tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154469372011-08-17T04:06:40.756+01:00The difficult second album.Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.comBlogger5531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-79119449132113241762009-11-15T15:12:00.002Z2009-11-15T15:20:44.786Z

Ladies and gentlemen, a moment of your time.Al and I have decided that it would make a lot more sense if both of us were blogging on Housetoastonish.com. After all, we're both on the show. And besides, the House to Astonish website is prettier. And it runs on WordPress, which has more buttons, so it must be better.So, I'm packing up and moving over to Housetoastonish.com. Do follow.This won't

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-71016253127958793272009-11-14T17:25:00.003Z2009-11-14T18:37:59.705Z

"Romulus"Writer: Daniel WayPenciller: Scot EatonInker: Andrew HennessyColourists: Andy Troy with Rob SchwagerLetterer: Cory PetitEditors: John Barber and Jeanine SchaeferMore than three years into Wolverine: Origins, the great moment has finally arrived. It's time to unveil Romulus, the mastermind who's apparently been behind virtually everything in the series to date. Indeed, retroactively,

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-45111222614197368362009-11-09T20:28:00.003Z2009-11-09T21:34:01.741Z

The X-Factor continues to bestride the charts like a colossus. As a Saturday night ratings juggernaut, the show simply has a profile that the rest of the music industry can't match. And so, once again, it's an X-Factor-related number one.That's JLS, "Everybody in Love." The official video isn't embeddable, so I've gone with their appearance on the X-Factor results show a couple of weeks ago. If

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-39493162781970508352009-11-08T18:54:00.004Z2009-11-08T21:58:38.020Z

We have a new podcast this weekend, so see the post immediately below for the comments thread. (You can download the show here.)Meanwhile, with one thing and another, I still haven't read all of this week's comics... but let's race through the X-books and some of the other releases.Astonishing X-Men #32 - Last issue, most of the story was devoted to the X-Men rescuing an aircraft in distress.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-85721160304366846622009-11-08T18:48:00.002Z2009-11-08T18:53:50.333Z

It's our one-year anniversary, and an extra-long, largely unedited edition. This week, the usual news round-up, reviews of Assault on New Olympus, Stumptown and Great Ten, and a special Q&A segment with questions from the people who replied to Al on Twitter.Download it here, or visit the podcast web page, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-86680265439615778622009-11-06T21:40:00.003Z2009-11-06T22:22:24.390Z

"The Adamantium Men"Writer: Jason AaronArtist: Ron GarneyColourist: Jason KeithLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: John BarberThe launch of Wolverine: Weapon X has been less than auspicious. By all appearances, the big idea was to soft-launch a new Daken title. They've done this before, when Incredible Hulk was renamed as Incredible Hercules and became an entirely different book. But, because it seemed

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-24917265694985970442009-11-01T17:28:00.006Z2009-11-01T21:24:38.628Z

Right, then... I am honestly, definitely, genuinely going to catch up on reviewing some recently-completed storylines. There's a pile of them building up next to my desk, "The Adamantium Men" from Wolverine: Weapon X #1-5, "Romulus" from Wolverine: Origins #37-40 and the GeNext United miniseries being particularly overdue.But first, let's round up this week's books. By the way, my copy of the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-64248774399327641512009-10-26T12:00:00.003Z2009-10-26T17:22:45.582Z

It's hard to overstate just how much The X-Factor dominates the charts at this time of year. For the benefit of the Americans reading, The X-Factor is the show that replaced Pop Idol a few years ago. It's essentially the same format with a few tweaks. The main difference is that The X-Factor has four categories - boys 16-24, girls 16-24, 25+ and groups - and four judges, each "mentoring" their

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-41941389575066164602009-10-25T18:50:00.003Z2009-10-25T20:29:40.531Z

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written one of these, so we've got something of a backlog to get through. And of course, as always, don't forget to check out the podcast for more talk about Anchor, Sugar Shock and Azrael. I'll come back, I think, to Chew #5, Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #6 and GeNext United #5 once I've had a chance to re-read the whole storylines. But for now...Anchor

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-37215312851234553902009-10-25T10:46:00.002Z2009-10-25T10:48:13.111Z

This week, con wars, turtles, solicitations, and reviews of Anchor, Sugar Shock and Azrael. Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-89105328806717894992009-10-24T16:52:00.003+01:002009-10-24T17:55:09.517+01:00

The WWE's over-packed pay-per-view schedule means that we've got another show this weekend, only three weeks after the last one. A three week build is absurdly short for any show, and I'm pretty sure they'd be better off dumping some shows altogether, leaving time to promote the remaining ones properly. Fortunately, after this point, things calm down a bit - it's a monthly schedule through to

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-25358538290940369282009-10-21T13:37:00.003+01:002009-10-21T13:48:22.711+01:00

The generic solicitation for January's Marvel Index #13 promises to cover Spider-Man starting from Amazing #523, Iron Man from Invincible Iron Man #2, and X-Men from Uncanny #514. Granted, the exact issue numbers in a given issue of Marvel Index often change from the solicitations, because they have to write the solicitations before they know for sure how much the preceding issues will cover.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-85520074287269935712009-10-17T15:57:00.002+01:002009-10-17T16:01:13.991+01:00

There won't be any capsule reviews this weekend, since I won't get a chance to read this week's books until Monday. Might do the first arc of Wolverine: Weapon X if I get the time.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-43868441929627795602009-10-17T11:59:00.003+01:002009-10-18T21:12:44.991+01:00

This one's so predictable, I wrote most of it yesterday...It's a two horse race this week, but not a very close one. The new number one single is Alexandra Burke featuring Flo Rida, "Bad Boys". The video is here, but it's not embeddable, so instead we'll go with her appearance on the X-Factor results show last week, which is.Alexandra Burke was the X-Factor winner in 2008, and already picked up

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-3053023091378645142009-10-15T18:53:00.004+01:002009-10-15T21:32:33.166+01:00

"Utopia"Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: UtopiaUncanny X-Men #513-514Dark Avengers #7-8Dark Avengers/Uncany X-Men: ExodusWriter: Matt FractionPencillers: Marc Silvestri, Terry Dodson, Luke Ross and Mike Deodato (with Michael Broussard, Eric Basaldua, Tyler Kirkham and Sheldon Mitchell)Inkers: Joe Weems, Rachel Dodson, Rick Magyar, Mark Pennington and Luke Ross (with Marco Galli, Eric Basaldua, Rick

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-30066085512716271692009-10-14T18:19:00.002+01:002009-10-14T19:07:04.118+01:00

Taio Cruz finally interrupted the hectic weekly turnover of number one singles, by hanging around for three weeks. But here we go again...That's Chipmunk, "Oopsy Daisy." He's eighteen, and he's yet another in this year's parade of UK grime/urban acts bailing out of their genre in search of mainstream pop success. See also Tinchy Stryder, Dizzee Rascal and Taio Cruz, all of whom had number one

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-17404742246489714082009-10-11T10:41:00.003+01:002009-10-11T19:43:08.945+01:00

There's not too many X-books this week (which is good, since I've still got a backlog of storylines I wanted to review in full), but we do have a ton of other stuff.Obligatory plug time: don't forget to listen to this week's episode of House to Astonish, where Al and I review Planetary, Dr Voodoo and Haunt, as well as the usual news and talk. Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-32320165367981762242009-10-10T18:55:00.002+01:002009-10-10T18:59:03.412+01:00

With Al back from his holidays, we return to our normal schedule with a new episode of House to Astonish. This week, we've got the usual news round-up plus reviews of the final issue of Planetary, and the first issues of the surprisingly similar Dr Voodoo and Haunt. Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-33127257748485061572009-10-05T21:17:00.003+01:002009-10-05T22:24:00.521+01:00

"Old Man Logan"Wolverine #66-72, Giant-Size Wolverine: Old Man LoganWriter: Mark MillarPenciller: Steve McNivenInker: Dexter Vines (with Mark Morales and Jay Leisten)Letterer: Cory PetitColourist: Morry Hollowell (with Christina Strain, Justin Ponsor, Jason Kieth, Paul Mounts and Nathan Fairbairn)Editor: John BarberFrom time to time, I complain about writers and publishers losing sight of the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-66083729970935400632009-10-04T22:44:00.002+01:002009-10-04T23:55:25.625+01:00

I was planning to get around to that "Old Man Logan" review today but... well, yeah, maybe tomorrow. And thanks to Marvel's ever-crunched publishing schedule, two more Wolverine storylines wrap up this week: "The Adamantium Men" in Wolverine: Weapon X #5 and "Romulus" in Wolverine: Origins #40. So we'll get back to them. In the meantime, though...Echo #15 - Terry Moore hasn't exactly been racing

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-82315206538233832632009-10-04T12:08:00.003+01:002009-10-04T13:33:59.597+01:00

It's been a while since I've done one of these. That's not because they've eased off on the pay-per-view schedule; it's because the last show was during my holiday. Actually, the schedule remains as crammed as ever, with another show due in three weeks time.As I may have mentioned before, the WWE has a new strategy for the second-tier pay-per-views. The current theory is that except for the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-71516918108824282862009-09-30T09:00:00.003+01:002009-09-30T09:00:04.325+01:00

Because you demanded it... "Love -- and Loss!"Writer: Chris ClaremontPenciller: Tom GrummettInker: Cory HamscherLetterer: Tom OrzechowskiColourist: Wilfredo QuintanaEditor: Mark PanicciaX-Men Forever must hold some sort of record for the most convoluted premise of an ongoing Marvel series. It's an X-Men series, of course, but not just any X-Men series. No, this is an X-Men series written by

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-60302696273677079202009-09-29T19:44:00.003+01:002009-09-29T20:07:45.802+01:00

I'm not convinced.They were trailing this show almost incessantly while I was in America. It's clearly a big deal for the network. Presumably it didn't impress the British so much, since it's ended up on Five. And I can see why. Sure, it's got a fun high concept - whole human race blacks out, has flash forward to next April, wakes up again. And it's got a decent cast. But it feels like a show

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-77497631328950820932009-09-27T17:22:00.005+01:002009-09-27T19:56:02.866+01:00

Thank heavens for Diamond UK. This would have been a rather heavy week for me, but fortunately the brave distributors have managed to lose Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine: Origins (along with six other Marvel books). Apparently we'll get them next week, once everyone at the warehouse has had a thorough search behind the sofa. But for once, Diamond have actually done Marvel a favour, since that still

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-50140578971010548582009-09-21T20:49:00.007+01:002009-09-23T16:52:36.785+01:00

The rapid turnover continues, with yet another new number one. Actually, a new number one was virtually inevitable this week, because Pixie Lott's "Boys and Girls" crashed to number 6 in its second week on sale. That's not a good sign for her; that's what happens to records that are selling on the strength of the hype, but aren't gathering any momentum through word of mouth.Or here's the YouTube

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-1929160289755456242009-09-20T12:55:00.003+01:002009-09-20T15:01:12.012+01:00

After a couple of weeks away, there's something of a backlog building up. So let's start off by ploughing through the X-books and a bunch of debut issues.Obligatory plug: don't forget to download this week's episode of House to Astonish, where Al and I talk about the big news at Marvel and DC, and review Beasts of Burden, Sweet Tooth and Vengeance of the Moon Knight. Download it here, or visit

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-69432875356834033462009-09-19T18:15:00.003+01:002009-09-19T18:17:43.550+01:00

It's been three weeks since the last episode, so Al and I take the opportunity to catch up on the big news and Marvel and DC, and talk about where all this might be heading. Plus, reviews of Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1, Sweet Tooth #1 and Beasts of Burden #1.Download it here, or visit the podcast web page, or subscribe via iTunes. Oh, and don't forget Al's own blog, over at

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-60606225442661499202009-09-15T17:00:00.003+01:002009-09-15T18:40:59.597+01:00

Something of a backlog has built up while I was away. The turnover of number one singles has been exceptionally high this year. Record companies seem to have finally got the measure of the new chart system, and figured out that they'd rather release several singles before an album comes out, thus ensuring control of the release date, and making sure they can build up anticipation more effectively

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-8576961550888237982009-09-15T16:33:00.003+01:002009-09-15T16:59:36.655+01:00

Well, I certainly chose an eventful couple of weeks to go on holiday, didn't I? And we'll be talking about all that on the podcast this weekend. I'll save my views on this whole topic for later, when I'm less jet-lagged and more suited to coherent thought...For the moment, suffice to say that whatever Marvel and Disney are saying, there are obviously going to be changes. As I understand it,

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-4034944562298947402009-08-30T17:22:00.004+01:002009-08-30T19:20:09.041+01:00

Well, I was planning to write something about X-Men Forever before heading off, but it doesn't look like I'm going to get round to it. (Which is another way of saying: barring a last-minute cancellation of tonight's Book Festival show, it ain't happening.) With that in mind, I'll hold off on reviewing this week's X-Men Forever #6.So, after this, I'll be away for two-and-a-bit weeks. In the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-26227201487896089792009-08-29T19:58:00.002+01:002009-08-29T20:03:01.926+01:00

Featuring our usual round-up of news and solicitations, plus reviews of 2000AD, Fantastic Four and King City. And heaven only knows what at the end. Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.And don't forget, I'm going on holiday, so the next podcast will be in three weeks time!

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-11876736957466493102009-08-29T17:15:00.003+01:002009-09-15T17:34:52.701+01:00

It's David Guetta's year, apparently.That's David Guetta featuring Akon, "Sexy Chick". This is Guetta's fifth top 40 hit and his second number one of the year, following "When Love Takes Over" featuring Kelly Rowland in June. He also produced the previous number one, "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. Having vastly disliked "I Gotta Feeling", I rather prefer this one. You couldn't call it

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-37864788483504861362009-08-23T20:39:00.002+01:002009-08-23T21:36:38.810+01:00

I know I said I was going to do a full post on the first arc of X-Men Forever. And I will, honestly... it's in the queue. But I'm going on holiday in a week's time, so there's a lot of stuff to get done.Which is as good a time as any to explain what's going to happen for the next while. Next weekend I'll be doing reviews and the podcast as normal. After that, I'll be off to spend a couple of

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-54059351860513347132009-08-23T17:35:00.002+01:002009-08-23T18:57:51.461+01:00

Supposedly Summerslam is meant to be the WWE's second biggest show of the year after Wrestlemania, but if that's true, it's invariably a very distant second. That's particularly true at the moment, where the company seems to be more concerned about the ratings for Raw than it is about selling any pay-per-views. This has resulted in a string of bizarre and logic-free shows built around celebrity

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-76893924912120168162009-08-20T21:36:00.002+01:002009-08-20T22:43:05.319+01:00

It's almost too depressing to contemplate, but... they're back.The Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling" already reached number one two weeks ago, before being interrupted by a Tinchy Stryder single. It turns out they've got more staying power than him, so they return for a second week. Strangely, the same thing happened with "Boom Boom Pow" earlier in the year (which, come to think of it, was

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-2466796753560868582009-08-16T16:28:00.004+01:002009-08-16T22:41:44.641+01:00

I'm still working my way through my backlog of comics, so let's have another batch of capsules to bring us a little further up to date. Actually, X-Men Forever is due for a full-length review by now, and it's turning out that there's quite a bit to say about that book. But we'll come back to that.Don't forget this week's episode of House to Astonish, with reviews of Doom Patrol, Lenore and

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-79663266225584417142009-08-16T13:21:00.002+01:002009-08-16T13:24:47.334+01:00

This is one of the most frequently interrupted recording sessions we've ever had, so something tells me it's going to be rather bitty. Anyway, this week's reviews are Doom Patrol, Lenore and Ultimate Comics Avengers. (Or, as the logo seems to call it, Ultimate Avengers.)Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.And don't forget to check out Al's blog at http://

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-74138163926012030532009-08-10T20:40:00.002+01:002009-08-10T21:29:05.414+01:00

If you enjoyed Tinchy Stryder's previous single, "Number 1", which spent three weeks at the top in April and May - well, good news, because he's basically made it again!That's Tinchy Stryder featuring Amelle, "Never Leave You". Wikipedia and the BBC News continue to describe this guy as a grime artist, and, uh, no. Grime, as I understood it, was basically an inner city UK rap movement based on

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-11643096394665099062009-08-09T15:58:00.004+01:002009-08-09T18:12:54.759+01:00

I'm still working my way through a backlog here - which includes a bunch of first issues from recent weeks that I'll hopefully get to, including Citizen Rex, Doom Patrol and Marvels Project. In the meantime, though, let's cover this week's X-books - neither of which really merits a full length review - and a few other books from the pile.Absolution #1 - Christos Gage heads to Avatar for a

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-79993001611359013682009-08-06T22:34:00.002+01:002009-08-06T23:35:41.786+01:00

Okay, then, let's make a start on the backlog. I'm not exactly racing through my pile of comics, partly because I've been kept busy with other stuff this week, and partly because I'm confidently expecting this week's books will be late too. Still, let's at least catch up on the X-books.Dark Wolverine #76 - That title, that title... It's the sort of title so embarrassingly bad that you almost

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-78921738364218945142009-08-03T12:00:00.005+01:002009-08-03T12:00:03.703+01:00

Oh god in heaven no.Yes, it's The Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling."I really don't like this record at all. Which is probably unfair, because I've never actually listened to it the whole way through... but then, that's because I can never stomach it long enough. I'm not quite sure why I find it so irritating. I'm tempted to say it's the empty-headed blandness, but then you could say that

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-76616390534461334212009-08-03T09:51:00.003+01:002009-08-03T09:52:41.539+01:00

We now have a proper website for the podcast, where Al will be blogging too. So go and visit http://www.housetoastonish.com and say hello.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-48763048350295273692009-08-03T09:14:00.004+01:002009-08-03T09:15:20.638+01:00

Two weeks of comics have just shown up at my door. What an interesting coincidence that posting a recorded delivery parcel on Friday should also flush out a similar-looking parcel, correctly addressed, postmarked 23 July.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-8454984107440545932009-08-02T18:48:00.002+01:002009-08-02T18:59:27.061+01:00

A couple of weeks ago on Top Gear they did a feature to show that the Royal Mail will get a letter from Land's End to Orkney faster than you can drive it. Well, they should have tried it in Scotland, because from the look of it, you could beat the Glasgow to Edinburgh postal service on a three-legged mule right now.Yes, not only have they still failed to deliver the books that were posted to me

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-9606677365199167242009-07-26T11:28:00.001+01:002009-07-26T11:29:43.230+01:00

No reviews today, because the ever-reliable postal service hasn't actually delivered the books yet. Which makes it kind of hard to review them.They'll probably arrive on Monday. Of course, then I have to read them before reviewing them, so don't hold your breath.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-55212454582362407872009-07-25T17:40:00.003+01:002009-07-25T19:40:01.036+01:00

The WWE seems to have figured out, over the last few years, that giving all the second-tier pay-per-views different names isn't really enough to make them distinctive. So themed shows like One Night Stand and Cyber Sunday have started creeping into the schedule, and there's apparently more of this to come. There's talk that the September show, which has just been renamed Breaking Point, will

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-63680082445977852272009-07-21T19:16:00.002+01:002009-07-21T20:32:21.781+01:00

After two weeks of Cascada, and with the Michael Jackson deluge finally making its way down the charts, normal service is more or less resumed with the new number one - JLS, "Beat Again."JLS were the runners-up in the 2008 series of The X-Factor, Simon Cowell's Pop Idol clone. The main difference is that X-Factor allows vocal groups to enter. But of course, it's a lot easier to find a decent

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-11275392743616272502009-07-19T17:55:00.002+01:002009-07-19T18:34:31.718+01:00

"Messiah War"(X-Force/Cable: Messiah War one-shot; Cable #13-15; X-Force #14-16)Writers: Duane Swierczynski (Cable), Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (X-Force and prologue)Artists: Mike Choi & Sonia Oback (prologue), Ariel Olivetti (Cable), and Clayton Crain (X-Force)Letterers: Cory Petit (prologue and X-Force) and Joe Caramagna (Cable)Editors: Axel Alonso and John BarberHorribly late, I know.When I

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-54162188572462727182009-07-19T12:00:00.002+01:002009-07-19T12:00:07.235+01:00

First, the obligatory plug for this week's House to Astonish: don't forget to listen to this week's House to Astonish. This week's reviews cover North 40, Wednesday Comics and Creepy. Download it here, or go to the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.And now, this week's comics. Just a couple of X-books, and they're both bogged down in the middle of a storyline, so we'll do the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-37954443860388116772009-07-18T14:23:00.002+01:002009-07-18T14:26:30.469+01:00

This week's reviews - Wednesday Comics #1-2, North 40 #1 and Creepy #1. Plus, the usual round-up of the news, and a low-rent Silver Age Daredevil villain.And if you wanted to know what we thought of Blackest Night... well, blame Diamond UK.Download it here, or visit the podcast web page, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-9597220240588300002009-07-12T20:09:00.002+01:002009-07-12T21:09:21.475+01:00

"Ghost Boxes"Writer: Warren EllisPenciller, co-inker: Simone BianchiCo-inker: Andrea SilvestriColourists: Simone Peruzzi with Christina Strain and Laura MartinLetterer: Joe CaramagnaEditor: Axel AlonsoAstonishing X-Men was created for a reason. If you want to know what that reason is, hop over to Marvel's subscription site, which still describes the title as follows: apparently, it "takes the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-37000049084439146242009-07-12T18:18:00.003+01:002009-07-12T19:27:56.014+01:00

I have a pile of comics sitting by my desk, comprising the "Ghost Boxes" arc from Astonishing X-Men, the "Messiah War" crossover from X-Force and Cable, and the entirety of "The Great Fables Crossover". At least two of those are a couple of weeks overdue for a proper review. and one of them I'm hopefully going to get done tonight.So, since none of this week's releases really merited a full review

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-23559811079167141442009-07-06T12:00:00.002+01:002009-07-06T12:00:21.916+01:00

Last week, La Roux's "Bulletproof" entered at number one, and nobody noticed, because they all too busy listening to old Michael Jackson records. Six of them entered the chart last week, on the strength of two days of download sales. "Man in the Mirror", last week's number 11, was generally assumed to be the frontrunner, and was indeed leading the iTunes chart for a couple of days. But the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-67752124185976044732009-07-05T21:37:00.003+01:002009-07-05T21:43:03.052+01:00

This week, Al and I review Existence 2.0, Justice League: Cry for Justice (guest starring Weeping Gorilla) and Greek Street, plus the usual news round-up.Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage (where you can stream it, if you want), or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-77767092087446355352009-07-05T14:10:00.002+01:002009-07-05T15:42:12.673+01:00

Okay, then. Two weeks of stuff to get through, one of which saw an enormous quantity of X-books dumped on the market, with the other seeing a ton of first issues. So some of these might be on the concise side, but it'll get up back up to speed.I'll come back to the "Ghost Boxes" storyline from Astonishing X-Men, and the "Messiah Complex" crossover arc from Cable and X-Force, both of which

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-76416381208049241302009-07-03T21:54:00.002+01:002009-07-03T22:19:33.142+01:00

I've been listening to Stuart Murdoch's "God Help The Girl" album repeatedly the last couple of days, so let's give it some publicity.Murdoch is the lead singer of Belle & Sebastian, and "God Help The Girl" is going to be a film musical. He hasn't made it yet. But he has released the soundtrack album, mostly original songs with a couple of B&S covers given an orchestral polish. He also

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-23640959679000890062009-07-03T21:32:00.002+01:002009-07-03T21:44:26.879+01:00

For those of you wondering, here's the plan. From last week's books, I'm going to do full reviews of Astonishing X-Men and the "Messiah War" crossover. Everything else, I'll cover in this weekend's capsules.We're recording House to Astonish on Sunday, so it should be up Sunday evening.Oh, and in the meantime... if anyone can tell me what on earth is supposed to be happening in the closing pages

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-18456967954376613462009-07-02T22:09:00.002+01:002009-07-02T23:18:15.390+01:00

Everyone knows that when a major star dies, his records start flying off the shelves. And now that the UK singles chart counts downloads of individual album tracks as "singles", it's easier than ever for old records to make the chart thanks to a spontaneous surge of interest. As long as it's floating around iTunes on a compilation somewhere, it could theoretically chart at any time.So when

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-79405495477828422632009-06-28T16:35:00.003+01:002009-06-28T17:16:40.671+01:00

No capsules this weekend, because, well, I haven't read any of the books yet. But there's always this to tide you over...X-Men: Legacy #225 (untitled)Writer: Mike CareyArtist: Phil BrionesColourist: Brian ReberLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: Nick LoweThe X-Men books don't do single issue stories very often. But Legacy #225 is one such story. At first glance you'd think it was an epilogue to Professor

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-89971397417983681352009-06-28T13:35:00.002+01:002009-06-28T14:49:23.984+01:00

The WWE is an increasingly eccentric and erratic place these days, seemingly unable to hold to an idea for more than a day or two before losing in faith in it, or becoming captivated by another passing fancy. Hence "The Bash."This show used to be called "The Great American Bash." It's an old trademark that they picked up when they bought out WCW, and which they dusted off when they were adding

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-16752403766859203482009-06-24T20:17:00.002+01:002009-06-24T21:00:40.602+01:00

"Sisterhood"Writer: Matt FractionPencillers: Greg Land with Terry Dodson (epilogue)Inker: Jay Leisten with Rachel Dodson (epilogue)Colourist: Justin PonsorLetterer: Joe CaramagnaEditor: Nick LoweActually, there's no title on the published stories. But the solicitations say it's called "Sisterhood", so we'll go with that.This is one of Greg Land's arcs, and it's all too tempting to roll my eyes

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-17362717466419574002009-06-22T20:39:00.002+01:002009-06-22T21:10:17.832+01:00

"A Mile in my Moccasins"Writer: Jason AaronPenciller: Adam KubertInker: Mark FarmerLetterer: Cory PetitColourist: Justin PonsorEditor: John Barber"One-Percenter"Writer: Daniel WayArtist: Tommy Lee EdwardsLetterer: John WorkmanEditor: John BarberWolverine #73-74 have an unusual history and an unusual format. They're basically fill-in issues, seemingly intended to fill the gap between Mark Millar

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-9097537978157149032009-06-22T18:00:00.002+01:002009-06-22T18:00:00.632+01:00

I have no idea what the deal is here, but for some reason, while YouTube won't show me the official video for this song on the artist's channel, it will give me a version of the song accompanied by a rotating graphic, which is, in fact, embeddable. That makes so little sense that I'm assuming it's an error rather than an intentional decision to exclude the video from the UK. So here's a version

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-87040846422633551742009-06-21T19:13:00.006+01:002009-06-21T21:56:16.981+01:00

I know, I know, there's still a backlog from last week. And I will, honestly, get around to Wolverine #73-74 and Uncanny X-Men #508-511. Joining the queue this week is X-Men: Legacy #225, a single-issue story which seems to round off the "Professor X revisits his past" direction by coming full circle again.But in the meantime, you can always check out the latest episode of House to Astonish,

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-2159203259321562482009-06-21T10:19:00.001+01:002009-06-21T10:21:37.512+01:00

This week, we round up the news and solicitations, and review X-Men Forever #1, Captain America #600 and, um, an issue of Booster Gold the number of which escapes me.Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-88563686997662774812009-06-18T20:53:00.003+01:002009-06-18T21:27:49.534+01:00

"Long Live the King!"Writer: Jeff ParkerArtist: Salva EspinColourist: Anthony WashingtonLetterer: Simon BowlandEditor: Mark PanicciaThe assignment of breathing life back into Exiles isn't a particularly enviable one. The format always suffered from an obvious problem that it tended become repetitive in the long run: team arrive on alternate Earth, team are arbitrarily assigned mission, team

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-26038188048699011012009-06-15T20:22:00.002+01:002009-06-15T21:05:45.962+01:00

Just one week for the Black Eyed Peas' comeback, thankfully.Pixie Lott, "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)"Eighteen-year-old Pixie Lott is a stage school kid from Kent, and is something of a project for Mercury Records, who have been working very hard to hype her up as the next big thing. Her real name is Victoria, but evidently "Pixie" has been deemed more memorable. Which it is, but it also makes her

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-33957178221311938532009-06-14T21:07:00.002+01:002009-06-14T22:14:08.243+01:00

Goodness, I'm drifting way behind schedule. Still haven't got around to doing a full review of last week's Exiles storyline, and this week we've got Wolverine #73-74 and the end of the Sisterhood arc in Uncanny to add to the list. I'll get to them.But in the meantime, here's some other stuff.Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #1 - Another four dollar miniseries. But this one has a stab at value for

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-86929452204009468502009-06-08T19:29:00.005+01:002009-06-09T07:56:02.523+01:00

Oh dear.That, unfortunately, is "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas, returning to number 1 for a second run after a two week break. I can't say it's growing on me.Still, at least it means there's now something peripherally interesting about the record. Not many singles return to number 1 for a second run. It didn't happen at all in the 1970s, or the 1980s. It's been more common over the last

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-17601644191182799652009-06-07T16:00:00.002+01:002009-06-07T17:12:03.974+01:00

For the latecomers among you, don't forget to check out this week's episode of House to Astonish, where Al and I review Batman & Robin, Chew and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century - 1910. Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.There aren't many obvious candidates for full length reviews this week, but I'll come back to Exiles #3, a book which is

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-18988351086070570902009-06-07T11:51:00.002+01:002009-06-07T12:38:07.611+01:00

Another pay-per-view I don't have to buy! This one's on Sky Sports 1, so I get it as part of the standard subscription. Fortunate, as it's a bit of a mixed bag.Extreme Rules is the show that used to be called ECW One Night Stand. The first one was a reunion show for the influential and fondly remembered nineties indie promotion; the second (still bizarrely called One Night Stand) promoted

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-41890848948670008862009-06-06T19:03:00.001+01:002009-06-06T19:05:20.322+01:00

This week on House to Astonish, reviews of Batman & Robin, Chew and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, plus news and the usual other stuff.Download here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-11766378324022348732009-06-06T10:00:00.003+01:002009-06-06T10:00:00.263+01:00

"Weapon XI"Writer: Daniel WayPenciller: Doug BraithwaiteInkers: Bill Reinhold, Cam Smith, Paul Neary, Klaus Janson, Jesse Delperdang, Andrew Hennessy, Kris JusticeColourist: Andy Troy, Art LyonLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: John BarberWow, that's an awful lot of inkers.Officially, this arc is a Dark Reign tie-in. But Wolverine: Origins is a book that exists to tell a single huge conspiracy story.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-69864228110285706672009-06-05T20:51:00.002+01:002009-06-05T21:17:02.663+01:00

"Salvage"Writer: Mike CareyPenciller: Scot EatonInker: Andrew HennessyColourists: Brian Reber and Chris SotomayorLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: Nick LoweContinuing our tour of dangling Professor X subplots in need of resolution, Mike Carey and Scot Eaton come to Rogue and Danger. With Rogue, he promised to cure her uncontrollable superpowers, and never got round to it. With Danger, his

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-45133170973644769672009-06-04T20:24:00.003+01:002009-06-04T20:58:23.330+01:00

Ultimate Wolverine vs. HulkWriter: Damon LindelofArtist: Leinil Francis YuColourist: Dave McCaigLetterer: Chris EliopoulosEditor: Ralph Macchio (#1-2), Mark Paniccia (#3-6)And they said it could never happen. But here it is, three years late - the concluding issues of Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk.So much has changed while it's been away. For one thing, nobody gives a toss about the Ultimate

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-66817961873653464842009-05-31T18:00:00.002+01:002009-05-31T19:11:46.072+01:00

Well, heavens, there's just a ton of X-books out this week, isn't there? Next week is a bit quieter, with just Exiles, New Mutants, and something called Wolverine: Revolver. But this week, Marvel are in the mood to drown us.Three of them, however, are the concluding parts of storylines, so I'll give them full reviews in the next couple of days. That would be Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, Wolverine

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-26920251279369926502009-05-25T19:01:00.003+01:002009-05-25T20:18:00.661+01:00

As expected, the Black Eyed Peas only lasted a week with the inexplicably popular "Boom Boom Pow." It's still at number two, and doubtless it'll be clogging up the top 10 for a while, but at least it's on its way down.For once, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest makes a creditable showing on the chart. Until recently, of course, you couldn't actually buy the Eurovision songs whether you

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-38701920672756378312009-05-24T18:15:00.004+01:002009-05-24T19:10:48.182+01:00

With one thing and another, it looks like it's just going to be capsules this week. If time allows, I'll review the Umbrella Academy: Dallas miniseries, but we'll see.Don't forget this week's edition of House to Astonish - download it here, visit the podcast website, or subscribe via iTunes.And now, this week's books...Ex Machina #42 - There's something a little simplistic in this "nature versus

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-9580739881138453722009-05-24T18:04:00.002+01:002009-05-24T18:08:58.071+01:00

This week, the usual round-up of news and upcoming solicitations, plus reviews of Killapalooza, Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance, and Tales Designed to Thrizzle. (And a few words about Unwritten, too.)Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-84157035593350877712009-05-19T18:42:00.002+01:002009-05-19T19:25:02.859+01:00

The Tinchy Stryder single managed three weeks at the top, holding the unfortunate La Roux at number two for the whole time.In fact, over the last few weeks, the most notable thing about the charts has been their sheer uneventfulness. Last week, the entire top six was static. This week, there are only four new entries in the top 40 - one at the top, and the others at 38, 39 and 40. To be fair,

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-845466587121333032009-05-17T18:20:00.004+01:002009-05-17T20:45:48.621+01:00

To be honest, I haven't had time to read most of this week's books yet, so I'm not quite sure what I'll be giving full reviews. I might do Mark Waid and Minck Oosterveer's The Unknown #1 later in the week, and a look back at the second Umbrella Academy mini seems like it might be worthwhile. In the meantime, though here's the week's X-books, with some other stuff thrown in.Fables #84 - Part 4 of

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-65117292925527104962009-05-17T16:37:00.002+01:002009-05-17T17:56:22.992+01:00

Time for another pay-per-view. They're coming in three-week gaps at the moment - the WWE probably know that's too many, but they're committed to the schedule for the rest of the year, so that's the way it goes.For once, it's a surprisingly gimmick-free show - all seven announced matches are straight one-on-one wrestling matches. This probably isn't because the WWE has had a sudden revelation

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-37299799076398806862009-05-17T15:47:00.002+01:002009-05-17T15:51:23.948+01:00

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse finally gets a UK airing this week, albeit on the digital backwater of the Sci-Fi Channel - nature's way of telling you that Sky didn't want it that much. Whedon's normally reliable, but this sounds suspiciously like a vehicle for Eliza Dushku to show off her acting range. Which doesn't seem like the best idea in the world. So - is it worth my time?

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-59816348355103778352009-05-15T20:34:00.010+01:002009-05-15T21:37:26.814+01:00

"We Were Many, Once"Writer: Zeb WellsPenciller: Diogenes NevesInkers: Cam Smith and Ed TadeoLetterer: Joe CaramagnaColourist: John RauchEditor: Nick LoweSo here we are again.The X-books' logo may be an X in a circle, but sometimes it feels like an ouroborous would be more appropriate. New Mutants was the very first X-Men spin-off, way back in 1983, before there was such a concept as "X-books."

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-20321916981945641472009-05-15T18:39:00.004+01:002009-05-15T22:02:54.545+01:00

Well, as threatened last week, I've cancelled my standing order with Forbidden Planet and I'm going to see how I get on with Red Hot Comics in Glasgow.To celebrate this wonderful event, let's have a few videos from the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals. (I'll be out on Saturday night, so I'll miss the show itself.) For the benefit of the Americans among you: the Eurovision Song Contest is an

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-68987919204260019482009-05-10T17:36:00.003+01:002009-05-10T18:44:22.637+01:00

This week's podcast has reviews of New Mutants, Power Girl and Fin Fang Four Return. And for blog readers, I'll come back to New Mutants later on. But first, here's some other stuff from this week's books.Astonishing Tales #4 - More reprints from Marvel's digital comics service. I'm mentioning it here for the X-completists among you, since it's got a Wolverine/Punisher serial and a Mojoworld

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-40163949994402634902009-05-10T16:49:00.002+01:002009-05-10T16:52:02.927+01:00

It's the weekend of the Bristol convention! But we didn't go. So instead, this week, reviews of New Mutants, Power Girl and Fin Fang Four Return, along with the usual news round-up.Download here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-30042915489945798612009-05-08T12:54:00.003+01:002009-05-08T12:58:41.495+01:00

Forbidden Planet Edinburgh have failed to order my copy of Marvel Index for the second month running, despite having four standing orders for it, and despite my complaining about it last month, on the grounds that - get this - they place orders three months in advance.For christ's sake. Even I know you can you adjust your initial orders long after that point. It's the reason why they changed

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-1431680313023432972009-05-06T20:23:00.002+01:002009-05-06T20:58:00.123+01:00

"Birth of a Weapon"Writer: Chris YostArtist: Mark TexeiraColourist: John RauchLetterer: Todd KleinEditor: Nick LoweNo, not the movie, but the obligatory one-shot that came out in the same week. This is the latest in a series of X-Men Origins one-shots, which either recap the origins of X-Men characters, or just give them one to fill in the blanks. And just in case you're wondering, despite

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-47343537258348746112009-05-03T17:46:00.002+01:002009-05-03T18:39:01.393+01:00

See, I finally got around to writing about "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" That's below. We'll get to X-Men Origins: Wolverine - the one-shot comic, not the movie - later.Thanks to Steven Grant for plugging House to Astonish in his weekly "Permanent Damage" column, which is always much appreciated. In turn, wrestling fans might want to follow the link, since he's got a lot of

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-29359152217913968352009-05-03T16:46:00.003+01:002009-05-03T17:39:06.725+01:00

"Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" (Batman #686 / Detective Comics #853)Writer: Neil GaimanPenciller: Andy KubertInker: Scott WilliamsColourist: Alex SinclairLetterer: Jared FletcherEditor: Mike MartsNeil Gaiman has never been entirely at home with superheroes. True, some of them show up in Sandman, but for the most part their roots are downplayed. When he ventures wholesale into the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-15233327360393235782009-05-02T13:12:00.002+01:002009-05-02T13:20:04.997+01:00

I'm not going to review X-Men Origins: Wolverine, because I don't plan to go and see it. To be honest, I'm not really that interested in adaptations to other media. Never bothered watching the animated series either.The review on Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's podcast has some very valid points about the pointlessness of over-exploring back story, though. (Worth subscribing.)And they flag up

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-39996583479122687042009-04-29T18:36:00.004+01:002009-04-29T20:02:32.558+01:00

"The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop"Writer: Duane SwierczynskiPenciller: Larry StromanInkers: Mark Farmer and Robert StullColourists: Matt Milla and Thomas MasonLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: Axel AlonsoAnyone who follows the X-books will have realised by now that just because a miniseries says X-MEN in big letters on the cover, that's no reason to think it'll be an X-Men story. But while X-Men:

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-75473101936260582652009-04-27T22:00:00.000+01:002009-04-27T22:00:00.556+01:00

Well, Calvin Harris lasted two weeks. And we stick with the homegrown acts for our next number one...That's Tinchy Stryder featuring N-Dubz, "Number 1." Stryder, real name Kwasi Danquah, is Ghanaian by birth, but grew up in London and has been around on the grime scene for several years now. Grime is England's mutant version of rap, which started off decidedly aggressive and underground but, as

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-86526534528639334132009-04-27T16:49:00.006+01:002009-04-28T07:30:38.132+01:00

I reviewed Wolverine: The Anniversary yesterday. Here's what I said about the back-up strip:"There's also a short back-up strip by Jonathan Maberry and Tomm Coker, in which Wolverine fights off a bunch of ninjas and then wonders, for no readily discernible reason, whether they might be ghosts. No, Logan, they're probably just ninjas again. It's Wednesday. Coker's art is lovely, but the story is a

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-68616930031538500992009-04-27T12:00:00.004+01:002009-04-27T12:00:01.260+01:00

Wolverine Noir #1Writer: Stuart MooreArtist: C P SmithColourist: Rain BeredoLetterer: Jeff EckleberryEditor: Daniel KetchumMarvel's Noir books are a weird misshapen hybrid if ever there was one. Characters from one genre, revamped in the style of another genre... just because. It's a familiar tack for superhero publishers in recent years, who have often tried to expand the genre by splicing it

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-17358288412138382042009-04-26T17:32:00.004+01:002009-04-26T19:38:05.129+01:00

It's Sunday! Check below for this week's podcast, and for those of you so inclined, there's also a preview for Backlash.I'm planning full-length reviews for Wolverine: Noir #1 (which came out last week, but honest, I'll get to it), Detective Comics #853 (the second half of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?") and X-Men: The Times & Life of Lucas Bishop. But

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-66775277743710698162009-04-26T17:25:00.001+01:002009-04-26T17:27:12.352+01:00

It's our six month anniversary, and as well as running down the news and July solicitations, we look at Vikings, Fantastic Force and Skrull Kill Krew.Download here, or visit the podcast web page, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-67709392529210829952009-04-25T18:12:00.004+01:002009-04-26T15:46:37.472+01:00

A mere three weeks after Wrestlemania, we're already on to the next show. This is more an act of stubbornness on the part of the WWE than any sort of common sense, but there you go.Traditionally, Wrestlemania is the climax of the year's storylines. This year's show had a decidedly last-minute feel to it, but still had to try and feel like a resolution to 2008/9. Nonetheless, Backlash is not the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-11788379887446704982009-04-19T18:10:00.002+01:002009-04-19T18:51:36.242+01:00

See below for Rampaging Wolverine #1, and I'll come back to Wolverine: Noir #1 later. But also this week...Fables #83 - Part one of "The Great Fables Crossover", running between Fables, its spin-off Jack of Fables, and a miniseries, Literals, created solely for the purpose of this crossover. The Literals, who seem to be the personification of storytelling devices, strike me as the most

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com1