The Christma Eve Movie Is

Just finished watching the new Spidey flick aaaaaaannd......it was good, I enjoyed it. It felt really comic booky in the parts where Webhead was on screen and he had way more sooper dooper skills than the 2003 movie. Couple of downers though: No Mary Jane (but at least we didn;t get no Kirsten Dunst binty, hated her as MJ.) Never seen the guy who played Peter Parker/Spiderman before either but he reminded me of Andy Murray When the film featured the normal day to day stuff it felt like I was watching a high school sitcom on Bravo which was crap but like I said, the action comic book feel of the superhero scenes make up for that
Preferred the 2003 Uncle Ben and Aunt May though. Sally Fields and Martin Sheen? No. And no "with great power comes great responsibilty" line? That is Spidermans 'lesson' which stops him acting like a hothead. Oh and it lacked his wisecracks too. Had one or two but not enough.

My fellow countryman Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/Lizardman was inspired, and much better than going through the Green Goblin saga again

The Dark Knight Rises

The Bats Boogie

Okay I dont do reviews here, these are simply my thoughts and musings about The Dark Knight Rises, packed neatly into a blog. Now it is always a pleasure to welcome Batman back in whatever he appears in, be it his natural home the comic, in a movie or videogame and I was as excited as anyone for The Dark Knight Rises. Its a good movie too, no doubt about that but (the inevitable BUT) it is a bit too bloated for me to begin doing Catwoman style cartwheels.
Nolan could easily have chopped 30 mins off it and made the film more 'potent' because if he had there would have been less bothersome nudges of reality for the audience. For example the cops go underground for what seemed eternity. I assume those officers were sent down shaving kits, clippers and a hearty meal before emerging to battle Bane's forces? Ah Bane! One of my favourite comic villains, I must applaud Tom Hardy for nailing the part so well. Some disliked his voice but I thought it was great; a muffled, cut glass sound with equal doses of menace and mocking.
The baddies in this trilogy have all been a joy to behold; Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow (present as ever in TDKR,) The Joker and Bane will not be easily forgotten by cinema goers. The late Heath Ledgers Clown Prince of Crime shining brightest from the already ageing posters thanks to a truly mesmerising performance.
I dont see Catwoman as such a great character in this movie. Seems like Hathaway is trying too hard to impress and she sticks out like a sore thumb among the real talent like Oldman and Bale. And her take on Catwoman suffers from it because she is the most fake looking out of all the villains who have appeared in the trilogy, the others seem to fit the world with much more ease. (And yes im well aware Selina Kyle is not all bad.) Also she's nothalf as good looking as others seem to think. Admit it, she's not.
Of course lets not forget the Dark Knight himself; Christian Bale has been an utterly convincing Batman (but I am a teensy bit biased as we're both Welsh.)
Do you want to know something though? Batman Begins was the best out of the three (in my opinion.) It was gritty, raw and showed Bruce Waynes real inner turmoil and his struggle to become the Dark Knight. Go back and waych it again, im sure you will agree. Anyway as single titles you could pick out flaws but watched as one loooong movie, this new Batman reboot has been a success.

*As a huge comic book fan/nerd I'm wondering would Nolan & Bale comeback in say 10-15 years to do a version of Frank Miller's classic The Dark Knight Returns?

Bedlam

Like ballet but more violent

Bedlam is available to buy (first issue free) from the Image Comics App on iOS and Android. It costs just £1.99 from Issue 2 on and is certainly worth a look if dark, stylish, well told stories are your thing. Its also firmly on the violent side of things so don't go expecting fluffy tales before bedtime here.
It all revolves around a deranged villain who goes by the funky~ish name of Madder Red and readers will instantly think of him as being a lot like The Joker with his love for drama and ultra violence. And like old clown face Mr Red is no mindless monster, he's an intellectual who claims that the suffering of innocents isn't the thing that motivate him. Oh no, its all about problem-solving with this frightening looking chap.

Hulk Vs Wolverine

Action Force

The Red Shadows

Action Force was a 1980s range action figures based on Action Man. Several publishing companies have produced comic books based around the figures.

Man Of Steel trailer

Planet Hulk

Picked Planet Hulk up on dvd (in Morrisons of all places) for a mere £3. And thanks to the superpowers of Yourube, you can watch it for free below! Highly recommended by this humble blog, as is the follow up story arc, World War Hulk.

He Man: By the Power of iOS !

Skeletor where art thou?

He-Man: The Most Powerful Man in the Universe™ (you simply must give him his full title) has recently crashed onto iPhone courtesy of the rather spiffing Chillingo Ltd, and the muscled one has brought his chums along for the ride too. And his enemies (otherwise we'd just end up with a friendly Sims type game which would be crap.)
Defend Castle Grayskull against that fiendish (but cool looking) Skeletor and crew and glory shall be yours in this platformery, hack n' slashery fest! All for the cheap as chips price* of 69p. Sweet huh?
There are 7 main levels in the Map Of Eternia to battle through, each with around 3-4 stages, and they don't disappoint either, especially if you were a fan of Masters Of The Universe back in the day (and lets be honest, who wasn't? Its He Man ffs!) Its looks LUSH, and not only that but Chillingo Ltd have slapped the cool soundtrack in the background. When you look at the complete package its hard to believe they are letting gamers have it for a measly 69p. You could pay £2.99 and not feel overcharged. iOS and iPad owners really are spoilt rotten. Oh yes we are!
Controls are simple: left finger touch to move and right finger to make He Man jump and slash his sword. Ah yes that sword. I do have (an albeit minor) gripe about this. Here we have the mightiest guy in the universe right? A man built like the Hulk, I should feel some of that power when I play this game (like playing Arkham City makes me feel a bit like the Batman.) But because there is just one swipe-down slash move I feel more puny than powerful. Don't get me wrong, it works as you can smite baddies to dust but to me at least it doesn't FEEL as satisfying as it should.
Of course you can buy special moves from gold earned in game, and having He Man throw beasts towards you and smashing into the iPhone screen is freaking awesome but when they cost 2,500 coins each, you won't be doing it much.
For less coinage you can have Man-At-Arms help you mid fight but I think he's been hitting the Scotch because 9 out of 10 times ive tried using him, the idiot fires his lasers in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION of where the thugs are!? Man-At-Arms? Man-At-Bottle more like. Lets hope my friends are a it more helpful as I progress into the game because in spite of these grumbles im thoroughly enjoying He Man's first dip into iOS waters and would be well up for another adventure or two.

But wait theres more! As well as the game we also get a Masters Of The Universe 'Lore' area which is packed with bios, artwork, comic covers and concept artwork. Like I said, we are spoilt to the gills and its a nice touch if you happen to be into this kind of stuff.

Comics Me gives this a solid 4/5

*You can purchase Power Ups for more real dosh in game.

Death Of The Family

Smiiiile !!

Yup, the Joker is back in Gotham City in "Death Of The Family" and boy what an entrance! In case you haven't got around to reading the first installment yet (download it now for £2.49 from the DC app on iPhone), I wont go spoiling it but its typical Joker and a welcome return to the Clown Prince of Crime. I fear Batman will have more than his hands full in this storyline, and from where im standing its gonna get real bloody.
The Maniacal One even goes all Hannibal Lector on his most dedicated supporter, Harley Quinn.

*** Tease ***

Harley (about to carve her face off on Joker's orders): Would you still find me beautiful mr J?
Joker: My dear, whoever told you I ever found you beautiful? Hahahaha!
Cue sad Harley eyes.

Menacing, cruel, psychotic, mocking. You can almost feel the nastiness drip from the page/screen. Tis a dark storyline that lies ahead to be sure.
Adding to the atmosphere (in my opinion) is the 'feathery' style of the artwork in some panels. They are a stark contrast to other areas when the art is quite striking and harsh which illustrates perfectly (again for me) the danger that the Joker poses. Its unpredictable, violence hanging by a thread, always ready to spread carnage. Soft and hard, which way will it go?
So this storyline gets clean out of the block and I for one can't wait for the next installment. I have a feeling im not along either. Smiiiileee ! The Joker's back.

"Look into his eyes and tell yourself he's just a man. Tell yourself he can't know the things he says he does. He can't know your fears. But he has Alfred. He has your friend. And his eyes...

...You have studied the human eye. There are six eye movements that reveal motive, then fifteen variations of each one.

On everyone else you face ~ even the most hardened criminals ~ the pupils contract or expand depending on emotion.

Happiness, laughter, affection. The pupils open.
Fear, anger, hatred, the pupils close.

But not his. His pupils stay fixed, tiny points of blackness, the eyes of someone who hates everything, everyone.
Eyes that let in no light, that see through the darkness, stare into you, each pupil a tiny black pearl fixed in space.

A bullet coming at you. Eyes that say he's more than a man, eyes that say he knows you.
No, you know what he is. Tell yourself the truth. He's just a man who fell in a vat of chemical waste.
He's just a man. Like you, made of bone and tissue and blood."

Deadman Wonderland

Episode 1 pt I




Episode 1 pt 2




Episode 2 pt 1




Episode 2 prt 2





Episode 3 pt I



Episode 3 pt II

Ichabod Azrael

"The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael (and the dead left in his wake)" is a 2000 AD supernatural western story written by Rob Williams with art by Dom Reardon.
This is part of the intro to the story:
I wish I could tell you that Ichabod's father was taken to drink or discipline by belt and fist. That life immediately treated the boy as it would a loathed enemy. But the way I heard it, his upbringing was a hard but normal one for the age.
I guess some people are just born mean.
Stories vary over when Ichabod first drew the blood of another. I even heard a song one night by a campfire that told how his 'baptism' saw him facing down twenty rifle-packing men on horseback armed with only one pistol.
The next day Ichabod owned twenty new horses....or so the song went.

I love this, there is a real gritty wild west groove going on here.

Truly stunning artwork

Guess Who's Back....?

Vengeance of Bane!

Look out Batman

The superb "Vengeange of Bane" (parts 1 & 2) are now on sale on Marvel's iPhone App for £1.49 each. It is Banes entrance into the world of the Batman and Gotham, and after Bane was brought up to serve his fathers life sentence at the brutal Pena Duro prison, becoming the toughest of the tough among inmates, Bats better bring his A game. Comic fans will all know the story by know so little point repeating the saga again here. (To anyone reading this who hasn't read Vengeance Of Bane, do so.) I thoroughly enjoyed reading these again on my phone, and the pinch screen to enlarge speech bubbles works well too. The artwork and colours are very impressive, both vibrant and show up nicely.

I had my doubts initially over reading comics and graphic novels on iPhone but im happy to report that these doubts have been suitably tossed aside. Ive read quite a few on it now, including World War Hulk, The Walking Dead and The Bezerker and none have disappointed.  

 

Hulk vs Thor

Judge Dredd

Judge Dredd ~ Countdown Sector 106 by Tin Man Games is available now in the App Store for £3.99. Think of it as an interactive comic with elements of RPG, where you the reader take on the role of Mega City Ones most feared lawman, Judge Dredd. Direction of the story is controlled by choices you make within the game/book, and by rolling the dice.
Its looking like a Must Have purchase for me.

Street Fighter Alpha

Batman vs Bane

Bunny Bats Tripping!

Trip city

Here's the Batman in a segment of the brilliant Arkham City game where he must beat Mad Hatter. I think Bats looks kinda cool here, he carries off the mad and the shadowy cool so well dontcha think? He looks like Batfink after a heavy session on the orange blotters and glue.

Amazing Spiderman game trailer

Beenox have revealed trailers for their forthcoming game The Amazing Spiderman and that new 'Web Rush' feature is looking neat! In fact from what we can see here the entire game is looking none to shabby and I for one can't wait to A) see the movie and B) play this game.

Spidey vs Carnage

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

New Spiderman Poster

Lookig damn fine Web head!

A Thor(n) In My Super Side

Thor: he's a tad mighty

I finally went out and bought Thor last friday, being as Hollywood seem to be getting the superhero films right these days. Batman, The X Men, Iron Man have all been pretty decent stabs at bringing the comic world to the silver screen (I even like both Hulks despite what critics say) and after seeing the trailer to Thor, I was expecting good things from it. (You know theres a 'but' coming right?) Buuuut, I was let down. I wanted Thor to be a great movie, I wanted it to be as cool as Iron Man yet on the two occasions ive put the disc in and pressed PLAY I have not been able to get to the end. And yes I do have a sad face because like I say, I WANT Thor to rock! He's a bloody great character and has appeared in some fantastic storylines in his 50 years of being. The guy deserves a cool movie but in my opinion, director Kenneth Branagh dropped the ball. Or should I say hammer? I think Chris Hemsworth is perfect for the role but after that (again in my eyes) the perfection goes rapidly downhill.
The film feels like a chore to watch after 15 or so minutes, which is hardly a good sign and I cant exactly put my finger on what is that doesn't do it for me. Well okay heres two: it lacked the 'oomph' the other superhero films of late have had (and had in abundance). Another part of it is my fellow countryman Anthony Hopkins. Wonderful actor, enjoy his work greatly but seeing him in a superhero movie is strange. Why this should be I have no idea, and yet there it is. On the plus side I can see Thor coming good in forthcoming The Avengers flick, and of course there is Thor 2 due in 2013. My thorn may yet be plucked out.

Devil May Cry

the devil loves big guns

You can pick up this bad boy on Blu Ray (2 discs) for a mere £8.95 online these days and is next on my 'To Buy' list. Love the Devil May Cry videogames, imagery and the background stories. Dante is such a cool f**king character, the way he struts his stuff, Rebellion (giant sword) on his back and Ebony & Ivory (dual pistols with infinite ammo) always at the ready to blast some bizarre creature back to hell. And just look at the guy with his white long hair, smouldering good looks and long red coat. Half demon slayer, half rock star, thats Dante for you.

Corpse Princess

Just ordered the awesome looking Corpse Princess online and it looks right up my blood red river of gore and innards. Ive been busy sinking my pointy teeth into Manga feature lengths and not had much time to get into a series aside from Tokko so this will be a most welcome dvd when it arrives on my doormat hopefully by the weekend.
The plot revolves around Makina Hoshimura, who after being murdered turns into a 'living shikabane (corpse)'. Now to gain entry into Heaven Makina has to kill 108 shikabane. (Weilding dual MAC-11 submachine guns she's well equipped for the task). The murder/revenge theme sounds like The Crow but instead of Bruce Lee's sprog (RIP Brandon) we get a cute Japanese lass.

*And I have just recieved confirmation its been posted. Result!

The Dark Knight Rises trailer

Ooh you can almost taste the excitement! Nolan has made a great (superhero) fist of his take on world Gotham and im stoked he involved Bane in the trilogy.

Comic Pick Ups

Picked up these at The Works.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Love from Spiderman and Comics Me!

Venom & Carnage

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein

Frankenstein

I got hold of this on monday; Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, vol. 2 which made me happy because I love the novels. Nice it is too, with artwork keeping with the menacing theme and some characters even drawn uncannily like how I imagined them in my minds eye when I was reading the books. Added coolness!
This isn't the full book but a decent bite sized chunk out of it and I personally think comics work better this way. Its how they were originally intended, giving readers weekly stories/episodes.
In here then we have the two detectives, Carson & Michael, getting help from Deucalion, Randall Six continuing his escape from the Helios' Hands of Mercy, and officer Harker revealing his plan to 'give birth' to growth on his body.



And the next one on my rader is Frankenstein vs Angel, a two part comic where Angelus (of the Buffy fame) claims to be a distant relative to Frankenstein and stakes (no pun intended vamp fans) a claim to the Frankenstein fortunes as long lost heir. The Creature has something to say about that so the vampire better bring his A game to this scrap.

The Avengers Trailer

Reasons to Love Manga

A word of advice, don't mess with Asuka. That is all.

Retro Batman

Some cool choices

Since his birth in 1939, Batman has had quite a few different styles of badge/logo. And to be fair they have all looked pretty neat, apart from the one that looks like a TIE Fighter (right side, one from bottom in above pic). The designs have all been different whilst managing not to stray too far from the original. Even the Bacardi type bat is nice.
However my favourite is the one that was used for the 1960's television series starring Adam West & Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo. For me it looks perfect; I love the chunky, 'batty' style of the lettering and the way the Batman's head is sunk into the wings. It looks both retro and modern at the same time.


My winner


And since I decided to call this post 'Retro Batman', I thought I might drop some cool trivia in about the 60's tv series.
Green Hornet & Kato teamed up with Batman & Robin in two episodes, 'A Piece Of The Action' and 'Batman's Satisfaction' to take on Colonel Gumm.
Van Williams played the Green Hornet and Kato was famously played by none other than the legendary Bruce Lee.
Cast yer peepers to the photograph below. Awesome!


Kato, Green Hornet, Batman & Robin

Tank Police

One of my better freebies


The delightful Puma twins

Venom

Here comes trouble!

Stories by Peter David & David Michelinie
Artwork by Todd McFarlane & Rich Buckler

These Marvel Pocketbooks are a cool way to gets all of the history and important stories of the Marvel universe in one tidy collection. They are decently priced (£3.99 each but I got a 3 for £5 deal) and they're a nice size that does away with bulky storage. (Mind you the search for the perfect storage for us comic fans goes on). However the size does create a niggle because it makes the words pretty small and uncomfortable to read at times. (I use a magnifying glass in some sections).
Still its a small price to pay for having the world of the Amazing Spiderman in handy bitesized chunks.
So anyway onto Venom: Birth Of A Monster. I love the alien symbiote villains, both Venom & Carnage, and this is how the former came into being. It all begins with the Sin Eater who roams the streets of New York killing those he finds 'guilty' of crimes. Of course he's nothing more than serial killer himself, using his 'all crime deserves death' mantra as some kind of warped reason to kill. When he murders Spiderman's good friend, Police Captain Jean DeWolfe, the webslinger teams up with Daredevil to bring the lunatic down.
I won't regurgitate the entire tale here, its much better you read it as it ought to be read but suffice to say you won't be disappointed. Its a great storyline and eventhough Venom doesn't make an appearance until near the end, he is wonderfully vicious when he does. One thing that suprised me was the size of Eddie Brock. He has a massive build here when I alway imagined him to be kinda weedy.

The Detectives

Sherlock Holmes, The Question, Batman, Rorschach, The Spirit.

Metallica

And comics for all

I bought this Metallica comic 20 years ago in a comic shop in Swansea. It was published by Revolutionary/RockRoll comics and basically tells the story of the band up until the And Justice For All album. Its not particularly terrible for Metallica fans but there's nothing in it we didn't already now about the band. Dave Mustaine's sacking, Cliff Burton's tragic death, the big stories are all obviously covered.
Do not expect any colour however. This comic is strictly a black and white affair. And the likenesses aren't wonderful either. The artist has managed to make Ozzy Osbourne look like a fat butcher with only one tattoo. He looks more like an extra from Coronation Street.
There are a few other comedy strips after the Metallica story but nothing that stands out.
Saying all this, I am glad ive got it because if nothing else its a cool addition to my metal collection. One for fans of the music only im afraid.

The Last Vampire

Bloody good

Blood: The Last Vampire was the first Manga DVD I ever bought, and flipping great it is too. You want blood? Check. Want a fantastic moody atmoshphere? This vampire film has oodles of it! In short this is a MUST see, whether you are a fan of anime or not. And everyone digs vampire stories don't they?
It was directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and starts off with Saya (films young lady protagonist) on a subway train hunting a suspected Chiropteran (blood sucker) for a hush hush organization known as the Red Shield. Unfortunately after being sliced like a fleshy cake, it turns out the man was just that...a man, nothing pointy teeth about him. Whoops!
After that little mess, Saya goes undercover posing as a shoolgirl in order to infiltrate a school adjacent to the American Yokota Air Base in Japan. Seems there has been Chiropteran activity in the area and its down to Saya, armed with a really big katana, to make 'em bleed. And because these critters can heal in seconds the only way to dust them permanantely is to cut big enough chunks out of them in order for them to lose massive amounts of Life's vino. Hence the big assed sword. (Swords with asses? Now theres a concept).
I won't reveal anymore in case a few readers have not yet seen it but I will say this; its a million times better than the film with real actors that Hollywood released a while back. That was an abomination compared to this sublime piece of anime and Hollywood should have left it well alone.
The artwork looks fabulous and brings everything to life in a dark, gothic style that captures the imagination. Seriously, do thyselves a huge favour and buy or rent this NOW. Regrets? You won't be having any. May Saya kick many more Chiropteran derrières.

Batmobile Owners Manual

Sleeky cheeky

Ah Christmas sales! Sometimes they can churn up some tidy bargains and this January I wasn't disappointed. The Works shop, which has books at cheap-as-chips prices to begin with, was flogging this cool Batmobile Owners Manual for 99p! According to the price on the back it usually sells at a Batwallet whopping £14.99p so looks like I hit bingo here.
Obviously the Batmobile has everything to offer the Dark Knight in his relentless pursuit of supervillains, and this manual covers just about the lot from engine specs to the make up of the windscreen and tyres. (Trust me, Bats will never need the RAC). The sketches of early prototypes of the Batmobile are nicely drawn, and includes 'top secret' blueprints included in a brown envelope. Tidy! Reading through the specs makes you realise that not only does the Batman surpass Sherlock Holmes as the world's greatest detective, but he could also teach Enzo Ferrari a thing or ten about designing super cars too.
And heres where I got to thinking; along the way to completing this amazing vehicle, Batman must have had some setbacks right? Even one of the coolest superheroes on the planet has his off days right? Perhaps he accidentaly slipped on his own oil slick while testing out the Batmobiles gizmos? Or had furry dice hanging off a mirror one time? Building a car like this, WOULD have had its share of frustrating/comical moments, and it would have been fun to see them recorded in this manual. Just a thought.
Other than that, this was well worth getting for 99p. Id have paid paid the £1 if only to have the hologram effect front cover. It doesn't show up well in the above pic but trust me, it IS a hologram/3D type book cover which is very swell.


0 to 200mph in 0.5 secs

Zombie Comics!

A bumper read indeed!

Saw this in the Works shop in 2009 for £4.99p, The Mammoth Book of Zombie Comics and obviously being a big zombie and comic fan, I HAD to have it. And there are some great tales in here I can assure you from the uber spooky Pigeons From Hell by Robert E Howard & Scott Hampton to the brilliant Dead Eyes Open by Mathew Shepherd & Roy Boney Jr which treads a different path from the usual undead stories.
One of my favourites is Necrotic: Dead Flesh On a Living Body (Buddy Scalera, M. Swank & Pat Quinn) which is all about a mummy (the bandaged Egyptian kind) who falls in love. Has a beautifully dark 'ick' factor!
There are 18 flesh rotting stories in all, ranging from short to full length graphic novels complete with chapters, and these are accompanied by some REALLY lush illustrations (especially in the aforementioned Pigeons From Hell).

Tokko

Tokko and friend

Tokko (特公) is a Japanese Manga series directed by Masashi Abe and written/illustrated by Tohru Fujisawa.
After the Machida massacre was found to have been the work of demons and mad alchemists (the 'Box of Dirge'), police and authorities set up the Special Public Safety Task Force, (or Section 2/Tokko) to deal with said nasties. Think X Files but with more swords, beheadings and super cool ninjaesque moves.
Superintendent Ryoko Ibuki recruits survivors of the Machida massacre for Tokko (who all save one have tattoos which protect them from demons) and so begins what turns out to be a really cool Manga series with lots of nice slashy, stabby, stabby goings on. I won't reveal anymore of the story here because that would be Spoilerific but if you happen to be into X Files/Men In Black stuff there is a good chance you'll enjoy Tokko. I certainly did. And when its on Play.com for a mere £3.85p (well it was before Christmas) it would be silly to ignore.