Chebbo's Little Empire

X-Men is actually First Class

2011-06-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just went to see the latest X-Men Movie "First Class" and left the cinema feeling very much the way I did after seeing the first Xmen movie years ago: Like I wanted to go and see it again.
This movie felt more like that first outing than any of the sequels, espesially the god awful "Last Stand". And don't even get me started on the travesty that was the Wolverine movie.

This new movie feels like the start of something special and the performances from all the main players, although not award winning, are solid and real.

James MaCavoy is very convincing as the yournger, less cautious Charles and everybody else does their bit just fine especially Kevin Bacon who must have been born to play Sebastain Shaw.
The story has a decent sence of pacing and covers quite a few years so has a more epic feel than many other superhero films. There's even a couple of inspired humourous moments, one of which was a genuinly unexpected cameo that had the cinema roaring with laughter.

The set Peices, although few, are executed brilliantly and make the moving bridge scene in Last Stand look like something from Thunderbirds.
I still have images from the film stuck in my head hours after watching it, which must be a good sign.

Finally there's also some great character scenes and we realy feel like we are seeing Xmen History being played out with all the drama and tragedy of the original comics.

I could chose to point out that the continuety of the movies has now been shot to hell as Emma Frost seems to have gotten younger rather than older in the wolverine movie and Prof X's hair seems to come and go through time, as does his inabilty to walk. Maybe running that school with all those unruley kids aged him prematurely. And hey... him and Eric made friends again for some reason when they went to find Jean Grey... or maybe (please god) they are wiping the last two films from continuety with this one... yay!
Then again some of these things have happened in the comics at some point, so who's to say they can't happen in the films? I look forward to hopefully seeing some cool Xmen adventures in the 1970's

Bristol Report

2011-05-16T12:05:00.001-07:00

Ok, well Bristol was great fun as always, but we were in the "Tumbleweed Room" so strugged to sell any of our excellent books :-(

In the end we managed to cover our costs after lots of hard work but I am very much looking forward to the event returnig to the old Commonwealth Museum venue next year.

Bristol Approaches

2011-05-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well my 13th Bristol Comics convention is approaching and I have to say I'm very much looking forward to it. Kicking off with a curry with some of my Comics Industry chums the weekend promises lots of good comic fun for all. We will be selling two of our new books to Bristol folks for the first time. They both sold out at Kapow in London last month so I'm hoping they'll do just as well in Bristol.
This will be the last time that the UK's most adored comics convention will be happening at their current venues I hear and that next year it'll be moving back to the refurbished Commonwealth Museum Venue. Is this true or is it a rumour?? I guess we'll find out in a couple days.

Here's a link to the event: http://www.spexpo.co.uk

Skyline... Don't Bother

2010-11-18T06:31:00.001-08:00

I have to say that Skyline was probably my bigest movie let down of the year. The trailer promised so much, but the final product was awful.

The acting was wooden, the script was painfully cheesy (and there's cheese abound in this movie, but not in a knowing way... just really bad cheese that stinks).

The plot was non existent and the ending was probably the most ham fisted "run out of budget" calamity effort I've ever witnessed on the big screen.

I reccomend you really don't spend a moment of your life watching this TV movie with a budget.

The best bits are in the trailer.
Shane

My latest Graphic Novel now has Trailer

2010-02-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited as this is the fist time a graphic novel I have published has:

a) been distributed by Diamond
b) had a trailer made for it professionally
and c) been drawn by an Eagle Award winning artist.

Dave Hitchcock has done a superb job of bringing Gary Young's script to life and it's been a real pleasure working with such a great creative team on this book.

Can't wait to see it in the April Previews.

Here's the trailer:

The Best TV Show Ever?

2009-06-12T03:51:00.000-07:00

I was recently re watching my Box Set of the superb FireFly TV show from the mind of Joss Whedon and it occured to me that this is probably the best thing I've ever seen on the TV, although I was never in a position to actually watch it as it aired.

I wonder how many other folks have missed out on this superb series? The Serenity film was - although obviously written for a ,shall we say, broader audience with it's super kung fu expert version of River - an amazing addition to the story and easily one of my favourite space films of all time.

I've now just got around to reading the Serenity comics, and thankfully , despite some very average artwork, they have not dissapointed me either as they have that special "Whedon touch" to them that ensures great storytelling, sharp dialogue, and lively unpredictable plots.

A big shame FOX never had the vision to support this series, it would - by now - have been paying them huge dividends I'm sure, just as Buffy and Angel have.

I wonder how long before Joss creates his own comic company and shows all the others how it's done?

;-)

The Dark Knight - A late review

2008-08-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know, it's been ages since this already classic movie dominated cinemas, so I'm very late putting my two pennies worth in after many much more talented writers have already done such a good job of explaining why it's not such a great movie after all.

The only thing is, I think this is a great movie! In fact I'd go so far as to say it's a modern masterpiece. Even if there was no BATMAN in it and it was just a gangster crime flick, it would still be a great movie, and I think that is why it works so well.

Sure there are things wrong with it. The gravely voice of Christian Bale's Batman is a bit too gravely, the violence is a little underplayed at times, and there are a lot of set pieces.

However, if you compare this movie to other superhero movies it's simply head and shoulders above any of them.

(Apart from perhaps the original Superman. I'll always have a soft spot for that one... Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman... gotta love 'em!)

I could start gushing about Heath Ledger's incredible performance as the Joker, but I'm guessing that's very old news by now, but there are other more subtle even - dare I say it - more impressive performances in the movie.

In Batman Begins, Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gorden wasn't really very effective, but here he excels. Subtle character details and powerful emotional moments have given Gotham City's top cop a depth and believability the classic portrayal by Frank Miller in the critically acclaimed Batman: Year One graphic novel would envy.

In fact the one thing that makes this movie stand apart from other comic adaptions is that it not only does the source material justice, but in my humble opinion it surpasses it.

It takes the character of Batman in a brave new direction and delivers us the most terrifying while hilarious Joker ever seen on the big screen or on the sequntial page.

There are lots of other things I like about the movie. I love how Two Face works so well, and is played so convincingly by Aaron Eckhart, Michael Cain is superb and so is The new Rachel -Maggie Gyllenhaal, but I think the thing I loved the most was the amazing cinematography by Wally Pfister.

Not only do he and Director Christopher Nolan make full use of the amazing IMAX format, for those who get the chance to see it at an IMAX cinema, but as a conventional movie the cinematography is top notch and made the whole experience of watching this triumph of a film even more exhilarating.

Yes the ending is cheesy, and some of the fight scenes are a little clunky, but every great movie has it's faults, and this is a great movie... no doubt about it.

9/10

A Comic That Made me Cry? Oh For Crying Out Loud!!

2008-07-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

And I nearly did cry when reading Bob Byrne's latest comic book: Mister Amperduke.

I had just been to the wonderful 2D Comic Festival in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was travelling on a Bus from Derry to Belfast to catch my plane home and decided to ignore most of the beautiful Irish country side in favour of a front row seat into the imagination of cartoonist Bob Byrne.

Bob kindly gave me a copy of Mister Amperduke at the festival, and I was very intrigued to see that the whole 160 page graphic novel was - in fact - a story told in sequential picture only, without the use of dialogue, captions or any other written word storytelling devices.

On reading I must declare that Mr Byrne is a f*%king genius!! The talented bastard managed to completly engross me in his magical world of miniature people and killer insects within just a few wordless pages.

In just two panels he achieves more character building than two bloody seasons of the latest US Tv drama.
Unbelievably, none of the characters in this book are human and a good proportion of the story revolves around some little miniature people in a tiny town built by what can only be described as a Dog Man.

However, the book somehow manges to say an incredible amount about what it means to be human, and made me care more for a set of characters than I have done for a very long time. It also makes one think about themselves and how we treat those around us (well if -like me- you are inclined to think about such things at any rate).

The story features prejudice, courage, hate, love, self sacrifice, and death, not to mention impeccable pacing, solid cartooning, wickedly dark humour, and heart stopping action scenes.

My hat is well and truly off to Bob Byrne for creating this singular and original piece of work, and I urge anyone who loves comics and reading this to visit http://www.clamnuts.com/ and order your copy right now.

Over and out.

Indy Is Back!!

2008-07-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, everybody said how they hated the new Indy Movie, but I just loved it.
It reminded me of when I went to see the original films back in the 80's.

I was a child again, just for a couple of hours.

Thumbs Up Iron Man

2008-05-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

ooo that sounds painful!

But seriously , I went to see the new IRON MAN Movie on Saturday night, and I have to say I thouroughly enjoyed it. The special effects were seamless, the banter with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts was spot on and the action sequences were well shot and well paced.

I do have some small gipes, (like Iron Monger being a shit villain, and the whole "America is ace and better than every one else" gung ho shite) but overall it's a top notch super hero action romp.

Can't wait for Indy 4 though. Saw the trailor and it looks very promising.

Over and out.

Chebbo

Fighting Through The Pain

2008-04-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

I kid you not!

I was at a Wedding last Saturday, and had to go to work early the following day, and don't seem to be able to recover. My head hurts, and my back aches. I must be getting old.

However, today I went and met up with my old college tutor who is interested in me helping them with their new Graphic Novels Illustration Degree, and possibly also interested in exhibiting at our Comics Show in October, so the pain had to be ignored.

It was great to see her again. We had a few fall outs while I was in college, but I always had a deep respect for her. Unlike me, she's not aged a day since I left college in 1995, and I couldn't help but feel envious of her apparent lack of physical degeneration.

It seems the new North Wales School Of Art based in Wrexham will be an invaluable learning centre for new comic artists and illustrators, and hopefully I'll get a chance to play a small part in helping the students both find work and publish their own books.

Despite my good mood, the journey home was a pure test of endurance. I really need to get some sleep.

My New Dilemma

2008-04-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

It seems that about 6 months ago in a moment of drunken abandon I very foolishly filled in an online application form for the X Factor TV programme, and today I received a letter inviting me to an audition in Birmingham on - get this - my birthday.

Now I was planning a good night out with my friends to celebrate my 35th birthday on the night before and I really don't want to cancel that. I have considered not going to the audition, as all that type of music really isn't my bag, and I feel a bit of a sham for going.

However, I can't help but see it being on my birthday as a good omen. Surely I must go? My family think I would be mad to miss out on such an opportunity. I guess I'll decide nearer the time.

What will I sing? Do I still have the voice to stop it being a total embarressment? I certainly don't have the looks anymore.

Whatever happens, my 35th is sure to be an interesting birthday.

The First Day of The Rest Of My Life...

2008-04-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

Christ! How corny is that!!!??

But yet.. very true.

I guess the title of this blog is a little egotistical, but those who know me will also know that it is created with tongue firmly in cheek.

I'm up at 1.43am once again, working on my website, when I should be sleeping. Tomorrow I face yet another 10 hour day at my day job, trying my best to stay awake while fighting of the chronic boredom brought on when one has to count colonies of micro organisms growing on a petri dish.

Why do I put myself through all this? Well the reason is that there's no money in publishing comics. There's also no money in distributing other people's comics, and there's no money in Organising and running comic shows.

Unfortunatley these "hobbies" take up around 25 hours a week of my time, so I need to have a "proper job", as my Dad refers to it, to pay bills and basically be in a position to do the things I love.

Does this sound familiar to anyone else out there?

So when people mention my so called plans at world domination via my little comics distrubution business, or the "Scar Comics Publishing Empire" I can't help but see the funny side.

I do have other blogs to talk about comics and stuff, but this blog is more about me. (So will more than likley also mention comics as well as music, politics, art, things that I love and things that annoy me)

It's self indulgent and an opportunity for me to rant and moan. So if that's not what you want to read, I suggest you go somewhere else like www.smallzone.co.uk or www.thecomicsshow.co.uk, or even www.scarcomics.com and stay there.

cheers,

Chebbo