T.V. Show of the Week 9

A bit out of routine again but no too late this week, I've just had so much going on, and still do so I apologise if this post is a bit short. For T.V. Show of the Week 9 we have Grey's Anatomy:

 First thing's first, this series is exciting to watch as it a medical drama so each episode is action-packed, emotional and draws you in as you see characters on the brink of death, wondering if they live of die, and their families suffering as they do. The major disaster episodes particularly stand out as remarkable episodes with mass casualties from ferry crashes, hospital shootings and the like. The main part of this show that really attracts me, however, is the quirky and engaging characters who easily beat all preceding built up stereotypes. With very little character turn-over as well you really feel like you know the main characters on the show as you follow their lives and careers from interns onwards, instead of just seeing them for a short amount of time before you have to get familiar with a whole new batch while the majority of the originals are pushed to the side. I eagerly await every episode of this series have never been completely disappointed, like with many other shows, so this should tell you how brilliant this show is for me at least. Finally, this would have no effect on my enjoyment of the show but it could help some understand how brilliant the writing is as Allan Heinberg, of Young Avengers fame, was a writer and producer on this show.

This Week's Comics - 25/1/12

This week I have another steady 4 comics, those being Superman #5, Teen Titans #5, Alpha Flight #8 and X-Men Legacy #261. Out of these I am definitely most looking forward Alpha Flight, this being the final issue to a series I completely adore. I'm both so excited and so sad for this issue to come out, excited because of how much I love this series and the characters and sad because after this there will be no more. I am scared that how much I've built this series up in my head will just lead to disappointment if it doesn't end the way I want it to, but I'll still be happy because I love the story and the characters and the art always makes it enjoyable to read. Teen Titans so far has been fun to read and this issue promises to be fun and action packed with a battle between the newly-formed Teen Titans and Superboy. I am looking forward to seeing a few characters that are tugging on my nerves with their egocentric arrogance get knocked down a peg or two when Superboy kicks their arses. Superman so far hasn't been the best series I've read in The New 52, each issue within itself has great writing and the art has really highlighted the elemental creatures that have been attacking Superman. However, the overall story has been intriguing but confusing and rather stagnant. I'm interested in seeing where this story goes, but since its taking so long to get there I'm kind of loosing interest. The end of the last issue gave some hope with the creatures coming together and beginning to reveal their origin to Superman, lets just hope it continues to move forward. X-Men Legacy is the issue I'm least looking forward to this week, and the series is actually pretty close to being dropped. I've only read three issues so far and am already disappointed with the characters who I saw great potential in and feel its just to similar to Wolverine and the X-Men to justify me buying both series. I'm giving this series another go for this issue but if it doesn't do anymore for me than the last lot have then I'll only be getting this comic if there's a specific storyline I think looks interesting.

Comic of the Week 9

Oops, missed one again. This is turning out to be more 'random comic of the moment' rather than 'Comic of the Week'. I am going to really try hard to get this back to a regular post. Keeping with the promise I sort of made in the last post, I have chosen a comic from 2001, this being The Amazing Spider Man #30:

I've been finding myself drawn to lighter comics lately, as I'm getting most of my angst from other sources, and this issue definitely fits that, although it really shouldn't. I do find myself drawn to angst so Parker's heavy inner monologues and him balancing on the edge of depression was very interesting to read but Straczynski writing makes it impossible for this to be the main thing you see. The aspects of humour actually have me laughing out loud still - especially when Spider Man 'made a funny' - and the action and bouncing pace keeps everything light and entertaining, overshadowing the angst. A Spider Man comic is usually pretty low down on my list, I do like the hero and I love the films but it's not a series that has really grabbed me, but I found myself enjoying this issue more than I did some issues of some of my favourite series. I'm not that interested in the character of Ezekiel, but this first appearance is definitely interesting as his charisma and arrogance shine through brilliantly - due to the excellent writing - and the way he easily shocks and mentally overpowers Spider Man is expected but still entertaining. The art is refreshing and matches the mixed light and heavy sides of the comic and the bright colours when Spider Man is on panel bringing the story to life. This is emphasised even more with the darker, yet still vivid, colours used at the end when Morlun takes centre stage. The last two pages with Morlun also gives this issue the last element to make it exceptional, mystery and fear. Mystery as we have no idea who these characters are what's happening and fear as Morlun obviously has a lot of power, enough to suck a German superhero dry (literally!). This mixture of mystery and fear at the end is the perfect combination to ensure I read the next issue, which I did.

T.V. Show of the Week 8

New year so getting back on track with my regular posts, already done a new Comic of the Week, so now its time for a new T.V. Show of the Week.To start us off again with this post I have chosen a new show that I've literally just watched, this being Smash:

I decided to watch this show on a whim, seeing the first episode advertised online and am already sort of obsessed with it. It follows the creation and production of a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, particularly focusing on the struggle to choose between two excellent contenders for the lead role. From the beginning the typical yet enjoyable characters caught my attention, especially the dynamic between the composer (Tom) and lyricist (Julia) who write the musical, with Tom's assistant added to the mix giving it so much life. The separate lives of the characters are entwined from the beginning perfectly, no one getting more coverage or less coverage than the others and mysteries set up with the wide ranging relationships which definitely intrigue me. I don't have much else to say about this show, giving thats there's only been one episode, but from what I've seen so far I think I'm really going to like it.

This Week's Comics - 18/01/12

Late for this post this week, due to me being completely snowed under with work lately, but its better late than never - I hope! This week I have only 4 comics, these being Batman #5, Red Hood and the Outlaws #5, Uncanny X-Force #20 and New Mutants #36. Out of these the one I'm most looking forward to is Batman due the continuous enjoyment I've had with the series so far and another great cliffhanger at the end of the last issue. Red Hood and the Outlaws has seriously dipped in quality, and logic, since its first issue, which really grabbed me, but I do really like all three members of the team so I am looking forward to reading them. New Mutants has so far been very good in my opinion, I originally thought it would be a series I could easily drop, bit that definitely hasn't been the case so I'm interested to see what happens next. Although, I wish there was a bit more character development as I'm still not too familiar with some of these characters and the character development in the other X titles I collect has been excellent lately. I don't have much to say about Uncanny X-Force, given that I've only read one issue so far, but I do like some of the characters and the secret nature of the team is intriguing. This is the comic I'm least looking forward to as I'm still unsure about this series and this issue has both Psylocke and Captain Britain, two characters I really don't like that much.

This Week's Comics - 11/1/12

A fairly good week for comics this week. I'm looking to get 7 comics, a good amount, but a few of them are a bit iffy - and on the chopping block - so I'm not too psyched. The comics I'm getting are Wolverine and the X-Men #4, House of Night #3, Demon Knights #5, Batman and Robin #5, Incredible Hulk #4, X-Factor #230 and X-Men Legacy #260.1. The comic I'm most looking forward to this week is X-Factor, which is successfully covering two story lines at the same time; X-Factor dealing with the loss of Madrox and Madrox hopping through dimensions as his counterparts die. This issue sees the return of Havok - a character I'm kind of familiar with - and Polaris - a character I don't really know - so it will be interesting to see how they change the team dynamics, which to be honest were getting a bit repetitive with no changes for quite a while. With this being my favourite series, any issue has a great chance of being the one I'm most looking forward to and this issue doesn't fail it that task. This series is also great to read due to the great mix of drama and humour, which the preview pages for this issue suggest is shown brilliantly. I'm particularly looking forward to Demon Knights this week due to the very captivating cliffhanger at the end of last issue, with the Horsewoman suddenly turning on the other heroes, shown as issue 4 did make my Comic of the Week. The last issue also started giving us more substantial character development, including a back story for the Shining Knight, which if is carried on in this issue will make this series very enjoyable to read for me as it already captures the fantasy and action very well. Wolverine and the X-Men is still getting of the ground, the last three issues being about the staff and students coming together to make the school work, which I have fairly enjoyed but I am looking forward to some proper plot and action in this issue. So far this series has been very enjoyable so I doubt I'll be disappointed by this issue, especially as I like the majority of the characters, but with new students joining there is a risk they might throw the series off balance, but I'm definitely willing to see. Batman and Robin has been one of my favourite series from the DC reboot but I have been interested in Damien's internal struggle between fighting off his instincts to kill and doing what is natural to him - killing - as he was raised that way. This appears to be a big focus of this issue as Nobody has presented him with a way of being how he was raised with him, but does Damien want to leave Bruce? I mean he is his father and of we can trust Alfred - of course we can - then he does care about him a bit. So I'm looking forward to this comic to see where this conflict takes Damien and for some good, old Batman and Robin angst. I picked up the Incredible Hulk on a bit of a whim, having Banner and Hulk separated catching my attention, and so far have been quite impressed with this series. I'm looking forward to this issue as Hulk has finally agreed to go after Banner and will now face of against Banner's new creatures on his crazy island. Banner's lack of mental instability and Hulk's content with being apart from his creator creates real issues for the two to reconcile, but it's Bruce Banner and the Hulk, so they really have to in the end, and I'm very interested to see what happens before and how Aaron pulls it all together. I'm still on the fence with X-Men Legacy, the series interesting me but not really doing much yet to convince me to keep buying it after a few issues more. The last two issues I have read have been concerning the fallout from Schism so hopefully a move away from that will be more enjoyable, especially since this series has characters I really like and would like to read. So, I'm looking forward to it because there has been a change in the creative staff and the new characters should hopefully bring it up to a higher enjoyment level. However, the comic I'm least looking forward to this week is House of Night; in fact, I'm actually not to sure why I'm still buying it. So far, the series has been just as ridiculous and childish as the book series with no new character development and now substantial change to make me like it any more than I did the novels. I have always thought the story has been interesting and some of the characters as fun so I'm willing to give it a few chances, especially this issue as it concerns Ancient Greece and the Greek hero Odysseus, which is an area I'm fascinated by, but if it doesn't do much for me this series might go.

Comic of the Week 8

Back, finally, to my favourite post - Comic of the Week. I have noticed that for the post the majority of my picks tend to be fairly new comics with only a few not from 2011, which I do hope to rectify by using more older comics, but this is because I'm quite lazy and couldn't be bothered to think too far back or look through my comics for older ones. This week, though, Comic of the Week is Demon Knights #4:

The first few issues of this comic were a bit slow and the plot and characters were hard to keep track of but in this issue, Demon Knights finally found its pace and really worked. Using the first three issues as an introduction to jump start the series - presenting the main characters,villain and themes of action and fantasy - the narrative slows down in this issue, giving us a good back story for the Shining Knight and introducing a quest she was given by Merlin, which will hopefully become a story arc of its own. From the first issue I quite liked this character as she made the series both serious and lighthearted with her obvious passion and the humour around her hiding the fact she's actually female. Due to this, it was nice to see her as the most prominent character, especially since she is so complex so her character could be explored fully. I also really enjoyed the twist ending to this issue, the Horsewoman suddenly turning on our heroes after shooting arrows at the villains and instead shooting Exoristos. This sudden turn in the character is definitely interesting and could not be predicted, plus leaving the issue on a cliffhanger like this, with us not knowing what happens to Exoristos or why the Horsewoman turned, has me eagerly awaiting the next issue, which finally comes out next Wednesday. This issue also stands out to me because of the reference to Stormwatch, another series I'm really enjoying, in the form of Merlin maybe being the same person as Adam One, Stormwatch leader for the first 3 issues, as they both get younger as the universe gets older.

This Week's Comics - 4/1/12

First lot of comics for 2012, and again a disappointingly low amount of comics, only three. These are Stormwatch #5, Action Comics #5 and Avengers Academy #24, so even though its only three it should be a good comic week as I am really looking forward to all of them. Out of these, though, I am most looking forward to is Stormwatch as it is quickly becoming one of my favourite comic series due to characters I love - Midnighter, Apollo, Jack Hawksmoor - and even though there's only four issues I see great potential in this series. I'm looking forward to this issue in particular as something major finally happens: there's a change to the Stormwatch team and a battle between Midnighter and Harry Tanner so hopefully we'll see the former in all his greatness in yet another issue. I'm looking forward to Avengers Academy as, although I've only read 3 so far, I am quite enjoying this series and finding it really easy to identify with the characters. The current storyline, an older version of Reptil being in the younger version's body, isn't doing too much for me but I am interested in seeing where the story goes and if I end up liking it a lot more. The first few issues of Action Comics have been fairly good, not the best from the DC reboot but very enjoyable, and the cliff hanger from the last issue was very captivating. Additionally, this series deals with Superman's origins and features Lex Luthor so will be good for me no matter what.

Feature Post - Downton Abbey

I didn't watch Downton Abbey when it first came out in 2010, although I did want to, because it was on at an awkward time and there were lots of other shows/books/films/comics I wanted to get through. Eventually, a week before series two came out earlier this year, I finally watched the first series and was very impressed. I've never been very fond of fairly recent period dramas like this one, set in the early 20th century, preferring much older ones, generally Tudor period or older, but I've quite warmed to this show. From the first episode I was fascinated with observing the dynamics between the family and staff in the house, the diverse and interesting characters and the scandals that are scarily both familiar and foreign to a modern audience. Given it had such a positive start and has been so critically acclaimed, I've watched Downton Abbey through two series and most recently the Christmas Special that aired Christmas Day this year but to be honest I may as well have been watching the first episode over and over again due to the ridiculous little amount of development the plot and characters have undergone. Some characters and plots on the show have been developed brilliantly, Sybil and her marriage to Branson specifically stands out as great development with excellent twists, but the rest are still relatively the same as when the show started. I'm going to carry on watching this show to see how it goes as thankfully there was a hope for moving forward at the end of the Christmas Special so lets hope it gets better.

2011 - A Year in Favourites

Now that 2011 has ended I thought I'd go with the trend and do an end of year post to sum up my favourite books, films, T.V. shows and moments of this year. Overall, for me this has been an interesting year - I met some of my own deadlines, discovered some weird things about my family and friends, annoyed even more people than last year with my obscure beliefs and principles and started a blog.

To begin with I'll talk about the books that have stood out for me this year, I don't think there's any books that actually came out this year but that's just because I tend to avoid books when they've just come out, mostly because my reading list is already so long I'm scared to add any more to it. Anyway, the number 1 book for 2011 for me is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson):

Keeping with what I said before, it took me till this year to finally read this book, although I've been aware of it and the praise it has received for a few years now. Getting into the book was difficult at first with a bit of a slow and obscure start, but about four chapters in I was completely obsessed and literally couldn't put the book down at some points. It only took me 1 week to read, which isn't my quickest but it was a busy week. I actually can't express properly how much this book had drawn me in and how addicted I became to the story and the central characters and this is the first book in many, many years that I have not wanted to go online and find out what happens, I've actually wanted to read it and find out as the characters do - the perfect mystery. There are some aspects that I actually hate, the character of Erika Berger in particular and the bias nature of the story to woman, as though we are just victims who would never do anything wrong or commit any crime. This, however, only makes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo even more interesting because of the complete contrast between the parts I love and the parts I hate. With the new movie out now, this book has become even more exciting as there is now a film adaptation I can enjoy but also criticise for the differences to the awesome book.

Runner up book for 2011 is Regeneration (Pat Barker):

Regeneration is based in the historical Craiglockhart Hospital in Scotland during World War I with a mixture of both historical and fictional characters and an exploration of their mental state while suffering from war neurosis. This may sound offish to anyone who doesn't know anything about these books but its actually a very interesting book, the first of a trilogy but can stand on its own completely just like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Normally, anything to do with either of the World Wars will immediately turn me away but due to Regeneration being more of a focus on the psychological complexity of the characters after they have returned home rather than soldiers on a battlefield getting blown up. Character development is what mainly attracts me to a book so I very much enjoyed this one as everything - the plot included - comes from the character development. I first read this book earlier on this year and have since read the following two and have been completely captured by society from 1919 and the characters attempt to heal themselves and either return to the battlefield or escape it.

Other books to note that I've enjoyed or have been made aware of this year and want to read include Lord of the Rings (which I've read many, many times), Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Grey, A Song of Ice and Fire and Hannibal.

Films, unlike books, I tend to watch in a mixture of films that have just come out and films from years ago, which is reflected in my choices for number one and runner up film for this year. 2011 number 1 film has to be X-Men: First Class:

This film has definitely been a major highlight for me for this year, and for Superhero films in general, so is an obvious number one film for 2011, especially as it only came out this year. Being a prequel of the other X-Men films, focusing on Professor X and Magneto and starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender this film immediately popped up on my radar and new I would enjoy it, which I did, very much. I thought it was a brilliant film with excellent characters, a believable story for a prequel and it was focused on Professor X and Magneto - I cannot express how much I love these two characters, especially interacting with each other. I enjoyed certain X-Men like Banshee and Havok finally appearing and the new back story for Mystique but to be honest really could have done without Frost, I really just hate her. This film was even better with the excellent and gorgeous actors and actresses - I'm sure there would be a few more not too attractive mutants in the bunch - like McAvoy (Professor X) and Fessbender (Magneto), who I love, and even though I hate the character she plays, January Jones gave a wonderful performance as Frost.

Runner up for film of 2011 isn't one that came out this last year but that I've only just watched about 6 months ago and is Les Chansons D'amour (Love Songs):

A french musical film that became popular through film festivals that centres around the themes of sexuality and grief. The message of the film - sexuality isn't really something that can be named and to deal with grief one must accept what has happened and move on - is the backbone of the film and the songs are catchy and fit perfect with the theme and atmosphere helping to tell the story. However, while the main character has such amazing character development that almost anyone can identify with him, the rest of the characters unfortunately don't get enough coverage and are left not fully developed. With that said, there is enough overall development to keep to interested and the plot and situations that occur keep your attention and make the film and the message quite beautiful.

Other films I have enjoyed this year definitely include the other two big superhero films - Thor and Captain America: First Avenger - as well Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2, ending the movie run for that series, and a blast from the past Lion King 3D.

T.V. Shows for me this year have taken a back seat to films, books and comics but there have been some greats in 2011, the majority of which were actually broad casted first this year. Number 1 T.V. Show for 2011 is a link back to my first T.V. Show of the Week with Game of Thrones:

This T.V. Show has completely stormed through my life, absolutely captivating me from the first episode and completely changing my outlook on fantasy shows and books - the series also prompted me to read the books it was based off, A Song of Ice and Fire. The series immediately caught my attention due to the strong praise and fantasy medieval setting and after watching it the characters, the plot and the brilliant production amazed from the very beginning. The actors and actresses are brilliant and the harshness of the series, coming from the books, with the main character dying at the end of the series made this show stand out from most other T.V. Shows I've seen in a truly breathtaking way.

Runner up for T.V. Show is a show I've been meaning to watch for ten years, and finally watched a lot of it this year, being Smallville:

Probably not one of the best adaptations of a comic out there but this show did run for ten seasons and concerns the superhero of all superheroes, Superman. As I mentioned before, I've been wanting to watch this series for a while and this year have managed to get through a fair amount of it and am both loving and hating the series. I love seeing Clark Kent and Lex Luthor meet and be friends as a beginning and watching it turn sour as well as the mixture of original and new Superman mythology the show presented. Whereas, I hated the sometimes childish nature the show took and certain characters who I never liked much from the comics I also didn't like here, for example Lana Lang. That said, I have spent a great deal of time this year watching and thinking about this show and part of my motivation for picking up the new Action Comics series after the reboot so I think its a good choice for runner up this year when T.V. Shows have been a little less for me.

Other T.V. Shows that have been prominent for me this year include Merlin, Sherlock (which was broad casted in 2010 but I watched a few months late), The Walking Dead, Russell Howard's Good News, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI and Question Time.


2011 has been a very good year for comics with the DC reboot and Marvel's X-Men Regenesis and Fear Itself so my favourite for this year are difficult to decide, but I have made the choice, choosing to stay with comics that came out this year. For comics, my number 1 this year is Alpha Flight:

 There are quite a few series that overall I like more than this one but giving that I'm just dealing with comics that came out in 2011, this series is definitely number 1. After deciding to get the first issue for this one an impulse and a slow start I have fallen in love with the characters and am really enjoying the plot. The last few issues have left me satisfied and desperately waiting for the next one and I feel having Alpha Flight back in comics is the best thing to come out of the Fear Itself event. I have been particularly impressed by the presentation of Guardian, Northstar and Aurora with the former two's loss and betrayal from their partners and Aurora's mental breakdown being interesting and quite heart-breaking to read. With only 8 issues for this series and 7 out already, there's not much time left at all to enjoy what has now become one of my favourite series so I hope there's a great ending and somewhere down the line Marvel bring this great team back again.

Runner up comic for 2011 is also another Marvel comic as I'm still giving the new rebooted DC comics chance to get a foothold and I can't be bothered to remember further back than September. So runner up comic is X-Factor:

This series could have been number 1 but since I've decided to focus on comics that first came out this year, this has been bumped down as I felt this year hasn't been that strong overall for X-Factor. There have been some great issues, like #226 which is the cover I have used, but there has also been some not bad but not particularly good issues either, like the stupid Hard Labour storyline. This comic series has a very high majority of my favourite characters - Shatterstar, Layla and Longshot to name but a few - which is mainly due to Peter David's excellent writing which even makes the characters I'm not too keen on fascinating to read. Similarly, even though there were stories I really didn't like in the end, Hard Labour again, they still were interesting to read and there were some enjoyable elements, like all the mythological creatures and Layla lining the windows and doors with salt. Although, at the end of this year X-Factor has got a lot better with the twist of Madrox 'dying', Rictor getting his powers back and the effects from X-Men Regenesis.

Like I said before, its been an interesting year for comics, especially the last few months and other comics I've really enjoyed include Stormwatch, Demon Knights, The Walking Dead, Wolverine and the X-Men and Avengers: The Children's Crusade.

2011 for me personally has been rather uneventful, the majority of it being taken up with burying my head in fiction and complaining about the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, so my choice for my favourite moment was surprisingly easy. It goes to my holiday in late March when I spent a week in Greece visiting all the Ancient Greek ruins like Olympia, Delphi and the Acropolis. I've always been fascinated by classical civilisations and mythology so I completely enjoyed this trip, even though there was a lot of travelling and I was tired nearly all the time - which I blame on the cheap alcohol.