This blog is going to be a little different, im not going to talk about me or my life, its too much of an unholy mess and im just going to leave it for a while and talk about something thats close to my heart - stories.
To my friends and the people who know me, im a comic geek but comics are only one section of what i love and thats stories in every medium - comics, books, films and to a lesser extent games. So today is going to be a little more of a happier blog than late as im going to tell you lot about the stories i love most in print and on film. Im going to spoiler each section just so you dont see such a massive wall of text, images and video
Films:
Still here? Just realised this will be a very long blog, my apologies for that.
Comics:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
Comics are more than just a hobby for me, they have been one of the main passions in my life for over 20 years and in that time i have read stories that have made me laugh and cry, here are a few of my favorites:
Marvels - Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross - For me this is one of the best stories chronicling the birth of the Marvel Age, told through the eyes of a photographer makes it so much more personal and gives the story such wonderful feeling and power.
Spider-Man Blue - Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale - this spider-man story is a very sad story about Peter coming to terms with the death of Gwen, this book helped me come to terms and start to accept into my life the loss of my neice a few years before, i was not dealing with this for a long while before i read this book and still am only now absorbing that into my life.
DC New Frontier - Darwyn Cooke - I love Cookes work both as a writer and artist and this book is and probably always will be my favorite DC comic. Everything about this story is wonderful and as an introduction to some major characters it cant be beat.
Eternals - Neil Gaiman, John Romita Jr - This work is everything i love about sci fi in comics and a wonderful visit back to Jack Kirby's cosmic vision, love this book.
Thor: The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill - Walt Simonson - This story is one of my all time greats and i have a tpb from the early 90's which is completely dog eared and falling apart from all the times i have read the story, and what a story. The idea that the noble hero can look like a monster isnt a new one but Simonsons take is truely cosmic in scale and a wonder to read.
Books:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
I mainly read science fiction and fantasy to be honest, i love the escapism to another planet or far off time that these books bring.
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Prattchett - This book makes me laugh out loud everytime i read it, an angel and a demon try to stop the apocalypse from occurring, its comic genius
Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - this is a wonderfully english sci fi that in parts is wonderfully absurd, but surely you lot know this already
If Chins Could Kill - Bruce Campbell - I love his films and i loved this book a great insight into indie horror films and his rise to b-movie stardom, just awesome.
Legend - David Gemmell - a very gritty fantasy with some touching human stoory interlaced, the main characters are an old warrior Druss who goes to his last battle to die and a hero who is afraid of the dark and follows his love to an unwinable battle. Such wonderful storytelling.
Surface Detail - Iain M Banks - superb sci-fi about whether its right to torture souls in digital hells, superb stuff.
Well thats a littlle about what i enjoy in my spare time so now i wonder, what are your favorite stories?
