G.I. Joe: Origins Issue 1

Writer: Larry Hama
Artists: Mike Hawthorne and Tom Feister
Colourists:Mike Hawthorne and Tom Feister
Cover: Andrea Divito
Publisher: IDW


All of my friends know I love the Transformers and I don't exactly hide this fact either. Whilst I'm not an expert on Transformers, I do know quite a bit of information about them and when ever I can I will sing their praises. Another property that has close ties with Transformers is G.I. Joe. Over here in the UK it was called Action Force way back in the 80s and I vaguely remember having a few of the toys. Over in America it seems like G.I. Joe was hugely popular and the comic seems quite well respected, whilst over here I don't ever remember seeing that much of it.
So when it was announced that IDW had recently acquired the license (From Devil's Due Publishing)to produce G.I. Joe comics, I thought I would give the series a shot to see what its like, as ive been more than impressed with how IDW have dealt with the Transformers comics. The first issue they released featured 3 preview stories, all of which would spin off in to 3 separate titles, these being G.I. Joe,G.I. Joe Origins and G.I. Joe Cobra.
Now I've tried the main G.I. Joe title and so far I am enjoying it but that seems to have a much larger story being built around it so the story is slowly building up. G.I. Joe Origins on the other hand seems to be moving at such a fast pace I don't know if I can keep up! I had heard the issue was good from the 11 O'Clock Comics podcast and from my local comic shop manager but really I did not expect this good of a comic.
The main story of the comic is the origins of a few of the of the members of the G.I. Joe unit. Whilst I did not really know too much about the characters, it did not bother me in the slightest because I felt that whilst the characters are being thrown together, they are learning about one another and the reader get to see this first hand. I am sure this is a lot of fun old time G.I. Joe fans but for me its intriguing cause I don't know where the story is going to go next. If your dyslexic or just want to know more about G.I. Joe then I recommend you pick up this title. Sure I don't know who all these characters are but I'm looking forward to see how they develop. The one character I do know a little about is Snake Eyes and whilst he's only in this book for a few pages I am very curious to see how he becomes a ninja. Also the possible appearance of Cobra Commander, who seems to be absolutely insane, make me want to come back to the next issue to see how his story progresses.
Larry Hama has written a great comic and the only work of his that I had read previously was a few of his Wolverine issues, but I had heard he was the best writer for G.I. Joe and after reading this issue I can see why he receives so much praise. In all honesty when I had read that he was the writer it did make me a little nervous, as I was concerned that he would write the book for the hardcore G.I. Joe fans but as a laymen to the property, I found the book really enjoyable and cant wait to read more. Mike Hawthorne and Tom Feister have done a great job on the art and colour duties. At times I did think I could see some similarities to Phil Noto's art but it was great and the colouring was spot on too. I really liked the opening pages too, I thought it was great the colours that were used to present night time and the red light from with in the plane. Really had that military feel to it and reminded me of when my Dad would tell me of his parachute jumps and what the situation was like on the plane.

A great comic and introduction to a property that has years of back story behind it. I went into this book only knowing that Snake Eyes is a ninja but left feeling like I had just seen a great action film and wanting to know more. For dyslexic and/or new readers this is a great series to pick up if you don't know anything about G.I. Joe but are interested in it.

X-Men: First Class New Beginnings

Writer:Jeff Parker
Artist:Roger Cruz
Colourist:Val Staples
Covers:Marko Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel

Ive been reading comics as long as I can remember. When I was a kid my parents would buy me Masters of the Universe, Transformers or Spider-man comics and I loved reading them. Then as time went on I stopped reading comics. Don't know why but I did but 1 day in 1990 my brother had come home from work with a small collection of comics that I had never seen before. From what I remember he brought home a couple issues of Avengers Spotlight, X-Factor and Uncanny X-men. Out of all of those comics there is one I remember more than any of the others. In all fairness this 1 comic is what made me go off and start reading comics again and its why to this day I still read comics. This comic was Uncanny X-men 268. The cover featured Captain America, Black Widow and of course Wolverine, and it was cause of this character I had to know more. I had this passion to know "who the hell was this cool looking guy with knives coming out of his hands!". And so began my decent into the often confusing world of the X-men. Whilst I would love to go more into this story, I'm not going to today because I want to review this comic that I read.

Before I get on to the review I would like to put up a quick warning first to any one who has never read the X-Men before and/or is Dyslexic. I strongly advise you DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ ANY OF THE MAIN X-MEN COMICS, why? Well they are heavily involved in their continuity and unless you have been following the X-men (on and off) for the past 20 years, you could be scared off comics for life. Marvel have let the X-Men comics go off the rails and there has been so many spin off titles that for a new reader too attempt to read any of the X-men comics is an incredibly daunting task and one that could put them off comics. What I would advise you to do is READ The Ultimate X-men or alternatively read X-Men First Class.

X-Men First Class New Beginnings is a collection of the first 4 issues of the series which follows the original class of X-men back in the day where they were the world strangest teens. These stories are not "Re imaging" the classic X-men stories, these are completely new stories and as far as I know they seemed to have happened alongside them.
There are a lot of references to their original comics but this does not interfere with the story at all. Each issue with in the book seems to be a self contained story. Whilst some of the aspects of the story have been updated such as their costumes and technology it really is not to distracting.
One nice point that I liked about the book, was the explanations as to why the X-men have different costumes to their original ones(they were damaged in a fight and the x-men are awaiting them to be repaired)and in the first issue Iceman(Bobby) is writing a letter to his mother but says he would much rather send her an email but Professor X wont let the X-men have email so Bobby has no choice but to write a letter. Also there is continuing back stories going on too. For example we get to see some of Cyclops(Scott) and Marvel Girl's(Jean) relationship developing with a little help from Professor X, he doesn't use his psychic powers to do this, but gives Scott and Jean some time alone from the rest of the X-men so they can enjoy themselves and work on the relationship. Another interesting back story in the comic is Cerebro (The mutant tracking computer) being a supporting character. When I first saw that Cerebro was being used as a teacher, I did wonder if it would end up manipulating any of the X-men and lets just say that by the end of the book I had my answer.

I really enjoyed reading this book and it really reminded me of how much I used to enjoy the X-men. Jeff Parker's writing is superb and where certain writers of the X-Men comics just put in too much exposition, he totally gets the X-men the way they should be. Roger Cruz artwork is quite enjoyable too. At first I was a little put off by how, I thought, the faces of the characters all looked the same but as the issues progressed I really enjoyed his artwork, especially in the final act of the book.Another thing I liked about Roger Cruz's Artwork was that he actually drew the X-Men as teenagers, not as over exaggerated men and women. The colourist of the book is Val Staples and he/she makes the book like absolutely vibrant but not garish.Finally Marko Djurdjevic covers are brilliantly stylised and a real treat to look at.

I really enjoyed this book and cant recommend it enough. I know a lot of comic fans see the X-men as this impregnable title that has far to much continuity but if you want to read a good X-Men comic with out all of the baggage then go read this comic. For Dyslexic readers,again if you have ever wanted to read the x-men but were to worried about it, then please go read this title. The book is advertised as an All Ages book, this does not mean it is just for kids, any one can and should go read this book.

After looking on the internet to find out how much the book cost,the cheapest place I found it was on Ebay. For some reason its not listed on Amazon. For £2.50 (+£1.50 p&p) its a bargain. X-Men First Class On Ebay

Finally a big thank you to Filthy McMonkey from the 11 O'Clock Comics Forum who sent me this book as he was my Secret Santa over there. All the best buddy!

Prime's Final Post

Good Day to you Humans.


Thank you for visiting Comlexia to see my final post. For my final piece I have decided to share with you a short story which I can only hope you enjoy.

Thank you for coming here to read my posts this week. I hope you have enjoyed reading them and who knows I might be back at some point in the future. Now on to the the short story!

Cybertron

A planet made out of metal, populated by transforming metropolises that are are so large they are incomprehensible and maintained by beings who can transform at well and are more than meets the eye. In its golden age Cybertron was like a fine tuned machine, with pistons pumping,cylinders moving and sliding and microchips processing day after day, year after year. Cybertron was essentially a planet sized factory which mass produced transforming robots and weapons for destinations unknown, to fight in wars of no consequence to it. This went on for thousands of years until one robot realised through the use of force and manipulation, he could rebel and break from the constant production line. Soon enough other robots joined him in his quest to rebel. No longer were these transformers, they chose a new name, a name to install fear into robots who stood against them or refused to join them. They became Decepticons and they attacked where ever they wanted and stole weapons they believed they rightfully owned. Any transformer that stood against them was quickly executed or vanished off the face of the planet. In one attack a transformer that was severely wounded received an upgrade from one of the elders. This upgraded transformer made the decision to fight back against the Decepticons who nearly extinguished his spark. Soon as before, others now joined this transformer who fought back making an opposing force to the Decepticons. This force would fight to protect Cybertron and to try and restore law and order, this force would eventually take the name Autobots.
So began the war on Cybertron that would rage over a million years and would result in the systematic destruction of the planet. The transforming cities were torn apart and rendered inert. The Decepticons spread like a cancer over the planet, leaving everything they touched infected, dead and barren. Now all that remains in ghost cities where only a few places are now habitable. Iacon is one of the few remaining cities that has yet to be infected. The remains of the Autobot army now reside there, with no permanent headquarters, hiding and surviving in structures long since abandoned.

This is where I have to knowingly send my soldiers to deaths on a regular basis to ensure the survival of the Autobots in the grand scheme of things.

This is my duty as the commander of the Autobots.

This is my life.

This is my home.

This is Cybertron.

Prime Posts: Talking about All Hail Megatron

Humans

As the week draws to a close and I stick up my second to last post I just wanted to share with you a couple of recommendations I think you should visit if you have the time.

Next week sees the release of All Hail Megatron Issue 9 from IDW which is written by the superb Shane McCarthy and drawn by the glorious Guido Guidi. In order to stop the Decepticons you should go and buy it. The first trade paperback was released a few weeks back and it is you duties as humans to go and pick this up and follow my troops adventures.


Over at 11 O'Clock Comics(Episode 47)last week Vince B and Wood had a brief discussion on All Hail Megatron. Wood who had not been 100% sure about a Transformers comic picked up the comic and enjoyed it. Not as well as I would of liked mind you, but don't worry I'm sure he will change his mind as soon as I send his address to the Decepticons, telling them it's our secret hide out! Been good knowing you Wood!


Next at Comic News Insider(Episode 183)the awesome Jimmy Aquino did a review on the the first All Hail Megatron trade and he loved it. He even asked Marcus a few questions about some of my comrades. Good Old'e Blaster was quite impressed with Jimmy's review and said that there may be hope yet for humanity.

Finally for all your Transformer questions and answers got Seibertron. There is a wealth of information there.

Thanks for your time Humans and don't forget to come back tomorrow for my final post.

Autobots, transform and roll out! Crap Your humans I keep forgetting you cant Transform. Well some of you cant.Sometimes even the wisest machine can make an error.

Prime Posts: G.I.JOE Issue 2

Writer: Chuck Dixon
Penciler: Robert Atkins
Cover: Adam Hughes
Publisher: IDW

Greeting Earthlings.

I see there is a couple more of you here this morning. Well if you are here for my next review you can stick it in your tail pipe. Bumblebee woke me up this morning telling me my next review was due and I realised I had not finished it. Why can't deal with you human beings as we do with Decepticons! By Primus it would be easier!

Any way on to the comic! The comic is about a Military group called G.I.Joe who seem to have a lot of personal running around and are there is lots of cool machinery and stuff. The highlight for me was the woman on the cover which has been illustrated by that human Adam Hughes.

She's very well drawn and designed and looks pretty good in the interior of the comic it was very pleasing to my optic sensors. Oh and her name is The Baroness. She also meets up with a Scottish character called James McCullen who looks to answer to the name Destro. Although personally I after researching more about him on the Cybernet (Cybertrons Internet) I think he looks like a bit of a fruity character.


There you that's my review.

You happy now Bumblebee you little ass kisser?

Oh and if your dyslexic the comic is fairly easy to read and there is a lot of stuff going on but as this is only the second issue it is easy to keep up with. A good read!

Prime Posts:Transformers Spotlight Arcee

Writer: Simon Furman
Penciler: Alex Milne
Cover: Alex Milne

Bet you did not know there were female Transformers! Well there is and this review is about the hottest piece of machinery in the galaxy. Arcee. Let me tell you guys here, that she has a really sweet chassis and … Hold on let me just make sure little Bumblebee isn’t around..... she really gets my Sparkplug sparking! If you know what I mean! Kerching!!!!

Any way on to the review. The comic is about a Transformer institution that holds bad/crazy ass robots whether they are Autobots or Decepticons. Some Decepticons decide to break out some of their comrades on orders from some guy called Jhiaxus(Never heard of him). The Autobots attempt to stop this by sending in a nutcase .. Sorry I mean female hard ass transformer called Arcee, who just so happens to be very pleasing to my optic sensors, indeed! She seems to be suffering with a sever case of woman problems (Don’t ask me I’m the Commander of the Autobots, I can’t deal with that rubbish!). Any way she fails to stop the Decepticons but does do some damage to them though. And she goes off into space to find this Jhiaxus fella at the end. I think she may set a booby trap that actually uses her boobies as a trap. But then she doesn’t have any as she is a robot. Although she does have a nice sized trunk. So that’s it, it's time for me to go see Arcee. I wish I didn't have to depart again but such is the life of the Autobot commander.

Optimus Cleaning the "pipes".* Bumblebee

Oh and if your dyslexic and love transformers you will really enjoy this comic. There are lots of details in the artwork and a large cast of characters but it’s a good read. If your dyslexic and don’t know any thing about the Transformers then it might be worth staying away as Arcee is mine… wait I mean the comic is confusing.

Your pal Pervymus Prime.

Prime Posts: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel: Alliance #3

Writer: Chris Mowry
Penciler and Cover: Alex Milne
Publisher: IDW

What the hell is this crap?
Transformers the movie? Looks like some god damned Manga stylised crap. Hell if I looked like that I would have one royal pain in the diode all the time. Suppose I best review this comic then as Marcus has paid me too. So this comic features the further adventures of the Transformers from the film 2 years back. Basically the Autobots run around fighting Decepticons and the Decepticons also fight against each other. Im not going to tell you any more because I know all you’re interested in is Megan Fox (Not bad for human) So lets have a pic of her on here too!


As for the issue the one problem I had was there was too many humans in it and most were forgettable. I thought this comic was about the Transformers not their “Friends” the humans. Not bad though, although not the real McCoy although who cares about the comic when the new film is coming out? Have you see the trailer for it? As Ultra Magnus would say “I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy - alright, give me the bomb”, Well maybe not the last part but depends whether that flesh bag, sorry I mean human, Michael Bay has done a good job really!

Oh Bumblebee wants to say hello too. He’s been helping me this week supplying with pints of energon! Bumblebee is a brave soldier. This is what he would want. So here he is for your joy.


So yeah a good issue but too many humans!

Prime Posts:The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots #3

Writer: Simon Furman
Penciler: Nick Roche
Cover by Marcelo Matere
Publisher: IDW

Ahhh good old Grimlock. One of my most trusted and faithful soldiers. He cant follow rules at all and sometimes I worry that his thinking chips have been pulled from a speak and spell machine on earth because, lets face it he aint the brightest spark. An electric tin opener has commonsense than him. Ill never forget that fate full day when after speaking to Spike I decided "Robot dinosaurs might be useful." Boy I had a few too many pints of energon that that day!!

Any way some history on the Maximum Dinobots series, basically Grimlock came and asked me if he could take part in All Hail Megatron (12 part maxi series from IDW, if you didn’t know) and I told him that since dinosaurs no longer roam the earth I cant see them being in it. So he threw a hissy fit and destroyed some buildings until I agreed with Chris Ryall that the Dinobots could have their own series. We sent them on their way and I informed him that his story could not conflict with our story, so I told him "Okay Grimlock, time for you and the Dinobots to act prehistoric and piss off.” To which he did in his retarded Dinobot way.


After reading this issue I see the Dinobots have been up to trouble on earth and have been generally wrecking the planet and that moron Sunstreaker seems to be involved too. Looks like I made a bad call and I should tell Grimlock to stop stumbling around and end this chaos, but luckily the end of the series is on the horizon. Good comic and I suppose you could say all the Dinobots are dyslexic or retarded so take your pick! Check out the comics and If you don’t want too, go buy All Hail Megatron instead!!!
Enough of this though! The Dinobots must be destroyed as they just want to be more popular than me! Nothing beats 100% Optimus Prime beef like.. Crap too much Energon again.

Freedom is the right of all sentient beings providing go buy All Hail Megatron!
Oh and this Dinobot crap too!

Prime Posts: Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Trailer

Being Optimus Prime can sure be hard at times. In between posing for pictures, appearing in multiple comics, staring in Animated series and now movies, I rarely get any me time. This week for instance im writing for comlexia and I just want you guys to enjoy this blog! So as a bonus im posting the trailer to my new film Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.



Oh I forgot to mention in the earlier post that Bumblebee is going to be in charge of posting all my pictures on here. And he keeps buggin me to say hello, so ive been gracious enough to let him post this picture of himself up here.



Till next time humans! Freedom is the right of all sentient beings except you Bluemeanie.

Optimus Prime Takes Over Comlexia!

Hi there. I’m Optimus Prime. I’m leader of the Autobots who are part of a race called Transformers.


We are currently at war with the evil Decepticons. Of late you may have been reading the adventures of my troops over in IDW’s Awesome All Hail Megatron. As you have probably noticed I’m currently incapacitated in the series. This has enabled me to take a week off and get some good rest and relaxation. The Autobots also decided to send Bumblebee with me just in case of any attacks. He wants to say hello but I’ve told him to move his ass and go get me some energon to guzzle down.

Any way as I’m on my r & r this week I also offered to take over my buddy Marcus’s Comlexia blog for a week to give him some well deserved time off as he has been making a valiant effort with the blog, which is good for a round fleshy thing. Sorry I mean fat ass human. So I hope you enjoy my posts as im here for the next few days. Im also going to take this time to post a few links of websites you should visit whilst im here.

Shane McCarthy's SMAcTALK

IDW

RyallTime


Im in charge this week so you’re getting my better and more thoroughly processed thoughts on here. Also remember Im a robot who is way more advance than you lowly humans, so my opinion matters more than yours.Till All Are One.


Bumblebee where is my energon little buddy?

Taking a Week Off But Guest Blogger Taking over!

Next week I'm taking a week off the blog as I'm going to be a little busy. I have asked a good friend of mine to take over for the week to keep the blog ticking over as I'm enjoying posting stuff up here every week and its nice to get responses to that.

When I get back there are a few comics I cant wait to review ranging from first issue of American Nightmares which is the second mini series adapting The Stand and I toying around with having an all British comics week oh and im going to be doing a lot more reviews of trade paperbacks and graphic novels as well as you can see I have a few..

Im also going to start a new column on here too called "It came from...." but there will be more on that when I get back.

Thanks for your time and check the blog out on Sunday as there will be the first post from my guest blogger!

Have a nice weekend!

Marcus

All New, All Different Comlexia!

Well not really but just changing and shaking up a few things as I felt it was time to give the blog a bit of a shake up. One thing I have changed tonight is having the About Me box at the top of the page, which is something I noticed my friend Richard had done on his blog and actually I thought it was a cracking idea so ive borrowed it off him. If any one else has some recommendations that I should try out please let me know. Ive changed to this layout as I find it easier to read than the just black and white blogs. And I think im going to try and post about my blog on other places on the internet too as I'm actually happy that ive been keeping on top of it this year and I seem to be doing way better than I did last year.
Also thinking of trying a few more reviews in a similar vein to how I reviewed The Stand and Invincible, so please let me know if you enjoyed these or not!

Brighton Graffiti Kensington Street, Behind the lanes if I remember correctly!

Im also going to post up some other stuff which has nothing to do with comics so much but is an interest of mine. For example Last year I visited my sister down in Brighton and whilst there saw some truly fantastic Graffiti but never really wrote to much about it. In fact there were a few things I wanted to write about but just let the chance slip right past me.

Finally a big thanks Rich and Paul for being my first and possibly only followers!

Stephen King's The Stand Part 5

The Stand: Captain Trips Issue 5
Creative Director & Executive Director: Stephen King
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artists: Mike Perkins
Colourist: Laura Martin
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Lee Bermejo

The end of the world is here and it's chief architect is a man called Randal Flag. We are introduced to this character walking down a long dark road heading some where unknown. As he is on the road to no where we get an insight in to this character's life and places he has been. The impression he gives to people seems to be fear and loathing yet influential and providing to the publics thirst for knowledge. We saee his effects on people around him too. For some reason when ever he has worked with at time of high violence he always seem to vanish into thin air at the right moment, more horrifically if any woman spends the night with him it does seem that she feel so incredibly cold that they can never again feel true warmth. As we get more into the issue we find out that he has been providing information to newspapers, Tv channels and radio stations, all when revealed ends up leading to more death and carnage.


As the issue progresses we see the characters from the previous issues losing that which is dearest to them. Larry's mother dies followed by Frannie's Dad, Deputy Nick finds deceased sheriffs wife has also passed away all whilst Stu Redman is still being held by the CDC.

As the issue progresses it does seem that Armageddon has arrived and Randall Flag seems to revile in this and intends to use it to his advantage.

This issue also contains bonus material as the previous issues did. It features The Stand Variant Covers and shows how they link up and make one large image. There is also another script to final page breakdowns. What I really likes was the interview with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa called A Long Strange Trips. There is also a section by Lee Bermejo called Behind the Cover. In this section he details the process of designing the cover to the series.

I loved reading this series. For years I had wanted to read the book but just found it incredibly difficult to read but now that Marvel has started adapting im so great full that I can now read it. One of the many things I liked was how long it took to read an issue. Usually I can read a comic in about 10 minutes but it at least took 30 minutes to read an issue as there was so much content in each issue. There was also hardly anu adverts with in the comic too which was a real plus far as I'm concerned!
If you are dyslexic and you have ever wanted to read The Stand but were to intimidated to read the book then I implore you to pick up the Trade Paper Back (Available only in Comic shops) or the single issues if you can find them.

Sometime in March the follow up mini series called "American Nightmares" will be released and I cant wait. I might review each issue as they come out as I don't think I can contain my excitement for 5 months or so.

A Brilliant Comic And a Superb Read for Dyslexic people like my self.

Stephen King's The Stand Part 4

The Stand: Captain Trips Issue 4
Creative Director & Executive Director: Stephen King
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artists: Mike Perkins
Colourist: Laura Martin
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Lee Bermejo

As the end of the world approaches we have had the opportunity to see how these events unfold through the cast of regulars characters we have come to know. Issue 4 starts off following Nick Andros, still a deputy as Sheriff Baker has not returned to work. He's still looking after the men who beat up in a previous issue. As the issues progresses Nick finds out Sheriff Baker has died as has most of the population of the town he is in and that the Army are blocking all the exits to the town.As he is immune he decided to release the men in the cells so they can live out their last breaths some where else.
Frannie Goldsmith is still struggling with her pregnancy and speaks to Jess the father of her unborn baby which really does not make matters any better than what they are. She also gets a visit from her farther who informs her that her mother is seriously ill. As the issue progresses Frannie's mother dies.
Larry Underwood is becoming more and more aware of how deadly the disease is becoming in New York, including how it is affecting his mother. When Larry tries to get in contact with a hospital about his mother, all he gets is an answer phone message informing that it is at full capacity and unable to cope.


Lloyd Henreid who was introduced in the previous issue is currently in prison and looking at heading to death row. Although obviously lacking any type of intelligence he wants to take credit for the massacre last issue, until his lawyer informs him he will actually be excuted unless he blames it all on his dead companion Poke.
General Bill Starkey is slowly losing his mind due to his part in the destruction of mankind. He knows the Apocalypse is on the way and he wishes to get away. He travels to the Military base where the disease broke out and executes himself as his final act.
Stu Redman is only briefly in the issue.General Starkey had Stu injected/infected with the disease and yet he is still immune and displays no signs of the disease.
Lastly we are introduced to a new character called Randal Flag who seems to be very devious.



The Bonus Material in this book features a interesting article on real Super Flu's and how deadly they are, another script to final page breakdowns, How the covers to the series are created and an preview of the final issue.

I have only got 1 issue to go and I am kind of sad because I don't want the series to end. I know the follow up series will be out soon but I don't know if I can wait another 5 months for the series all top be out. As I have been enjoying the series quite a bit I think it might be time to hunt done the actual book and attempt to read it again.

Stephen King's The Stand Part 3

The Stand: Captain Trips Issue 3
Creative Director & Executive Director: Stephen King
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artists: Mike Perkins
Colourist: Laura Martin
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Lee Bermejo

Issue 3 of The Stand shows us again how the super flu/Captain Trips spreads through out the population.This time though it is focused on Stu Redman's Nurse Patty Greer and how she unknowingly infects her work colleagues. We are also introduced to Lloyd Henreid who is a merciless killer who is completely thought less in his actions. His appearance in series so far has to be the most explosive as he is involved in a brutal blood bath and very quickly ends up being out of his depth.
We also revisit Frannie Goldsmith, who has informed her old fashioned mother of her pregnancy, which leads to a confrontation between the family where old wounds are revealed and Frannie's Father takes her side and sticks up for her.
Nick Andros is staying with Sheriff John Baker and his wife after being attacked in the last issue. The Sheriff is unwell and is told by his wife to deputise Nick so he can help him out. Also nick has a dream very similar to Stu's.
Over in New York we see that Larry Underwood is possibly starting to act a bit more like a grown up and look after his sick mother. He also visits the city and realises he really does not want to be there.
We also get to see General Bill Starkey who take steps to ensure the public do not know too much. This is shown when he orders the brutal execution of reporters who know the origins of the disease.
Lastly, as always, we visit poor Stu Redman who is still incarcerated but has been moved to another centre of disease (CDC) control building. Although nowadays his bloods are taken under armed guard and all Stu wants to do is escape although he does not know how.

There is again a wealth of back up material again. This time ranging from a interview with Ralph Macchio(Not the Karate Kid) detailing what Stephen Kings involvement in the book is and what time frame the story has been set. There is also a nice Script to final page breakdowns as well which is again quite interesting for aspiring writers and possibly artists too.

As I have said before I am really enjoying this series so I don't think I need to say it again. I am really enjoying seen how other people are dealing with the disease and the different effects its having on their lives.
Still loving how well the series has been crafted and I am very thankful to Stephen King and Marvel for putting this book out. One thing I am glad I have done too is the fact I waited for the whole series to be released before I read any of the issues. Im glad because I think if I was reading this month to month I would possibly go a bit crazy waiting a whole 30 days till the following issue!

Spectacular Spiderman Story Ideas

A few years back I attempted to write a few stories for the UK edition of spectacular spiderman. Whilst I cant say they are the greatest stories in the world, they are my first attempts at writing comics. If any one is interested in having a laugh please let me know and ill post them up. Ive only just found them in my old note book and I never submitted them but I'm thinking it might be worth scanning the pages and posting them up here especially as nowadays I really am trying to make the effort to write tuff down and attempt to get it out in some form.

Stephen King's The Stand Part 2

The Stand: Captain Trips Issue 2
Creative Director & Executive Director: Stephen King
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artists: Mike Perkins
Colourist: Laura Martin
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Lee Bermejo

I actually wrote this review on Sunday evening before I went to work (I'm currently working nights) and I was going to go to the gym today but its raining and I cant really be bothered to go out at the moment, so I thought why not bring Comlexia up to date!

As I had stated in the previous post I am really excited at getting the opportunity to finally read The Stand. I know its in comic form and I'm sure at some point I may read the book but for now I'm more than pleased to get the opportunity to read it!

The issue starts with a new character called General Bill Starkey taking the fore front and we get a very quick origin of how the disease/Captain Trips spreads, which is fantastically illustrated. From the previous issue we get to revisit Stu Redman who now has been locked up at the centre for disease control. Stu is fully aware that something is not right and refuses to cooperate witht he doctors who hold him. After enquiring about his friends Stu is informed that they have all died and he is now the only survivor out of his friends.

Frannie Goldsmith reveals to her father that she is Pregnant and is unsure of her future. Although she is sure she does not want to get married to Jess, the father of her unborn child.

We are also introduced to a new character, Nick Andros whose first appearance is taking a beating in a brutal unfair fight. We also learn that Nick is deaf and very similar to Stu,that being very smart and perceptive although at first glance this may not be obvious.

Second to last, we pay a visit to Larry Underwood again, who, despite going back home to his mothers, still does not seemed to have stopped his partying ways. Amusing as it is , one cant but help feel sorry for poor Larry who has to reassure himself that he is a nice guy.

Lastly we go back to Stu where we get a glimpse of his dreams and nightmares and we have the first vision of "The Man with No Face".

I'm really enjoying this series and as before I cant wait to move on to the next issue. Now I have seen The Stand (TV movie) before as I detailed in the previous post so I do know a lot of what will happen in the story but what I am enjoying about this adaptation is the amount of detail Mike Perkins is including in each panel. For example on the second page of artwork in the comic the final panel is a close up of General Bill Starkey face surrounded by a mostly black and grey background, which to me sums up that this man is/or must feel responsible for the release of the Captain Trips and ultimately is going to be responsible for the death of most of the population on earth. To me that one panel said so much and I think a lot could be interpreted from other panels too.
Another point I wanted to bring up is when Stu Redman is informed he is the only survivor out of his group of friends, the doctor informing him seems to be smug and to not care in the slightest that Stu has lot all that is dear to him. The way this piece is written and illustrated really makes the reader understand Stu's anger and frustration.


There is also more back up material in the comic as well. There is a nice interview with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa from Marvel.com, where he discusses how he got the job adapting The Stand and his connection with the book. Also there is a nice Profile design of Nick Andros by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins. Finally there is also a Making of the cover section by Lee Bermejo which details the the thoughts behind creating the variant covers for the series.

As I stated earlier I am really enjoying this series and I cant wait to get into the next issue. If you have not read the series just yet then you really should.