Briefly

Thanks to Portuguese LLC reader Diogo Campos who responded to this recent post with a picture of another huge superhero tile mural in Lisbon...


It's not the clearest pic in the world, but if you click it you can make out a good smattering of DC and Marvel favourites. Interestingly (to me anyway) the artist seems to have used the Marvel Handbook: Book of the Dead and The DC Who's Who guide for reference. There's also some Amazing Spider-Man in there and, in amongst all the spandex, a stormtrooper. Top stuff. Many thanks to Diogo who is doing his best to track down a better photo for me.

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There's a brand new video up on the official Watchmen site. Check it out HERE

If that's not enough Watchmen for you, you can listen to Dave Gibbons talking about the movie and the motion comic on Word Balloon. Host John Siuntres also has recent interviews with the likes of Jeff Parker, Jeph Loeb and Jonathan Hickman available for download.

Them that dies'll be the lucky ones!

More scans from my son's book collection for you today. The lucky little tyke has inherited his mum's stash of Ladybird books, a fine bunch of 70s literature which includes the magnificent: Ladybird book about Pirates.

This masterpiece contains potted biographies of 22 REAL LIFE pirates written by the grandly named L. Du Garde Peach and is beautifully illustrated by one F. Humphris. I've never heard of this Humphris chap before, but he was very talented.

His cover alone is worth the 15p price tag! It's a powerful watercolour painting which is rendered all the more dramatic by the 38 years worth of muck that has accumulated on the book. I'd love to own the original. Here t'is. ARRRRRH!!!!

Click the image to supersize the high seas shenanigans

The interior art is equally as good. Here's Blackbeard...

The image is a bit blurred around the edges because of my crappy scanner, but you can still enjoy the flaming red pirate rage of Blackbeard in action. Top stuff.

There's even some lady pirate action to be had. Here's Anne Bonny and her companion Mary Read...

Magic.

Shopping List

No visit to London's magical West End last week as I only had one title on the old shopping list. My brain barely survived the disruption to its weekly routine of course, but I felt better about myself for not dropping a wad of cash. Still, one week without new comics is enough for any emotionally retarded man to bear, and I'm straining at the leash to lash the cash on some overpriced funny books. Here's what I'll be picking up this week...

The End League #5
Relentlessly depressing, deliberately derivative superhero team book by Rick Remender. The End League gets darker and more difficult to follow with every passing issue, but it's well written, cool stuff and I'm a big fan.

Action Comics #870
Geoff Johns' mission to clean up any discrepancies in DC continuity continues apace with part four of his Braniac story, and very well done it is too. He's successfully managed to build a new Braniac out of all the old versions of the character while still telling a rollicking good Superman yarn.

Final Crisis: Revelations #3
Oh dear which one is this again? I'm getting a bit confused by all the tie-ins that I swore I wasn't going to buy but in fact am. Ah yes, the Spectre threatening to kill the Question at some indeterminate point in the Final Crisis timeline, lots of quotes from the bible and some horrible art from Philip Tan. Still, I enjoyed the bit where Dr Light got turned into a candle and I'm now irreversibly locked into buying everything related to Final Crisis so...

Green Lantern #35
More house cleaning from Johns as he retells the origin of Green Lantern. This arc was obviously designed to be a bit of a filler while Hal Jordan gets on with all the Final Crisis stuff elsewhere, but it's turned out to be one of Johns' finest moments on the book. Lots of Sinestro, plenty of Hector Hammond and a plausible fusion of current events in the GL universe and the original Silver Age origin of the character.

Green Lantern Corps #39
How do you follow up the last story where a bunch of evil alien insectoid types dumped a truckload of eyeballs on the Green Lanterns for a laugh? Answer: You can't. What you can do is whet the appetites of your slavering audience for the upcoming Blackest Night story with an origin story for one of the multitude of new Lantern Corps. Yay!

Wonder Woman #25
Hmmm. I'm getting closer and closer to dropping this. The first few issues of Gail Simone's run were really strong, but the glory days of talking apes v techno Nazis on the beach are long gone and let's be honest, it's been downhill since then. Last chance to get good or it's off the list.

Avengers Invaders #5
Yeah, this is shit awful but I've bought four issues already so what are you gonna do? Ahh the mindset of the comic fan.

Invincible Iron Man #6
Eziekel Stane is the best NEW villain to hit the Marvel U for a long time and Invincible Iron Man is as good a reboot of a Marvel property as there's been in recent years. Can't say much more about this book than that. A gem.

Marvel Zombies III #1
Really? It's by Fred van Lente though, so it's might be OK.

The Twelve #8
Given that we're eight issues in and the Twelve still haven't done anything but moan about how shit modern life is, I should be hating this, but for some reason it works. Not only that, it's spawned a fine Big Dave F impression. Really, you should see his Mastermind Excello, it's uncanny.

Bring me the head of Andy Capp

News of The Kid and his excellent reviews is spreading. He has a letter published in Amazing Spider-Man #571 and also draws high praise from Jeph Loeb during the Hulk writer's latest chat with John Siuntres over at Word Balloon.

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Nice bunch of vids courtesy of LLC chum Mr Wheatley. Check them out HERE

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Get yourself an original Alan Moore script on ebay

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Found in a box at the office library...

Made me think of Se7en. Although for that comparison to hold up I suppose it would have to be Flo's head and not Andy's in the box. I doubt Andy would care if Flo's head turned up in a box. Although maybe...Oh dear, The Capps in a remake of Se7en? Time to stop.

The Mental Movies

Why does Lois look so worried?

Everyone else is clearly enjoying The Mental Movies.

Mmmmmmmm. Mental Movies.

Scans from Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #21, November 1960

Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink

My son has many books. This is a scan from my favourite...


Wacky Bull by Z Vrbova and T Morgan-Jones. Top That publishing, 2004

Another fantastic review from The Kid

Funnily enough THIS is almost word for word how Big Dave F described the latest issue of The Hulk to me after several pints of lager.

Such a good review that I'm almost tempted to buy the comic.