Ever wonder why there were so many teen sidekicks in golden and silver age comics? Okay, there was obviously Robin (three of them to date), assorted Superboys and girls, Wonder Woman's aide Wonder Girl, The Flash apparently had kids with super speed, Captain America had Bucky... and on it on it went. Basically they were there to give the heros someone to explain the plot to for some of their more ingorant readers. Someone that the kids could identify with, at least on a fantasy level. What Rick has done with this story is show us how dangerous this practice would be if done in a structure with actual consequences. And he does it in pure warped Veitch style. You've got the Midnight Mink, a sort of gay vampy Batman, JUDGEJURY, a facist Punisher type "Hero"(an impotent white supremicist muscleman on steroids), Moon Mistress, a WW type with serious man-hating issues (she makes candy treats out of cojones severed from male foes, brrrr!) and King Rad, a kind of Bruce Wayne on speed character bent on living the ultimate rush. All of these dangerous types are collectively known as "BLACK OCTOBER" (go figure), and are aware that they have comic books and merchandise based on their exploits a la the JLA or the Avengers. They figure teen sidekicks would help with sales, so they get some (leading to Chippy, Kid Vicious, Luna and Wild Boy, respectively). The problem is that they have no more enemies left, so they go after anyone who doesn't agree with them, which leads to the appearence of Doctor Blasphemy, a proported super-villain, who is actually the only person in the entire story who consistantly tells the truth. The teens get in the way and are killed, so new recruits have to be found and trained. Kids are recruited and shown their respective hero's secret identity. This takes us to the seamy underside of each hero's personal life, each with their own dirty little secret. Warped sexual identities, racial bigotry, social apathy, drug addiction, megalomania and religious faith are all taken apart and put back together askew in this satirical tale. This story is an offshoot of THE MAXIMORTAL with a link at the end to that storyline. I really can't say enough good things about this story. It's sick, it's shocking, its awe-inspiring, it's thought-provoking, it's edgy and ultimately, it's high-art! It's also hilarious in a black kind of way. If you like stories that take apart the Superhero mythos and parade it for the naked emperor that it is, then this is for you! (...)!

Okay, folks, this is it! THE ONE is finally back in print so now you can get a glimpse into what a true genius Rick Veitch was and continues to be! Before BRATPACK, before THE MAXIMORTAL, before RARE BIT FIENDS, there was Rick's run with Alan Moore on the SWAMP THING and there was THE ONE. It's dark, it's sick, it's funny, it's intelligent and more than anything else, it's mind-expanding! The story is a bit hard to explain because it touches on so many different themes, but it's ultimately a warning tale, a social satire and a poke in the ribs to super hero comics. Richie Rich (shown here as Itchie Itch to avoid a Harvey lawsuit) grows up into a Howard Hughes type megalomaniac bent on controlling the world's resources for his own amusement. His warmongering prematurely triggers the arrival of THE ONE who is the living embodiment of the collective souls of mankind (or maybe the living embodiment of the Planet's electromagnetic field). It is his predestined duty to lead mankind into it's collective evolution beyond our physical existance and move us up into life in the vast expanse of space and other dimensions. Unfortunately, mankind's warlike nature, and earth's impending nuclear destruction has forced his arrival too soon, so mankind has to be shocked into cooperating. This was written from the perspective of the cold war brinksmanship of the seventies and eighties. As war heats up between USA and USSR, they each bring their super-humans into play with both humorous and tragic results. Oh yea, did I mention the UBERMAUS? A giant rat (go figure) comes into play as well. Human mutation, Sixties psychedelia, super-heros, evolution and political satire are all present in this volume. It is seriously warped fun and seriously mind-expanding. For you fans of THE MATRIX, THE SANDMAN, THE INVISIBLES, THE FILTH, WATCHMEN and so many other stories of this ilk, I urge you to pick up this volume as it may have been a forerunner of all of these. I also highly recommend THE BRAT PACK and THE MAXIMORTAL, both of which have been recently made available. VEITCH RULES!

Warren Ellis (The Preacher, Planetary, Transmetropolitan) is one of the most prolific and edgy authors we've got today, ranking up there in my book with Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller and Grant Morrison.
This time around there was something that just didn't click with me. Yea, the story was great and the imagery was well thought out but John Higgins' artwork kind of ruined it for me. Those of you who are used to seeing John as a ragged, disheveled mystery man will be shocked by the artwork that portrays him almost as a buffed model! His featured are much too chisled and his head is way too pretty for my taste.
This time around we see John pining over yet another girlfriend's death (how many of his exes survive? No wonder Kit left!) (sorry, casual reader. Constantine fans will know what that means.) He feels obliged to poke around to find the one responsible as it was a particularily grisly murder and mutilation. He drags in favors from both the police and his underworld contacts, as usual, and in his usual machievellian manner. He finally realizes that the killer was using the girl as the focus of his arcane power and offed her when she dried up. Tracking him down proves to be difficult when John is beaten up when he gets too close. (The echo of Bugs Bunny's "This means war" comes to mind at this point.) It's a noir tale, a detective story, possibly a Chandler homage, who knows?
The story doesn't really offer many surprises, but it does speak on a noir level, and the atmosphere and ambiance is great to get into. I wouldn't really say that the story is predictable, but it doesn't surpass storylines such as "Dangerous Habits" or even the flawed "Good Intentions". I don't want to give anything away about the identity of the killer, but suffice it to say that the buildup far surpasses the payoff. Constantine's method of retribution is quite clever, not to mention vicious, which is typical of Hellblazer.
Get this book for another great constantine story, but be forwarned: he acts typicallly like, but doesn't really look much like the John we know and love. A good, but not great chapter in the life of everyone favorite chain-smoking sorcerer.

Okay, first things first: King has always been haunted (no pun inteneded, yea, right) by what Hollywood moguls do to his work on the screen. If you missed the mini-series of the same name, then count yourself fortunate. It truly bites the big hairy root. Having said that, I would like to point out that it is doubly sinister that such a terrible visual representation should be associated with such a rich masterpiece!! A genuinely new twist on the "flying saucer" sub-genre, this story also has many golden interludes that make it a must for fans of serious fiction.
Take for example the peek into the world of poetry readings. Who would of thought that that would have a place in a King novel! But look where it leads! The drunken argument between Gardener (the alchoholic, and slightly suicidal protagonist poet) and the rep from the local atomic energy outlet is priceless! ("Nobody ever died from radiation...") Not only is it informative, but it is charged with incredibly satisfying passion when he puts the rep in his place with the facts! Later on, we feel his frustration and angst at being treated as a manual labor mule in the excavation of the saucer. There's also a boy's first magic show that ends in tragedy (or does it?). There's the pricelessly subtle "love/not love" thing going on between Gard and Roberta, our other protagonist, the one who kicks everything off by stumbling over a piece of otherworldly metal sticking up a few inches out of the ground. How about the frustrated housewife who suspects her husband is having an affair, and wouldn't you know it, the plastic statue of Jesus on the TV starts talking to her and confirms her fears. King seems to have a dim veiw on the merits of telepathy, for he uses it to show the ultimate destruction of trust, not to mention humanity.
It is ironic that King, being the best selling fiction author of our time, is so often underrated as a writer. His use of metaphors and pathos ranks up there with Mark Twain and Harlan Ellison! This (along with IT and THE TALISMAN) is the book I always recommend to people I meet who haven't ever read a King Novel (yes, there are quite a few out there!)
As is 99 percent of the time, the book is much more satisfying than any movie. It is my humble opinion that people like King would be much more revered as overall artists if people would spend more time reading than watching movies.
Anyway, get this book! It is a roller-coaster ride of emotion, drama, tears and a few chills as well!

This movie is somewhat reminiscent of CUBE, a low-budget SF movie about a bunch of people caught in a multi-roomed prison where all the rooms seem alike but each has a particular method for controling its population (including elimination). This time its a glass house with moving glass walls that are etched with latin spells to keep the ghosts in. You can tell that a lot of money went into the production and the effects, and the performances were somewhat above average. It was nice to see F. Murry Abraham (Amadeus) working again. Unfortunately he wasn't given much to work with. He appears only twice and both times consist of 2-dimensional angry diatribes.
Matthew Lillard (Scream, Wing Commander) walks away with it playing the a psi-sensitive who seems to be the only one who knows what's going on. Without giving anything away, let me just warn you that the ending leaves a lot of unanswered questions. A good effort. Its nice to see someone actually spending serious money on making horror movies. All in all its pretty tame. The concept will interest fans of the genre, but it really doesn't open any new doors (or windows as the case may be). Question to the writer: "would you please tell me what the heck the big wheel on the floor of the "living room" was for? It was refered to as a door or something but it's never made clear. Oh well, gotta wait for part 2, I guess...

Okay, granted, the series is excellent; great animation, great stories, great dialogue, great film-noir scenery and great vocal acting. The problem #1 that the opening for the original series was incredibly cool. Batman solo knocking over a couple of bank robbers done in an gorgeous sillouette style. Then they decide that they need to promote Robin's merchandise as well, so they scrap that piece of art for a slipshod clip-fest of Robin in action taken from the show. They didn't even bother to make up a new intro for Robin, they just strung a bunch of clips together. Problem #2 (and this is the big one) is that the high and mighty WB in all their wisdom have not only decided to release this video tape in the third speed (EP or SLP) mode (thereby saving money on tape by offering the customer an inferior product) but they also deemed it neccessary to release it in a MONO format!!!! The nerve!
My advice to you would be to tape it from TV. You'll get a better quality recording. Or better yet, wait until they decide to release this on DVD.

Rick Wakeman's return to stage during his limited 1990 tour (which barely covered England and Europe) featured a very tight band. Notable here is Tony Fernandez, who does a stunning job on the drums (although his drum solo is ruined by Ashley Holt). His renditions are nothing short of breathtaking. There is even a place where his fingers, on a close up min-cam wave hello with two fingers while in the middle of a solo! Each song is note-perfect, especially Merlin The Magician and Elizabethan Rock. The bring down was the decision to bring back Ashley Holt, the vocalist from RW's famous Sydney live concert feed in 1975 for Journey to the Center of The Earth. This man is talented, bu obviously a has-been. His voice is still quite good, but he tries too hard and ends up failing miserably, especially on "Make Me A Woman." His, dare-I-call-it percussion during Tony's drums solo was unforgivable! Obviously he and Rick are old friends and Rick is doing him a favor, but the feel of the drum solo is totally ruined by Holt's banging away on his Simmons Pad toys. Overall a great video to own, but a bit flawed. The sound quality is crisp, full and direct. Flawless. Once you get past the Holt Issue, you have a fantastically inspiring concert. Very intimate. If you are a RW fan, BUY IT!