Doctor Who Comics Issues 1 to 3

 

It would seem that the 10th & 13th Doctor cannot stop bumping into each other, fresh from their encounter with the Weeping Angels and Autons in 60's London and their brief encounter during the Time Lord Victorious comic. They are once again thrown together as they both arrive in modern day London, but unfortunately for them its a war torn London overran by Sea Devils that has Rose Tyler as the head of the resistance.

As with all things not everything is as it seems and the Sea Devils are not the biggest threat they are just the hired mussel to keep humans in check, the Skithra from the TV episode Tesla's Night of Terror are the real power bent on world domination. while the 13th Doctor is figuring all this out the 10th Doctor is meeting Rose again who has no idea who he is, despite this they both team up to try and put the worlds to right although the Doctor is not a fan of the rather large gun Rose now has.

It seems that the change the world is linked to the TV episode and the lack of the Doctor being there so both Doctors decide to travel back to that time to sort things out and put time back on track, which is not as easy as it may seem as you will know if you have seen Back to the Future part 2. 

TARDIS issues, mistaken identity and a trip to 1903 New York all make issue 3 an enjoyable read, add  in two Doctors, Sea Devils and various companions and you have a cracking issue in your hands.

The inclusion of the Sea Devils from classic Doctor Who is an inspired decision and makes me want to see them return to New Who, Roberta Ingranata artwork is great with the likeness of the characters being very consistent throughout the issue something that inst always the case. Jody Houser is really hitt her stride with the 13th Doctor storys, I did think I would become tiered of the 10th & 13th Doctor hook ups but she has crafted some wonderful story lines and long may it continue. 

Future State: The Next Batman

The DC Timeline has been shattered, and the pieces of a dark possible Future State are reflected!

Well that's the blurb from DC out of the way which gives a quick if not detailed explanation as to why we now have a New or Next Batman, which is a problem as this story and others under the Future State banner have branched out of the end of the Dark Knights Death Metal story line. Which if like me you haven't read it you do wonder whats going on and why is the future like this, but in the end I decided to just go with the flow.

Gotham is now a police state controlled by the Magistrate and his or her army of foot soldiers, capes and masks aren't welcome in Gotham and theres a shoot to kill policy for any that are seen. Bruce Wayne is missing presumed dead (read Dark Detective for an answer on that one), so Luke Fox has stepped into the void and taken on the mantle of the Bat.  As you would expect this first issue spends time world building bit its a testament to writer John Ridley that it doesn't slow down the pace of the book, and for a first issue that's setting a tone for what is essentially a 4 issue mini series its surprisingly good.  I particularly enjoyed reading a Batman stripped of all his back-up, no friendly commissioner or sidekicks to help him out which to be honest makes for a refreshing change, and gives the book a Batman Year One feel to it. 

There are two backup storys featuring the Outsiders and the Arkham Knights the latter being the more fun read, just because it has Two-Face and the serial killer Mister Zszsz working for the good guys, well sort of.

All in all its a book thats worth the cost of admission and your investment in characters that will probably be disappearing in around 3 months when the DC Universe reverts back to normal, or will they?

Meet the Writer:

The Award Winning

Bobby Nash

The first time I came across the author Booby Nash was while listening to a podcast called Earth Station One, Bobby was one of the co-hosts of the weekly show where he was introduced as writer Bobby Nash. After several weeks of listening my curiosity got the better of me and I checked out his work on Amazon, where I purchased one of his books Deadly Games to read on my Kindle.

At that point in my life I was doing a lot of traveling so reading while sat on a train or in a hotel was how I wiled away the hours, it was while quickly scanning through Deadly Games I noted that it tied into another of Bobby's books called Evil Ways, not sure which one to read first I thought I would take a punt and sent Bobby a message via Facebook asking that very question. To my surprise he came back almost immediately with the answer, that they both sit in the same world so although one was written before the other it didn't matter which one you read. Adding that he thought it was a good question so could he use it on his blog quoting me if he needed too, I was blown away by the fact he had not only come back to me but had asked my permission to use my question on his blog. It was the first ever interaction I had with Bobby and it was one that has always stuck with me, I would however discover over the following years communication with his fans is something that Bobby excels at.

Over the years I had many more online, text and email conversations with Bobby which included an interview on this blog about him, his work and how he gets his ideas. In 2015 I was lucky enough to visit a convention in Atlanta and meet up with Bobby, I was a little nervous but my nerves soon went when we met as I found Booby to be the same wonderful friendly, warm human-being he was during or online conversations. 

Now i know that it takes more than being a nice person to be a good writer and to sell books, which is where Bobby excels because he is both. And that is just not my opinion because Bobby is an award wining writer on more than one occasion, and you do not get to be award winning unless your good at what you do. 

I could list all the books and comics that Bobby has written, but I think its more fun clicking on to his links to see his work and believe me there is a vast plethora of work to view. Check his web page, his Amazon page and subscribe to his newsletter Nash News for all the latest news, and if you like what you see try one of his books if you see something that you like. I once encouraged a work colleague to buy one of Bobby's books saying if she didn't enjoy it I would give her her money back, she has never asked me for a penny.

Day 1 Rome

Not the perfect start we were hoping for, our hotel says it has a problem so we cannot stay there tonight.  I suspect they have overbooked and don't want to tell us, we have been moved into a hotel across the road which is of a very good standard. We have to stay there for one night before being moved back to our original hotel, we have been assured that all our bags will be moved for us and we will be upgraded for our troubles. It's not a major inconvenience but it does mean we cannot unpack until tomorrow, which is a bit of a pain. We are currently in the Domus Romana, and as I said it's  an hotel as good as the one we should be in.
On the plus side we visited the Trevi Fountain, had our first pizza and gelato, walked miles and had a few beers not a bad first day.

Back at last

To anyone who read my blog or even looked forward to reading it, (that last sentence may be a stretch) I apologise for my absence over the last seven months.

There has been varying reasons for my absence but in truth the biggest one is I just needed to get my shit together, yes I have had a few health issues but I needed to get myself out of a rut and get back to doing stuff I love again. Not that I haven't been doing stuff I love I just haven't been sharing and shouting about like I used too, well that changes from today and over the coming weeks, months and year I am going to be talking (writing) about all the geeky things I love again.

So hold on to your hats as I share with you the comics you should be reading, TV & films you should be watching and podcasts you should be listening too. Along with any other odd item I decide to throw in, so to anyone that has been waiting with bated breath for my next post (again a stretch) thank you and as Austin Powers once said.

 

Flintlock #1 An Adventure in the 18th Century (Time Bomb Comics)

Flintlock is the creation of writer and driving force behind Time Bomb comics Steve Tanner, and was brought to life in a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year. Since then Steve has been tirelessly promoting Flitlock around the convention circuit, and having a high degree of success doing so from what I read. Flintlock is an anthology book featuring there independent original story's, that are set within the same time period and presumably the same universe.

Lady Flintlock: art from Anthony Summey, is the first of the strong female characters that dominate this book. The story perfectly highlights the hypocrisy of the rich aristocracy, as their motives to capture the highwayman that has become a thorn in their side. Is shown to be motivated by personal greed rather than public justice, while the highwayman's motives are implied but not fully revealed in this first issue.

Shanti, Pirate Queen: art by Lorenzo Nicoletta gives us the second heroine of the book, who literally runs a tight ship and is not a lady to be messed with or challenged. As she clearly shows as she takes on a slave trader although her motives are not as benevolent as first may seem, and the ending of the story shows she is defiantly not someone who you would want to disappoint

Clockwork Cavalier art by Ed Machiavello takes the book in a steampunk direction as the cavalier fights his way through the criminal element of the day, in a story told through the eyes of two young kids who are at the crossroads of their life.






Although the story's are totally different regarding there environment and characters, the tone and feel that this is one universe has been brilliantly crafted by writer Steve Tanner. The black & white art throughout the book is also a plus as I feel that adding colour, would only dilute the grim and gritty period feel you get from each story. Which brings me to the art work which is excellent across all 3 story's, you can see that a great deal of research has been done to ensure that the time period is depicted as accurately as possible. The different art styles blend together really well, and are not jarring as they sometimes can be in anthology books. Which is as much as a credit the the artists themselves, as it is to the creative team who hired them and put them together

I was a big fan of Stevens work before Flintlock came out having meet him and his wonderful family at a convention a few years back, his work was good then but Flintlock takes his work to a whole new level of excellence. And I dont regret for one minute supporting his kickstarter when it was announced, and I am now eagerly awaiting the release of the next book in the series.



Copies of Flintlock and other books are available from the Time Bomb Comics website

Aquaman 3

 

Aquaman continues his quest to build trust between the people of the land, (us then) and the people of the sea the Atlanteans.  Unfortunately for Aquaman this is not an easy task given that Atlantis attacked several city's drowning thousands of people, in the Throne of Atlantis story line that featured in the early days of DC's new 52 (what ever happened to that bright new dawn for DC).
However undeterred by mistrust on both side Aquaman has built an Atlantean embassy  to help build bridges, unfortunately last issue it was destroyed by Black Manta leaving his dreams seemingly in tatters.

Despite this Aquaman is determined to rebuild his embassy and his dream of peaceful coexistence, a dream that is given a blow when he is told his embassy status has been revoked and he no longer has access to his embasy. So it a trip to Washington to speak with the president to try and resolve the situation, but not before he has had a chance to say a proper good morning to his future wife Mera (her words not mine).

So its off to Washington where they both turn up at the White House and ask to speak to the President, now if I had known you could get into the Whitehouse by tuning up in costume I would have given it a go when we visited. A tense meeting  at the Whitehouse between Aquaman, Mera and the Chief of Staff goes from bad to worse, when Aquaman becomes the focal point of blame when an Atlantean splinter group sinks a US ship at sea. This leads to a final panel that seems a little out of sorts for me, given Aquaman is a Justice League member and a visiting king with his queen would he really be treated this way?

Interspersed in the Aquman story is Black Mantas prison van breakout by a new character (to me anyway) of Black Jack, now she looks an interesting character but given she's dressed in black leather and has an electronic eye. I'm guessing she is someone who cannot be fully trusted, a feeling that Black Manta apparently shares with me as he tries to fight his way through her henchmen. Before doing what all villains and heroes do eventually and actually listen to what the other person to say, and given that they both have a common interest an alliance of sorts is agreed for now.

The Aquaman book suffered a little during its new 52 run but its had a solid start so far during Rebirth, but for me this is the weakest issue of the rebirth run so far. Having said that its still not a bad read, and writer Dan Abnett is doing a good job writing a more thoughtful and diplomatic Aquaman. Philippe Briones has the artwork duty on this issue and it is simply gorgeous and worth the price of the book alone, his attention to detail is exceptional and the book is well worth several look troughs just for the artwork alone.

As I wrote earlier Aquaman Rebirth has been a solid read and is certainly a step up from its run in the new 52, it hasn't reached the heights of Geoff Johns run yet but given time it looks like it could get there.

Batman vs Superman, My Thoughts.

As far as films go this one seems to be one of the most divisive comic book film in recent year, it seems that comic fans and film fans either love it or hate it. Even before the film began shooting fans were voicing their opinions on the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. So it was not a big surprise to me that when the film was released, it was meet by a stream of hate and seemingly glee that the film could be a flop. However as with most things I decided not to believe all that I read and make up my own mind, so last Saturday my wife and I paid our money sat in the cinema with the hope of been entertained and entertained we were.

I absolutely loved this film it was everything I had hoped it would be but as a DC fan I'm an easy sell, my wife who isn't a comic fan and doesn't have any preconceived notions on how things should or shouldn't be also loved it. On reflection and after talking things through with my wife there are area the film could have been tightened up, but as a first film in what will hopefully be an on-going franchise it was a great start.

Ben Affleck nailed it for me as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, in fact I would go as far to say he is the best Bruce Wayne we have seen on the big screen. This is a Batman who has been worn down by years of fighting crime, he has suffered losses and has little faith left in people and the world. He is even secretive with his butler Alfred the man he should trust implicitly, this isn't Adam Wests Batman its not even Tim Burtons this is Frank Millar's Dark Knight, and its played superbly.

Henry Cavill was once again great as Superman and gave a better performance in this film than he did in Man of Steel, his portrayal of a Superman who is still finding his place in the world and who makes mistakes is a joy to watch.

Gal Gadot  is also fantastic as Wonder Woman and while people are complaining she is underused, I think she is used just right her entrance in costume at the climax of the film had this geek nearly jumping out of his seat cheering. It was a perfect set up for her much anticipated and long overdue film, which is due out around July 2017 and cannot come out soon enough for me.

Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is as far removed from the Lex Luthor of previous films and TV shows as you can get, while I wasn't totally sold on this interpretation of Lex his performance of what seemed to be an hyperactive genius was excellent. And to be fair to Jesse if he had played him like previous versions of Lex then he would still have been slated, a case of dammed if you do dammed if you don't.

Other pluses for me were Jeremy Irons as Alfred the inclusion although briefly of Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg all of which were perfect setups for the forthcoming Justice League film. If I had one niggle it was the inclusion of Doomsday, I thought this was maybe one character too many. I would have preferred to have seen Luthor in his powered armour take on the heroes but that's the fan in me, I understand given the ending on why Doomsday was included I just wasn't a fan of how he was shoehorned in.

Since the arrival of the Marvel films that ultimately led into the Avengers, fans have been asking why DC cannot build towards a Justice League film. Well we now know Man of Steel and this film are building towards what the fans have been asking for, is it perfect no it isn't but then again not all the Marvel films were but that tends to be overlooked. So while the haters some of whom openly say they haven't seen the film and don't intend to, continue to revel in the poor reviews and fall in 2nd week attendances. I will continue to tell people to go see the film and make up their own minds, because I loved it and I want to see more of my DC heroes on the big screen.

2015 My Geekiest of Years.

As is usual for this time of year I like to look back on the things that geeked me out in the previous year, looking back there were lots of things in 2015 that just blew me away here are some of the most memorable.

Our first USA Convention.
As I posted back in June we visited our first State side convention last year and had the time of our life, we were total over-welled by the friendship and love that was shown to both of us by what had up to that point been friends we had meet on social medium. I was a little nervous meeting them at first but my nerves were unfounded, as I went to shake the hand of Mike Faber the host of the ESO Podcast and he said ''no sir you get a hug'' and at that point all nerves disappeared. Later meetings with Howdy Mike Gordon, Jennifer Hartshorn, Phantom Troublemaker and Nikki Rau-Baker all went the same way I have never felt so at ease with people I have just met it was like meeting old friends again.

                                                                          Bobby & myself

Author Bobby Nash was at the convention and as a fan of his work it was great to meet him at last, he joined us at our table on the first night and sat and talked with us for around an hour. I was sat there thinking don't be a fan boy, don't be a fan boy but I totally was, Bobby also introduced me to his friend and fellow author James Palmer. James is not only talented but very friendly and great to talk to, I was also lucky enough to do an interview with James on my blog a few months after the convention. I would encourage any one to check out the work of both Bobby and James on their webpages, as it seems like Atlanta is full of very talented writers.

                                        James & myself

The fan boy kicked in again when I meet artist Mark Maddox but I managed to contain myself sort of, and I had several great conversations with Mark over the weekend as well as purchasing some great Doctor Who artwork off him.

The whole weekend just flew by however it did end with us being invited to the Earth Station One meal, where I sat, ate, talked and laughed with the guys I had listened to and talked on the internet with for years. And if that wasn't enough on the way back to the hotel they took us to the Book Nook, which is local comic book shop and it was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend with awesome people, I was left feeling one of the luckiest people on earth. 

It was also at Timegate that I had the pleasure of meeting Katy Manning who played Joe the 3rd Doctors companion, and the present incarnation of the Master Missy played by the wonderful Michelle Gomez. Both were wonderful although Michelle seemed a little nervous as this was her first ever convention, however she seemed to grow in confidence as the day went on and gave two wonderful talks about her time on Doctor Who. To my wife's delight Michelle waved to her as she was leaving the convention, we were sat in the lobby relaxing with a coffee as she came walking past us. As she went past she turned, waved and said ''goodbye England'' we both waved back feeling a little bit geeky inside.  Katey on the other hand was delightfully scatty and spoke and hugged everyone she meet wherever she meet them, on more than one occasion during the convention she came up to me talking in a Northern accent saying ''hey up cocker how are ya''. It makes me smile every time I think about it, such a wonderful and warm hearted lady.

UK Convention:
I was also lucky enough to meet the 6th Doctor (Colin Baker) his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) and the wonderful Sargent Benton (John Levine), at the Sheffield Film and Si-Fi convention at the Moterpoint Arena. This was our second year visiting this show and as the previous year we had a great time, the show is well organised everyone is friendly and there to have a good time. Some of the costumes that people wear are outstanding the 6th Doctor and the Frankenstein monster are just two of the many that come to mind. Colin and Nicola were very friendly and great with the fans, but they were total eclipsed by John Levene who was one of the most warm and friendly guest I have ever meet.

I could have sat and talked for hours with that man and to be honest he probably would have let me, I made a point of going up to him on the Sunday as we were leaving to tell him how wonderful he had been. He shook my hand vigorously and said ''bless you for that'' adding ''I do love to meet the fans, its a real privilege after all these years to still meet and talk with them'' . As I said wonderful man and I encourage anyone who is at a convention John is at to go and talk with him, other guests at Sheffield included Freddie Kruger himself Robert Enguld and Michael Bean of Terminator, Aliens and Tombstone fame. Both had very full and active lines to their respective tables, and I heard nothing but good things about them from the fans who met them. 

Films:
Film wise there is only one no its not Highlander its Star Wars, now I know it wasn't a perfect film but neither were the originals. It was however as good as the originals in every way, Star Wars was back and it transported me back to my childhood well my teenhood if there is such a word.. 

Comics:
2015 seemed to be a great year for crossovers, Star Trek- Planet of the Apes was fantastic, honestly who could fail to geek out at seeing Kirk and Taylor cross paths. Star Trek- Green Lantern was also a great story, putting the new  Star Trek crew into the Lantern universe well sort off.

If you thought those two were  odd comic crossovers Archie vs Predator is the craziest one of the lot, but as ,odd as a comic this first seems it is really very good. It was a 4 issue mini series that is now available in trade, and well worth checking out.

Batman continued to be my number one comic with Scott Snyder creating some wonderful story lines, when I first heard he was going to make Jim Gordon Batman and put him in a merchandised Batman suit. I hated the idea and the new Batman look I even thought it would make me drop the book, how wrong I was. 

                                                                

TV Shows:
Doctor Who continued to improve as a show with Peter Capaldi really excelling in his role as the Doctor, he was very good in his first season but I felt he was let down with some poor storys. This season the storys have been excellent with only one bad episode in the entire run, even the Christmas special went against tradition and was very good (not a fan of the Christmas specials).

Arrow was back on form once again after an average season as was The Waking Dead, however new show The Flash was one of the best shows of its type in 2015. I say one as for me Daredevil was the outstanding show on TV last year, Daredevil stands head and shoulders above all the others and is essential viewing if your a fan of the Marvel film and TV Universe. Netflix other hero show Jessica Jones came out at the end of last year, and while it was an great show it didn't quite match the excellence of Daredevil. It is worth watching for the titanic performances from David Tennant as Kilgrave, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage.

2015 was a busy but fantastic year and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2016 has to offer?

Earth Station One Hits 300

Last weekend The Earth Station One podcast reached the mile stone episode of 300 episodes, host Mike Faber and co-host Mike Gordon were joined by friends of the station award-winning author Bobby Nash, Anthony Taylor, Doctor Q, Talloolah Love, Gary Mitchel, Jessa Phillips, John Strangeway, Dan Carroll, Kirby-Bartlett Sloan, Peter Cutler, J.R. Mounts and many more.

Mike and Mike celebrated their 5 years of podcasting by ranting and raving about the long and strange journey the show has taken them on. The show was recorded live at Titans Comics and Games in Smyrna Georgia, and is now up on there website for all to enjoy, hit the link to take you to their website The ESO Network

Earth Station One is the founder podcast of the Earth Station One Network which has an ever expanding roster of shows, which cover just about every aspect of geek culture you can think of so there's something on there for everyone.

On a personal note I would like to congratulate everyone who has ever been connected with the Earth Station One podcast, for producing 5 years of quality and informative entertainment. 

To Mike Faber the driving force behind the Earth Station One Network I raise a glass to you sir, your innovation, commitment and dedication to the network and its shows is an inspiration for everyone to follow.

Earth Station Who episode 118, my first podcast experience.

Earth Station Who

For anyone who has read this blog you will know I am a avid listener to quite a few podcasts on the ESO Network, mainly because they talk about subjects that interest me but more importantly because they are so much fun to listen too. Earlier this year we went to the Timegate convention where I was lucky enough to meet some of the guys from the network, and see the live recording of the Doctor Who podcast Earth Station Who. I remember sitting in the audience thinking it doesn't get much better than this, well I was wrong because as good as that experience was sat watching a live episode this Sundays episode topped it. Why I can hear you all ask or maybe not, either way it was because I had been invited to be on the latest episode of Earth Station Who. I had received a message from Mike Faber asking if I wanted to be on the show it was an offer I didn't even have to think about, the guys were recording early around 3pm US time so even with the 5 hour time difference the time was perfect for me.

After letting Mike know I was happy to join them it was a quick update on my Skype account as I hadn't used it in over a year, then find my headphones and microphone and I was set for my first ever podcast.

Now to say I was nervous is an understatement but the guys quickly put me at ease as we talked for around 10 minutes before the show started, the Mike said are we all ready then it was 3,2, 1 and the show started.

Now I'm not given anything away as you should go to the website and download the show, which is also available on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. What I will say is I had a fantastic time and the geek in me was doing somersaults with happiness, I also had to push myself to be more involved as the fan in me was content to listen to the show as I normally do. There are also other lessons I learned from my first time, like don't touch my headphones, breath away from the microphone and buy a better quality microphone. Because after been on this podcast I have been bitten by the podcast bug and I would like to become more involved, whether that means hopefully guesting on podcasts or dipping my toe into the podcast pool I'm not sure on yet. But I now have an itch, and one thing I have learned about itches is if you don't scratch them they never go away.

On a final note I wish to thank Mike Faber for thinking of me for the show, and Mike Gordon, Jennifer Hartshorn and Mary Ogle for making my first podcast experience a memorable one. 

Earth Station Who

Earth Station Who Podcaste

I made a guest appearance on the Earth Station Who podcast yesterday, and had a great time talking about this weekend's Doctor Who episode Heaven Sent. When the episode is up I will let everyone know.

Beyond Lovecraft Indiegogo Campain

Help support this wonderful campaign that will feature art from the talented and award wining artist Rob Moran.

Beyond Lovecraft

Beyond Lovecraft is a portmanteau horror story that draws directly on the works of H. P Lovecraft. Drawn by award winning artist Rob Moran and written by award winning writer Jasper Bark, it's a 96 page graphic novel featuring four stand alone tales and one on going story that links them all together. This is a grim and cosmic love letter to the mythos that means so much to the creators.

Hit the link below to go to the campaign website 

Beyond Lovecraft

Movember week 1

Well its been a week and I'm at the itchy stage but the moustache is coming on nicely, I have already been told by a few people at work that it makes me look old (which is nice). But its all for a good cause and I will be young looking again in 3 weeks time, well sort off.

If you want to help my support of Prostate Cancer you can donate at the link below, every little helps.

http://mobro.co/robertmcintyre142

Movember 2015

                            Movember 2015

This month I will once again be taking part in the Movember campaign, to try to raise some money but as importantly raise awareness of prostate cancer. Because unfortunately we (men) are a bit rubbish in getting or asking for help, subsequently too many men die because they leave it too late to get help. Last year I grew a Frank Zappa style moustache, this year I'm going for more of a Magnum Pi one. I will post updates on my endeavours over the coming month, but please if you have any suspicion that something doesn't feel right or you have concerns. Please get it checked out don't wait for it to go away, it is more than likely nothing but it's better to be safe than your family to be sorry.

Edgar Rice Burroughs At The Earth's Core, by Bobby Nash and Jamie Chase

At the Earth's Core was one of my favourite films growing up so going into this book I thought I knew the story, surprisingly I was way off the mark as the book packs so much more into it's pages than the film ever did. For instance I want aware that Edgar Rice Burrough's appeared in the story, or that it started in the Sahara desert with the books hero David Innes telling his story to Edgar Rice Burrough's.

For anyone who isn't familiar with this story mining business man David Innes joins forces with a crazy inventor called Abner Perry, Perry has invented a manned drilling machine called the mole that he believes will make both him and Innes a fortune. Unfortunately things don't go to plan and our duo end up at the earth core, but instead of molten rock they find themselves in the wonderful but dangerous world of Pellucidar. A world that is filled with strange people and creatures most of whom are not friendly, a place where if you don't have your wits about you a grizzly death isn't far away. Throw into the mix a love interest for David as he falls for the charms of Dian the Beautiful, and a dominant species of mind controlling carnivore pterodactyls and you have a real boys own action and adventure story.

The book is written by Bobby Nash a writer I am well aware of and I have to admit I am a fan of his work, I was also lucky enough to interview him a few years ago. As a fan of Bobby's work I always thought I was going to enjoy this book, what I wasn't prepared for was how blown away I was with this book it is simply stunning. And that is not an exaggeration as the story telling and pacing throughout the book is absolutely perfect, from the opening page to the very last one. But were Bobby really shines is in his ability to make David Innes a believable and likeable character, Innes is an ordinary man dealing with extraordinary circumstances while still maintaining his personal sense of honour. As with all adventure story's you always know the hero is going to win out in the end, but even knowing this Bobby has still managed to build a real sense of danger with every turn of the page, and if the chips were down David Innes is someone you would want standing next to you.

The painted artwork by Jamie Chase is also spectacular and helps set the mood and tone of the book perfectly, from spectacular landscapes to terrifying creatures Jamie's art bring the whole world of Pellucidar to life. As someone who cannot draw beyond stick men ( I kid you not) I can only imagine and marvel at the hours and patience it must take to create artwork of this standard.

As I said at the start of this blog as a child I had watched the film adaptation of At the Earth's Core, and as all films of this type it was one of my instant favourites. So I went into this book thinking I already knew the story, how wrong I was the differences between the film and this book is like night and day. Each has their own merit but if I were to chose between watching the film again or reading the book, the book would win every-time and if you haven't read the book because you've seen the film. Do yourself a favour and pick up the book, I guarantee you will be highly delighted you did so.

On a final note I recently found out that there are several books written about Pellucidar, so I am hoping that Bobby and Jamie get the recognition they deserve for this book. So they can go on to produce the rest of them, and if they do so they can have my money now.

Justice League of America #3

The Justice league is fractured Wonder Woman is trapped alone in a destroyed Olympus with only a Oraculum for company and answers, unfortunately for Wonder Woman none of its answers are good or of any help to her. Flash and Green Lantern have been transported to Krypton a few thousand years before it was destroyed, then just as you thought it couldn't get any worse Flash disappears again leaving Hal alone and lost in time.

Back on earth the so called Krypton God Rao is still putting the world to rights, the sick are been healed, criminals are turning over a new leaf and the starving in Africa are been feed. Not content with that Rao is turning Africa's barren lands fertile, and dealing with the warlords to ensure peace and stability throughout the region. While all this looks and sound good the UN council are not too sure, and believe the changes been made are coming too fast and possibly at too high a price. Something that is hinted at when Rao after appearing at a UN council meeting, tells the council he will not stop and when challenged he tells them he will be more forceful in his persuasion..

Meanwhile Batman been the sceptic that he is (shocker right) also believes Rao has alternative motives, and that behind his apparent benevolence lies a bigger sinister plan. He goes as far as to accuse Superman of handing the planet on a plate to Rao, whle having nothing but faith that he is really the long fabled Kryptonian god.

There is some great dialogue between all the characters in the book, Flash and Lantern most notably between Superman and Batman as they debate Rao. Bruce asks Clarke to show him he is wrong and show him he can believe, when asked ''In Rao'' Batman replies ''In you''. Its dialogue that sums up the relationship and respect the big two have for each other, and something so many writers get in other books they are featured in.

Writer Brian Hitch is doing a stunning job crafting a story where you know the so called saviour of earth is bad, but he is doing everything right to get the people of the planet on his side by performing miracles throughout the world. There is a real sense of a world changing event happening with the overhanging feel of foreboding menace just around the corner, the real strength of any JLA book is the members of the team and even though in this story they are split across time and space. You never loose the sense that these are the top players of the DC Universe that can overcome any threat they encounter.

It should also be noted that Hitch is not only writing but also doing the artwork for this book a feat I can only applaud, as his standard of artwork which in my opinion is always excellent doesn't seem compromised by doing both. His attention to detail not only on characters but also in background work is one of his strengths, again this is only my opinion but I know what I like and I like Brian's work.

JLA has fast become one of my must read monthly books and for me is one of the best books been put out by DC at the moment, which is a surprise as it doesn't sit within present DC continuity or the events going on within any of the teams other books. Bruce is still Batman, Superman still has his powers and Hal isn't the lone wolf he is in his book at the moment. I cannot comment on Flash and Wonder Woman as I don't read their books, but I would be surprised if this book tied in to any of those two titles.

Were only at issue 3 so back issues shouldn't be hard to find, so do yourself a favour get down to your local comic shop and pick them up. 

4 Doctors #1

One of the great joys of Doctor Who is that at some point (usually fixed - Doctor Who fans will get that) you eventually get a multi-Doctor story, so its no surprise that Titan who took over the comic licence and have been producing some great 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Doctor story's. Have produced a weekly multi story featuring 4 Doctors, what is a surprising is just as in the TV show the 9th Doctor isn't coming to the party. So its the War Doctor who makes up the numbers instead, I'm a little disappointed as I would have liked to has seen Eccleston's Doctor interact with his future selves. But the War Doctor is a rich seam of untapped story lines so my disappointment was tempered slightly, the multi covers 19 in all for issue 1 also grabbed my attention as some of them are stunning.

Its with the War Doctor we start at some point in the Time War where we see him and his allies take down a Dalek ship, the Daleks were about to do something bad to the planet and the Doctors allies. Now I know that's a bit of a vague description of the Dalek plan but it isn't pivotal to the story, and Daleks don't turn up to sing songs and hold hands or plungers round a camp fire so we know their intentions was not good. Unfortunately the War Doctors time in the book is fleeting 3 pages to be exact, which is a shame as I would like to see this Doctor explored a bit more. 

The story switches to the 12th Doctor where we see via flashbacks that Clara has learned, that if the Doctors all meet each other it will start a chain of events that will end of the universe. So naturally while the Doctor is asleep she takes the TARDIS to Paris in 1923, where coincidently the other two Doctors are both happily walking around Paris totally oblivious that there other self is there. Clara's plan is to meet the Doctors former companions and convince them to keep their Doctor away from the other Doctors, now what could possibly go wrong with that plan I hear you cry. Well everything if the meeting place is not only a Paris cafe but a fixed point in time, (now you get it) where the Doctors are supposed to meet. Apart from the flimsy premise of getting the Doctors to meet each other, the story is actually very good with Paul Cornnell capturing the voices of all 3 Doctors perfectly. I can actually hear the voices of Tennent, Smith and Capaldi in my head when I'm reading the book, then again my head can be a scary place to be or so the voices in it tell me.

The artwork on the whole is very good although I found the 

likenesses of the Doctors to be a bit hit and miss, which proved for me at least to be a slight distraction from the story in places. The other issue I think that may hurt the book is apart from Capaldi's Doctor, the other two Doctors are with companions who haven't been in the show. I know they have been used in the comic but a casual fan who may pick up the book due to the crossover could be confused or put off, there is an explanation as to who they are at the beginning of the comic but that may not be enough we shall have to wait and see.

This first issue is a set-up issue but there is enough of a hook to keep me interested, I look forward to seeing how the story develops over the coming issues and hope for a little more War Doctor. 

Issue 1 comes with a total of 19 different covers some of which are quite imaginative, so far I have 4 of them and will hunt the rest down over timey wimey.

Four Doctors Covers (19)

The Sheffield Film and Comic Convention 2015

After last years first ever and successful Film and Comic Convention to be held in Sheffield, it was always going to be difficult to please everyone in its second year as the first year was so successful. Complaints of the guest list not been as good this year are to me a little harsh and subjective, as some guests may be top of one persons list and not even make another persons. For instance Game of Thrones had a big presence last year which did nothing for me or my wife, as we have never watched the show (I know there will be some gasps at this revelation). However this year both John Levene and Peter Purves were there as guests and as a Doctor Who fan I was over the moon, throw into the mix a Doctor in Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant his companion Peri and the con was a winner for me.

What really makes or breaks a convention for me is how well it is organised and the friendliness of the staff, and straight off the bat I have to say both were exceptional with some of the staff going that extra mile for us as we had an issues with our tickets. We had pre-ordered our tickets for both days and some photo shoots but unfortunately, one of the photo shoot tickets was missing and one of the Sunday tickets was for a child. Both these issues were sorted out in no time at all the Sunday ticket at the box office before the event started, and the photo shoot by the staff at Showmasters once we got into the event. I have to say a big thank you to the staff that allowed us to gain early entry, as the time for the missing photo shoot ticket was very close to our standard entry time of 11:00. This enabled us to sort things out and get to my photo shoot on time, I do after add here that I did nearly miss my photo with Nicola but that was my fault as I was wondering round the convention floor instead of keeping track of the time.

As with all conventions the cosplayers were out in force with a wide range and variety of costumes, some of which were out of this world and some not so much. I will however jump to the defense of anyone who goes to a convention in costume, as they are braver then me and secondly they are celebrating their love of a character or franchise and that should never be discouraged.

As I said at the start of this post there has been some complaint about the quality of guests, and while I think it unfortunate that Billy Dee Williams pulled out of the show. The inclusion of Michael Biehn and Robert Englund more than made up for his absence, and the ques to both those gentleman's table never seemed to go down. 

For me it was the Doctor Who guests that had my interest and I wasn't disappointed in any of them, as the fan boy in me excitedly talked to each of them as soon as I meet with them.

Nicola Bryant was very happy to talk as she signed my Peri figure and I almost missed my photo with her. As they had changed the area photos are taken from last year and I stupidly hadn't checked, but I made it in time truth be told I was the last one there but it all worked out in the end.

Colin Baker was unfairly treated during his time as the Doctor in my humble opinion, it was a time when the BBC wanted to end Doctor Who and put no money into the show at all. So it is to his credit that he has been and still is a fantastic ambassador for the show, we talked about his work on the Doctor Who audio adventures (Big Finish) and his Big Finish regeneration story that was coming out on the Monday after the con. We also talked about Timegate a convention in Atlanta that Colin attended a few years back and one I was lucky enough to go to this year, he was full of praise for the people of Timegate and the fans he met there saying that its a great convention to visit, a sentiment I agree with. Colin signed my figure of himself and happily shook my hand as I left his table, I later had a photo with Colin (on time this time) and it was great to see he was still interacting with the fans making each persons experience with him personal.

Peter Purves played Steven when William Hartnell was the Doctor and his love of the show still shines through today when he talks about the show, we spoke about the Time Meddler story I had recently watched, and his Big Finish story Secret History where Steven meets the 5th Doctor. Peter signed a photo of himself and the 1st Doctor shook my hand and also kissed my wife Helen's hand.

John Levene played Sargent Benton opposite two Doctors the 2nd and 3rd in his time on the show, John was an absolute pleasure to meet he talked to everyone regardless if they wanted an autograph or not. Sgt Benton was a stand out character to me and the little boy I was would never have believed he would one day meet him, a fact I told John who gripped my hand with both his and said bless your heart (I did get a little misty). John made the convention for me and when I met him for his photo shoot he immediately reconsidered me, and to be honest the photo i have of myself with John is one of the best guest photos I have ever had taken. So bless your heart John it was not only a pleasure to meet you, but a honor as well you sir a a true gentleman.

The Sheffield Film and Comic con has a lot to offer fans of a wide variety of shows and is very well organised, there are plenty of merchandising to spend your money on and to be honest I did as did my wife on things for me. I can only see the event going from strength to strength as its first two years have been outstanding, if you can make the event in 2016 you should come and check it out I don't believe you will be disappointed.