When Cable Fooled Deadpool..

A Vamp to die for

This is how Female Vampires are supposed to be depicted. Strong, Confidant, Dangerous , Alluring and Saucy..

Covers for Dynamite's Vampirella#1

Which red blooded male would not go crazy for her? And that my dear friend is exactly the point.

But just because Vampirella wears a flimsy one piece swim suit for a costume, don't presume she is all about shallow storytelling and pleasing the fan boys (although admittedly, the swim suit IS about pleasing the fan boys!!). She has a long and winding history and along the way she has been helped by some of the topmost talent in comic industry-
Alan Moore (Watchmen , V for Vendetta, Top 10)
Grant Morrison ( Invisibles, Final Crisis)
Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Planetary)
Mike Carey (Lucifer, Unwritten)
to name a few..

And now Eric Trautman joins this list of luminaries.. And from his interviews, seems like the perfect time to jump back on Vampirella Bandwagon.. Buffy- eat your heart out!

Secret Origin Of DC Universe..

This is DC's 75th year anniversary on that occasion they are releasing a behind the scenes documentary. Have a look at the trailer.... Hopefully they would be talking through not only the history of Company, but also through various talent that defined their Characters. .. Wonder if Alan Moore finds some screen time here, given his spat with DC!..

Much Ado About Nothing..

A Change is coming... A change that will wake you and keep you up..A change that will be difficult to ignore much less forget....
Something is happening in the BAT world.. An event of such a huge importance and significance that it possesses the power to alter the bat Mythos significantly...

BATMAN IS BRINGING BACK THE YELLOW SYMBOL ON HIS COSTUME ( that he stopped wearing in 1998...and some changes to the cape and the belt)

Booyah!!

Tsh..dunn..dhuk..drat..

What? did you do a double take? did you expected something else?
What did you say? It wasn't worth a blog post?

Well, most of Comic news sites are covering this piece.. so I figured, I might as well jump on the bandwagon ..just to show how ridiculous this piece of news is..
This was tolerable when Wonder Woman changed costume recently. She at least made a drastic change!

Seriously, was it a slow news day that we had to publicise BATMAN altering his costume? and that too a costume he wore earlier.. You don't see Paris Hilton wearing the same costume again do you? Bats is a billionare dude.. He would get new stylish digs!!..

Did I just compare BATMAN to Paris Hilton?

I need sleep..

M over and out.

Comic Book Review : The Unwritten

Let me save some 10 minutes of your time and say it out aloud - Go buy this book . Period! This is quite possibly the next big thing to come from vertigo since "Fables".

Still not convinced?  Very well then, lets talk about the first collection of the ongoing series from Vertigo  : The Unwritten , by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.

Beware though, some spoilers ahead ..

Tommy Taylor the protagonist of Tommy Taylor  series of novels, is a beloved fantasy character and a cultural phenomenon. (Think Harry Potter!). The author of said series - Wilson Taylor - disappeared some years ago leaving behind his son Tom Taylor , the inspiration for the beloved creation. Now an adult, Tom does the convention rounds and signings to make a living. He failed to get a part in the movie franchise , failed as an actor, failed as a novelist , failed as a trumpeter. Consequently , he has nothing else to sustain himself but the convention circuit and he is not too happy about it - Living off a father's legacy that left him when he was a child.

A father who had bequeathed not a cent of his million dollar estate to him, save a knowledge of arcane Literary Geography. Yes Tom can tell you which author wrote which book where and when. He can also tell you which actual locations were inspirations for fictional places.

While his literary geography might be top notch, it doesn't help him to earn money does it?
 And soon his reality would come crashing down and he would begin to question everything around him.

At a convention, an innocuous looking fan shows some pictures and documents which makes it seem that the identity of Tom Taylor is suspect, he might not be who he think he is. And soon enough a Bosnian refugee family claims him as their own! They claim Tom was loaned to Wilson Taylor to act out the part of his son Tom Taylor for publicity!

To make matters worse, he is soon kidnapped by someone who claims to be Count Ambrosia  ( Tommy Taylor's arch nemesis), and from there on all hell breaks loose! Has fiction become real? Who is Tommy Taylor and Who is Tom Taylor?

In unwritten , a story that starts out as a "day in life" memoir, goes on to become a conspiracy spanning generations, encompassing such literary stalwarts as Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling and from the looks of it, just might go on to become a comment on the nature of stories themselves!

We have the bogus identity of Tom Taylor, angry fans out for blood , a cult who thinks he is the returned messiah, an assassin on his trail, a world map with locations of all the important stories to hit the world, and a secret society who seems to be controlling the living world through the fictional !
and all of this in just five issues collected here! 

So join me in walking with Tom Taylor as he digs deeper into all the mysteries surrounding him and tries to uncover why his father wanted him to be acquainted with the geography related to literature.

As the book says- Only stories are worth dying for! Is Tom prepared to die for his story?

Mike Carey is at the top of his game, sculpting words flawlessly together. The art by Peter Gross is an apt fit.
In short , there is simply no reason why you shouldn't be reading this!

Go out and get yourself a copy now. Thank me later.

M.

The London effect..

Recent additions to the library. @courtesy London..

SuperLikes - Comics that caught my eye

Every month , I order some comics that are first time reads for me. This column will talk about those comics and why have I chosen to try them

Title - NORTH 40

Why am I interested ?
Because of the high concept - The residents of an isolated rural area discover superhuman - and supernatural - power in their midst. The power stops at the county line, but inside the afflicted area, something ancient and malevolent stirs as new monsters arise. Can Wyatt, an unlikely hero from the wrong side of the tracks, join forces with Sheriff Morgan and town outcast Amanda to keep the county from imploding or being eaten by mighty Cthulhu?

I am always willing to open my wallet to any comic that invokes Lovercraft imagery. Why this won out is because of its writer - Aaron Williams, whose PS238 is just simply excellent




Title - GANTZ Vol 14

Why am I interested?
I have heard very positive reviews of Gantz, but couldnt get into it form the beginning as ofcourse I cant find the first volume anywhere in Delhi, and my subscriptions are only for upcoming comics.
Although I tend not to get into a series so late into its publication , I am making an exception in this case because this comic had me at :" A gang of vampire guys . . . who can grow samurai swords from their very flesh"..
Any comic that uses "Gang" , "Vampire" , "Samurai Sword" and "Flesh" in the same sentence is A.ok in my book!




 Title - HETALIA AXIS POWERS

Why am I interested?
Simply because I have heard so much praise for this comic. This about 3 people - the anthropomorphic entities for Germany, Italy and Japan and their interactions with the rest of the world. It is a brilliant satire of the world politics , current and past. Makes me wish I had thought of this concept myself. Just so me!

Solicitation text reads:  During World War 1, gruff Germany finds Italy hiding in a wooden box of tomatoes. Germany takes Italy as prisoner, but instead of war-like interrogation, Italy becomes more of the nuisance and unwanted guest. World War I quickly comes to an end, but World War II is right on its heels! This time, Italy tries his best to become friends with Germany. They soon befriend Japan, and the three of them form the Axis Powers. Meanwhile, America, who loves heroism and hamburgers, tries to form a treaty, as Great Britain reminisces about when America was his loving child!

Excited Yet? I am !! Can't wait to start reading this one.


Title - DEADMAN WONDERLAND (Vol 3)


Why am I interested?
Chanced upon this title while going through previews. Missed the first two volumes (Damn!), but this is still early enough for any manga. The storyline takes place in a world where a massive earthquake occured 10 years before the start of the story. In present day a mid-schooler is given death penalty for supposedly killing his classmates and sentenced to a bizarre prison known only as "deadman wonderland". This is where he will be challenged with deadly prison games, where survival comes at an unthinkable price. 
This has the potential to be a thrilling read. We will see.

 Title : PRIEST

Why am I interested?
Been meaning to read this one for ages. Its actually a manhwa (Korean Comic) instead of a Manga (Japanese Comic). One of the very first to become famous outside Korea. This fuses the Western genre with supernatural horror, Gun fu, and dark fantasy themes and is notable for its unusual, angular art style. As the name suggests , it has christian undertones and the story is about humanity's battle against 12 fallen angels. The story takes place over 3 time periods - Crusades, Wild West and Modern times. This has the potential to be Epic!
I have to give thanks to Gerard Butler and Sam Raimi. Because they are making a movie on this series, the publisher is kindly re-releasing these out of print items! 


So these are my choices for the month. What do you guys think?