The Batman Files

One of the things I like about being a reviewer is that I am constantly surprised and delighted by the incredibly talented people who produce toys, models, trading cards, comic books, books and other popular collectible items.

Just when I thought I had read and seen everything that could possibly be written about Batman along comes author Matthew K. Manning's and Andrews McMeel Publishing's new oversize hardbound book, The Batman Files.


This gorgeous book, with its padded cover and rear, encases an impressive volume of work dedicated to the Dark Knight.


An angular die-cut wraparound flap with an de-bossed silver bat symbol encases the solid black book. A fitted dust jacket with a silver ink printed image of Batman completes the impressive package.


Inside Batman fans are inundated with information about Batman as written by Bruce Wayne himself. Pages are filled with how Bruce decided to become the Batman, his design for his costume, Batcave, Batmobile and Batplane and the many accessories and vehicles he utilizes in his fight against crime.


Personal observations and data about his friends, foes and associates both as Batman and Bruce Wayne fill the pages. Schematics, blueprints, sketches, drawings, document recreations and archival photos, art and media interpretations of Batman complete the package.


Police scene records an photos, Arkham Asylum profiles, Gotham City buildings and city grid, Batcomputer printouts and much more are contained in its a pages. Batman fans will clamor for this ultimate collection about Gotham City's Cowled Crusader.

Trees And Dragons

This is a first for me. I’ve reviewed Safari Ltd.’s products extensively in the past. Without a doubt the quality of their products are first-rate. The sculpting, attention to detail, paint application and wide range of product types are second to none.


One of my favorite set of figures Safari Ltd. produces are their dragons. I’ve reviewed each and every one in the past - all are superb.


Here’s what makes this review so unusual. Recently Safari Ltd. provided some dragon models I have already reviewed. However, I believe they deserve a second look. I won’t go into details other than to say each and every one makes a fine addition to any dragon lover’s collection.


The Ice Dragon is a chilling white and light blue lizard with huge silver frosted wings and iridescent silver horns and body spikes. The Midnight Moon Dragon is a purple metallic sheen monstrosity with gold accents and four red eyes and powerful short tail. The triple-head, yellow, orange and red Fire Dragon comes with a translucent flame shooting out of one its mouths and the serpentine Krystal Blue Dragon looks as if it jumped out of an ancient Chinese illustration. Tinged in gold and with blue fins along it entire upper body, it’s a real beauty.


Also, if you like dragons you’re sure to love Safari Ltd.’s dinosaurs and if you ever need some landscaping to go along with your thunder lizards then be sure to pick up Safari Ltd.’s Prehistoric Landscapes trees.


Three of the beautifully crafted and detailed foliage are a Cycad, Agathis Cinifer and Tree Fern. You’ll like them-they tend to “grow” on you.

How To Draw Chiller Monsters, Werewolves, Vampires, And Zombies

The recent upsurge of interest in all things macabre such as zombies, vampires and other things supernatural has sparked an entire industry dedicated to things that go bump in the night. Movies, TV shows, comics books, books and other mass media outlets have cashed in on the craze and there appears to be no end in sight for its popularity waning.

Artists are also jumping on the band wagon (or should I say dead wagon?) with art that ranges from amateurish to highly-polished. Have you ever got the urge to draw some ghoulies and such? Then you’re in luck.


Author J. David Spurlock and Watson-Guptill Publications have teamed up to bring readers the ultimate in ‘how-to’ books on delineating dead devilish doers of the night. How To Draw Chiller Monsters, Werewolves, Vampires, And Zombies is much more than an instruction book on drawing.


To start things off Rob Zombie (yes, that Rob Zombie) provides a foreword for the book and laments how he wished such a book existed when he was a kid. Then there's the meat of the book.


This is not your typical “how-to” book. Instructions and demonstrations are not provided by just a single artist but by some of the biggest names in the comic book and illustration fields. Do the names Neal Adams, Kerry Gammill, Basil Gogos, David Hartman, Alex Horley, John Romita Sr. Jim Steranko. Gene Colan, Wally Wood and several other well-known artists strike a chord? I’m impressed!


Each type of ghoulie, ghostie and monster comes with a brief history. Several artists will contribute to each particular creepy creature with sketches, black and white and color drawings and comments.


The author provides his own observations, information and artist biographies. Combine all of the aforementioned text and art together and you have not only a very informative book on illustration but a real feast for the eyes.


Personally I enjoy looking at each illustration and how each is created from sketch to completed project. As an artist and designer myself I appreciate the hard work and imagination that goes into each piece as well as the tremendous amount of work it took to put this great book together. Kudos!

The Essential Daffy Duck

To quote Daffy Duck, “This is the greatest collection of cartoons starring the world’s most famous duck.”

Warner Bros. presents, for the first time anywhere, The Essential Daffy Duck collection featuring 21 classic cartoons (three of which are new to DVD). Follow Daffy as he faces off against Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and a host of characters who he somehow always manages to irritate.

Daffy stars as Duck Dodgers of the 24th and ½ Century, Robin Hood, Superduck and a host of other outrageous disguises that land him in more trouble than a Peking duck dinner in China Town.


He’s crazy, lazy, nuts, cuckoo, short-tempered, devious, egotistical but most of all he’s Daffy!


Two discs are included in the collection that contains all 21 cartoons along with a Career Profile of the funny fowl and two vintage TV programs. It’s crazy! It’s lunacy! It’s Daffy Duck! “Duck season! Rabbit season! Duck season! Rabbit season! I say it’s duck season! Blam! I hate that rabbit!”

Volume 61: Screen World; The Films Of 2009

The movie industry, its affiliates, actors, directors and professionals (along with a large part of the public and film critics) look forward each year to the release of the most current Screen World book.

Author Barry Monush and Applause Theatre & Cinema Books have just released Volume 61 of the series and it is jam-packed full of information and photos about of the movies released in 2009: both major and independent.


Each film is given a complete synopsis and listing of actors, supporting cast and key production personnel. Also included are biographical data, obituaries, top listings, best of, top grossing films and more are included in its pages. It’s a veritable cornucopia of film facts and photos.

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! The Avengers Volume 3 & 4

It’s official, the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! The Avengers animated series is ranked in the top 10 all-time favorite and best superhero animated TV series. And it’s easy to see why.

Volume 3 and 4 of Disney's DVDs deliver some of the best Avengers stories seen on the small and large screens and in print.

In Volume 3 The Avengers face off against Zemo and his Masters Of evil, encounter a giant robot from the Kree Galaxy, come face-to-face with the master of time: Kang and discover just how lethal the sting of the Black Widow can be. As an extra bonus a short clip: Avengers Unmasked: Masters Of Evil looks back on the history of the Masters and their connection to The Avengers.

In Volume 4 Loki shows his hand and sets in motion the fall of Asgard, Hydra raises its ugly head, or should I say heads?, and Ultron 5 gains sentience and decides to conquer mankind in order to save it.

In Volume 4’s Avengers unmasked segment, Hydra is examined and traced back to its early Marvel roots.

The Avengers animated series is by far the best animated series Marvel Comics has produced so far. The animation is clean and well-plotted, special effects are well-done without being overpowering, and the voice actors do a great job on their respective characters and the stories draw the viewer in with lots of little subplots and surprises. Often plotlines from upcoming episodes are snuck into the stories assuring that viewers will stick around to find out what happens in future episodes. It’s a great series and I enjoyed watching each episode.

Cars 2

Disney/Pixar have really raised the bar with Cars 2. With every new Pixar Animation release the advances made in computer animation are phenomenal. Pixar has always turned out a great product with interesting characters, clever stories and lush backgrounds, but Cars 2 has outdone every Pizar animated film before it.

The Cars 2 plot involves Lightning McQueen taking part in the World Grand Prix. He takes his best frieind Mater with him and you can just image Mater in different countries!

Somehow Mater gets mistaken for a super spy and winds up entangled in a sinister plot to enact revenge on regular cars by lemon cars.


Along the way he meets a whole new cast of characters including a British spy car whose voice is provided by Michael Caine.


The animation on this film is amazing-especially the panoramic shots of cities from around the world. The visual effects are astounding and the story keeps you glued to your seat. Cars 2 are an action-packed and fun-filled film that the entire family can enjoy.


The Blu-ray/DVD combo also includes two short animated films, a Director's Commentary, a World Tour Map, featurettes and much, MUCH more.

When We Were Married - Volume 1 The Long Fall

Check out my friend's (Daniel Steele) new novel (When We Were Married - Volume 1 The Long Fall: for sale on Barnes and Noble) with cover art by guess who?

Four words ended their marriage. Four words ended his life. And changed hers forever. Four words made both of them face terrible truths about their marriage. After those four words, nothing would ever be the same. For them. For their children. Those words would touch the lives of cops and criminals, judges and prosecutors and defenders, the best of men and the worst of them. The ripples cast by those four words would stretch from the warm waters of the Caribbean to the arid deserts of Mexico, from the government halls of Paris to the moonlit dunes of Matanzas south of St. Augustine. And, when it was all over, it would finally come down to three lives. And there could be no happy ending. “When We Were Married" is the story of a marriage of a driven prosecutor and a beautiful professor that dies, and what happens afterward. It has psychiatrists and assassins and CIA Black Ops teams, the protective head of a deadly Columbian Crime Cartel, a cold blooded and savage murderer who is determined to save the wife and family of the prosecutor who sent him to prison, the Angel of Death, the Shark and the Iceman. It features loyal friends, friendly enemies and really, really bad people. The first volume of four, "The Long Fall" introduces Bill Maitland, a short, fat, balding Assistant in the Florida State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville, Florida in 2005. He is married to a tall, gorgeous,... .

Fantasy & Science Fiction #698, January/February

November and December's Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine packs it on for the holiday season with an oversize issue even Santa may have a hard time lugging around in his sack of goodies.

Novellas include Quartet And Triptych and The Ice Owl.

Tim Sullivan, Evangeline Walton, James L. Cambias and Albert E Cowdrey. Crowley contributes some novelets and a short story is The Klepsydra: A Chapter From A Faunary Of Recondite Beings. 

Departments to visit are book and film reviews, Coming Attractions, Competition, Indexes and Curiosities.

Sunday Brunch

Jeremy, of the Zits comic strip, has always been a 'colorful' character. With Andrews McMeel Publishing's Sunday Brunch: The Best Of Zits Sundays collection, that fact could never be more true.

Follow the full-color misadventures of Jeremy as he confuses, infuriates, befuddles and mystifies his family, friends and school faculty.

Included along with the full-page Sunday comic strip reprints come essays and anecdotes from other famous cartoonists.


Witness Jeremy as he encounters parents, girls, school, socializing and society in general in his own unique manner as written and drawn by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman.


The oversize paperback collection will make a great holiday gift, (What am I saying!? It would make a great gift anytime! Shoot, buy it for any reason!)

Hulk Hogan’s Main Event

“It’s Time For Greatness, Brother!” Majesco Entertainment presents Hulk Hogan’s Main Event for Xbox 360 Kinect.

If you love professional wrestling, if you crave some jaw-dropping, body-slamming, ring rattling, testosterone-laced, in-your-face action where big beefy men slam the tar out of each other, then this is the video game you’ve been waiting for!

The first performance based wrestling game ever created, Main Event allows players to train with Hulk Hogan and learn all of his tricks and moves. Learn how to play to a crowd, create your own wrestling persona and most important of all-win your matches!


I first saw hulk Hogan when he showed up in an early Rocky film. The man is a monster! From that moment on his star would rise in the wrestling world and soon Hulk’s face was everywhere: on TV, pitching products, on the Silver Screen and in print. Hulk Hogan madness gripped the nation as he shifted from good guy to bad guy and back again. Throughout it all Hulk Hogan has been at the forefront of professional wrestling and is untiring in his support of the sport.


Master the art of showmanship, customize your character, go head-to-head with opponents and experience the heart-pounding action of what it means to be a professional wrestler. Experience the ups and downs of the sport as you work your way from the bottom to the top to fame and fortune and feel the rush as the crowd cheers you on.


This is wrestling as it was meant to be-lots of 360 action, thunderous applauds and boos, blood, sweat and tears. Are you ready to rumble!? Then Hulk Hogan’s Main Event is for you.

Cold War #1

Leave it to artist/writer John Byrne to turn a genre on its ear. The master of taking an old idea, or character(s), and reengineering/re-imagining them has always been a John Byrne specialty and he proves he stills has the chops to pull it off as evident in his new title from IDW: Cold War.

Set in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Cold War follows the adventures of British spy Michael Swann as he deals with defectors, beautiful women, sinister villains and secrets in “The Damocles Contract”.

Things start out with a bang in East Berlin, as a top Soviet official inspects the coffin containing the body of Swann. The only problem is Swann is not dead and when the official opens the coffin, Swann swiftly kills him. Taking the dead man’s cloths, Swann manages to escape to West Berlin after a series of maneuvers and dodges that would make James Bond green with envy.


After a short recuperative period Swann confronts his bungling superior who he believes blew his cover and promptly quits. Two years later Swann accepts an assignment to investigate a possible defector and what he gets is far more than he bargained for.


John Byrne is at the top of his form. It’s nice to see the old Byrne magic as strong as ever. Everything clicks: the art, the story and especially the characters. Bravo!


Included, as an extra bonus, is a sneak peek of IDW’s new series Memorial about a young woman who remembers nothing of her past that has some very unusual connections.

Three Stooges FAQ

“Nyuk, nyuk! Spread out! “If those phrases sound familiar to you then you’re a Stoogeifile: a lover of the Three Stooges.


As a child I would get up early weekdays and catch a few minutes of the Three Stooges before I rushed off to school. In the afternoon I would make it home from school just in time to catch the afternoon Stooges cartoon series that was inter-mingled with live sketches by the Stooges.


Saturday was a Stoogefest for at least an hour. Saturday Three Stooges time was my favorite because the oldest Three Stooges films were played that included Curly. Like so many other kids, Curly was my favorite-he still is.


What made the Three Stooges so funny? That’s a hard question to answer. The slapstick antics were one thing, the absurdity of the characters, the comedic timing and most importantly, Larry, Moe and Curly made a perfect team-a team of idiots-but a team nonetheless.


Author David J. Hogan and Applause Theatre & Cinema Books present Three Stooges FAQ: Everything Left to Know About The Eye-Poking, Face-Slapping, Head-Thumping Geniuses.


Contained in the book are detailed examinations of every 190 two-reel Three Stooges short that were filmed from 1934 until 1959. Included with the engrossing and fascinating text are over 70 photos (many never or seldom seen before) of the Stooges in the various stages of their career. A complete filmography makes Three Stooges FAQ book the ultimate guide to the Stooges. “Certainly!”

NBA 2K12

NBA 2K11 for Wii by 2K Sports was dubbed, "the best basketball video game ever produced."

NBA 2K12 for Wii, also by 2K Sports, is even better than the previous version.  All the bells and whistles that made 2K11 a killer game are still present but 2K12 has improved on them and added a few more cool, new extras.

Play with some of the most legendary NBA teams of all-time using actual team rosters.  In the newly redesigned Tutorial Mode learn all the subtle and tried and true techniques and tricks for playing the best game possible.

Current teams and ratings are integrated into the game and with the quick-to-read rating and information data you're always on the top of your game.

With the Wii intuitive control you become the players as you run down the court and use their signature moves and strategy.

Full 3D modeling and no lag time background traveling make the game feel real.  Sponsor logos plastered on signs and banners make the action seem as if you are at a real game.  Fans wear game shirts and accessories and with the up-close-and personal game play you can almost hear the grunts of exertion from your opponents and smell their sweat.

This is how basketball was meant to be played.  Don't be surprised when you feel totally exhausted after your virtual game play.  Tight graphics, spectacular colors, sounds and smooth play-by-play make NBA 2K12 the winner in video game basketball.  I especially liked the way the camera focuses in and out as it follows the players.  It makes the action seem real as the camera tries to keep pace with the players.

'48 Ford Coupe, '59 Chevy Impala, Lamborghini Diablo, '63 Corvette And Jungle Jim

Classic car fans are sure to love the five new classic car models Revell has just released. Like all Revell models all are a perfect match to their larger cousins.  The models are scaled at 1:25 but none skimp on details.  Easy to understand instructions and clear paint and decal application diagrams allow models, regardless of skill level, to turn out the very best models so that when friends and family see them will give out a collective, "Wow!"

The 3' n 1 '48 Ford Custom Coupe is a honey of a car that deserves its Special Edition Series status.  Extra parts and new tooling allow modelers to customize their car into two configurations.

Each version retains the trademark '48 Coupe body but with custom grills, bumpers, interior and exterior details and with a supped up, chromed engine this baby is an eye-catcher regardless of what version you customize.  Check out the full dash with chrome accents, straight-back twin front seats and cool body trim and whitewall tires.  Zoom!

The '59 Chevy Impala (a personal favorite) is a 2' n 1 California Wheels convertible that can be painted a deep bronze with custom trim or a deep blue with minimal trim.

Display your model with the white convertible top up or down, the hood open (showcasing the powerful V8) and with the slightly redesigned twin rear fins this car looks like its moving when its standing still.  Now that's a classic car! 

Choose your wheel, trim and tire types, ramp up the chrome accessories and sit back and enjoy the luxury of riding with the top down, radio blasting and the lush interior.

The Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster is the ultimate in fast-as-a-flash streetcars.  With its hefty price tag this car delivers on all fronts with its powerful rear engine, sleek aerodynamic design, low to the ground profile and characteristic swept back wedge design. The price is well worth it for this classic luxury car. 

Twin seats melt into the chassis as the driver and passenger seem to become one with the car as it speeds up and passes all competitors.

Take a moment to appreciate the step and layer design of the rear of chassis, front of the center passenger compartment, interior amenities and the dynamic profile of this car amongst cars.

Who doesn't love the '63 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe?  With its distinctive shark/ray body style, low profile, twin seat bubble passenger compartment and integrated bumpers, trim and flip up headlights the Sting Ray Coupe is a automotive dream come true.

Part of Revell's Snap Tite series the car is easy to assemble, requires no glue and no paint application.  Details extend to the body and interior and be prepared to be wowed by the undercarriage details.

Revell got it right, right down to the twin rear windshield glass and the trademark chrome logo disc on the rear.

Why do they call the Vega NHRA Funny Car the Jungle Jim?  Because this baby with make you swing from trees and vines out of sheer joy.  And what a joy it is!

Painted a deep blue, this customized hotrod is all business with its oversize rear tires, custom chrome wheels, chrome spoiler that almost invades the passenger compartment and its custom decals. Get a load of its center-mounted engine with side extension exhaust manifolds, flip up chassis and counter-weight rear end. 

This ain't no going for ride on Sunday car!  It's all business and its business is to crush whatever unfortunate car dares to go up against it!