Empire!

Well this is something new... (Well actually it's probably not new at all)...
Passed by a newsagent and was a bit bemused as to why Bruce Lee was on the latest Empire cover...
Turns out that the new Empire, featuring the 500 greatest movies of all time, has got 100 arty covers to choose from. Cool idea, altho some of the covers are better than others.
(The Carrie cover is amazing - Empire Strikes Back, Bladerunner, Gremlins and Matrix are gorgeous too. Heath Ledger has sold out, natch)
Although I'm sure they had that Catwoman cover as the actual cover way back when?
I'm actually trying to cut down on magazines at the moment - I usually get Empire, Q and Attitude - but i just never ever read them. They sit on my coffee table gathering dust. I probably should go on Spendaholics - I buy these things, and flick thru them when I get home, but don't really go any further. It's the initial 'thrill'.
And I went off Q when it became clear they hate my lovely, talented, beautiful wife Tori Amos.
I think I'll go for this issue though - and maybe Q if they have Kings of Leon in it, who I have grown to love.

But of course the problem is now - I want the Enter the dragon cover - and now having seen it once, I probably won't see it again!!!

O Men

See, look - O Men pages. It's coming along...
Slowly...

Heroes

Just caught Heroes season 3 episode 2 on the mighty surfthechannel website…
I’ve read a lot about what happens this season and I’ve discussed it in previous posts, but it’s obviously a lot different when you see the final version (especially when a lot changes between the outlines I read to the final version).
So without too many spoilers, some thoughts:
Claire - woah, do the writers hate her or something? She’s going through some brutal things and I think maybe it’s a bit too much… A bit too violent, might put off some viewers.
Claire and Peter - these two have so much chemistry. Such a shame they’re now related and can’t get it on - what was the point of that???? It’s not as if Claire and Nathan interact much. What a waste.
Mohinder - still can’t act. Embarrassing. Although he still acts Dania Ramirez off the screen.
Ali Larter - she has possibly the most confusing character ever lol! I wish they’d gone in a different direction than what they’ve done, it’s a shame. But we’ll see how it pans out. I was well up for a Crazy Jane-type character, but I don't think it's gonna happen.
Ando and Hiro - back to being good again. Such good chemistry.
Villains scene - soooo glad they included the awesome villains dream sequence at the start of episode two. Niki/Knox/Adam/Maury - so good.
Elle - while some of the new season two characters weren’t so good - and one by one they seem to be getting written out (although it’s such a shame they seem to have given up on Monica and Micah - an episode for them would be so cool) - Elle is just superb, and I think a lot of it is probably down to the talent of Kristen bell.
Sylar - a great character, but maybe less is more? We might be seeing maybe too much of him.
Too much going on - it’s the classic case. A show builds and builds and now it’s hitting the ground running - but maybe there’s too much happening. I’m concerned the show doesn’t have any breathing space. Look at season one’s Company Man - a small-scale episode, featuring a handful of characters, and it worked really well. They need to think about doing more of those sorts of episodes.
The new future-painting guy - Brilliant! Funny so far. The new Hiro maybe?

Escape from Marvel Limbo!

Jocasta and Valkyrie are back!!!!!!!!
YAY!!!!
Two of the finest examples of great Marvel female characters seem to have escaped Marvel Limbo.
Jocasta is in the new Initiative issue. She doesn't do much except have shiny boobs.
Valkyrie is apparently in the new She-Liberators - or something like that. Ah Val. How I love her. I would marry Valkyrie. She went through so much in New Defenders, helping that moody old Moondragon.
If i was Joe Quesada (What If...?) I would so put Val into the Avengers - but give her a redesign, let her hair down, get rid of the silly metal boobs. They've already done it in the Ultimates, and Avengers really does need a good stand-out female character. I mean look at the sitch if this Avengers movie happens - it's all gonna be blokes - Wasp is a bit too weak, Ms Marvel is too Marvel, She Hulk is too Hulk...
Make Mine Valkyrie haha
(Martin loses his sanity)

FF

I still can't believe i'm the only one who's loving the new FF comic!!!
Every single person I bump into in the streets, I say to them 'isn't FF the best comic at the moment' and they just stare nervously and go 'erm... it's okay'.
Okay???? Okay???? It's fucking amazing!
Latest issue finally lets us know who the 'New Defenders' are and who the kids' mysterious new nanny is - ooooooooh!
excellent stuff with breathtaking art.

Powers

Is it just me or has Powers been a bit of a dull read ever since it came to Marvel? It lacks the structure it once had and the Deanna story dragged on for waaaaaaaaaaay too long.
(Can you tell I'm having a comic weekend and I'm moaning a lot lol)

San Fran

When I first heard that they were going to relocate the Xmen to San Fran, it seemed like a good idea, quite fresh.
Oh dear. It just seems like another nail in the coffin really. It just doesn't feel right.
The XBooks are a mess at the moment. X-Factor seems like a sprawling, boring mess. X-Force has a strong concept but is a bit wishy washy and all over the place. Let's not even bother talking about Exiles (cliffhanger to issue one: Rogue falls over). Astonishing is popular with my chums, but I find it over-written and the art is too muddy.
And what the f is going on in Xmen Legacy? As a fan of 20+ years, I am so BORED of this already, and the boring art doesn't help. Over in the other Xmen title, and Greg Land's art really doesn't work. If I see one more over-beaming woman's face I'll just rip my comic up.
I was reading the new Xmen Legacy and they've got a picture from the Xmen when they were in teh Australian outback period - and this is what got me thinking. I mean, the OUtback days were by no means perfect - I'm not entirely sure Claremont knew what he was doing - but it was still compelling. So it just goes to show that a change of location can work, kind of, you just have to back it up with good stories. And who's even in the Xmen at the moment? It seems all over the place. REstore the status quo, redefine the teams, bring back Prof X properly, make it a much stronger concept than it is at the moment. It's just all over the place - I was reading issue 501, thinking who's that girl - Rogue? And you only find out later that it's Karma. Rubbish!
And then bring the Reavers into it to attack Greg Land and do to him what they did to Wolverine all that time ago...

I did some O Men today

Yes it's true - not a dream, not a hoax, I did some O Men today...
Not much... Maybe half a page - but it's more than I've done in a while...
The issue had been going so well, but then those pesky Spandex kids came along...

Music

Is it me or is music improving a little bit? I think I'm vaguely liking some chart music for the first time in a decade or so... Bands might be becoming interesting again...
I have to admit, I buy a scandalous amount of music - now that I buy itunes instead of CDs, it's too damn easy... I think i might have bought about 10 albums so far this month (following the regular monthly vow not to buy any new albums at all). But even further, instead of popping everything on Shuffle, I'm actually listening to my new stuff properly, from start to finish... The new Joan Osborne album (which is of the same good quality as her first album, Relish, after about 4 or 5 very tepid albums), Kings of Leon (nice to hear him not mumbling on the new album), and Jenny Lewis...
A big shout-out to Jenny Lewis... I'm not a huge fan of Rilo Kiley - I found their first few albums a bit too twee... but their last album Under the Backlight was just pure quality. Her first solo album was good - but this new one is astonishing, absolutely love it. I don't even mind Elvis Costello on one of the songs, and I normally loathe him...
(And of course I cracked and bought a couple of Tori 'bootleg' itunes albums, hehe)

My Batman theory...

I haven't told you my theory have I...
No one agrees with me...
But you know in Dark Knight how rachel gets blown up (i'm sure you've all seen it) - well we never see the body...
so i don't think she's dead - i know it's far-fetched but this is a comic book movie we're talking about...
I reckon she got blown free - and I think she could be the new Catwoman! she'd be so cool. maggie gyllenhall is kind of sexy in that way.
throw in harley quinn (making up for the loss of the Joker) and poison ivy (how cool would it be if she wasn't all powered up, but just was kind of noir-y and used the poison of plants to kill) and there we have it! Batman 3.

Spandexxxxxxxxxx

Ha ha look - couldn't resist... My li'l Skrull homage...
Also, I've been working on this cast shot - ALL DAY!!! - and still haven't finished, but here's a sneak peek...

Strictly

It must be one of the coolest jobs in TV - selecting the contestants for Strictly Come Dancing...
So how did they come up with this motley crew???
Seriously, this show just gets bigger and bigger, and they should be inviting a wishlist to sign up, but this lot are a bunch of z-listers!
3 Eastenders (jesse wallace's short hair makes her look fat!), the obligatory BBC drama guy, the obligatory BBC entertainment show gal, several much older people who obviously aren't going to go far so what's the point?
the only innovative choices really are Gary Rhodes and Heather Small, Jodie Kidd too. These people are outside the box.
Can't staaand Lisa Snowden and I hope she goes soon.
And Bruno needs to stop being bitchy for bitchiness' sake...
i'd love to see people like Richard Madely...Vernon Kaye...
And I'm not even a massive STrictly show! I tend to watch it when I go home to see my parents, and I really enjoy it, but I don't really bother when I'm on my own...
Ooh, almost time for X-Factor... Now there's a show... Has me in tears... Cheryl is great! Danni is so redundant now...

Spandexxxxxx

I am so, SO excited about Spandex! I have been working on it a bit over the last week or so. So excited... Let me give you some teasers...
- The characters – I love the characters. They’re just so cool. And I finally named one of the ones I was stuck on (‘Prowler’, formerly Kindred or Unity) so I feel it’s quite complete now. I’m in love with Indigo, such a beautiful personality, and wait til you meet Liberty properly.
- I don’t think anyone’s done anything like it. It’s going to be a collection, five issues, but it’s not issues 1 to 5, it’s issue 1, then 4, then 8. You get to see the covers of the ‘missing’ issues and fill in the blanks yourself!
- I’m working really hard on the art. I’m even re-drawing pages if need be, which I never normally do. As far as I’m normally concerned, the story is what it is, so if I do an O Men page for example, I’ll stick with it.
- It’s so cheeky! There are so many tongue-in-cheek moments, although it’s not overly camp or anything.
- It may offend. Yeah, there are a few things I wasn’t too sure about including, but what the fuck. It is what it is!
Soooo excited...

Typo

Hehe let me tell you about a mistake I almost made at work this week.
I was writing a feature on the Heroes online comic, and I added a link to the site at the end of it. Except I'd been researching trips to Ireland online at the time, and I'd pasted the link to ticket info to Ireland via Ryan Air. Oooops. I think my readers might have got confused - glad I caught it!

Heroes season three

So Heroes season three starts next week in the US... I’m worried! I thought the first ep was great – but there are some samey elements to it – another big explosion to contend with, future stuff... But the biggest worry is the reaction of a couple of workmates – they weren’t impressed. I mean, in my opinion, this isn’t season two – it’s a league above... I remember the reaction to the first season two episode - it was a bit 'um, was that it?'. i really thought this was so much better!
But we’ll just have to see. I’m kinda worried it might be a bit samey, there are quite a lot of family revelations throughout – I dunno if it’s giving itself room to breathe...
I guess it depends on how it's shot and how it looks. There's plenty of story and plenty of shocks packed in, definitely. Fingers crossed...

Bronze tiger

For some reason, I want to declare my love for the DC character Bronze Tiger. He’s such a cool character.
And while I’m at it, let me say how much I hate The Demon. What a load of rubbish. I can’t be arsed reading all his poetry! Every time he turned up in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, I shuddered with displeasure. He sooo bogged down that run.

New stories, same old, same old

I excitedly snapped up the new Love and Rockets this week. I’d given up on the series a couple of years ago, because it just seemed never-ending, and I’d totally lost interest. They’ve now gone annual – and it’s...not good. Instead of creating a jumping-on point, we get a bunch of really dumb and confusing stories. There’s no Hopey (not good enough for once a year!), no Palomar...
Jaime and Gilbert are so, so good (Jaime is one of my fave artists of all time) – I just wish they’d do something completely different now...

Project runway australia

Well, my beloved Project Runway Australia finished this week. It’s kept me sane and happy for the past 3 months and I will love it. The contestants were amazing, so funny and so interesting, and it got to the stage where I didn’t want any of them to get eliminated. Roll on, season two. If you wanna check it out, it’s all on Youtube. If you have any interest in engaging reality shows (yes, engaging!) check it out, you won’t regret it!
The finale was great, with a cast reunion, gay Leigh was the funniest person ever to appear in Fashion Week, and seeing the much-criticised-for-being-too-wooden-but-I-loved-her presenter (pictured) cry when she announced the winner was just sooo moving!
I've got to say too - the show inspires me so much. The amount of creativity and hard work - it just makes me want to pull my finger out and get on with Spandex and O Men all the time.

Mobile phones

I have a hard time with mobiles...
I never really wanted one – the thought of being reach-able at all times chilled me to the bone – but of course you can choose to ignore it if you want. So I’m quite happy with mine and it is useful.
I do have a severe problem with them though – in the way that if you go out with a friend or on a date, I absolutely lose my wrag when the person I’m with is more pre-occupied with their phone than they are with me! And no it’s not because I’m boring, it’s because they’re rude.
And if anyone ever puts me on hold as another call comes thru to them, I will slam my phone down in a rage (well not literally, just, you know, turn it off). This happened with me when I used to phone someone I was dating recently – I was not a happy bunny!!!!!!! How can they even do it anyway? If I’m on my phone and someone beeps through, I just check it afterwards! If I ever do check, I inevitably press the wrong button and accidentally turn the phone off lol.
Anyway – rude, rude, RUDE!

Avengers

It’s nice every now and then to sit down and read a run of comics… I did it this week with New Avengers. Good old Bendis. Whenever I review a comic of his, I just lay into him and people are shocked by my attacks - it’s as if he’s attacked my family or something - but I just think he’s a very talented guy and he shouldn’t get so sloppy sometimes.
I did enjoy reading the Avengers stuff, but it’s so flawed…
First up, isn’t it funny how comics have changed. Back in the day, the new team would have been set up by the end of issue one. Not so much with Bendis, Wolvy doesn’t appear til issue 5 or so, Sentry’s in and out like a jack in the box…
Okay, let’s look at some fuck-ups…
- Daredevil - if you want him on the team, get him on the team! He’d be cool! But no, he teases us in the first arc, and then there’s the sham that is the Ronin storyline - c’mon, Ronin is a man, Echo does not look like a man!!! Listen, it’s a great idea to have DD on the team as Ronin (surely the original plan), so just do it…!
- The Sentry - what a dull character - I wish Marvel would stop trying to force him down our throats… And the early arc on him is so dull - plus why bring in all those other heroes? Plus Emma Frost? I mean, I’m all for Emma, but this is the Avengers. And then he just disappears for a few issues lol…
- Too many crossovers - If you read the Avengers run on its own, it’s so funny to see Spidey change his costume every other issue with no explanation, and the team changing (because of the events in another book, Civil War). Not good…
- The team: Okay, I’m with this here - JLA is composed of DC’s biggest icons, so Marvel’s Avengers should do the same. It’s great to see Wolvy and Spidey on board, and they so should bring Storm over to the Avengers (and pop Wanda with the X-Men) because Ororo is wasted at the moment in the X-books… But then I’m not sure about the new line-up of New Avengers - the street-level guys… C’mon, could these guys really take on Galactus?
- Spider-Woman - the character with the most convoluted origin ever, just got a whole lot more confusing. Whose side is she on, when did she become a Skrull, and does her Skrullness make it a total waste of money to have bought some of those issues? I was looking forward to her new series, but now I fear it…
- Crossover issues - soooo annoying and too lightweight. That Sentry issue - boy, that‘s 2 quid I‘ll never get back…
- Bendis’ writing - he’s good, I’m a fan, but sometimes it doesn’t work. The banter is great - Spidey and Luke Cage have some great one-liners - but sometimes you wonder if it’s appropriate for the Avengers. It kinda depowers them a bit, brings them down a level. Plus, c’mon, it took them 2 issues to take down the Wrecker? Please. These guys aren’t amateurs.
And then there’s another aspect of the writing - the Hand/Elektra and Hood arcs are in some places incomprehensible. I don’t know if the guy took too much on - but way too many time-jumps in the storytelling.
Plus the Collective storyline - not good, so confusing… What the hell did Xorn have to do with it. Mike Deodato’s confusing art didn’t help…
And finally, too many bloopers… Like one issue, Iron Man struggling to translate Japanese from some attacking Ninjas, and in a couple of issues’ time he mentions he has a universal translator in his suit… Which leads me to…
- And finally, didja get the Spider-Woman Skrull issue recently - the one with the flashbacks? Showing Spider-Woman after she first put her costume back on? Um, well I don’t know who edited this, but Wolverine is in the flashback issue - but he hadn’t actually joined the team at that point. Ouch… Surely between Bendis, the artist and the Editor, someone could have spotted this cock-up…
So all in all - well people think I hate Bendis. No way, I’m all for innovation, and I’d rather be challenged by a comic than read something bland… I just don’t understand why he fucks it up so badly sometimes…

I want my money back

Civil War was okay... The actual series itself was STUPID, but I like the Initiative idea...
But now I've come to realise what everyone who's got a downer on big crossovers has been telling me - Secret Invasion is really bad. I just read Issue 6...and...
NOTHING
HAPPENS...
(AGAIN)
In fact, nothing has happened really since that ship of heroes crash-landed in the Savage Land - and boy did that drag on.
I mean, c'mon, look at the 'previously' page of issue 6 - I like the way they show the cast of characters and put the Skrull characters in a green box... but out of 24 characters on teh issue 6 page, how many are in a green box? A grand total of ...2. Wow, Marvel/Bendis, try not to blow my socks off too much... (In fact, that should be 3, but they missed the green box off Captain Marvel, d'oh).
We wanna see big Skrull reveals, not a never-ending sea of boring super skrulls to battle. 'He loves you' shoulda been George Bush, not God! Now there's a revelation!
And as for issue 6 itself - why did the Hood's Syndicate suddenly join the heroes, without any comment? Why are the last 4 pages just boring fight double page spreads? How on earth is Bendis getting away with this?????? What is the point of all these Skrull double-life reveals, if they only go back a few months? would be so much more exciting if they had been there for years. And wouldn't it be interesting if the Skrulls had a huge plan in place - which they've actually been working on for years and years - instead of just a boring old invasion.
I keep expecting my beloved diamondback to get killed at any moment - she's been in every issue, she's expendable, and who knows, maybe she'll be the 'major death' in the series, just like Black Goliath was.... um.
But all in all, how fucking stupid - set yourself up as a huge crossover - and then present a damp squib. Way to go.
Bendis, you might just redeem yourself if you bring back Storm and Alpha Flight (ie, the character-raped Storm that we've known and not loved over the past decade or so, and my darling Canadian superteam who were so cruelly killed off recently). That'd do me.

The Strangers

Just got in from seeing The Strangers... (spoilers follow, but to be honest, this isn't the most spoil-y film, really, you just go and see it for the scares)
Not a great deal to it - lots of bumps and bangs... Scott Speedman goes missing in the movie... Liv Tyler's too good for something like this...
But if I was stuck in a house surrounded by people terrorising me, I think I'd just get pissed off and stop being so scared, and I'd prob try and beat the living crap out of them.
One strange thing about this film - if you've read the slightest thing about it or even seen the trailer, there are soooo many spoilers and to be honest, pretty much all the scary bits are actually in the trailer. Even the spoil-y pic above is visible in most mags and websites. Even the tagline - 'why are you doing this to us', 'because you were in' - is in the trailer?!!??!!!!!
Not a bad movie, but not amazing (although I did have my hands in front of my eyes for most of it)
6 out of 10!

Frontier(s)

Well this movie crept up on me unawares. Apparently it's by the creators of Switchblade Romance - one of my all time fave films, so i was excited about seeing it.
Oh dear.
It's just nasty and has got no redeeming features at all. Switchblade is gory, but this one's just ridiculous. I don't want to see someone's Achille's Tendon getting cut off thank you, or someone being hung upside-down by hooks through the feet!
The story follows a group of 'hoodlums' who get mixed up with a Texas Chainsaw Massacre type family and end up fighting for their lives (not very successfully).
Maybe they're trying to repeat the success of Switchblade, but here the heroine is nowhere near as good as the main star of SR, as she just seems to spend most of her time stumbling around as if she's just pooed herself (well she probably has, considering all the violence she's gone through).
Thumbs down, I'm afraid!

Being ill is BORING

Well I've just been signed off work for my second week with this viral infection.
It's so so boring. Honestly, when I'm at work, all I do is yearn to be at home, and now I'm here it's just zzzzzzzzz. Cos I'm not well, I don't feel like reading or drawing or anything!
I'm starting to perk up a bit now, and forced myself to read Wolverine Enemy of the State and Young Avengers 1-6.
I seem to remember YOung Avengers being really popular - I thought it was okay, but not very dynamic. Lovely art. But what about the character names! Wiccan is hardly earth-shattering. Hulkling is the worst name ever! What about Incredible or Smash instead? Or Rage (kill off the other Rage dude, he's crap). And Stature??? OUuuuch!!! Isn't there a better name than that???
But it's good to see some new characters out there, because comics do need to keep inventing strong new characters.

Also been watching season one of Millennium. Hehe it's quite funny - way too grim, and unintentionally gay in places...

Also on my list is the Daredevil Frank Miller/Elektra issues and the Star Wars movies... I will defeat boredom!!!

Sandman poster

Ah this takes me back...
DC have released a Sandman poster featuring all the major characters drawn by the series' major artists. Wow, so good to see Dean Ormston back in action with Rose Walker, plus seeing Teddy Kristiansen, Jill Thompson and Marc Hempel in one place makes me yearn for those classic Vertigo days...

Ill again!

Well I'm ill again - this time it's a viral infection and I'm off work for at least a week. Ho hum, bored already... Sadly no energy to draw - but at least it's a good way to lose weight!