Sitting between a chant of some religious slant and a song from some other country base outside of Australia, there was a slither of a slot for the Comic Shop to pop up on the radio.

Blitz in and out again, covering about a whole half hour, the Comic Shop boys were on Macarthur's C91.3FM just recently. Tonight actually. Back there in 19:10 land gone past. And the talk invariably covered the look of the store and the comics whatnot from the perspective of a radio host who only believes in The Phantom.

Superman's little "It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!" from the old timey TV show kicking off the segment. Chris, Jason and Tom all there to represent the store.

"Turbines to speed," from the Batman TV show audio grab breaking the half point begs a question. How do you get to an intransitory position which in actuality isn't one at all but instead just a place to get somewhere else. If even.

The show's audio intros almost looked like a skewer toward the DC hand if not for the Lone Ranger getting in a heel there.

Caller Paul didn't help on that front though. He was on about Superman, the Justice League and the Justice Society of America.

Marvel love coming from the shop itself. Nice work on Jason prefixing Stan Lee as a co-creator on the House of Ideas. Just wouldn't seem like the right thing if he'd gone with the "creator" slip. And Tom's aside to caller Paul was deftly put.

Caller Hank sure missed out on prime time to hijack the listener call in segment they had for a flash. Instead, harping on about Kabuki and automatically dismissing manga when thrown at by the host. That Hank needs some more misdirection when on the air on the phone on the radio. Next time you blue furry.

Dash off on the sign off and the plug for the shop's location (in addition to being in Liverpool) slides in before the cut off.

But where is the library people? It's right next to the Comic Shop it is. That's the way it's around, not the other.

 

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #7 hit the shelves last week. Wrapping up the first of a series the adaptations of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, it's the first of the last of the first few of that which will come later from the works of the one they call King outside of comics*.

Do you guys have any of the DARK TOWER SKETCHBOOK left? Also, are there any one-shots of the series that you've got?

Plum stuck out of stock of that particular piece. None were left shortly after they came out and before the mini-series itself started proper.

However, this week on the shipping list is Dark Tower: Gunslinger's Guidebook a one shot guide on the world of Roland Deschain of the Gilead and his ka-tet.

If reading the solicitation on Marvel's site, it's very hard to do with the grey on light purple scheme. No squint for the make up!

*The one in comics being Jack Kirby for those who only read the indy stuff and shy away from DC and Marvel like the angry vagrant at the end of the stoop who goes where he sleeps.

 

Clearly things are amiss in the world of shot deadlines and comic books lying face down in a damp area of the kitchen table tops. Where the hope of not having to read the next issue comes from not even seeing it appear on the shelf to tempt the wallets before sitting read with the rest of them.

And so it is, a most strange occurrence as All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder #5 from DC Comics and Ultimates 2 #13 from Marvel finally hit the shelves.

Months? Or years? Since the last issue between the latest and the previous, who knows any more of the story inside and how fractured the leap between. One thing they have going for them is at least the collection factor. Not a fan personally, but it is interesting to watch them continue to pick up.

Ludicrous fold out in the Ultimates is beyond comprehension and still does not quite explain the need for such a long delay between issues. Kind of forgot about these two titles even running with their no show. Next season, maybe a sighting of a new Battle Chasers issue.

And all that build up leaves a bad taste in the mouth after licking the back of the cane toads what make their hitch trips down from Queensland.

 

Closing out the final part of this three part chapter in Spider-Man's life, the whole gang returns with a party of others in the mix. Quite the busload really, fitting them in takes a lot of switching back and forth. Not unlike web slinging through the city scape as the New Goblin and Spider-Man duke it out.

From there, it's just quite certain that watching Spider-Man 3 at the IMAX is the game of those with loose necks and even looser eyeballs. Eyeballs which may operate independently if given the scope of the action sequences Spidey swings through.

And such swinging, all in a flavour of style which deliberately signals just how much more fluid his actions are, how more in touch he is within. Touch too much and it's a case of emo reflux, comedic in all its glory.



Bruce Campbell is as ever a nugget of gold. Bryce Dallas Howard looking the way she does, really spot on perfect for Gwen Stacy, perfect as the foil and flip to what Mary Jane proposes in the life of Peter Parker. Still, hard to beat the chops of James Franco (Harry Osborn) across the spread of these first three movies. And Stan Lee? Yeah, well...

Forget about those who came in late, they'll always come in late. This is a movie at speed in which things move is quick, no let up save for the pauses to squeeze in the comedy. Sure, things such as characterization blaze right through with an apparent chasm between logic and motives.

Venom and Sandman, things move fast with these two as they develop during the course of the film. Not a hard task at all to follow their stories in this whole scheme of things. So many plots, so many characters, and Sam Raimi delivers it with a punch to the side of the face that keeps you asking for more.

 

Since the 60's, Marvel Comics have been inking pages with the action filled adventures of Tony Stark, cashed up playboy and superhero.

Lions Gate and Marvel Comics team up again (Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2) for the straight-to-DVD animated movie The Invincible Iron Man. Doctor Strange will be the next collaboration between the two entertainment giants. When I first heard of the plans for this flick I thought that it would be nothing more than a marketing ploy to gauge interest for the release of Jon Favreau's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised as this film definitely holds its own.

Iron Man is arguably one of the most real and almost familiar characters in comic books to date. He has had battles with real-life issues such as addiction, confrontations for and against the law and a constant struggle with his alter ego's ego.

The film itself rewrites Iron Man's beginnings preferring to omit his involvement in the Vietnam War in favour of an existence surrounded by little to no responsibility outside of overseeing the operation of his multi-billion dollar company, Stark Enterprises. The film also includes his friendship with long time comrade and fan favourite, War Machine aka Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes.

Other small differences between the comic book and the film pop up throughout. Such as Mandarin's rings in the film are powered by magic whereas in the books they are powered by advanced alien technology.



The Invincible Iron Man is a great mix of classic animation and CG sequences that seem to blend reasonably well although the CG at times was too sharp for the hand painted backgrounds but all in all it worked well.

The action took quite a while to kick into gear. Not seeing the Invincible Iron Man kick butt until halfway through the movie was painful. What made up for this were the geek-friendly scenes that showed of the multitude of Iron Man suits that have featured in the comics throughout the years.

All in all The Invincible Iron Man is a great animated movie with a reasonably complex story line touching on issues of paternity and cultural phenomena. Filled with great action, animation and a great score, The Invincible Iron Man will make a great addition to any comic fans' DVD shelf right alongside The Ultimate Avengers and UA2.

The Invincible Iron Man is available at the Comic Shop now.

 

Jeff Smith works the prestige magic on the little Marvel Boy at DC. It's a back flash with a step into where Captain Marvel came from and the wizard Shazam. Smells glossy.

Pricey, as expected for the format, binding is tight as a fist with a severed nerve making it unable to open anymore. Bit of a squeeze in reading much like any other comic for simple consumption that isn't in with a collection.

Cute is the large beacon of light which signals this incarnation of the tale. After all, when it's Smith working his magic, there is little chance that it will bear out any other kind of result. And the charm and ball of goodness that it is makes well of this fact. Or perhaps that's the back of the brain talking to the tip of the tongue. Slight knock on the head when looking up will do that.

Having made no effort in prior reading on who this character with the massive bolt down his front, it's an enjoyable and easy read. Nothing is made to grapple at lingering nuances or threads from other series in the canon and with the 12 Step program by Judd Winick on the shelves, reads fine without accompaniment. Damn accessible thus far.

 

Oh, for what leaves the eyes in such a state as to feel the green radioactive ooze pooling out from the sockets?



Certainly not keeping regular daylight hours helps a lot. A whole barrel load of good apparently comes from working in the same time zone as the people what stand in the same room. And when one time zone steps out of another and runs for weeks and months, there's the possibility that the red will make green.

Outside possibility with a boon of drinking heavy of green drink (as others drink purple and grape).

 

Things are in a real swing, with the trio of the Night Nurse, Wong and Doctor Strange working well together. Throw them down and into the situation they face currently, and it's like they're at their best in this particular incarnation.

Wonderfully visions of pseudo acid tripping moments from that particular time too close to the sun under the weak awning make an appearance in this mind spree. A veritable shuffle board game right into the heart of what makes Doctor Strange a smart and calmly cool character.

Mystic arts don't seem as fun and light-hearted and manically meshed too deep with the business world like it is here. A pause here and there working it like the little bitty push pig trying to save his pork rind of a hide.

 

Fine crippled hands of a surgeon are what makes for good spell casting. Only this time, for the sake of continuity, the good Strange Doctor is a neurosurgeon, never mind the plastic rubbing slapjockey. Still, the flashbacks here proves that no amount of tinkering will escape from the arrogance so embedded in his former life in the white coats and stethoscopes.

Events aren't yet moving like after a night hitting heavy on the dates, a prune salad and some chilli-flavoured fish-fingers for taste. Delving into the mind and matter of the make up of Doctor Strange, the distractions are clear enough to need only a single scan of said pages. Light carries across the beat of the drum with the dubious nature of things hiding in the shadows.

Dead on character accuracy and never once feeling like the pants needs a megadose of that baby oil for the slip on. Subtle jabs delight with the switch kick of statements taking the ear off without spotting the bleed, not too fast though. There are a few pauses and set ups which just read well enough to cast forth a chance for all.

So what is the Night Nurse's name anyhow?