My picks of the July Solicitations 2015...

Another month another list of upcoming comics this time for July. So without further ado here's my picks;

DC: Batgirl Annual #3

Writer: Cameron Stewart & Brendan Fletcher

Artist: Bengal

Bengal is back illustrating Batgirl so what other reason do you need to pick this up. Well Grayson is showing up for one, plus Batgirl visits Gotham Academy and in those few lines I am sold. I mean look at that cover it's just beautiful. I can't get enough Bengal art.

Marvel: Lando #1

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Alex Maleev

It's safe to say that Marvel are taking there Star Wars line very very seriously and so they should. They have been given the opportunity to work on in-continuity stories, alongside the Lucasfilm Story Group, building on the background and mythos of a beloved franchise. Well we don't need to be worried, as with there other titles, Marvel have announced a stellar line up for their next solo series which will focus on Lando Calrissian. Lando #1 will be brought to us by the creative team of, the main who seems to be writing many many books, Charles Soule and fan favourite artist Alex Maleev. Lando #1 hits shelves this July and I'll be looking forward to giving this a look.

Image Comics: Wolf #1

Writer: Ales Kot

Artist: Matt Taylor

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

I have read a few books by Ales Kot and enjoyed them all but its the description of this one that has really caught my interest, plus of course the remaining team members on this title. "The crime noir thrills and characters reminiscent of True Detective meet with mythical stakes worthy of Neil Gaiman's Sandman in this original fantasy/horror/crime saga for mature readers." and with art from Matt Taylor and colours by colorist Lee Loughridge you know this is going to be a very pretty book. With 58 pages of story with no ads we are certainly going to get a decent introduction to this new series.

BOOM!: Spire #1 (1 of 8)

Writer: Simon Spurrier

Artist: Jeff Stokely

I'll admit it, I missed out and I am still to read Six Gun Gorilla. But through following Jeff Stokely on twitter I know I am certainly a fan of his art. A new limited series from the same creative team, Spire #1. Described as being a series fans of both East of West and Dark Crystal will enjoy, I look forward to seeing what this series will be about and being introduced to a new character in Sha. BOOM! are publishing some very exciting books at the moment and this certainly looks like it will be another to add to the list.

KABOOM!: Power Up #1 (1 of 6)

Author: Kate Leth

Artist: Matt Cummings

Another BOOM! book from there sister print name KABOOM! Power Up #1 from the creative team of fan favourite writer/artist Kate Leth teams up with Matt Cummings to bring us a story of four nobles who have incredible strength, which they receive through a cosmic aligning of planets. This is yet another original series from KABOOM! that is both exciting in content and also in potential. I'm a fan of Kate Leth and I look forward to seeing what she and Matt Cummings have created.

The Orbiting Pods in 2015...

We are practically a quarter of the way through the year and its about time I talk about a couple of my favourite pods which have had a little upgrade since the new year.

Art above by the mentioned Ryan Jenkyns

First off The Orbiting Pod is back. With an update and brilliant head shots from Orbital Comics member of staff Ryan Jenkyns. This has given a new life to the episode covers, if covers is the right word. Robin, Adam, Michael and Owen return with there great discussions of recent titles, keeping me entertained during my commutes to and from work. Are you a lover of comics or looking for the right title to start your collection and want a pod that gives you a great insight to what has been out. Then this is the pod you should be listening to. Click on the image below to subscribe via iTunes.

Also Pop Culture Hound has now become Orbital in Conversation. Chris has re-named his pod to link in with the store more bringing his entertaining and informative interview style with comic creators under the Orbital banner. He has also got a great portrait illustration by the fantastic Michael Dialynas for his banner. The format stays the same and there are even new episodes with different formats. There are many great episodes to catch up on pre Orbital Conversation and many since, the Dave Gibbons episode a must listen. I am certain there will be many more good episodes to come from Chris. To subscribe via iTunes click on the image below.

My Picks of the June Solicitations...

If only I posted everything I type up as a draft and everything I note on my phones notepad I would be looking at 10 times more posts a week. Anyway, here are my picks of the solicits for June which have been sitting on my phones notes for the past four weeks... hopefully I will get July's out before August's are revealed.

Marvel: Runaways #1

Writer: Noelle Stephenson

Artist: Sanford Greene

I need to catch up with the old Runaways series, its a series I had always meant to read but never found the time too. But with the upcoming Secret Wars event Marvel have paired the exciting creative team of Noelle Stevenson and Sanford Greene to bring a new Runaways line-up and tales to Marvel. I can't wait to pick this up and give it a read.

DC: Gotham Academy #7

Writer: Becky Cloonan/ Brendan Fletcher

Artist: Karl Kerschl

Damian Wayne comes to Gotham Academy. The first arc ended this month, I finally caught up recently, and teased the arrival of Damian to Gotham Academy. Olive has been causing quite a lot of mischief and it seems that Batman, Bruce Wayne, has decided the easiest way to keep this in check is to let his son attend the school. I am a huge Damian Wayne fan, I was lost after that last issue of Batman Inc. I look forward to reading one of my favourite DC characters in one of my favourite DC books.

Image Comics: Nonplayer #2

Writer: Nate Simpson

Artist: Nate Simpson

I never quite realised the fan fair regarding this comic. I purchased the first issue, then when the second didn't arrive just assumed it was a one-shot. But I really enjoyed the first issue which I will now need to dig out of one of my comic boxes to re-read in preparation for the upcoming second issue. I'm excited to see another issue come out.

Boom: The Fiction #1

Writer: Curt Pires

Artist: David Rubin

Curt Pires is the writer of one of my favourite Monkey Brain comics series, Theremin, and he has recently worked with Dark Horse on his book POP. Pires is now teaming up with BOOM! comics, one of my current favourite publishers, with his new title The Fiction. The solicitation for this sounds intriguing and I hope to find out more once this comic hits the shelves.

April has been a brilliant month to be a fan of Marvel and Star Wars...

As sporadic as always this was meant to posted at the beginning of the month. April seems to be a great month for pop culture. Especially if you are a fan of Marvel and Star Wars. This month sees the release of the highly anticipated Daredevil TV Series and the even more anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron. Along with announcements expected to be made at C2E2, Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Finally we have the Star Wars Celebration to look forward to, which is now the end of this week again more on that later.

Right first up. April 10th saw the release of the Daredevil Netflix series. And it is fantastic!! I have used every spare hour, or even not spare, to watch this series. I finished it the Sunday evening after its release and very much plan on re-watching it. I had high hopes for this series and it has been on my radar since its announcement however long ago. The casting is perfect, Charlie Cox plays Matt Murdock brilliantly alongside Elden Henson who really brings Foggy Nelson to life. The fight scenes in this series are incredible. I don't want to write to much just now as I don't want to give away any spoilers but if you haven't watched it yet. What are you doing? Get on Netflix now and give it a watch!

Next Avengers: Age of Ultron is out now and I already seen it twice! This is another great instalment into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not quite as bigger game changer as some of the other films, but lets not forget we have Civil War approaching next year. I was not disappointed by the portrayal and appearance of two of my favourite Marvel characters Vision and Scarlet Witch, as played by Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen. There was no need for my concern that there would be to many characters for the film they all played off each other really well. The major disappointment was the lack of a Star Wars Teaser Trailer before the film.

Star Wars Celebration ran from the 16/04/2015 till the 19/04/2015. 4 days of Star Wars madness. If only it wasn't in America and so far away I would have definitely tried to go. But without attending there was still plenty to take in, with there very impressive live stream feed from the event. The convention opened with a panel that had both Writer and Director of Force Awakens J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy in attendance. The new cast members, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaacs took to the stage, followed by a familiar droid and the new fully functioning, not CGI, BB8, how the hell does that thing work? Finally original cast members took to the stage, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew. This was a panel not be missed and althoug not being there I got to watch the whole thing live at home. Now rumours stated a new trailer would be released, which was true, and that this may contain original cast members which was also true. I've lost count of how many times I've watched it but the fact that this has been viewed 88 million times within 24 hours of release says it all. The new teaser trailer creates far more questions than answers, which obviously is its purpose, all I now know is I want it to be the 18/12/2015 more than ever. Check out the trailer below.

As if the panel and trailer for the upcoming film weren't enough another trailer made its debut in the form of EA Games Star Wars: Battlefront. This unfortunately did not contain any gameplay footage, but did display game engine footage. However the press and people who got to see a scripted demo of the game have confirmed the gameplay graphics are just as impressive as the in engine visuals. I've had my copy pre-ordered for sometime but the news of the free downloadable content on the 01/12/2015, The Battle of Jakku, linking directly into Force Awakens is another reason worth pre-ordering this for. Here's still to hoping a collectors edition will be announced. See what you think of the in engine footage below.

Now there are a couple more things I am really excited about, Saturday saw the Star Wars Rebels panel take place. This included new details and footage from Season 2, unfortunately there was no news on the home release of Season 1 on Blu-Ray or DVD. Season 2 looks to be as good or even better than the first, with fan favourite Clone Wars characters making their first appearances. Rebels was a huge success as far as I am concerned and I look forward to seeing the crew of The Ghost become part of a larger Rebellion. For the Season 2 trailer check it out below.

Finally also on Saturday there was the Star Wars Marvel Comics panel, this saw the announcement of not one but two new titles to come from the publisher, although these were announced prior to the panel. As expected one of these is be part of the Journey To The Force Awakens publishing initiative, called Shattered Empire coming from writer Greg Rucka and artist Marco Checchetto. Along with the announcement of Lando #1 a limited series from Charles Soule and Alex Maleev, so that will certainly be a limited series worth checking out.

Cover Versions when Music & Comics Collide! An exhibition @ Orbital Comics London opening tonight, 01/05/2015!

Since I have been aware of Orbital Comics, they have hosted many great events, signings and exhibitions. This year alone they have had some very exciting events, and there are plenty more to come from the sounds of things.

One that has particularly caught my eye for several reasons is the up and coming Cover Versions exhibition which opens tonight, Friday, 01/05/2015, and will run until the 14/05/2015.

The opening night party with live music kicks off at 7:30pm tonight, I would have loved to make it but unfortunately plans since have made it unlikely I'll be able to. But I will definitely be checking it out when I go to collect my comics next week.

The 3 reasons this is gonna be great and a must see;

1. The exhibition has been put together and curated by host of the Orbiting Pod, of which I am a big fan, Robin Harman. For more on why the exhibition has been put together I strongly recommend you check out the website and read about the 'Behind the Music'. I've added a link just here ----> https://cvrvrsns.wordpress.com/behind-the-music/

2. The list of talent involved is incredibly good, with a couple of my favourite artists involved. Mark Laming, Declan Shalvey & Christian Ward being the stand outs for me, mainly as there work I am most familiar with, I am also definitely excited to see the work of other artists who I am less familiar with. https://cvrvrsns.wordpress.com/discography/

3. The cause, this has the potential to be a great exhibition but at the end of it you have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the various artworks with a limited print run, at 12" vinyl cover size, with proceeds going to Brain Tumor Research.

So if like me this exhibition has you excited I recommend checking it out as soon as you can.

Cover Versions: When Music & Comics Collide @ Orbital Comics, Leicester Square, from 01/05/2015 to 14/05/2015.