It’s taken me a while to get round to sitting down & putting my thoughts about Kick Ass on the proverbial page. Even though only two issues have been released since I last spoke about it, the time period between that article and this one has been almost 10 months. My opinions about Kick Ass remain as unchanged as its ability to ship regularly. However as the current run ended its first arc I couldn’t help but think that it was worth writing about again because well... you know... that’s what we do here.

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There are few comic book creators who seem to have the “golden touch”. Morrison, Moore, Ellis, Ennis and Gaiman all seem to have the habit of turning anything they touch in to rare works of precious metal. Johns, Bendis and Millar are close to circling in the same rarefied air; however one writer is, (for this monkey anyway) in danger of being picked up in an up current and being swept to the very top of the mountain (Ok that’s enough, I’m running out of metaphors to mix). Brian Wood seems incapable of producing any thing other than perfectly crafted work. Demo, now in it’s second run and now published by Vertigo seems to be the perfect showcase for a man that even when restricted by 22 pages still turns out a perfectly honed story, which stays with you, days after reading. If you are anything like me, you will feel this is a writer who is approaching comic book perfection. The start to this new series had just such an effect and leaves quite a marker for what promises to be once again, a seminal series.

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I read Jon’s post about a sequel to Watchmen with some confusion, why is the Watchmen Sequel news and why are comic fans getting so upset?  

Am I the only one who remembers WatchmeX (A.K.A. Watchmen Xtreme) a comic book made by DC in the 80s and 90s?  Or how about the prequels from the 1960's known as the The Minutemen, which the Watchmen was based on?  Or how about the short lived Watchmen manga series?  And I can't be the only one who remembers the famous Pancakes of Doom issue?

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In an effort to make it look like I’ve done some work this week & haven’t in fact just spent the majority of my time hiding bodies in haystacks on Assassins Creed 2, I’ve “recycled” some news off the Empire website (who in turn “recycled” this titbit of fanboy frontpagedness from Bleeding Cool). You could just go & read it there but to be perfectly honest their coverage isnt half as good as ours so you should probably just click on that nice red sentence below. Go on... You'll be glad you did, promise.

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If you listened to MOMBcast #19 (or indeed read that article below) you will know this week was the first in a series of spotlights we’ll be doing covering the essential Tin Tin books in the run up to next years film. To start with we look at a two part story which has provided the inspiration for the movie, In which we are introduced to all of the main cast which you will (or have) become accustomed too, and are also treated to a proper globe trotting adventure story, which 65 years after it was written still looks crisp and well drawn and can still entertain no matter how many times you read it. This is Herge’s Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackhams Treasure.

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With titles like Gotham City Sirens it can feel like a real leap in the dark when the creative team that’s been driving it for the last 7 months changes, even slightly. With the writer giving over the story telling duties to the artist it can make you wonder where the title is going. GCS has been one of my favourite titles for a while now, and Paul Dini has managed to keep interest with a series of whimsical and engaging books, which actually made for quite a satisfying first arc, rounded off last month with a charming “home is were the heart is” Christmas Tale. On the surface this series could have just been “old enough to know better” mans wet dream, but although the art at times has served to rather over accentuate their curves, I’ve really started to emotionally invest in the all girl team that Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy  and Selina Kyle have formed. It was a relief that issue 8 is not only far from a let down but maybe one of the best tales from the Sirens yet.

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During the Punishers one-man war against the mob (and criminals in general) we’ve seen him kill, extort, kidnap, torture and threaten all that cross him.  He’s used pretty much every weapon imaginable to dispose of his enemies and by now Franks kill count must in the thousands (if not millions).  And that’s all there is to Frank, he’s a one dimensional character, most stories see him kill people, lots of them, in an attempt to avenge the murder of his family.  Which is why when a concept like Franken-Castle comes along you just have to sit up and take notice.

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At last the trailer for The Losers is online!  For those that haven’t read the comic the trailer may just look like another action film.  To those that have read The Losers by Andy Diggle and Jock you’ll notice lots of references to the first arc it’s based on (Ante Up), some of which I've shown below. 

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It was difficult to avoid Apples latest gadget release yesterday.  As a comic fan I looked on with interest as comic writers, artists and fans tweeted, blogged and spoke how the iPad could help boost comic sales and introduce new readers. 

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The Tin Tin movie is in the can, and is undergoing a magical CGI transformation to somehow make Pegg and Frost into the bugling detectives Thompson and Thomson. It is of course a tantalising prospect given the creative team behind the movie; it has all the right ingredients to bring to life European comics most celebrated celebrity. But to get the most out of these classic stories it really helps to have an appreciation of why the books are so loved, and to understand the appeal that has given them their longevity. As a fan of the Belgian boy reporter it still amazes me that many of my comic books reading friends are yet to discover Tin Tin or haven’t picked up one of his books since leaving school. So in the run up to the film at the end of next year, each month on the site and the pod, I’ll have a Tin Tin primer, running though the books, and hopefully convincing a few of you yet to pick up Herges timeless creation get a bit of old fashioned, quality story telling into your lives.

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When the promo shots for #1 of The Boys first appeared Garth Ennis was quoted as saying that this series would “out preacher, Preacher”. I guessed that he meant that it was going to have even more sex and gore than his previous masterpiece. However despite the best efforts of Ennis & Robertson I’ve yet to find anything that has turned my stomach as much as Quincannon & his meat missus. I’m sure that won’t stop them trying though. What I really want to see is if The Boys can make me care about its characters in the same way I did those in Preacher. With #38 there are the first hints that it’s going to try

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Just had to post this....

There are few things that can throw me into such frenzy that I’m prepared to trample friends in order to get to them. Maybe such a response could be solicited from a particularly nice looking doughnut or maybe an offer of a night of consequence free fun with Dita Von Tease. In comics few titles solicit quite as strong a response. However the prospect of a new Grant Morrison title, and especially one outside of the confines of traditional comic book continuities, did just that to me this week. Joe the barbarian saw me (literally as it turns out) trampling over the feet of my comic book shop visiting friends, to ensure I secured my copy, and rescued it from its lonely perch on the shelf.

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Dear Interwebs,

I have a confession to make. Much as I love Batman, I’ve never read an issue of The Outsiders until today. There are just so many Bat books, its hard to stay up to date with everything, and I’ve just never gotten round to picking up this book. I know it might seem weird that I only grab a copy when Superman is plastered on the front cover given my (here I go again) “difficult” relationship with the Man of Steel, but the creative Team of Dan Didio and Philip Tan was a just a little too intriguing to pass over.

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I can only imagine that the next seven days are going to be somewhat up & down for Joss Whedon. On the 24^th January he is due to receive the Vanguard award from the Producers Guild of America. Then on the 29^th of January, his current TV show, Dollhouse is due to end its second series having been cancelled by Fox.

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                “Brilliant” Homer Simpson once enthused of Twin Peaks,” I have no idea what’s going on”. The same might be said for Boom Studio’s latest offering, Kill Audio. As comic books go, this submission has found me wandering well outside my four colour comfort zone into a strange land where people don’t wear spandex & immortal heroes are constantly in danger of attempted murder by their nearest & dearest. But then what else would you expect from the brain of a rock star? Only this time that rock star isn’t Gerard Way, but one that happens to have much cooler hair

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  If you have read one of my previous Superman related blogs, you’ll know I struggle to enjoy stories featuring the Man Of Steel ™. So then it will be somewhat of a surprise that I’ve stuck with Geoff Johns reboot of the Adventure Comics title, featuring his half genetic double, Superboy (Superman’s, not Geoff John’s, that’s a whole different book).  The story features him struggling with the duality of his nature, being as he is, half Supes, half Lex Luthor. The question he asks him self is what would either of those characters do, to decide which path in life he is destined to travel. Much like him I found myself noting what would a Superman loving blogger do? Here then are my conclusions…

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David Mazzucchelli has had a loud career in comics, VERY LOUD!  Working with Frank Miller on both Batman Year One and Daredevil Born Again he changed peoples perception of comic books, no longer would they be seen as medium aimed at children, he helped prove that comics could also appeal to adults.  Both books are also considered by many to be the finest Daredevil and Batman stories ever told, so I think we can all agree that Mazzucchelli has achieved greatness in the world of comics.

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The lure of the magical number one has drawn me in again. I can’t help myself it seems. However if you pop a number 1 on a cover that literally shouts at you from the shelf, there is no way I’m going to be able to resist. From it’s striking newspaper cover this is a book that screams in your face for attention. Mixing wry satirical humour with an engaging and weird cast of characters, taking its stories from the web "news" site of the same name it’s an instantly enjoyable and silly book.

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Written and art by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon.  Colours by Dave Stewart.  Cover by Gabriel Bá  

After reading issue two of Daytripper I hesitated writing about it.  I wrote my thoughts on issue #1 and had planned to write about the whole series when it wrapped up with issue #10.  But this is such a good comic I expect I’ll be writing about every issue!

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