The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made

Author: David Hughes
Publisher: Titan Books
I saw this book in my local Waterstones recently and I was looking for a book that was not a comic or based on comics. So I decided to look through the entertainment section,looking for a book on another subject matter I enjoy which is Film. As soon the cover of the The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made I was enthralled!(I think the robot was what drew me to it). After reading the summary on the back of the book I thought this would be a different book for me to read and it seems to be based on fact rather than fiction for a change too.

The book is broken down in 21 chapters. Each of these chapters covers 1 story or series and some of the chapters are linked too. It's quite an interesting read and some of the material covered in the book I had never heard of but now I know of it I will keep my eye out for it in the future. Although I thought the book had nothing to do with comics there were quite a few chapters that covered comic book films. It was quite good to see how much of a struggle film makers had gone through to get certain material on the big screen. What was quite amazing was how this book shows how films are not made to be close to the original material but to appeal to the general public, regardless of what the author and fans want. Ive always known that films are about money and getting the audience in, but it's totally heart breaking seeing how a story is broken down and torn apart in order to make more appealing to a wider audience. One of the best chapters in the book is how much of a mess was made with Superman back in the late 90s. I knew some details of what the producers wanted in the film after watching "An audience with Kevin Smith". They just did not seem to understand the character at all and not just the producers, some of the writers who took on the project too. I know some people thought Superman Returns was awful but trust me if you saw one of the other versions of Superman made it would of been horrendous! Other interesting films developments that are in the book are the story in getting I am Legend made, the Spider-Man film by James Cammeron, the complete mess of the Island of Dr Moreau.
Whilst I did enjoy the book there were certain chapters that I thought were just plain boring but these were few and far between. It's also made me never want to be screen writer as it is a truly cut throat industry. It does not matter how fantastic you think you work is, some one is waiting behind you so say what you have written is pure dribble and theirs is a much better and thought out story. Loyalty is not a word that is known through out the film industry that is for sure.
I like the way the book has been produced and the size of the type face in the book is not to big and not to small, making it easy to read. The chapter lay out is quite good and there is a good variety of stories in the book.
A good read and a real interesting insight into the world of movie making.

Top 10 Best Comics

This is my top 10 list of my favourite comics ever. Far as im concerned they are better than Watchmen, cooler than the Batman Year one and more memorable than Marvels. Im going to start at 10 this time and work down to 1. This will be in order! 1 being the best!

10. Green Lantern Annual 7: I picked up this comic years ago and I think it was my introduction to the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. It featured him encountering many dead Green Lanterns(at this point Kyle was the only one left) and ending up in a battle with some of the legendary Green Lanterns. More recently there has been lots of rumours on the internet that this issue is about to become very important cause of the current Blackest Night story line.9.Three Shadows: Picked this up last year when my girl friend was in New York. I didn't know what to do so went and brought this book and read it in the coffee shop in one sitting. The story follows a family who try to save their son from Three Shadows whom seem intent on taking the little boy. Soon the boy and his father are on the run from the shadows and go through hell to get away from them. It was so good I could not leave my chair until I finished the book.8.Barry Ween Boy Genius: Fantastic comic. The cleverest person on the planet is a young boy. In between contacting aliens and creating tears in the space time continuum, Barry finds time to Hang out with his best mate Jeremy. Jeremy could not care less that Barry is the cleverest person in the world, all he wants to know if Barry can get him porn. A great comic about friendship and really funny.7.West: Back in 2006 I had the opportunity to go to the first Birmingham Comic Show. Whilst there I got to find out about small press comics. Before this I had never heard of small press. The best comic I discovered though was a series called West. Each issue takes place in a different year in the life of West. Some stories are classically western whilst some seem to have a super natural element too them. The artwork in these comics is amazing and every show ive been to since I see if there is any new material out. The stories are great and I just wish more people could read them or get hold of them.6.Fantastic Four Annual 1998: I've always wanted to like the Fantastic Four and I think I do, but each time I've tried reading it I last about 12 issues and drop it. Back in 1998 when this annual came out I was really enjoying the series. The story in this issue takes place when Ben Grimm is trying to make a sandwich in the middle of the night and by accident ends up using one of Reed's machine that sends him in to another reality. This new reality he is in shows what would of happened if the Fantastic Four really did go in to space in 1961. The FF are old and there is a new line up and as Ben trys to get his head around what's going on in this strange world to him. The characterisation in this issue is amazing and I have read this issue time after time. Best Fantastic Four issue ever.5.Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment: I found this book for £2 years ago and since then it goes down in my book as the best comic bargain I have ever found. The story features Doctors Strange and Doom in a battle to become Sorcer supreme. Strange wins and Doom come in second place, cause of this Strange has to grant Doom a boon. Of course Doom attempts to betray Strange but the journey of getting there is a battle of epic proportions!4.Transformers Spotlight Kup: This is a fairly new comic ive read and of course its about Transformers which I love. The story features a Transformer called Kup who is essentially Hannibal from the A-Team. He is usually a grizzled old war horse but in this story he's stranded on a planet that he can get off and the environment is driving him crazy. As the story progresses we get to see him slowly lose his mind, whether its talking to dead comrades or attempting to kill his rescuers. The story is great and art work is astounding. A great done in one story.3.X-Files Digest 1: The reason I picked this is not because of the main X-Files story but because of one of the back up stories by Ray Bradbury called Trapdoor. Its a classic horror story and even when I read it now it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! I first read this back in 1996 and its always sticks in the back of my mind when ever I see horror films.2. Incredible Hulk 466: Prior to this issue/story Bruce Banner and the Hulk had been separated for a year and Hulk had been on the run as always. But they had just been reunited and Betty(Bruce's wife) is happy to have her husband back. But as soon as Bruce is back, Betty is suffering with Gamma poisoning. Of course Bruce/Hulk is blamed even though Bruce does his up-most to save her. Ultimately though its too late.1. Incredible Hulk 467: The aftermath of the previous issue told from an aged Rick Jones point of view. Also Peter David's last issue. The story goes on to show how Bruce deals with Betty's death and how he now has control over his transformations into the Hulk. Never have I read an issue of a comic where I really wanted it to end there. If there ever had to be a definitive ending to the Hulk then this should of been it. It has been my favourite comic since the day I first read it. If I could only ever take 1 comic with me for the rest of my life, it would be this one.The best comic ever written. Better than Watchmen far as im concerned.

My Top 10 Women (for today at least)

Again in no particular order here are my top 10 women that I think are very hot!

1.Anna Friel - Never paid her much attention until I saw her in Pushing Daisy's last year and thought she was gorgeous!2.Dannii Minogue - I've fancied her since I was kid and still do. I know she's had surgery and I dont care, she's still hot in my book!3.Grace Kelly - I have only ever seen her in one film and that was Rear Window. She looked amazingly beautiful in that and and that's how im going to remember her.4.Black Cat from Spider-Man - Back in the 90s when I first started reading Spider Man, I would only pick up the issues with Black Cat in. Her character is always drawn in a very seductive manor which is with out a doubt why I brought the comics she appeared in!5.Gillian Anderson - When I watched X-files I never thought of Scully as sexy. That is until I saw her in FHM. After that though I was sold.6.Jeri Ryan - Again never thought the word Star Trek and Sexy would go together but boy was I wrong. She was blatantly put in the show to get males to watch the show, cause I never watched it till she was in it.7.Eliza Dushku - Faith -So back when I was 17/18 I used to watch Buffy the Vampire slayer (more on that in a bit)and around the time they introduced Faith I was thinking of giving up on the show. But I stuck around and im glad I did as she was essentially a bad version of Buffy but a lot naughtier.8.Wonder Woman - She's just hot.9.Red Sonja - She's a hot looking red head who would soon cut your head off rather than let you touch her. Plus she's well drawn and has a new movie out next year.10. Buffy The Vampire slayer - Sarah Michelle Gellar - Back when I was at college I used to watch a lot of films. A lot of it would be to broaden my mind to other film makers who I had never heard of. Usually I would look through the TV magazine to see what was on through the week. One Saturday though there was nothing for me to watch at all so I went my local Blockbusters Video and went to hire a film. When I took the film up to the desk, the guy behind the counter asked if I wanted a free Buffy The Vampire Slayer poster. He went on to explain its a give away to get customers to rent the Buffy video's they had released that week. So I rented the first few episodes along with my film, and whilst I expected the show to be crap I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. I thought Buffy was hot and still do. This image is very similar to the poster I had except I remember the poster being a lot darker. Its been years since Ive seen Buffy but might have to check it out some time soon to see how well it holds up!

100th Post - My Top 10 week!

So this as the title says this is my 100th post on this blog. Who would of thought I would I could find 100 things to write about! So as this is a "Special" post I best come up with something to say! I'm going to go with a top 10 style feature and I think ill carry it on through the week. So if any one wants to see my "Top 10 of ....." let me know and ill stick it up here this week.

Top 10 Books I'm looking forward to reading/reviewing(in no particular order)in the near future:

1. The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made - David Hughes2. Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Jim Steranko & Others3. Storm Front: The Dresden Files Book 1 - Jim Butcher4. Invincible Volume 10: Who's the boss? - Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle6.The Amazing Spiderman: Spirits of the Earth - Charles Vess7.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collected Book Volume 1 - Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird8.The Savage Sword of Conan Volume 1 - Roy Thomas and Others9.Richard mStark's Parker - The Hunter - Darwyn Cooke10. The Stand - Stephen King

If any one wants me to read/review a particular book from this list in the near future let me know which! I am currently reading The Greatest Sci-Fi Films Never made currently so that will be the first review from this list be let me know if you have any other requests.

Tomorrows Top 10 List? My Top 10 Women from comics,film,tv and audio!

Fiends of the Eastern Front

Writer:Gerry Finley-Day
Artist:Carlos Ezquerra

When I first saw this book I wanted to read it straight away. It features vampires in World War 2 and its beautifully drawn by Carlos Ezquerra so straight away I knew I was in for a treat. Also I was quite lucky to get this book at the bargain price of £2 from a book shop in London which had been selling lots of older 2000ad traded material at a discounted price.

The book starts in Berlin 1980, where in the British Sector they have been excavating an old building and they make a horrific discovery of a dead German Soldier called Hans Schmitt. They find his skeletal fingers clinging to a diary which details some of the most grisly acts committed in World War 2. Hans diary starts off when he first enters the war in 1941, where he seems very keen and eager to do right for his country. It's not to long till he offers his help to go on a scouting trip to the Russian lines. Whilst there fighting breaks out and Hans gets caught up in barbed wire. Whilst Hans career as a soldier looks like it will be short lived and he will be killed by Russian troops, he is saved at the last minute by mysterious and sinister beings slaughter the Russians. Once the Russians are no more Hans believes he will be next, but he is proved wrong and is rescued by the mysterious beings, who reveal themselves to be Rumanian troops allied with Germany. Whilst Hans is grateful for them saving him, he cant help but wonder how strange they are but is glad they are on his side. As time progresses Hans becomes all too aware of what the Rumanian troops really are and at times this brings him into direct contact with them on numerous occasions. The real turning point in the book though is when the Rumanians change sides and become allied with the Russians, all hell breaks lose as the Hans realises how the Germans dont stand a chance against them. This was a great story to read and I loved the fact that essentially it was Dracula and Vampires in World War 2. Hans was a great character for the audience to follow as at times you could understand why he got involved with trying to stop Rumanians from slaughtering enemy forces. It was also great to see his character evolve from being a young hopeful soldier to being a battle hardened warrior. Through out the book I also feel the the audience feel Hans desperation,fears and loathing that he feels towards the Rumanians and even though you know at the start of the story that Hans is dead, you cant help but wish for him to make it through to the end. A great Horror/War story that I would love to see as a film, as I really think it would look amazing on the big screen. The whole story is contained in this one edition and great addition to any ones library.

Subscriptions to comics

Earlier this month it was my birthday and the present I asked for from my sister was a subscription to Avengers Unconquered from Panini Comics. The comic it self is a collection of 3 Marvel comics in 1 and I am hoping that this is a first step for me in cutting down my comics spending. The subscription cost £27 (Discounted price for 13 issues) and every month its posted to me. Whilst I'm sure to some people this sounds like a lot of money for 1 comic but in retrospect to the price I would be paying for buying 3 individual comics would be about £7. Also lets not forget, this is a present from my sister as well so she's now saved me £35(£2.95 an issue) a year, so for me its great. It's also got me thinking that I might now subscribe to a few other comics. The first of these would actually be 2 comics, those being 2000ad and Judge Dredd Megazine. At the moment there are 2 options I could take, the first of these is to make a one off payment for £130 for both title. This roughly works out at about £10.80 a month. The second option would be to pay £11.95 monthly which would cost me £143.00 a year. Of course I could still pick them up at the newsagent and pay £12.59 every month, at this point im not sure what route I will take, but subscription does seem to save me a little money. The other comics I am thinking of subscribing to are the Batman/Superman Legend comics from Titan which cost £15.60 for 6 issues which broken down comes too £2.60 an issue, which is that same price to but it from the newsagent. So whilst there is not a saving there, the only benefit is that it would be posted to my home. Obviously I know there is the other route I could go, which is downloading comics but I'm not really a big fan of doing this as I can often find it quite difficult to read from the computer screen.

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle

Writer:Jim Butcher
Illustrator:Ardian Syaf
Publisher:Del Rey/Dabel Brothers

The last time I read a book (or two) from the Dabel Brothers I cant say I was impressed. It was back in January and the two books I read left a real bad taste in my mouth so much so, that I have waited a while to read this book purposely.

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle is an original tale staring Harry Dresden, the title character from Jim Butchers Dresden files books. What is quite interesting about this trade paper back collection of comics, is that its also written by Jim Butcher himself.

The story in the book starts off with the murder of a security guard at a zoo in Chicago. Harry Dresden is brought in on the case because there seems to be no plausible way that man could of been murdered. I should explain at this point that Harry is a Magician and is sometimes used by the Chicago police force to help them solve crimes that have roots into the unknown. Harry is essentially a younger and much cooler version of Doctor Strange and is not afraid to get his hands dirty in order to protect humanity and pay the rent.
When Harry is brought on the case the only suspect the police seem to have is a gorilla called Moe. The police force don't really want Harry's help and the staff at the zoo do not want him snooping around cause they think he's out to blame Moe. Harry suspects that someone at the zoo is to blame for the murder and its not long until Harry is attacked by some of the animals in the zoo, which are being controlled by whatever evil force does not want harry snooping around. Along the way Harry ends up protecting a young female assistant called Will, who could end up being the next victim if not for Harry's help. This all builds up to Harry's showdown with the evil forces who are trying to stop him from discovering their actual plan.Prior to reading this book I had never read any of Jim Butchers work but I think they guy is a great writer and I really loved this comic. I was a bit concerned that with Harry being a Magician there would be lots of incarnations to read through out the book, but there was hardly any. When Harry used magic it was short and to the point. I also really liked the point that magic cant really be controlled, that's why Harry has a staff most of the time, to help control his use of it. The other thing I really liked in the book was that Harry will also use a gun with magic, which in my eyes is something simple yet incredibly effective. Whilst caught in a situation which he has been overpowered and losing badly, Harry uses his gun as a last resort and it works. With out a doubt Harry is what I imagine a real hero would be like. He's not afraid to run from a fight in which he is outclassed if it means he will live to see another day.

The artwork in the book is really nice too. It does at times remind me of 90s artwork but a lot of the time it looks really nice and dynamic. I also liked the fact there characters are all easily distinguishable and do not appear to have the same face.

I really enjoyed reading this trade paperback, so much so that I have started reading the first Dresden Files book and im quite pleases to say the books read as easy as this comic did. A good read and a lot of fun go buy this book!