Folio Society's New Superman Book Arrived Faster Than A Speeding Bullet!

My first (and I suspect only) purchase from the legendary Folio Society arrived today, an utterly gorgeous, hardback collection of classic Superman stories through the years, encased in a solid slipcase with a standalone replica of 1931's Superman #1.

A high quality companion piece for the monster-sized Superman: The Definitive History that I treated myself to for Christmas, DC: Superman reprints a dozen key stories from the life of the Man of Steel chosen - and introduced - by former president, publisher and editor-in-chief of DC Comics Jenette Kahn.

From Superman's earliest outings in the 1930s to his death at the hands of Doomsday in 1993, and concluding with the painted brilliance of 1999's Peace on Earth by Alex Ross and Paul Dini, DC: Superman is an immaculately reproduced collection of the hero's most significant 20th Century adventures.

Released this week, the exquisite 312-page book also includes a rare 1934 letter (four years before the character's debut in Action Comics #1) from Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, pitching the original concepts and ideas for the character.

I ordered the book on Tuesday (when it became available), it shipped on Wednesday and I was expecting the tome to arrive early next week. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when the Evri delivery driver rang our doorbell this morning (Friday) to hand me the FS branded box containing my latest gift to myself.

Perhaps, one day, if the Folio Society produces a similar volume for, say, the Fantastic Four I might be able to twist my own arm to splash out for a second such prestige purchase.

But, in the meantime, I am more than happy with the deluxe DC: Superman. Now, I just need to find a suitable space on my shelves to display it.

I'm a sucker for a branded delivery box

Mission statement fulfilled with my Superman purchase

Not only did the book come wrapped like a present, it was packed in cardboard mesh to keep it safe

The main book glides out of its casing, while Superman #1 has its own envelope

This is probably the most authentic reproduction vintage comic I've ever seen

The comic strips are all crisply reproduced and easy to read

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Radio Cracker

Back in the late '80s there was a charity organisation called Radio Cracker that helped 'pop-up' local radio stations run over the Christmas period to raise cash for good causes.

I was working as a sub-editor at the Kent & Sussex Courier at the time, along with my 'partner-in-crime' Alastair Monk, who was also working part-time for Radio Kent. Radio was Al's big love when it came to his career and he'd gotten involved with Radio Cracker the year before, running a show in Hastings.

This year, he'd found out that Radio Cracker was setting up shop at the top of an old office block in Tunbridge Wells... and we signed on to do the evening show!

I have to say, as hilarious as it all was, I thought we did a pretty solid job. Alastair, of course, was a professional anyway (he still works for the BBC), but I don't think I totally disgraced myself.

As well as playing tunes, we used our airtime to showcase friends and work colleagues who were in bands - having them in our makeshift studio for interviews and live sessions.

Venom (2018)

Stretching the limits of my "only Marvel movies at the cinema" rule, I bought my ticket to Venom (on the strength of Tom Hardy) before the reviews started to appear.

Then I got a bit concerned, not that I give too much weight to professional critics' opinions as, generally, I don't see them as the target audience for superhero movies.

Therefore I am sadly disappointed to say they were right.

Venom is a dreadful film. Not so bad that I wished I wasn't there, but there's a language and structure to cinema - from Sharknado to Citizen Kane - that Venom just didn't seem to grasp.

Feeling like a throwback to the bad old days of superhero cinema - pre-MCU - it took an age to get going and then suddenly, almost without warning, was into its final act.

You catch yourself thinking: this seems like the climax of the movie, but surely it can't be the end yet? But it is.

The fault lays squarely at the feet of those behind the camera, from the writers (Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel) to the director (Ruben Fleischer), the editors, and - almost certainly - some suits at Sony who must have stuck their oar in at one point or another.

Since the first shockingly poor - Venom-free - trailer, it's been clear that things could be going seriously wrong with this film, but given the talent in front of the camera I had hopes that something might have been salvageable.

Even though his character is wildly inconsistent as the story unfolds, Tom Hardy is clearly enjoying himself as Eddie Brock, the investigative journalist, who becomes the unwilling host for the alien parasite known as Venom.

Thankfully, he isn't actually using his strange parody of Christopher Walken's voice that provides the voice-over in some of the trailers, but instead, for Hardy, is using a remarkably 'generic' (and easy to understand) American accent.

But nowhere is the crass stupidity of the script more evident than in Venom's sudden switch from a head-chomping monster to would-be saviour of the human race, with no convincing rhyme nor reason for the major change of heart.

Then again, internal logic is not this film's strong point (you have to love a conquering alien species that blurts out its fatal weaknesses when asked!), which is a shame because there are moments of great fun and even humour along the way (although you might find yourself thinking you've seen 90 per cent of them in the trailers).

Michelle Williams is rather wasted, phoning it in as Eddie's ex-girlfriend, who doesn't really contribute much to the story, except as Eddie's initial "in" to the corrupt world of businessman Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed).

It's Drake's attempts at private space exploration that discover a nest of alien symbiotes on a comet and bring them back to Earth.

Unfortunately, one escapes containment, causing the space shuttle to crash in Malaysia.

The free alien, Riot, then takes six months to work its way back to San Francisco, where its siblings are being held and experimented on by Drake. Arriving at exactly the right time for the story.

The simplistic plot culminates with Riot, on his own host, fighting Venom - a mass of black jelly entangled with a second mass of black jelly - as a new shuttle is about to be launched to retrieve a whole army of symbiotes to return for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

An unadulterated mess, Venom's never boring, and it's certainly action-packed and stupid fun all the way, it's just structurally the film doesn't hold up.

Venom, himself, is an impressively imposing monster, but not enough is done - especially for those not au fait with the source material - to differentiate the various symbiotes from each other or explain why Riot's ability to produce certain weapons was any different from everything that Venom could do.

More cheesy sci-fi than true superhero film, I traditionally have a problem with stories that promote murderous villains as the protagonists, but I was swayed by the prospect of seeing Tom Hardy do his thang in a comic book movie.

And, to be honest, it's his performance - as unconvincing as his character is written - that makes Venom worth seeing.

If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read on...

As is fashionable these days, the film has a brace of credit scenes.

The one mid-credit one is clearly setting up a potential sequel, and features a big name scenery-chewing cameo.

However, the post-credit scene is brazenly not even from the same movie, but an advert for another Sony film that could cheekily be taken as a possible hint that Venom is supposed to be set within the wider Spider-verse.

Given that Venom was originally a Spider-Man villain - and his appearance clearly apes that of the traditional Spider-costume - this was an audacious move.

* This review was based upon my first viewing of Venom, actually upon its release in the cinema.

Pat Zircher's Artwork Dazzles In New Solomon Kane Mini-Series Preview

Patrick Zircher cover art for issue one of Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring

What a great time to be a fan of Robert E Howard's 16th Century Puritan monster-hunter Solomon Kane!

More details were revealed about the four-part Solomon Kane miniseries from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics.

"The ‘Sword of Vengeance’ slashes into his own new series, Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring! Kane battles from the Barbary Coast; across Southern Europe, to the canals of Venice, as a band of rogues forms around him in their quest for the fabled Serpent Ring of Set!"

Following in the footsteps of Titan's recent Howardverse crossover event, Battle of The Black Stone - which saw Kane teaming up with Robert E Howard's most famous creation, Conan The Barbarian - this mini will also lay the groundwork for the publisher's next big 'event' storyline in 2025: Conan - Scourge of The Serpent.

The first issue of Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring, written and illustrated by Patrick Zircher, is due to hit comic shops on March 26, and comes with a choice of five covers (shown on this page).

Daniel Brereton cover art

Andrew Maclean cover art

Mike Mignola cover art

J.H. Williams III cover art

Spinning out of the pages of Savage Sword of Conan - where Zircher showed us his passion and knowledge of the character, as well as his amazing artwork - this will be Solomon Kane's first solo series in 15 years.

Titan has also released this gorgeous sample of the first pages of the issue (unlettered) to whet your appetite:

Then in early 2026, Solomon Kane is also featuring in his first novel: Solomon Kane - Suffer The Witch, by Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters, The Dissonance, and Conan: Lethal Consignment.

"Solomon Kane journeys back to England to save a woman accused of witchcraft and murder. Kane must find the true culprits while battling the town’s paranoia and superstition.

A middle-aged Solomon Kane has been summoned back to England to help a childhood friend, Catherine Archer. In the wake of several grisly deaths, Catherine’s friend Sybil has been charged with employing witchcraft to commit these murders.

She faces execution. Though his body isn’t what it once was, Kane’s mind is as sharp as ever. He deduces that Sybil is indeed a witch but perhaps not a murderous one.

Later, Kane experiences horrific nightmares and witnesses the latest gruesome death. He manages to stop a baying mob from lynching Sybil but in doing so becomes a target of the paranoid villagers himself.

Sympathetic, Kane wants to help these fearful villagers. He soon learns that profane creatures are really behind the murders. After a lifetime of fighting evil, the puritan has lost a step, but he will do everything in his power to battle the ancient force that threatens the town’s existence."

Launching The Fantastic Four Into The Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Future Foundation invites you to take your first steps into a fantastic new era.

I was so excited for this trailer when I went to bed last night that I dreamed my own version of it, an extended (movie-length?) preview of the most important comic book characters in my life interwoven with common themes of my dream-world (essentially "getting lost in labyrinthine city streets").

Of course there have been Fantastic Four films before, but they've always felt - to some degree or another - cheap, corner-cutting affairs that often only paid lip service to the source material.

But this is the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at last. This is the real deal.

And, yes, it made me cry!

Remembering The First Car Superman Took Out His Frustration On

You may recall the other day I was talking about picking up Superman merch as-and-when I came across it, rather than actively seeking it out.

My latest purchase, however, was a bit of both and falls into the wonderful "I never even knew this existed" category.

A week or so ago, I spotted a couple of mentions online - in Superman and comic book Facebook groups - of a Mattel Hot Wheels toy car replicating the sedan pictured on the famous cover of Action Comics #1.

Given where these commentators were saying they'd picked the car up, it sounded as though this was a US store thing.

However, a quick visit to trusty old eBay showed they were available over here in the UK, for the price I imagine toy cars go for in High Street shops these days (I haven't bought toy cars in many years, so don't exactly have my finger on the market's pulse).

The transaction went smoothly and the car arrived swiftly.

For the moment it'll remain in its packaging, as it shows the iconic comic cover that inspired it, but maybe I'll find a Golden Age HeroClix Superman (is there such a thing?) that I can pose it with.

Of course, this all - naturally - reminded me of the classic Kerry Callen parody:

And his new follow-up (which apes the cover of Whiz Comics #2. the first appearance of Captain Marvel):

True Grit (2010)

When her father is gunned down by one of his hired hands, headstrong 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hawkeye's Hailee Steinfeld) hires one-eyed, hard-drinking US Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down the errant Tom Chaney (Jonah Hex's Josh Brolin) who has fled into the wilderness of Indian country.

On the way, they discover that Chaney is also being sought by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) and reluctantly they team-up in pursuit of the murderer and the gang of outlaws he is running with.

True Grit is the Coen brothers' retelling of the 1968 Charles Portis novel that also served as inspiration for one of John Wayne's most famous westerns.

This is a gritty (excuse the pun), unromantic view of the old west in all its magnificence, from epic, sweeping landscapes to fast, confused, violent conflicts and men driven by greed and a strange sense of honour.

Speckled with authentic-sounding dialogue and heavily accented delivery, this probably isn't a period piece for the casual viewer, but for those of us that love westerns this is one of those gems that sadly doesn't come along as often as we'd like.

Steinfeld is brilliant in the pivotal role of obstreperous Mattie, arguing with everyone and always threatening to contact her lawyer, while Damon and Bridges present two very different interpretations of classic American western archetypes (the U.S. Marshal and the Texas Ranger), with both having their moments to shine.

Cogburn - as we know from John Wayne's take on the character - is a larger-than-life and slightly unpleasant persona and Bridges delivers in spades, with the Coens' script allowing him to talk the talk for the majority of the movie, as he becomes increasingly drunk and unreliable, before he has a chance to show that he can walk the walk as well.

A classic tale of vengeance and retribution, the script and the setting also deliver on the verisimilitude, with the viewer only being yanked out of the moment by a number of close-up two-shots during Rooster's final ride with Mattie which, unfortunately, look as though they were greenscreened - even if they weren't.

Otherwise, the cinematography is flawless and the film is compelling viewing that pulls you in from the opening monologue through to its touching conclusion.

A truly magnificent movie, True Grit belongs in the DVD library of anyone who considers themselves a fan of America's old west.

Barney The Bunny (2012 - 2025)

Barney in 2012

MAY 7, 2012 - JANUARY 29, 2025

It's really sad and peculiar no longer having my usual morning routine of feeding Barney first thing, but on Wednesday I found our beloved bunny had died in his sleep.

We buried him later that day and are planning a small memorial, with flowers and a statue, to mark his grave site.

He was over 12-and-a-half years old; in human terms that's about 90.

Named after my favourite character in How I Met Your Mother, Barney came into our lives on July 7, 2012, when we picked him up from Pets At Home in Tunbridge Wells and brought him back to his own residence in the garden of our old home near Tonbridge station.

At the time, the general advice was to get a single rabbit, as - we were told - a pair of males would fight, but this thinking has since changed.

The small size of our garden meant there was no convenient way to attach a covered run to his hutch, which therefore necessitated me lifting him out of his hutch and manually placing him in the run every time we thought he'd want to stretch his legs. Usually, though, he would sit in the run and glare.

In those early years, he was no fan of being handled.

Barney's original hutch

A fit and sturdy rabbit - a blue Netherland Cross, half-dwarf - the only injury he ever suffered was a very early (even before his first birthday) hind claw snagging incident that our wonderful vets resolved promptly.

Otherwise, he was very hardy and healthy, with the only real sign of his advancing years being the gradual loss of his eye-sight, beginning in 2021, but even then that didn't seem to bother him as he knew he was safe within the confines of his hutch and run, and that he would never want for food and water.

Every Christmas, he would travel with us to Rachel's parents' house, where they had a holiday home set up for him - his own dedicated hutch - and, as a member of our family, would get his own Santa's sack of gifts (usually food-themed). 

Barney (and Alice) have personalised gift sacks from Father Christmas

Barney's holiday home in Rachel's parents' garden

A couple of years after we took in Barney, we adopted Alice and she loved him from their first meeting. Every chance she got, she'd want to play chase with him or stroke him with her paw and give him a good lick (puppy kisses) behind the ears.

Best of Friends: Alice with her 'brother from another mother'

When we moved house in 2019, Barney found himself living in a much larger hutch, with an attached run, and he really took to it.

He definitely chilled out a lot, and you could tell he felt comfortable knowing he was very secure in this new environment.

Barney's luxurious new home in our new garden

Enjoying the expanse of his new run

He lived through boiling hot summers and wet summers, hurricane-strength winds and snow storms, visiting dogs (much larger - and more excitable - than Alice) and unwelcome foxes, but nothing seemed to bother our Barney.

I also discovered that there are few sights more adorable than a rabbit stretching itself and yawning.

Rachel's best friend Aime also included Barney in our family gifts (above and below)

Celebrating the Year of The Rabbit in January 2023

As he grew older, his fur got a bit tuftier and lately I'd noticed, under this fur, he felt like he was getting thinner, even though he was eating well and was still quite fiesty.

His passing, although not totally unexpected given his age, has left a huge bunny-shaped hole in my broken heart. Both Rachel and I were really upset, and Alice was very confused as to what was going on - thinking of her giving him kisses because she thought he was asleep still brings a tear to my eye.

Barney was loved by all and will be missed terribly.

On his 12th birthday, last year

PULP PICTURE OF THE MONTH: The Stranglers of Bombay (1959)

In 1830s India, a dedicated - but disillusioned - British East India Company officer, Captain Harry Lewis (Guy Rolfe) petitions his commander, Colonel Henderson (Andrew Cruickshank), for permission to investigate the disappearance of thousands of natives as well as numerous goods caravans.

Only the job gets handed off to new arrival Captain Christopher Connaught-Smith (Allan Cuthbertson), an old family friend of Henderson.

Lewis comes to believe that there's a secret cult operating in the countryside, committing all these murders, kidnappings, and robberies, but even when he presents evidence to the other officers he is dismissed out of hand.

The cult of Kali-worshipping stranglers - The Thugs - has infiltrated the upper echelons of both native society and the BEIC, and are doing everything they can to discredit and thwart Lewis, even attacking him and his home.

But he won't be deterred.

The Stranglers of Bombay, an 80-minute black and white, but still quite gruesome, Hammer thriller from 1959 is available on Blu-Ray from Powerhouse's high-quality Indicator range of releases, and is a wonderful slice of semi-historical pulp adventure.

While The Thugs - including Doctor Who's original Master Roger Delgado in an uncredited but key supporting role - are clearly the "bad guys", all the BEIC officers, bar the repeatedly ignored Lewis, are painted as boorish, incompetent, arrogant, or corrupt.

Lewis is a classic pulp hero, slightly eccentric, but dogged and excellent at his job (even if his so-called superiors don't acknowledge that), but he's also a middle-aged, married man in a role that one might normally associate with a younger fellow.

The violence, for its time, is shocking, but certainly not glorified (there is a fight between a mongoose and a snake, which is important to the plot, but obviously wasn't filmed with CGI or puppets). 

Helmed by legendary Hammer director Terence Fisher, from the first produced script of David Zelag Goodman, who would go on to pen such classics as Straw Dogs and Logan's Run, the plot of The Stranglers of Bombay also served as the basis for 1961's Terror of The Tongs (which featured Christopher Lee in his first headlining Hammer role).

Look out for my review of Terror of The Tongs in due course.