DJ's Comics Blog

I didn't expect this. Brian Michael Bendis, who has written almost exclusively for Marvel for the last 17 years, has signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics. I'm always in two minds about his work, sometimes he's incredible and writes some captivating and legendary stories, but sometimes he also writes some garbage, and doesn't pay attention to continuity. That said, I am quite interested in what he has to offer DC and their universe, and which books he is going to be writing for. On the other hand, I'm worried for the futures of the books he has been writing for Marvel, namely Jessica Jones and The Defenders, as I don't really think that many other writers care for them as much as Bendis does, (considering he created Jones) , and I feel that they will either get cancelled or just trundle along, getting more and more terrible.

The list of titles being released by Marvel Comics this week is looking very strong. We seem to have reached the point of Secret Empire where the issues are coming thick and fast, as Issue #7 is released this week, only 1 week after the previous offering. We may finally witness what was predicted way back in Civil War II, with the issue set to focus on The new Red Room's efforts to kill Steve Rogers, Hydra's Supreme Leader. Greg Pak's Weapon X title brings us Part Five of Weapons of Mutant Destruction. The next batch of mutant hunters is finally ready after a couple of issues of preparation, now the question is: Can the team stick together and survive the latest onslaught? We also have no less than SIX tie-in issues for the Secret Empire event. X-Men Blue #8, Occupy Avengers #9, The Mighty Captain Marvel #7, Captain America: Sam Wilson #24, Captain America: Steve Rogers #19, and Deadpool #34. I'm not even going to try and explain what is going on in each of thos...

It's been a while since I have done one of these, but it will only be a short one. Recently, I made the decision to rewrite the origin stories of many of my characters, as I felt that they were not sufficiently fleshed out, and that the stories involving them would not be compelling. As you can probably imagine, this process will take quite a while to complete, and then I can eventually rewrite later stories featuring these characters, that are fun to read, and also fun for me to write as well.

When I decide to write a new story for a comic book, I will usually spend a small amount of time deciding what the main character is like, and the other characters will come much later. I tend to type out a few short pieces that detail the origin of this particular character, making sure that I get their history down before even attempting to place them in to a full on story. After I have decided on who they are as a person, that is when I begin to write up the main story. The usual word count of my stories is between 1500 and 2000 words, as I feel that this is long enough to tell a cohesive story that also has enough development of certain characters. After the story itself has been written, this is when I will begin to adapt it in to a script format. My approach to scripting my comics is to take it a few pages at a time, roughly 5 or 6 in a single session, and when the artist, in my case it is my sister, receives the scripted pages, this method makes the turnaround slightly faste...

This week from DC Comics is looking to be a good one. First of all we have Detective Comics #957. After the events in the League of Shadows story arc, we have the return of Stephanie Brown, AKA Spoiler. She has not featured in this title for a while, after the perceived 'death' of her boyfriend Tim Drake a few months ago, and when she was attacked by various 'victims' of Batman, she left and has not been seen since. This week 'The Wrath of Spoiler' begins. The issue is available for around £2.30. We are also being treated to Batgirl #11, which will see the finale of 'Son of Penguin'. After the events of last issue which saw The Penguin make his appearance and attempting to help Batgirl, Ethan Cobblepot's plan is coming to a head. This book is available for just over £3, which indicates to me that it will be a slightly longer issue than we have been offered in the past. From Marvel this week, we are being offered the next chapter in Captain Amer...

In my lifetime of reading comics, I have been influenced by many different writers. The first of these being the current head writer for The Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott. He has crafted a narrative that is cohesive and easy to read. The cast of supporting characters that he has created to interact with Peter Parker in his everyday life is vast and complex. The next writer that I have been majorly influence by is the legendary Stan Lee. He has inspired me in a way that no other writer probably ever will. The sheer number of characters that he has created over the course of his career is enormous, and his style of writing is unique to him. Nick Spencer is a writer that I was only introduced to in the last couple of years, as he has been the main writer for both of the current Captain America books, starring Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers in the title roles, and of course he is also writing the Secret Empire event. I enjoy Spencer's writing as he is not afraid to get involved with...

Today, I felt like giving you all a small piece of information about how it is that I like to read my comic books. Back when I first began to read comics in 2010/2011, I would buy the comics published by Panini for Marvel from WHSmith, every two weeks. In that time, I really enjoyed doing that, as I could go home and sit in bed, reading multiple issues at a time, with arcs ending nice and quickly. After a while, I did not have the money to buy them anymore, so I stopped, and they were also about a year behind the main  single American issues. Nowadays, although I do have many singular, physical copies of titles in my collection, I prefer to read my comics digitally on services like Comixology, as they are more affordable, and I don't have to risk damaging them. Reading digitally means that I can read them wherever I am. The affordable prices mean that I can also purchase original comics from the Golden Age for about 69p or so. The Guided View on digital readers also helps me to...

This week in the world of comics is looking to be a good one. At least for Marvel and DC. From Marvel this week, we have the Secret Empire #2 from Nick Spencer, along with the various tie-ins to go with that, such as U.S.Avengers #6, and Ultimates ² #7, written by Al Ewing. Also released this week, we have the first issue of the new Luke Cage solo series, written by David F. Walker, I'm interested to see how this does, as Luke Cage hasn't worked in a solo series in the past. And finally of note, we have Invincible Iron Man #7 from Brian Michael Bendis. And from DC this week, we have the conclusion of The Button storyline, in Flash #22, along with the release of Batman #23, Aquaman #23 and Green Arrow #23. We also have some light-hearted fun in the form of one of my personal favourites, Harley Quinn #20. Elsewhere in the comic book world, particular highlights for me include: Spawn's 25th Anniversary issue from  Image Comics. From Valiant Comics we have Ninjak #2...

When I first decided that I wanted to write my own comic books, I was around eight years of age. For years, the characters and stories that I had written were very basic, and also very short in terms of length. I mostly wrote the stories for fun, and for my eyes only. Now, years later, I look at those old stories and cannot help bu laugh at how bad they really were. Over the last few months, I have taking my comic book writing very seriously, putting much more thought in to the way the characters are portrayed and more detail into the descriptions of what is taking place. The majority of the stories that I write revolve around superheroes, as that is what I have had the most experience with while reading comics, and also because I find that the stories that can be told are more exciting than if you were to write it about a regular person. I am currently working on a couple of different projects, which will all be a part of a shared universe with many of the character interacting ...