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.