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Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Calloused Thumbs, Are you up to date wiht your Super Heroe series? Just discovered The Flash and Arrow just as the latest season of each is about to finish? Well our friends at CW have asked us to let you know that the Digital releases are out today for Arrow and on the 26th May for Flash. (With DVD to follow later this year.) Here's what they're about:
After being gone for five years, during which he suffered unimaginable ordeals, billionaire Oliver Queen returned home to Starling City with a mysterious agenda and a set of new skills that he uses in a war on crime in this hard-hitting action series. Reinventing the DC Entertainment character for a modern-day audience, the Arrow is not a super hero ... but a hero -- every bit as formidable as the criminals he's hunting. Determined to right his city's wrongs and sworn to bring justice to those who have corrupted it, Oliver (aka The Arrow) -- with the help of his iron-fisted right hand, John Diggle, the tech-savvy Felicity Smoak and the newest member of the team, Roy Harper -- narrowly defeats the vengeful Slade Wilson, his onetime ally and mentor on the island of Lian Yu. But like all wars, there are casualties. Sacrificing herself for her children, Moira Queen falls at the hand of Deathstroke, sending Oliver's sister, Thea, into self-imposed exile with her biological father, Malcolm Merlyn. Now, to honor his fallen friends and family and protect the people he loves, Oliver must rededicate himself to his cause -- to become a beacon of hope for those most in need, and a weapon of justice against those who prey upon them. He is The Arrow.
From the Arrow creative team of executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg and director David Nutter, THE FLASH is a fast-paced super hero drama that follows the high-speed adventures of the Fastest Man Alive. Written by Berlanti, Kreisberg and DC Entertainment's Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, the action drama follows Central City Police scientist Barry Allen, an everyday guy with the heart of a hero and the genuine desire to help others. Standing still emotionally since the day his mother was murdered (and his father unjustly jailed for the crime), Barry was taken in as a child by the investigating Detective West and raised in a cop's home alongside West's supersmart daughter (and Barry's dream girl) Iris. But when an unexpected and devastating accident at the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator facility strikes Barry, he finds himself suddenly charged with the incredible power to move at super speeds. While Barry has always been a hero in his soul, his newfound powers have finally given him the ability to act like one. With the help of the research team at S.T.A.R. Labs -- including billionaire visionary Harrison Wells, biogenetics expert Caitlin Snow and the eternally upbeat Cisco Ramon -- Barry begins testing the limits of his evolving powers and using them to stop crime, ensuring that no one suffers a similar tragedy to his own family history. Working with his adopted father Detective West; West's conceited partner Detective Eddie Thawne and Iris West, who's earning her degree in Criminal Psychology, Barry uses his superhuman abilities to help the people of Central City and stop the rogues' gallery of villains -- many of whom have also been altered by the particle accelerator explosion. Concealing his identity behind his incredible velocity, Barry can not only accomplish feats faster than human comprehension, but also taps into an energy that allows him to access moments out of time -- both past and future. With a winning personality and a smile on his face, Barry Allen -- aka The Flash -- is finally moving forward in life ... very, very fast!
Release Date: 02/12/13 Publisher: Warner Home Video SYNOPSIS:
Zack Snyder directs this action adventure feature, produced by Christopher Nolan and based on the DC Comics hero. After being sent to Earth by his parents to prevent him from dying in the destruction of his home planet Krypton, an infant boy is taken in by Kansas farmer Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) and his wife Martha (Diane Lane), who name the child Clark. Growing up Clark (Cooper Timberline/Dylan Sprayberry) begins to discover the true potential of the superpowers he possesses but with this comes a sense of responsibility. In his 20s Clark (Henry Cavill) gets a job as a newspaper reporter at 'The Daily Planet' where he meets and later becomes romantically involved with colleague Lois Lane (Amy Adams). When an evil force threatens the Earth and its inhabitants, Clark resumes his true identity as a superhero and fights to save the planet. Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe and Laurence Fishburne co-star.
REVIEW:
OK, I didn’t get chance to catch this title at the pictures, however when I first saw that the novelisation was being published by Titan I ordered that. And to be honest I was disappointed with it, so I really didn’t hold up great hopes for the film, and boy was I wrong.
What happens within this title is the regeneration of a hero for the modern viewer, gone in the surety of earlier Superman’s, he questions himself and his abilities with the death of a loved one challenging his every choice. Its well written, the casting working beautifully (although for me Terence Stamp will always be Zod) with an imaginative script bringing solid dialogue alongside character interaction.
Add to this flashbacks of Clark’s Childhood and all round it helped form a better picture for this new incarnation whose common sense and hard choices make him a new breed of hero for movie fans. Great stuff.
Release Date: 26/09/13 Publisher: Gollancz SYNOPSIS:
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.
REVIEW:
I love Brandon Sanderson’s writing so when I heard that he’s brought his attention to creating a new type of superhero title I couldn’t wait to see what would arrive. What unfurls within is a story of hope, a tale of tragedy, an epic of deception and all brought together with cracking characters that you’ll just want to spend time with. Its certainly different to a lot of the books out there with more akin to Ennis’ version than anything else.
Back that up with a top notch helping of vengeance and all round I was a more than happy reader. Great stuff.
Release Date: 29/09/10 BOOK BLURB: Simon and Kirby set the standard for costumed heroes with Blue Bolt and Captain America. This title introduces some of their most exciting characters: Fighting American, The Fly, Lancelor Strong and The Stuntman.
REVIEW: Comic book aficionados have long held Simon and Kirby in great esteem and whilst their names have echoed in the hallowed halls of the mythic Superhero genre since the forties, a number of their titles have long been lost to the reader. Here, in this offering, Titan have not only located a number of these comic holy grail releases but brought them back for the modern reader beautifully restored to appear in this offering, even bringing in modern masters to colour some of the original black and whites to give the reader the ultimate experience.
It’s definitely an offering that will be worth purchasing for the graphic novel fan in your life as they not only get to see the ancestors of the modern interpretations but also visit the world that has had readers glued since it’s inception. Simon and Kirby, it has to be said were the first to amalgamate the worlds of serious storytelling with the action panels that brought the fans to the fold in the first place, setting themselves as the standard for others to follow becoming the archetype that has held sway ever since. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that without Simon and Kirby the genre wouldn’t be what it is today as these pioneers brought many of the key ingredients that can still be seen years later.
To some this item may seem very expensive but when you learn that you’re getting titles that have not only been long out of print and presumed lost, but also the forebear’s of many of today’s heroes by the creator’s of Captain America (amongst many others including the original sandman that Gaiman would re-envision in the Eighties) leaves you know with a history book that your “fan” just can’t live without. Failing all else, the artwork mixed with the storytelling backed up with names to guarantee quality by will also provide inspiration for their own artwork and creativity, a serious title and one that will have pride and place in my own collection. A true gem and one that I’ll lay odds will soon be adorning the shelves of modern artists and storytellers in the comic industry. After all if they’re backing it, how can you not?
