The first Kapow convention opens it’s doors in just a few short hours. Full details available on the website, including a full guest list and events schedule.

The whole thing is a Mark Millar organised event which means three things.

One; it will be a hugely hyped thing, and it has been.

Two; it will inevitably fail to deliver on the hype – but that’s only because Millar’s hype always goes a little over the top – he’s the master at it.

And three; it will be a well organised, fun event with a lot of very happy attendees having a great time meeting their heroes.

Because like Millar or not, enjoy his writing or not, there’s a steely determination in him to get things done. It’s admirable and I’ve absolutely no doubt the weekend will be a huge success.

There’s a quick little interview with him at CBR on Kapow here. One really nice thing from that interview is that no-one’s charging for signatures at Kapow, which has to be one of the most assiduous practices around – good for Millar for saying no to it here.

Good luck to him, have fun if you’re going. It’s going to be a hot weekend and seeing as Millar’s telling everyone they’ve sold five and a half thousand tickets for each day at Islington’s Business Design Centre, whilst the con staff are saying that with an event of this size, once the stalls and stuff are fitted into the space it’s capable of holding 3000 max. Could be a tight, hot squeeze of a weekend.

It’s being advertised as a big Marvel/DC/Image and Hollywood type show but Rich has been wandering the floor and posted a rough exhibitor list, and that shows a different picture entirely; lots of familiar names, lots of smaller publishers and self publishers.

But there’s absolutely no denying that the headliner guest list is impressive: Mark Millar, John Romita Jr, Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely, Leinil Yu, Bryan Hitch, Simon Bisley, Kevin O’Neill, Brian Bolland, Brendan Mccarthy, Eric Stephenson, Kieron Gillen and lots more comic types. Film and TV types includes Mark Gatiss and Noel Clarke, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston from Thor, Duncan Jones (Sorce Code, Moon), Joe Cornish (of Adam and Joe fame, also here as the writer of the new brit flick Attack The Block), cast and crew of Being Human, Misfits, Skins. And then there’s Millar’s Clint connections; Jonathan Ross, Stuart Lee. And many more. Or at least many more blokes.

There have been accusations of male bias on the guest list. But surely not – a quick look at the main list of 52 guests shows us they’ve managed a whole 2 women guests:

On your left, Melinda Gebbie; an artist heavily involved in alternative comics and comix since the mid 70s. Contributed her first strip to Wimmen’s Comix #3 and is probably best known for her collaboration with Alan Moore on Lost Girls. Her pedigree in comics is unquestionable.

On your right, the only other female guest at Ka-Pow; Storm Girl. I’ll copy and paste this direct from the Ka-Pow website:

“The STORMGIRL ® character and Brand name was created in 2009 by Fior Avona aka ‘Stormgirl’ and inspired by her passion for  fast cars and the world of  superheroes. The story is based on real life, as Fior’s life changed drastically in 2009 after experiencing traumatic losses. Stormgirl is a superheroine girlracer and the story behind the Stormgirl comic book and film are based upon real life experience as well as the fun fictional  world of superheroes. Fior can be seen adorning her super hot skin tight silver race suit as Stormgirl outfit at most sporting venues, including Silverstone, London’s Earls Court and can also been seen at other top events worldwide in 2011.”

So, perhaps not quite as solid a pedigree in comics as Gebbie. And that’s it. Two female guests, one of them known for wearing a skintight jumpsuit.

If only Frankie Boyle were attending like he was meant to, I’m sure he’d have something funny to say about it. Or maybe not. Not if Boyle’s recent form in humour is any guide.

Having a late look through some news feeds and came across this one from Heidi about Ultimate Spider-Man #153 & 154 written by Brian Michael Bendis and Ultimate Avengers Vs New Ultimates #1 (of 6) written by Mark Millar.

From the official Marvel PR:

“Marvel is proud to announce Death of Spider-Man, the groundbreaking new story that forever changes the Ultimate Comics universe from superstar writers Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar. Kicking off with a prelude in Ultimate Spider-Man #153 and going into high-gear with Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates #1, this is the story that no comic fan can afford to miss when it all begins in February 2011 because, in the Ultimate Universe, There Are No Rules. This storyline continues in further issues of both Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates.”

And then we have this from Mark Millar:

“This is the biggest, boldest thing we’ve attempted in the ten years since we kicked this line off. This is the one thing that could be bigger than the CREATION of the Ultimate line and it’s great to be a part of it. Being part of something like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and soon you’ll all get to read the story we’ve written for you, This should be up there with the very small number of events that really mattered. This is going to be big.”

I need to check this with Michael, our resident Nostalgia & Comics blogger, to see if  he says Millar and Bendis’ recent Ultimate Universe work has been right up there with the very early days of The Ultimates, or early Ultimate Spidey or Ultimate FF (all quite lovely superhero books). But until that happens I’m going with my first instinct on this – and how many of you did just what I did and thought; “Nah, I don’t believe a word of it“.

You did? That’s Millar-hype-fatigue that is.

From Shannon Wheeler, of Too Much Coffee Man.

(Via Page 45′s Twitter)

By Mark Millar and Leinil Yu.

Marvel Icon

Last week I praised at least a partial return to form for Brian Michael Bendis with Scarlet. And today, it’s Mark Millar’s turn for review. But sadly, not his turn for a return to form. Not with this flabby, far too short, far too lightweight superman comic.

In fact, as far as I’m concerned, there’s very little of Millar’s work that even begins to show the promise seen in his magnificent The Ultimates series from Marvel. Full of spectacular widescreen superheroics, albeit part of that subgenre of cynical, pessimistic, revisionist superheroes that has led to many of the worst books around today. The Ultimates may have it’s faults and it’s detractors, but it’s still one of my favourite superhero books of the last decade or so.

But since that high watermark, it’s been hype over content every time and everything Millar’s done since feels lightweight by comparison, complacent, with a writer secure in the knowledge that he’s capable of writing in the zeitgeist, turning a mediocre or bad comic into a hugely successful marketing and crossover product.

Undoubtedly Millar’s work is hugely popular, sells incredibly well and is practically a guarantee of future film and merchandise revenue. But you could equally make that statement to describe Simon Cowell and the X-Factor and there surely aren’t that many people who would attempt to defend SyCo and his show as wonderful music.

I didn’t like Kick Ass, didn’t even try Nemesis (although Michael did enjoy it with certain reservations) and just can’t get that excited about him at all. I’m sure he couldn’t give a flying whatnot about my opinion, but for what it’s worth…..

(Oh yes, it’s for real. In fact, it’s so real I imagine that the movie deal is already done. From Superior issue 1 by Millar and Yu, Marvel Comics.)

Superior: 24 pages, 5 minutes of reading and it barely says anything. Simon Pooni’s young life coping with Multiple Sclerosis gets a quick run through, and Millar throws in a bit of bullying just to make sure we get the point. Then a magical monkey turns up, grants him a magic wish and all of a sudden he’s transformed into his movie superhero idol Superior.

And that’s it. That’s the entirety of this first issue. Thin doesn’t even get close to the experience. There’s really nothing here, and certainly nothing that hasn’t been done before. It’s dull, pointless, uninteresting stuff.

The art is nice enough, but with the average number of panels on a page just under 3.5, it’s less sequential art and more disconnected, fractured pictures that create very little feeling of the story flowing through the panels.

(An origin tale and healing the sick in one thin comic. From Superior issue 1 by Millar and Yu, Marvel Comics.)

So why the hell did I pick it up? Masochism perhaps? Or simply a case of it being there on the shelf at Nostalgia & Comics when I popped in on my way to BICS, the only 1st issue in that week’s releases that I could see on a quick scan.

My guilt at not keeping up with new comics occasionaly persuades me to do this, just to (vainly) attempt to take some sort of pulse of big company comics at the moment. Guilt assuaged, I shant be going back to Millar for a LONG time. Not until someone puts a book in front of me, like Michael did with Scarlet and Bendis, and tells me this is even a fraction as good as Millar’s highpoint with The Ultimates.

Superior issue 2 is out in November.

It’s certainly aiming high….

“Once in every generation something special happens. British comics makes an evolutionary jump. In the fifties it was The Eagle. In the seventies it was 2000AD. Now the most important comic-book event in over thirty years takes place with Clint magazine…. You weren’t around when Dan Dare was launched. You weren’t around for Judge Dredd. Get in on the ground floor now and be a part of comic-book history.”

In advance of the first issue’s release on September 2nd, we have a promotional You Tube video:

Titan (or Millar) have to be congratulated on the use of You Tube as a promotional medium, and like Lew Stringer, I found myself wondering why on Earth more comic publishers aren’t making more of the Internet for promotional opportunities. So congrats on the You Tube thing. But is it just me really not liking Frankie Boyle’s beard, or does anyone else think that first issue cover is just a little rubbish?

Anyway, no matter what I think of that cover, the line up looks media strong, and Millar doing new work here before Marvel get to see it is sure to generate some impressive sales. Any new British comic/magazine that tries something different is definitely a good thing and getting out there, with this level of promotion, may help CLiNT survive the harsh wilderness of the news-stands. Although it will probably get racked with 2000AD right next to the softcore porn mags.

by Mark Millar and Leinil Yu

Marvel Comics

“Some jobs are just too dirty for the Ultimates. For these, Nick Fury must gather the Avengers, a black ops team willing to do the missions that others won’t. What role will an infamous mass killer play in Fury’s plans?”

If you live in the UK you will have only just managed to get your hands on the final part of Millar’s Ultimate Avengers 1 due to problems with a certain volcano.  And if you’re anything like me and a lot of people I’ve heard from you were generally under whelmed by the whole thing (Ultimate Avengers not the volcano!).

The second part of Millar’s ongoing run on the Ultimate Avengers is based around the Punisher’s role in the Ultimate Universe as part of Nick Fury’s black ops team and this introductory issue definitely seems to be an improvement on the first series. I’m feeling increasingly hopeful for this comic, Millar absolutely nails the Ultimate version of the Punisher; brutal, dry, unforgiving yet still human enough to take a beating realistically – Millar wants us to see his Punisher as a flawed person, not some superhero, and does so starting with a simple, effective, single page origin.

(Have guns, will massacre. Frank Castle works the crowd his own particular way in Millar and Yu’s Ultimate Avengers 2 issue 1, published by Marvel)

One of the problems with the issue is that it does take eight pages before the story actually gets going. Millar uses this opening to exaggerate his Punisher, really emphasizing the brutality and how much of a man on a mission he is. But this is something we’ve all seen before and it just feels like a waste of pages, making the issue seem less than it could have been and focusing more or less completely on Frank Castle / The Punisher. The audience may forget that this is a team book and if it continues some of the other characters may not get their fair share of the page count in the series.

The main reason I bought this book after the let-down of the first series is the art by the unbelievable Leinil Yu, one of only a handful of artists I follow since  discovering his work in 2005 in the mini-series Silent Dragon.

I’ve always said that a perfect comic book is an equal mix of great art and great writing. No amount of brilliant writing can save a book if it is drawn terribly and vice versa.  And although Millar’s writing is not perfect, Leinil Yu’s art is as close to perfect as you might get.  The scratchy style that he excels at is inked and coloured in a way that makes me believe the stuff in Ultimate Avengers is as good as, if not better than his run on Secret Invasion. Yu certainly does not shy away from putting as much detail as possible in his work and he produces some of the best facial expressions in the comic art business.

Yu draws one of the best depictions of Frank Castle that we have seen on the shelf in a long time; cold, calculated, with the classic costume and big guns.  To be honest with this character there’s little more you could actually ask for.

This is a good introductory issue and it does what it’s supposed to – which is make you want for more.  Hopefully it’s a return to form for Millar and we may get some more of the Ultimate style writing we know and love him for. If things keep up like this then Millar will again be giving us the only Ultimates book on the shelves that’s really worth buying.

(All artwork borrowed from the official Marvel  preview.)

Michael Gee can be found scouring the shelves of Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham.

Ultimate Comics Avengers 2 issue 2 is out later in May.

by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Marvel / Icon

Mark Millar comes out with yet another creator owned series, this time with regular collaborator, Steve McNiven.  This new book is based around the idea of what if someone like Batman was the bad guy? Extreme intelligence, multiple forms of combat training and close to unlimited resources but with a severe disregard for human life.

When I first read about Nemesis months before it’s release I have to be honest and say that I was very excited and I looked forward to seeing how Millar unleashed his brand new character upon the world. Yet it feels as though this first issue has fallen short at the first hurdle. I expected a subtle, intelligent, lone character avoiding the normal clichés of villainy to be something comic book readers aren’t used to – a realistic villain. If Kick-Ass was Millar’s attempt at bringing superheroes into the real world this should have been his attempt at real world supervillains. What we get in this introductory issue is something quite the opposite of that.

(Nemesis – the big bad in Mark Millar’s new series. Expect a film deal. From Nemesis #1 by Millar and McNiven)

Nemesis the character is very over the top and behaves  more like another over the top Bond villain rather than the Batman of villainy we were promised; boasting of his conquests, mocking his victim and having his henchmen refer to him as master. And not only is Nemesis a cliché-ridden character but so is his new victim; the hero cop from Washington D.C. – Chief Morrow.

Morrow’s way too cocky for his own good and completely unrealistic, going from being undercover and gunning down a room full of hostage takers to wearing his tuxedo and talking about having dinner in two frames. It’s difficult to believe in either of the main characters of Nemesis, and even harder to like them.

(And in the red corner, Nemesis’ chosen opponent; Oprah’s favourite cop – Chief Morrow. From Miller and McNiven’s Nemesis #1)

One of the things Millar does to hide the fact the lack of originality of Nemesis is to fill the book with over the top swearing and violence.  He mistakes this as something to make a book appeal to an older audience rather than another tool, which should be used to tell a good story.

The best thing about Nemesis as both a character and a book is that while he may act like any other villain his intentions are a bit more unusual. Instead of a megalomaniac hell-bent on world domination or destruction, all he wants is to kill famous cops to prove he is better than them. This is the one part of the story that you can actually engage with, as you want to see if Nemesis can take down Morrow and exactly how he is going to do it.

Steve McNiven’s artwork is not what we have become accustomed too. The fantastic stuff he did in both Civil War and Wolverine: Old Man Logan had the brilliant Dexter Vines doing the inking.  In Nemesis McNiven has no inker and the colours are laid on straight over his pencils.  This is much like Ron Garney’s style yet it does not feel as good as that, it just looks like McNiven isn’t putting as much detail into Nemesis as he could be and the colour palette seems too washed out.

Nemesis is another fantastic concept from Millar. It’s just a shame the execution in this first issue just isn’t as original as he wants to be. It’s certainly a book worth picking up to give a try but everything relies on the second issue and the direction it takes.   Introductory issues are always tough especially for creator owned comics and if Millar can step it up a notch with issue number two then I’m sure this middle of the road book can be turned into something fantastic.

Michael Gee.

Obviously you’re not stupid, so you realise it’s an 18 trailer, adults only, gratuitous swearing and gore throughout. And, rather bizarrely and brilliantly, soundtracked by The Banana Splits.

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And when you’ve seen that, there’s also the teaser trailer to whet your appetite

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And should neither of those vids work – You Tube take downs are getting faster and faster these days – search You Tube for Kick-Ass.

The official film website is here and the movie comes out in April. Which gives you lots of time to refresh your memory of the comic book – buy it here from February.

Hitting the racks tomorrow this rather tasty deluxe hardback edition of Mark Millar’s Superman: Red Son; I love this Soviet propaganda style cover artwork by Dave Johnson.

Yep, there is an official trailer for Mark Millar and Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, the unusual superhero movie where the guys went around the traditional studio system and raised finance themselves to fund the film, allowing them to make it as they thought it should be, free of endless notes and memos from Hollywood suits demanding changes. At the Edinburgh International Book Festival this summer Mark touched on both the comic and film versions of Kick-Ass and seemed pretty happy with it, saying that the film was drawn pretty much directly from the comics, none of the ‘oh, please change this character and make her older or this guy’s motivation to this’. I’ve got to admit I’m quite intrigued by the concept – not just the actual story (what happens when an ordinary, non superpowered kid decides to dress up and take on bad guys as if he were in a comic book, with all that entails) but the way Mark and Matthew have actually made the film. You can listen to an hour long recording of Mark at the Book Festival here on the blog. (via Big Shiny Robot, via Andy Diggle’s Twitter)