The Space Between Panels

Souvenirs of Geekdom: Marvel Guess Who

2012-02-10T13:00:00.000Z

No X-Men, pro-registration heroes only. Yes, I know. Tough.

Manchester. One February not too long ago. Me, Jared (runs OK Comics) and Michael Valentine McAndrew were at the airport, waiting on a plane to Toronto so some marriage could happen (not to each other). The plane was delayed by something like nine hours and the boredom ground Marvel Guess-Who into existence.

It's like the Guess Who? game you know and possibly love, but instead of a set of cards you have three nerds with an intricate knowledge of the Marvel Universe. Here's an easy one:

"I'm a Marvel superhero."
"Are you a mutant?"
"No."
"Do you have a secret identity?"
"Er... not really."
"Have you ever been, or are you currently, dead?"
"...Yes?"
"Are you Hawkeye?"
"Yes."
"But, I mean, was Hawkeye technically 'dead'?"
"F**k off."

Etc, etc...

Flash forward too many hours to around 6:00am the next day UK time. None of us had slept. Jared was now responsible for driving us down a quiet Canadian highway to Sarnia, a few hours South of Toronto, in the wee small hours. Apocalypticly-large snowflakes were falling, the only illumination came from the radio dial, telling us we were listening to some forgotten DJ slowly losing his mind on a country station^*.

"I'm a Marvel supervillain."
"Do you typically operate outside of New York City."
"No."
"Balls..."

Etc, etc...

And that, I am firmly convinced, is how Jared stayed awake and avoided driving us off the road to (tragic) early deaths.

I don't have to say that creating a game based on demonstrating superior knowledge of a science-fictional universe as a mechanism for survival is about as nerdy as it's possible for a human to be, do I? No. Good.

^{*I was half-delirious from lack of sleep by this point, so it's possible I've romanticised this a smidge. Sue me.}

The Darkness II: Reviewed to Hell and Back

2012-02-09T17:51:00.000Z

I reviewed The Darkness II for the day job over at SPOnG. I said things like this:

I already used up my black phallus joke in my Darkness II preview. Where is there left to go after that? Deeper into the game, a place that angels fear to tread, is where!
...The Darkness II is a first-person shooter with heavy emphasis on the use of supernatural abilities and brawl-y gameplay. Jackie Estacado, our anti-hero, didn't have much of a 21st birthday. Most of us get pissed. He became the host of a demonic force from the before the universe spooged into existence. This demonic force wanted him to do all sorts of nasty stuff, but he settled for slaughtering his way to the top of the mob, with his best gal Jenny unfortunately murdered along the way.

Full review through here. You should definitely read it.

Art Porn! Amy Reeder's Batwoman

2012-02-09T16:18:00.000Z

Wha-huh? Batwoman Art Porn that's not by J.H. Williams III? Well, yes. Look at it.

Souvenirs of Geekdom: Who Would Win in a Fight Between Iron Man and Batman's Robot Bastard?

2012-02-07T12:49:00.001Z

Iron Man by Jamie McKelvie.

Or: The Conversation. Or even: The Conversation. (I would have totally called this blog post 'Souvenirs of Geekedom: The Conversation' if I didn't care about things like getting hits out of Google and giving people any kind of clue at all what they're reading.)

If you're bothering to read this, you've probably had The Conversation. Most likely, you've had it more than once. 'Who would win in a fight between the Hulk and Superman?^*' 'Who would win in a fight between Yoda and Dumbledore?^**' 'Who would win in a fight between Tony the Tiger and Tawky Tawny?!?!'^***

There's a good chance you had The Conversation with a fair amount of gusto when you were a younger nerd (unless you're still a younger nerd, but I have a sneaking suspicion you're not), slapping irony on as an after-thought. Now, you're a bit older and The Conversation doesn't pop up so often. When it does, you go through the motions with a knowing, slightly sardonic tone.

It is often a conversation that's had in the first flushes of nerdishness. After months or maybe even years of nerding it up alone, you'll finally be face to face with someone else who knows the difference between Swamp Thing and Man-Thing, and out pops the question: 'Who would win in a fight - Han Solo or Indiana Jones?'^****

What I'm edging towards here is the fact that The Conversation is often the result of a nerdling first joining geek society - it's the first flush of enthusiasm for a newfound sense of community. It's a kind of a debutante ball for nerds, if debutante balls just comprised of a bit of banter in shops. It's also, I think, what people think nerds are supposed to talk about. I have a sneaking suspicion that something like Mallrats has lodged The Conversation in our collective unconscious, but if that is actually the case, the exact source eludes me.

The Conversation can, of course, be a lot of fun. As newer fans, one of the first things we think of when we're suddenly taken by the spectacle of Thor smashing Ego the Living Planet in his massive planet-sized face is, 'what if Thor went up against Unicron?!?' It's about cracking open the fiction we love and poking around inside it. It's about wrestling with it and probing its limits. It also speaks to a quiet desire for a world without copyright, where fans actually own the creations they love and can mash them together at will. It comes from the same impulse that gives us fan fiction. It's this kind of questioning that turns fans into creators. It's important.

Just for the record, it's Batman's Robot Bastard. Tony Stark might be cool now, but: Batman's DNA tangled up in a robot? Hello?

^*Superman
^**Yoda
^***Tawky Tawny, the surprise breakout character of Final Crisis
^****Everyone

Souvenirs of Geekdom: Comic Shops and Standing Orders

2012-02-03T13:08:00.000Z

OK Comics, my local and sometime-workplace.

If you read comics regularly, maybe you have a standing order (or a pull list, if you're reading this from the Americas) at your local comic shop. Maybe you don't. Either way, comics nerds' relationships to their standing order or non-standing non-order are often a bit weird and a bit fascinating.

(Catch-up! A standing order is a list of comics that you give to your local comics retailer so that they can put those titles aside for you every month, ensuring that you don't miss an issue.)

For a long time the weekly trip to pick up a standing order was, for a lot of nerds, their one and only connection to the wider world of geekdom. This has lessened somewhat thanks to our ability to debate whether Squirrel Girl's a minor (and whether Wolverine consequently committed statutory rape when he screwed her) through forums, Twitter and, to a lesser degree, Facebook. Lest we forget, though, not everyone spends as much time using the Internet as thee and me. Even for those that do, the trip to pick up a standing order is still, for many, the only chance they'll get all week to discuss the merits of Before Watchmen in three dimensions with a human they can see. Through my time working at OK Comics I know a surprising number of nerds (frequently of the older generation) who aren't Out to their friends and families, so for whom their standing order really is a lifeline connecting them the nerdosphere.

The standing order betrays the obsessive nature of many peoples' comics habits. It's relatively easy to drop a series if you don't have it on a standing order. It's often happened by accident for me. A few months will pass and I'll suddenly think, 'didn't I used to buy Frankencastle?' Discovering that I've not missed it I'll shrug and move on with my life. Once a title's written on a tatty piece of paper in a ring-binder in the back cupboard of a comic shop somewhere, however, it's a whole different kettle of fish. You've made a Committment. You've taken your tie to that comic from dating to 'in a relationship'. I knew one guy who spent upwards of £50 a week on comics but was several years behind on his reading. A very conservative estimate puts that at 2,500 comics and £7,500 worth of expenditure just sat in bags, untouched. He's stopped buying now, but he'll have years of reading to go at. Please just take a moment to consider that man's level of commitment to his Collection, though.

...

[Thanks]

For some, the standing order becomes a source of anxiety. Their financial situation changes for whatever reason and they can't afford to get as many titles as they used to, or perhaps they don't want any at all. Rather than contacting their shop to notify the staff, though, they'll often put off doing anything about it. Maybe they think things will change and they'll go pick up their backlog next month. Maybe they fear a wrathful shop manager wreaking bloody vengeance on them. But, for whatever reason, they'll treat it like a missed credit card payment, getting a knotted stomach every time their phone rings or their inbox gets a new message until they either finally have what turns out to be an amicable chat with a shop worker or the order gets pulled and put back on the shelves.

I kind of admire the guys (that's a gender-neutral 'guys', although if we're being honest a majority of them are, in fact, guys) who have just a couple of comics on their standing order. They're not massive comics nerds - they just know what they like and they're practical about it. They don't want to miss an issue, and why should they?

On the other end of that scale are the guys that you see in the shop every single Saturday, week-in/week-out, who spend a fortune but just won't sign up for a standing order. They often find themselves resorting to eBay because a title they wanted took the shop owner by surprise and sold out by Friday morning, but there's no WAY they're going to set up an order. They're afraid of commitment. Commitment to the comic? Commitment to the shop? Who knows. Members of the opposite sex should, however, be wary.

I've known a couple of guys who had standing orders but didn't even realise it, thanks to a diligent retailer recognising their buying habits and deciding he wasn't going to let these guys down.

That said, there are various reasons for the avid comics reader to not get a standing order. Maybe he can get to his local comic shop on a Wednesday and get everything he needs without any problems. Maybe he worries about missing out on the pleasures of browsing. Maybe he's not quite realised or admitted to himself that he's a proper comics nerd.

Any way you screw your face up and look at it, though, I would be sorry to see the standing order sacrificed on the digital alter. Good Comic Shops of the world, I salute you!

Souvenirs of Geekdom: Swords and Star Wars -The Lightsaber

2012-01-31T13:07:00.000Z

The lightsaber may well be the greatest piece of science fiction design work ever to sear its way into our collective consciousness.

While the success of Star Wars relied on a cocktail of factors, the use of a sword-like weapon that pre-empted rave culture by about a decade surely played a massive part.

It marries, with startling effectiveness, the sci-fi and fantasy traditions. It does so without being hokey or creating incongruity or, worst of all, being a bit silly. There's something visceral, dirty and personal about a sword fight that a gun fight - particularly one with lasers - can't quite match. Particularly one that was filmed 30+ years ago, before we could do fancy-pants slow motion and bullet time. You've seen a phaser fight in Star Trek, right? *Yawn*.

With lightsabers, the Star Wars production team brought the drama of the sword fight to an sf (or whatever the abbreviation for 'science fantasy' is, if you want to be fussy about it) setting without having to resort to characters carrying around shonky metal weapons. Weapons, it needs to be noted, that are unarguably centuries out of date by the time other folk are dueling with laser pistols. While other players on the Star Wars stage might view the lightsaber as archaic, with its ability to swat away laser fire and cut through pretty much anything it clearly has a place in its wielder's arsenal.

Combined with the Jedi and Sith traditions, though, the lightsaber does more than allow medieval combat into a science fictional setting - it evokes the romance of high fantasy and knighthood. Wielders of lightsabers are more than just utilitarian warriors - they're linked to a long and noble tradition. It's a visual reminder that the Jedi are more than simple soldiers. They partake in a greater destiny than that.

And, man, when someone pulls out a lightsaber you hear that hum... That sound was created by sound designer Ben Burtt. It's a combination idle interlock motors from ancient movie projectors and the effect a television has on an unshielded microphone. In the minds of millions of nerds worldwide, ancient AV tech as the sound of science-fictional warfare. There's something weird and a little haunting about that.

But wow, that drawing of the lightsaber - watching the blade flare up. It's the same effect as a gunfighter drawing his pistol. It has that immediacy. It's that same call to action. The moment it's drawn, a situation is irrevocably changed. It becomes, very very suddenly, dangerous. When a lightsaber's drawn, something big is going to happen, and it's not going to have anything to do with words or thought. It's going to happen through action and violence. On a more primal level there's something very appealing* about that sudden move to action - especially to a generation and a subculture largely defined by passive, cerebral pursuits. Perhaps, too, to a generation that feels it lacks the power to effect change.

The lightsaber is a brilliant coalescence of science and magic and nobility and violence that digs into a whole great knot of things going on in the nerd's subconscious.

It should also not be forgotten that glowing things flashing around in the dark look really cool.

*The Space Between Panels does not endorse the solving of problems through the medium of lightsaber duels. Lightsaber duels should only be entered into after all diplomatic avenues have been explored and under the supervision of a responsible adult.

Souvenirs of Geekdom: Mallrats

2012-01-27T12:37:00.000Z

Souvenirs of Geekdom. Or nerddom. I like the word 'nerd' better, but 'nerddom' doesn't look right. So... 'Souvenirs of Geekdom'.

It's going to be a series of short essays on the detritus of our subculture that's barely even a subculture (or that is maybe really a whole cluster of subcultures) any more. A poke around what makes us nerds, what makes us beautiful and what makes us woefully lame. It's inspired by Douglas Coupland's superb Souvenirs of Canada, which offers up a fascinating meander through the flotsam of Canadian life, providing a sense of the country's identity by way of anecdote, history, consumer goods and pop culture reference. That's the sort of thing I'm gunning for here, but our lot's primary point of convergence isn't quite so straightforward as geography.

First up: Mallrats.

There are numerous cultural and social forces that pushed geek culture into the mainstream over the last couple of decades, and anyone who tries to give too much credit to any one film/book/comic/ANYTHING is clearly a maniac. That said, Mallrats surely helped. More significant than the film's impact on our acceptance into the society around us, however, is its impact on the nerd's self-image.

(Catch-up! Kevin Smith's Mallrats is basically the film John Hughes might have made if he was a great big comics nerd. It's about two guys wandering around a mall, chasing a couple of girls and talking about comics A LOT. It also had an early film cameo by Stan Lee.)

As a nerd growing up in a world that hated and feared you, Mallrats gave the feeling that maybe, just maybe, you could be a little bit cool. Yeah, Jason Lee and Jeremy London - the two nerd leads - might play a pair of slackers, but they play a pair of slackers who go out in the world, interact with society at large and, in their own way, are... if not cool, very likeable, kind of good-looking, a bit charming and generally the sorts of chaps people like to have around. More importantly, they play nerds who go out with girls played by Claire Forlani and Shannen Doherty.

While neither of these guys is exactly (Robert Downey Jr's) Tony Stark, in 1995 nerds in moving pictures were generally of the bestpectacled, pocket-protector-wearing, might-just-shoot-you-while-you-eat-your-cheese-strings variety. All of a sudden, here were nerds who fit in comfortably with the zeitgeisty, dumbed-down, slacker interpretation of Generation X. Here was a vision of the nerd that fit comfortably alongside the Pepsi ad version of what young people were. In the Mallrats interpretation of Geekdom, you didn't have to be an outsider to be a nerd. You could be in.

No, it's not as good as Clerks. No, it's probably not even all that good, full-stop (although it is interesting that the Metacritic critics' rating of Mallrats is a paltry 41/100, while the user rating is up at 7.5/10). Still, it made many of us feel - even as our balls were still in that awkward mid-drop (free-fall?) phase and our strongest claim to physical intimacy was linked to a Witchblade comic - that one day the opposite sex might one day look at us with something other than contempt or half-formed pity.

Secret Bettakultcha: My Men of Tomorrow Talk

2011-08-26T12:19:00.001+01:00

I did a talk for Secret Bettakultcha recently about how scary and weird the people of the future will most likely be. I was, it should be said, less judgemental of them in the talk. I honestly believe that being human will be very different on a fundamental level in a hundred years to how it is now, though.

It's been suggested that I'm trying to cover too much ground in five minutes, so if I do another Bettakultcha talk I might scale it back a bit.

I will at some point soon put together a post containing reference materiel I used for this. For now, here's the video:

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You can see my previous Bettakultcha talk - on why time travel is bad for you - through here.

A Zeitgeisty Holiday - Dead Island Preview

2011-08-23T10:26:00.000+01:00

I previewed Dead Island recently over on SPOnG. Below's an extract. Through here is the full feature.

Dead Island is the zombie game you have in your head. It's the conversation you've had with your mates down the pub in which you discuss whether you'd be better off grabbing the hedge trimmer or the non-power-reliant cricket bat from the garage in the event of a zombie attack.

It's the next step after reading the Zombie Survival Guide. I like to think it's based on real events the CIA doesn't want us to know about.

Dead Island doesn't make you double-hard like Left 4 Dead or ready-qualified for zombie-fighting like Resident Evil. It doesn't make light of the fact that zombies want to eat your brains, like Dead Rising does. (Zombies trying to eat your brains, contrary to what Simon Pegg and his mates think, is NO LAUGHING MATTER).

Rather, Dead Island chucks you into a scenario in which zombies are on the rampage (or amble, depending on which zombies you encounter) on an island with a believable level of resources and an open map to go at and challenges you to survive. Fortunately, developer Techland has substituted whatever slightly shit town you're from with a tropical island resort.

New Series Trailer for Doctor Who to Wreck Your Brain

2011-07-25T10:46:00.007+01:00

So... much... stuff...

Captain America Throws His Mighty Shield, Misses: Game Review

2011-07-18T10:43:00.000+01:00

My review of Captain America: Super Soldier is alive and pouring mild scorn into the world from SPOnG. Here, have the first few words:

"The most interesting thing about my Captain America: Super Soldier 'experience' was discovering that I'm a little bit attracted to Madame Hydra, despite the fact that she's a German dominatrix with Nazi sympathies and green hair. I won't lie to you, that's a bit of a shame.

"I often feel funny about enjoying the adventures of a man who dresses (unashamedly and unironically) in an American flag. Yet, Captain America can be pretty cool. Generally speaking, he's at his best when he's criss-crossing the globe in superhero espionage stories, inspiring awe with his unflappable ability to hold steady and generally doing things such as riding fighter jets like many of us would a skateboard and jumping out of planes while telling those around him that 'parachutes are for girls'.

"Fortunately for all the uncomfortable Englishmen out there, developer Next Level doesn't bring any of those qualities to bear in Captain America: The Game of the Film of the Comic..."

More through here.

First Dark Knight Rises Teaser Poster is Cataclysmic

2011-07-12T09:16:00.000+01:00

This is the first teaser poster for Dark Knight Rises. Anybody remember Cataclysm? Or maybe Gotham architects aren't up to much and it's just the batmobile driving by.

(Courtesy of Empire.)

Brink: REVIEWED

2011-05-10T10:38:00.000+01:00

My Brink review is alive and on SPOnG. Have an excerpt:

"Brink might just scare the crap out of you. If you're the sort of person whose mother still dressed them until they were 12, Brink will definitely scare the crap out of you.

"...Brink isn't really separated into single- and multi-player components – at least not in the way most of us are used to. The campaign can be played either on your lonesome with the help of bots or with other humans online. Beyond the fact that humans and bots might behave a bit differently, gameplay won't be altered a jot one way or the other. And, frankly, Splash Damage has done a reasonably convincing job of making the AI behave like (often slightly thick) human players. It's a shame, though, that they couldn't manage clever human-like AI."

And here's that link again.

Outland: A Big Fat Review

2011-04-28T16:25:00.000+01:00

I reviewed Outland over on SPOnG. It's quite good. You should read it (please and thankyou). First two pars:

"The side-scrolling platforming genre's doing alright at the moment on the download services these days, isn't it? Between Limbo, Super Meat Boy, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and at the very least three other games I've neglected to mention, the genre's positively glowing. Outland, another sidescroller from Ubisoft and developer Housemarque, is totally up for joining those ranks. It's positively glowing, too. Literally.

"So, you are this guy. You have to fight some gods over some stuff. To be able to do that, you have to travel around a bit and do some things. That's not really the point, though. The main hook is a colour-changing mechanism not dissimilar from what you found in Ikaruga once upon a time."

Press Release: Idris Elba in Reliant Robin Accident

2011-04-28T11:58:00.000+01:00

This just came in over the news wires:

PRESS RELEASE - LONDON - April 28th 2011

Headline: Ham Actor Hit by High Speed Hirsute Hunk
Strap: Over-rated Thespian smashed against wall - Police seek bearded miscreant

Body:

(London: 28.04.2011) By Our Enterslayment Correspondent

Mostly over-rated actor, Idris Elba, was inexplicably smacked into a wall in North London today at 11:44hrs. Police are seeking a small car driven by a bearded, silver-haired and quite distinguished looking gentleman in his late 30s to aid them in their enquiries.

Film critics are also seeking the rather handsome driver to provide him with an award to actoring and that.

"Idris Elba will be remembered for one thing and one thing only", commented his agent today, "being taken out by a distinguished, greying gentleman with some aplomb."

ENDS

Portal 2 Reviewed to Hell (and Back)

2011-04-19T09:20:00.000+01:00

What? Something that's not just a cop-out trailer post? Well, actually it's just a cop-out link post, but please give it a moment anyway. It's a link to my Portal 2 review on SPOnG. I can't vouch for the quality of the review, but the game's awesome so you should give it a look. It's through here. Extract:

"Portal 2 is everything you want it to be and a little bit more. Which, actually, is probably exactly what you want it to be. Yes, it will warp your understanding of how space and geometry works, but it will make you giggle while that happens.

"If you're one of the two people I need to explain Portal 2 to: it's the follow-up to Valve's 2007 physics-based puzzler that was named, 100% appropriately, Portal. In both games, you're Chell, a test subject made to jump through an increasingly brain-scrambling array of hoops that also double up as holes in the fabric of space. Testing out a portal gun under the watchful (and double-demonic) eye of AI GLaDOS, you have to navigate various hazards and obstacles to get through test chambers and stay alive."

Here, again, is that link.

Rise of The Planet of the Apes - Creepy-Ass Trailer

2011-04-14T09:24:00.002+01:00

This might be good.

Four Minutes of Green Lantern from Wondercon

2011-04-04T12:35:00.000+01:00

Loads more gravity than the trailer. Looks very CG-y, but I'm feeling a lot more chipper about this film than I was five minutes ago...

Brand New Doctor Who Series 6 Trailer (is Awesome)!!!

2011-03-30T17:02:00.000+01:00

My brain was surely not built for this kind of excitement.

First Full Captain America Trailer, Then?

2011-03-24T09:22:00.001Z

Spot on.

A Trailer: SUPER

2011-03-23T10:31:00.001Z

SUPER.

Time Travel is Bad for You

2011-03-21T18:03:00.002Z

I did a talk at the last Bettakultcha to 250 people on the perils of Time Travel earlier in the month. It gave me gulps. This is it:

Mark Johnson from Dave Naylor on Vimeo.

Multi-storey Tron Legacy: A Review

2010-12-19T21:31:00.004Z

Put my review of Tron: Legacy review up on The Culture Vulture, featuring Obi Wan Kenobi, The Dude and Jeff Bridges' creepy CGI face.

I may have gone off on one a little about the problems in fiction in which writers get to set all their own world rules. Have an extract:

"The great strength and weakness of having a film set in a completely fabricated world is that said world’s creators get to decide on all of its rules. Those creators – director Joseph Kosinski, writers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, and, of course, Steven M. Lisberger, the writer and director of the first Tronfilm and a producer on this one – pay lip service to The Grid being a visual representation of the behaviour of software (its inhabitants, for example, are called ‘programs’) but the reality (unreality?) of the situation is that it is a fantasy world with rules that have more to do with Harry Potter than Windows 7."

The Professional Nerd’s diary of Thought Bubble Festival Part 2

2010-12-05T13:20:00.004Z

My write-up of Thought Bubble 2010 finally surfaced over on The Culture Vulture. TB was great this year. Partly because we had more staff on the OK Comics table, mostly because it was just great. I'd say more, but it's all through there. That said, have a little taste:

"10:30pm: Spot John Romita Jr, described by Marvel’s Editor in Chief as the greatest artist in comics, stood at the bar. I have been reading his comics since I’ve been reading. He’s comics royalty. Nearly let the fact that I have absolutely nothing constructive to say to him stop me from saying hi. Realise I don’t want this to be the day I almost met John Romita Jr and brusquely shove my friend Jack out of the way mid-sentence to go introduce myself. For the entire two minutes we talk he grips my hand like he could turn it into a calcium supplement. He’s very gracious about the fact I barely understand syllables right now. The only other three people in the world I would get like this with are Michael J. Fox, Stan Lee and Harrison Ford."

(While we're on the subject of Thought Bubble - here's my diary of TB2009).

Ultraman Zero Trailer: Green Lantern vs Power Rangers

2010-11-23T13:11:00.001Z

Via BleedingCool.

Leeds' Identity Crisis and the Perils of PR Bobbins

2010-10-21T12:53:00.003+01:00

I had a guest post up on The Culture Vulture the other day. It's about Leeds, its identity and the problems with trying to form a cohesive narrative about any city. It's here. It ran with the picture above, which I took with my very own iPhone.

Last Saturday at OK Comics...

2010-10-11T13:48:00.003+01:00

- I decided to go to work in an Empire Strikes Back t-shirt under an unfastened plaid shirt. I observed on Facebook that there are few things in this life that announce you as a comic shop employee like the aforementioned clothing combination and was vindicated by the 'likes' of several friends. Brendan also wore a t-shirt under an unfastened plaid shirt. This is not coincidence. It was confirmed for me that this look is BACK.

- Oliver was uncertain whether to follow the hype and buy Enslaved or follow his feelings and buy Castlevania. He went with Castlevania. This may be significant.

- Me and Kirsty Marson are now a Leeds independent retail power couple. She worked at Crash Records for the first time in several years. She also helped with the window display at OK Comics.

- I discovered that the Valerian and Laureline translation I have been patiently waiting for has actually been on the shelf for at least a few weeks. RETAIL FAIL. (I toyed with dubbing this a 'REFAIL', but it just didn't work). I read French comics without being told to now.

- Mike Infinitum brought in several shortboxes that contained, amongst other things, late '90s X-Force and X-Men. While we tried to coat our enthusiasm under a slap-dash veneer of irony, there was no hiding the fact that me and Brendan were both genuinely excited about this. The excitement, though, was insufficient to prompt either of us to actually buy anything from the box.

- We sold some comics.

All-Star Superman in Moving Pictures! (Or 'a Trailer')

2010-09-27T13:45:00.004+01:00

The trailer seems to miss the tone of the comics series entirely and instead opts for an end-of-the-world sort of feel. Could just be the cut of the trailer, I suppose, but...

I got a bad feeling about this.

I Still Function

2010-09-16T21:07:00.002+01:00

That last post was pretty out of the blue, eh? Yeah, I've been right quiet. That's largely due to copious amounts going on at SPOnG and other writing eating away at my spare time. I do hope to resume semi-regular posting here soon, though. In the meantime, I exist (in a random, not particularly ordered) capacity on Tumblr and, of course, on Twitter.

Project Waldo Has a Real Name Now

2010-09-16T21:03:00.003+01:00

Yup, Nate Simpson's Project Waldo has a name now. It has a name because it might actually get released in the not-too-distant future. I have no idea how you're meant to write it without the benefit/luxury of graphic design software, so please just look upwards. I'm very excited at the prospect of being able to hold this soon.

Steven Moffat's Son Uses Interviews his Dad to Make 4,000 People Look at a Cat

2010-06-11T12:53:00.001+01:00

Alpha Protocol: Reviewed to Hell

2010-05-28T14:18:00.003+01:00

“I'm playing Alpha Protocol at the moment,” I said the to the staff down at my local games store.
“Hmmm...” replied Clarice (name changed for legal purposes). We all looked across the counter at a not-yet-for-sale copy they had on display.
“So, it's kind of like Fallout 3 crossed with Splinter Cell?” Pete half-asked, half-stated.
Holy turd-monkeys! That would be AMAZING, right?!
Yeah. It would.
“Maybe,” I said. “If, you know, they took the bits that make each of them good away and left you with something that plays a bit like a stale biscuit.”

In fairness, Alpha Protocol starts on a high. It opens with that old 'SEGA' noise you used to get on the Mega Drive. It's all a bit downhill from there.

Yes, the best bit was finishing it. Rest of the review's on that SPOnG website I work for.

This is Where Scott Pilgrim Lived

2010-05-25T13:44:00.004+01:00

When that damn dirty volcano left me starved of new comics for a week recently, I manually reignited my man-passion for Scott Pilgrim. Because I was having a pretty extreme nerd-out, I went so far as to track down the apartment he shared with Wallace Wells. I did it like some kind of weird stalker who tripped up and fell into a Grant Morrison comic about the crossover between reality and fiction. The picture above is what I found - it's the house on the left.

In case you care, I took the address from the package Ramona delivers to the apartment in Volume 1 (It's 27 Alberta ave, Toronto). I went to Google Maps, then Google Street View. Then, for the first time I really took to heart the fact that the pins Google sticks in maps to show addresses are made out of guesswork. So, I looked at visible house numbers, worked out how numbering on the street works then nailed the address using the power of my brain. I then felt pretty pleased with myself for a couple of minutes, then I felt a little sad.

Yes, it doesn't look exactly the same as in the comics. No, I don't think we should blame Bryan Lee O'Malley for that. We have only our own nerdish compulsions to blame for any sadness we feel about this fact.

If you want to see the location for yourself, go here.

Surviving the Comics Drought: Scott Pilgrim

2010-04-22T21:27:00.003+01:00

Today, the Comics Drought started in earnest. Where there should have been lovely new comics in comic shops across the UK, there was only the taste of bitter ash. But, even ash clouds have silver linings (and other chipper sentiments). There's plenty of good stuff out there that didn't need flying in from the US this week, and now's the most ideal of all times to get into it.

So, if you haven't read Scott Pilgrim, in the name of all that is good and awesome, please do. Go down to your nearest comic shop and spit in the face of the volcanic prison cloud by getting Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, the start of one of the finest ongoing comics series this century. And if you already read it - well, you were probably planning on re-reading it before the last book and the film anyway, right?

Here's a review of Volume 5, Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe, previously published in The Leeds Guide:

I had, literally, no idea. Until Scott Pilgrim Volume 3 came along nearly three years ago I was happily buying and loving comics week in, week out, loving the medium in all its variety like I loved nothing else in the world of entertainment, having somehow been missing one of the greatest new series to spawn from the brain of a comics creator in years. Another volume’s come and gone and, happily, Bryan Lee O’Malley has just unleashed volumefive5 - Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe (£9.99, Oni Press) - upon us.

Like many people, I initially glanced briefly at Scott Pilgrim’s round, black and white cuteness and dismissed it as more Oni Press fluff. Like many people, I was wrong. Scott Pilgrim might just be the best thing to happen to comics this millennium.

It chronicles the series’ namesake, Scott, in his battle to defeat the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his lady love, Ramona Flowers. Volume 5 doesn’t waste any time, and by page 14 Scott’s already fighting robots while Ramona, worryingly, stands in her Mexican Day of the Dead costume looking upsettingly indifferent. Video games, comics and music all take front and centre as Scott desperately tries to keep it together in the face of ever-mounting odds.

Volume 5, like its predecessors, is cool, smart, genuinely funny and steeped in pop cultural references. It is one of those truly rare artefacts in comics - a book that will actually make you laugh out loud as you’re effortlessly swept along by its breathless narrative. Reading it is like bathing in an entire vat of Original Source mint shower gel - so refreshing it could blow your head off.

If you won’t try out Scott Pilgrim on my say so, for God’s sake try it so you can look cool when the Edgar Wright film adaptation comes out some time in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future.

More Comics Drought suggestions here, here and on Twitter. If you've got some suggestions of your own, hit me up!

Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts in Your Telly

2010-04-20T20:53:00.003+01:00

Trailer for a documentary about Warren Ellis from the chaps who made that Grant Morrison film that time. Yeah, I'll tell you their name. It's Sequart.

Surviving the Comics Drought: 45

2010-04-20T12:51:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned earlier, there's a Comics Drought on. Survival instincts are kicking in and, lest our brains melt and we forget how to read, it's time to start digging into that to-read list. We Keepers of the Bright-ish Nerd Flame have to show Mother Nature that the titanic and ancient forces of geology aren't enough to keep us from comics! Comics are a big deal, guys. Anyway, another recommendation follows. Up today is another one from my Leeds Guide columns - Andi Ewington's 45. Here it is:

In a comics marketplace that has grown comfortable with the tried and tested capes and tights formula, it's increasingly rare to come across a superhero title that does something (dare we say it?) new. It comes as something as a surprise, therefore, to find Andi Ewington positively belching forth fresh air with 45 (Com.x, £11.99)

Not strictly speaking a graphic novel, 45 is a collection of interviews with super-humans (Super-S, for 45's purposes) conducted by an almost-absent protagonist, journalist James Stanley. The birth of his child is creeping closer and, unsure of whether it will be born Super-S, he sets out to discover what it means to live your life as a superman.

Each interview comes with a full-page illustration by a different artist from a line-up that reads like a who's-who of British comics – Trevor Hairsine, Sean Phillips and Frazer Irving are just a few of the big names lending their pencil to the project. The interviews are by turns funny, thrilling, thoughtful and tragic. The beauty of 45 is that all of them – despite the 'super' nature of their subjects – are brimming with humanity.

While these snapshots of supermen would be satisfying on their own, taken together they form an intriguing larger narrative – one that illuminates both a father already in love with his child and shadowy forces at work in the wider world. If you put 'man' before 'super' there's a lot to enjoy here.

Got something to add? Comment, send me a mail or hit me up on Twitter!

Oh My God, That Volcano Killed Comics!

2010-04-19T13:04:00.003+01:00

UK retailers have been told that they will not receive US comics with their deliveries this week thanks to the volcanic prison cloud blanketing the UK. The delivery has not been able to make it to our island shores from the US. As you will no doubt be aware, US imports make up the vast majority of any given week's new comics. This is not very good news. This is even worse than the impending volcano-fuelled banana shortage.

No-one likes a pessimist, though, so I'm turning to the silver lining on that black, lightening-tickled ash cloud. I will be taking the opportunity to catch up on my reading backlog - namely the graphic novels and TPBs I've been meaning to get around to but haven't because I'm usually too swamped by singles. I've got The Beats, written by Harvey Pekar, to finish. I also want to try out DC's R.E.B.E.L.S., mostly because I've recently been turned on to Andy Clarke's art by Batman and Robin. I also intend to hassle Jared at OK Comics (my sometime workplace) to tell me about something good I haven't read. I've never really ventured into porn comics, for example.

But, enough about me. In the spirit of nerd camaraderie in the face of the Great Comics Drought of 2010, I'm also going to put up a series of posts recommending GNs and TPBs to fill the void. Many of them will be culled from my past Leeds Guide Columns, so if you read those already you should go back to surfing for pictures of Karen Gillan.

First up, awesome hipster douche comics (superhero stuff to follow). It's Asterios Polyp:

Anyone seen David Mazzucchelli anywhere? No? That’s because he’s been out in the comics wilderness, casting aside his superhero roots (Batman: Year One, Daredevil, both with the celebrated Frank Miller) and crafting a work that stands as his magnum opus.

Asterios Polyp (Pantheon, £24.99) is a beautiful, whimsical and highly intelligent original graphic novel recounting the life of its namesake (yes, that’s the name of a person). If I was forced to sum up what it’s about, I’d say that it’s about an architect who forged himself a career and reputation based on a series of designs for buildings that have never been built, before dropping out of his life to rebuild it from the ground up. If you caught me in a more reflective (or pompous, you choose) moment, however, I’d tell you that it’s an investigation of the point at which art intersects with life. It's about everything.

Mazzucchelli uses the space offered by his first OGN to probe the form of comics with an eye for storytelling that's both impeccably precise and warmly endearing. His panels flow seamlessly into one another with what appears to be casual ease, but closer inspection reveals that there's not a line in the entire book that isn't there for a reason. His art style and colour palette change constantly throughout the book, but the changes blend so perfectly with the story beats that, as with great special effects, you probably won't think to question them.

While Mazzucchelli has devoted painstaking attention to the mechanisms he employs to move us through the story, don't think that Asterios Polyp is a slave to form at the expense of content. As the cartoonist goes about enamouring us with a man who should be unlikeable, he takes us wandering down paths that effortlessly weave the 'real' with the decidedly surreal and cross the tracks of art, architecture, philosophy and religion.

If there’s a complaint to be made about Asterios Polyp, it’s about its length. It weighs in at a hefty 344 pages, but they’re 344 fast pages. Still, it's a read that justifies the asking price and won't soon slip out of your gently massaged brain.

If you have any recommendations of your own, please go nuts in the comments. Also: !!!

(Also: volcano pic from here).

Wes Anderson's Spider-Man

2010-04-16T13:16:00.001+01:00

Brilliant. That is all.

Via ComicCritics.

Brandon Graham Did it Again

2010-03-24T13:01:00.003Z

"Here's a Sexica commision I did", says King City artist Brandon Graham over on his blog. He's put up another of those great, sprawling posts that's reminiscent of swandiving into someone's brain. You should read it.

Meanwhile, Jared has turned up a copy of the first Tokyopop King City book over at OK Comics, meaning I get the chance to get ahead and read the apparently un-shipped Image issue that went awol earlier in the year. But that's me.

Still Alive: Comics Podcast Recommendations

2010-03-12T12:53:00.002Z

So, yes, it's been a while. But I still live! I've been up to my elbows in work and whatnot, as well as getting up to my shins in a separate project I'm mulling over. I've also been rooting around some blogs about writing, so (since the aforementioned project involves a bit/lot of that) you might see a bit of such blogging turning up here.

And I've been digging up decent comics podcasts to listen to. I hate 'dead time' - time walking places, in the car, time with not a lot to occupy my brain. Rather than stewing in my own thoughts and listening to music recently, I've been pulling up podcasts. Here's what I've got so far:

Word Balloon, hosted by John Siuntres - my favourite. Mostly consists of some really in-depth conversations with big-name creators. If you're into a writer or artist John has on, this is well worth a listen. I've also enjoyed some of the more analytical episodes, featuring the likes of Newsarama's Vaneta Rogers, which explore the bigger picture.

Around Comics - sadly nearing its final episode. I'm easily turned off by 'conversation shows' which feature roundtable discussions from enthusiasts. I'm dubious about what they're bringing to the table that I couldn't get in a conversation at OK Comics, but I was led to it by the aforementioned John Siuntres and discovered some interesting chat from well-informed panelists (is that even the right word?).

War Rocket Ajax. When the guests are good, the show is. Really enjoyed the Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim) and Cherie Priest (Boneshaker) episodes. It is, however, a bit long.

Awesomed by Comics from husband and wife team Aaron and Evie. Literally just started listening to this one. They're both journalists. They're both weird in a non-scary way. They're both kinda funny.

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy. This is the most intensely nerdy podcast I've come across yet, which is quite awesome. Covers a range of geeky topics, not just comics.

SPOnGcast. It's not about comics, it's about games. But I could hardly do a post about podcasts and not mention the one I'm in, could I? The beardy man (Tim, SPOnG editor) would do something foul.

So, that's that. I would really like to hear some suggestions for other good shows I'm missing. Let me know in the comments! Or, y'know, by any other means you fancy... (Carrier budgie!)

Dan Clowes' Awesome TCAF Poster

2010-01-19T12:53:00.005Z

This is Daniel Clowes' rather excellent poster for the 2010 Toronto Comic Arts Festival. (You can tell that's what it is, because it says so on the bottom). TCAF is a bit prone to awesome posters. Remember Bryan Lee O'Malley's offering from last year?

The TCAF 2010 line-up is here.

Dark Void: The Rocketeer Meets Fox Mulder

2010-01-18T13:09:00.002Z

My Dark Void review has gone up on SPOnG.

It starts like this: "Now that I can get my phone to tell me where my car is and buy sex toys built to be exact replicas of the vaginas and anuses of famous porn stars, the future must surely have started." Then I actually wrote about the game, and how it's quite good fun but just not quite... well, good enough.

Also (and I have literally no idea why I haven't posted about this before) I've got recent comics reviews up there for Mass Effect: Redemption #1 and Army of Two #1, what them being games-based.

The A-Team Movie Trailer Dribbled Free

2010-01-09T14:16:00.002Z

The A-Team movie trailer leaked, so it did...

Alternatively, there's a better resolution (really slow loading) version here.

Thought Bubble 2010 Gets a Date

2010-01-06T12:42:00.005Z

Next year's Thought Bubble has a date, which is not a weird way of saying the Leeds Comic-Con is getting abstractly romantic so much as it is a way of saying we know when it's happening now. The Con's official Twitter stream tells us that it will be happening from 18th - 21st November.

Last year's con - or 'Sequential Art Festival', if you prefer its (yes, slightly woofy) self-ascribed moniker - was excellent. The calibre of the guests was impressive as ever (Frank Quitely and Ben Templesmith were among the attendees) but the highlight for many (I might just mean 'me') was the quality of the small press work on display. More details on TB2009 here.

And yes, I had to re-use my awesome Iron Man pic taken at the main event on Saturday.

Leeds Crows Love Dixie Chicken

2010-01-04T22:25:00.000Z

"The Leeds crows love Dixie Chicken. They can be found in the wicked grey dawn, pecking through cheap carrier bags to pick at the bones of leftover Original Recipe peices. At night they perch atop the Grand Theatre, watching drunken girls stumbling in their heels with Sizzler burgers, peering through their beady black eyes, occasionally braving a swoop to scare chilli sauce drenched chips from the gitls' orange fingers. (Chilli sauce with chicken is a stroke of genius only Dixie understands). The crows eye the punters of neighbouring Chicken Cottage with suspicion, because while the queues are shorter the chicken is inferior (though it will do at a push). Leeds crows will fight you hard for Dixie Chicken."

From a book I'm thinking about turning random notes into.

Awesome Glowstick Animation to Make You Feel Bad

2009-12-28T19:21:00.002Z

Ever feel terrified by what other people achieve through the straightforward application of mind-exploding levels of effort? If not, you should:

This is Lucky by All India Radio or, as the video's blurb tells us: "the viewable blood, sweat and tears of Australian based animation company 'Dee Pee Studios'.

"It involves a painstaking animation technique, whereby the team paints in the air with glow sticks, frame after to frame to create entire sequences of animation, usually taking a whole night to shoot."

More on Dee Pee Studios' official website.

Via Drawn!

More Kick-Ass, Nicholas Cage Shoots his Daughter in the Chest

2009-12-15T12:48:00.001Z

Yes, really. This was good in the comic series. It's better in moving pictures:

Read Project Waldo!

2009-12-15T12:42:00.003Z

I've been meaning to post something about Project Waldo for a while, because it has beautiful lines and colours on it. Now Nate Simpson, the man behind said blog, has put up another page of his upcoming graphic novel, so I have gone and done that post. Here:

Find more of it here.

Brandon Graham - Baseball Amputees and Dressing in Censorship

2009-12-09T13:46:00.003Z

Brandon Graham made this cartoon and put it on his blog. Yes, I'm harping on about Brandon Graham again, but he's really very good. Brave one of his epic blog posts if you dare, and read King City. Really.

Slingers - New Brit SF, Looks Jolly Good

2009-12-07T12:48:00.005Z

Slingers is a TV show from the future. Providing, that is, it makes it from this reel to the pilot stage, and then the pilot gets greenlit.

Mike Sizemore, the show's writer/creator, says, "This is the second sizzle reel for SLINGERS.

"Directed by Steve Barron and starring Sean Pertwee, Adrian Bower, Tom Mison, Margo Stilley, Haruka Abe, GUN and JUNIOR.

"Conceptual design by Arran and Corran Brownlee.

"Oh, and written by me.

"We're hoping to shoot the pilot in 2010."

^{(Via Forbidden Planet)}

Michael Chabon Says: Do Something New!

2009-12-04T12:44:00.005Z

In an interview that went up in the not-very-distant-at-all past, Newsarama asked Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Wonder Boys) what he thought of the argument that too much of modern popular culture relies too heavily on the materiel that has gone before.

Chabon said: "What needs to be done is not simply for the past to be riffed on – well, 'riffed' is maybe the wrong word, it should be 'invoked and suggested' or 'recreated.'

"What you’re looking for, what you want to see, what’s really interesting, is stuff that takes the received materials and really wrings changes on them, puts them through their paces, that challenges them and confronts them at the same time that it invokes them.

"That’s where...there’s some things you watch, and they may be cool, they may be very faithful, they might make you feel kind of happy because stuff you know from some kind of prior era is being brought back and reanimated.

"That stuff can be fun, but there’s ultimately something very hollow at the core of something like that, like it’s just an exercise in style more than anything else."

I mention this because a) Michael Chabon is a very smart man and b) I agree with him, and there is too much going on in comics that apes the efforts of earlier creators without adding significant value or without providing anything of interest to potential new readers. Amazing Spider-Man, I'm looking at you...

Chabon also mentions Jonathan Lethem among his favourite authors. Lethem has a new book (Chronic City) out which this BoingBoing article makes me want to read.

Newsarama has the full, quite interesting interview.

Pope Hats #1 Has a Cartoon Phallus, Looks Good

2009-12-02T13:34:00.000Z

I'm not going to try to tell you what to read this week. That would be presumptuous and a little bit rageous. I am going to try and nudge you in the direction of picking up Pope Hats #1 and having a wee flick through before you leave the comic shop, though. Because... well, it looks good.

The comic's writer and artist, Ethan Rilly, describes it thusly: "Pope Hats is a comic book about a young woman named Frances Scarland and her escape from both figurative and literal demons. It has been described as a “slice of life” story (whatever that means)."

But, I don't think Rilly sells it that well. It's alright, he's got a quote from Seth (It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken) to recommend it: "Pope Hats by Ethan Rilly is the most impressive debut comic I've seen in years. The work has that deceptive quality of ease about it—the characters breeze across the page with sparkling dialogue and wonderfully observed gestures. Rilly is the real deal—an exciting new cartoonist who can write and draw well and who genuinely understands how to tell a story." See? Hopefully it's not just another angsty book about disillusioned young folk.

Neither Rilly nor Seth mention the fact that Franny talks to a cartoon ghost phallus.

There's a short preview right here.

Cowboys, Cannibals and Christmas - The Sixth Gun

2009-12-02T13:12:00.000Z

Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt have let loose a lovely festive yarn over on the Oni Press blog. It's tied to their upcoming (dark and epic) Western, The Sixth Gun, and it carries the name Them What Ails Ya: A Christmas Yarn. And yes, it's about Cowboys and cannibals.

It's split across comics (you can see that bit to the right - click on it, it gets bigger), straight-up prose and illustration, with an instalment coming every Tuesday in the run-up to Christmas.

And it's fun! You can get the rest of it here.

Doodle-Booze - Pictures with Beer and Felt Tips

2009-12-01T13:49:00.000Z

Doodle-Booze, as I flagged up earlier, happened last night.

It's pretty straightforward - OK Comics entices a number of (mostly) comics-loving folk down to the Nation of Shopkeepers (we used to go to The Swan - R.I.P.) in Leeds to drink booze and draw stuff. It's been known for discussion about how many muscles Rob Liefeld can fit on an arm to break out. Last night, we were drawing onto blank convention covers for Image United #1 (which, by the way, made no sense to me) alongside the usual brown paper.

Yes, I know there are a lot of dudes in evidence. Often there's not so much rampant testosterone. Or males, anyway.

Anyway, here's a smattering of pictures. There are loads more on my flickr page.

Techie Thing - Please Ignore

2009-12-01T12:46:00.001Z

ZTXWWPHVBCFF

PSP Comics Get Some Publishers, Get Some Meh

2009-11-27T18:03:00.000Z

Sony has announced some publishers for its PSP Comics reader. Story's on SPOnG (where I do work for money). I might have done my angry typing...

Pretty King City

2009-11-27T13:44:00.000Z

King City 2, the second issue in Brandon Graham's batshit-crazy-awesome western Manga, is out this week. For a warm-up, Graham's posted some new artwork on his blog which should make your eyes feel bubbly and pleasant. I've put a couple of bits on here and you can find more on the aforementioned blog. Graham does these sprawling great long posts that are a little bit scary, but well worth a look. Also, here's the review I did of issue #1 for The Leeds Guide:

While the realm of comics isn’t as vast and cavernous as that of prose, it’s still sadly rare to come across something that feels genuinely fresh. While King City (£2.25) is technically a couple of years old now, it does a fine job of generating that tingly feeling in your tummy that accompanies the discovery of something new and fascinating. After spending a while in publishing limbo, King City has had a change of format from graphic novel to comics singles and is appearing under the Image publishing banner.

Coming from the (I can only imagine fevered) brain and pen of Brandon Graham, King City’s a western Manga. Specifically, a sci-fi spy comic about a chap named Joe who has a cat that can become any weapon or tool, a mate who always wears a wrestling mask and an ex-girlfriend with a new boyfriend who’s literally turning into the drug he’s addicted to. The series drags us into a sprawling future metropolis in which sasquatches run spy hotels and shadowy men in suits can knock you off trains by sharp-shooting you with your own bogeys.

While the backdrop and tone is wild, imaginative and bizarre, however, the series’ first issue introduces a lead with depth that belies the comic’s apparent whimsy. Rounding it off there’s just enough intrigue lurking in the plot to pique your interest, although it remains the feel and style of the issue that will prompt you to pick up issue 2.

If Chris Ware Did Graffiti...

2009-11-27T13:28:00.000Z

...it probably wouldn't look like this. But when you put ALL of Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan on a wall, these pictures are what you get.

Daniel Maw, the chap behind this display (and a graduate art student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville), told Fantagraphics, "Recently, I worked with some of my fellow graduate colleagues (we range in age from 23 to 31) to curate a show highlighting contemporary print media in all its facets. I recommended we show the work of Chris Ware, including Jimmy Corrigan. In order to showcase the epic nature of this comic we elected to purchase two copies, cut the bindings off each, collate the pages, and display all [390] pages in a grid on a 23 x 10 foot wall. It is quite impressive to take it all in at once as it demonstrates the tremendous amount of talent and work that went in to the creation of the book."

Gallery details here. Loads more pictures on Daniel Maw's page here.

Powers #1, Finally - A Review

2009-11-26T13:16:00.000Z

Remember Powers? I kind of forgot Powers was a comic, rather than a fond memory that I dredge up every now and then when I want to recommend someone a great noir comic on the odd Saturdays I work at OK Comics. I'm not going to bitch (any more) because between Bendis (writer man) being the evil secret mastermind of the Marvel universe and Oeming (art fellow) drawing the apocalypse in Rapture (and the only slightly more cute mice of Mice Templar) I guess everyone involved's been pretty busy. I'm just glad it's back.

The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of all Time, was pretty dark and gruelling in the best possible, Walking Dead ('I don't know if I can read this right now because it hurts') kind of way. This one's a bit lighter.

Pilgrim's out of the picture for a while and (a rather sveldt-looking, he's been eating Snack a Jacks or something) Walker's still partnered with Enki Sunrise. They don't trust each other that much, but she's trying.

Anyway, as is their wont, they've got a dead power on their hands - Z. Turns out Walker knew him back in the '50s and they were part of (this is the best bit) the superhero Rat Pack. We get a lengthy flashback in which they are... I'm going to say 'complete', assholes. Not 'arseholes', 'assholes'. It is 'Merca, after all.

Anyway, reading this made me remember what I miss about Bendis out in the wild - anything can happen. I'm not saying that 'anything' does happen in this particular issue - we don't find out Enki's a robot donkey vampire or anything - but there's that sense that the story could go absolutely anywhere. And Bendis can take the Powers cast to places that Marvel characters can't, for the most part, go. I can't imagine the Rat Pack scene being as much fun in the Marvel U. I certainly can't imagine Walker's sexual activities being allowed in one of Bendis's Marvel work (that's not to say I don't love that stuff, it's just nice to see superhero threesomes sometimes).

Oeming's character work is spot on as always. He makes Enki, who is not the most likeable character thanks to her Internal Affairs background, very human and very sympathetic. There are panels in the opening chase sequence that feel a little awkward, but they are soon left behind and certainly aren't enough to put a dent in the overall quality of the art.

And, of course, the letters column is back, complete with 'No Life' and everything else, so you can have Bendis insult your mother's cat or something.

Powers should, according Mr Bendis, be on a regular monthly schedule for a while. That's a pretty good thing.

So, yeah. Powers #1 is full of win.

Oh, and there's a preview on CBR.

Powers is out now. It's written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Michael Avon Oeming

Images: Paul Pope Has a Shakedown

2009-11-26T12:57:00.000Z

This has popped up on Paul Pope's blog. As you can see, it's for a club night which you probably can't get to in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY on December 5th. But, the poster's awesome, isn't it?

If you do happen to be reading this from the general vicinity of Brooklyn, more details are on the blog.

Pope also writes: "Also-- we're working on a new site re-design for PULPHOPE and PAULPOPE.COM, criminally overdue, launching soon with new content, including a preview of the work for my next major book release, Battling Boy." Which is good news, innit?

Love nearly naked girls with guitars.

Doodle-Booze is Happening Next Monday

2009-11-25T18:09:00.000Z

Doodle-Booze is on again again next Monday. If that leaves you doing a bit of head-scratching, OK Comics describes it thusly:

"Doodle-Booze is the new name for Drink & Draw, the semi regular social event hosted at Nation of Shopkeeper, in Leeds City Centre. Doodle-Booze is an informal social event where like minded comic fans and artists can meet, exchange ideas, drink and draw. Everyone (over 18) is welcome no matter what your artistic ability. No invite or appointment is required, just show up."

OK Comics bothers to describe it because it's OK Comics' baby. For some reason Jared (the OK Overlord) decided to use a picture of my mug, alongside the back of storyboard artist Steve Beaumont's head, to illustrate the event on the OK Facebook page. My mug aside, it's usually a good do. It'll kick off around 7pm. I'll be back with beer-marked pictures next week...

Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter Issue 2 - All Reviewed Up

2009-11-25T13:26:00.000Z

Yesterday, I'm pretty sure Marc Ellerby's Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter Issue 2 wasn't available to buy on the Web (I checked). Today, it is. Through the magic of going to a physical place in three dimensional space in Northern England (Thought Bubble, where it launched) I read it already. I thought I would tell you that it is Good.

Chloe Noonan, if you never met her before, is a monster hunter who goes to sixth form, has ginger hair, has absolutely no super-powers and... well, she's a bit of a moody cow (in a totally loveable way) to be honest. She's in a band called Freudian Repercussions that has song titles long enough to fill a panel. You might want to go out with her, because she seems sort of like she's in your league, but she would probably keep you at a distance using a force field made of withering looks. Issue Two finds her grappling with a lobster monster bloke who's had a few too many ales and wants a girl (does he fancy Chloe? I think so).

Reading Chloe Noonan (so far, at least) isn't so much about following a plot as it is about dipping into the brain of Ellerby and seeing how things look from in there. The world he sees (or draws, at least) is charming, cynical and vibrant all at the same time. He pokes fun at pop culture while clearly revelling in it, and you can't help but enjoy it with him.

If you've ever read Ellerbisms, you already know that Ellerby has a knack for bringing instantly likeable, warm and real characters (OK, people in Ellerbisms) to the page. The inhabitants of Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter are no different. I'm already pretty scared that if I ever meet Chloe's mate, Zoe Fox, her teeth will do something bewitching to me and I'll find myself listening to My Chemical Romance and crying at teatime.

The other thing I would say is that the polish Ellerby delivers is impressive. I see a lot of small press stuff that looks... I'll say 'rough around the edges' - not this, though. The printing and overall presentation of the issue - like in the one before it - are on a par with what you'd expect from one of the bigger indie publishers like Oni Press. I really ought to mention that you get 28 pages, compared to the first issue's 16, too.

And, can I call Chloe Noonan the English Scott Pilgrim? Oh, I just did...

You should buy this. You can do so from marcellerby.com (along with Issue One). Hopefully it will filter out into your local comic shop soon, too. Oh, and here's a preview.

In case you're interested, here are a few words about some other good stuff from Thought Bubble.

UPDATE: I got hold of Marc and he told me that OK Comics and Page45 should have Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter Issue 2 this week, and London shops will hopefully have them next week.

Thought Bubble

2009-11-24T22:56:00.000Z

Thought Bubble happened last weekend. For me, in my role as Stall Monkey, it started at 7am with a trip to OK Comics to pick up stock. 7am is a disgusting time of day. If you've not seen it before, I don't recommend it.

Three hours, several miles of wear on my cons and 60 boxes of stock later and we actually saw some customers.

I'd love to tell you that the panels were amazing, but I didn't see a single one of them. What I can tell you is that from the point of view of someone running around like a maniace behind a stall, it was a massive success. The footfall was massive - an improvement over the last two years, which is no mean feat. People were spending money. We like that. And this guy here was dressed as Iron Man. That was pretty good.

The pros were all a credit to the industry. Mike Carey is, I discovered, The Nicest Man in Comics - he loves Cable more than you know. Axel Alonso should put him on X-Force after Craig Kyle and Chris Yost are done with it so he can put Cable and Domino on the team and appease our guilty inner fanboys. Jamie McKelvie dissed my cons at the bar (while somehow managing to be really nice - which makes it worse) - and not even because they were made by sweatshop children in India. I'll forgive him though, because he draws cute indie girls like no-one else in the world.

The best bit, however, was getting to see some of the small press offerings. Paper Science made its debut, showing off the likes of Katie West, Liz Lunney and Matt Jones. Marc Ellerby's Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter got a second issue, which is excellent news. I would have bought an awesome Flash T-shirt from Northern Delight, but all the other large and extra large nerds got there first. I also discovered the assorted goodies of Kristyna Baczynski (conveniantly right behind the OK tables - which we had 16m of), which you can see some of here.

And Richard Greg, who I think I can safely say makes my Top Ten Most OK (Comics) Customers list, was all there, looking like this:

That photo's from Matthew Kitchen. He's got loads more.

And it got me a full page feature in The Leed Guide (which is now out of date, on account of it being a preview).

So, yeah, it was good.