“Nature’s red in tooth & claw”

Alfred Tennyson:  In Memoriam A.A.H.

The line quoted above comes from Canto 56 of Alfred Tennyson’s poem & is often read as the author trying to balance his faith with the theory of evolution that was becoming widely more prominent at the time. As I write yet more words about Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing run & the effect that it had on the evolution of comics I find myself wondering how Tennyson would have reacted to Moore’s more literal interpretation of the phrase for his story The Curse.

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Ok, so it's not so much a mondayne panel as it is a whole page & actually it's not that mundane, instead I think it's quite interesting & it makes me think of All the Humans are Dead by Flight of the Conchords. Even though in this case not all of the humans are dead, only the male ones, except that Yorick bloke, which is why the series is called Y the Last Man. So really I've failed in every way possible to produce a mundane panel for this week. Unless of course you've read all this in which case it must seem hella boring by now.

“I'm the one who steps from the shadows, all trenchcoat and cigarette and arrogance, ready to deal with the madness. Oh, I've got it all sewn up. I can save you. If it takes the last drop of your blood, I'll drive your demons away. I'll kick them in the bollocks and spit on them when they're down and then I'll be gone back into darkness, leaving only a nod and a wink and a wisecrack.”

                                   John Constantine: Dangerous Habits

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Believe it or not here at MOMB we do occasionally do something other than Mondayne panels & Podcasts, & we will... soon. Currently James is busy writing his spinning orders & Jon is writing his next Swamp Thing piece. So, in the meantime, here's something to make you smile... or more realistically go "what the blue hell?"

There are 78 planets in the Universe of Heaven's fence & still not one of them can make a decent burger...

This is why there are so few British Superheroes. Low wattage and crap, but with a strong sense of social conscience...

Dear Mr Snyder,

Having seen the trailer for your latest film “Sucker Punch” I would kindly request that you stop borrowing ideas from my dreams, using methods you probably borrowed from Inception. I’ll let it go just this once since the end product looks rather appealing, but if I see my abstractions involving Kelly Brook & a family sized tub of Banana Yoghurt coming soon to a cinema near me I shall be forced to take libel action.

Kindest Regards

Jon

Another quiet week on the spinning order now has me quivering with fear that when I next visit the comic book store, I’m never going to be able to leave as to pay off the massive debt I will almost certainly have run. So large will it be that fear I’ll end up cleaning dishes for the next 25 years (that is still how you make up an unpaid bill, right?) in some sort of Forbidden Planet comic book debtor dungeon. Regardless it gives me a chance to indulge in activities I would normally not have the chance to do, with the time taken to read my usually large standing order.

Mankini hand-gliding seemed such a good idea at the time.

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“There are people”

 “There are stories”

 “The people think they shape the stories, but the reverse is often closer to the truth”

                                Alan Moore: Down Amongst the Dead Men



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“In three minutes, 98 percent of all the matter there is or will ever be has been produced. We have a universe. It is a place of the most wondrous and gratifying possibility, and beautiful, too. And it was all done in about the time it takes to make a sandwich.”

                              Bill Bryson



Right, Tomorrow morning Warner get’s its game face on & prepares to face the screaming hordes of Comicon with the panel for Green Lantern. So far there has only been one shot of Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan & director Martin Campbell has been busy beavering away making sure that there’s (hopefully) enough footage to make a full trailer. Of course, no matter how good his trailer is, it’s probably not going to be as good as this fan made offering... Because this one has Nathan Fillion in.

It now occurs to me that we’ve never done an and/or image for this bit. It’s simply a Friday afternoon slot that makes it look like we do work when all we really do is filch stuff from You Tube.



Sometimes when I get Monkies & comics all in the same piece, I feel proud. Ok, so I know it's not really Monkey, but I'm doing my best ok?

A lighter than usual spinning order this week saw my Bank Manager cancel that planned trip to the Bahamas, and put a smile on my poor wife and child’s faces…(actually not true, child is too young to smile unless its wind. Which she has, A LOT). This of course makes me feel like an all round nice guy, even if it did leave me with more heel kicking time on Sunday than I was comfortable with. Also I’ve been getting increasingly concerned with the amount of expensive looking jewels the members of staff at the local comic shop seem to be wearing of late, and the salivating and hand rubbing which my weekly visit seems to be greeted with. I think my usual haul is quite modest.

Enough blather, reviews after the jump…

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S.W.O.R.D – No Time To Breathe

Marvel TPB

Kieron Gillen & Steven Saunders

Fun. It’s something I lament the lack of in some modern comic books. Melodrama is the order of the day, with large helpings of angst and self loathing. Captain America feels unworthy, Superman is jacking in the flying caper and taking a walk and Daredevil, well he’s gone right off the tracks, hanging out with his evil ninja buddies. Maybe the last is a poor example, he’s always found room for angst over the years, but my misty childhood memories have most heroes kicking ass and taking names first, with maybe the odd pause for reflection every so often, or in the occasional, seminal but unusual storyline which would get under their skin a little.  Many “mainstream” writers seem to be so intent on creating the character defining epic they find themselves fortunate enough to have secured the writing gig for, they seem to lose sight of what made the characters so popular in the first place. Sure the audience has matured and (maybe) grown, but while we want mature stories don’t we crave that joyous spirit of fun that used to be central to comic book stories?

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I know. Strictly speaking this is neither Monkey and or comic book related, but if you're not one of the 2 million who have already seen this then you need this in your life. What's wrong with your faaace?

So somewhat later than I would have liked (only a week!) a baby delayed spinning orders is here. See despite the sleepless nights and endless nappy changes I’ve still had time to produce an array of reviews for you delight and delectation.

Yes, you are right the sleep depravation HAS given me a sense of giddy megalomania, today MOMBcomics tomorrow THE WORLD…MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

Reviews after the jump….

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Ah lunch time, time of lunch-ness. But more importantly, time for a cigarette!

Ok so you've probably seen this already, but who cares. I'm not posting it for you, I'm just saving myself the bother of having to go into Youtube 5 times a day & type Batman Dead End or click on bookmark page. Cos I'm dead lazy like that.

It's not often that when your parents stare dumbfounded at the picture on your computer monitor you can utter the words "I was looking for porn I swear" & they breathe a sigh of relief...