Something Wicked #1

A quick plug for a fantastic new horror comic. Granted Something Wicked does feature a story by yours truly* but it also includes some fantastically twisted tales from the best in the British small press. For just £3.50 you'll get 56 pages of werewolves, spooky seances and vicious voodoo. Fans of groovy age horror comics will love it...

* What's that? You want to know more about my story? Oh ok, "Step Right Up" a creepy carnival strip with a barrel load of freaks with art from thephenomenall Duncan Nimmo. Just have a good look at how great Duncan's stuff is in this sneak peak below... You gotta love the man who won't die. I laughed when I wrote it, but laughed more when I saw Duncan's art.



Go on, treat yourself buy it here!

X-Men The Last Stand

I was worried that X-Men The Last Stand would be a steaming pile of mutie's kidneys but I'm pleased to say that I loved every minute of it. Other than Sin City this truely is the best realisation of superhero action on the big screen. The scene when Juggernaut* and Wolverine slug it out in Jean Grey's house is stunning in the way that they smash through walls in the exact way you'd expect to see them in the pages of a comic.

I do think it might be a film for the fans in some ways however. There are some lovely moments straight from classic X-Men and stuff we've been waiting for since the first movie. It was very telling that of the people I went with, Mark (someone who really knows the X-Men) like me thought it was phenomenal whereas Rich (who isn't an X-Men fan really) thought it looked good but was a so-so film. It could be that's how the the general audience will see it - good action but a bit average - whereas fans will get much more out of it because they have more invested in the characters. Even though, be prepared for a few shocks...

One thing I did learn though from watching the film though... Patrick Stewart looks seriously weird when digitally altered to appear 20 years younger. In fact he looks like the kind of man Liza Minelli would marry.

* Should Vinnie Jones have been cast as the Juggernaut? Probably not but he does cause a few laughs. Some of them were even intentional...

Bet your cares away....

Yes, we’re writing a Fraggle Rock movie and trying to pull it together.”

These words have made me very, very, very excited. I loved Fraggle Rock as a kid and the fact that there's a movie on the way is enough to keep me working in the kid's entertainment issue until it comes out. I want to do the Disney's Big Time cover with the Fraggles on it.

And apparently they're working on 'something different' for Labyrinth. Not a movie then. It has to be a game then. "Where's the baby Sarah?"

Tomb of Dracula

Here's a coincidence. There I was reading the latest SFX and noticed that my good friend Nick Setchfield is reading his way throught the Essential Tomb of Dracula at exactly the same time as I am. We're both currently working our respective ways through the second volume of this classic Marvel collection.

It really is a remarkable series that any Dracula fan shouldn't miss. First up, the groovy seventies vibe screams Hammer and in some ways I wish that Christopher Lee had been given the scripts afforded to Marvel's Lord of the Damned.
Stand out for me is the facts that;

a) This is a series where the main character is a blood-thirsty murdering son-of-a-doo-dah who is happiest when he's slaughtering. There are a group of heroes out to stop his evil ways but most of the time you find yourself on Drac's side, willing him to win out in the end. This isn't because the good guys are bland and boring - anything but - but because the dark lord is so well written. Yes, he's melodramatic and obviously self-absorbed but has a real sense of class. Could Marvel have pulled off a 70 issue Doctor Doom series. Nah, not like this. (NB. Prepare yourself for some clever dick to point out that they did in the early eighties and you've not heard about it Cav.)
Granted there are moments when we see that there is a smidgen of humanity beneath that vampiric veneer but thankfully Drac remains evil to the core - noble and intelligent yes, but still as deadly as old fang-features should be.

b) It's not afraid to take risks. Characters are set up, well-rounded only to be killed off suddenly and surprisingly. Even the lead character for that matter. OK, you do have a sneaking suspicion that Drac might be resurrected the next issue but the unpredictable nature of the main cast keeps the interest. When a goodie turns bad in say Spider-Man you expect it to be a stunt and they'll be back on the side of right when the hypes over. Not so in Tomb.

c) It's just plain fun. There's no angst or attempts to be clever. Tomb of Dracula is just good escapist fun, undemanding armchair horror from a time before chills just equalled buckets of gore.

Bond is back again...

So there I am scoffing that Star Wars fans will have to rebuy the DVDs again as Lucas is releasing the original movies without the changes and then I find this. Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

I have re-bought the majority of the Bond films three times over. I can't do it again. Clare will send me to live in the shed if I do. And surely I don't need another copy of Thunderbore or Die Another Franchise?

Do I? Do I?

Well perhaps I'll just get Live and Let Die...

Anthony Head is Dracula

Had a weird but good dream last night. I was directing the first Hammer Horror film in decades, starring Anthony Head as Dracula. To be honest, the film was that good it would probably get an oscar.
However back in reality, how good would Mr Head would be as old Draccy-boy? This probably came from his superb performance as the evilest of evil headmasters, Mr Hector Finch, in Saturday's Doctor Who. He positively oozed maleficence. And so I start my campaign now - HEAD FOR DRACULA! Let's get T-Shirts printed, banners on walls... Let's live the dream.

But if Head was Dracula, who would play Van Helsing? Any casting suggestions?