goldust40

Wolverton's space horror was unique in its remorseless bleakness and was way ahead of its time. Awesome stories.

Sorry. Completely missed that.

Price?

Went to the DC Comics Exhibition yesterday as it happens. Very impressive, with vast amounts of film props / costumes / Batmobiles / video presentations, etc. Plus loads of highly impressive original art pages. Got to meet the man in charge of the show, which was originally set up in Paris - clearly a fan. Apparently our very own Paris Fred was going to turn up in the evening for the gala party, but I couldn't stick around. Worth a look if you're in London.

Got very decent copies of both of those books, but not near that shape. Stunning books.

Such a funky cover and being a Church copy is probably what did it. Yep, Church mania and not a book you see often.

That Future Comics 1 did well. Wasn't aware there was that much of a market for that book...

Sounds about right.

May do well in a year or two for that investment...

Noticeably more risque than the Crime Mysteries cover.

Take it.

Take

Jesse goes above and beyond! Excellent service, packaging, comms, everything. Buy with confidence!!

It's a plot that's not without its merits, although it has been done enough times before. I'd have to say that a lot of what makes a decent film is based on -script and how such a plot would be approached. There are a finite amount of plots out there, after all. Plus all genre, be it super-hero comics or movies, borrows extensively from more heavyweight or highbrow antecedents. Not everything depends on plot. I certainly agree though that TDK (by far the best super-hero or comic-based film for me) works because it successfully fuses super-heroism with crime noir. It's a hybrid film that does think outside the box. However the plot (madman holds a city to ransom through nefarious or terror-based schemes) is all too familiar. The thing is, Nolan knew how to transcend genre and bring something fresh to the table. Coogler, regardless of his grandiloquent statements about his project, does not. It's fairly lazy filmmaking, really.

If they were cloned would the clone still be a piece of history, or a clone of history?

I didn't want to delve into that area but the announcer at the press screening made that impossible, along with sections of the crowd laughing at anything the cast did (even when there was nothing on screen) not to mention cheering loudly when Martin Freeman got put down for being a "colonizer". Hilarious!! I'm not here to pontificate or even extol genre cinema, but that level of devotion is one of its pitfalls as well as its strengths. Add populism to the mix and it all gets a bit silly. And yes, that was understatement.

Speaking of 2009...

Saw BP at a press screening a while back in old London town, in front of a (very) partisan audience (well, some of them, anyway). There's hype, and then there's the hype surrounding this film. I've seen countless Marvel movie press videos where the director, screenwriter and main cast members discuss the finer nuances of the film that they are in, along with the subtext, relationships between characters, etc. And every single time all I can think of is that it's all hot air and spin - it's always a presentable genre film, often entertaining, with a handful of good lines that adheres to a strict and inflexible formula, because after all that is what audiences expect, and get. Why diverge from a winning recipe? And why let matters like art or actual cinema enter the equation? There's acting, and then there's Marvel acting. And there's not much to separate this movie from all the others. To claim that this is revolutionary, groundbreaking, or seminal is absurd. It's a competent movie at best, which outstayed its welcome for me due to its overblown self-importance. The acting was passable, but our leading man (Boseman is by far the best thing in the movie) is given little to do. If there is a theme or subtext it's not exactly subtle or allegorical. This is a genre movie and nothing more, with different costumes and setting. The rest is cookie cutter, with some elements of Greek tragedy thrown in. Oh yeah, some of the CGI was poor, but that doesn't bother me. I almost felt sorry for Martin Freeman for taking on his role as stooge. A half-decent movie at best, but also dispiriting. What (apart from the identity politics) is so special about this film?

PCH has had its ups and downs, although it's safe to say that it's experienced far more spikes than troughs. Just when you think it might've plateaued the genre goes through the roof again. I don't recall anyone here predicting its demise... Nice books btw.

I'll take both the My Friend Irmas.

Ditto!!

I'm trying to get the fun back, although my kids, despite being somewhat older, are not out of school yet.

Once upon a time I was a young 32 year old buying his first GA comics. Now I am preparing to turn......... 40 Whippersnapper! I'm 54 (going on 20).

Thanks mate. And yeah, continuity is of course important. I'm always impressed with the younger guys (and the odd girl!) who are into GA, SA, etc. as they would've had no real connection with those eras. Not to mention that they have learned far more than I did back in the day...