Brizzle Kicks!

May 16 13 under Bristol, Comics, Conventions, Intital Thoughts

Well what can I make of Bristol Comic Expo 2013? Let’s rewind the clock back to 2009, It was the first time I went to a convention outside of Birmingham with a friend. The con was busy and packed with guests like Glenn Fabry amongst various others including current Iron Man artist Dale Eaglesham, whom I missed the chance to see as I went there for a day.

The idea of going back for the day was really, really last minute. There’s all kinds of conventions popping up this year, I can’t afford to go to all of them and it’s a question of which artist/writer you really want to go and see along with booking a hotel and creating a budget for the convention.

Although last year’s Bristol Expo attracted criticism amongst insiders, it was quite a energetic Saturday, despite waiting in the cold, so I bought a coffee and chatted with the people outside waiting. Although there wasn’t any big U.S guests, this year’s Expo had a talk from Miracleman (cough Marvelman) artist Mark Buckingham, or Bucky as he’s known for short and Vertigo editor, Shelly Bond about the Unwritten and Fables crossing over and there was a preview of upcoming Vertigo titles. Now I know where Bucky went!

Boo Cook doesn’t like having his picture taken!

Whilst at the convention, I finally got round to meeting Boo Cook, a regular at various cons and I managed to get a free sketch from the talented Elephantmen artist and bought a copy of the critically acclaimed comics, which I really enjoyed reading. , I thought to myself “ as a collector I can’t get many sketches today?” But I had a few done by the likes of Ben Oliver, Ian Gibson, Luca Erbetta and Superboy artist Pier Gallo who were doing great pieces for the people there.

These are some of the sketches I got from various artists at the con. You can see them on my instagram page.

When I got back on the train to Birmingham thoughts were going through my head if I’d be back for next year’s con? I had a good time so that counts. Chatted with the artists ,the con regulars. The charm about Bristol Expo is it’s such a relaxed atmosphere compared to the larger conventions I’ve been to. Another big plus.

Look Ma Free Comics!!

May 10 13 under Birmingham, Comics, Intital Thoughts, Reviews

It can only mean one thing when you see hordes of people queuing in the early hours at my local comic shop last weekend; you’ve guessed it… it was Free Comic Book Day.

Yep, this was taken in the morning.The things people do to get free comics.

The hardcore faithful had waited there since the early hours, much like a convention all for a free comic. As the doors opened, we were greeted to staff wearing tie and suits, S.H.E.I.L.D uniforms and instead of usual staff picks of songs, they decided to put on a soundtrack of themes culled from various superheroes TV show and films. Although most of the titles were aimed for children, DC reprinted a Geoff Johns Superman story from 2005, the only added bonus was a interview with Jim Lee. I had to get Rebellion’s free 2000AD issue and IDW’s Judge Dredd which features Brian Bolland stories but it’s brought bang up to date via Charlie Kirchoff’s digital colours.

One of Marvel’s offerings was a intriguing ten page short prequel to it’s upcoming event Infinity by Avengers and East of West writer Jonathon Hickman, including a reprint of a Thanos short story. Normally I’m cynical about these event books but the hyper detailed work of Young Avengers artist Jim Cheung silenced all doubt.

Focusing on Thanos’s empire and serves as introduction for one of the main villains, Corvus Glave a sinister general of Thanos who alongside him initiates the “tribute” with the help of “genetically- engineered-parasite-assassins” known as Outriders, the last page shows one of them infiltrating earth, completely oblivious to the Avengers and this doesn’t sound too good so cue the fight music. I’m being optimistic about the upcoming series. Alongside Cheung it’s also got Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver, both are regular stalwarts to Hickman’s work.

FCBD is a one day infection that spreads to shops up and down the country with appearance from artists like Fables artist Mark Buckingham and 2000 ad veteran Ron Smith. Whilst another shop gave away free random comics in a bag, I chose what comics I wanted to get rather than something by chance and as expected the free Walking Dead comic flew off the shelves whichever shop you went to.

Spocks Brain.

May 2 13 under Comics, Intital Thoughts, Reviews

Great cover by Marcos Martin.
Shame he’s not doing the interiors.

On Tuesday, Twitter users were greeted to the spectacle of Superior Spider-Man writer, Dan Slott, who passionately defended his run on the comic with another tweeter who disagreed with the storyline. In the current issue, Parker finally confronts the guy occupying his mind and body in an attempt to seize his body back the villain.
Seeing Dr Octopus as Spider-Man (hence the acronym Spock, given to by fans) divided many Spidey readers out there. After a bout of fill in’s by Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camacoli, main SSM artist Ryan Stegman returns after a short spell away from the book. The former Scarlet Spider artist has changed his look from the days of doing Fall of the Hulks fill in strips, his pencils are far more rougher than they were a few years ago.

So Slott and Stegman take the reader on a head-trip, finally pitting Ock and Parker against each other for the control of Parker’s body inside his mind but it ends badly as Ock gives him a guilt trip, which to Spider-Man is like Kryptonite to Superman or garlic to a vampire. The conculsion? He finally takes over Parker’s body for good, but now there’s an amnesiac Peter trapped inside his own mind.

For those accustomed to seeing a wise cracking Spidey, Ock-Spider-Man’s has the memories of Peter Parker but also the giant pompous ego of Otto Octavius. He’s done some good over the issues, as Ock points out a, he saved a girl who almost died whilst Parker tried to reassert himself and crime is going down. Yet his teamates, the Avengers still haven’t sussed what’s going on.

Slott’s having fun with his creation Spock who’s reached the point of no return in this issue. Overall it’s a predictable story and Parker coming back at this stage would be too soon, although this echoes Doctor Octopus’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man#3 and how Spider-Man was easily defeated by him the first time.

It’s a predictable issue and Parker coming back at this stage would be too soon. Given the negative tweets the writer’s been sent by fans, they’re failing to understand that this is one big arc. For those expecting Parker to return sound mind and body, prepare to wait a little while longer.

Parker’s become so absent minded.

Fixing The Shadow.

Apr 26 13 under Comics, Intital Thoughts, Reviews

A few days back I realised the fact I’ve been talking about Batman Year One on various social networking sites, as we all know the words “Year One” has become synonymous with comics since Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli unleashed their magnum opus more than twenty years ago and recently the character who was one of the inspirations for Batman, the Shadow, is getting for Y1 treatment over at Dynamite Entertainment.

Yes it’s another pulp character, I thought I’d be all pulped out after raving about Francesco Francavilla’s Black Beetle. For Dynamite it was a real coup landing Walter Gibson’s iconic character and to make sure Lamont Cranston AKA Kent Allard or even both, he’s sharing the spotlight with other pulp era heroes such as the Spider, Miss Fury, Black Bat and the Green Hornet as characters like these haven’t had the spotlight shone on them since their heyday.

The writer of Year One, Matt Wagner, whose no stranger to scribing a character’s earlier days, he’s put Cranston in the thick of it. After returning home to New York, the second issue picks up Cranston”rescuing Margo Lane from up-to-no-good gangsters who want to throw her off the roof of a nightclub and so in the second part Wagner let’s her narrate.

In the meantime her former boyfriend starts a gang war under the influence of a mysterious force, a nosy reporter begins following Cranston after his reeapperance. However at the Cobalt Club a chance conversation about a certain vampire film at the club leads to Cranston donning on the iconic red scarf and hat of which we’re all accustomed to.

Looking beyond the glut of variant covers that Dynamite do, and aside from a great cover courtesy of Alex Ross, who is doing a lot of covers for the company, it’s clear to see that artist Dave Johnson has had an influence on the talented Wilfredo Torres, yet he’s bringing a style of his own which is perfectly suited to Wagner’s script.To an older generation it’s Orson Wells radio plays, the pulp books, or even the comics by Mike Kaluta and Howard Chaykin, on a personal level it’s the Alec Baldwin which introduced me the character. It’s true the film didn’t exactly do well at the box office but to me it’s an under rated classic that’s worth checking out.

For some reason, I couldn’t get the Jerry Goldsmith theme out of my head when I was writing this…

Intermezzo

Apr 24 13 under Comics, Intital Thoughts, Reviews

The time has truly been and gone. Work and other matters have had to stop me coming on here, I’ve been writing questions for another interview that’s hopefully going to be posted up soon on another site but in the meantime, I can’t help the feeling that Eisner winner Francesco Francavilla has become the ubiquitous artist in comics today, a cover for Marvel, a pin up for DC and doing covers for Doctor Who over at IDW, I’m wondering how he’s going to pull off a visit to November’s Thought Bubble with all the comics he’s doing and on top of it the latest issues his own monthly book, the Black Beetle hit the shelves last week.

Francavilla has used the period setting of the 40s and 50s to create a character whose become a fan favourite in such a short period, he’s picked a good time as any as pulp characters like the Shadow, Green Hornet, The Spider and the Rocketeer are going through a renaissance at Dynamic Comics and IDW. The former Batman artist is obviously inspired by such characters and in the third issue he’s tightening the screws as the Beetle dons the guise of Ray Steves in an attempt to get to the bottom of a criminal plot, whilst in disguise he chats up a nightclub singer and soon after gets involved in a fracas where Francavilla turns into the highlight of the issue, you can feel the thuds, the pain as “Steves” dishes out the punches in tilted panels which lingers even after you’ve read the book.

Yes it’s a dark shadowy yet quite colourful at times thanks to Francavilla’s colour palette. He’s building a universe for the Beetle to inhabit it’s clear that he’s in for the long haul we’re not even close to finding his identity and the charm of Francavilla’s work is it’s steeped in the past, and more authentic than that of the new pulp books and certainly more entertaining than what DC is doing right now.

Under the Influence.

Mar 29 13 under Films, Reviews

I can’t help the feeling that the climax of Danny Boyle’s latest film, Trance, is slightly similar to the ending of Total Recall. For the rest I’m going to try to explain it. James Mc Avoy isn’t Douglas Quaid but an auctioneer called Simon. He’s fallen in with a criminal gang and steals a valuable Goya painting but during the process he gets KOed on the head courtesy of gangster Franck (Vincent Cassel) and forgets where he put it. He soon discovers that Franck and his gang have left off from where they started.

Getting his nails ripped off (ouch) was just the start but torture doesn’t help at all in this case, so Franck and Simon decide to enlist a hypnotherapist Elizabeth(Rosario Dawson) who decides to unlock his mind but Franck, and especially Simon, is totally unprepared for what happens next when he’s hypnotised by her. The cunning therapist has a few tricks up her sleeve, soon she demands a cut of the earnings when it’s recovered but to make matters even more complicated she jumps into bed with both Simon and Franck.
So the film goes from a conventional heist flick into Chris Nolan /Alfred Hitchcock via Derren Brown terrain for the untrained viewer. Much like Elizabeth herself, Boyle hypnotises the audience into a dream-like state with an array of plot twist and turns, even Franck doesn’t know what to make of it as he goes from ruthless to confused whilst trying to figure out what’s going on between Simon and the hypnotist, all this over a painting.

The cast acquit themselves perfectly with a good but mind boggling script from writers John Hodge and Joe Ahearne in particular James Mc Avoy, whose in over his head, and it also marks the comeback of Rosario Dawson who beguiles both Mc Avoy and Cassel and she’s more than happy to shed her clothes off for a daring full frontal nudity scene.

I’m leaving the spoilers, I thought things would go for a clear cut ending but apparently not it’s baffling but a great film. Boyle’s also bought in Underworld musician Rick Smith who also scored last year’s Olympics for a mesmerising chill out soundtrack. From the get go this isn’t the Boyle who did uplifting films like Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Days but the director who bought such dark films as Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, 28 Days Later and the vastly underrated The Beach which I’m a fan of.

Happy Easter folks!

Go East then go West

Mar 28 13 under Comics, Reviews

When Image comics sell out does this mean it’s good? Someone I know is trying to track down Todd the Ugliest Kid on Earth#1 to no avail and just yesterday East of West#1 came out. It’s the latest from Avengers writer Jonathon Hickman and artist Nick Dragotta.

A friend of mine has urged me to try out Hickman creator owned work such as the Nightly News and Pax Romana with the exception of Fantastic Four and Avengers, I haven’t given Hickman’s own work the time of day. At first glance they seem to be pretentious nonsense, yet the work on the comics he’s done has made him a fan favorite former Attack of the Show host Blair Butler described him as the” new Alan Moore.” I think the jury’s still out on that one there.

When it came to East Of West I was expecting some mumbo jumbo but according to Hickman it’s “a personal story” and it looks how “society is now” focusing with our obsession with end of the world scenarios, so it’s basically his take on the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Set in a dystopian America, it features the group getting back together, freshly reborn in different bodies but cracks are starting to show with three of the horseman plotting to kill Death who looks like a cowboy version of Michael Moorcock’s Elric.
Various online reviewers have given a big thumbs up to East Of West, surprisingly I found it quite enjoyable and interesting most largely in part to Dragotta whose never hit the big time at Marvel and DC, often doing limited series and fill ins. I’m on the lookout for his earlier stuff and given the success of the first issue, he’s going to strike gold with Hickman on this one.

I’m the bad guy?

Mar 15 13 under Comics, Reviews

I’ve not been content with many Marvel Now titles although I’m buying Deadpool and I’m enjoying Thor God Of Thunder, I’ve bought this book since it first came out and I haven’t dropped an issue but I did miss the opportunity to get the comics signed by writer Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic when they both appeared at Thought Bubble last year.

Their collaboration on Thor has been nothing short of spectacular, it’s clear to see why Aaron jumped from Incredible Hulk to Thor, together with Esad Ribic they’ve crafted an ongoing storyline which freed Thor from the confines of Asgard and Earth into a complex arc which show past, present and future versions of the Avenger under attack from “god butcher” Gorr.

For Gorr the rot started at a very early age.

It’s fair to say that Ribic has become synonymous drawing the character and so with Ribic taking a break in issue 6, he’s left the book in the capable hands of former Winter Soldier penciller Jackson Guice. And with the Thor out of the book, till next month that the spotlight falls on the bad guy, he’d probably get mistaken for Voldemort at a Harry Potter costume party. This issue shows how he lost his mother, wife and children and got cast out by his people blaming the gods for his misfortune, things get even worse, he seizes another alien’s armour, which could have links to Spider- Man’s symbiotic/Venom perhaps?

Believe or not the guy in the beard is Volstagg.

Believe it or not the guy in the beard is Volstagg.

There’s not many new villains who are out there these days, the more established ones have had their faces removed or even swapped bodies with the hero but that’s another story. The best bad guy has a tragic back story, character’s like the Joker, Dr Doom, Magneto, Two Face to name a few. Aaron’s compelling origin doesn’t want make you root for the bad guy but it show how circumstances can go wrong.

Surviving London Super Comic Con 2013

Mar 5 13 under Comics, Conventions, Intital Thoughts, London

Yesterday I started working again back at my part time job after having some holiday. It was back to reality and it’s been a bumpy few weeks. The site once again let me down. I couldn’t upload any images, nor could I send any emails to people. As you can see I’ve had bit of a refurbishment on here, I’ve had to back-date the entries that I’ve written and it took almost two days. Prior to that.. yep it’s a no brainer, I was at London Super Comic Con.

Artist’s Lee Bermejo and Emanuela Luppachino were part of all star line up.

So in place of Stan Lee star guest Neal Adams took up his spot. The Batman artist spoke to a lot of fans whilst charging them for autographs and photos much like Stan the man but take the guy outside the con and put him in a supermarket, would people recognise him as opposed to Lee? Although the decision to charge for autographs and pictures were by his handlers, fortunately I managed to get a free autograph from him when there was a signing session.

Like I’ve said in previous posts I know quite a lot of the people who go to cons now. It was great seeing the regulars there, people I’ve become good friends with over the years, a majority of them bought like myself, early entry tickets. As people were waiting, stewards began lining people up in different queues which led to some consternation.

That’s colorist and equally talented artist Nei Ruffino assisted by inker Nicki Andrews.

As we were told to line up, it reminded me of the scene from the Dark Knight Rises when Batman and Commissioner Gordon square up against Bane in the streets of Gotham. So when the shutters opened geeks suddenly had the ability of Usain Bolt only with added backpacks rush to artists tables. So things began running smoothly as the con got underway. The organisers spared no expense when it came to talks, I went to a great panel which featured panelists Adams, Gary Frank, Brian Bolland and David Finch. The discussions was Batman-centric, it had Bolland explaining his admiration of Batman artist Dick Sprang and Adams’s answering a question as to why Batman wouldn’t work in real life.

The advantage of an early entry pass was to get a bargain back issue(I tried in vain to look for a Incredible Hulk#181) or get on an artist’s sketch list, quite a lot of the top artists there including Lee Bermejo, Chris Weston, Gary Frank, Herb Trimpe, J Scott Campbell were all occupied with requests for sketches/autographs from fans, as for the small press side it seemed overlooked. Small Press and Indie publishers have a big part to play in the comics industry, it’s a springboard for talent. I often pop round their tables and either get a sketch or buy their work.

Angel & Faith artist Rebekah Isaacs.

Unlike Thought Bubble and the missed BICS where they put artists along with smaller lesser known creators it gives the chance for people to have a look at work aside from Marvel and DC. This is something that the organisers could improve and having a better queue system. In fact just last week TB organisers just announced that all their table positions sold out within a matter of hours. That’s how big comic cons have become in a few years.

Probably the most busiest guy at the convention Dan Slott was signing for fans.

No doubt about it, it was an expensive weekend. I was having lunch with my friend at work yesterday and he asked me how much I spent there. I said a few hundred. He was quite shocked when I mentioned this, we’ve had previous conversations in the past regarding artist’s sketch rates and the type of money they demand for pre commissions and convention sketches, there’s also the ugly side of flipping when someone gets a sketch they put it on EBay hence the reluctance of Wolverine artist Frank Cho and with my sketchbook being almost full, I met legendary Hulk artist, Herb Trimpe, had to buy Lee Bermejo a pencil, met the talented colourist and underrated artist Nei Ruffino and the sight of seeing Batman at the bar along with a drunk Wolverine will stay with me. I left the Excel with a sense of contentment. Remind me to thank John(and the rest) for the lovely vacation.

Return to the trenches

Feb 5 13 under Comics, Reviews

It’s been a few weeks due to a crappy internet connection, work commitments amongst other things, which left me unable to post.
Looking back at the weekend it was the comic mart in Birmingham and it spelled the end of my comic buying drought. With the massive Death of the Family arc concluding in this month’s Batman issue, I can’t help feeling that many readers have been left feeling confused as to which books to get. Along with Batman Incorporated another Bat book that’s not connected with the Joker crossing over into it is of course The Dark Knight. A lot of people I know have dropped the book but it’s a solid seller with Gregg Hurwitz writing and David Finch until recently on art duties.

As always DC have milked it with their top selling characters and Batman is no exception. I’ve added TDK on my pull list since 2010 largely due to Finch, he’s transferred from TDK to the upcoming Justice League of America. In his place comes the equally talented Ethan Van Sciver, the outspoken artist mainly known for books like Green Lantern, the Flash he drew Batman briefly on Superman/Batman and a superlative Catwoman two-parter: The way of the gun which was recently re-released last year.
With the Joker dominating the rest of the Bat book aside from Batman Incorporated, Hurwitz and Sciver focus their attention on the B lister Mad Hatter, the villain’s hardly in the category of Joker, Bane ,Penguin and so Jervis Tetch is no longer the book toothed Lewis Caroll throwback, but a spine tingling droopy eyed dwarf who’s responsible for a spate of kidnappings in the city. Sciver doesn’t beat around the bush relishing the task of drawing the bat.

One of the main appeals of Sciver’s art he really put’s an emphasis on the violence, the batjet gets wrecked, an underling’s eye get gouged and a sentient Bat cape. There really isn’t a let up until Bruce Wayne’s fling with a pianist hits a bum note, so the former X-Men uses this compelling moment to transform the panels into keyboards which is quite nifty. Still Scott Synder and Gregg Capullo are drawing in the punters but this is a damn good start to the Sciver era.