Peter Cushing: A Life in Film by David Miller

July 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

peter cushingFor us Americans we remember actor Peter Cushing from Star Wars as the villian Grand Moff Tarkin.  If you’re a fan of horror classics from the 1950s-1960s, the studio Hammer Films released many fright films that Mr Cushing starred in.  He was well known for playing Baron Frankenstein and Doctor Van Helsing.

Author David Miller delves into the life and times of the actor in Peter Cushing:  A Life in Film.  The 192-page book is not just a Wikipedia of his films, TV appearances, and stage work, but is truly a no holds-barred look into the journey of Peter Cushing’s up and down life in front of the camera and off.  Life changed after his wife Violet Helene Beck passed away in 1971, as Peter contemplated suicide many times and mentions when someone who is very close to you dies it is never the same again.   The book also includes many B&W and color photos from his iconic films, movie posters and chronology of his appearances on film, TV and plays.

Peter Cushing:  A Life in Film is an in-depth comprehensive chronicling of Peter’s career as an actor and a look into his private life.  And when you’re done reading the book, you young kids and film buffs should try to watch many of his classic Hammer Films.

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Hardback:  Peter Cushing – A Life in Film

Author:  David Miller

Publisher:  Titan Books

MSRP:  $24.95USD

Available:  Now

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Turbulence by Samit Basu

July 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

turbulenceWhat if you found yourself with amazing superhuman powers suddenly and the ability to change lives and the world around you?  What you would do?  These are the many questions asked by passengers of Flight BA142 from London to Delhi as each passenger mysteriously gains a superhuman ability.

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“We want to form a real-world Justice League – of India,” Aman says.

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A group of individuals from the flight intersect for a force of change when they realize they have amazing powers.  Aman Sen finds himself with incredible communications skills and his brain is always connected to the internet.  Indian Air Force pilot Vir Singh has the power of flight.  British-Pakistani Uzma Abidi looking to be a Bollywood actress in Mumbai has the power of charisma, making people like her.  A Bengali woman Tia can make multiple versions of herself.  Sundar “The Scientist” Narayan is now an insane genius builder, whatever he dreams, he builds.  And Balaji “Young Bob” Batodekar controls the weather.

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The Guild – The Official Companion

July 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

the guildThe year 2006 seems like ages ago, before social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and video streaming were popular, and the giant video site YouTube was only starting out, and Felicia Day had an idea of bringing her MMORPG experiences onto video as a TV series.  The World of Warcraft gamer created an internet sensation as the series spawned 6 seasons worth of episodes and over 250 million plus views.

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Pebble Watch Review

July 5, 2013 by 1 Comment

[Pebble Watch]

My Pebble watch finally arrived! For those who don’t know, this watch is an e-ink display watch which communicates via bluetooth with a smart phone. It rose in popularity due to its interesting design blowing past it’s Kickstarter goal by BIZZZZZILIONS of dollars.

Not being a watch person for many years, I was intrigued by the project and succumbed to its siren’s calling. I backed the watch in May 2012 and waited. And waited. And waited until it arrived. It’s finally in my hands and here’s some quick thoughts!

Package:

The box was made out of cardboard and had an easy to remove pull-string. Inside was the watch and USB charge cable. That’s it – nice and simple. Reminded me of Apple’s minimalistic packaging.

Packaging[Packaging]

Watch:

If I had to describe the watch, I would categorize it as a sporty looking watch. The e-paper display looks good in the daylight and the night time. It has four buttons, up / down / select / back, and a section for the magnetic charge port.

Menu System[Menu System]

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Man of Steel novel by Greg Cox

June 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

man of steel

Growing up I love the original Superman I, II and III (we’ll just say IV – The Quest for Peace never took place, like X-Men 3:  The Last Stand – let us erase the memory of bad superhero flicks) with Christopher Reeves.  Warner Bros. put out some amazing trailers for the Man of Steel and I couldn’t wait for the anticipated spectacular in 3D IMAX.  It should be good since it’s produced by Christopher Nolan who brought us 3 terrific Dark Knight films, Zach Snyder of 300 & Watchmen fame and screenplay from David S. Goyer (Blade films & The Dark Knight trilogy).  I’ll say this is good film that was inspiring to be great, let’s just say it’s better than Superman Returns and as friend mentioned it was like watching a Dragon Ball Z movie.  I’ve watched the movie, now I read the book “Man of Steel” by New York Times bestselling author Greg Cox, who should be familiar to DC fans as he wrote the novelizations of Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown and Final Crisis.

 

[Spoilers Ahead!!!]

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The Complete Flash Gordon Library: The Fall of Ming Vol. 3

June 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

flash gordon vol 3“There’s a charm to the dials and knobs of yesteryear’s imagination, the vacuum tubes and arcing electricity of the past’s futurism.” Foreword by Dave Gibbons

Kids today read everything on their tablets and smartphones, and sadly don’t remember the printed newspapers.  I couldn’t wait for the Sunday paper, because they always had a section devoted to Sunday comic strips, like Prince Valiant and Calvin & Hobbes.  Now Titan Books has just released the 3rd collected volume of the iconic sci-fi hero Flash Gordon.

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The Art of the Film – World War Z

June 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

world war z art bookThis past weekend I was able to hit the multiplex and catch Brad Pitt facing off zombies in World War Z, based on the best selling novel by Max Brooks.  I’m not a huge fan of zombies or gory violent flicks and I heard of all the production troubles in the film that Pitt endured with the studio and director, but all in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this PG-13 fright-fest.  The first half of the movie was a relentless assault of fast-moving zombies taking over cities and the supporting cast was terrific in the film.  The movie-goers were rocking and cheering and a couple of girls were yelling “Go Brad!”  It’s a high brow Resident Evil zombie movie that makes you think.

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Deadbeat – Makes You Stronger by Guy Adams

June 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

deadbeat

Max Jackson and Tom Harris are not just best friends, but “retired” thespians always looking for a pub or two for a great night out all over London.  Their new drinking hangout is Deadbeat, a cozy jazz bar that Tom bought a few years back after retiring from the theatre business.  Some novellas may want you drinking a nicely brew coffee or tea with biscuits, but for this Guy Adam’s pulp fiction novel, you may just want to grab some beer and chips and enjoy the rollicking adventure.

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A Collection of Science Fiction by Comic Greats – Simon & Kirby

May 30, 2013 by 1 Comment

science fictionSince the beginning of comics, superheroes have dominated the comic book pages, but the creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby didn’t just do superheroes, they also put science fiction genre onto the comic book format.  Titan Books has collected various science fiction stories by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s featuring the likes of “Solar Legion” and “Blue Bolt” in The Simon & Kirby Library – Science Fiction.

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Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer is back in Complex 90

May 30, 2013 by 1 Comment

complex 90P.I. Mike Hammer is back with some unfinished business.  This hugely popular character has sold millions of books over the years and was created by acclaimed mystery author Mickey Spillane.  When Mickey passed away in 2006, he still had a couple of Mike Hammer manuscripts that weren’t finished or published, and Spillane’s frequent collaborator Max Allan Collins known for his award winning graphic novel Road to Perdition, added the finishing touches to this Mike Hammer adventure.

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Supernatural: Carved in Flesh

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

supernatural carved in flesh

The award winning sci-fi drama Supernatural has been following the Winchester brothers – Dean & Sam for 8 seasons on the CW as they hunt down demons, ghosts, and monsters.  And with the CW picking up the series for the 9th season there will be more thrilling adventures for Dean & Sam.  The young Winchester brothers lost their mother from a demonic figure and from that point on their father groomed them to fight supernatural evil.  Titan Books has released a series of novels with different authors in expanding the Supernatural universe and in “Carved in Flesh” by Tim Waggoner, this novel takes place during Season 7 of Supernatural.

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Fun with a Pencil by Andrew Loomis

April 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Fun With A Pencil Andrew Loomis

Who doesn’t want to draw comics like Jack Kirby, Will Eisner and Jim Lee?  Nobody starts off the gates drawing comics, cartoons and creating iconic characters without the basics.  The A-B-C’s of drawing is what gets you from Point A to Point B.  In our day of digital technology we can find art instruction on-line.  I learned my cooking & cocktail recipes and Photoshop tutorials on YouTube.  Sometimes, you need a little old school instruction and we’re going back to the early 20th century with commercial artist Andrew Loomis (1892-1959).  Mr Loomis was well known for his various instructional art books and many of these books are not in print anymore.  Fun with a Pencil was published back in 1939 and thanks to Titan Books, this instructional art book is in bookstore shelves.

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Web of the City by Harlan Ellison

April 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

webofthecity

With over 1,700 published works, the 10-time Hugo Award Winner Harlan Ellison brings a slice of the bygone New York 1950s and takes us inside a Brooklyn street gang.  Harlan Ellison’s first novel “Web of the City” was published 30 years ago and will hit the bookstores and online stores again thanks to Titan Books re-publishing it.

The story of Rusty Santoro takes place in 1950s Brooklyn neighborhood.  The 17-year old high schooler with a long rap sheet has been running with The Cougars, and now he wants out!  He wants something more in life than the violence, drugs and broken relationships.  At every corner and turn, something draws Rusty back into the gang world.  Will he ever escape this endless cycle of nothingness?  Will he make the right decisions?  This is Rusty’s story, the ex-leader of The Cougars.

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Jago by Kim Newman

March 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

jagokimnewmanAward-winning author Kim Newman’s Jago was published back in 1991, and now Titan Books has just re-release this classic horror story.  A hippie music festival takes place in the small English town of Adler.  Like any big rock music festival it divides the town into two camps, those who want the money it brings in and those who hate it, because of all the property damage and troubles it causes lead by Adler villager Danny Keough.  Many young people like Dolar and his caravan of friends attend the festival to party.  On vacation in the town of Adler, Paul is working on his “end of the world” thesis, while his girlfriend Hazel a potter, runs a pottery shop for a family on vacation.  And we find out that this rock festival is run by a religious cult the Agapemone and from within, Susan a British Secret Service agent is trying to find out who is the mysterious figure – Anthony William Jago.  As the music festival begins, urban legends, darkness, and evil is unleashed on the town of Alder.

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Bowie Beau Oui: The Complete David Bowie

March 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Complete David Bowie

When this book came across our desk, I jumped at the chance at reviewing this. Having grown up in the 1980’s, I lived through Bowie’s commercially successful Let’s Dance years but soon found out that there was much more to the singer than the very popular “Modern Love” and “China Girl” that were dominating radio stations and MTV at the time. What was at first just my curiosity into what he did in the decades before, blossomed into a lifelong infatuation with one of the best and most innovative musicians of all time. Since then, I’ve meticulously listened through past albums and singles; from the excellent glam rock classic The Man Who Sold The World, through his iconic Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke years, to the Berlin trilogy in the late 70’s.

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Brand NEW Graphic Novel: Everybody Loves Tank Girl

March 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

tankgirl

Tank Girl returns in Everybody Loves Tank Girl graphic novel from Titan Books.  It’s all new, but just not for EVERYONE.  I mean if you don’t like sexy Tank Girl and friends, bad words, drugs, guns, humor and straight-out wackiness – then this graphic novel isn’t for you.  Co-creator/author Alan C. Martin and artist Jim Mahfood takes us on a wild ride as Tank Girl gives us the inside look at The Tank; their adventures in babysitting their neighbors’ son Feldman; Tank Girl and friends trying to avoid the evil Arty Farty Gang, and many more crazy insane stories.

 

Jim Mahfood’s artwork is super-fun to look at with the various strips in black and white and colored.  Plus in the back of the book, there is a collection of his Tank Girl galley artwork.  One word – SEXY.  And best of all is the out-there sense of humor.  I mean if you don’t get it, you probably won’t get it Tank Girl, but for all us Tank Girl fans – we get it.  I admit I was laughing hard at “The Sixteenth Annual Australian Swearing Competition short!  No SPOILERS here – you will just have to BUY to graphic novel to read it and laugh your butt off.

 

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Hardback Graphic Novel:  Everybody Loves Tank Girl

Author:  Alan C. Martin

Artist:  Jim Mahfood

Publisher:  Titan Books

MSRP:  $19.95USD

Available:  February 22, 2013

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Matt Helm Novels are Back!

February 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

These days, we can’t get enough of Jason Bourne, Mission Impossible, and James Bond-type films from Hollywood.  The public is craving for good “Tom Clancy-esque” espionage thrillers in print or in films and, lucky for us, Titan Books will be re-issuing author Donald Hamilton’s Matt Helm novels.  Matt Helm was a military assassin during World War II, where he worked for a covert group to eliminate Nazis.  During the 1960’s, the Matt Helm character caught the public’s attention, and has since sold over 20 million books worldwide, while spawning 27 paperback adventure novels.  The character inspired a network TV series and four films starring Dean Martin, which were loosely based on Donald Hamilton’s character, and were set-up to be more of the slapstick comedy/action film variety.  So, I’m pretty much still waiting for Hollywood to get the correct version of Matt Helm on screen and rumors have been swirling that director Steven Spielberg will take a hack at it.  In the meantime, Titan Books will release the first two books in the Helm series – Death of a Citizen and The Wrecking Crew.

matthelm1st

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The Aylesford Skull by James P. Blaylock

January 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

AylesfordSkull

James P. Blaylock is back with all new Langdon St. Ives adventure after a twenty-year absence.  “The Aylesford Skull” takes us to Victorian England 1883 where scientist/explorer Langdon St. Ives and villain Dr. Ignacio Narbondo will face off again.

Langdon St. Ives is now living in Aylesford with his wife Alice and two kids – Eddie and Cleo, while unbeknownst to them, Dr. Ignacio Narbondo is setting his plans into motion by pirating a ship in nearby Egypt Bay and grave robbing in Aylesford.  A mysterious man from the past appears to Langdon and finally tells him of Narbondo’s past and his plan to open a portal to the dead.  The villain decides to kidnap Langdon’s son – 4 year old Eddie.  The action begins as Langdon now races off to London to save his son and stop Narbondo’s portal to the dead from opening.

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Anno Dracula: Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman

October 26, 2012 by 2 Comments

These days, blood suckers are everywhere in popular culture – you’ll see vampires, zombies, and werewolves on the tube, in films, and in comics.  One of the most popular horror characters of all time is Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula and critically acclaimed novelist Kim Newman, takes the Count into an alternate universe where Van Helsing and friends failed to kill the famous vampire.  As a result, Dracula eventually takes over England, where vampires become part of the society at large.

Dracula Cha Cha Cha is the third book in the Anno Dracula series (Anno Dracula & Anno Dracula:  The Bloody Red Baron) and the setting is 1959 Italy, where Count Dracula is to wed the Princess of Moldavia Asa Vajda in Fregene, Italy.  Journalist Kate Reed intended to visit old “friends” Charles Beauregard and Genevieve Dieudonne in Rome, but gets wrap up in a murder mystery with secret agent Hamish Bond, where vampire elders are being murdered.  And the like the Anno books before it, Kim Newman is known for using historical settings of the time to move the plot, and the characters meeting famous historical people and popular fictional characters from that era.  The book has an added bonus short story – Aquarius with protagonist Kate Reed trying to solve 2 murders in London 1968. Journalist Kate plays detective and meets an enemy from the past.  And I liked the fact that there is also a chapter of Annotations explaining various references in the story.  If Twilight films are not your cup of tea, then you should definitely pick-up this bloody vampire book and may I also suggest reading Kim Newman’s first book Anno Dracula.

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Paperback:  Anno Dracula – Dracula Cha Cha Cha

Author:  Kim Newman

Publisher:  Titan Books

MSRP:  $14.95USD

Available:  October 26, 2012

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Silhouettes from Popular Culture by Olly Moss

October 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

You’ve probably seen his artwork floating around the World Wide Web, email links from friends saying take a look at these cool movie posters, or seen his box art for the PS3 video game Resistance 3.  If you don’t know who Olly Moss is, well you should take notice now with his first collected art book by publisher Titan Books – Silhouettes from Popular Culture.

This book collects Victorian art of silhouette portraits with Olly’s own style, with a sense of fun and wit.  Flipping through the pages, you will be amazed at the various silhouette portraits of pop culture characters from comics, films, TV, cartoons, anime, and videogames.  Olly started this small project as a way to put up nerdy art that his girlfriend would like in the house and since ballooned to around 300 “paper cut” silhouette pieces.  With only 144 pages in this book, Olly picked his favorite silhouettes to be in this collection.  When you look at the various silhouette art pieces you might be wondering to yourself, how the heck did he get so precise with just scissors?  Well, he admits to using industrial laser cutters.

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The Collected Adventures of Flash Gordon

September 28, 2012 by 2 Comments

Many of us who grew up with the Internet and social media might not remember reading comic strips from newspapers or magazines.  As a kid growing up in the 80s, my family would get the Sunday newspaper which would have all the comic strips in one section – the Sunday Funnies.  I absolutely could not wait to dive-in on reading new stories of Prince Valiant and the Peanuts gang.

One of the most popular characters from the Sunday comic strips was space adventurer Flash Gordon.  At this time, Philip Nowlan created the original sci-fi star Buck Rogers, thus giving birth to Alex Raymond’s creation of Flash Gordon that debuted in Sunday newspapers on January 7, 1934.  Raymond introduced the world to film-like realism, futuristic worlds, exotic women, and just plain fun stories.

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The Cocktail Waitress by James M. Cain

September 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In The Cocktail Waitress our protagonist is Joan Medford, a beautiful young mother who recently became a widow after her abusive husband got into a deadly car accident.  She takes a job as a waitress in a seedy local cocktail lounge to make ends meet and to take care of her young son.   At the Rose Garden Lounge is where she meets two men that will change her life – a rich, old man, Earl K White III, and a good-looking charmer named Tom Barclay.  As Joan’s relationship evolves with these two men – danger and drama unfold.  As the reader, you will decide if Joan Medford is a femme fatale or an innocent bystander that’s always at the wrong place at the wrong time.

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Dinosaur Art – The World’s Greatest Paleoart

September 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As kids growing up, didn’t we all love dinosaurs?  We learned about dinosaurs in school and at the museums.  For me I think it was the Transformers’ Dinobots and Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park that really got me into dinosaurs.  I always thought art & science were separate worlds, but they are interwoven here with one another – Dinosaur Art.  Paleo-artists take fossils from extinct species and bring them back to life in the form of drawings, paintings, and digital mediums, like CGI and Photoshop.

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Titan Books: Lenore – Swirlies

August 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

lenoreswirliesWhen I was passed Swirlies, a collection of Lenore comics by Roman Dirge, I was thrown into a nostalgic memory of years past. I was introduced to Lenore by a friend 10 years ago and I was quite captivated by the cute undead girl with her various quirks and morbid humor. Before I even opened the book, I was a little worried about how I would find the comic now. Oftentimes our present selves become disappointed with items of our past, outgrowing material we had cherished due to changing tastes or even just due to age. I remember the last time I cleaned up around the house, I found a stack of old comic books that, upon reading, I discovered that I no longer found them funny or interesting. I was quite saddened as I realized that they didn’t mean anything to me now other than childhood memories so I passed them off to someone younger who would appreciate them.

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Sherlock Holmes – The Army of Dr. Moreau

August 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

sherlockholmesbookcoverGruesome murders have been found around the city of London.  Sherlock Holmes’ brother Mycroft, a government agent, tells him of the grizzly findings and a scientist named Dr. Moreau that might be behind this. This time, Sherlock and Dr. Watson will be off on a Resident Evil-style horror/adventure as they face a mad scientist creating half animal and half human species.

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