Tardis Playset

One of the biggest stars of the British science fiction TV series: Doctor Who, is not the Doctor, or even any his female assistants-it's theTardis.  The Tardis is time travel device, disguised as a police call box, that the Doctor uses each episode to take him to his destinations and encounters with aliens, threats and adventures.

Did you know that the Tardis is actually sentient, is a female and it chose the Doctor-not the other way around?  That would make an interesting love story.

The Tardis Playset from Character Options Ltd./Underground Toys is a massive playset measuring over 40cm tall (nearly 16 inches) and is packed with fun.

Easily assembled following the enclosed instructions, the multi-color Tardis is a multi-level toy replica of its TV namesake.

Constructed of pre-colored, heavy plastic, the playset snaps together in short order and before you know it you're playing with it using either the Doctor Who action figures or Character building Micro-figures (the playset is scaled to accommodate both!)

The Tardis Playset (like the TV show Tardis) consists of the best of all the previous versions.  A hodgepodge of parts from past Doctor Who Tardis, the current Tardis is a mechanized menagerie of mismatched mechanisms that somehow function as one unit.

Its curved, six-sided, yellow walls enclose a two-tier amalgamation of TV screens, platforms, stairs, central tower, various modern and archaic doodads, control panels and a modem yellow leather swivel seat. 

The raised platform allows the Doctor to view all the working parts of the Tardis and examine his surroundings in a full 360 degrees.

Various steps and platforms lead to the other parts of cavernous Tardis.  The entire assembly is a colorful conundrum of cannibalized components that cater to the every crackpot chronos craving of the Doctor. 

As an extra added bonus an 11th Doctor Who action figure is included and as an extra, extra bonus a 11th Doctor Micro-Figure is also included! Both come with Sonic Screwdrivers!

The playset box features views, from all angles, of the playset and on the front of the box both bonus figures are showcased in a special plastic viewing panel. 
The playset is the culmination of every Doctor Who fan's dream with its spot-on accuracy and perfect match for its larger namesake. 

You'll spend hours looking over its panels, instruments, various quirky equipment and cool configuration. Suitable for five and over.

A Pet Peeve

I've been publishing Collectors' Corner for 20 years.  My readership isn't huge but its not small either.  I turn out a good product on a regular basis and I consider myself to be an honest and straight forward person.  I never fudge my numbers or write misleading copy.  But others do.
I find it strange and suspicious when other sites, who have only been publishing for a short period, suddenly boast of huge 'unique' visitor numbers.  I also find it suspicious when sites that only review a couple times a week claim their readership is in the 10's of thousands or more.  Sounds bogus to me.  Could it be that some people are faking their numbers?  Megatags and keywords only get you so far.  Registering with web browsers bring in numbers, but not that many.

After a little research I discovered that there are programs that allow websites to generate false hits on their sites.  This is done by creating false browser hits.  Websites can even determine the number of hits (unique or otherwise) that 'visit' their site.  Counters can even be set up to record such false numbers.

It is very discouraging to me that as a honest review website I see other 'questionable' sites reap the benefits of false numbers.  Please understand, I'm sure there are legitimate and honest sites out there-especially those that have been around a long time and have honestly accumulated large audiences.

But, as consumers, and manufacturers and publishers, I would suspect large audiences on some review sites, or social network sites, such as huge numbers of 'views' on sites like YouTube for some of the most ridiculous videos imaginable.

I've worked long and hard to provide honest and timely reviews and it upsets me that there are those out there that stoop to 'cheating' just to draw attention to themselves.

Hot Pursuit 9

Crime fighting has never looked better than it does with Greenlight Collectible's 1:64 Scale, Limited Edition, die-cast metal chassis police cars, including trading cards, set.  Now that's a mouthful!

Six miniature cars make up the Hot Pursuit set.  All feature rubber-like tires, incredible interior and exterior details, crisp with no slop-over painting and miniature decals that match their larger namesakes.

In this age of cheap knockoff die-cast vehicles it's nice to see a company that doesn't settle for anything else but the very best when it comes to its products.  Greenlight's die-cast collections are top quality right down to its sealed, plastic bubble, hanging packages.  You can be assured that each and every vehicle is safe and secure it its heavy gauge plastic container.

Hot Pursuit's packages include a special trading card in each, a full color photo front depicting the die-cast car contained and the name of the vehicle prominently displayed below the plastic encased car.

The six vehicles include a Wilmington Ohio Police  2009 Dodge Charger in deep steel blue with roof mounted lights, POLICE insignia on both side panels and solid black interior.

The Oregon Highway Patrol, 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor is painted a deep navy blue with yellow side decals and stars with a clear roof mounted light assembly and silver trim accents.

Painted white with black accents, the Nebraska Highway Patrol,1993 Ford Mustang Police car is a two-door pursuit vehicle with roof lights, tinted windows with minimal silver hub caps.

Also in all white is the Cincinnati Ohio Police, 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with four doors, roof lights, black interior and oversize rear lights and wraparound front black grill.

The Westfield Indiana Police, 2011 Ford Explorer is painted white with two-tone blue side strips, four doors, a station wagon rear door with wraparound rear window, side mirrors and a characteristic front grill.

The blue and white Raleigh Police North Carolina, 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has four doors, roof lights, front and back POLICE decals, side sheriff logos and silver body wrapped front and rear bumpers.    
What better way to 'Serve & Protect?"

A Very Bad Day At School

Revell breaks out four new models: two cars, one Star Wars and one WWII aircraft.

Rev up your engines and get ready to go with Revell's Special Edition Series with optional parts and new tooling, 2'n1 2010 Camaro SS, 1'25 Scale, Level 2, motor machine.

Dress it out in bright red with black accents or mellow it down with yellow with front and red black strips. 

Either way you've got a Motor City Muscle Car for the new generation of car lovers.  Custom wheels and front end, an engine compartment packing a powerful V-8, custom front grill and bumper, swept tail end and a solid black interior make this the re-imagined Muscle Car for the 2000s a must-have motorized monster.

The Motor Sports edition of the Corvette C5-R 'Compuware", Level 3, 1:25 Scale race car is all business with its low-profile, wedge-to-the-wind body design, reinforced frame and undercarriage, custom wheels and tires, oversize rear airfoil and interior flip cage make this Corvette a force to be reckoned with.

Both models feature full assembly, paint and decal instructions and make fine additions to any car lovers collection.

Kids are sure to love Revell's Star Wars Tie Fighter Snap Tite model that requires no glue, paint or decaling.  Included with the Level 1 Empire Tie Fighter comes a Tie Fighter Pilot, easy to follow instructions and a gallery of other Star Wars spacecraft on the model box's rear panel. "I have you now!"

Coincidentally George Lucas used the dogfights filmed during WWII to choreograph many of the famous Empire and Rebel spaceship fights.

Revell's Lockheed PV-1 Venture WWII aircraft is scaled at 1:48, requires a Level 3 modeler's skill and comes with complete assembly, paint and decal instructions.
This mighty war machine features a twin pilot cockpit, twin props, extra fuel tanks, top mounted gunner station, bomb bay doors and wheel housings that open and full interior and exterior details including three sets of decals for customizing, antenna and radar.  Watch out for the front mounted triple machine guns. 

Revell breaks out four new models: two cars, one Star Wars and one WWII aircraft.

Rev up your engines and get ready to go with Revell's Special Edition Series with optional parts and new tooling, 2'n1 2010 Camaro SS, 1'25 Scale, Level 2, motor machine.

Dress it out in bright red with black accents or mellow it down with yellow with front and red black strips. 

Either way you've got a Motor City muscle car for the new generation of car lovers.  Custom wheels and front end, an engine compartment packing a powerful V-8, custom front grill and bumper, swept tail end and a solid black interior make this the re-imagined Muscle Car for the 2000s a must-have motorized monster.

The Motor Sports edition of the Corvette C5-R 'Compuware", Level 3, 1:25 Scale race car is all business with its low-profile, wedge-to-the-wind body design, reinforced frame and undercarriage, custom wheels and tires, oversize rear airfoil and interior flip cage make this Corvette a force to be reckoned with.

Both models feature full assembly, paint and decal instructions and make fine additions to any car lovers collection.

Kids are sure to love Revell's Star Wars Tie Fighter Snap Tite model that requires no glue, paint or decaling.  Included with the Level 1 Empire Tie Fighter comes a Tie Fighter Pilot, easy to follow instructions and a gallery of other Star Wars spacecraft on the model box's rear panel. "I have you now!"

Coincidentally George Lucas used the dogfights filmed during WWII to choreograph many of the famous Empire and Rebel spaceship fights.

Revell's Lockheed PV-1 Venture WWII aircraft is scaled at 1:48, requires a Level 3 modeler's skill and comes with complete assembly, paint and decal instructions.
This mighty war machine features a twin pilot cockpit, twin props, extra fuel tanks, top mounted gunner station, bomb bay doors and wheel housings that open and full interior and exterior details including three sets of decals for customizing, antenna and radar.  Watch out for the front mounted triple machine guns. 

Kids, Fistful, Holmes, Space, War, Thirty And Titanic

Kids love cartoons and are sure to go ga-ga over Mill Creek Entertainment's 30-Episode Collections of animated TV shows from the last 20+ years. 

Look for classic episodes of the Get Along Gang, The Littles, Heathcliff, Johnny Test, World Of Quest, The New Adventures Of Nanoboy, Postcards From Buster, A Bunch Of Munsch, The Busy World Of Richard Scarry, Pole Position, COPS, Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors, Horseland, Sabrina and Mona The Vampire. 

Each DVD collection contains over 12 hours of animated shenanigans. They're funny, kid-safe and family-friendly and in this time of cynicism and political and financial unrest isn't it great to know that kids can still be kids?  Maybe we grown-ups should watch a few episodes and recapture the inner kid in all of us.

If you like down and gritty, fast-draw, rough and rugged Westerns than saddle up your horse and mosey on over to Mill Creek's Fistful Of Bullets containing 16 Spaghetti Westerns.

Kick the dust off your boots and join Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance, Richard Harrison, Klaus Kinski and other Spaghetti Western stars as they take out the bad guys, crank up the macho meter and get the fast draw on hombres and beautiful women.  Yee haw!

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes 4-Disc DVD set contains both feature films and the entire 39-episode TV series adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth of all sleuths: Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Doctor Watson.

Look for classic criminal cases solved by Watson and Holmes as portrayed by Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Ronald Howard, Ian Fleming and others.  Also included is an introduction by actor Christopher Lee who was instrumental in the resurgence of interest in Sherlock Holmes.

America's Greatest Journey: The Race To Space is a 10-Part Documentary Series narrated by Mike Wallace. 

Follow the history of the men and women who created and were responsible for America's space program, its triumphs and failures, its early orbital flights to America's landing an astronaut on the moon. 

If you love history, specifically the history of man in space, then this DVD is the one for you.

The Civil War shaped and molded the United States as it exists today.  It was a time of bloody conflict as brother fought against brother in the bloodiest war imaginable. The Civil War Commemorative Documentary Collection in 10-parts includes reenactments, archive photographs and narration taken from historical documents about one of the most turbulent times in American history.

Back in the 1980s the Baby Boomers were in their thirties.  What better way to examine the life of the 'Me' Generation than to have a TV show about the times, trials and tribulations of what many have called the 'Lost' Generation?

Mill Creek's TV Flash Backs Thirtysomething, Season One, Volume Two, 11-episode DVD collection takes viewers back to a different type of America when the world was changing fast all around a group of people who learned to cope with and live life fully no matter how confusing.

The sinking of the Titanic has fascinated people since its occurrence early in the 20th Century.  When the Titanic's wreck was discover nearly 20 years ago, the fascination grew-so much so a feature film was made about it, along with assorted documentaries.

One of the best is Mill Creek's 100 Year Anniversary DVD Definitive Documentary Collection tells the entire sad tale of the doomed luxury liner.  Learn what really happened and all about the passengers and crew of the 'unsinkable' ship.

Previews, February

Diamond Previews teases collectors with images and information about upcoming collectibles.

Check out the new comic books you can expect to find. They include The Score, America’s Got Power, Avengers Vs. X-Men, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Special, Star Wars: Blood Ties, Mass Effect: Homeworlds, Secret, Bart Simpson’s Pal Millhouse, Are You My Mother?, The Shadow, Courtney Crumrin and Lady Death Origins.

Magazines and books to read include The Avengers Kit, Spider-Man: Inside The World Of Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero and Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide.

Trading cards you just gotta have are Bowman 2012 Baseball Trading Cards and Marvel 2012 Greatest Heroes.

New toys are Firefly, Fantastic Four, Mass Effect 3, Marvel Select: Amazing Spider-Man Movie, DC: The New 52 Justice League Batman, Dr. Doom and Hit-Girl.

Play some games with Magic, Descent and Marvel Heroclix: Galactic Guardians.

Steed And Mrs. Peel #1

Grant Morrison and Ian Gibson, along with Boom! Studios, has just released the best Avengers book on the shelves. No, not those Avengers, the original Avengers: the quirky, hip The Avengers TV show from Britain.

During the late 1960s the adventures of secret agents Emma Peel and John Steed were all the rage on American and British TV. The ABC Network in the United States made the brilliant decision to import the popular spy show to American airways where it became a favorite of TV viewers.

It was the time of the super spy and The Avengers were at the top of the spy game.


Now Boom! Studios has released a brand new comic book series based on The Avengers TV show that captures both the tempo and look of the avante garde and pop culture TV series.


In the first issue of the Crown & Anchor storyline, John Steed’s new female spy sidekick, Tara King, is following a lead to undercover who is the ‘Mole’ who is leaking information out of the spy bureau. Her first tip finds her meeting Admiral Fanshawe, head of the ministry-or so she thinks. Later the real Admiral’s body is found tied to an anchor at the bottom of a river and Tara is missing.


John Steed is summoned to his superior, Mother, and told of the incident. Mother gives him the assignment to track down the ‘Mole’ find Tara and “tidy things up.”


Told to trust no one Steed calls upon the one person he trusts implicitly, Mrs. Peel. Together the newly reunited spy team travels to the Fanshawe residence where they uncover a clue- which leads Mrs. Peel to the Metropolitan Magazines’ Doris Storm.


Arriving at Ms. Storm’s office, Mrs. Peel is told she is giving blood at a bloodmobile. Mrs. Peel arrives just in time to discover Doris has been poisoned by an attending nurse who seems to have performed the act under some kind of control.


Mrs. Peel returns to Doris who manages to, as her last words, say, "Rooks and ravens."


If you are a fan of The Avengers then you are in for a real treat. Writer Grant Morrison has successfully captured the ‘feel’ of the original TV series, while artist Ian Gibson’s stylized art fits perfectly with the story. The Avengers are back, Bowler hat, umbrella, skin-tight leather outfits and all.

Alice In Wonderland #1

Zenescope Comics introduces a whole new twist on Alice In Wonderland. Little Alice is led to an opening in an old tree by her grandparents. They insist she enter in and when she does she finds herself in a large cavern with whispering voices encouraging her to proceed. A large White Rabbit stands before her and proceeds to tell her all about her absurd surroundings. She listens and then suddenly she's plunging head-over-heels down a large shaft with the White Rabbit’s taunting voice echoing all about her.

Its voice emanates at first in the unusual surroundings and then to Alice’s surprise from her own mouth. With a sudden plunk she lands and comes face-to-face with the enormous and monstrous Jabberwocky.


She soon learns that the Jabberwocky needs people from the outside world in order to thrive. Alice makes a deal with the creature to return her to her own world and she’ll bring others to feed his craving-as long as no one gets hurt. He agrees and Alice begins to leave by a magic mirror.


But, the Jabberwocky only lets a part of her leave-her sanity. She must remain behind where her other self grows older and remembers only fleeting images of her Wonderland experience.


As the captured Alice attempts to escape over the years she grows into a beautiful woman. When all seems lost the White Rabbit returns, and using a sleeping potion on the Jabberwocky, he frees Alice and they escape only to run into a carnivorous Cheshire Cat and a gigantic Walrus.


Alice In Wonderland #1 from Zenescope piqued my interest from the first panel. The art is luscious with bright vibrant colors and swift moving layouts. This is an Alice for a whole new generation-don’t miss it.

Mimobot

USB Flash Memory Drive: (n) A small, portable flash memory card that plugs into a computer’s USB port and functions as a portable hard drive.


Sounds boring doesn’t it? And it is—until now!


Mimoco has released a series of new USB 2.0 Flash Memory Drives that are anything but boring. Basing sets around various themes, Mimoco’s Flash Drives (Mimobot) are as much fun to look at as to use.


Star Wars. Who doesn’t like Star Wars-all of those memorable characters? Mimoco has taken the Star Wars characters and incorporated them into Flash Drives. How cool is that!?


Everyone knows Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. Mimoco's Anakin Skywalker Flash Drive comes in two parts. The lower part (containing the USB attachment and memory) is painted and sculpted to look like Anakin Skywalker dressed as Darth Vader and the Flash Drive cap is Vader’s helmet that slips over to hide the USB sleeve and Anakin’s face! I can hear it now, “If you only knew the power of the Flash Drive!”


Next up is Han Solo as seen in The Empire Strikes Back. Han comes dressed in his brown and tan outfit with a worried look on his face. The USB hub cover is Han’s hair. Why does Han look so worried? Good reason-included with the Han Solo Flash Drive is a Carbonite carrying case showing Han frozen in Carbonite. A clip attached to the case.


A number of other Star Wars figures are available as are Flash Drives depicting dozens of other characters. Flash Drive comes with wallpapers, sound bytes, icons and other digital goodies. Packaging is in either bubble packs or small boxes with viewing panels. All are decorated with art.


In order to protect your Mimobot Flash Drives Mimoco has created Flash Drive Hoodies: small fabric sleeves with clips that snuggle your Flash Drives and protect the Flash Drives and their cool images from damage.


Who would ever think that Flash Drives could be so much fun!?

Peanuts #1

After too long of an absence Charles M. Schulz’ Peanuts is back in print and I couldn’t be happier.

Kaboom! Studio writers and artists have created a series of brand new Peanuts stories that recapture the magic of the original Peanuts comic strip.

The cover consists of an original Charles M. Schulz Charlie Brown and Snoopy illustration while inside two new stories, a “How To Draw Charlie Brown” lesson and original reprinted Peanuts strips make up this wonderful Peanuts collection.

Special care was given to capture the look and feel of the original strips with straight on likenesses of the characters obtained.


It’s wonderful to see the Peanuts gang back together again after so many years.

Pieter Bruegel

Norman Rockwell-that name may seem out of place when talking about Pieter Bruegel-the 16^th century Netherlands artist.  But not really.  Bruegel, like Rockwell, was a chronicler of his times.  Much of what we know about the customs, costumes, architecture and daily life of the 16^th Century is culled from Bruegel’s work.

Known primarily for his ‘peasant’ work, Bruegel was meticulous in his depictions of the daily lives and occurrences of Medieval folk.  His sprawling vistas of the countryside or cities were filled with common and royal folk going about their lives amidst their surroundings.

Bruegel also was adept at spectacular battle scenes, breath-taking landscapes accented by castles, villages, mountain ranges, lush forests and powerful rivers and quiet streams. 

Like many artists of his time he painted religious scenes-primarily of Jesus Christ and Mary but his talent didn’t stop there.  He was equally adept at pencils, engraving and frescos that depected  a wide variety of subject matter.

The other type of art Bruegel is famous for are his depictions of both Heaven and Hell. Like his predecessor, Hieronymus Bosch (whom he admired and emulated), Bruegel’s imagination seems to have no bounds.

His paintings of the afterlife, especially of Hell with their ghastly scenes of eternal torment, both frightened and fascinated patrons, much like it does today.

Recently a lost painting of Bruegel was found (The Wine Of Saint Martin’s Day) sparking new interest in the artist’s previous work.

Author and art historian Larry Silver, along with Abbeville Press, has released a coffee table edition of Pieter Bruegel’s work consisting of photos of all of his paintings, engravings, drawings and sketches.

Complete descriptions are given to each accompanied by Mr. Silver’s insightful and fascinating text on the life and work of the famous artist.  After looking through the book’s pages and reading the text I almost felt as if I knew Pieter Bruegel personally.  History comes alive and Bruegel becomes more than just a historical figure, he seems like someone I would meet and befriend.

In my opinion this is the ‘ultimate’ examination of the artist and contains the most complete and comprehensive compilation of his work.  I teach drawing and design at a local high school and I plan on using the book and sharing its contents with my students. 

The Dark Crystal Creation Myths Volume 1

The dawn of time-out of the void comes the Crystal-the bringer of life, light and creation.

Spawned by on the planet Thra comes the sentient first life created by the Crystal: Aughra. From her animal and plant intermingled form comes self-awareness. She names the animals, plants and all things about her. Soon she charts the universe and gives rise to other sentient life-especially the Gelflings.

From her they learn of life—and death. Soon change descends upon the world of Thra in the form of the visitors christened the Urshek (Light Bringers).


Their arrival encourages the Gelflings to explore, discover new life and populate the world of Thra.


So goes the story of the Dark Crystal, the Jim Henson creation as originally envisioned by Brian Froud.


Brian Holguin, Alex Sheikman and Lizzy John combine their considerable artistic talents to chronicle the history of the Dark Crystal in a beautifully illustrated and written first volume of the Dark Crystal Creation Myths from Archaia.

Alter Ego #106, December

Join TwoMorrows Publishing's Alter Ego’s Roy Thomas as he looks back to the Charlton Comics Silver Age. Charlton Comics’ characters fondly remembered are Sarge steel, Ghosts Of Doctor Graves, Captain Atom, Peacemaker and several others along with various genres like War, Love and Crime comics are showcased. Did you know that Charlton superheroes were the templates for Alan Moore’s Watchmen?

Charlton editor Dick Giordano’s long and illustrious career, both at Charlton and Dc Comics, is chronicled, accompanied by his art.


Artist Tony Tallarino’s career is traced and fond farewells are given to Marshall Lanz, Tony DiPreta, Jon D’Agostino, Vern Henkel and Lew Sayre Schwartz. A special section on the Golden Age and specifically Captain Marvel is also featured.

Back Issue #54, December

TwoMorrows Publishing presents the 54th issue of its Back Issue magazine that looks back at some of the best comic books and characters from the past. Included are interviews and articles about the creators that made them.

In issue #54 the theme of the book theme is Liberated Ladies and who better to star on the cover than DC Comics’ Big Barda?

First up is a retrospective of Big Barda, her appearances and black and white and color art from the many artists who have drawn her over the years. They include Jack Kirby, Michael Golden, John Byrne and others.


Valkyrie was an instant hit when she first appeared in Marvel Comics. Her appearance in the Hulk and especially The Avengers titles made her a fan favorite. When she teamed with the Lady Liberators her popularity grew. She is still a popular character today recently appearing (in altered form) in Marvels’ Ultimates title.


Ms. Marvel was Marvel’s female version of Captain Marvel. Her Kree spawned powers pitted her against various interstellar villains. Mystique stole her powers and Ms. Marvel was temporarily absent from comic books until her reappearance in the avengers.


Other female superstars are the woman who both write and draw comic books. Back Issue looks back over the stellar careers of Barbara Kesel, Gail Simone and Jill Thompson. Examples of their work are shown throughout the magazine.


A favorite non-super-powered heroine is Starfire. Her short, but pivotal run of issue is examined accompanied with art from various artists.


Without a doubt Marvel Girl/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix is one of the most powerful and popular female characters ever created for comic books. Since her first appearance in The Uncanny X-Men, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) has been killed and brought back form death more than most other comic book characters in the history of the medium.


Art by jack Kirby, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne complement the extensive article.


Last, but never last, comes She-Hulk. Introduced in the Bronze Age, She-Hulk is almost as popular as her male counterpart, the Hulk. Read why the Emerald Giantess is still so popular with fans.

Star Trek Book Of Opposites

Join the crew of the classic TV series Enterprise as they Explore Strange New Words.

Author David Borgenight and Quirk Books look at the world of opposites with some help from Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the rest of the crew and creatures from the classic science fiction TV series.


Printed on thick card stock, the book looks at such opposites as appear/disappear, happy/angry, empty/full, furry/scaly, calm/surprised, big/little, one/many, young/old, hot/cold, mean/nice, apart/together and far/near with the aid of full-page, full-color photos.


Star Trek fans will clamor for it and kids will love it.

Fangoria #310, February

Fangoria magazine, the first in fright since 1979, takes a look at the new Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider film and his title as the Master Of Horror. The Postal Zone delivers some ‘dead’ letters, Monster Invasion looks at Jacob, A Little Bit Zombie, Night Of the Little Dead, Sick, The Monkey’s Paw and Father’s Day.

The DVD & Blu-Ray Chopping List has a cart full of gory goodies, Barbara Crampton gets Re-Animated, madness multiplies in The Divide, there’s plenty of garbage films in the Trash Compactor, discover who is on the Kill List and Christopher Pennock has had Many Lives In The Dark.

Dark Shadows ‘draws’ a new audience, Daniel Radcliffe ditches Harry and looks for The Woman In Black, Sleep Tight, read A Tale Of Two Cenobites, Underworld is Awakening, Ginger Snaps has real Grrrrl Power, dance with the wolves in The Grey, The Deadly Spawn has a cult following and don’t go in the woods.

Swampthing #5 And Animal Man #5

It was a bold and risk taking move when DC Comics decided to reboot its entire line of comics and launch its New 52 titles. Overall, I’ve enjoyed each title. Of course I have my favorites and two of those favorites are Animal Man and Swampthing.


I predict that these two titles are shaping up to be the cornerstones on which the rest of the new DC Universe will build its entire line of comics on. Here’s why.


Without going into a lot of detail, the core of the books consists of the Red and Green. Animal represents the Red, or flesh, and Alec Holland (Swampthing) represents the Green. An uneasy alliance consists between the forces of the Red and Green. Both plants and animals have contented themselves with coexisting peacefully. All that is about to change as the Rot seeks to destroy both the Red and Green.


Animal Man’s daughter, Maxine, is the nexus by which the Red exists. Abby Holland’s younger brother is the agent of the Rot. Swampthing is the agent of the Green.


Events in both titles pit the Rot against the Red and Green inevitably forcing the agents of the Red and Green to band together to stop the Rot. But will they be in time and can long -held prejudices on the part of the Red and Green be put aside in order to save both?


Issues five of both titles lead into the inevitable confrontation of the Red and Green with the Rot. Look for the sparks to fly as both Animal Man and Swampthing combine their respective powers in order to defeat the Rot, if possible.


Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman and Steve Pugh have returned Animal Man to his prime with their chilling stories and art while Swampthing’s creative team of Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette reintroduce the Parliament of the Trees and the essence of the plant who believes it is a man.