Search for Atlantis is the seventh collection of DC Super Hero Girls comics, written once again by Shea Fontana, with art by Yancy Labat. Continue reading Review: DC Super Hero Girls – Search for Atlantis comic
Tag: comics
DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle graphic novel review
DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle is the 5th graphic novel in the girl targeted DC brand, that also encompasses cartoons, toys, books, and other merchandise. Continue reading DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle graphic novel review
Film review: Asterix – The Mansions of the Gods
One of the few non-Marvel comic books that I adored as a child were the adventures of Asterix the Gaul. The art was crisp, the characters funny engaging, and the scripts were very witty, with an effortless ability to speak to fans of different ages at the same time.
The basic set up: The Romans have conquered all of Gaul (France) apart from one lone outpost, the small village populated by Asterix and his fellow holdouts. They have a druid who makes a special potion which gives them superhuman strength, and they are such fierce fighters that the Romans are petrified of them.
There have been many attempts to bring these stories to the screen, and the latest version is the 3D computer animated movie, Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods.
The plot (based on the 1973 comic book story of the same name), sees the Gauls resist Roman colonialism in the form of a housing development being erected on the doorstep of their independent village.
This is a French-Belgian movie that has been dubbed into English by an eccentric British cast, including Jack Whitehall as Asterix, Nick Frost as Obelix, and the wonderful Matt Berry as druid Vitalstatistix. Other cast members even include Dick & Dom!
To me, Whitehall as Asterix is a bit too public school for the rural Gaulish villager/warrior, but Nick Frost makes a good Obelix. The satirical nature of the comics is well represent here.
For me, Asterix will always be something that belongs on the page – but this is the best screen version I have seen, and is a great introduction to the adventures of the indomitable gaul. Just make sure you buy any converts after watching this some Asterix comics.
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Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods has an RRP of £19.99 (BluRay). We were set a copy for the purposes of this review.
Review: DC Comics Secret Hero Society – Study Hall of Justice
Existing somewhere between a comic and a book, DC Comics Secret Hero Society – Study Hall of Justice, is a fun way to explore the characters of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman in an all new setting.
Set in an alternative timeline, this sees a young Bruce Wayne attending the exclusive school Ducard Academy, where he befriends a certain Kansas farm boy and a foreign young woman of royal descent (Superman and Wonder Woman in case you were wondering).
But all is not right in the school, and if you’re a follower of the DC universe in either it’s comic, film, or TV forms, the names of the teachers – and the academy itself – should be a hint at what’s really going on there.
It’s written by Derek Fridolfs and illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, who were the team behind a similarly cute Li’l Gotham. While ostensibly a comic book, this also has tracts of text and graphics as part of the story – such as text messages, letters, articles, diary entires, and more. It’s a book equivalent of a multi-media story telling approach that works really well, and encourages more reading than your usual comic book.
The characterisations are spot on, and close in spirit with their comic equivalents while being a wry commentary on them. While this centres on the young dark knight detective, it’s also nice to see the bond forming (and sometimes cracking) between him and Superman & Wonder Woman.
I liked a sequence when Diane Prince (Wonder Woman) tried to go undercover and get on the cheerleading team, followed by an unsuccessful athletics try-out. There is also a nice nod to her mission in fighting war – by trying to stop Superman and Batman fighting. Plenty of other female characters from the DC universe show up too such as girls called Harley, Pamela, and Talia 😉
This is a fun little book, that’s may be of particular interest to a young reader looking for something a little more relatable to them, while still staying true to the classic characters.
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DC Comics Secret Hero Society – Study Hall of Justice
by Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen, is published by Scholastic and is available now.
Marvel UK’s 1978 Star Wars Weekly Comic
While recently rifling through the boxes of stuff I still have cluttering up my parents house, I found one containing copies of my old Star Wars Weekly comic from the seventies.
For many a young Star Wars fan in 1970’s Britain this was their first exposure to the galaxy far, far away.