thinks Paul Jenkins might be right!!!

So yesterday, as I was going through my twitter feed, I came across a tweet by Andy Diggle. This tweet included a link to an email that writer Paul Jenkins had sent to Comic book resources (see it right here) announcing that he was exclusively joining Boom Studios for the forseeable future. The reason behind his doing this was, for the most part, down to one simple reason; the big comic book publishers (that's Marvel and DC) having "removed their focus away from the creators and towards the maintenance of the characters"  which had meant "We have taken away the consequences of the stories we present to them, and I feel the mainstream product is becoming a homogenized puddle of 'meh.'"(his own words in the email).

Now, having read it over (a couple of times) I gotta admit that Paul Jenkins is right. When it comes to the comic books released by DC and Marvel, the stories have less to do about character development and more about the status quo. Now, in fairness, this is not entirely true. At the present moment I'm reading Daredevil, which writer Mark Waid has turned from a dark, brooding noir title of the Bendis era into a more jovial, swash-buckling book. I'm also reading Indestructible Hulk (as by Waid, maybe that's the common denominator), which has Hulk working for the government instead of running away from them. But the question that's always in my mind, regardless of how much I'm enjoying these books with their new takes, is 'how long will it be before they go back to where they were before?'

Now, if we go back a couple of years, my pull list consisted of 60% Marvel and 40% DC titles. But as I've grown up and gotten more into comics Marvel and DC combined consists of 50% of my pull list, with that number dropping still. At the end of the day, I'm now finding independent titles more appealling than the Marvel/DC books, for what I think is the very reason that Jenkins is highlighting; Indie books have a greater degree level of character development, which is down to the fact that the writers (who most likely also created the book) have a larger level of control as to where the story goes, while the big two will simply maintain the status quo of their characters.

In the end, this annoucement probably won't make me say "That's it, I'm swearing off Marvel and DC comics" (because I'm a little more fickle than that), but I respect Paul Jenkins for not only doing what he believes in, but also bringing this out into the public and giving people a chance to debate over it (because debate is healthy, or so I'm told). I just hope, that if he changes his mind and wants to go back to the mainstream, what he's said won't be held against him, because the big two might just be doing themselves a disservice.

Catching up on the comic books he's missed.

Finally!!! After missing the last few weeks worth of releases due to other things like the Bristol comic expo and just general real life, I finally picked up an astonishing (well for me anyway) nine books that had been waiting for me at my local comic book shop. Amongst these books included two new limited series with the remainder being great series, which meant I was more than a little excited to get through my stash. And now, having finally gotten through them all, I can say that, overall it's been a great catch up, although a couple of new books did let the side down.

A whole three weeks worth of comics

So, where to begin? Well, that's easy when looking at all that I had to go through and so I began with Demon Knights #20, which saw our medieval heroes finish up the adventures on Amazon Island and begin their (possibly final adventure) and chase this series' most elusive prize; the holy grail. Now, I don't know the reason why this series is being cancelled but based on what Robert Venditti has brought to the table, it's the wrong decision. Though this issue is a calm before the storm kind of issue, I thought it to still be engrossing, exciting with plenty of
humour (Vandal Savage with a Particular book is inspired). And with the art Chad Hardin, taking over for Bernard Chang, has stepped up beautifully, delivering fantastic art that I can't stop looking at. If the last three issues are anything like this, Demon Knights will end on a high.

Demon Knights #20 and Think Tank #7

And so, I moved on to Think Tank #7 of which, after struggling on the last two issues of this series, I was a bit apprehensive about. But how wrong was I? Despite a bit of confusing start that had a little bit too much exposition, this issue then just snapped into place and became so entertaining as David Loren continued to undermined his handlers/captures within the think tank and outing the dangerous weapons he created, but ended with a twist that, while expected, still shocked me. Meanwhile, the art on this title is still top notch and continues to enhance the book. Therefore, this was the issue that gave my faith back in the book after two stumbling issues. Looking forward to the arc's conclusion now.

So, with two ongoings read, I thought I'd take a chance on the new titles,starting with Dream Thief #1 from Jay Nitz and Greg Smallwood, which told the story of John Lincoln who, after a night of drink and drugs at a museum with a friend starts waking up in a aborigine mask surrounded by a dead body or two. Unfortunately, this book failed to speak to me and I found it a little bit unenjoyable. The worst part of reading this was that there was no reason to dislike this book as the story seemed tight and intriguing and the art was good. In the end, I guess this title just didn't appeal to me, which means it won't be back with me next month.

Dream Merchant and Dream Thief - both #1's

Hopefully though the second new title, The Dream Merchant #1, would fair a little better as its creative team included one of my favorite writers, Nathan Edmondson, along with artist Konstantin Novosadov, whose work is new to me. Unfortunately, I was two for two with new titles this month as Dream Merchant was yet another title I was never to get into. However, unlike Dream Thief, I couldn't get into Dream Merchant not because it failed to interest me, but because I just couldn't understand it. All I know it had something to do with a guy who can't tell the difference between being asleep and awake but it was a struggle to follow and not even the unusual art by Novosadov could keep me enthralled. So, at the end of the day, I doubt I'll be back for this book, no matter how much I wish for the opposite.

However, there was no overall downside to Edmondson's work (thankfully) as The Activity #13 was read next, and showed a great continuation of its ongoing story after the last issue's bump in the road. It was here that I got to see the outcome of Speakeasy's story after having been taken away in issue 11, while the rest of the team take part in a rescue op of a comrade in arms. This issue, for me, was a return to what I loved about this series, helped greatly by Mitch Gerads return, who gave cover to cover clear images to follow, which actually seem better than they were before. The story was, again pitch perfect as the overall "leak" story flowed seamlessly around the immediate rescue story. Although, the "leak" appears to have been dealt with, I find myself looking forward to what Edmondson and Gerards bring to the table in the next issue. Here's hoping I don't wait as long though.

The Massive #12 and The Activity #13

And so, with my equilibrium restored I moved on to what could definitely be the best book I read as Daredevil #26, finally, brought about the big reveal of the main villain that has brought about hell on Matt Murdock since back when the series began. This issue was a real joy as Mark Waid and Chris Samnee have taken the series initial premise of making DD carefree and blown it out of the water, bringing about a full on emotional breakdown as the man without fear becomes very afraid and then adding a back-up story that, while not essential, I found absolutely beautiful and well worth the added expense. Now though, I have many questions about how this big villain managed to do all the things he did, but hopefully Waid will bring that up in issues to come and that is why I'll be back next time.

Still the best I get - Daredevil #26

So what next? Well, with three books left and two of those being symbiotic, I decided to face the inevitable and read The Massive #12, which had really been starting to wane in terms of my interest in it. However, what an issue this was, as the crew of the Kapital ran aground in the arctic and faced death at the hands of the environment, Callum continued his Ahab-like mission to find the Massive alone, and on foot. Brian Wood seems to have written this issue to be not only a year anniversary, but also to mark a huge change in the books status quo because, as I read it, I just felt like a corner had been turned. Although I'm curious about what exactly Callum found (a big shadowed shape, not exactly an answer), I feel like The Massive is about to go through a transformation into a book that's about to face a complete overhaul, tempting me to come back for a little bit longer.

Then finally we reached Fantastic Four #8 and FF #7, which I can only ever read back to back. With Fantastic Four #8, Fraction and Bagley followed on from the previous issue by taking the currently human Ben Grimm back to previous day Yancy Street to right a wrong, but instead gets caught up in a shakedown by the predecessors of the Yancy Street Gang. Now I liked this issue as I do any issue that focuses on the Thing's roots, but sadly I still can't shake comparing to the previous run by Hickman. There is nothing wrong with this book as both the writing and art are solid (though a bit less of using the word "dummy" would be cool) but, at the end of the day, this book just doesn't have the same epic feel, instead the feel it gives me is an old 60's serial where there is no overlying story. But like I said, there is nothing wrong with the book and the tease at the end will certainly get me back for the next issue.

However, FF #8 does not  give me the same impression, it gives me a better one. Fraction and the Allreds finish up the last issues story with the kids (and adults) of the Future Foundation take on the Wizard, who's kidnapped Bentley, mind-controlled Medusa (though this is the first I've heard of it) and allied with Blastaar (this guy is getting a lot of coverage right now) to, well, just cause trouble. Unlike it's sister book, which is meant to be just an enjoyable tale, this book is more laugh out loud fun, and it continues to be so here. The main draws for me are, the art (yes I'm loving this art) and the characters, who are written so well. This book is indeed the superior FF title and with a cross-over scene with the other book that was just wow, and hints at character developments that I thought was amazing, I'm more than looking forward to the next issue.

Phew, so that was everything. In future I'm gonna have to make sure I don't leave it so long between pick ups. However, overall, this was a great haul to retrieve with most (though true, not all) of what I read being absolutely incredible books. However, I'd still prefer little and often to much and rare.

Twisted Dark - Disturbingly good reading

So, as I've said before, at the Bristol comic expo (http://acomicbookaddict.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/at-bristol-comic-expo-2013.html) I came across two small press books. The first was the very fun Afterlife Inc. (http://acomicbookaddict.blogspot.com/2013/05/thinks-afterlife-inc-is-comic-book-you.html) while the second was a book called Twisted Dark. Now, Twisted Dark was a book that was a whole different kettle of fish as it was an altogether darker and moodier book than I've ever seen and also turned out to be a very thought provoking title.

Bad picture by me, but Twisted Dark is still a very good book.

Twisted Dark is essentially an anthology (well 3 volumes of anthologies so far) of different and incredibly distinct stories which give a dark and disturbing insight into many facets of life. From suicidal 10 year olds to the life of a drug dealer, social media stalkers to a very angry pushman, these books are the comic book equivalent to the tv series Black Mirror, with dark, satirical stories that, overall, have little to no connection with each other (of course, some stories do contain the same characters), but do greatly emphasize real life.

Series writer Neil Gibson (no relation to Mel Gibson, as the opening preface of volume one points out to you) has created a real gem of a series here as each book contains a number of stories, all of which are incredibly compelling for their rather disturbing view of life. When I came across this book Will, the marketer at their table, told me that this was a unique horror book and, in a way, he was right. While it is not horror in the conventional sense (although there is a bit of blood and gruesomeness in a story or two), every one of the stories that is displayed give off an uneasiness and creepiness that not only do what a standard horror story is meant to do, but it also made me really think about the world we live in compared to these stories.

While the art in these books are a little hit and miss in places, depending on the story and the artist involved, overall it is all solid. There no bum panels at all as far as I could see and a lot of the time the tone of the art enhances what is already a rather creepy story (such as the final story in volume two). This is made more so by the choice of no colour in this book. I'm getting more and more into monochrone comics and this series just helps cement my view that such artwork is a great help to any comic (sorry to any colourists out there).

All in all, I love this book because not only is it highly entertaining and compelling, but because it really is great at speaking to me, in it's own way, about many common aspects of the world that we don't see. The only trouble I have now is whether to pick up volume three as a hard copy or on comixology, though this is hardly the most earth-shattering decision in the world.

thinks Afterlife Inc. is a comic book you can believe in

So, like I said previously (In my post about Bristol Comic Expo), while at the Bristol Expo I came across many books that were being promoted by their creators but, sadly, very few of them were concepts which took my fancy. However, for two of them that was not the case. Two of these books were incredibly imaginative and engrossing and really appealed to me and what it is I like about comics, but they were almost at different ends of that spectrum. One was the morbid anthology Twisted Dark (See my review here) but the other was a completely different creature, a book that while focusing on death, did so with a lot of life in a fantastical, hilarious and, most importantly, fun fashion. What is the name of this book? Well its name is Afterlife Inc.

Afterlife Inc. Vol. 1

The premise behind Afterlife Inc. is a simple one. A catastrophe has occurred in heaven, causing the angels in charge to vanish and chaos to erupt. But out of the ashes has come Jack Fortune; a recently dead con-man (though how he died is a bit of a mystery) who, along with a group of other human souls and some angelic beings (though what exactly they are I didn't catch) has turned turned the afterlife into "Afterlife Inc.- The company you can believe in", turning everyone's favorite after-death destination spot into a business owned by the people with one goal - to give everyone the dreams in death that they really wanted in life.

Now, I have to admit the concept is a bit out there, but only because with this kind of idea there are no limits and that is part of its appeal. Creator Jon Lock(www.jonlock.com), who I talked to at length over the course of the Bristol Expo, possibly bugging him immensely, seems to have gone completely wild and lets his imagination off the chain with this incredibly over the top world that makes me think of Fantastic Four back when Mark Waid was writing it (and that was a good series). This fantastical feeling doesn't just start and stop with the stories as the art work provided by a group of various skilled artists, chief among whom is Ash Jackson (www.myspace.com/ashtmjackson ) (who I think displays a style very similar to Ben Templesmith, which is a style I'm absolutely loving at the moment) enhances these stories to be incredibly easy on the eye, while bringing the extraordinary vision from Lock's idea to life perfectly.

Writer Jon Lock signing my copy of Afterlife Inc.

Of course, this series is by no means perfect, as I did struggle with some of the concepts within the stories and even, for one whole arc felt as if I'd missed something. I guess what you have to realize early on with this series is that this is not a linear story, but an anthology depicting the tales of this world, each separate from the others. This could have been the reason I suffered at the beginning (though reading volume two first probably didn't help). But yes, information is missing and yes it's all info that you want to know (like an origin), but once I got that the series isn't meant to be linear, I realized that it's not the origin that's important but it's the stories themselves and how enjoyable they are when you read them.

Afterlife Inc. interiors by Ash Jackson

In my opinion though, what makes this book so great isn't the stories themselves (though they are really great), it's the characters that make up this series and their pitch perfect depictions. From the Over-confident Jack Fortune to the over-worrying Mr Ochroid, the ultra-serious Lux to the gentle (well I though so anyway) Nuriel, these characters are all so charming that I can't help but want to read more about them. It's not just the main cast who are so well written, with small characters and even cameos (Sherlock Holmes is here and he's hilariously fantastic) coming off the page in a top-notch fashion.

When I pick up small press/indie books at conventions, I expect them to interesting premises but not to beat hands down the bigger, more established books. Afterlife Inc., for me, has totally changed my perception of that as well as defied any idea that dark and brooding is what makes a good story. Volumes one and two (both of which you can also get at Comixology. You go ahead, I'll wait) came across to me as exactly what any entertainment medium should come across as; pure, lighthearted fun! I enjoyed this book immensely and I not only look forward to the 3rd volume the creators are putting together, but hope said creators plans of getting this book published by the mainstays of comics come to pass. Afterlife Inc isn't just a company, but a comic book you can believe in.

At Bristol Comic Expo 2013

Phew!!! What a weekend!!! And so the Bristol Comic Expo 2013 has started and finished its' weekend of panels, artists and small press books and, for me, it's been one great event, despite my being unable to stay from start to finish.

The fantastic artwork of Liam Shalloo

The weekend started as these things always do; with me (and my girlfriend who came with me) in a queue to get in. This is where the experience fell a bit flat, with the young ladies responsible for tickets not being the most efficient (in fact one of them took our tickets with letting us in). However, once we were in, the experience became much more enjoyable with many tables of quality artists, comic book stores and small press comics. The plan for the weekend had been to see the comics on offer, duck into a couple of panels and find some elusive issues of major comic series. However, in the end those elusive issues remained just that (making me think that Captain Britain and MI:13 is now rarer than a unicorn) and the panels I wanted to see I never got around to. While the former was no one's fault, the latter, I felt, was caused by the panels being in another building down the road from the main action which was, for me (and more so my girlfriend) annoying.

However, in the end it was the indie creators and artists, along with their books and artwork, that made up for these downsides. The "artists alley" at the Expo had a long ling of talented artists, whose works were all phenomenal and much of which I wish I had had the funds to pick up (sadly, not enough funds for that). In the end, I decided (with my girl's approval) to pick up a beautiful Joker and Harley piece by Liam Shalloo (which he was good enough to sign, which didn't occur to me to ask).

Afterlife Inc. by Jon Lock

That said, when it came to the creators, their contribution to the greatness of their show had less to do with the quantity of their good works, but more about their enthusiasm and willingness to talk. The thing is, I love talking to creators at these cons. These are people who are enthusiastic about the ideas they make up and I can totally relate to (if not be as good a writers as them) and I would have been more than happy to have chewed there ears off all day (although I didn't, due to not wanting my girlfriend to be bored) about their books. In fact I did manage to do that with creators of the two best books I found there; Jon Lock (www.jonlock.com), writer/creator of a fantastic series called Afterlife Inc. (My thoughts on that will come in a later post) and the marketing team of the tremendous Twisted Dark Anthologies(www.facebook.com/TPublications) (Also, thoughts coming in a later post), both of whom talked about their comics with the same enthusiasm as I do about comics in general.

Twisted Dark by Neil Gibson

Oh, and (before I forget) amongst all the comics and artists and stores, came a fantastic little movie trailer for an independent movie called Banshee (www.mysteryofthebanshee.com). The Trailer, while obviously made in a shoestring fashion, had incredible atmosphere to it, very much in the vein of Silent Hill and many of these newer horror movies, though with a British twist. This tralier was so engrossing that I'm looking forward to seeing more about it.

And so, was it a good experience. Overall, I would say yes, although it was not without flaws. With the event split over two locations and the main room very cramped (though that one is typical of any con), there was an added problem of having no books that really appealed to me. However, the two tremendous books mentioned above, along with Banshee and the terrific artworks available make me admit that I don't regret going and will be more than happy to do so again, though maybe next time I'll just go for the one day.

has a week of highs and lows (mostly lows)

Some weeks I pick up my stash and find that there is hardly anything waiting for me, but what is there is just beautiful, like the comic equivalent of Shakespeare. And then there are weeks when a large proportion of my buy pil is available in my draw but none of it is actually any good. Sadly, last week falls closer to the latter than the former.

In for me this week were five comic books; Ten Grand #1 (which I've already talked about right here http://acomicbookaddict.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/read-ten-grand-1-and-loved-it.html ), The Activity #12, Action Comics #20, Earth 2 #12 and Indestructible Hulk #7, which is a big haul by my standards, though not as big as big as it should have been due to my local shop running out of Snapshot #1 (dramatic fall to my knees and reach up in the air "NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!"). So, surely it was a good week? Well, sadly not, though in fairness it could have been a lot worse. However, half of this weeks books failed to hit the mark.

For instance, the Activity #12, after a somewhat long hiatus (I don't remember when I last saw a new issue) left the prior cliffhanger up in the air with a one-off issue detailing a past mission of a member of the team. Now, this issue was a good little story, however after waiting a while to see movement in the big storyline Nathan Edmondson was setting up previously, it felt like an unneccessary diversion which I struggled to get into. However, struggling to get into the story was probably down to my struggle to follow the Mark Laming's art. Maybe I've gotten too used to Mitch Gerads work in this book, but when most the characters look identical (and not like any of the regulars) it's difficult to know what relevance this story has. Hopefully, the next issue will be a return to form, but this got my reading time off to a bad start.

And then, for much the same reasons, it all went bad to worse when I got my hands on Action Comics #20, which saw Superman gain help in the form of Dr Sway Veritas (who??) too defeat a virus given to him in the previous issue that's now making monsters while Lex Luthor (the guy who gave him the vius) gets ready to take the Man of Steel down. Now if that made sense to anyone I'd love to hear it, but after the greatness that was the last issue I was really let down by this continuation which felt like a huge drop in quality in comparison. Though the art continued to excel (for the most part), the story itself severly let down the book, making me wonder if it's time to cut my losses and drop this from my buy pile (though maybe not after the final part of this story, for closure).

However, just when I thought all was lost, salvation was at hand in the form of Earth 2 #12, which saw James Robinson and Nicola Scott finish off Dr. Fate's introductory story as Khalid makes his prescence known to the world while simultaneously finishing of Wotam (with help from the Flash and Green Lantern). Now, unlike the rest, I couldn't put this book down, with Robinson having found his feet on this book as it's gone on and ended up writing a ever more immersive story with plenty keeping me interested. And with the ever consistently stellar art of Nicola Scott lining the pages (seriously, I don't think a saw a single flaw in this issue) as well as a cliffhanger ending that will no doubt hint at the next year's worth of issues, I find myself drawn more and more to this title and kinda glad I rode out the bumpy early issues.

However, my renewed hope came back to earth with a bump when I got around to Indestructible Hulk #7, which continued from the previous issue with Hulk joining up with Thor to beat back the Frost Giants who are trying to take control of Banner's time/space portal. Unfortunately, despite the strength the series portrayed in the previous issues, this book has lost it's way with me and isn't as enjoyable as it was at issue 1. Also, the art by Walt Simonson didn't entice me to the book, though this might just be down to personal preference as there is nothing wrong and is solid, it just didn't appeal to me. Overall, this book continues to feel just run of the mill, which is sad given the creative team. I'm just hoping that the next arc (which will have Daredevil in it so I will be getting it) shows signs of the early issues and reminds me of why I picked this book up.

And so that was that. A weekend that, although having some good stuff, had a lot more letdowns. Hopefully, the letdown books will come back and make up for it next month but, more immediate, hopefully, as I'm going to miss next weeks stash (Bristol Expo getting in the way), when I get the next stash it will end up making up for this one.

read Ten Grand #1, and loved it!!!

When I picked up my stash this week, as I dropped the pile on the counter with Ten Grand #1 at the top, the guy behind the counter tapped on its cover and told me what an excellent book this was. Well, after reading it twice I think that it's not an excellent book....it's so much better than that!!!

Nice cover, but doesn't do the interiors justice

The premise this story is of Joe Fitzgerald, a former Mob hitman who, after being sent on a job to kill the wrong guy, is killed along with the love of his life, Laura. However, given his past, he isn't going to end up in the same place as her after death , so an angel offers him a deal; be resurrected after death time and again to kill monsters and after every death he will get five minutes to spend with his girl. And so, this issue opens to find that this is his life but, after taking on a job for his standard fee of Ten Grand (hence the title), he discovers the monster he is after is the same one that killed him that first time.

Now, when a book is created by J. Michael Straczynski and Ben Templesmith you expect it to be good but, for me, this was something truly special to read. Built from what seems like such a simple idea, the character of Joe Fitzgerald is so engrossing and feels almost realistic in how he's portrayed while the story feels like the perfect splicing of a crime thriller and a supernatural horror in its execution. What makes this book truly special is Templesmith's art, which has a dirty, disturbing, very sleepy hollow-esque look to it that makes as much sense here as it did with Fell (oh, how I miss that book), Templesmith is top of my list of favourite writers and this book shows just why that is.

I have a rule that I will pick up a book on a regular basis only after I've read the first issue. I think it's a good rule because you never know whether a book will worth the time or not. However, with Ten Grand #1 I think I should have ignored my rule and put it on my pull list straight from the get go. This is by far the best first issue of a new book that I've read and feel guilty that I hadn't shown it more faith. Hopefully, my getting issues 2, 3 and beyond will make up for that.

Loves Free Comic Book Day

So, today was one of the best days in the comic book calender. This isn't because I got to collect my books for the week (although, that was a mostly sweet event; mostly because, sadly, there weren't enough issues of Snapshot #4 in stock for me), but because, the first Saturday of May is a worldwide event known as Free Comic Book Day!!

Now, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is basically what it says on the tin; a chance to pick up certain comic books for the cost of nothing! Now, in my opinion, this is a great event because of its draw of new customers to shops, because people who aren't regulars in Comic book stores throughout the world, hell, even those who have never picked up a comic book, can go down to their local shop and pick a varied collection of works to help figure out if they like it and what they like, and this can only be a good thing (if only to keep great series with limited readership from getting the chop).

My free comic books

And so, while I picked up my regular stash, I grabbed some of these free comic books (after some persuasion) which was made up of the following:-
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell - Now, in truth, this isn't my thing and so didn't read (I know, very wrong of me)
Infinity - Now this prelude to the Marvel event made me tempted on the main book when it comes along, but what interested me more was the preview of the new Warren Ellis Avengers book towards the back.
The Walking Dead - Now this was a nice read. It was nice to see other (pivotal) characters from the series given a sort of origin story
Beware the Batman - This one was a little more interesting than anticipated, given it's more for kids. That said, the Teen titans Go section didn't appeal to me for just that reason.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Now this was very fun (given that it's too light to be true Turtles) and has me tempted on getting the series.
Superman - This was issue 1 of the Lost Son story(which I've read) and so I skipped it. Is a good book though.
Star Wars - A fun read of what was essentially a preview book for many new Dark Horse titles. Most those stories I like (the Last Airbender was not one of those I liked).
Judge Dredd - Though it was nice to read a Dredd book, unfortunately, this one didn't do much to get me on board more permanently.

Now, in hindsight, I wish that Image had offered more of the anthology type freebies instead of just the Walking Dead FCB just so I could see some of what they plan to release in the future that I might want to pick up. However, I still think that the day did what was required and provided good material to help lead new readers into some of these books. But now I've read all this, it's time to get on with the stash that I paid for.

....Gets ready for the Bristol Expo!!!

Hurrah!!! So, after a week or so of umming and arring, last night i finally (after much nudging and convincing) got around to buying my tickets for this years Bristol Comic Expo. However, with arranging my attendance out of the way, now comes the hard work; getting ready to actually attend!! In fairness, this shouldn't be as hard as I make it out to sound, seeing as accomadation and food are pretty easy to arrange (in-laws providing both makes it easier). However, the trouble with getting ready to attend one of these things is, for me, what exactly do I take with me on the day(s)?

Now, the big issue regarding what to take is what comimc books do I want signed and in truth, this isn't too big an issue. Having gone through the list of guest on the Expo's books, I (unfortunately) don't have work for a great number of them (although I am angry at myself for getting rid of my Gears of War comics, which were pencilled by attendee Henry Flint), but I do have some and while most of what I do have is easy to select (although, should I take my Batman: The Killing Joke hardcover to be signed John Higgins?), I have one creator of which I just cannot decide upon; Paul Cornell!

Now, I met Mr Cornell back at Kapow 2011 and got a couple of Capt Britain issues signed, but since then he's had a few more books come out and so the options I've given myself are;
Captain Britain and MI:13 #1 - which I now have (after much searching) the 1st print original cover, as well as two of it's variants.
Demon Knights #1 - which has been an awesome series and just feel to get it signed gives it greater respect.
Stormwatch #1 - I didn't enjoy the book in honesty, but I have it and as it's not part of a ongoing series I don't feel as much of worry if it gets signed.
Action Comics #890 - Now this book I bought after Cornell himself suggested I did so it feels like taking this one is the way to go to validate that he made a good suggestion.
Action Comics #900 - It's a milestone issue, I'd be crazy not to get it signed. Right?

Luckily, I've still got a week to decide, but that's not long enough for a man who is incredibly indecisive to make this kind of decision. In truth it makes me kinda wish he was a bad writer, because I might not have as many options. Oh well, at the end of the day I could take them all and make a snap decision when the time comes. But first things first, I should makes sure the tickets arrive in my inbox before worrying about what I do when I get there.