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Yr Iaith Gymraeg a Fi

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Rydw i wedi penderfynnu ysgrifennu erthygl ar y blog yma yn Nghymraeg. Mae gen i nifer o rhesymau am hyn, ond mae na bedwar prif rheswm.

1.       Rydw i eisiau ymarfer yr iaith oherwydd mae fy gramateg a sillafu yn ofnadwy. Os mae na ambell i frawddeg yn yr erthygl sydd ddim yn gwneud synnwyr, bai Google Translate yw o.
2.       Rydw i eisiau casgly fy meddyliau am yr iaith mewn un lle, a mae’n gwneud synnwyr i gwneud hyn yn defnyddio’r iaith.
3.       Rydw i wedi cael fy ysbridoli i ysgrifennu yng Nghymraeg gan fy ffrind Madeley, a’i rant bendigedig ar Twitter rhai wythnosau yn ol am yr iaith.

Mae rhaid i fi eich rhybyddio, mae fy sillafu a gramateg yn warthus! Hefyd mae rhaid i fi eich rhybyddio, rwy’n cwyno am rhai rhannau o'r diwylliant Cymreig yn y paragraffiau gyntaf, ond rwy’n mynd rhywle ag ef.

Yr unig rheswm rydw i’n siarad Cymraeg yw oherwydd wnaeth fy rhienu anfon fi i ysgol Cymraeg ers ysgol feithrin. Os yr oeddwn i heb wedi dechray ddysgu’r iaith ers yr oedran ifanc yna, rwy’n sicr byddwn i wedi fod yn rhy ddiog i’w ddysgu yn hwyrach yn fy mywyd. Mae’n rhywbeth gywilyddus i cyfaddef ond mae’n wir. Rydw i’n dyn ddiog iawn.  Fel canlyniad rwy’n falch iawn wnaeth fy rhieni (sydd ddim yn siarad Cymraeg) dewis i anfon fi i ddysgu trwy gyfrwng y iaith Gymraeg. Ond, nid oeddwn i’n teimlo fel yna tra roeddwn i yn yr ysgol, yn enwedig pryd yr oeddwn i yn fy arddegau.

Yn yr ysgol roedd o’n teimlo fel yr unig amser wnaeth rhan fwyaf  o’r ddisgyblion yn fy mlwyddyn siarad Gymraeg oedd pan oedd yr athrawon o gwmpas. Gweddill o’r amser wnaethon ni siarad Saesneg a bydd siarad Gymraeg heb athro o gwmpas wedi cael eu hystyried yn rhyfedd. Efalle roedd hyn oherwydd ymgeision yr athrawon i argyhoeddi ni fod yr iaith Gymraeg yn “cwl”. Wedi’r cyfan, does ddim byd yn fwy ‘uncool’ na athro yn defnyddio’r gair “cwl”.

Problem arall oedd y ffaith bod y diwylliant Cymreig tu allan i’r ysgol gawson ni brofiad o yn mor crap. Roedd gan teledu i blant yn yr 80au a 90au cynnar obsesiwn rhyfedd gyda tedi bois. Syniad pwy oedd o i gwneud Jeifin Jenkins yr wyneb o teledu plant Cymraeg? Pwy oedd yn ddisgwyl i blentyn yn yr 80au uniaethu â throwback i’r 50au?! Beth arall oedd ganddyn ni? Pobl y Cwm? Sebon i oedolion. C'mon Midffîld? Er yr oeddwn i’n ifanc wnes i sylweddoli roedd Wali ddim ond yn dyn gyda sbectol a het dwp, a nad oedd yn cymeriad a oedd yn bell yn debyg i unrhyw un a oedd wedi byw erioed. Voltron wedi ei dybio yng Nghymraeg? Ie, ok, roedd hynny’n eitha dda. Beth am yr Eisteddfod? Rwy’n deall i llawer o bobl Gymaraeg mae’r Eisteddfod yn siwans i dathlu, cwrdd a ffrindiau, a gwylio bands. Ond i ni roedd yr Eisteddfod yn yr adeg o’r blwyddyn pryd wnaeth yr athrawon gorfodi ni i gwennu fel ffyliaid tra’n adrodd barddoniaeth annealladwy.

Ond dyma’r peth rhyddef. Pryd aethon ni ar tripiau i Llangrannog neu Glanllyn, roedd yr ysgolion eraill Cymraeg yn hapus i siarad Cymraeg, hyd yn oed pryd nad oedd yr athrawon o gwmpas. Roedd y flwyddyn uchod ni a’r flwyddyn tu ol i ni yn hapus i siarad Cymraeg, hyd yn oed pryd nad oedd yr athrawon o gwmpas. I ddweud y gwir, roedd llawer o pobl yn fy mlwyddyn i yn hapus i siarad Gymraeg, hyd yn oed pryd nad oedd yr athrawon o gwmpas. Mewn wirionedd ddim ond rhai ddisgyblion oedd gyda problem siarad Gymraeg, ond y beth dwp oedd, wnaethon ni credu roedd y pobl a oedd yn hapus i siarad yr iaith yn y rhai rhyfedd! Wnaethon ni ddim ystyried fod ni oedd y rhai rhyfedd.

Y peth pwysig i cofio hefyd yw’r ffaith roeddwn i’n twat enfawr yn yr ysgol. Ar un adeg, ym mlwyddyn y Chweched wnes i torri lawr poster a oedd yn hyrwyddo y iaith Gymraeg o’r wal yn lolfa y Chweched. Wnes i cyhoeddi ‘n daer y rheswm oedd oherwydd roedd y poster yn “propaganda”. Rwy’n dal i ysgwyd fy mhen ag embaras hyd heddiw.

Roedd o ddim ond fel oedolyn fellu wnes i dechrau gwerthfawrogi yr iaith. Wnes i ddechrau gweithio mewn amgueddfa gwyddoniaeth yn fy nghanol 20au, a bu rhaid i fi perfformio sioeau yng Nghymraeg a fynd allan i ddysgy mewn ysgolion Cymraeg. Wnes i sylweddoli fy mod wedi dechrau anghofio’r iaith tra roeddwn i yn y brifysgol, a wnes i teimlo fel yr oeddwn i’n colli rhywbeth gwerthfawr. Wnes i hefyd ddechrau gwrando i’r ddadleuon o blaid cael gwared ar y iaith a wnes i sylweddoli rhywbeth bwysig. Roeddwn nhw i gyd yn bollocks.

Mae Cymru yn gwlad dwyieithog, mae rhai pobl yn siarad Gymraeg, mae rhai pobl yn siarad Saesneg, a mae rhai pobl yn siarad y ddwy iaith. Beth yn union sy’n bod a hynny? Gadewch i ni edrych ar rhai o’r ddadleuon poblogaidd o blaid cael gwared ar y iaith:

1.       “It costs money to translate everything!”
Ie, rwy’n siwr heb y gost o gyfieithi popeth i fewn i Gymraeg bydd gan Cymru dim pobl di-gartref ac ysbytai aur solid!
2.       “The bilingual road signs are confusing!”
Os ydych yn ffeindio darllen arwyddion ffyrdd dwyieithog (Saesneg ar y top, Cymraeg ar y gwaelod) yn ddryslyd, rydych chi’n idiot a ni ddylech fod yn gyrru.
3.       “Welsh lessons were forced on me in school! I could have been learning something useful”
Oh noes!!! Bu rhaid i chi gwneud rhywbeth wnaethoch chi ddim fwynhau yn yr ysgol!!!! A ie, rwy’n siwr heb yr awr pob wythnos o gwersi  Cymraeg bydd gennych chi gradd mewn thermodynameg a byddech chi’n rhugl yn Ffrangeg, Almaeneg a Mandarin erbyn hyn!
4.       “They use loads of English words anyway!”
Art, competition, force, machine, police, publicity, role, routine, table. Dim ond rhai o’r geiriau Saesneg gyda gwreiddiau Ffraneg.
5.     “It’s a dead language, what’s the point?”
Mae’r nifer o bobl sy’n siarad Gymraeg yn gollwng, mae hyn yn wir. Mae Cymru felly mewn perygl o golli darn o’u hunaniaeth. Ateb y pobl gwrth-Gymraeg yma yw “Who cares, the road signs are confusing!” Ydy hynny’n swnio fel agwedd rhesymegol pan fyddant yn wynebu y colled o darn o’ch hunaniaeth? Edrychwch trwy hanes beth mae rhai pobl wedi mynd trwy i cadw eu diwylliant, edrychwch ar yr Iddewon a’r Americanwyr Brodorol. Mae nhw wedi cadw eu hunaniaeth wrth fynd trwy llawer gwaeth na mae’r Cymry wedi , ac rydyn ni’n rhi ddiog i darllen arwyddion ffyrdd dwyieithog.

Dros y flynyddoedd rydw i wedi clywed llawer o pobl gwrth -Gymraeg yn cwyno mae’r iaith Gymraeg yn cael ei gorfodi arnyn nhw. Ond gallyn ni wir disgrifio gwersi Cymraeg mewn ysgolion, S4C, ac arwyddion dwyieithog fel  gorfodiad? Mae’r pobl yma eisiau cymryd i ffwrdd yr opsiwn i anfon ein plentyn i ddysgu trwy gyfrwng yr iaith Gymraeg. Mae nhw eisiau cymryd i ffwrdd ein hawl i cael ein hunaniaeth genedlaethol ei adlewyrchu yn y byd o’n gwmpas.  Dyna eich “gorfodiad”!

Rwy’n meddwl yn aml am y bobl Gymraeg rwy wedi cwrdd a dros y blynyddoedd wnaeth dweud pethau fel “I hate the bloody English”.  Y peth rhyfedd yw, nad yw pobl Saesneg yn ceisio cael gwared o’r iaith Cymraeg. Yn fy mhrofiad i mae nhw wastad yn ddangos diddordeb pan rwy’n dweud rwy’n siarad Cymraeg. Nad ydw i byth wedi cwrdd a person Saesneg a wnaeth gofyn i fi “You speak Welsh? What’s the point of that?”. Ond rwy wedi clywed pobl Cymraeg gofyn y cwestiwn yna. Rwy’n credu weithiau y pobl Gymraeg yw ein hunain gelyn gwaethaf.


Rydw i wedi bod yn fyw yn Lloegr
am dros flwyddyn nawr a rwy wedi dod i werthfawrogi yr iaith hyd yn oed yn fwy. Mae’r iaith yn fel darn o fy ngartref wedi ei glymu i fy mersonoliaeth. Roedd rhaid i fi bron a colli yr iaith er mwyn sylwi pa mor pwysig oedd o i fi. Mae’n darn o fi, a mae’r syniad o rywun yn ceisio i gymryd rhan ohonof i ffwrdd yn gwneud fi yn ddig. Rwy'n falch y gallai i siarad Cymraeg.

Ond rwy dal yn feddwl roedd C’mon Midffild yn shit.

Green Arrow Vol 1: The Midas Touch - Review

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I am currently enjoying the hell out of the Green Arrow TV series Arrow, and have recently purchased and thoroughly enjoyed Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's Green Arrow Vol. 4 - The Kill Machine. It's fair to say that I'm currently having a bit of a thing for Green Arrow. It was in this spirit that I purchased J.T. Krul, Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen & George Perez'Green Arrow Vol 1: The Midas Touch. Unfortunately, not even the enormous amount of love and good will I'm feeling towards the Emerald Archer at the moment could compel me to give this very mediocre book a positive review.

Green Arrow's team of "hackers" party like it's 1995
In 2011 DC Comics relaunched their entire line of superhero comics under the banner of 'The New 52'. This collection is the first six issues of the relaunched Green Arrow. One of the intentions of the New 52 was to provide a jumping on point for teens to get into superhero comics. In this collection the writers have paid lip service to this notion by having a much younger than usual Green Arrow battle thoroughly modern baddies who upload videos of their crimes to the internet. And yet this attempt at a modern take on GA and his foes is completely undermined by the writers' frankly bizarre decision to have GA constantly moaning and griping about how kids today celebrate the bad guys in popular culture and play too many violent video games. The finale of the first arc is literally GA lecturing the audience from a podium about the perils of modern technology. DC Comics have handed Krul, Jurgens and Giffen a hip, funky, modern, young Green Arrow for the 21st Century and they've bizarrely chosen to portray him as an out of touch, Daily Mail reading type, trapped in a world he never made and harrumphing at the wayward youth of today, with their Youtubes and Playstations. 

"You kids with your Angry Birds and your apps...nobody talks to each other anymore!"
The unimaginative villains don't help the overall dated vibe either. The titular Midas for example, is a misunderstood, tragic, gloopy, scientist-cum- monster of the sort we've seen a billion times in comics over the years. There are some other villains too who are so uninspired I had too Google them as I'd actually forgotten what they were called. Apparently they're called Doppelganger, Dynamix, Supercharge, Rush, Stunner and Blood Rose, names that wouldn't look out of place in just about any 90s Marvel comic. In fact as I write this I'm remembering that Stunner, Blood Rose, and Supercharge(r) were actually the names of three 90s Marvel villains!

Dan Jurgens and George Perez' art is very good, but theirs is a style that, while easy on the eye, is very reminiscent of the 80s and 90s comics that made them big names. By itself this wouldn't be a problem, but add the old school art to the crappy villains and the writers' baffling decision to write GA as an elderly UKIP voter and you've got a recipe for a comic that's the complete antithesis of the New 52

Overall it's not a terrible collection but as a relaunch designed to pull in new readers it's just too old and stuffy in its outlook. If anyone's looking to get into Green Arrow comics I recommend you skip straight to the superb Green Arrow Vol. 4 - The Kill Machine. You will literally miss nothing.

2 out of 5 stars. **

I met Pat Mills, Simon Bisley and Glenn Fabry!!!!

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Over the weekend I attended the Sci-Fi Weekender in North Wales and was lucky enough to meet three comic book legends; artists Simon Bisley and Glenn Fabry, and writer Pat Mills. Needless to say it was very exciting.

Simon Bisley was very friendly, if a little intimidating (he was swigging from a bottle of whiskey as he sketched). I toyed with the idea of asking him for a sketch of something from his 2000AD work, lest I come across as the stereotypical superhero loving fanboy that I am. But in the end I (somewhat ashamedly) asked him for a Batman sketch. What can I say? Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgement on Gotham had a big impact on me as a child. If Bisley disapproved of my request he didn't show it and cheerfully sketched me a fantastic Batman, without asking for a penny in return! I am very grateful for his generosity.



I asked Glenn Fabry for a sketch of the Reverend Jesse Custer. He must get so many people asking him for this, but there was absolutely no way I was going to ask him for anything else. Preacher, and Fabry's fantastic cover art for that series, means so much to me I would have regretted it forever if I'd missed this opportunity. Not only did he happily agree to sketch Jesse for me but he even gave me a choice of eye patch or no eye patch. Of course I chose eye patch.





The following day I attended a talk given by comics legend Pat Mills and later met Mills at the signing table. During the talk Mills discussed, among other things, the importance of authentic voices in comics, his love of British girls comics, and his thoughts on the failure of the British comics industry in recent times to attract young readers ("We blew it"). During the Q & A he was kind enough to answer my request for recommendations of comics he had recently enjoyed. He particularly recommended Wayne Vansant's Katusha - Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War, praising it for dealing with a chapter in history that's been overlooked in the West.

I was only really familiar with Mills'Judge Dredd work and so before the talk I purchased his and Kevin O' Neill's Marshal Law. Marshal Law is a dark, violent, over-the-top, and blackly funny satire about a futuristic cop clad in fetish gear who hunts and kills superheroes.  The heroes he kills are always revealed to have feet of clay. As Law says "I hunt heroes. Haven't found any yet." Being a massive superhero fan a book like Marshal Law, a complete evisceration of the superhero myth, wouldn't normally appeal to me, but I'd been meaning to read it ever since I read Grant Morrison's description of it in his book, Supergods.


In my head I actually remembered Morrison's description being kinder. When I had the chance to talk to Mills I told him it was Morrison's glowing praise that led me to Marshal Law. Reading Morrison's words again I find Morrison's description isn't quite as glowing as I remembered and now I'm getting anxious at the thought of having inadvertently misled Pat Mills! But regardless, Morrison's description undoubtedly sparked some interest in me and led me to check out the book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Now that I've read Marshal Law I finally understand what writers like Garth Ennis and Mark Millar have been trying to do for years with work such as The Boys, The Pro, Punisher, Ultimates, The Authority and Kick Ass. They've been trying to write their own Marshal Law. But they haven't quite succeeded, and the reason for this is touched upon by Morrison when he describes Mills and O' Neill's work has having something "raw and real...that gave its cynicism a genuine, edgy authority". When Millar and Ennis try and satirize superheroes they come across like giggling sixth-formers trying to look clever, but there's a sincere anger that comes across in Marshal Law that's absent in Ennis and Millar's work. This anger makes Marshal Law feel much more authentic than other comics that rip the piss out of superheroes. When I read Marshal Law I get the impression that Mills feels genuinely let down by the people set up by society to be our heroes and he's pissed off about it. What makes Marshal Law different from The Boys or The Pro or Ultimates for me is that Marshal Law is the real deal, and I was very lucky to get the opportunity to tell Mills how much I enjoyed it.

I had a fantastic weekend, I discovered some new comics (new to me at least) and I had the rare opportunity to meet some proper comics legends (who were all lovely people). Not bad for a stereotypical superhero loving fanboy.

Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part One - The Ninth Doctor/ Red Lantern

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

 Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Orange Light of Avarice, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.

Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part Two - The First Doctor/Agent Orange

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Red Light of Rage, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.

Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part Three - The War Doctor/Sinestro Corps

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Red Light of Rage, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.


Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part Four - The Sixth Doctor/Green Lantern

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Red Light of Rage, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.

Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part Five - The Eighth Doctor/Blue Lantern

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Red Light of Rage, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.


Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part Six - The Fifth Doctor/Indigo Tribe

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Red Light of Rage, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.


Doctor Who: Blackest Night, Part Seven - The Tenth Doctor/Star Sapphire

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What if the Doctor was involved with DC Comics' 2009-2010 Green Lantern event, Blackest Night?

Have I chosen the right Doctor for the right Corps?

Check out this blog over the next few days (or whenever I can be arsed to draw them) to see which incarnation of the Doctor gets chosen to wield the Red Light of Rage, the Yellow Light of Fear, the Green Light of Will, the Blue Light of Hope, the Indigo Light of Compassion, and the Violet Light of Love.

Doctor Who: Blackest Night - The Doctors!

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Over the past week I've chosen a different incarnation of Doctor Who to represent each Lantern Corps (as seen in the pages of DC Comics'Green Lantern comic). If there's a fan-wank leaderboard I must be pretty near the top right about now.

What do you think? Do you agree with my choices? (I mean in regards to the Doctor Who/Lantern Corps stuff, obviously my overall life choices are wrong.)

Click here to see my choices in detail and leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Doctor Who: The Academy Years

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A lost adventure chronicling the teenage years of The First Doctor! On the Planet Gallifrey a young man nicknamed Theta Sigma yearns for a more exciting life beyond the strict rules and conformity of Time Lord society. Along with his best friend, Koschei he begins to plan his escape! But might Koschei have more sinister reasons for wanting to leave Gallifrey?

(It’s really a photo of a 25 year-old William Hartnell Photoshopped into a fake DVD cover by me!)

I've had this on my Tumblr page for a while, but I find Tumblr scary so I thought I'd share it here as well.

Aquaman: The Movie, starring Gerard Butler

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As you might have guessed from this Photoshop job, I'm getting pretty excited about the prospect of a Justice League film. I think 300 proved that Gerard Butler has what it takes to play a Warrior King. Who do you think should play the King of the Seven Seas?

Justice League #22: "Who is trying to impute the Man of Steel?"

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SPOILERS FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE #22



Certain comic book news websites have attempted to stir up some controversy regarding Justice League #22 this week. Apparently there's no such thing as bad publicity but some fans are getting mad about what they think has happened, and it bugs me to think that people might avoid what I think is a damn fine comic over something that just isn't true.

You may have heard that Superman kills Dr Light in Justice League #22. It certainly appears that way until the last page, when the story's main bad guy, The Outsider, says this....



So, it's not some massive controversy, it's just a bad guy doing a bad thing to a good guy, which y'know, occasionally happens in superhero comics.

Have we as comic fans become more inclined to let ourselves get whipped up by comic book news websites than to actually read the comics and judge for ourselves?

Paul's Purchases! 31/07/13

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During the past year I've got into the habit of doing mini reviews of my weekly comics haul on Twitter. Recently however I've decided to spend a bit less time on Twitter and so I figured I'd start doing my weekly mini reviews as a regular blog post. They won't be too detailed, just a few random thoughts that struck me while reading through my purchases. This week I've read:

Aquaman #22
Batman/Superman #2
Batman Inc #13
The Flash #22
The Flash Annual #2
Superman #22
Superman Annual #2
Batman Annual #2
Superior Spider-Man #14


Warning, there may be spoilers!

Aquaman #22

Even though Peter David's Atlantis Chronicles is no longer canon, the character of the Dead King indicates that Geoff Johns seems to be replacing it with a mythology every bit as rich. It's great that this time 'round, Mera's people seem involved in that mythology. Also great to see a character like Scavenger being bad ass!

Batman/Superman #2


Even though this issue's battle was between Batman & Superman and their Earth 2 counterparts, it felt (at least with the Superman scenes) like we were seeing New 52 Superman vs. Post-Crisis Superman. It seems that the main contributing factor to the differences between the two versions is Ma & Pa Kent and their deaths in the New 52 Universe. It's great to see the importance of those characters highlighted. Also, I wonder if Earth 2 Catwoman was kept in the shadows 'cos the Earth 2/ Worlds' Finest artists haven't designed her costume yet?

Batman Inc #13

This issue didn't just feel like the ending of Grant Morrison's run on Batman, it felt like an ending to a chapter in Batman's life that began decades ago with Denny O Neil's early Ra's Al Ghul stories. I wish all superhero writers had Morrison's ambition and scope.

The Flash #22
The Flash Annual #2


If you ever find yourself complaining that mainstream superhero books aren't as fun as they used to be, then you should be reading Flash. The art is consistently brilliant (even with the fill in artists) and the stories contain a perfect mix of superhero action, super-science, soap opera and secret identity problems. The book covers new ground with the character without jettisoning everything that's traditionally made Flash comics work. If you're not reading this 'cos of the absence of Wally West then you may consider your nose cut off and your face spited! Issue #22 reveals that Dr. Elias (the most likely candidate for the true identity of the Reverse Flash) isn't actually the Reverse Flash at all. I love the mystery surrounding Reverse Flash's identity but I hope they do actually have someone in mind and that they won't be dragging it out for too long. It was also great to see Iris revealing a little bit more of her feelings for Barry. The Annual gave us a fun look at Barry's friendship with Hal Jordan. Barry can sometimes seem like Hal's straight man but (while Hal is depicted as being more impulsive) that thankfully wasn't the case here.

Superman #22
Superman Annual #2

Scott Lobdell's run on Superman has been consistently entertaining and these two issues are no exception. I can't deny that Lobdell's dialogue can sometimes seem a bit dodgy and a lot of the time he seems to be making things up as he goes along (i.e. Jimmy's parents are dead, oh no wait, they've just disappeared), but his issues are never boring and more than any other writer he's really embraced Grant Morrison's depiction of New 52 Superman as a hotheaded youngster with a passion for justice. I love how Lobdell has given Brainiac an interesting new motive for collecting cities without ignoring everything Morrison established. And the concept of 'The Twenty' is an intriguing one. I also love how Clark noticed what Cat Grant was sacrificing in order to launch their blog, and how he acknowledged that he had been too dismissive of her. Cat has always been a character with hidden depths and it looks like Lobdell's keeping that up. I also really enjoyed seeing Lois Lane taking centre stage in the Annual. Lobdell's voice for her was spot on. It looks like she'll have a big part in the upcoming storyline and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her.

Batman Annual #2

This story begins with a compassionate, young idealist starting a new job at Arkham Asylum. I immediately expected the story to end with him being disillusioned, killed or corrupted. It was therefore very refreshing to see his compassion and ideals somewhat validated by the end of the story! I hope we see more of this character.

Superior Spider-Man #14


This book always remains at a consistent level of awesomeness! Those readers out there who've been complaining because Doctor Octopus does indeed seem to be doing a better job of being Spidey than Peter are missing the point. Ock's pride and arrogance has always been his downfall, just as it was Peter's downfall. The difference is, Ock's never learnt from it and that's why I'm certain we'll be shown that Peter is without doubt the truly Superior Spider-Man. After all, Ock's inherited the old Parker luck. How many times have we seen Peter on top of the world, only for it all to come crashing down around him? Ock's undoubtedly heading for a fall and this issue sees the first cracks beginning to form in his Superior status quo. And as always with Spidey, those cracks are being caused by a Goblin!

Paul's Purchases! 07/08/13

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A few random thoughts that struck me while reading through my comics purchases. This week I've read:

Action Comics #23
Earth 2 #15
Superior Spider-Man #15


Warning, there may be spoilers!

Action Comics #23

Every review I give of a Scott Lobdell comic basically amounts to "Dodgy dialogue, exciting story." This one is no exception. At one point a character says "Though his body was born 23 years ago on the day of my birth, the evil that consumed my brother had infected his heart long before he began to practice the dark arts." Is it me or does that sentence make no sense? What's the fact that he was born 23 years ago got to do with the fact that he was evil before he started practicing magic? I suppose she could be referring to his newer planet devouring body, but still, it's a messy sentence that pulled me out of the story. Also at one point Superman responds to "Your humility only does you credit my liege" with "My false..wait, your liege?" Where did "false" come from? I know this is nitpicking but such clumsiness can make Lobdell's comics difficult to follow sometimes. Having said that, I still loved the story. Superman fights a gigantic, planet eating monster who's body is made up of dead planets! AND HE KICKS ITS ASS! I love how the alien warriors that are battling the planet eater are initially really dismissive of Superman, but by the end they're pledging allegiance to him (much to Superman's discomfort). The great thing is, Superman didn't just win them over with his powers and fighting skills. He won them over by risking his own life to save theirs. He won them over by being Superman!

Earth 2 #15

My favourite character in this series is still Jay Garrick. I love how during the battle he made saving Wesley Dodd's men his priority. James Robinson's doing an excellent job of conveying the fact that Jay is new to being a super-hero without compromising the natural heroic instincts that are part of the character. I really enjoyed Mr Miracle and Barda's scene too. "You'll have to fight her, I can escape her" was such a great line!

Superior Spider-Man #15

Nice to see a bit of focus back on the supporting cast again. Anna is a great character, and her relationship with Ock makes the Superior Spidey a much more multi-dimensional character. I love the fact that Carlie Cooper's figured out that Spider-Man isn't what he seems. It makes sense that Carlie's the one to figure it out, since she was clever enough to deduce that Peter was Spider-Man. With more focus on Tiberius Stone in this issue and Spider-Man 2099 due to turn up in issue #17, it looks like my theory that Stone is connected to Spidey 2099 (who's father is called Tyler Stone) could indeed be correct.

John Byrne's head found in alien trophy collection!

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I'm currently making my way through Tom DeFalco & Paul Ryan's excellent (and underrated) '90s run on Fantastic Four. Last night, as I was reading Fantastic Four #359 (1991), I found a particularly entertaining Easter Egg hidden by artist Paul Ryan.

The issue features the first appearance of Devos the Devastator, an alien who has dedicated his life to eradicating any beings that are a potential threat to peace throughout the Universe. Unfortunately Devos sees this potential in pretty much everybody he meets. On Page 4 of issue #359 we see Devos wandering through the trophy room on his spaceship. Upon the walls are the heads of lifeforms he has slaughtered in the course of his mad quest. These heads include Xemnu the Titan, a Skrull, a member of the Elan race, and a Kree Sentry. Particularly observant readers may have noticed the silhouette of another head in the foreground of the panel, a bearded head that seems to be wearing glasses. Could it be that upon his wall Devos has on display the head of John Byrne, the famously truculent comics legend who wrote and drew Fantastic Four from 1981 to 1986? 'Cos it certainly looks like he does!



The amusing thing is that Byrne had previously made himself a character in the Marvel Universe, first in the pages of Fantastic Four....

Fantastic Four #262 (1984)
....and then in Sensational She-Hulk.

Sensational She-Hulk #31 (1991)
Could this then be the actual head of the Marvel Universe version of John Byrne? Could the John Byrne of the 616 (Marvel's designation for the Universe in which most of their stories are set) have been identified as a potential threat to Universal peace by Devos the Devastator, and as a result been given the chop!? Or could it have just been a cheeky little joke hidden in the panel by Paul Ryan? 

Probably the latter.

For more comic book Easter Eggs check out Duy Tano's excellent Comics Cube and Brian Cronin's fantastic Comics Should Be Good!

Bat-ffleck, Luthor, Man of Steel 2, and the Justice League Movie!

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The hero Gotham deserves

I know a lot of people are mad about the recent announcement that Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman in the upcoming sequel to Man of Steel. Personally I couldn't be more excited. Granted Affleck's done a lot of rubbish in his time, but I've always found that (like Colin Baker in Doctor Who) the flaws in Affleck's many stinkers have little to do with his actual performance. Also, as many people have pointed out, Affleck has proved himself to be so much more than your average Hollywood meathead, as both an actor, a writer, and a director, with such films as Good Will Hunting, Hollywoodland, Gone Baby Gone, and The Town, to name but a few examples.

But Bat-ffleck aside, one of the other main reasons to get excited about Man of Steel 2 is the rumoured casting of Bryan Cranston as my all time favourite villain ever, Lex Luthor! It'll be interesting to see Luthor operating in a world where Superman inadvertently caused a hostile, alien army to invade the Earth. A world where Superman was only able to stop that army after a battle that destroyed a city, and then only by (spoilers) snapping someone's neck. A world where Luthor's hatred and resentment of the Man of Steel, while still irrational and petty, carries a little more weight than it usually does. It'll also be interesting to see Luthor contrasted with Batman. Two men who have, in their own way, reached the peak of human achievement, one embodying everything good about the human race, the other embodying everything bad.

The number one, main reason to get excited about Man of Steel 2 however is the fact that it brings us a huge step closer to finally seeing a Justice League movie! What heroes would you like to see, and who would you have playing them?

At the moment I'm picturing, alongside Henry Cavill and Affleck:

Idris Elba as Green Lantern/John Stewart: A hardened soldier with an artistic, sensitive side, who won't let the guilt of past mistakes stop him from doing the right thing today. Did you see Pacific Rim? Elba would be perfect!

Ryan Gosling as The Flash/Barry Allen: With films such as Drive Gosling's established a reputation for playing brooding introverts. While Barry Allen is certainly an introvert (particularly since writer Geoff Johns had Reverse Flash go back in time and kill his mother), he's still a bit more light-hearted than the type of character Gosling usually plays. I do, however think that Gosling's a good enough actor to pull it off.

Jennifer Lawrence as Wonder Woman: I loved Lawrence as Mystique in X-Men: First Class and I think she's got loads of charisma, an important trait for someone portraying a character as iconic as Wonder Woman.

Gerard Butler as Aquaman: He played a fantastic warrior king in 300. The King of the Seven Seas should be a walk in the park (or a swim in the pond at least) for Butler.

I'd also like to see some less iconic heroes pop up too. Firestorm would look amazing on the big screen and who wouldn't love to see Zatanna? I'd also love to see Black Canary, Cyborg and The Atom.

So there's my dream casting for a Justice League film. What's yours?



Five Things I Hate About the New 52

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It's no secret that I'm a fan of DC Comics'New 52. It either improved or maintained the quality of most of the DC titles I was already getting and also got me to add more DC titles to my list. I feel that a lot of the criticism that DC gets for the New 52 is unfair and this can sometimes get on my tits in a "why are all these people pissing on my chips" kind of way. But, having said that I feel that I've inadvertently painted myself as some kind of rabid DC Comics cheerleader who will defend Dan Didio to the death, even if he wrote, drew and published a comic tomorrow entitled Drowning Kittens Keeps Me Virile! The fact is, there is stuff that annoys me about DC and the New 52, I just don't bang on about it all the time because it doesn't interest me to do so.

So, in the interest of giving a more well rounded representation of myself to the internet, here (in no particular order) is a list of some of the things that have irritated me about the New 52 over the past three years.

1. The inconsistent art on Grant Morrison's Action Comics


"He got a big face."
I absolutely loved Grant Morrison's 18 issue run on Action Comics. I think the idea of Superman as a t-shirt wearing, bully-hating, two fisted, working class, champion of the oppressed is a stroke of genius. Morrison's Superman regards alien conquerors and time-&-space-bending 5th dimensional beings in exactly the same way as he regards corrupt businessmen or abusive dads; they're bullies who need to be given a taste of their own medicine. It really is wonderful stuff.

Except for one thing.

The artist, Rags Morales, for whatever reason, could not keep up with the pace of a monthly comic. Maybe this was his fault, maybe it was Morrison's, maybe it was DC editorial, I honestly don't know. But the fact is these stories had an energy and a pace to them that was constantly being disrupted by fill in artists with artistic styles that bore little resemblance to Morales'. I also felt that Morales never really did justice to some of Morrison's mind bending ideas. I'm only speculating, but I can't help but think that given more time Morales could have taken these ideas and shown us some things that we've never seen before in a superhero comic. These stories are still brilliant, but with more consistent art they could have been legendary.

2. Justice League of America



Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Comic

It has its detractors but I can't get enough of Geoff Johns'Justice League. It's almost always the title I'm most looking forward to in any given month, especially since Ivan Reis took over on art.  So when DC announced a second Justice League book, Justice League of America, I was ridiculously excited. Sadly the title proved to be a massive disappointment.  It was advertised as being a book about Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor leading a team of superheroes designed to be capable of taking down the Justice League if necessary. Its members consisted of some of my favourite second stringers; Green Arrow, Hawkman, Stargirl, Martian Manhunter, and the much hyped, brand new, brimming with potential Green Lantern Simon Baz. Unfortunately it became increasingly apparent that the title's only purpose was to lead into the next big DC event, Forever Evil. After Forever Evil began the title fizzled out with only 13 issues under its belt.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying Forever Evil, but I was sold an ongoing book about Green Arrow, Hawkman, and a bunch of other interesting characters trying to work together on a team formed for morally grey purposes. What I got was a lackluster 13 issue Countdown to Forever Evil.

And the worst thing? I don't think the much hyped, brand new, brimming with potential Green Lantern Simon Baz actually did anything in 13 issues. I'm pretty sure he only popped up at the end to scoop up Cyborg's guts.

3. Legion of Superheroes


"Why am I in this crappy comic?"

When DC cancelled Legion of Superheroes after 40 years of continuous publication, legendary comics writer (and vocal critic of DC's current regime) Mark Waid accused DC of not "support(ing)/believ(ing) in the franchise...for decades." Granted, Waid is privy to insider information and actually wrote the Legion during the '90s and '00s, but I still can't help but feel that he's being unfair. After all, when the New 52 began, DC gave the Legion two ongoings (Legion of Superheroes, Legion Lost) and swiftly followed that with a mini series (Legion: Secret Origin), several cameos in Action Comics, and a crossover with Teen Titans and Superboy (The Culling). I'm no expert but that sounds like a fair amount of support to me. In my opinion the reason for the Legion's demise is far more mundane.

Their comics were shit.

The New 52 series of the Legion of Superheroes was written by Paul Levitz. Levitz was President of DC from 2002-2009 and is a very well regarded writer, particularly for his work on the Legion during the '70s and '80s. I'm a big fan of his classic Legion work and was delighted when he began writing them again in 2010. From 2010 -2011 Levitz gave us some great Legion stories that weren't of the high standard of his classic run, but were nonetheless hugely entertaining. But then as soon as the New 52 began something strange happened. For some reason Levitz' Legion work suddenly became dull and pedestrian. The New 52 was supposed to be about exciting, dynamic stories that would tempt in new and lapsed readers. Obviously not every title lived up to this promise, but Levitz' plotlines (which involved complex and dull space politics and decades of intergalactic DC continuity) seemed as if they were deliberately designed to be the complete antithesis of the New 52. A friend of mine who loves superheroes but has never read the Legion tried the first New 52 issue and found it "incomprehensible".

A comic about super-powered teenagers from the future with names like Shadow Lass and Cosmic Boy should NOT be backward looking and dull. As far as I'm concerned the responsibility for the book's cancellation lies with Levitz.

But he wrote The Great Darkness Saga so I'll forgive him.

4.Hey DC, stop chasing away creators!!!


DC drove Liefeld away, so it wasn't all bad news.

Since before the New 52, there have been several accounts of creators leaving DC titles at the last minute, apparently due to micro managing and unreasonable editorial interference. There are always two sides to every story, but the sheer amount of disgruntled creators with a similar story doesn't speak well for DC at all. Obviously the real victims in all this are the freelancers who've been mistreated and lost work because of what appears to be mismanagement. But on a more selfish level, all this turmoil has made for some dodgy and inconsistent comics.

For example, my favourite character, Superman, has had a hell of a bumpy ride since the New 52 began. George Perez announced his departure from the relaunched Superman title after only one issue had been released, complaining of contradicting messages coming from above at DC. He was replaced by Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen, who also left after only a few issues in which they seemed to struggle to grasp the new direction of the character. Meanwhile, over on Action Comics, Andy Diggle was announced as Morrison's replacement with much fanfare, only for his departure to be announced before his first issue had even come out. What could have been an exciting run by an excellent writer fizzled out into a four part story completed by the artist.

Currently the Super-books are finally going through a much needed period of consistency. Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr. are due to start on Superman in a few months, Scott Snyder and Jim Lee are on the hugely entertaining (but chronically delayed) Superman Unchained, Charles Soule is making the Superman and Wonder Woman romance genuinely interesting in Superman/Wonder Woman, and Greg Pak is doing an excellent job on Batman/Superman and (along with ace artist Aaron Kuder) Action Comics. 

Let's just hope DC don't do anything to piss off Pak, Soule and Kuder!

5. Scott Lobdell's Superman


"I don't know if you can hear me H'El, but here's some vague and unsatisfying exposition while I pummel you."

(I'm just going to talk about Lobdell's Superman work here, but rest assured I was appalled by the reports of his behaviour towards Marinaomi.)

When Scott Lobdell began writing Superman after Jurgens and Giffen's departure he seemed like a breath of fresh air. Finally here was a writer who seemed to want to do something interesting with the character. In Lobdell's first issue Superman bench pressed the Earth, fought a pre-historic Kryptonian dragon, and quit the Daily Planet. I was hooked. Over the next few issues Lobdell showed us the only prison that could confine Lex Luthor (one designed by Lex Luthor) and had Superman punch Orion so hard that Batman heard it in space. Lobdell gave Superman and Lex Luthor visible scars that hinted at some horrific past showdown between the two of them. It was pretty cool stuff. Sure, it was appealing only in a very visceral, Michael Bay sort of way, but after years of writers using the character to write essays on what they felt Superman should represent, it was a nice change.

There was only one problem.

Lobdell's not actually a very good writer.

His dialogue is clumsy for a start. He tries to write natural sounding dialogue and it just comes across as confusing and jumbled. But I can forgive that because Lobdell is so good at delivering that aforementioned visceral thrill, especially when teamed with artists as good as Kenneth Rocafort or Aaron Kuder. But Lobdell's biggest flaw as a writer is that his reach exceeds his grasp. If he stuck to big fights and light soap opera he'd be able to turn out a consistently entertaining Superman book. But he wants to do complex character development and huge plotlines (which I guess is admirable) and the result is that he never seems to deliver what he promises. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Superman writers shouldn't try to write big plots and character development. I'm just saying that Lobdell shouldn't.

Here's a quick list detailing some of Lobdell's unfulfilled promises. (Disclaimer: I quit with issue 25, so all this could have been resolved in a neat little package, but I doubt it.)

  • Lobdell's Superman is impulsive and aggressive, which is initially really interesting, but his impulsive actions have no consequences and we're left with a being with god like powers acting like a bit of a prick and getting away with it.
  • Superman and Luthor's scars have never been mentioned again. 
  • Clark Kent quit the Planet to go after the important stories as a blogger. We've yet to see him properly pursue one story. 
  • Superman is friends with a super-scientist who lives at the centre of the Earth. We still don't know what her origins and motivations are and you get the feeling that Lobdell doesn't either. 
  • A new villain turned up called H'El, with mysterious ties to Krypton. His origins turn out to be some convoluted, time travel drivel that's as confusing as it is dull, almost as if Lobdell has tacked on a recycled '90s X-Men script to his rejected Bizarro redesign. 

I stuck up for Lobdell's Superman work a lot online because of the early promise it showed, so the fact that he's failed to deliver has made me feel like a bit of a tit to say the least.

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So there we go, the next time I'm accused of being some frothing, DC loving, lunatic who'll buy any old shit they bring out I'll send them here. I'm pleased to say however that there's much more stuff coming from DC that I am happy with and to be honest I'd much rather talk about that. So I'll finish with a list of things in the New 52 that you should check out if you've not done so already:

Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis'Justice League
Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo's Batman
Brian Buccellato & Francis Manapul's The Flash
Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis/Jeff Parker & Paul Pelletier's Aquaman
Grant Morrison/Greg Pak & Aaron Kuder's Action Comics
Forever Evil
Forever Evil Rogue's Rebellion

Charles Soule & Tony Daniel's Superman/Wonder Woman
Greg Pak's Batman/Superman
Batman Eternal
Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman's Animal Man
Scott Snyder & Jim Lee's Superman Unchained
Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino's Green Arrow
James Robinson & Nicola Scott's Earth 2
Adam Glass' Suicide Squad

Give Yourself a Rob Liefeld Make Over!

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Before
After

Are you lacking in dynamism?

Do you yearn for a vague gun shaped object to suspend impossibly from your palm?

Do you feel that there just aren't enough pouches on your belt or teeth in your head?

Then turn that grimace upside down my friend and sign yourself up for the Rob Liefeld Makeover!

We have a team of experts in the field of neck removal, head shrinking, and thigh thickening just waiting to help you look towards a brighter future - with eyes that are smaller than you ever thought possible! Replace that pigeon chest with gigantic pectoral muscles the size of cupboards and make women with perfectly spherical breasts go weak at their tiny knees! Put those messy, cluttered, hard to draw backgrounds behind you forever and stand tall and proud in front of backdrops conjured up in mere seconds with Photoshop's gradient tool.

Sign up to our programme now and we'll also sign you up for our Feet Camouflage course for no extra charge. You'll learn how to conceal your strange, flat-bottomed trotters behind hastily scrawled bushes, rocks that have no business being there, or maybe just a crouching friend.

We can guarantee that you will be 99% more EXTREME in 30 days or your money back!

So don't delay, sign up to the Rob Liefeld Makeover today! It's not very good, but a lot of people seem to like it!
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