Because if you have 163 other channels of sitcom static or sports, who's going to notice the truth being said.
If it is the truth. That's for you to decide, don't spam my blog with pro-Bush or anti-Bush sentiment.
I am merely using life as a metaphor for comic books, no-one should do the opposite (besides, comics are for kids).
Friday, September 29, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The WSU.
Do you remember the rebirth of the Wildstorm Universe?
Although nearly everyone missed it when it started, people soon began to take notice of The Authority and Planetary by the (then) still fairly obscure, yet industry-wide respected Warren Ellis (because as a Time survey revealed this week, who you drink with is more likely to advance your career than anything else).
Although neither book hit the crazed inflated sales heights of title's like WildCATs and Gen 13 from the original Wildstorm / Image launch, both books grabbed a load of attention, kicking Ellis' career off to even greater heights, re-establishing Bryan Hitch as an A-list creator and putting John Cassady, Mark Millar and Frank Quietly on the map. So much so that I really don't need to tell you what they've work on since you probably know.
Both book's have re-established the super-hero industry. Some people will disagree with this; but they did. Authority caught everyone's attention, and as Millar says during his bow-out: "even the people who didn't like what we were doing followed suit".
All good things must come to an end. Due to some poor executive decisions, Authority eventually faded away into poor sales and obscurity, although along the way it spawned the succesfull albeit hollow "Kev" spin-off series (how this one-joke, piss-take turned out to be the best thing about the Authority over the last years is anyone's guess).
Planetary of course is still going on, produced by on semi-irregular schedule by it's original creator's, and as we speak is rapidly heading towards it's conclusion. In many ways the title is a victim of it's own success, as both creators became such important players in the industry that they weren't able to produce the book on a regular basis, which in turns has affected sales. Thankfully the integrity of the book has never suffered, and I am sure will be considered one of the classic Tpb collections in the years to come, alongside Preacher and Transmet.
Over the years I have been a massive fan of Wildstorm. Gen 13 was the first non-Star Wars comic I put on my pull list, and both Authority and Planetary pulled my attention back away from the big two, during a period where I was pretty much only reading Marvel and DC it was a breath of fresh air. So it's nice to see the big Worldstorm launch treating the properties the way they should be respected, with some heavy A-list creators coming on board.
The initial line up consists of several titles, these are the ones I've found most interesting.
WildCATS
Jim Lee makes his triumphant return to Wildcats, and he's bringing along an impressive new collaborator: superstar writer Grant Morrison! The man who redefined the JLA and Superman — and created groundbreaking works The Invisibles and WE3 — now brings his considerable talents to the Wildcats.
Authority
The WorldStorm rollout continues with the return of the most dangerous super-group on the planet! Grant Morrison, the universally acclaimed writer of All Star Superman, Seven Soldiers and Wildcats brings his talents to the new bimonthly series THE AUTHORITY, featuring art by Eisner Award-winner Gene Ha (TOP 10)!
Midnighter
Garth Ennis presents The Midnighter, returning from a mission in war-torn Afghanistan, is accosted as he enters the Carrier. Something is terribly wrong; these unseen assailants take him down too easily and then drag him though the teleportation door to an unknown location. After regaining consciousness he is given a cryptic choice: either kill a mass murderer or die! Art by Chris Sprouse.
Not to mention Gen 13, Stormwatch and Deathblow, which all hold varying degree's of interest and at least one selling point each.
So all in all, excellent talent and three books to definitely check out. It looks like someone has really taken the time to make sure this Worldstorm relaunch event is going to be big business, and something that will catch the attention of the entire industry.
With the financial backing and support of DC and Warner Bros, what could go wrong? All they need is a killer title to launch the series, something to hit the ground running and build momentum for the entire line, show people that thing's are going to be done properly this time around, and look at the killer titles above, any of the top 3 could launch this universe and show people what to expect.
Instead, the line was launched this week, with the following:
Wetworks
Fan-favorite artist Whilce Portacio's legendary special forces team returns in classic fashion, aided and abetted by acclaimed writer Mike Carey (HELLBLAZER, LUCIFER)!
This is not a bash on Mike Carey (although I have never been the biggest fan of his work, I know a lot of people are). Just because I don't like a guy, doesn't mean no-one else should.
I've never been a big fan of Whilce Portacio, I remember him doing weird thing's with peoples necks (in his art, not like, in the street), and something about him going mental. He also did fill in's on some of the Heroes Reborn stuff which left me less than enamored. Still, he was one of the early Wildstorm guys, so it's only right that he should be here.
I've never read Wetworks before. Until now:
Reading this was the comic book equivalent of a shrug.
I'm not going to just do a review because there are a million sites and blogs out there who do reviews and I like to think this site is a little more than that. The writing and art were solid enough and the story made sense to a complete novice like me - without having a forced patronising run down of all the characters and their powers - yet was still not enough to warrant be caring enough to pick up issue 2.
To summarise, the comic is alright. You know what though? Marvel Team-Up was alright. Robin is alright. Birds of Prey is alright. The first issue of an entire Universe reboot needs to be a little more than alright.
And thus my point still stands: Why this book? Out of the titles available they decide to start with this? Personally, I would have started the launch with a bang with WildCATs - you can't really get a bigger selling point than those two creators, and from that people might have decided to check out the rest of the line, which is exactly what books like this and Stormwatch need if they are going to break the 30k mark.
I can't see anyone picking this up and thinking "I must get the entire line", I guess most will flick through it at the comic shop and just decide to wait 'till WildCATs.
Anyone have any ideas why this came first?
Although nearly everyone missed it when it started, people soon began to take notice of The Authority and Planetary by the (then) still fairly obscure, yet industry-wide respected Warren Ellis (because as a Time survey revealed this week, who you drink with is more likely to advance your career than anything else).
Although neither book hit the crazed inflated sales heights of title's like WildCATs and Gen 13 from the original Wildstorm / Image launch, both books grabbed a load of attention, kicking Ellis' career off to even greater heights, re-establishing Bryan Hitch as an A-list creator and putting John Cassady, Mark Millar and Frank Quietly on the map. So much so that I really don't need to tell you what they've work on since you probably know.
Both book's have re-established the super-hero industry. Some people will disagree with this; but they did. Authority caught everyone's attention, and as Millar says during his bow-out: "even the people who didn't like what we were doing followed suit".
All good things must come to an end. Due to some poor executive decisions, Authority eventually faded away into poor sales and obscurity, although along the way it spawned the succesfull albeit hollow "Kev" spin-off series (how this one-joke, piss-take turned out to be the best thing about the Authority over the last years is anyone's guess).
Planetary of course is still going on, produced by on semi-irregular schedule by it's original creator's, and as we speak is rapidly heading towards it's conclusion. In many ways the title is a victim of it's own success, as both creators became such important players in the industry that they weren't able to produce the book on a regular basis, which in turns has affected sales. Thankfully the integrity of the book has never suffered, and I am sure will be considered one of the classic Tpb collections in the years to come, alongside Preacher and Transmet.
Over the years I have been a massive fan of Wildstorm. Gen 13 was the first non-Star Wars comic I put on my pull list, and both Authority and Planetary pulled my attention back away from the big two, during a period where I was pretty much only reading Marvel and DC it was a breath of fresh air. So it's nice to see the big Worldstorm launch treating the properties the way they should be respected, with some heavy A-list creators coming on board.
The initial line up consists of several titles, these are the ones I've found most interesting.
WildCATS
Jim Lee makes his triumphant return to Wildcats, and he's bringing along an impressive new collaborator: superstar writer Grant Morrison! The man who redefined the JLA and Superman — and created groundbreaking works The Invisibles and WE3 — now brings his considerable talents to the Wildcats.
Authority
The WorldStorm rollout continues with the return of the most dangerous super-group on the planet! Grant Morrison, the universally acclaimed writer of All Star Superman, Seven Soldiers and Wildcats brings his talents to the new bimonthly series THE AUTHORITY, featuring art by Eisner Award-winner Gene Ha (TOP 10)!
Midnighter
Garth Ennis presents The Midnighter, returning from a mission in war-torn Afghanistan, is accosted as he enters the Carrier. Something is terribly wrong; these unseen assailants take him down too easily and then drag him though the teleportation door to an unknown location. After regaining consciousness he is given a cryptic choice: either kill a mass murderer or die! Art by Chris Sprouse.
Not to mention Gen 13, Stormwatch and Deathblow, which all hold varying degree's of interest and at least one selling point each.
So all in all, excellent talent and three books to definitely check out. It looks like someone has really taken the time to make sure this Worldstorm relaunch event is going to be big business, and something that will catch the attention of the entire industry.
With the financial backing and support of DC and Warner Bros, what could go wrong? All they need is a killer title to launch the series, something to hit the ground running and build momentum for the entire line, show people that thing's are going to be done properly this time around, and look at the killer titles above, any of the top 3 could launch this universe and show people what to expect.
Instead, the line was launched this week, with the following:
Wetworks
Fan-favorite artist Whilce Portacio's legendary special forces team returns in classic fashion, aided and abetted by acclaimed writer Mike Carey (HELLBLAZER, LUCIFER)!
This is not a bash on Mike Carey (although I have never been the biggest fan of his work, I know a lot of people are). Just because I don't like a guy, doesn't mean no-one else should.
I've never been a big fan of Whilce Portacio, I remember him doing weird thing's with peoples necks (in his art, not like, in the street), and something about him going mental. He also did fill in's on some of the Heroes Reborn stuff which left me less than enamored. Still, he was one of the early Wildstorm guys, so it's only right that he should be here.
I've never read Wetworks before. Until now:
Reading this was the comic book equivalent of a shrug.
I'm not going to just do a review because there are a million sites and blogs out there who do reviews and I like to think this site is a little more than that. The writing and art were solid enough and the story made sense to a complete novice like me - without having a forced patronising run down of all the characters and their powers - yet was still not enough to warrant be caring enough to pick up issue 2.
To summarise, the comic is alright. You know what though? Marvel Team-Up was alright. Robin is alright. Birds of Prey is alright. The first issue of an entire Universe reboot needs to be a little more than alright.
And thus my point still stands: Why this book? Out of the titles available they decide to start with this? Personally, I would have started the launch with a bang with WildCATs - you can't really get a bigger selling point than those two creators, and from that people might have decided to check out the rest of the line, which is exactly what books like this and Stormwatch need if they are going to break the 30k mark.
I can't see anyone picking this up and thinking "I must get the entire line", I guess most will flick through it at the comic shop and just decide to wait 'till WildCATs.
Anyone have any ideas why this came first?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
"There were other casualties too"
Got to make this quick today, otherwise none of you lot get any comics in November.
Yeah, it's paperwork day.
Morrison on Batman
Sorry Ryan, looks like he is off fairly soon, the Previews for December show Ostranger on the book for at least 4 issues.
Lost Girls
16 chapters out of 30 done and dusted, I only picked this book up yesterday and only meant to flick through it last night, but before I knew what was happening I was engrossed, and not just because there were tits on the page.
I've been really looking forward to this book, it became apparent to me a few weeks ago that the 10 copies we ordered for the store were not going to ship to us. so I paid ACTUAL cash - full price too - out of my pocket. Haven't done that for a while I can tell you.
Glad I did though, as we are already on a third printing of this book with no sign of a UK release, it's always good to have first printings if possible.
So far, it's been an excellent read, albeit one that I won't be able to share with many of my housemates or my friends because 1) it's just porn and 2) there are male gay bit's in it, shock horror (funny how most guy's I know don't consider two women going down on each other to be gay)!
Lot's of things have already been written about this book by people much more eloquent than I, but I would like to comment on the format of the book as it is so interesting, and controls the pace of the story nicely. 30 chapters comprising of 8 pages each, broken down into 10 chapters per hardcover, all collected into one nice big slipcase. A very interesting format which must have been at times bitterly constraining, however it has oft been said that writing within self-imposed boundaries sometimes leads imaginative and freeing writing.
Just a great read.
Pride of Baghdad
Another book I would have quite happily paid full price for (the perks of working for a comic shop mean I didn't have to, but it also means my take home wage is shite, rough with the smooth and all that).
This is definately a book I am going to lend out time and time again, until it comes back to me broken and battered, but loved by all.
I must get this out of the way, when I first started reading I was feeling large levels of parralels to The Lion King, and not just because there are Lions in it either. The cub in the story is drawn so much like Simba on the first few pages it's untrue, and then in a flashback to the jungle we see a character who has remarkable similarities to Scar, down to the fact you could almost hear Jeremy Irons.
However, these fears are unfounded, as all the characters find their own voices before the book is done to become much more whole, complex characters than the two-dimensional morality pawns that Disney created.
Dead Rising
I know, not a comic.
But you know what, this is my site and I have to piss and moan and vent somewhere, today: this is my soapbox.
For a while I couldn't make up my mind whether this was a great game with really shit bits, or a shit game with really shit bits.
After struggling through the entire game, AND overtime mode to get the true ending (shit cut scene where the main character seemingly give's up, followed by white text on a black screen saying "actually, he did get out") I have come to the following conclusion:
This is a shit game with some really shit bits.
Don't get me wrong, there are some great moments, but they are few and far between and you have to face an increasingly more frustrating save system and annoying as fuck boss battles.
The first thing you need to realsie, the threatening army of the un-dead drop like flies. You can dispatch a zombie with a quick smack round the head by a 2" by 4", or a couple of stabs with a knife, one slice of the katana ar by running them over with a trolley.
Any human you encounter in the game though, can survive multiple bullet head shots, a couple of chainsaw slices and several stab wounds before dropping. And I thought zombies were supposed to be the threat.
Case in point: The SWAT team, I shot one in the head 12 times with a sniper rifle befor he dropped. 12. That's amazing. It actually takes less punchs to kill one. In fact, the big end of game boss you have no weapons for and have to dispatch with jumping kicks, which is probably a blessing in disguise, had I had, weapons I know doubt would have shot him oop-side the head 15 times without causing any damage and not known why.
There are some good points to the game, but remember I am telling you these now to ease the blow of the save system which I will recount for you in a paragraph or so's time.
The sheer scale of the game is amazing, I have seen upwards of 150 zombies on screen at the same time. The game has pushed towards 200 zombies at times and I have noticed a bit of slowdown which is discouraging for a next-generation console, but fuck it - the 360 is out now and the PS3 seems to be a fable doomed never to come into fruition.
The other thing to love about the game is "moments", every person playing this game will have a different experience, or will take a certain boss down a different way, or will have a story about saving one of the 64 survivors which is unique. GTA3 was a game built around peoples "moments", it's these non-linear differential's that make the game worth talking about in public.
A great moment for me was when I was fighting Cletus, the psychopath holding the fort at the gun store. As you can imagine, the gunstore is quite a strategic place to have access to, so disopatching Cletus is well worth doing. It took me about 8-9 attempts to kill him; learning his attack pattern, the best way to wear him down, how many times to shoot him etc...etc...
It was becoming quite annoying, and after using 30 sniper bullets I had the guy down to his last bit of energy, coincidentally I was also down to my last piece of energy thanks to his uncanny ability to make his bullets bend around solid objects. Realising I was out of bullets, I picked up the store display I had been hiding behind, ran at Cletus and swung wildly (I may have screamed at the tele too) as a last ditch attempt to kill the fucker. It worked, and saved my cordless pad from flying through the TV in frustration.
Incidentally, the wireless pad is an odd piece of kit. I kind of prefer a wire, and have quite a few times moved the pad in such a way as to free the wire which isn't there from a trapping that didn't hold it.
The game is silly fun, and most things you can use to kill a zombie, golf balls, skateboards, coat hangers, The Golden Axe (good enough for Death-Adder, good enough for you) and footballs. the first time you drive a car through a thpusand odd zombies is gauranteed to make you smile.
If you make it that far.
The main quest is determined by being in certain places at certain times, but thanks to the incredibly simple minded and non-play tested save feature, this can become a chore. It is wholly possible to save your game mid-mission, finish the mission and then be told that you have failed the next mission (it doesn't tell you why, but it's because you weren't in the right palce to activate it at the right time, cheer's Capcom). When this happens, the only option is to start again from the beginning, I know this, because it happened to me.
You only have one save file through the entire game, no staggered saves, no mission selction when you have completed the game, and the saves come few and far between. The amount of times I scraped through a boss battle only to be finished off by a simple, lone zombie.
The simply addition of save's post mission / boss, or even a second save file would have made all the difference in this game.
If you love Zombies and you own a 360, then go for it. If you are thinking or buying a 360 just for this game like I did. Don't.
Hell, at least I am ready for Halo 3.
Yeah, it's paperwork day.
Morrison on Batman
Sorry Ryan, looks like he is off fairly soon, the Previews for December show Ostranger on the book for at least 4 issues.
Lost Girls
16 chapters out of 30 done and dusted, I only picked this book up yesterday and only meant to flick through it last night, but before I knew what was happening I was engrossed, and not just because there were tits on the page.
I've been really looking forward to this book, it became apparent to me a few weeks ago that the 10 copies we ordered for the store were not going to ship to us. so I paid ACTUAL cash - full price too - out of my pocket. Haven't done that for a while I can tell you.
Glad I did though, as we are already on a third printing of this book with no sign of a UK release, it's always good to have first printings if possible.
So far, it's been an excellent read, albeit one that I won't be able to share with many of my housemates or my friends because 1) it's just porn and 2) there are male gay bit's in it, shock horror (funny how most guy's I know don't consider two women going down on each other to be gay)!
Lot's of things have already been written about this book by people much more eloquent than I, but I would like to comment on the format of the book as it is so interesting, and controls the pace of the story nicely. 30 chapters comprising of 8 pages each, broken down into 10 chapters per hardcover, all collected into one nice big slipcase. A very interesting format which must have been at times bitterly constraining, however it has oft been said that writing within self-imposed boundaries sometimes leads imaginative and freeing writing.
Just a great read.
Pride of Baghdad
Another book I would have quite happily paid full price for (the perks of working for a comic shop mean I didn't have to, but it also means my take home wage is shite, rough with the smooth and all that).
This is definately a book I am going to lend out time and time again, until it comes back to me broken and battered, but loved by all.
I must get this out of the way, when I first started reading I was feeling large levels of parralels to The Lion King, and not just because there are Lions in it either. The cub in the story is drawn so much like Simba on the first few pages it's untrue, and then in a flashback to the jungle we see a character who has remarkable similarities to Scar, down to the fact you could almost hear Jeremy Irons.
However, these fears are unfounded, as all the characters find their own voices before the book is done to become much more whole, complex characters than the two-dimensional morality pawns that Disney created.
Dead Rising
I know, not a comic.
But you know what, this is my site and I have to piss and moan and vent somewhere, today: this is my soapbox.
For a while I couldn't make up my mind whether this was a great game with really shit bits, or a shit game with really shit bits.
After struggling through the entire game, AND overtime mode to get the true ending (shit cut scene where the main character seemingly give's up, followed by white text on a black screen saying "actually, he did get out") I have come to the following conclusion:
This is a shit game with some really shit bits.
Don't get me wrong, there are some great moments, but they are few and far between and you have to face an increasingly more frustrating save system and annoying as fuck boss battles.
The first thing you need to realsie, the threatening army of the un-dead drop like flies. You can dispatch a zombie with a quick smack round the head by a 2" by 4", or a couple of stabs with a knife, one slice of the katana ar by running them over with a trolley.
Any human you encounter in the game though, can survive multiple bullet head shots, a couple of chainsaw slices and several stab wounds before dropping. And I thought zombies were supposed to be the threat.
Case in point: The SWAT team, I shot one in the head 12 times with a sniper rifle befor he dropped. 12. That's amazing. It actually takes less punchs to kill one. In fact, the big end of game boss you have no weapons for and have to dispatch with jumping kicks, which is probably a blessing in disguise, had I had, weapons I know doubt would have shot him oop-side the head 15 times without causing any damage and not known why.
There are some good points to the game, but remember I am telling you these now to ease the blow of the save system which I will recount for you in a paragraph or so's time.
The sheer scale of the game is amazing, I have seen upwards of 150 zombies on screen at the same time. The game has pushed towards 200 zombies at times and I have noticed a bit of slowdown which is discouraging for a next-generation console, but fuck it - the 360 is out now and the PS3 seems to be a fable doomed never to come into fruition.
The other thing to love about the game is "moments", every person playing this game will have a different experience, or will take a certain boss down a different way, or will have a story about saving one of the 64 survivors which is unique. GTA3 was a game built around peoples "moments", it's these non-linear differential's that make the game worth talking about in public.
A great moment for me was when I was fighting Cletus, the psychopath holding the fort at the gun store. As you can imagine, the gunstore is quite a strategic place to have access to, so disopatching Cletus is well worth doing. It took me about 8-9 attempts to kill him; learning his attack pattern, the best way to wear him down, how many times to shoot him etc...etc...
It was becoming quite annoying, and after using 30 sniper bullets I had the guy down to his last bit of energy, coincidentally I was also down to my last piece of energy thanks to his uncanny ability to make his bullets bend around solid objects. Realising I was out of bullets, I picked up the store display I had been hiding behind, ran at Cletus and swung wildly (I may have screamed at the tele too) as a last ditch attempt to kill the fucker. It worked, and saved my cordless pad from flying through the TV in frustration.
Incidentally, the wireless pad is an odd piece of kit. I kind of prefer a wire, and have quite a few times moved the pad in such a way as to free the wire which isn't there from a trapping that didn't hold it.
The game is silly fun, and most things you can use to kill a zombie, golf balls, skateboards, coat hangers, The Golden Axe (good enough for Death-Adder, good enough for you) and footballs. the first time you drive a car through a thpusand odd zombies is gauranteed to make you smile.
If you make it that far.
The main quest is determined by being in certain places at certain times, but thanks to the incredibly simple minded and non-play tested save feature, this can become a chore. It is wholly possible to save your game mid-mission, finish the mission and then be told that you have failed the next mission (it doesn't tell you why, but it's because you weren't in the right palce to activate it at the right time, cheer's Capcom). When this happens, the only option is to start again from the beginning, I know this, because it happened to me.
You only have one save file through the entire game, no staggered saves, no mission selction when you have completed the game, and the saves come few and far between. The amount of times I scraped through a boss battle only to be finished off by a simple, lone zombie.
The simply addition of save's post mission / boss, or even a second save file would have made all the difference in this game.
If you love Zombies and you own a 360, then go for it. If you are thinking or buying a 360 just for this game like I did. Don't.
Hell, at least I am ready for Halo 3.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Free Comics
Kinda.
Three Vertigo debut issues - DMZ #1, LOVELESS #1 and AMERICAN VIRGIN #1 - are available now as free downloads from here.
Three Vertigo debut issues - DMZ #1, LOVELESS #1 and AMERICAN VIRGIN #1 - are available now as free downloads from here.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Random Comic News and Reviews
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (shamelessly yoinked from Lying in the Gutters, blatantly):
"I am GLAD this asshole is dead. Sorry for his wife and kids, but relieved they are in no further danger from his lunacy!" - John Byrne on the death of Steve Irwin.
How would Bryne like it if I said I wish he'd die so he'd stop making crappy comics? Well there you go, I just said it. No more Blood of the Demon or Atom, and my X-Men / F4 collection might increase in value. I can't see a downside (other than wishing someone was dead). Can anyone?
Anyway, comic goodness.
Thor - confirmed series written by JMS. Obviously I am going to think this is a good thing as I am a JMS whore? Thoughts, people? Artist is yet to be announced, expect to see a return of Don blake and the rebuilding of Asgard after the events of Thor Dissassembled.
Supermarket - Excellent read, Brian Wood does good yet again. For those of you who skipped on Couriers and Cous-cous Express, this is what you were waiting for. More defined and with a stronger protagonist, not to mention a healthy dose of Wood social commentary. Check this out when the Tpb arrives.
Nightwing - Thank christ that was the last issue by Bruce Jones. I know DC originally planned to kill Nightwing during Infinite Crisis, maybe that would have been a mercy killing compared to what we've had instead. Hopefully Marv Wolfman coming onto the book will help lift the character back to where he should be.
Exterminators - Just to reiterate on a review Ryan wrote a month or so back. Exterminators is a fantastic comic, and all fan's of good quality comics (especially Vertigo) should consider this a must have, this means all you Preacher fans.
Grounded - After having heard a few good things about this Image series, I decided to check out the Tpb. Although it wasn't bad I got half way through, and haven't had the drive to pick it up and finish it. The story consists of a kid, whose parents are massive superheroes, being sent of to a school for superheroes in training, but he is the only kid at the school who has no powers.
I'm sure I saw this when it was a Disney flick?!?
Damon Lindeloff / Ult. Wolverine Hulk - Had a lot of people ask about this one lately. No, you haven't missed issue #3, it still hasn't shipped.
However, Marvel and Damon released a press release today explaining and apologising for the delay, but it came with the threat "THE FOLLOWING LETTER IS FOR RETAILERS! ONLY IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE POSTED ON THE INTERNET. Anyone found doing so will be removed from receiving the Marvel Mailer."
Thanks a lot guys, you give us an explanation but we're not allowed to pass it on to the fans, the people who actually make both us and you money.
(The Marvel Mailer is a newsletter where we find out about schedule changes and ordering information for rush release variants and second prints - obviously being excluded from that would not only fuck us over, it would mean you guys miss stuff too).
To summarise, there is no real reason for the book being late other than the writer hasn't done his job yet. Which isn't a massive shock when you think about the track record of people who predominantly work outside the comic industry.
Although he does manage to compare his miniseries to Watchmen. Hmm.
"I am GLAD this asshole is dead. Sorry for his wife and kids, but relieved they are in no further danger from his lunacy!" - John Byrne on the death of Steve Irwin.
How would Bryne like it if I said I wish he'd die so he'd stop making crappy comics? Well there you go, I just said it. No more Blood of the Demon or Atom, and my X-Men / F4 collection might increase in value. I can't see a downside (other than wishing someone was dead). Can anyone?
Anyway, comic goodness.
Thor - confirmed series written by JMS. Obviously I am going to think this is a good thing as I am a JMS whore? Thoughts, people? Artist is yet to be announced, expect to see a return of Don blake and the rebuilding of Asgard after the events of Thor Dissassembled.
Supermarket - Excellent read, Brian Wood does good yet again. For those of you who skipped on Couriers and Cous-cous Express, this is what you were waiting for. More defined and with a stronger protagonist, not to mention a healthy dose of Wood social commentary. Check this out when the Tpb arrives.
Nightwing - Thank christ that was the last issue by Bruce Jones. I know DC originally planned to kill Nightwing during Infinite Crisis, maybe that would have been a mercy killing compared to what we've had instead. Hopefully Marv Wolfman coming onto the book will help lift the character back to where he should be.
Exterminators - Just to reiterate on a review Ryan wrote a month or so back. Exterminators is a fantastic comic, and all fan's of good quality comics (especially Vertigo) should consider this a must have, this means all you Preacher fans.
Grounded - After having heard a few good things about this Image series, I decided to check out the Tpb. Although it wasn't bad I got half way through, and haven't had the drive to pick it up and finish it. The story consists of a kid, whose parents are massive superheroes, being sent of to a school for superheroes in training, but he is the only kid at the school who has no powers.
I'm sure I saw this when it was a Disney flick?!?
Damon Lindeloff / Ult. Wolverine Hulk - Had a lot of people ask about this one lately. No, you haven't missed issue #3, it still hasn't shipped.
However, Marvel and Damon released a press release today explaining and apologising for the delay, but it came with the threat "THE FOLLOWING LETTER IS FOR RETAILERS! ONLY IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE POSTED ON THE INTERNET. Anyone found doing so will be removed from receiving the Marvel Mailer."
Thanks a lot guys, you give us an explanation but we're not allowed to pass it on to the fans, the people who actually make both us and you money.
(The Marvel Mailer is a newsletter where we find out about schedule changes and ordering information for rush release variants and second prints - obviously being excluded from that would not only fuck us over, it would mean you guys miss stuff too).
To summarise, there is no real reason for the book being late other than the writer hasn't done his job yet. Which isn't a massive shock when you think about the track record of people who predominantly work outside the comic industry.
Although he does manage to compare his miniseries to Watchmen. Hmm.
I Might Stick with Runaways a Bit Longer.
Might. Might?
Joss Whedon??? - Thank you very much Marvel.
Should be a new number 1 really, but as long as it doesn't take six months between issues as happened with Fray and Astonishing X-Men I will be a happy man, we all know Whedon can work to a tight schedule after his work on Roseanne, Buffy and Angel, so let's hope this monthly series remains a monthly series.
I'd better reorder the digests so all the Serenity crowd can get up to date.
Art by Michael Ryan, presumably not the UK-based mass murderer.
Joss Whedon??? - Thank you very much Marvel.
Should be a new number 1 really, but as long as it doesn't take six months between issues as happened with Fray and Astonishing X-Men I will be a happy man, we all know Whedon can work to a tight schedule after his work on Roseanne, Buffy and Angel, so let's hope this monthly series remains a monthly series.
I'd better reorder the digests so all the Serenity crowd can get up to date.
Art by Michael Ryan, presumably not the UK-based mass murderer.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
I just don't Carey.
Wow, just wow! What a comic. I am talking about last week's All-star Superman, utterly fantastic.
I am slowly crawling through last weeks comics after spending the weekend at a party, wherin I got to talk to Liam Sharp about when he met Stan Lee and other geeky things like that. Lot's of fun and I found out lot's of juicy thing's about the industry and people working in it that I can't repeat here because, well, I'm not Rich Johnston. But I am falling dangerously behind on my comics, which hasn't been helped by the fact after reading ASS (hah! ass.) #5 I feel like leaving it a few hours because whatever I read next will invariably feel shit.
And it did.
Luckily it was probably always going to feel poo because it's written by Mike Carey.
I am talking about ult. F4 #33 (? I think?)
I know that may be generalising a little, but I am strugling to think of a Mike Carey project I have enjoyed.
Hellblazer = better than Azzarello, but still weak.
Ult. F4 / X-Men = I couldn't be arsed to finish reading.
Lucifer = didn't read.
Ult DD / Elektra = arse, where was greg Ruck? Damn exclusivity contracts.
Am I missing soemthing? Because Marvel are treating him like royalty using him to take over from Mark Millar on Ult. F4, after a truly excellent and very underated run on the title.
What title was the break-out work for Mike Carey? What title of his do I absolutely HAVE to read? Does anyone know? There has to be a reason for him to be so high up that he can join the elite of Bendis, Millar and Ellis on the Ultimate titles.
Does anyone have the answer?
Also, has anyone out there read Losers? As it's one of the few vertigo comic's I haven't read.
I am slowly crawling through last weeks comics after spending the weekend at a party, wherin I got to talk to Liam Sharp about when he met Stan Lee and other geeky things like that. Lot's of fun and I found out lot's of juicy thing's about the industry and people working in it that I can't repeat here because, well, I'm not Rich Johnston. But I am falling dangerously behind on my comics, which hasn't been helped by the fact after reading ASS (hah! ass.) #5 I feel like leaving it a few hours because whatever I read next will invariably feel shit.
And it did.
Luckily it was probably always going to feel poo because it's written by Mike Carey.
I am talking about ult. F4 #33 (? I think?)
I know that may be generalising a little, but I am strugling to think of a Mike Carey project I have enjoyed.
Hellblazer = better than Azzarello, but still weak.
Ult. F4 / X-Men = I couldn't be arsed to finish reading.
Lucifer = didn't read.
Ult DD / Elektra = arse, where was greg Ruck? Damn exclusivity contracts.
Am I missing soemthing? Because Marvel are treating him like royalty using him to take over from Mark Millar on Ult. F4, after a truly excellent and very underated run on the title.
What title was the break-out work for Mike Carey? What title of his do I absolutely HAVE to read? Does anyone know? There has to be a reason for him to be so high up that he can join the elite of Bendis, Millar and Ellis on the Ultimate titles.
Does anyone have the answer?
Also, has anyone out there read Losers? As it's one of the few vertigo comic's I haven't read.
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