MICHAEL TURNER R.I.P.

The world of comics has lost one of is contemporary guiding lights. Michael Turner, creator of FATHOM and KIANI and the man behind the Aspen company, sadly passed away after losing his battle against cancer. This is a time for the comics industry to put their differences aside and acknowledge the man and his work. We have lost an incredible talent and a much loved person, and the comics world seems a bit less fun now. Known the world over for his distinctive art style and unique character designs, Michael built a name for himself and his colleagues with his own property, the aquatic heroine Aspen, aka Fathom.

Speaking as a fan of his work and a retailer, I can vouch for the feeling whenever something new arrived with his art on it- there was an excitement that was shared by everyone, and we would all check it out before pointing it out to our customers. That’s how I’ll be remembering him- someone that brought some excitement back to the world of graphic storytelling.

Starstore would like to pass our sincere condolences to the friends, family and workmates of Mr Turner.

STARSTORE: OUR ESSENTIAL GRAPHIC NOVELS

We all love graphic novels and the comics that they collect, but what are the biggies for the Starstore staff? Lets take a look at our favourites, and there may well be one or two surprises on the list amid the usual suspects. This heralds the start of some regular looks at our favourite trade paperbacks…

WATCHMEN

The graphic novel masterpiece. How could this not be on here? Utterly perfect in every possible way apart from the odd dodgy hairstyle. Zack Snyder better have done something incredible with the movie…

V FOR VENDETTA

V is one of the most compelling characters ever to appear in a comic series. His personality and quest are so timeless that it is easy to see why this has been a consistent seller for so long.

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN

The early 1990s were rocked with the death of the iconic superhero at the hands of the behemoth known as Doomsday, and even though he came back, things were never the same.

DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING

A very low key book with a very moving story. Death, from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe, appears in this heart warming (and equally heartbreaking) tale of life and love.

PREACHER

All 9 graphic novels. You heard me. Preacher is about as badass as a comic series can possibly be, and the series has stood the test of time more than most titles.

SANDMAN

Likewise with this. The ten books may have dated in terms of artwork, but the twists of surreal plot are still every bit as compelling as anything Gaiman has written outside of comics. Genius.

TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE

Look, it’s a rule. You work in a comic shop, you love TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE. Strips done with action figures, satirising the comics scene and industry? Yes please. Just keep Tony Stark away from the beer.

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS

A stark and beautifully written piece of graphic novel art that shows another side to the character we know and love. The early years of the X-Men’s most mysterious ally.

SIN CITY

Frank Miller’s definitive noir comics series, collected in graphic novel form. Rounded characters. Incredible artwork. Impeccable. What happened frank? How can you go from this to DK2?!

RIOT GRRLS

Jim Mahfood’s excellent take on the lives of a bunch of twentysomething slacker girls.

TANK GIRL

The reprints of her classic stories are a constantly popular line, and now that the new era Tank Girl is coming to trades with ‘The Gifting’ and so on, her popularity is on the rise again.

DORK TOWER

John Kovalic’s affectionate look at comics and game geeks remains to this day the most entertaining geek inside joke around. Come on, we all know an Igor. Some of us have to work with one!

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE

Alan Moore gets about a bit doesn’t he? Here’s another one from him. Pretty much the definitive Batman graphic novel story, up there with Arkham Asylum, Knightfall and A Death in The Family. Perfect.

More favourites coming soon, as well as some that we don’t like quite so much ;)

CAPTAIN SPAULDING LIVING DEAD DOLL COMING SOON

Mezco’s range of film-related LIVING DEAD DOLLS is to get a hell of a boost this October with the release of a stylized doll of CAPTAIN SPAULDING from House of 1,000 corpses. The doll is set to stand approximately 10 inches tall and comes dressed in the clown outfit we saw in that seminal movie from Rob Zombie. To be shipped in a House of 1,000 Corpses themed window display box, it’ll be the perfect accompaniment to the earlier Otis and baby double pack release. Cast in sturdy plastic and wearing an authentic fabric costume, you might almost mistake it for a regular doll, but no… not quite.

I love these things. Where the regular Living Dead Dolls can tend to be a little bit samey and overly twee in some cases, the movie related ones are a great way to put a new spin on a tried and tested franchise. Following hot on the heels of Living Dead Dolls series 15, this is a great addition to the range. The Jason and Leatherface ones have been a big hit with fans, and it looks like the Captain Spaulding one is going to do well too- but this one has a clown outfit on so it is automatically more terrifying. Clowns…gaaaahhh. What? You don’t find them insanely terrifying? Watch IT or CLOWNHOUSE. Go on. I dare you.

NEWS ROUNDUP! DARK KNIGHT TWO FACE CLIP, FRIDAY THE 13TH, ROBOTECH...

THE DARK KNIGHT: TWO-FACE CLIP NOW ONLINE
Warner Bros have released a tantalizing clip from The Dark Knight in which we get a glimpse of Harvey Dent/Two face after his transformation! The clip has been posted as party of the film’s viral marketing campaign, which has been great fun to follow. Go to http://www.gothamcitypizzeria.com/ and click on the HA in the title. You’ll be taken to the clip in question. Its short, but its cool.

JASON TO WEAR HOCKEY MASK IN REMAKE
What? Excuse me for being a continuity snob here but Jason doesn’t wear the trademark hockey mask until the third Friday the 13th film. This remake is edging ever closer to ‘reinvention’ which isn’t really that great if you think about it. I can see the point in putting him in it in this film- after all, that’s what today’s dumbed down audience will be expecting, but how is this going to be worked in for crying out loud? I know, lets ignore an integral part of film history and just make any old nonsense shall we? Hang on, they already did that with Freddy Vs Jason…

ROBOTECH GETS A WRITER?
The long-talked of Robotech movie appears to be getting some muscle behind it now. Long-said to have Tobey MacGuire involved, the project now has a writer attached- none other than LAWRENCE KASDAN. You may remember him from a certain little film called THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Yeah. That’s more like it. This has great potential. Such an incredible and epic franchise as Robotech needs talent like this. Although, due to rights issues, the amount of MACROSS material in the film is going to be very limited. Hmm. I’ll still be there to see it. Robotech FTW.

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE TRAILER HITS THE NET

The first trailer for the half reboot/half sequel PUNISHER: WAR ZONE is online now, and it looks as though this stripped down new movie is going to hit the Bullseye with fans. Where some/many/all fans were disappointed with the 2004 Tom Jane/JohnTravolta misfire, and I think those fans are going to be pleased with this new flick. Frank Castle needs to look like he’s had a crappy life, and ray Stevenson has the perfect face and voice for it. Looks like we’re going to be in for the definitive Punisher movie at last. The budget and scale of this film may be smaller, but it does seem that it is going to be a much more compelling and gritty film. Take a look:

GUY RITCHIE TO BRING SHERLOCK HOLMES TO LIFE

'Director' Guy Ritchie is to helm a brand new big screen adaptation of the legendary Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This news has been floating around for a little while now, but I’ve held my tongue on the subject until I heard what the direction was going to be. Upon reading the reports of how the film is going to be handled, I have been cursed with a feeling of impending doom, which is shared by many other people who have heard the news.

You see, instead of depicting Sherlock Holmes as a master of deduction in an atmospheric and weighty drama, he is to leap onto the screen in a comic-book style movie featuring him as a swashbuckling action hero. Due to hit screens in 2010 from Warner Bros, it is conjouring all manner of nightmarish visions of some sub-LXG aberration stuffed with ironic cameos and ‘witty’ one liners. Even the version of Watson to feature in this movie is described as a ‘Sidekick.’ SIDEKICK?! This seems like a train wreck waiting to happen (complete with climactic battle in a big CG waterfall, no doubt). The destruction of another literary character begins! I’m not holding much hope for the project whatsoever, but I do hope it is better than Van Helsing. Mind you, that isn’t asking much. How about Warners save themselves a few million quid, stick Stephen Fry in a chair in front of a camera, and have him read a couple of the original stories. That would be a much more entertaining way of getting Holmes onscreen than the cringefest that we are in for with this film. I hope I am proven wrong. Bring him to the screen faithfully, or not at all!

GEARS OF WAR BOX SET- NECA REVEAL FIRST IMAGES

The recently released action figures based on the games hit Gears of War have been snapped up almost as fast as stores have been able to get them onto the hooks. Now, NECA have unveiled the next addition to the figures range- a brand spanking new Gears of War action figure box set. Erm, the only thing is, this box set contains the full set of figures that have already been released, along with one variant figure. Pardon me being picky, but wouldn’t it have been more lucrative for NECA to have released this box set first, and THEN the individual Gears of War figures? Or at least simultaneously? Okay, there are new accessories included in the pack that weren’t included with the original release of the figures, but is that really enough to get the fans to buy them again? This set is perfect for anyone who is yet to get their hands on some Gears of war figures, but for those that have already got them on their shelves, I can’t see it being snapped up that quickly. That said, the Gears of War action figures have been flying out at a mad rate, so maybe I’m wrong. Oh, and not forgetting there’s a movie of the game in preproduction, so we may well be on the brink of it taking over more aspects of the media. We shall see. If anything from the games arena has a chance of breaking out into the general public’s consciousness, I’d say it is Gears of War, even over Halo. I dunno, it just seems to have a bit more of a brain. A bit, anyway.