Batman: Death in the Family | Official Trailer

One of the most famous Batman stories comes to DVD and Blue Ray in October with the release of Batman: Death In The Family which like it's comic book predecessor allows the viewer to decide whether Jason Todd lives or dies.......an interactive adventure which ends the action with a choice of the button in your hand.

This adventure originally appeared in Batman #426 to #429 in 1988 and was at the time quite shocking as the Joker murdered Jason Todd, the second Robin at the behest of a telephone phone in by readers.

 

 

The rest is comic book history.  Whilst collecting the originals may prove difficult the Trade Paperback collection remains in print.

Meanwhile a taster of the animated film.

Dynamite on TV: The Boys (Season One)

Of all the comics around that can be adapted for television this series based on The Boys by Garth Ennis (w) and Darick Robertson (a) was a surprise. The first six issues were published by Wildstorm which was by then an imprint of DC Comics and their powers that be decided that the comic was far too controversial for the company that produced Superman and other family friendly publications so dropped it.

Fortunately for both the creators and us readers Dynamite Entertainment picked up the book which went on to tell a story in 72 issues and was a success for this small publisher. Even more so no doubt with Nick Barucci being one of the producers of this show.

Thing about The Boys is it's set in a world where the superheroes are not very nice people and have plenty of vices and commit acts that well the general public don't get to hear or if they do simply hide from the reality of super-powered beings. This comic was both graphically and sensually explicit with Hugie the main character if you like being based on Simon Pegg and having his girlfriend torn apart by an out of control "hero" one of The Seven.

Revenge is the theme of this story as well as control. The heroes are not even what they seem to be. It's been a while since I read the comic (and there were a couple of supporting mini-series including one at the moment taking advantage of the new life afforded by the TV show) but looking at the covers I do recall some of the grittier scenes.

And the monkeys are doing what you think they are in this memorable cover albeit for all the wrong reasons.

The TV series obviously differs from the comic for both artistic and production reasons. Hughie does fall in love but sadly Butcher does not have his pug who ended up pissing on the leg of Homelander a virtually Nazi version of Superman. In fact The Seven mirror the Justice League with The Deep being a rather nasty rapey pastiche of Aquaman. He even talks to fish.

This is a world where the heroes are cheered but behind the scenes there's a conspiracy. I'd recommend the first season to  both comic readers and civilians. In fact although there are 12 trade paperbacks ( and it's available in other formats including digital) I'd recommend the comic as well.

These are NOT comics or programmes for kids. It's nasty, gory, sexually loaded and frankly highly entertaining. There's just 8 episodes. Can't wait for more!

Doctor Strange #178 (Marvel/1969)

Doctor Strange #178 (Marvel)

Roy Thomas (w) Gene Colan (a)

From the "golden age" of Marvel Comics and my pocket money years comes this meeting of the good Doctor with the Black Knight as the mystic prepares for his forthcoming battle with Surtur the Fire Demon and Ymir the last of the Frost Giants.

Previously Strange had fought his nefarious former colleague one Dr Fenton who may or may not have had something to do with the accident that lost his ability to operate as surgeon. Indeed Fenton had hijacked Strange's identity until a heart attack felled him and as he dies made a curse that would bring two monsters to destroy the earth.

Unable to face such a danger alone Strange makes a journey to see "the Britisher known as Victoria Bentley". Did the yanks really refer to us as "Britishers"? I though that was a term used by the Krauts back in the second world war and we were "limeys". I digress but I found the term odd.

Upon reaching old Blighty Strange meets the Black Knight and teams up for a battle in the realm of Tiboro otherwise defined as the "sixth dimension" (there's countless dimensions in the world of Doctor Strange) where they battle to free The "Son's of Satanish". They succeed of course.

A great story with a dramatic strip and wonderful art from the great Gene Colan. What's not to like. Only problem is I now have to seek a reasonably priced copy of Avengers #61 where the story is continued....

DC on TV: Doom Patrol (Season One)

Having seen the guest appearance of the Doom Patrol in the excellent Titans series it was inevitable that I would dip into this series which is based on the Grant Morrison/Vertigo incarnation of the team. This also managed to be a complete story arc in the 15 episodes broadcast (unlike the Titans which was to be continued.....

The Doom Patrol are DC comic creations that originally appeared in My Greatest Adventure before taking over the title completely. The core team always consisted of Robotman who had a human brain, Negative Man and Elasti-Girl. As a child I was aware of the Doom Patrol but it wasn't high on my reading list due to pocket money constraints but I did read a couple of issues and remember a guest appearance or two elsewhere.

 

The Doom Patrol had it's set of misfit heroes fight equally bizarre villains and monsters which was the usual DC fare for much of the sixties. Then came a surprise. The Doom Patrol were killed off and that was the end of them. Or was it?

 

The team had a number of revivals over the years including my personal favourite by John Byrne but the most radical and one most relevant to this series is Grant Morrisons reboot into the adult version viewers are treated to today.

 

The TV version has the basic original three (Robotman, Negative Man and Elasti-Girl) though the latter two are revised in particular Rita who has yet to fully appreciate or control the powers she has though there is an indication of that well into the story. 

The addition is of course Crazy Jane who is wonderfully played by Diane Guerrero (with a couple of other actresses for some of her 64 personalities). Former Bond actor Timothy Dalton plays the quite nefarious Niles.

My one criticism of the team is the addition of Cyborg. Now diversity is a thing these days and having a black character, especially in a US show is fine but Cyborg again. He belongs in the Titans not the Justice League (as in the comics or film) and certainly not the Doom Patrol. I didn't like Vic Stone much in this story bit of an arse but that's not the point.

They should have used Cyborg where he belongs and allowed Starfire to be the alien she should be and either upgraded another black character from their inventory or created a new one.  His presence does have a certain raison d'etre because of the connections with S.T.A.R Labs but I digress.

The real stars of this show are Robotman (played by Brendan Fraser) whose constant what the fucks somehow bring the weirdness down to earth as the villain Mr Nobody takes us through a trip that transcends reality, talks to the viewer and takes us inside a donkey.

This is quite a clever and well thought out story arc so I don't wish to give too much away but there are plenty of concepts, twists & turns and human flaws to maintain a high level of interest. Highly recommended.

Judge Dredd Megazine #422 (Out Today)

The latest issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine comes with three complete stories featuring Jo himself in a story of land grab and displacement. Extraction sees Mega City One trying to mine a short-lived mineral outside its'gates. Trouble is some muties live there already so the conflict is inevitable. But does anyone win?

Next up is another tale from The Black Museum, The Cackle. What if you laughed at all the wrong moments? A death, a misfortune is it a rare condition or something more? Would you believe a granny that says if you shag her a lot you can be cured of the demon inside? Grim story told in glorious black & white.

Devlin Waugh and his friendly demon companion trapped in a dildo (don't ask) arrive at a church where they find murder afoot. Who do they help? The perpetrators or the victim? Find out in The Wolves of St Vitus.

The final part of Blunt takes place if you like it. I don't so moving on there is a four page feature on one of my favourite comics from the sixties. SMASH! A great read for fans of the British comics and worth picking up back issues.  30th Century Comics specialise in old British comics (see sidebar for link).

Finally there the the penultimate part of Lawless: Boom Town. A mixture of sci-fi and the wild west set in the world of the Judges that  continues to be highly highly entertaining.

Not forgetting there's the usual mini-graphic novel packaged with the Megazine. I find the contents a bit hit and miss sometimes. This months is the latter and is published to promote a book from Rebellion that I will never read....

However the 30th Anniversary of the Megazine approaches come September and Tharg is promising something special. Can't wait!

Also on the shelves today is the issue of 2000AD:

Both available from: shop.2000ad.com

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Animated comedy series)

The latest addition to the Star Trek franchise is an unexpected cartoon comedy.  Star Trek: Lower Decks will be launching in the USA on August 6th on CBS All Access. There are 10 episodes set on what is described as "the least important ship in Starfleet" the U.S.S. Cerritos.

This series was developed by Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty) and sees the adventures of Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi trying to keep up with all that happens as the ship encounters bad-arsed aliens and space anomalies whilst carrying out their duties. 

We also get to meet a whole new bridge crew led by Captain Carol Freeman but this show is all about the misadventures of the crew on the lower decks. The ones in red shirts....

There are at present no dates for the show to be broadcast in the UK but I'm sure someone will pick up the show in due course. 

Red Sonja #8 (Marvel/1977)

Red Sonja #8 (Marvel Comics)

Roy Tomas & Clara Noto (w) Frank Thorne (a)

The classic Marvel series didn't last long but had it's moments and this issue (part of a continuing story) sees our heroine dangling at the end of a rope being taunted by the followers of Oryx, a son of the King of Skranos. Defiant to the end she kicks away any mere man that dares to touch her. 

As the order is given to pull the rope a man called Sumaro flings himself to her rescue and away the pair flee to his camp where Sonja discovers that her rescuer is another son of the same King and has his own army. 

However Sonja is still suspicious and nearly gets killed by the spirit of Sumaro's mother but by good fortune survives only to immediately get into conflict over the treatment of the women in his Harem. Challenged by General Jimodo the inevitable sword fight takes place which of course our heroine wins as she buries the blustering fool into the belly of a giant beast.

Her next step? Take his place of course! To be continued....

DC on TV: Titans (Season One)

After watching the four crossovers from the mainstream DC TV shows I decided to try out Titans. Now this was different. Made by DC themselves this was much more what I would expect the experience of "meta-humans" and costumed vigilantes would be. 

Titans was certainly much more of an adult show than than Supergirl or The Flash as entertaining as the episodes I have seen are. Only Green Arrow (who I've only seen in the crossovers) seemed to be a bit more "gritty" and down to earth. I've never really been a fan of the GA who I always saw as a more bleeding heart "liberal" than Bruce who went "dark some years back.

So onto the Titans themselves. These are obviously adaptations of comic characters that sometimes have to be changed for "realism" though Starfire whilst not orange and descended from cats (in the same way humans are descended from apes) did turn out to be well executed. The hair, the attitude, the sheer sexiness of the woman alien or not stole the show in places.

Of course Dick Grayson was a more grown up version of Robin and running from his roots in a new city. His brutal taking down of villains showed how well the Bat had trained him. Heck we even get to meet Jason Todd. Complete C**t he turned out to be, but heck he is on the side of "good" isn't he?

The centre of the story is a young teenage Raven. Gosh does she have secrets which if you are familiar with the comics you will know but there are surprises ahead, which neatly brings me to Gar (Beast Boy) who besides being her boyfriend seemingly only knows how to become a Tiger.

There's secret societies, police hunts even The Hawk & The Dove and did I mention Donna Troy, Wonder Girl? It's all gearing up for the showdown but given this is only an eleven episode season I will have to wait for the next boxed set for the continuation.

We watched the series over three nights and were not disappointed and neither will you. Ten out of Ten. 

And the Doom Patrol show up. Their Season One box set arrived this afternoon courtesy of Aunty Amazon. That's 15 episodes so I may be a while.......

Star Trek: Discovery Aftermath TPB (IDW)

Discovery is the only one of the two new Star Trek TV franchises I have seen after purchasing both seasons on DVD. An interesting though confusing addition to the canon given the advanced technology used by the Discovery crew. It's worth watching.

Until now I have avoided buying Discovery related comics but decided to pick up this volume from IDW which contains two stories, the main one Aftermath taking place just after the events of season two and the attempts by the Federation and Chancellor L'Rell to if not bring peace with the Klingons at least some kind of co-existence. 

 

There is of course the usual xenophobic opposition withing the Klingon Empire so the inevitable sabotage breaks out. A young Spock plays an essential role in this adventure which was originally a three part mini series.

The volume is rounded off with a story from Discovery's past highlighting Captain Saru and some Orion pirates. Pretty standard Star Trek fare to be honest.

Rating: 3 Stars 

Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular

Another DC mainstay reaches an anniversary this time the Green Lantern who first appeared in 1940 in the form of Alan Scott whose ring was more magic than science though that got revised in time and had a weakness in that it couldn't effect anything made of wood. 

Eventually this Green Lantern and his universe of superheroes became Earth two as DC created a whole new generation of superheroes with Hal Jordan becoming the Green Lantern most of us are familiar today. Of course Hal went bad, mad and died, became a spirit and took on the form of the Spectre, got better and was resurrected. Quite a life really.

Then of course there are all the other Green lanterns and not just the human ones from every-bodies favourite bad boy Guy Gardiner to Kilowog and sentient squirrels in the form of the Green lantern Corps. In fact there's a whole universe of adventure built around the Green lantern concept. 

 

Sadly the Lantern franchise has had its ups and downs but remains a firm favourite of mine. If I could be a superhero I'd want to be a Green Lantern. It was certainly a childhood dream. 

This comic highlights all the main characters of the Green Lantern franchise starting with Alan Scott and finishing with Simon Baz.  Ten very worthy short stories. including a sad one set many years hence.

Rating: 4 Stars