London Loves Comics

Thursday, 24 May 2007

Alcohol leads to Youtube

This is my drunk...

A superb death from the finest British kids TV show EVER

"Meeow. Don't make me do Batman again you fat commie fucker"

GOLYMARRRRRR!

Inside the world of the ageing Dungeon Master

Tuesday, 22 May 2007

Superman II - the director's cut

This is superb

Attention all super-villains!

When Plan A won't cut it and you've no Plan B...

Aahh yes, the lemony fresh smell of new Plan K

Sunday, 20 May 2007

I've noticed that there's a bit of a backlash going on among the movers and shakers in the comics blogosphere against the current craze for all things zombie. Personally I'm not sure why everybody is getting their knickers in such a twist. Sure the latest installment of Marvel Zombies wasn't that great, and no, I personally wouldn't want to put either of these on my mantelpiece...

But if someone else wants to then I say cool, it's no weirder than surrounding yourself with statues of gollum or Captain America is it?. As for the comics...bring me more! Especially if they're as good as Black Gas.

There aren't many bleaker or more unrelentingly violent comics out there than Black Gas, a zombie book that showcases the darkest parts of Warren Ellis's twisted imagination. I've been following it since the beginning and believe me it's nasty.

Issue #2 of volume #2 plumbs new depths of grim despair. It contains crazed zombie joyriders, collapsing buildings, a gory twist in the tail and the greatest line EVER to appear in a zombie comic...

Mmmm. Nice image.

With suitably dark artwork and colouring by Max Fiumara and Andrew Dalhouse complementing Ellis's warped story perfectly, this is a really good horror comic which I'll be sad to see come to an end next issue.

It's not my favourite read of the week though. That honour goes to the zombie-free Brian Bendis book Ultimate Spider-Man #109.

Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men are both failing to impress at the moment and The Ultimates was rendered nigh on unreadable by its constant delays, so Ultimate Spider-Man has been the only thing keeping the Ultimate Universe from disappearing off my radar. Its still the Ultimate flagship and I think issue #109 might be my favourite issue of the entire run.

The Ultimate Knights arc has been building beautifully and really starts to pay off this issue with a great spin on Kingpin that, in the best traditions of Ultimate Spidey, alludes to classic Marvel tales of yesteryear while still seeming fresh.

Bagley's art is slicker than ever and any sadness about him leaving the book after the next issue is tempered by the knowledge that a) he's going out on a high and b) he's being replaced by the genius that is Stuart Immonen. Marvellous.

Marvel Adventures continues to push the right buttons, I realise that I'm always banging on about how good Jeff Parker's scripts are, but respect also has to go out to the rest of the team on the book, in particular penciller Leonard Kirk who draws a mean superhero comic. When push comes to shove though it's Parker's gags which keep me coming back for more. Highlight of this issue? This line from The Puppet Master...

Issue two of Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer continues to clobber readers over the head with every fantasy cliche out there. Strangely amidst all the Conanesque sword and sorcery, several of the leading protagonists have started to talk like 21st century gamers, peppering their speeches with phrases like...

Uhhm, yeah dude. Radical.

Also on my list this week. Ultimates #13 (which will go in the to read pile), Outsiders #47, Checkmate #14, Batman #665 (which really wasn't very good) and 2000AD prog#1537 which is saved from being a very bad issue by a poignant little Nikolai Dante story. Detonator X is also half decent, but the Judge Dredd offering is pretty darn poor, Twisted Tales reads like a filler from a 1980's issue of House of Mystery and Sinister Dexter is just not my cup of tea. Sorry.

Friday, 18 May 2007

Drowning in comics

After promising myself I wouldn't read 52 or Civil War I suddenly find myself attempting to read both in their entirety at the same time. All this as I continue to plough through Miracleman and finally get round to reading Elk's Run. Of course there are all my regular comics too, not to mention the fact that Ultimates #13 hit the shops today - an event which was supposed prompt me to sit down and read volume 2 in one sitting. I need to prioritise.

So far (and I'm only up to issue 4) 52 looks superb, which surprises me. I've heard a few people say it lags a bit in the middle, but the opening shots have me hooked and, while I wish I didn't know what happens in the end, I have to say I would've had my suspicions just from looking at the opening page of issue 1. For the record I have no problem with the return of the DC multiverse especially if it creates more good stories.

I've hit issue 4 of Civil War and yeah, I'm still cynical, but you know it's by Mark Millar and he's numero uno as far as I'm concerned. I'm wondering how the hell Marvel are going to dig themselves out of the hole they've dug themselves into with the series though - hopefully not with some kind of silly reset where none of this really happened. I heard someone on the Comic Geek Speak podcast the other day suggesting that the Hulk was going to completely destroy the world of the mainstream Marvel Universe leaving the Ultimate U as Marvel's main line. Now that would be brave...not to mention stupid.

Elk's Run is a gem. Waco meets Stand By me. The characters are as well written as any I've read in a long time and it's a genuine page turner. There's no doubt in my mind that this book will end up on the big screen. Pick it up before Hollywood ruins it.

Wednesday, 16 May 2007

A word or two on Miracleman

I don't like reading my comics on a computer screen and I understand enough to realise that downloading scans of comic books illegally isn't going to help the industry BUT in the case of Miracleman I'm willing to make an exception.

I lost my original run of Eclipse reprints some time ago. Bad news because, as anyone who follows comics knows, its impossible to get an affordable set now. I'd buy it in trade format if it was available, but the legal mess surrounding the rights to the Miracleman character mean its been out of print for years.

As much as I want to get that old run again then, I've decided that I'm damned if I'm going to pay some joker on e-bay a fortune for the privilege. So I've downloaded a free piece of comic reading software and am currently reading scans of Miracleman which I obtained from a bit torrent site. It works just fine, not as nice as looking at a comic on paper, but better than nothing.

Just finished issue 2 and reading through Moore's notes in the back I was struck by this paragraph concerning his rediscovery of the Marvelman character...

Wow! That hits it on the head for me. I'm a nostalgiaholic and my comic buying habits are heavily motivated by a ridiculous need to surround myself with the long lost artifacts of my early teens - forget the comics you should see the horde of fighting fantasy books and Games Workshop boardgames I've reacquired in the last few years.

It's interesting to see Moore admitting to such an unhealthy emotion though. A few years after writing the above paragraph he was penning Superman stories that dealt with the destructive power of nostalgia specifically its tendency to stop those who wallow in it from getting anywhere in the present day.

If you're going to read comics you have to be nostalgic though. I find it comforting to know that Moore might not like that but has to accept it's part of the deal.