LINK - The DCAMU Movies

The DC Animated Movie Universe posts that were here in December 2022 didn't fit with what I want the blog to be about, so they've been moved elsewhere: Click the image above to go there.

John William Waterhouse: Selected Paintings

Selected Paintings of John William Waterhouse

Hylas and the Nymphs (1896) - Oil on Canvas

Voivod Comics (Mockups)

Voivod Comics - FAKE

I'd a lot of fun creating the Manowar Comics (Mockups), so started thinking about what other bands from my record collection would fit the format just as well.

Voivod wasn't my first choice (they were the second), but they were certainly the best one. Quite often the songs are stories in themselves, or part of a larger concept/mythology that's expansive and intriguing. The bands iconography, 'out-there' lyrics and concepts could make for an excellent and unique comic book read.

Covers would, of course, be by Voivod's drummer Away, but if he's too busy with making music to devote to interior art, then perhaps someone like Ian Miller or Dean Ormston would work, both of whom I feel could bring something unique but complementary to the table. 

The images that I found on the internet weren't as high res as the Manowar ones were. Some were full of awful JPEG artifacts, so I went for an 'independent comic, fanzine' approach, leaving some errors and 'jaggies' in place. The result was only partially successful, but it could've been worse. There's a few more below the cut.

2000 AD: A Personal Retrospective

2000 AD: A Personal Retrospective

(aka An Authentic Cover Story)

Like everyone around my age, the ratio of what I've forgotten in relation to what I can remember about my life has a much higher numerical value on the forgotten side of the equation. That's just the nature of aging (and cognitive processes). But I can remember with some clarity the day I first bought an issue of the weekly anthology comic 2000 AD.

It was on a cold October morning, as I walked to school with my cousin and a mutual friend. The journey, somewhere between two-and-a-half and three miles, took me through a part of town that was mostly shops, pubs, hairdressers, and banks.

The town's biggest (and perhaps only) toy shop was also a newsagent, a two-storey building whose first floor stocked, among other things, stationery, candles, shiny glass trinkets, greetings cards, tobacco, and all manner of magazines.

LINK - Marvel UK's Havoc Comic

A link to one of my other blogs. It contains thoughts on issues 01-09 of Marvel UK's weekly anthology Havoc comic, which was all that got published before cancellation. The blog itself is complete and won't receive any more updates. Click the image above to go there.

Dune: The Waters of Kanly (2022)

Dune: The Waters of Kanly (2022)

Authors: Brian Herbert + Kevin J. Anderson | Illustrator: Francesco Mortarino | Page Count: 24 x 4 issues (inc covers, etc; it's only about 82 of actual story content)

'There was a traitor among the Atreides... a traitor.'

The Herbert + Anderson machine just keep shitting them out. And while it's well-known that you can't polish a turd, it seems you can stretch it out into four parts.

Set after the Battle of Arrakeen, as it happened in Frank Herbert's first DUNE novel (1965), it follows Gurney Halleck, the weapons master of House Atreides. In order to properly comment on the story I'll need to refer to the outcome of that battle, so there will be MAJOR SPOILERS for the first novel in what follows.

Folks who've read the novel will know that from Gurney's perspective his beloved Duke is dead, as is the noble's son and the Lady Jessica, all because someone inside of House Atreides lowered the shield walls, giving the Harkonnens a strategic advantage. Gurney and about six dozen other survivors lick their wounds and take shelter with smugglers. The Waters of Kanly invents a story of what he did while he was there, before his return in the original text.

Wonder Woman: Black and Gold - Collected Comic Book Covers

 Wonder Woman: Black and Gold

Kate Bush: Studio Albums Cover Art (1978—)

Kate Bush: Studio Albums Cover Art (1978-2011)

LINK - Marvel's TUGNC Reviews

A link to one of my other blogs. It contains thoughts on Volumes 01-60 of Marvel's Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection, which was the full collection before they decided to extend it. The blog itself is complete and won't receive any more updates. Click the image above to go there.

Godzilla: Millennium Era Japanese Film Posters

Godzilla: Millennium Era Japanese Film Posters

Related to the Godzilla posts on The 7th and Last.

It's what the title says. Images are arranged in sequential order.

Godzilla: Heisei Era Textless Japanese Film Posters

 Godzilla: Heisei Era Textless Japanese Film Posters
Related to the Godzilla posts on The 7th and Last.

It's what the title says. Images are arranged in sequential order.

Godzilla: Shōwa Era Japanese Blu-ray Cover Art

Godzilla: Shōwa Era Japanese Blu-ray Cover Art

Related to the Godzilla posts on The 7th and Last.

It's what the title says. Images are arranged in sequential order.

Dragon's Claws: Collected Comic Covers (1988-89)

Dragon's Claws: Comic Covers (1988-89)

Related to the Dragon's Claws (2008) TPB post on The 7th and Last.

The ten Dragon's Claws issues and Death's Head #2, in which they appeared.

2000 AD Profiles: The Clown

The Clown

Creators: Igor Goldkind + Robert Bliss | Appearances to date: 16

''Clothes make the man' is how the old saying goes. Of course the apparel we assume doesn't always reflect the pattern of our intentions. Garments conceal as much as they reveal. And for some there is no difference between the costume and the man...'

Alexandre Cabanel: Selected Paintings

Selected Paintings of Alexandre Cabanel

Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners (1887) - Oil on Canvas

Dune: Blood of the Sardaukar (2021)

Dune: Blood of the Sardaukar (2021)

Authors: Brian Herbert + Kevin J. Anderson | Illustrator: Adam Gorham | Page Count: 42

[No Quote]

A one-shot story set in the DUNE universe, revolving around a Sardaukar colonel by the name of Jopati Kolona, who, according to the promotional blurb, must 'choose between duty and forgiveness', but it's not in any meaningful way, thanks to the weak characterisation and dull backstory that the 'elite' military leader is given.

Under orders from the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV, Col. Jopati participates in a situation that he deems dishonourable, and which gives rise to a moral dilemma.

Interestingly, the story's primary setting is the same as it was in the other one-shot by the same authors that I read recently, A Whisper of Caladan Seas (2021), which featured soldiers from the opposing army. The situations are different but occur around the same time. [1]

Dune: A Whisper of Caladan Seas (2021)

Dune: A Whisper of Caladan Seas (2021)

Authors: Brian Herbert + Kevin J. Anderson | Illustrator: Jakub Rebelka | Page Count: 41

"There is a power in memories... in stories."

An overpriced comic book adapted from the first ever DUNE universe tie-in short story from the combined incompetence of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

It purports to be issue No. 1, but it's really just a one-shot. It's just more publisher lies. BOOM!' Studios did the same with the Blood of the Sardaukar one-shot, too.

It's set in the year 10, 191 at the Battle of Arrakeen, which occurred in Frank Herbert's first DUNE novel.

A contingent of Atreides guards get trapped in an Arrakis cave during the conflict, and slowly begin running out of food, air, hope, or anything interesting to say.

The leader of the group is Sergeant Hoh Vitt, a storyteller from a long line of storytellers, who, it's alleged, has the ability to spin a yarn that's so all-consuming and influential to men's minds that it's considered a powerful and dangerous skill.

The Legend of Zelda Manga: Collected Covers

TLoZ Manga: Collected Covers: UK Vers.

Related to The Legend of Zelda Manga posts on The 7th and Last.