunched and crooked Astropaths explode from the screen with their presence.

Despite being blind, the Astropath has a good sense for atmosphere

Concept art is an essential part of production work, and is often used to workshop character designs, which are finalised through a process of iterative feedback until the final character looks just right. 

Concept art like the pic below for one of our favourite characters, Old Bale Eye’s Runtherd Dursnang can be referred back to throughout the production process to ensure that he consistently maintains his role as Old Bale Eye’s wizened storyteller during every moment of the finished animation.

A lot of effort must have gone into trimming all of those squigs into such a luxurious beard

There’s one thing we love about him that you may not have noticed on a first watch of Old Bale Eye. Orks like to accessorise themselves with hair squigs. If you look really closely, you can see one of his hair squigs blinks while Dursnang gives the yoofs his opinions on ‘pointies’.

  What exactly the squig gets out of this symbiotic relationship is a mystery

 

   

Edited August 30, 2021 by Petitioner's City

[cheywood]

I wasn’t impressed by this enough to subscribe to Warhammer+ plus just yet. The story retreads lore that is already so well known I struggled to care about what happened on-screen, and I wasn’t a fan of the lack of motion in the animation. For those new to Yarrick and Ghaz I think this would be a competent introduction though, it covers their struggle in an accessible and entertaining enough fashion. Edited August 25, 2021 by cheywood

[Dumah]

Im also not a fan of the animation style and the constant grunting/growling was bothersome to me. It was very "anime" which I'm not fond of. Other than that, it wasn't terrible, just not my cup of tea.

[SkimaskMohawk]

It's very metalocalypse in feel. Probably a conscious decision after seeing the budget they had to work with.

[DarkChaplain]

The animation quality was choppy, and Yarrick got the short end of the stick by basically being reduced to grunting and shouting "for the Emperor", though I can accept it as part of the Ork-PoV.

 

Still, I enjoyed that it was basically a lore summary of his actions, and the humor wasn't bad. A bit overplayed with the Yoofs at times, maybe, but I'd argue that was more with the jarring animation style than the writing itself.

 

One gripe I had though was the end of the Chains of Golgotha section. When Yarrick is imprisoned, we already see Ghazghkull saying to put him with the rest - but that doesn't really happen like that in the excellent Annandale novella. By the time they really meet for the first time at the end, the BIG takeaway is that Ghazghkull is fully capable of speaking perfect High Gothic. It's such a big shift in perspective for Yarrick, that the story ends on that big oomph. Before then, Ghaz is a beast, a big threat but still orkishly stupid. But he dispells that notion through dialogue, using a high-tier language that most of the Imperium itself isn't even capable of speaking anymore. It's a shock, and it hardens Yarrick's determination to prepare Armageddon for the next fight.

 

But in the animation, Ghaz just talks like normal, with this realization of how wrong they were in underestimating the Waaaghboss lacking.

 

Frankly, I prefer a showcase of a special character like Yarrick's history over an animated, inconsequential short story that really doesn't do anything in the long run, or is just action drivel. If it was Cain, I'd have prefered a new short story to be animated to complement the novel series, mind, but Cain would lend himself to the format better because he's *not* a tabletop character first (or at all). There are a lot of characters who could benefit from this style of highlighting, and I honestly wish they'd do these on the regular, from different angles, along with model refreshes.

 

 

 

Im also not a fan of the animation style and the constant grunting/growling was bothersome to me. It was very "anime" which I'm not fond of. Other than that, it wasn't terrible, just not my cup of tea.

As someone who this season alone is watching 15 different anime series across various genres, I am obligated to say that it's nothing like anime. Neither the animation nor dialogue style or the grunting are staples of the medium. There may be one or two series that get meme'd a lot over it, like Dragon Ball Z in its day, but this kind of thing is far closer to western cartoons from the 80s than anime. If anything, I doubt it'd even be capable of competing with the bottom-rung series of the past year.... well, apart from the Netflix-produced manga adaptations that turn into slideshows, like the recent Record of Ragnarok....

Edited August 25, 2021 by DarkChaplain

[Petitioner's City]

The animation quality was choppy, and Yarrick got the short end of the stick by basically being reduced to grunting and shouting "for the Emperor", though I can accept it as part of the Ork-PoV.

 

Still, I enjoyed that it was basically a lore summary of his actions, and the humor wasn't bad. A bit overplayed with the Yoofs at times, maybe, but I'd argue that was more with the jarring animation style than the writing itself.

 

One gripe I had though was the end of the Chains of Golgotha section. When Yarrick is imprisoned, we already see Ghazghkull saying to put him with the rest - but that doesn't really happen like that in the excellent Annandale novella. By the time they really meet for the first time at the end, the BIG takeaway is that Ghazghkull is fully capable of speaking perfect High Gothic. It's such a big shift in perspective for Yarrick, that the story ends on that big oomph. Before then, Ghaz is a beast, a big threat but still orkishly stupid. But he dispells that notion through dialogue, using a high-tier language that most of the Imperium itself isn't even capable of speaking anymore. It's a shock, and it hardens Yarrick's determination to prepare Armageddon for the next fight.

 

But in the animation, Ghaz just talks like normal, with this realization of how wrong they were in underestimating the Waaaghboss lacking.

 

Frankly, I prefer a showcase of a special character like Yarrick's history over an animated, inconsequential short story that really doesn't do anything in the long run, or is just action drivel. If it was Cain, I'd have prefered a new short story to be animated to complement the novel series, mind, but Cain would lend himself to the format better because he's *not* a tabletop character first (or at all). There are a lot of characters who could benefit from this style of highlighting, and I honestly wish they'd do these on the regular, from different angles, along with model refreshes.

 

Excellent thoughts, DC. Would you recommend Chains of Golgotha? I hadn't really heard of it before this.

[Gamiel]

I liked it. It feels much like a throwback to 80's anime in many ways and while I agree with many others that the animation was not the best was it not bad and many times fit the 80's anime style.

[DukeLeto69]

Posted this in Deaths Head too...

 

Isn’t this whole “janky” low frame rate animation a stylistic decision akin to animated graphic novels?

 

Possibly also a budget decision as less frames means less artwork which means work which means less cost?

[Taliesin]

I didnt finish the free episode. Just not interesting.

 

I like the look of Angels of Death better, but mostly it seems the better animations ( from the youtubers that they hired) are still to come.

[byrd9999]

I liked this episode, the whole family found it funny.

 

We watch a lot of Pokemon, so we're used to the still-frame animation style.

 

3 out of 3 for me with Hammer & Bolter.

[rookie40K]

I thought overall it was great! Loved seeing animated Thraka and the historical tale being told with the element of comedy.

[Kastor Krieg]

Isn’t this whole “janky” low frame rate animation a stylistic decision akin to animated graphic novels?

 

Possibly also a budget decision as less frames means less artwork which means work which means less cost?

Both, but it's mostly the first. Calls back to 90s animation.

[Indefragable]

I liked it. It’s fun. 
 

…does that mean it’s good? 
 

<shrug> 

[byrd9999]

Why overthink these things? If you like it, you like it.

 

I find a lot of Warhammer is more enjoyable once I drop the overly critical mindset.

[Evil Eye]

I liked the art style with the hard shading and the sharp angles and all- in fact I kinda wish they'd leaned a bit heavier in that direction- but the animation itself, as in the way things moved, was a bit lacklustre. Also the CGI bits were very obvious. Which is a shame, honestly, as otherwise I quite enjoyed it. The whole "Orkish tale" angle was done quite well I thought, and the humour gave me a good chuckle here and there.

 

Overall I'd give it a solid, respectable 6/10. Not incredible but not bad.

[DarkChaplain]

 

Excellent thoughts, DC. Would you recommend Chains of Golgotha? I hadn't really heard of it before this.

 

 

The entire Yarrick Omnibus, in fact! I think it's a crying shame they never commissioned Annandale for a third novel set during the 3rd War - we got a "Making of" novel of young Yarrick, a novel for the second war, featuring Ugulhart, and a post-2nd War novella in Chains of Golgotha - which was published second, after the 12th(?) anniversary short story Evil Eye.

There's a bit of a gap narratively for Yarrick's time during the events of, say, Helsreach, even though Yarrick is featured in The Eternal Crusader.

 

The stories put a lot of focus on Yarrick as a "man" put into the role of a "symbol" of the Emperor, by way of his deeds and his job as Commissar, but also his role as a political officer and what that entails. Thematically, they're great fun as a result.

[Petitioner's City]

Oh that's really interesting.

 

Also if I understand you right, "Old Bale Eye" is set before the third war? And Yarrick went to Golgotha before the third war? I must admit I hadn't read the 2nd edition codex but I don't remember that in the 3rd edition fluff - was that Annandale's invention?

 

I had assumed that golgotha, capture and his "dark knight returns" moment were all post-third war - with an eye towards a fourth war. Clearly I do need to brush up.

[DarkChaplain]

Yarrick was stationed on Armageddon just before the 2nd War broke out, and he ended up losing his arm against one of Ghaz's lieutenants, Ugulhart. He got the ork's klaw bolted on and his augmetic eye, and went to chase after Ghaz with his regiment of the Steel Legion. That chase ended on Golgotha, in a trap.

After "escaping" from Golgotha, he went back to Armageddon to prepare for the 3rd War that Ghaz told him was coming ahead of time.

 

So the whole "Old Man Yarrick" stuff we see in novels like Helsreach is based on the reputation he earned during the 2nd War and on Golgotha.

A quick check at Lexicanum references Golgotha as a whole as part of the 4th edition Orks Codex at the latest - but then, the Yarrick page doesn't even mention the novels at all, because Lexicanum lost the BL readership among the editors ages ago.

 

The latest we know (unless they added something in a recent Codex) was that Yarrick had gone off with the Black Templars on the Eternal Crusader to hunt Ghaz after the third war. They eventually caught up, but Ghazghkull escaped through the warp or somesuch, and that's about as far as I'm aware of the chronology. Maybe the Black Templars Codex will give some more details on that part and what followed after.

 

So I'd say the animation is pretty comprehensive in giving an overview of Yarrick's achievements, even if it ends before the climax of the Third War, and obviously only includes his direct confrontations with the greenies. The novels also have him reflect on his life at the Schola Progenium, clash with Herman von Strab (who plays a role in Gav's Annihilation Squad, too!), and even the Inquisition has some representatives he's on bad terms with. One old friend of Yarrick's also finds his storyline concluded in a Warhammer Horror sequel short. That one's basically tying up loose ends because it doesn't look like Annandale will be returning to Yarrick anytime soon (which I still think is a shame).

[Knockagh]

The Yarrick books were the first books by Annandale I read and I really enjoyed them. I’m not much of a fan of his nearly unforgivable stuff that came after (particularly Warlord and the grey knights book with the walking city). Although he did somewhat redeem himself with Ephrael Stern. Always disappointed he didn’t continue Yarrick, if nothing else it’s a story of a career that needs told.