Thursday 31 October 2019

A Halloween Horror Comics Gallery



It's Halloween and time to party with the witches, Ghouls and things that go bump in the night. So here for your entertainment is a selection of Horror comics suitable for today.

Enjoy and don't be afraid of the dark........ much

(Please click "Play" on the video before proceeding to "set the mood")









 















Good night...

Tuesday 29 October 2019

Regards Ditko - Jaison Chahwala (Kickstarter)







































One of my all time favourite artists and probably the first one I not only knew the name of but could identify by his distinctive style of art was Steve Ditko. I marvelled not just at his work on the early Spider-Man (the only time I was ever a fan) and Doctor Strange where he created a world of magic that enthralled the reader i it's beauty and infinite depth but also his work on those short horror or mystery tales they use to publish.

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual Amazing Adult Fantasy

Much of Steve Ditko's work was reproduced in the UK by the Alan Class range of comics in black and white which really brought home the wonderful artwork and imagination of the artist. A man to be admired along with Stan Lee, Jack Kirby who between them created the basis of the Marvel Comics Universe between them.



Ditko however was a very private individual who had a very strong work ethic and was heavily influenced by the right wing writer Ayn Rand and her "objectivism". He was also somewhat of a recluse and refused interviews and as we find out in Regards Ditko very dismissive of fans who had no right to critique his work. In other words buy it or don't buy it your choice.

The premise of this tome on Kickstarter was that Jaison Chahwala was going to share his correspondence with Ditko and I expected that to form the bulk of the book not just an afterthought as it turned out. The writer weaves a personal tale with perhaps too much detail of his meanderings towards the hobby, the antics around his local comic shop and is pretty self-indulgent even up to the point one finally gets to read limited letters from the man himself.

That Ditko was a fairly introspective thinker  along with his self-imposed isolation from the rest of comicdom meant  when he sadly passed away last year it wasn't known straight away as we did when Stan Lee left us. I read Ditko's obituary in The Daily Telegraph whilst in hospital. He was a a great creator though the stuff he produced at the end of his career hadn't really appealed to me but like the author recognised that Ditko was indeed one of the greats in comicdom, though from what we read Ditko would have been totally dismissive of that.

Eccentric to the last Ditko will be forever remembered as one of the founders of modern comics.

As for this book it's an easy read but in all honesty unless the author was going to publish the full correspondence with Steve Ditko this could have simply been condensed into a major article for Alter Ego or Back Issue magazines. I'm not sure it warranted a book sorry.

Still I got a Steve Ditko bookmark as part of the Kickstarter package.

 

Sunday 27 October 2019

Jimmy Olsen #1 (DC Maxi Series)



Jimmy Olsen #1 (DC)

Matt Fraction (w) Steve Leiber (a)

Part of the attraction  of "Silver Age" DC comics for me both then and now was the ability to have fun within the superhero world including following the impossibly ludicrous antics of Jimmy Olsen promoted as "Superman's Best Pal" or Lois Lane billed as "Superman's Girlfriend". Both managed to get themselves in some weird fixes. Lois of course went on to marry Clark Kent and they now have a son called Jon.

Both characters have been given mini-series by DC. Lois Lane's looked a bit to serious for my limited comics budget so I opted to go for Jimmy Olsen. And it's a homage to all those weird and wacky stories that I read in the sixties and is a bit of fun though I have stopped at issue #5 for monetary reasons rater than anything else.

Featuring Perry White always wanting to sack Olsen and stopping Jimmy calling him "Chief" he's persuaded to send him out of the city to a real dump following another stunt that went somewhat wrong despite the intervention of Superman.

Rating: 3 Stars

Now where's that signal-watch?

 

Saturday 26 October 2019

Return of the Legion of Superheroes..eventually



Legion of Superheroes: Millennium: Two Issue Mini Series

Brian Michael Bendis (w) Various (a)  

if you were like me and ordered these comics in the belief that these would be the start of new Legion adventures then you'd be wrong, though I'm sure all this will fall into place when the new legion comic comes out next month. This two part mini-series focuses on the future history of the DC Universe through the eyes of the rather long lived Rose Forrest of "Rose and Thorn" fame. A woman with two personalities.

 Deprived of her meds that keep Thorn in check Rose is on a quest that eventually takes us to the Legion of Superheroes but in-between we are shown that the worlds of Batman Beyond, Kamandi and Omac all somehow fit in the timeline. No idea how lots to be explored and explained by Bendis as he brings new life to the future.

The legion of Superheroes was always a personal favourite growing up even if Superboy (and later Supergirl's) participation was problematic for continuity but I was a kid and comics were for kids. they just grew up with me and fellow fans. Heck one of my favourite all-time stories is The Darkness Saga second only to the original Crisis On Infinite Earths!


The Legion have gone through so many transformations and some were left stranded on Earth during the "New 52" and the new crowd look a little different to the old. I suppose I'll get used to the new look and the fact it's not Superman as a boy but his son Jon Kent who joins the Legion.
Rating: 5 Stars: I'm intrigued!


Friday 25 October 2019

Star Trek: Year Five: The first six issues (IDW)



Star Trek: Year Five: The first six issues (IDW)

Various (w) & (a)

These are the final voyages of the Star Ship Enterprise in the last of her five year exploration of space where no man has gone before.  Summing up the series in one sentence isn't easy but that's what these comics are all about. This review covers the first six issues which will probably form the contents of the first trade paperback shortly so if you can't find some of these don't panic a collected edition is inevitable!

These six comics give us three stories in which the Enterprise and her crew confront one old very alien opponent  return to the copy cat world (The one where Dr McCoy managed to forget his communicator) and it's not always a good idea to take alien artefacts on board

In the first story the crew are embarked on a mission to contain the energy burst of a giant star which will extinguish all life for 10,000 light years. When completed they receive a distress call...and it's Tholian. The crystalline creatures from the Web of Fear.

 

Kirk discovers a colony wiped out the creatures killed by pure cold. Only a child now survives following their run in with one now dispatched Tholian adult. Who killed them and who had the technology? A chase ensues when a Tholian vessel appears.....

Next up you will recall the world that copies the 1920's American gangsters and organised themselves along that patter. Now the crew detect a warp drive and find themselves on the doorstep of Stigma Ioata not a place they want to be after breaking the Prime Directive.

An amusing tale that sees Spock run in an election.

The final tale sees the Enterprise take part in an archeological expedition i which something happens on board the ship as they return to Star Base. Meanwhile Lt Uhura tries to communicate with the you Tholian refugee.

Rating: 4 Stars (Fun series)

  

Wednesday 23 October 2019

Space Precinct #1 (Anderson Entertainment)







































Space Precinct #1 (Anderson Entertainment)

Chris Thompson (w) Connor Flannagan (a)

Gerry Anderson made a number of great shows using both puppets and later on with live actors and special effect. Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Space 1999 are all well known hits. Not all shows were successful and a couple sort of disappeared below everyone's radar myself included. Anyone remember The Secret Service? Nope me neither.

There was one show that I vaguely remember but wasn't a fan of at the time called Space Precinct. However the older I get the more I explore the past of TV as I watch so little of it these days. Mostly cookery, Doctor Who and at the moment Bless This House on Forces TV if the missus will let me......

On a whim I ordered a copy of a Space Precinct comic from the Gerry Anderson Shop on-line. It's set ten years before the TV series and is what I remember the show as. A bit of a mess. The story is average and the art well "could do better" comes to mind.  Awful. As for the lettering, don't ask. It has rekindled an interest but I wouldn't rush out and buy this comic.

Rating: 0 Stars. 

Tuesday 22 October 2019

Doctor Who Magazine 40th Anniversary Edition







































Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction programme on television so it probably comes as no suprise that it has the longest running companion magazine. Launched in 1979 as Doctor Who Weekly by Marvel UK it soon evolved into the monthly magazine seen on the stands today.



Nowadays it's published by the Italian company Pannini who also now publish British editions of Marvel comics which are good value in comparison to the imported one's you find in comic shops and like Doctor Who Magazine is availabe in newsagents across the country.


























Now with issue 544 it has reached it's 40th anniversary edition and like the show is set to run and run. This edition comes with a 100 minute DVD and an index to the magazine for the last 40 years. I confess I don't get the mag reguarly and have only a fraction of the magazines but do enjoy a dip into the world of Doctor Who.

Remember there are Audio adventures from BIg Finish every month, audio books from the BBC and video releases plus books and toys galore. Everything a Timelord fan would want. Pick up a copy and celebrate the world of Doctor Who.

 

 



 



 



Go to: doctorwhomagazine.com/subscriptions 

On my other Blog: Doctor Who: Intertitial/Feast of Fear audio from Big Finish