In recent years there has been a massive resurgence of the collecting of VHS. There are art gallery displays, Facebook pages like Horror Vhs Collectors Unite and VHShitfest where groups of collectors can meet and show off their goods, as as well as just talk about the format they love.
Continue reading GB’s VHS Vault: Why It’s Awesome – A UK History
The comic community was rocked on Sunday by the news of an industry legend’s death. Joe Kubert passed away on August 12th due to multiple myeloma – a form of cancer that destroys bone marrow.
His work in the comic field is outstanding. Contributing to numerous titles in his overwhelming career, he is most famous for his work on Sgt Rock, for which he was still contributing right up to 2009. He dabbled with other comic companies, but was most well-known for his work at DC comics where he contributed his penciling talents to Hawkman and JLA among others.
DC Comics had this to say about the comic legend which can be found on http://www.wired.com
We are saddened to learn of the death of our colleague and friend Joe Kubert. An absolute legend in the industry, his legacy will live on through his remarkable talent, with his sons and with the many artists who have passed through the storied halls of his celebrated school. An important member of the DC Comics family, Joe made an indelible mark on the entire DC Comics universe including his renowned and award-winning work on iconic characters such as Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace, Hawkman and most recently Nite Owl. We are so honored to have worked side-by-side with such an unforgettable force in both comics and in life.”
– DC Entertainment Executive Team.
This statement has caused a bit of an outrage with comic lovers everywhere, because it essentially sounds like an advert for the new Watchman comics and not a tribute to a man that had been doing outstanding work for them all the way back to 1943. That’s near 70 years of service, and it’s been boiled down to ‘most recently Nite Owl ‘.
In addition to being one of the biggest names in the industry for the better part of the last century, but Joe also set up his own school for aspiring artists, and won Harvey Awards’ Jack Kirby Hall of Fame Award in 1997, and Will Eisner Comic Book Home of Fame in 1998. His two sons Adam and Andy are massively popular comic artists too, and it’s great to know that he has been an inspiration to so many people. My first experiences of him were through his sons. I’m a big fan of their work and it was through their work that I heard about their father. His work on Sgt Rock is still some of the best war stories I have ever read and his artwork is so distinctive you can spot it a mile away. The thing that struck me about his work is the way it seems so realistic. These people’s lives can be easily seen written on their face and in Sgt Rock’s case you can see the pain of war in his visage. Much how Harvey Pekar expertly showed what it was like to just be an average Joe Kubert’s work on Sgt Rock made me feel what it was like to be a member of the army.
He will be missed by the many fan that his work has touched, me included. To finish here are some touching words from the The Kubert School of Art …
Imagine if you will a world like ours. A world where there is no pollution and no crowds. Sure it’s because most of the population has been killed off but that’s not a problem hey? Oh did I mention the massive mutated animals that roam the landscapes eating folk? Yeah probably not every ones holiday destination but it is the basis of the new graphic novel from Image.
Do you like werewolves? Do you like people chasing werewolves in a slapstick kind of way? Then this may be the graphic novel for you! This is the Pound written by Stephen Nilson (Justice League Unlimited) and drawn by Karl Waller (X-Men The Movie Prequel).
The story revolves around two dog catchers called Scott Allison and Howard Lynch.
Now Scott is your basic hard man with a heart. He has a lovely wife called Jennifer, some kids (I forget the names but trust me they are just there for the hero to save so you don’t need to know!) and a kick ass handlebar mustache. His pal Howard has none of these and he’s a bit on the weak nerdy side, but they both have one thing in common. There jobless! So they set up their own firm and on a routine job accidentally capture a werewolf! Not to spoil the plot, but essentially from here the story goes into a scheme involving a werewolf and vampire council and a plan to turn all the people at the local fair into werewolves!
The characters are simplistic but fun. Scott and Howard are very much like ‘Tucker and Dale’ (from the film of the same name) but less red-neckish. In fact this could be called ‘Tucker and Dale vs. Werewolves’. The main villain is Dante, and he’s a big beefy werewolf grunt kinda guy who snaps necks when he is mad, and has a vampire lover. He’s like your typical muscle villain and does not really get his hands dirty till the end in a fun homage to the old monster team up movies of the 40’s. His son Darnell is a big part of the story to and is used as the exposition device to give us and the two leads the scoop on monster lore.
There is some violence and a bit of gore throughout this, but the tone of it is more up beat and reminded me of The Goonies or The Monster Squad. A bunch of colorful characters going on a weird adventure together is always fun to read. One annoying thing is that it seems every bloody character is a monster! It reminded me of the later series of Heroes where every Tom, Dick and Harry popped up saying “I have a power!” Other than this it is a very fun read with Stephen Nilson’s script doing the business and Karl Waller’s artwork been slightly cartoony, but dramatic at the same time. I love how he draws some of the werewolves like actual dogs with their tongues flapping about! I also liked how they introduced a new team-mate at the end without any of the team knowing.
The ending is really funny and leads into the sequel that is coming in September so its a great time to check it out.
What do you do when all you are fueled on grief and rage, but suddenly all that has gone? Red Lantern Atrocitus has this dilemma after Krona, the rogue guardian who slaughtered his home world is killed by Hal Jordan and not by Atrocitus’s hands. He is on a path of self discovery to see where his life now leads him. His troops no longer respect him, he is a changed man.
The BBC Website released what all of us Doctor Who fans had been waiting for. The new trailer for Series 7!
Continue reading Doctor Who: Series 7 – New Trailer Hit, It’s Awesome!
Grizzly Bomb 