COMIC BOOK REVIEW – FANTASTIC FOUR 232: “BACK TO THE BASICS!”

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Comic Books, Opinion2 Comments

In 1981, years before the internet was a thing, I wandered into my local newsagent in Springburn, a neighbourhood in Glasgow, Scotland, looking to see if John Byrne had resumed the art on The X-Men.  Byrne was my favourite comic book artist, and had been for a few years by then, from his work on The Avengers, Marvel Two-In-One, Marvel Team- Up, and a few other titles.  The X-Men was the jewel in the crown as far as I was concerned.  I didn’t know what happened to him after his last issue the previous year, and assumed he’d be back on the title.  So it was quite a surprise to see his distinctive style on the cover of The Fantastic Four, a comic I only read occasionally, and mostly in the black and white Marvel UK reprints.

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THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE – my thoughts on John Byrne’s run on Marvel’s first family

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Comic Books, Opinion1 Comment

FF PIN UP

In 1981, fresh off a defining run on the X-Men with writer Chris Claremont, Canadian comic book creator John Byrne turned his attention on The Fantastic Four. Once Marvel Comics’ flagship title, The Fantastic Four had become a middling comic book in the 70s, its position usurped by the X-Men due to engaging, tight plotting, well-defined characters, and a strong sense of realism in both the writing and artwork, not to mention powerful, cinematic drama. The Uncanny X-Men was the premier comic book title of the time, and John Byrne was a major component in its rise to prominence. When creative differences with Claremont and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter soured Byrne on The X-Men, he asked for, and was given, full creative rein on The Fantastic Four, beginning with issue 232, with a cover date of July 1981.

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Movie Review: CHARLIE’S ANGELS – a female empowerment movie so brutally awful you’d think a man wrote it.

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews5 Comments

I’ll confess to being a boring moviewatcher.  I am not one of those types who can get into bad movies, nor can I ever describe a bad movie that is somehow so bad it becomes good.  I just don’t have that capacity.  Bad is bad.  I suppose I also have a grudge against bad movies.  It takes a lot of money and a lot of talented people to make a movie, and when I watch a movie that fails on the basics, I actually get angry.  And I’m not talking about microbudget productions where anything that rises above competent is a success, I’m specifically talking about multiplex features.  Why do these movies get made?  Who finances them, and why?  These are questions I wondered even before the stupendously terrible Charlie’s Angels had ended. Continue reading “Movie Review: CHARLIE’S ANGELS – a female empowerment movie so brutally awful you’d think a man wrote it.” →

Movie Review: TERMINATOR: DARK FATE – Cameron and Co fumble a genuine chance to reboot the franchise, in this “same shit different day” sequel.

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews2 Comments

The biggest thing that surprised me about this movie was not James Cameron’s much-heralded return to the franchise that made him a household name, it was the fact that it’s already been four years since the poor Terminator: Genisys.  4 years?  I think I’m suffering my own time-travel headache.  And really, the fact that this is the big surprise should tell you what I thought of this latest entry in the 35-year-old sci-fi franchise.

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Movie Review – JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM – if you like watching other people play video games, this is the movie for you!

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Might as well get it out of the way early: I’m not a huge fan of the John Wick franchise.  As much as I love how they’ve thrust Keanu Reeves back into the spotlight and made him relevant again, they don’t do much for me, which is kind of weird, because I like generally like action movies, and I’m also a fan of the actor.  It should be a good combo … but for me, it isn’t.

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