Wednesday 30 November 2022
Cinebook the 9th Art: LARGO WINCH 19 - THE EDGE OF NIGHT
Authors: Philippe Francq & Eric Giacometti
PAPERBACK
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: September 2022
£7.99 incl. VAT
Largo wakes up confused in a place he doesn’t recognise. The
first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is Earth … seen from space! Ten days
earlier, the founder of a French aerospace company is murdered by a contract
killer. So begins a new adventure for the leader of the W Group, his friends
and his employees, in the world of new technologies, the space race,
environmentalism … and social networks.
Almost two years (December 2020) since the last book (Scarlet Sails)
https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2020/12/cinebook-9th-art-largo-winch-18-scarlet.html
Some very weird stuff at the outset and I thought we were going to get a The Prisoner scenario! Things soon settle down, however, we then get into the modern world. You know, where everyone uses social networks and click things that allow themselves to be spied on or search for something on Google or Microsfoft and the think its "weird" how adverts for those same things pop up on their emails and...social networks (before you ask I was looking for a, uh, friend).
With billionaires using space as the new toy of choice (they aint paying, suckers) you can see that this little outing for Largo Winch is quite relatable. The story is good and the final page...O..M..G!! Hopefully I wont have to wait two years for the next book as I am getting somewhat older...just a hint there, Cinebook.
As for the art. Well, it is a treat for the eyes and I do try to find something "off" but this is quality from the scene settings to the technology and the superb colour work just adds to the overall quality. I seem to recall thinking at the outset of this series that a series about some guy who finds out he's rich was not going to be that good. Hey, it even inspiured me to buy the movie (yes, there was a movie).
Largo Winch is in the top 5 Cinebook titles that I would suggest a new reader gets into and if you cannot guess what the other four are...are you new to CBO.
Recommended now I am holding my breath for part two! 😲😲
Tuesday 29 November 2022
Why Does Blogger Keep Shifting Locations?
Yesterday at 0900 hrs CBO achieved another little peak in views. Since moving to Blogger in 2011 there have been a total of over 10 million views. And for once Blogger was accurately showing that on the home page stats counter.
Until 0945 hrs! The counter went back to just over 4 million again and then I checked and the URL had changed to another location. No idea why this deletes so many views but if I had not been checking every couple of months I would have thought CBO had stagnated!
The assumption amongst other bloggers who have had similar problems is that this is all down to tax payment avoidance. No idea if that is true or not as I can't be bothered looking intro that. The other theory is that for some unknown reason Blogger owners do not want to declare the total number of views for all of its blogs combined. I have no idea about this as it seems odd so I am going with the constant URL changes.
If you are serious about stats ALWAYS maintain a seperate recored based on the dashboard figures.
Cinebook The 9th Art: XIII 25 - RELOADED MEMORY
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
PAPERBACK
ISBN: 9781800440739
Publication: October 2022
£7.99 incl. VAT
Jason McLane – XIII – has just taken a shot at the pope
during an official visit to
Back in January (2022) I reviewed XIII -Irina which was part of the XIII Mystery set so I get confused...I actually thought this series had concluded (again).
https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2022/01/cinebook-ltd-xiii-mystery-irina.html
The moment Trump entered the Oval office and said "Gail Hydra!" was not enough of a warning? I see factual events all the time that literally mimic 2ridiculous" movies of the 1970s/1980s. I am just waiting for the US TV company to launch its "Running Man" show...
But life is strange and weird.
My guess is that the XIII series could go on forever as there is plenty of scope. The story is good if not wholly an original idea (I do not want to reference movies again!) but it is how it is written and paced and that is well done here as you might expect.
The artwork. The artwork..it is still bloody gorgeous in my opinion and the detail in backgrounds, vehicles buildings is realistic enough and the women are drawn so well that hacks like me want to put down the drawing implemrents for reasons other than rheumatoid arthritis.
You like your spy stories, conspiracy, twists and action then this series is for you. Great read from cover to cover...and the art💓
Monday 28 November 2022
Cinebook the 9th Art: NOTTINGHAM 2 - THE HUNT
Author: Vincent Brugeas, Emmanuel Herzet and Benoît Dellac
Age: 12 years and up
PAPERBACK
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
£8.99 Incl VAT
Publication: October 2022
Prince John was not at all impressed with the Sheriff of
Nottingham’s resistance to his plans, any more than with the support the regent
of
I swear I thought this series was at volume 4 and had ended but it was back in May that I reviewed the first https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2022/05/cinebook-nottingham-1-kings-ransom.html
As I said with the first book, I am just not getting into this one. Whether it is because of the story or not I cannot make out. The art is okay and the story does seem okay but it is this take on the the Robin Hood story that I am sure the writer thought was a clever twist but it is a twist used by so many others with other legendary British characters. Perhaps try European or just French characters.
I mean, the cover looks promising and I am surev that there are people out there who will love this take on the character as well as the period depicted. Maybe an overview when the series is concluded to see whether that makes a difference as it may just be that the wait between parts does not allow the story to flow well?
Who knows (not me, obviously). Anyone else read this?
Cinebook the 9th Art: THE FORTUNE OF THE WINCZLAVS 2: TOM AND LIZA, 1910
Author: Jean Van Hamme & Philippe Berthet
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
PAPERBACK
Publication: October 2022
ISBN: 9781800440722
£8.99 incl. VAT
1910,
I reviewed volume 1 in June....my memory is going.
https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2022/06/cinebook-ltd-fortune-of-winczlavs-1.html
With this volume we see the family enter the First World War and Van Hamme does a great job of building up the story behind the family and its history. I see this as a mix of the movie How The West Was One and Dallas/Dynasty TV shows. Tom is a rich boy in Europe and enjoying the fun including the women in between the action.
I think we would call Tom the "real bastard" of this book. But gets topped by Liza.
Liza shows herself to be "the hard bitch with a plan" and is willing to do almost anything to get into the family and its fortune. Joan Collins or Stephanie Beacham would have been good actresses to play Liza.
The art is good and I think Berthet does a great job but I do think that Dominique David and Meephe Versaevel deserve equal mention. David made the pencil sketches of the backgrounds in the book (and there are a lot) while Versaevel is the colourist who makes this all gel together.
Nothing to complain about and a good read if you want to get away from the current bland output of companies such as Marvel and DC.
The 9th Art rules
Sunday 27 November 2022
"BECKONING": CGI Trailer for the Forthcoming Action Film by: Sava Zivkovic
Friday 25 November 2022
Wednesday 23 November 2022
Tuesday 22 November 2022
Upcoming Reviews
Just received 19 new books from Cinebook The 9th Art so over the next couple of weeks I will be posting reviews. Some interesting books.
I have decided that I will not be reviewing Marvel Comics any more. Apart from the Avengers being a rarity in their own title nothing, including the Miracleman Silver Age, has been impressive.
The new volume Fantastic Four I got fooled by the hype. What we got for issue number 1 was...a Thing and Alicia story. Not a very original story and honestly it was a mess story-wise and a couple pages looked miss-printed at the top and bottomn with panels having a third missing. Just wtf the lard asses editing books thought.,..I really don't think that THEY do think...a mild and mediocre story that was launbchinga whole new era of...I do hope not blandness.
I have followed Marvel since the mid 1960s and what I see now, which started in the 1990s and was probably a result of some moron firing Jim Shooter, is just very very sad.
On the brighter side now that Kang has been in a TV series and going to be in a movies...he is going to be used in 2023 to YAWN reboot the Marvel universe.
DC I lost all hope for after a yearly reboot and Justice League and its characters changing so much I could not care a jot how many more times they killed them off.
So keep an eye out for upcoming reviews.
Monday 21 November 2022
Saturday 19 November 2022
Just putting that out there.
It's the 19th and to date (a slow month) CBO has had 16.5k views.
Just putting that out there.
Wednesday 16 November 2022
CBO Should Be Free of Charge....It IS
I got a (pardon for the language) rather shitty message from someone who said that I was not uploading as much as I used to and that he and his friends used to spend some time on CBO reading the posts and features.
The upshot was that I explained politely that I could not afford to work full time on CBO as I used to and that there was never any feedback from readers ("have you commented?" I asked) and there was no support shown in keeping it going -I have to pay bills and eat so as I have said before, thousands around the world read CBO and plenty of publishers want FREE publicity (I do not do that any longer) but I am one person.
There is a support box to the right that has not been used since set up nearly ten years ago. I have PLENTY I can post to CBO but why go to all of the effort for not even a thank you?
I post as and when I can and things of interest and the stats visit counter went high enough so that when blogger changed its location url again...12000 were deleted. Actual count of visits to CBO to date is over 10 million -which shows why the silence over content is like a kick in the head. As for the complaining fella his only response was that CBO content should be free (uh...it is) and more new posts each day. Basically he and his friends wanted a free daily read without even the obligation of a "thanks" or "interesting post" -only spammers do that!
Wednesday 9 November 2022
Marvel Sercret Invasion 2022....have you wet your pants yet?
Published:
May 04, 2022
Writer:
Ryan North
Penciler:
Francesco Mobili
Cover Artist:
R.B.
Silva
“THE SKRULLS ARE BACK...
...in a giant-sized issue kicking off an all-new five-part miniseries! When
Maria Hill detects the merest HINT of Skrulls, she acts quickly to put her
defensive plans into action. And when Nick Fury is sent to investigate a Skrull
sighting in
I’ll add a thirdly here: “giant sized issue”??????? Does it have more pages than a regular comic? Problem here is that the art was okay but the story was pick and mix –a bit of the story here. A bit of the story there and it’s trying to be clever when that type of format was a pain in the ass in TV series, Hollywood movies and…oh, yeah: comics. If comics are teaching kids one thing it’s that black men like saying “Mother **&**!“ a lot.
From page one I thought it might get interesting but then I thought “is anything going to happen?” It did. Sadly, it was a wet squib. All of those pages to lead up to….which Avengers can you trust? Seriously, I checked and that was it. What the actual f are these people doing?
I just got flash-backs to the X-Men and the whole “Is your child a mutant?” and then Secret Invasion (the first series) which was a rip off of the 1980s Manhunter storyline at DC where heroes and trusted friends had all be replaced by…Manhunters.
I know that there are only so many story ideas you can go with and try to be creative but reading this I was thinking “Secret Wars 2023 coming up I guess!”
I was teethed on Marvel comics. I had arguments with my DC loving older brother over which was best. At one time in the 1980s I was buying every Marvel title each month and come the 1990s the crap set in. You can actually point to the final issue of west Coast Avengers and say “This is where it was digging in” (in case you never read it, it is awful crap; the main Avengers decide to shut down the West Coasters (DEEEEP credibility extinguishing breath here) because their HQ had been infiltrated by an enemy. Yes, the main Avengers team whose mansion HQ had been invaded by Ultron, the swordsman, powerman (the original guy), the Masters of Evil and a full list od A, B and C lister villains decided that a one off on the West Coast was too much).
You know, its odd but as I
was reading this I was watching the BEST Marvel animated series Avengers Earths
Mightiest Heroes (another great series that was dumped, open plotlines and all
when the movie was popular and replaced by…crap –there is a pattern developing)
and its Secret Invasion storyline…far superior to this #1 and WHICH Avenger can
we trust? Who cares.
Monday 7 November 2022
Friday 4 November 2022
Wednesday 2 November 2022
Hexagon Comics: NOVEMBER 2022 NEW RELEASE: STRANGERS #9: THE FALL OF ATLANTIS
Hexagon Comics USA now offers a growing catalog of translations of selected titles from the library of a 70-year-old French comics publisher.
You can order our books from our website at www.hexagoncomics.com or through amazon.
Retailers can purchase the books directly from us at a 40% discount from our website or from distributor Ingram. Contact us at jm@hexagoncomics.com
7x10 squarebound trade paperback,
88 p. b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-162-6.
US$12.95
Stories by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art & cover by Alfredo Macall. Additional art by Gabriel Mayorga, Manuel Martin Peniche, Juan Roncagliolo Berger.
Will the Towers prove true to their word and release Starlock?
Will Homicron return in time to help her fellow Strangers?
Will Atlantis fall as it was preordained?
All our heroes are on stopping the evil Twilight Lord Kruge from using the all-powerful weapon Kera to rewrite the course of history.
Starlock, Starcyb, Homicron, Tanka, Count Saint-Germain, Dick Demon, Kit Kappa, the Zorr-ko, the Time Brigade and more are fighting a hopeless battle to thwart Kruge’s mad plan. But what if the weapon had its own plans?
Suddenly, it is no longer only the history of Earth which hangs in the balance, but that of the entire universe!
Jean-Marc Lofficier & Alfredo Macall team up again to craft this cataclysmic conclusion to the third “season” of Strangers. Plus two bonus stories: the origins of Starcyb by Manuel Martin Peniche and two agents of CLASH on the planet New Camelot by Juan Roncagliolo Berger.