Here is our video review of Iron Man 3! The first film in Phase 2 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe! Does it live up to the hype? Find out here!
Sunday 28 April 2013
Iron Man 3 Movie Review
Here is our video review of Iron Man 3! The first film in Phase 2 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe! Does it live up to the hype? Find out here!
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Thor: The Dark World Trailer Analysis
Check out our new movie web-show! In this episode, David analyses the trailer for Thor: The Dark World. A Thanos appearance? Loki being a good guy? All that and more discussed in this episode! Watch below:
Saturday 20 April 2013
TEN Comic Book Show: Secret Avengers and Taskmaster!
The second episode of TEN's comic-book web show is here! In this episode, David reviews #1 and #2 of the Marvel NOW! Secret Avengers series. He also goes on a rant about Taskmaster and the awesome mini-series Taskmaster: Unthinkable! Watch it below:
Sunday 14 April 2013
Shadows of the Fallen: Alter Atom #1 Review
Shadows of the Fallen: Alter Atom #1 sees the debut of not only Meddling Media's third hero, but also their third writer in Kyle Colquhoun. The issue serves mainly as an origin story of the titular character, but also sets up new elements in Meddling Media's universe - most notably the the corrupt, experimental company Sol Sage. This is another solid issue in Meddling Media's line-up that you should definitely read, however it isn't their best offering and I still feel they have room to improve.
The story is a classic origin tale of a hero getting his powers, and experiencing some form of defeat that aspires him to be the best hero he can be. It's nothing the world hasn't seen before, but that doesn't keep it from being entertaining. What also helps keep this issue interesting is the character of Alter Atom (also known as Louis), has a lot of potential to grow, especially after the events of the final pages. He's one of the most interesting characters Meddling Media has put forward yet, and his connections to the company Sol Sage could also create some serious problems going forward which I look forward to reading about.
However, aside from Louis some of the other characters did seem a little cliché. There was the evil head scientist who is intent on nothing but testing out his experiments on people. The assistant who tries not to show it, but secretly knows what they're doing is wrong; these are characters we've seen before in numerous settings. That's not to say they can't be great characters once they have been developed more, after all, this is only the first issue in this series. However, at this point these characters do feel a little bland.
On the art side of things Alex Piccirillo puts some more good work forward, with some panels genuinely really impressing me. Piccirillo seems to work best with facial expressions and body language which are always very clear, something that can be hard to get right with some artists in the industry constantly putting the same facial expression on everyone's faces.
Where Piccirillo's art occasionally falters is when he has to draw full body shots. Sometimes arms and legs can look misshapen or disproportionate, which is something to be improved upon in the future. But, overall I'd say this is another nice-looking web comic with the issues not quite frequent enough to be a big problem.
The story is a classic origin tale of a hero getting his powers, and experiencing some form of defeat that aspires him to be the best hero he can be. It's nothing the world hasn't seen before, but that doesn't keep it from being entertaining. What also helps keep this issue interesting is the character of Alter Atom (also known as Louis), has a lot of potential to grow, especially after the events of the final pages. He's one of the most interesting characters Meddling Media has put forward yet, and his connections to the company Sol Sage could also create some serious problems going forward which I look forward to reading about.
However, aside from Louis some of the other characters did seem a little cliché. There was the evil head scientist who is intent on nothing but testing out his experiments on people. The assistant who tries not to show it, but secretly knows what they're doing is wrong; these are characters we've seen before in numerous settings. That's not to say they can't be great characters once they have been developed more, after all, this is only the first issue in this series. However, at this point these characters do feel a little bland.
On the art side of things Alex Piccirillo puts some more good work forward, with some panels genuinely really impressing me. Piccirillo seems to work best with facial expressions and body language which are always very clear, something that can be hard to get right with some artists in the industry constantly putting the same facial expression on everyone's faces.
Where Piccirillo's art occasionally falters is when he has to draw full body shots. Sometimes arms and legs can look misshapen or disproportionate, which is something to be improved upon in the future. But, overall I'd say this is another nice-looking web comic with the issues not quite frequent enough to be a big problem.
Comic-Book Sales: March 2013
March 2013 was a huge month for comics! From Age of Ultron and the Guardians of the Galaxy, to DC's new Constantine ongoing there was a lot for comic fans to get stuck into! So what sold big, and what got left behind? Find out here, as we take a look at last month's top titles as well as the struggling ones in our analysis of the March 2013 comic sales!
Last month saw two more Marvel NOW! titles launched in Guardians of the Galaxy and Wolverine and, as you can see above, both of them did extremely well - however that's not exactly surprising. Wolverine has always been a bit of a cash cow for Marvel, who can be relied on to sell copies of his own books. Meanwhile, with the Guardians of the Galaxy movie fast approaching our screens, it's hardly surprising that people were going to give the comic a go - especially when Marvel's biggest writer, Brian Michael Bendis is at the helm.
So, as I mentioned above, DC only got three titles in the Top 10 this month which is disappointing to say the least. Two of those titles, Batman and Justice League managed to sell over 100,000 copies though, which is still an achievement. However, I was surprised to see just how much the readership of Justice League of America fell over the course of a month. When the title debuted, it broke records selling over 300,000 copies, and while it isn't uncommon for a title's readership to drop with its second issue, for this title to have dropped under 100K already is worrying.
Outside the Top 10, DC's other big selling titles last month were Detective Comics at No. 18 with over 75,000 copies sold, with Green Lantern and Batman and Robin close behind at No. 19 and 20, both with sales of just over 69,000.
A title that sold surprising low last month was Green Arrow. When Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino came on board sales for the comic shot up, taking it from No. 100 to No. 58. However, this month despite the reaction to the new creative team being positive, the title plummets back down to No. 86. It's still doing better than it was pre-Lemire, but a surprising drop nonetheless.
DC's only new title this month was Constantine. The title is a relaunch of the Vertigo book Hellblazer which was controversially cancelled so it could be integrated into the New 52. The book makes a somewhat disappointing debut at No. 62 selling around 37,500 copies. Its a solid start for the title, but fairly underwhelming. The big question is will it be able to maintain these sales? So many New 52 titles start off strong and then lose readers fast.
Case in point, Vibe and Katana! Both of these books are only on their second issues, and are also both tied to the JLA and yet still they are flopping hard! Both books are now selling under 20,000 copies already which really isn't a good sign just two months into their lives.
But, they're nowhere near the worst selling New 52 books that are yet to be cancelled: Batwing, Demon Knights, Dial H and Stormwatch. These titles are all selling under 14,000 copies, with Batwing selling barely over 12,000. If you're reading any of these titles, I'd get ready to take them off your pull list because I don't think they will be around for much longer.
Image Comics: The Saga Continues
Image Comics has really been doing well recently. Brian K Vaughan's Saga has proven to be a great seller for them - not to mention critically acclaimed - the book makes the Top 50 every month and last month was no different where the book ranked No. 33 selling over 50,000 copies.
However, the big gun in Image's arsenal at the moment has to be The Walking Dead. As the TV show seems to do nothing but grow bigger and stronger, so does the comic book. Last month, The Walking Dead ranked No. 21 which is impressive for an independent title. Also, what this means is The Walking Dead is now outselling some of Marvel and DC's biggest books including New Avengers, Batman Incorporated and Action Comics.
Image also launched two more titles this month. Jonathan Hickman's East of West and Joe Casey's controversially titled Sex #1. Hickman's East of West managed a strong debut at No. 35 selling just under 50,000 copies. The much-anticipated book looks to be another winner for Image - that is if Hickman can actually maintain a regular release schedule.
Meanwhile, Sex #1 didn't make quite as much of an impact. It debuted at No. 98 with around 23,600 copies sold. Looks like the title of the book didn't help sales as much as the press coverage would suggest.
That's all the analysis we'll be doing on this month's comic sales, but please come back next month for more!
To start, here's the top ten comics of last month:
Marvel NOW! Continues...
Last month saw two more Marvel NOW! titles launched in Guardians of the Galaxy and Wolverine and, as you can see above, both of them did extremely well - however that's not exactly surprising. Wolverine has always been a bit of a cash cow for Marvel, who can be relied on to sell copies of his own books. Meanwhile, with the Guardians of the Galaxy movie fast approaching our screens, it's hardly surprising that people were going to give the comic a go - especially when Marvel's biggest writer, Brian Michael Bendis is at the helm.
The other big Marvel books this week were the first three issues in the Age of Ultron event comic. The book has been shipped at a blisteringly fast pace, presumably to get it out the door fast so that Marvel can go back to focusing on Thanos. Surprisingly, neither of the three issues made the No. 1 spot. Now, that's not to say that the event is doing badly - all three issues made the top 10 and sold over 100,000 copies - but normally the first issue of a Marvel event comic makes it to the top spot. Is this a sign that readers are finally giving in to event fatigue?
The really great news for Marvel is that they have got their hold back on the top 10. For a while, DC's New 52 had really been keeping the company at bay, however last month Marvel's books took not only the top spot, but also left only three spaces for DC.
Outside the top 10 this domination continued, with spaces 11-17 all taken up by Marvel books. Specifically, two Superior Spider-Man books - #6 and #6AU - Uncanny X-Men #3, Uncanny Avengers #5, Avengers #8, All-New X-Men #9, and Avengers #9.
So, those are your big-selling Marvel NOW! titles, now which ones aren't proving to be quite as popular? Well, first of all Winter Soldier continues to rank outside the Top 100 and so it's no surprise that the title has been cancelled! This week, Marvel released their July solicitations and Bucky Barnes' title was nowhere to be found. Marvel later confirmed the news. Any Winter Soldier fans can soon catch up with the character in the Secret Avengers as he joins the team soon.
The strange thing is, Winter Soldier isn't the company's worst-selling title by quite a lot. In fact, last month X-Factor, Morbius: The Living Vampire, and Gambit all sold worse than The Winter Soldier. However, it's worth noting that still all these titles sold over the 20K mark so they're probably still somewhat safe for the near future.
The titles that are really in the danger zone though, are Journey Into Mystery, Captain Marvel, Dark Avengers, and Red She-Hulk. All these titles are selling badly, however the only one I would worry about is Red She-Hulk which is the worst selling title by far. It sold little over 15,000 copies last month. When X-Treme X-Men hit these low numbers Marvel were quick to cancel it, and so I imagine the only thing keeping Red She-Hulk alive is the fact that Marvel want a variety of female-led titles.
DC: I'm Getting A Bad Vibe From Last Month's Sales
Outside the Top 10, DC's other big selling titles last month were Detective Comics at No. 18 with over 75,000 copies sold, with Green Lantern and Batman and Robin close behind at No. 19 and 20, both with sales of just over 69,000.
A title that sold surprising low last month was Green Arrow. When Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino came on board sales for the comic shot up, taking it from No. 100 to No. 58. However, this month despite the reaction to the new creative team being positive, the title plummets back down to No. 86. It's still doing better than it was pre-Lemire, but a surprising drop nonetheless.
DC's only new title this month was Constantine. The title is a relaunch of the Vertigo book Hellblazer which was controversially cancelled so it could be integrated into the New 52. The book makes a somewhat disappointing debut at No. 62 selling around 37,500 copies. Its a solid start for the title, but fairly underwhelming. The big question is will it be able to maintain these sales? So many New 52 titles start off strong and then lose readers fast.
Case in point, Vibe and Katana! Both of these books are only on their second issues, and are also both tied to the JLA and yet still they are flopping hard! Both books are now selling under 20,000 copies already which really isn't a good sign just two months into their lives.
But, they're nowhere near the worst selling New 52 books that are yet to be cancelled: Batwing, Demon Knights, Dial H and Stormwatch. These titles are all selling under 14,000 copies, with Batwing selling barely over 12,000. If you're reading any of these titles, I'd get ready to take them off your pull list because I don't think they will be around for much longer.
Image Comics: The Saga Continues
Image Comics has really been doing well recently. Brian K Vaughan's Saga has proven to be a great seller for them - not to mention critically acclaimed - the book makes the Top 50 every month and last month was no different where the book ranked No. 33 selling over 50,000 copies.
However, the big gun in Image's arsenal at the moment has to be The Walking Dead. As the TV show seems to do nothing but grow bigger and stronger, so does the comic book. Last month, The Walking Dead ranked No. 21 which is impressive for an independent title. Also, what this means is The Walking Dead is now outselling some of Marvel and DC's biggest books including New Avengers, Batman Incorporated and Action Comics.
Image also launched two more titles this month. Jonathan Hickman's East of West and Joe Casey's controversially titled Sex #1. Hickman's East of West managed a strong debut at No. 35 selling just under 50,000 copies. The much-anticipated book looks to be another winner for Image - that is if Hickman can actually maintain a regular release schedule.
Meanwhile, Sex #1 didn't make quite as much of an impact. It debuted at No. 98 with around 23,600 copies sold. Looks like the title of the book didn't help sales as much as the press coverage would suggest.
That's all the analysis we'll be doing on this month's comic sales, but please come back next month for more!
Thursday 11 April 2013
TEN Comic Book Show: Marvel NOW! New Avengers Review
In the first episode of TEN's latest web show, David Craig starts his review series of all the Marvel NOW! books he's reading beginning with New Avengers #1! Check out the show below and if you like it don't forget to like and subscribe! It really helps!
Friday 5 April 2013
Indie Comic Spotlight: Velica
In this new feature, we're going to be picking out some of the best new indie comics coming our way soon and today, we're going to be looking at Velica: The next powerful woman in comics? Quite possibly! With some nice art and an interesting story, Velica is shaping up to make some waves in the indie comic circuit.
Originally released in 2008, this is a comic whose readership has done nothing but grow and become more enthusiastic in the last five years. This year, Velica is coming back in a big way relaunching with a new print and distribution deal with Toledo Publishing and making itself known to as many comic fans as it can.
Here's a brief synopsis of the series from the folks at Velica Comics:
"Velica started life as Shauna Saunders, daughter to a brilliant Bio-Technologist named Alexander Saunders. Her mother, Anna Saunders, reluctantly supported her husband’s work, but wanted him to get a job with which he could support the family. She would find solace in Dominic Perrin, Shauna’s “adoptive” uncle. Dominic was the majority shareholder for Alexander’s company. Soon, the relationship between Alexander and Dominic became increasingly strained and ultimately, Alexander paid for his passion with his life. He entrusted his daughter Shauna with continuing his legacy. Now, Shauna fights her dad’s battles in her quest for justice."
Having had a look at some of the beautiful preview pages of the first issues we can tell you Velica's quest takes her to some nasty places, and pits her against some dangerous foes.
This isn't a kids story, let's put it that way.
One of the most interesting things about Velica is how passionate the people producing it are. Ken Johnson created Velica and has since been working hard writing and illustrating it with help from colourist Kirsty Swan. In the past few years despite the challenges that the comic world continues to face, Velica hasn't given up but instead grown stronger. The series is even now aiming to be adapted into a short film. For more on that, click here to go to their IndieGoGo page and get involved!
Velica is currently in the process of reprinting all of its original issues, and preparing a new US series launch for the Spring of 2013. The Velica team will also be appearing at this year's Chicago Comic-Con, so expect some more news around that time. Meanwhile, to keep updated on this exciting new project, you can go to Velica Comic's Facebook page by clicking here or go to their website by clicking here!
Originally released in 2008, this is a comic whose readership has done nothing but grow and become more enthusiastic in the last five years. This year, Velica is coming back in a big way relaunching with a new print and distribution deal with Toledo Publishing and making itself known to as many comic fans as it can.
Here's a brief synopsis of the series from the folks at Velica Comics:
"Velica started life as Shauna Saunders, daughter to a brilliant Bio-Technologist named Alexander Saunders. Her mother, Anna Saunders, reluctantly supported her husband’s work, but wanted him to get a job with which he could support the family. She would find solace in Dominic Perrin, Shauna’s “adoptive” uncle. Dominic was the majority shareholder for Alexander’s company. Soon, the relationship between Alexander and Dominic became increasingly strained and ultimately, Alexander paid for his passion with his life. He entrusted his daughter Shauna with continuing his legacy. Now, Shauna fights her dad’s battles in her quest for justice."Having had a look at some of the beautiful preview pages of the first issues we can tell you Velica's quest takes her to some nasty places, and pits her against some dangerous foes.
This isn't a kids story, let's put it that way.
One of the most interesting things about Velica is how passionate the people producing it are. Ken Johnson created Velica and has since been working hard writing and illustrating it with help from colourist Kirsty Swan. In the past few years despite the challenges that the comic world continues to face, Velica hasn't given up but instead grown stronger. The series is even now aiming to be adapted into a short film. For more on that, click here to go to their IndieGoGo page and get involved!
Velica is currently in the process of reprinting all of its original issues, and preparing a new US series launch for the Spring of 2013. The Velica team will also be appearing at this year's Chicago Comic-Con, so expect some more news around that time. Meanwhile, to keep updated on this exciting new project, you can go to Velica Comic's Facebook page by clicking here or go to their website by clicking here!