Marvel's 2014 Free Comic Book Day offering revealed.

Its not even Christmas yet but Marvel are already ramping up the excitement for next years Free Comic Book Day. Originally an image was released of the Guardians if the Galaxy with a new team member Captain Marvel this image also had a blacked out character. 

                                          

When this was originally released from the form and shadow of this character I immediately thought this has to be Cable, however when he was announced to be in the new X-Force from Spurrier I began to doubt but could not pin anyone else to the silhouette.

So it was a pleasant surprise when in fact the character was revealed to be Venom. Why would Venom be joining the Guardians, the other question is after Darkest Hour is this still Flash as Afent Venom, if it is it makes sense why the characters own name series came to an end. As always Bendis will be writing the GotG story and will be joined by the wonderful artistic talents of Nick Bradshaw who has been announced as the new artist to rotate duties with Sara Pichelli, Bendis has a way of just getting the most incredible art teams on his books.

                                          

Alongside the GotG story there will be another story from Dan Slott setting up the new top secret Spider-Event to top all Spider-Events next year. The return of Peter Parker you may ask? It can only be right? Well with Slott you never know but up to this point he has not disappointed.

So that's one Free Comic I wil certain be looking to grab come the 3rd of May next year. I wonder what the other publishers have to offer?

All-New Daredevil coming March 2014

It was recently announced that Mark Waid and Chris Samnees's Daredevil will be coming to an end in February. No sooner had this sunk in that then the news arrived Daredevil will be returning in March as part of the All-Marvel NOW! initiative with a new #1 and seeing the character uplift to San Francisco. This in a way does make sense, however when he returns to our shelves in March he will no longer be at the happy price if $2.99 but instead $3.99. Daredevil has been one of Marvel's critically acclaimed series in recent years receiving various Eisner nominations and winning a few. Bit it saddens me to see a comic doing so well being taken advantage of in this way. I can't speak for everyone but I probably won't pick this up again in March unless it hear it's Better than its previous $2.99 brother. The one good thing to come out of this is that Waid and Samnee will still be creating comics for this character, and I suppose with the coming arrival of a Daredevil Netflix series they need to get this character back in the spotlight.

                                       

December 5th will see the first Worldwide Trailer for Amazing Spider-Man 2

This is one to save in the calendars. December the 5th we will get our first look of the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man 2. I have high hopes for this film, Garfield did such a great job portraying both sides of his character from Peter Parker to Spider-Man himself, I just hope the amount of villains rumoured to be turning up doesn't end up with this being a Spider-Man 3.

                            

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver Casting Confirmed for Avengers: Age of Ultron

It has been confirmed. Scarlet witch will be played by Elizabeth Olsen and Quicksilver by Aaron Taylor Johnson. I am not really aware of Olsen's track record on the big screen but understand she has been paving her way up the ladder and receiving deserved recognition for recent roles. Taylor Johnson on the other hand is obviously well known for portraying Millar and Romita Jnr's Kick Ass in two films and I can only assume there will be a 3rd. These are two exciting announcements for the film, with up and coming talent taking on the roles of two of my favourite characters. I imagine there will be a further big push by Marvel with the characters come 2015 but for now you can find Scarlet Witch in Uncanny Avengers and Quicksilver will soon be turning up in the new All-New X-Factor!

                                           

                                         

                                          

All-New Marvel NOW! what I am looking forward to...

What am I excited about to come from All-New Marvel NOW! Current series will be getting a new #1 jumping on point, an initiative previously tested out and it must have worked. The most successful thing about the Marvel NOW! and All-New Marvel NOW! initiative was the new creative teams and titles announced on the different books, bringing a new lease of life to certain titles and also restarting many more from new #1's. Check out below to see what I am excited about from All-New Marvel NOW! in the new year;

So Friday gave us the announcement of a new title for one of my favourite Marvel characters, Moon Knight who will be getting the All-New Marvel NOW! treatment with a new #1. This will come from the creative team of Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire. I have to be honest I am not to savvy with work by Warren Ellis, I am well aware he is a critically acclaimed writer but I am not sure that I have really read much by him, but his reputation is enough to get me excited for whats to come from him writing this character, on the other side to this creative team is one of my favourite art team ups of current comics in Delcan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire who will be joining Warren to being this character back to our shelves. Shalvey and Bellaire recently finished up an arc on Deadpool, with Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn, bringing to life possibly one of the best Deadpool stories in recent times in "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly". I really do hope that this is a long term gig for the duo and I can not wait to see what this creative team get up to with the character.

Announced earlier in the month we will be getting a new Ms Marvel, the idea behind this is brilliant and leaves me excited to see what they do with this character, another enjoyable thing about it is it has the formula for what makes a great Marvel character, a young character who establishes they have these powers and now have to learn to live with these responsibly. It is yet another fairly unknown creative team to me but from the character sketches that have been released, which I posted on my Twitter, this certainly looks like it is sure to be a beautiful book, and at $2.99 it is certainly worth picking up to have a look. Nova was a similar book for me and this is now one of my favourite books to be released each month so I have high hopes for Ms. Marvel.

Previously announced at New York Comic con the new year sees the return of New Warriors to our shelves from Chris Yost and Marcus To. This team, as far as I am aware, has not really been seen since the events that lead to Civil War. This team will bring together some of my favourite characters from Nova, Scarlet Spider, Speedball and Justice to also introducing some of the newer characters to appear during Inhumanity and out of other titles. This is certainly a title to look out for and I will be picking up the first issue to test the waters before adding this to my Monthly Pick List.

Finally another title originally announced at NYCC but yet to be solicited. I hope to see this appear in the solicits for March come the beginning of December. From Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore, there is one thing for certain this is going to be a great looking book. I previously posted about my excitement for this title earlier in the year during my NYCC coverage and right now I am currently excited to finally see it appear in the solicits for next year.

One title I almost forgot to add to my list and that I have also previously posted during my coverage of NYCC is Silver Surfer from Dan Slott and Mike Allred, with Slott's evident writing ability in Superior Spider-Man and Allred's wonderful pop art style illustrations this title certainly has the formula for what should be a cracking book and one that is also yet to see the light of day in a solicits page, looking at a March release maybe? I hope so, although my bank balance does not.

I am certain there is still more to come from All-New Marvel NOW! Personally I am still waiting for a new Black Bolt series to spiral out of Inhumanity. I'm sure we will possibly find out more in the running up until the March 2014 solicits early next month.

Sherlock Season 3 Trailer #SherlockLives

Thats right #SherlockLives, trending on twitter yet I wonder? It certainly will be by the time we get the first episode of this highly anticipated 3rd series. Cumberbatch has been in many films recently but the role that made him who he is is Sherlock and I can not wait to finally see him return as this character to our screens!

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013 Trailer

So yesterday evening many people across the world watched the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who and a great thing it was. But as if you hadn't been excited enough for that over the past few months its now time to ramp up the excitement for the Christmas episode and the impending regeneration. Make what you will from the trailer below!

The Night of the Doctor: A Doctor Who Mini Episode

The Day of the Doctor is here!

Today's the day! Tonight we can finally watch The Day of the Doctor! Make sure to have watched the 6 minute mini-sode on YouTube before tonight as well. Geronimo! 

All-New Marvel NOW! sees the release of Moon Knight #1 in March!

So today this was announced! Moon Knight #1 in March 2014 from the fabulous creative team of Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire and Warren Ellis! Take my money now!

                                 

Finding the balance between collecting comics and reading comics.

I have recently had a trim down of my Monthly Pick List. This took a lot of thought and returning to, working out what I really read, the comics I really looked forward to, and the ones that were on the top of that weekly stack each month they came out.

I managed to refine the list and now have what is in the column on the side of the blog, this isn't to say nothing else will be added since I refined the list and sent this to my local comic store for my Standing Order, Ms Marvel has been announced which I will definitely want to pick up and see what its like when its released in February theres also X-Force just announced from Si Spurrier, an English writer, which I will certainly also take a look at. So thats two more to pick up, but these won't go on the list until I pick up the first issue and know I want to get this each month.

While refining my list it dawned on me that I have been picking up and buying many many comics at £2 to £2.60 each which have not once been read and just immediately bagged and boarded, many of these were brought on word of mouth and people telling me they're worth checking out but they just weren't to my taste right now, and at this moment in time I am a super hero man at heart. Anyway back to the point, these comics now sit in a box, or 3 boxes never to see the light of day again and well I thought that ought to change and being sure that many of the titles in these boxes have their own fans and collectors I have begun to list these on eBay, I have had great success with the first to batches I put online and there are still more to come from the mainstream to the obscure so if you fancy seeing if I hold that missing issue from your collection please check out my eBay listings at the link below.

I am still working out the difference between collecting and reading comics, and people who know me will tell you I am a collector at heart but the change is just peaking over the horizon. I aim to only buy what I will read and enjoy from now on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/comicjedi191/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

Star Wars Episode VII Gets its release date, 18/12/2015, it's in my Calendar how about yours?

This past Thursday, 7/11/2013, the release date was announced for the next installment of the Star Wars saga. This went straight into my calendar once I heard and with the hope I will manage to get a release day ticket in 2 years time it will certainly be like Christmas coming a week early. Check out the press release below;

"With pre-production in full-swing, a confirmed release date of December 18, 2015, has been set for Lucasfilm's highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII.

"We're very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture," said Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

Star Wars: Episode VII will be directed by J.J. Abrams (Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek) and is being scripted by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi). Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, with Tommy Harper (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Jack Ryan, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds) serving as executive producers. John Williams is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII.

Shooting is scheduled to begin spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios."

http://starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-vii-to-open-december-18-2015.html

Star Wars Episode VIII-Bit: Tiny Death Star

So I heard about this game way back in October and have been checking the App-Store everyday since and finally when I awoke on Thursday morning it was available for download, since then it has kept me busy on my train journey to and from work as I build my Tiny Death Star and enjoy this brilliant Star Wars twist on Nimblebits original game Tiny Tower. If you have picked this up yet, whether your a Star Wars fan or not, this game is great fun and I recommend you should, and of course its FREE! Not counting those pesky in-app purchases. Need more convincing? Check out the trailer below and to pick up your copy follow the link!

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/star-wars-tiny-death-star/id663576850?mt=8

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload The Final 3 Episodes

Due to the fact I forgot to post the final 3 episodes through Thursday to today heres the final 3 all in one post, Enjoy!

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload Ep.2

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload Ep.1

I'm still yet to get the game. It currently sits firmly at the top of my Christmas list but Marvel Entertainment and Warner Bros have teamed up again to create some webisodes for the most recent Lego Game.

There appears to be 5 in total and I will post 1 episode a day for the next 5 days of course you can always just go ahead and straight to YouTube and watch these yourself. Check out the first episode below;

Star Wars Blooper Reel

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Please Stand By...

So there has been a little bit of Blog silence recently, it has been difficult to find the time and I have also found it hard to motivate myself to post things. This lead to a lot of questoins...

Why do I write this blog?

Who do I write it for?

What do I want to write about?

Why do I write the post topics I write?

Why do I collect comics?

Why do I read the comics I read?

What from my pick list do I actually read?

Why do I still pick up the comics I don't read?

Well I now have the answers to these questions and I will be back, the format may change a little the topics I post about may change a little, but first of all lets add a few videos I have missed out on adding all for films I am really looking forward to. 

It may be a while before this blog gets back to the regular updates it once had but I will be trying to get posts up here and maybe from these posts your will be able to work out the answers to the questions I asked myself above. Enough typing time for some videos.