tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154469372009-07-12T21:09:21.462+01:00The difficult second album.Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.comBlogger503125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-9597220240588300002009-07-12T20:09:00.002+01:002009-07-12T21:09:21.475+01:00

"Ghost Boxes"Writer: Warren EllisPenciller, co-inker: Simone BianchiCo-inker: Andrea SilvestriColourists: Simone Peruzzi with Christina Strain and Laura MartinLetterer: Joe CaramagnaEditor: Axel AlonsoAstonishing X-Men was created for a reason. If you want to know what that reason is, hop over to Marvel's subscription site, which still describes the title as follows: apparently, it "takes the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-37000049084439146242009-07-12T18:18:00.003+01:002009-07-12T19:27:56.014+01:00

I have a pile of comics sitting by my desk, comprising the "Ghost Boxes" arc from Astonishing X-Men, the "Messiah War" crossover from X-Force and Cable, and the entirety of "The Great Fables Crossover". At least two of those are a couple of weeks overdue for a proper review. and one of them I'm hopefully going to get done tonight.So, since none of this week's releases really merited a full review

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-23559811079167141442009-07-06T12:00:00.002+01:002009-07-06T12:00:21.916+01:00

Last week, La Roux's "Bulletproof" entered at number one, and nobody noticed, because they all too busy listening to old Michael Jackson records. Six of them entered the chart last week, on the strength of two days of download sales. "Man in the Mirror", last week's number 11, was generally assumed to be the frontrunner, and was indeed leading the iTunes chart for a couple of days. But the

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-67752124185976044732009-07-05T21:37:00.003+01:002009-07-05T21:43:03.052+01:00

This week, Al and I review Existence 2.0, Justice League: Cry for Justice (guest starring Weeping Gorilla) and Greek Street, plus the usual news round-up.Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage (where you can stream it, if you want), or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-77767092087446355352009-07-05T14:10:00.002+01:002009-07-05T15:42:12.673+01:00

Okay, then. Two weeks of stuff to get through, one of which saw an enormous quantity of X-books dumped on the market, with the other seeing a ton of first issues. So some of these might be on the concise side, but it'll get up back up to speed.I'll come back to the "Ghost Boxes" storyline from Astonishing X-Men, and the "Messiah Complex" crossover arc from Cable and X-Force, both of which

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-76416381208049241302009-07-03T21:54:00.002+01:002009-07-03T22:19:33.142+01:00

I've been listening to Stuart Murdoch's "God Help The Girl" album repeatedly the last couple of days, so let's give it some publicity.Murdoch is the lead singer of Belle & Sebastian, and "God Help The Girl" is going to be a film musical. He hasn't made it yet. But he has released the soundtrack album, mostly original songs with a couple of B&S covers given an orchestral polish. He also

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-23640959679000890062009-07-03T21:32:00.002+01:002009-07-03T21:44:26.879+01:00

For those of you wondering, here's the plan. From last week's books, I'm going to do full reviews of Astonishing X-Men and the "Messiah War" crossover. Everything else, I'll cover in this weekend's capsules.We're recording House to Astonish on Sunday, so it should be up Sunday evening.Oh, and in the meantime... if anyone can tell me what on earth is supposed to be happening in the closing pages

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-18456967954376613462009-07-02T22:09:00.002+01:002009-07-02T23:18:15.390+01:00

Everyone knows that when a major star dies, his records start flying off the shelves. And now that the UK singles chart counts downloads of individual album tracks as "singles", it's easier than ever for old records to make the chart thanks to a spontaneous surge of interest. As long as it's floating around iTunes on a compilation somewhere, it could theoretically chart at any time.So when

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-79405495477828422632009-06-28T16:35:00.003+01:002009-06-28T17:16:40.671+01:00

No capsules this weekend, because, well, I haven't read any of the books yet. But there's always this to tide you over...X-Men: Legacy #225 (untitled)Writer: Mike CareyArtist: Phil BrionesColourist: Brian ReberLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: Nick LoweThe X-Men books don't do single issue stories very often. But Legacy #225 is one such story. At first glance you'd think it was an epilogue to Professor

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-89971397417983681352009-06-28T13:35:00.002+01:002009-06-28T14:49:23.984+01:00

The WWE is an increasingly eccentric and erratic place these days, seemingly unable to hold to an idea for more than a day or two before losing in faith in it, or becoming captivated by another passing fancy. Hence "The Bash."This show used to be called "The Great American Bash." It's an old trademark that they picked up when they bought out WCW, and which they dusted off when they were adding

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-16752403766859203482009-06-24T20:17:00.002+01:002009-06-24T21:00:40.602+01:00

"Sisterhood"Writer: Matt FractionPencillers: Greg Land with Terry Dodson (epilogue)Inker: Jay Leisten with Rachel Dodson (epilogue)Colourist: Justin PonsorLetterer: Joe CaramagnaEditor: Nick LoweActually, there's no title on the published stories. But the solicitations say it's called "Sisterhood", so we'll go with that.This is one of Greg Land's arcs, and it's all too tempting to roll my eyes

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-17362717466419574002009-06-22T20:39:00.002+01:002009-06-22T21:10:17.832+01:00

"A Mile in my Moccasins"Writer: Jason AaronPenciller: Adam KubertInker: Mark FarmerLetterer: Cory PetitColourist: Justin PonsorEditor: John Barber"One-Percenter"Writer: Daniel WayArtist: Tommy Lee EdwardsLetterer: John WorkmanEditor: John BarberWolverine #73-74 have an unusual history and an unusual format. They're basically fill-in issues, seemingly intended to fill the gap between Mark Millar

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-9097537978157149032009-06-22T18:00:00.002+01:002009-06-22T18:00:00.632+01:00

I have no idea what the deal is here, but for some reason, while YouTube won't show me the official video for this song on the artist's channel, it will give me a version of the song accompanied by a rotating graphic, which is, in fact, embeddable. That makes so little sense that I'm assuming it's an error rather than an intentional decision to exclude the video from the UK. So here's a version

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-87040846422633551742009-06-21T19:13:00.006+01:002009-06-21T21:56:16.981+01:00

I know, I know, there's still a backlog from last week. And I will, honestly, get around to Wolverine #73-74 and Uncanny X-Men #508-511. Joining the queue this week is X-Men: Legacy #225, a single-issue story which seems to round off the "Professor X revisits his past" direction by coming full circle again.But in the meantime, you can always check out the latest episode of House to Astonish,

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-2159203259321562482009-06-21T10:19:00.001+01:002009-06-21T10:21:37.512+01:00

This week, we round up the news and solicitations, and review X-Men Forever #1, Captain America #600 and, um, an issue of Booster Gold the number of which escapes me.Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-88563686997662774812009-06-18T20:53:00.003+01:002009-06-18T21:27:49.534+01:00

"Long Live the King!"Writer: Jeff ParkerArtist: Salva EspinColourist: Anthony WashingtonLetterer: Simon BowlandEditor: Mark PanicciaThe assignment of breathing life back into Exiles isn't a particularly enviable one. The format always suffered from an obvious problem that it tended become repetitive in the long run: team arrive on alternate Earth, team are arbitrarily assigned mission, team

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-26038188048699011012009-06-15T20:22:00.002+01:002009-06-15T21:05:45.962+01:00

Just one week for the Black Eyed Peas' comeback, thankfully.Pixie Lott, "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)"Eighteen-year-old Pixie Lott is a stage school kid from Kent, and is something of a project for Mercury Records, who have been working very hard to hype her up as the next big thing. Her real name is Victoria, but evidently "Pixie" has been deemed more memorable. Which it is, but it also makes her

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-33957178221311938532009-06-14T21:07:00.002+01:002009-06-14T22:14:08.243+01:00

Goodness, I'm drifting way behind schedule. Still haven't got around to doing a full review of last week's Exiles storyline, and this week we've got Wolverine #73-74 and the end of the Sisterhood arc in Uncanny to add to the list. I'll get to them.But in the meantime, here's some other stuff.Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #1 - Another four dollar miniseries. But this one has a stab at value for

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-86929452204009468502009-06-08T19:29:00.005+01:002009-06-09T07:56:02.523+01:00

Oh dear.That, unfortunately, is "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas, returning to number 1 for a second run after a two week break. I can't say it's growing on me.Still, at least it means there's now something peripherally interesting about the record. Not many singles return to number 1 for a second run. It didn't happen at all in the 1970s, or the 1980s. It's been more common over the last

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-17601644191182799652009-06-07T16:00:00.002+01:002009-06-07T17:12:03.974+01:00

For the latecomers among you, don't forget to check out this week's episode of House to Astonish, where Al and I review Batman & Robin, Chew and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century - 1910. Download it here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.There aren't many obvious candidates for full length reviews this week, but I'll come back to Exiles #3, a book which is

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-18988351086070570902009-06-07T11:51:00.002+01:002009-06-07T12:38:07.611+01:00

Another pay-per-view I don't have to buy! This one's on Sky Sports 1, so I get it as part of the standard subscription. Fortunate, as it's a bit of a mixed bag.Extreme Rules is the show that used to be called ECW One Night Stand. The first one was a reunion show for the influential and fondly remembered nineties indie promotion; the second (still bizarrely called One Night Stand) promoted

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-41890848948670008862009-06-06T19:03:00.001+01:002009-06-06T19:05:20.322+01:00

This week on House to Astonish, reviews of Batman & Robin, Chew and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, plus news and the usual other stuff.Download here, or visit the podcast webpage, or subscribe via iTunes.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-11766378324022348732009-06-06T10:00:00.003+01:002009-06-06T10:00:00.263+01:00

"Weapon XI"Writer: Daniel WayPenciller: Doug BraithwaiteInkers: Bill Reinhold, Cam Smith, Paul Neary, Klaus Janson, Jesse Delperdang, Andrew Hennessy, Kris JusticeColourist: Andy Troy, Art LyonLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: John BarberWow, that's an awful lot of inkers.Officially, this arc is a Dark Reign tie-in. But Wolverine: Origins is a book that exists to tell a single huge conspiracy story.

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-69864228110285706672009-06-05T20:51:00.002+01:002009-06-05T21:17:02.663+01:00

"Salvage"Writer: Mike CareyPenciller: Scot EatonInker: Andrew HennessyColourists: Brian Reber and Chris SotomayorLetterer: Cory PetitEditor: Nick LoweContinuing our tour of dangling Professor X subplots in need of resolution, Mike Carey and Scot Eaton come to Rogue and Danger. With Rogue, he promised to cure her uncontrollable superpowers, and never got round to it. With Danger, his

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15446937.post-45133170973644769672009-06-04T20:24:00.003+01:002009-06-04T20:58:23.330+01:00

Ultimate Wolverine vs. HulkWriter: Damon LindelofArtist: Leinil Francis YuColourist: Dave McCaigLetterer: Chris EliopoulosEditor: Ralph Macchio (#1-2), Mark Paniccia (#3-6)And they said it could never happen. But here it is, three years late - the concluding issues of Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk.So much has changed while it's been away. For one thing, nobody gives a toss about the Ultimate

Paul O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07432143460901363448noreply@blogger.com0