#my brother also REALLY loves it but as a massive jonathan fan it hits different haha

[warrenwaskilledbyadeer]

As a long-time Dracula fan my favorite thing the tumblr Dracula Daily experience has given me is calling Jonathan "our good friend Jonathan Harker"

[deadcactuswalking]

BLAST TO THE PAST: 1st July 2001

Hello again and welcome to BLAST TO THE PAST, where we review UK Top 40 charts from decades ago to see what was happening all the way back then. We’re taking a break from the 1980s and zooming past in lightspeed to 2001, specifically the week of 1st-7th July, as Summer had started to kick in. This chart in particular has some classics and some notable events, which we’ll get into right now.

Top 10

Okay, so first, we have a debut – yep, that’s right, it’s not just intense streaming that lands songs at #1 immediately, there were songs that were big enough to sell just that many copies to get to the top at their first week. At number-one, we have “The Way to Your Love” by megastars Hear’Say, who were pretty damn big in the UK, this being their second chart-topping single. Oh, yeah, and they were created by an ITV reality show, because, I mean, of course they were! They’re a British pop group from the 2000s.

Sadly, we don’t see the rise, yet we see the fall of classic cover “Lady Marmalade”, by the all-star cast of Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Lil Kim and Mýa, from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, down one spot to number-two.

We have another top five debut, and not the last top 10 debut, with Usher’s “U Remind Me” starting its chart run at number-three.

At number-four, dropping two places from last week, we have “Angel” by Shaggy featuring Rayvon.

Number-five is home to two-spot-dropper “There You’ll Be” by country singer Faith Hill, from the Pearl Harbor soundtrack.

At number-six, we have the debut of Gorillaz’ “19-2000” featuring uncredited vocals from Miho Hatori as well as founding Talking Heads members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz.

“All I Want” by Alesha Dixon-fronted R&B girl group Mis-Teeq has dropped three spaces to its current spot at number-seven.

Do any of you remember Brandy? Because I sure don’t. Apparently she was huge, but I remember her feature on a Kanye track from Late Registration and that’s pretty much it. It’s somewhat strange that she collaborated with Ray “Hey-Fab-I’mma-kill you” J of all people, but—Wait a second! They’re siblings? And Ray J is Snoop Dogg’s cousin? Wow, he really had connections, huh? Anyway, Brandy and Ray J’s cover of Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise” is down three spots to number-eight.

“Another Lover” by another-rando Dane Bowers debuts at number-nine. If you’re wondering who this Dane fellow is, he was in a boyband called Another Level then he was on “Celebrity” Big Brother. In fact, I don’t think I know who this dude is, and I see no reason to find out.

“Do You Really Like It” by DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies finished off the top 10 with a four-space drop back to the final spot in the ten most popular songs of the country as of July 1st, 2001.

Climbers

Let me tell you now – there weren’t many at all. In fact, other than the number-one, there weren’t any songs climbing the charts, rather a whole lot of new entries and a whole lot of fallers.

Fallers

Where do we start?

“Daydream in Blue” by electronica duo (sharing their name with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode) I Monster is down 11 spots to #40, “It’s Over Now” by Diddy’s favourite R&B group 112 is down 17 spots to #39 and “Best Friends” by pop group allSTARS* is down eight spots to #38, who had a show on CITV in 2001, and appeared on the Scooby-Doo soundtrack the same year, so I’m assuming they were for kids by kids.

“Close to You” by Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow is down 16 to #37, “No More (Baby I’ma Do it Right)” by three (forgettable) little women known as 3LW is down 10 to #36, “Digital Love” by the best robots in music Daft Punk is down 11 spots to #35, “Out of Reach” by soul singer Gabrielle is down seven spots to #34, “Sing” by alternative rock band Travis is down 10 spots to #33, “Ride wit Me” by Kelly Rowland’s former crush Nelly featuring rapper City Spud is down six spots to #31, “It’s Raining Men” by ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is down 10 to #30, the classic “Papercut” by nu-metal band Linkin Park is down 15 to #29, 1980’s hit “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant is here for some reason, but it’s down nine to #28... seriously, why is this here? Apparently it had a “ringbang remix” which landed it into the top five in 2001. Huh, you learn something new and kind of dumb every day.

“Booo!” by lost-in-time musician Sticky (no, not Sticky Fingaz, this Sticky is some nobody without a Wikipedia page) featuring rapper Ms. Dynamite is down 11 to #27, “Here and Now” by the freaking Steps is down nine to #26, “This Time Around” by house music duo Phats & Small is down 15 from #15 to #25, “Thank You” by Dido – best known for Eminem’s excellent use of it as a sample in “Stan” – is down six spots to #24, “Have a Nice Day” by Britpop band Stereophonics is down eight to #20, as is “We Come 1” by electronica group Faithless at #19 as well as “My Way” by walking punchlines Limp Bizkit at #18. “Don’t Stop Movin’” by S Club 7 is down five to #14, as is “All Rise” by boyband Blue at #13. Wow, that was a lot!

Dropouts

Some data in this section may be inaccurate or non-existent, so bear with me as not all drop-outs will be noted in this section, mostly due to the fact that we don’t know a lot of them and I’m just going by what’s there on the UK Singles Chart’s official website.

There weren’t any returning entries this week, so I figured we’d go straight to the drop-outs that we know of, of which there are quite a few of, like “Cold as Ice” by M.O.P. (the Mash-Out Posse) dropping out from #36, “Heard it All Before” by Sunshine Anderson out from #35, “Rock da Funky Beats” by Public Domain featuring Public Enemy Chuck D out from #33, “Video” by India Arie out from #32, “Free” by Mýa out from #39, “Fiesta” by living trash-bag R. Kelly out from #38, “Never Enough” by Boris Dlugosch and Roisin Murphy out from #40, “Musak” by Trisco out from #28, “Jonathan David” by Belle & Sabastian out from #31, “Voodoo” by Warrior out from #37 and, finally, “Let U Go” by ATB out from #34.

NEW ARRIVALS

Now, let’s just jump right into talking about the ELEVEN new arrivals we have this week. I’ll try and keep it brief.

#32 – “Innocente (Falling in Love)” – Delerium featuring Leigh Nash

So, Delerium is an ambient/electronica group known for their hit song “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan and Leigh Nash is the lead singer of rock band Sixpence None the Richer, known for their massive hit “Kiss Me”. They would later go on to record a whole album together six years later in 2007, which I don’t really recommend – it’s kind of boring. Is this song a foreshadowing of what to come?

So I’m not the biggest fan of trance at all but I don’t mind this calmer, peaceful trip-hop-influenced stuff from Delerium, in fact I really love the opening guitar riff and the looming instrumentation (and what seem to be bells) before the steady drum beat kicks in and Leigh Nash starts smoothly singing the first verse, all over the instrumentation like she is the main force rather than a jackhammer beat, which is why a lot of EDM doesn’t click with me. However, this is almost not EDM at all. I mean, it’s kind of danceable electronica but, yeah, this is not trance at all, although the strings are definitely reminiscent and it does slowly pick up pace with some uglier synths like trance often does. I don’t know about this, it really drifts along the line between boring and dreamy, much like a lot of songs from Sixpence None the Richer. Did it have to be six minutes? No, but it doesn’t drag on too much in all its peaceful melancholy. I really don’t know why this was listed as a trance song on Wikipedia? Are they talking about the much longer and much worse Tiesto remix? If so, then why did they not specify? Maybe I’m nitpicking about the Wikipedia page more than I should but this song doesn’t really do much for me. If it had some more pop-rock edge from Leigh Nash, maybe I’d like it more, but as it stands, it’s just really weaksauce.

#23 – “Happy People” – Static Revenger

Ah, great, more EDM – lovely. Static Revenger is a Grammy-winning DJ, mostly known for making house and disco. This song in particular went platinum, so you know it’s going to be good, right? Well, if 6ix9ine’s (Platinum-certified!) “GUMMO” told me anything, it’s that sales don’t mean the art or the artists involved are any good... Maybe I should be more open-minded to dance music, I mean, I like a lot of 1990s house so this can’t be much different. I like the R.E.M. song with pretty much the same name, so it’s not like I’m averted to the concept of... happy people. This can’t be too bad.

Oops! I already kind of hate it and love it at the same time. This guitar riff is great but the synths are too static-y for the most part and the build-up feels too drowned out to really be a good build-up until the jackhammer beat starts coming in before the drop, which is a good climax but not entirely satisfying as the simple, repetitive hook stays exactly the same after the drop – I expected some mix-up? The keys introduced after the first drop are a nice change of pace and I appreciate their inclusion, and this is definitely a really fun, exciting and catchy track, however, I think this is just not my thing. It feels soulless and like a bit of a non-presence, which I guess is good for this type of club track? I don’t know, but I guess I just don’t “get” modern EDM still, even though this is barely modern, being early 2000s and all. Maybe I just don’t get EDM at all. Maybe I should learn to have some fun. Probably that last one. Next.

#22 – “Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)” – James

So, James are an indie rock band who have also dabbled in electronica and more experimental rock, including the artsy album WAH WAH. They’re apparently releasing an album next month, which I’ll definitely check out. This single is from their 2001 album Pleased to Meet You, which received mixed reviews by critics at its initial release. Has this song in particular stood the test of time?

Well, yeah, it has. Not in a way that I can be ecstatic about, as it still is somewhat dreary in its constant simplistic guitar strumming, but once the drum beat kicks in, it gets much more exciting and uses the quiet-loud dynamic well, albeit to a lesser extent than other alternative rock bands, as the main increase in volume is the lead singer’s voice, who croons over the oddly funky bassline and the cheap synths as well as the distorted guitar riffs after the first chorus which, yes, are awesome and are pretty nice as a back-up to synth bleeping and different string patterns that add to how intense and urgent the song seems to be, despite its slower tempo. Oh, yeah, and there’s an insane breakdown or solo before the final chorus, where the synths just freak out and that’s pretty damn cool, and the fact that the last chorus continues with the same instrumental makes the song all the more exciting, as it progresses in intensity just to abruptly end. I’m more of a (similarly-named) Travis fan personally, but this song rocks as well.

#21 – “Million Miles Away” – The Offspring

Remember these guys? I don’t know about everyone else, but I used to love these guys. They were one of my favourite bands, and honestly, probably still are as far as rock is concerned. The Offspring are a Californian rock band fronted by Dexter Holland, who always straddled the lines between alternative, pop punk and straight-up punk rock. They have a UK number-one and many other hits (and damn good deep cuts) in their arsenal, so how does this song in particular, from their album Conspiracy of One, fare?

It starts with a rapid and intense guitar riff that isn’t too heavy but fast enough to keep up with the simplistic, mad-cap drumming, creating an instrumental base for Dexter to moan about his break-up over. While I appreciate the instrumental, it is a tad too simple, as is the hook with the “oh, oh, oh” vocalisations and the singing feeling too whiny at times, especially in that chorus. While I love the instrumental to death, I feel Dexter’s sloppily-mixed vocals being all over it ruin it for me. However, there’s enough time where it’s just the backing and the guitar solo also rocks, so yeah, although I’m not a fan of the repetitive lyrics and delivery here, I can dig what’s behind it. Sadly, this is probably the first and only Offspring I’ll get to talk about – trust me, they’ve made much better stuff. My personal favourite of their singles is “Hit That”, if you want to check that absolute romp of a dance-rock track. They’re also releasing a new album this year, so I’m excited for that.

#16 – “Hard to Explain” – The Strokes

The Strokes don’t really need an explanation, right? One of the biggest American rock bands in recent memory, hailing from New York and bringing back garage rock in a huge way that led them to two top 10 UK hits. This is their first ever single, from their debut album Is This It, annoyingly without a question mark. Maybe XXXTENTACION could have lent them one, he seems to have had an extra one left around. That’s beside the point, let’s get into the breakout single from The Strokes.

It starts with a simple drum beat – possibly not from Fabirizio Moretti but rather from a drum machine - before going into one of the most memorable and slick guitar riffs of all time, thanks to guitarists Albert Hammond and Nick Valensi, with a funky bassline provided by Nikolai Fraiture backing not only the guitars up but also the distorted vocals from Julian Casablancas, with a catchy-as-all-hell hook that leads into an abrupt fake-end, before it picks up again for another exciting few minutes of punkish indie rock, with Casablancas’ vocals getting more strained and emotional throughout. I’m actually finding it pretty hard to describe and review this song fairly without insane hyperbole, as Casablancas says, it is pretty hard to explain, as it is one of my favourite hit songs ever, with its perfectly balanced amount of rowdiness and genuine intrigue, and dare I say, a certain classiness to the composition. Fantastic song, fantastic album, and a damn great band.

#15 – “Baddest Ruffest” – Backyard Dog

This is the 2002 FIFA World Cup song, made by big beat producing duo Backyard Dog, consisting of Aniff Akinola and Lloyd Hanley. To my knowledge, they haven’t done anything else, although Akinola here has rapped on other songs, like the mild success “Bounce ‘n’ Boom” and Kirsty MacColl’s top 40 hit “Walking Down Madison”, so it’s debateable if these guys are one-hit wonders, but if one of the most notable things the lead singer has been in was a Vimto advert, it’s safe to say you’ve probably been forgotten in time since. So, how’s Backyard Dog’s seemingly only ever piece of released music (other than their only studio album and the remix EP for this very song) that is documented on the Internet?

Well, it starts with what are assumingly sampled horns in one simple loop before a subtle but effective bass comes in and Akinola starts shouting, adding some ragga influence, but mostly I’d say this is a pretty simple big beat song, with a solid horn hook and even Akinola’s vocals adding a lot of uniqueness to an otherwise not-very-noteworthy track. Hell, I’d like this a lot more if it weren’t for the annoying chicken-like record scratching that makes up most of the song. As it stands, there’s one element that just tears the whole thing apart, which is unfortunate as this is actually a pretty fun and exciting, different song, and I do wish these guys had more material to listen to, because I’m digging their style. It’s pretty intriguing, even if it is just some big beat loops with Caribbean-tinged vocals being yelled over the track by a charismatic performer, who I’ll try and dig up other projects from. I hope these guys reunite to make some more jams.

#12 – “More than That” – Backstreet Boys

Listen, you know who the Backstreet Boys are. I know who the Backstreet Boys are. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand them. They’re talented men, sure, but it feels a bit too cheesy and sickly sweet for me to really get into. Does that ring true with “More than That”, from their 2000 album Black & Blue?

Yes, of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? It has a pretty interesting albeit typical Latin or tropical guitar riff, but the vocals from the boys here aren’t too great, and everything that surrounds them just feels like purely perfect pop blandness. It’s too perfect – kind of like “These Days” by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Dan Caplen and Macklemore and “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B, both of which I talked about on REVIEWING THE CHARTS. It’s a good song, definitely, but it feels too manufactured for me to enjoy on repeated listening, as in the end, it is a soulless boyband song. What did you expect, a long, in-depth review that focuses on the vocal range of the boys and how excellently they mesh with the smooth R&B production? No, you’re not getting that, because there are better pop songs and better R&B singers that you could be listening to, even if it’s just the early 2000s. In fact, we’ll be talking about another in just a short while.

#9 – “Another Lover” – Dane

No, this is not who I meant! I meant Usher! I didn’t want this complete nobody to come in! Well, what does Dane have to say?

Nothing. He has nothing to say because he is uninteresting and typical lyrically. That was a dumb question, I don’t think he even wrote this song... but in R&B, it’s more about how you say it, and, damn, does he pull off the smooth, Latin-influenced production well! The Latin riffs are still present in the guitars, and the drums are more prominent than they probably should be, but Dane brings a great presence to the track, even if it doesn’t seem like he can actually sing very well at all, using his falsetto a lot of the time to mixed results, but he is fun and has more charisma than Juice WRLD and Dexter Holland when moaning about issues with a partner. I love the whispering in the penultimate chorus as well, which continues in the outro as some kind of acapella percussion, which I appreciate for its experimentalism if anything. This slick 1990s-resembling production and the man’s charisma make this a great listen, even if it’s not on Spotify and only has 70,000 views on YouTube... Yikes. Now, THIS has been forgotten in time.

#6 – “19-2000” – Gorillaz featuring Miho Hatori and Talking Heads (Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz)

I love Gorillaz. I’ve been a fan for a long while now, and I have grown to love how they blend genres excellently in accessible and catchy yet still experimental and strange pop songs, while still believing that the flow of an album is definitely important... well, they used to do that. Right now, with Humanz and The Now Now, it seems that they care more about the singular songs, which is fair because of streaming being more important now, but like the Avalanches, the flow of the album is seminal in my enjoyment of a Gorillaz album, and that has not been consistent recently, with bloated, boring albums and messes of songs like “Sex Murder Party” and... “Man Research (Clapper)”... from their self-titled 2001 debut album. Okay, so, maybe they’ve never been too great at the whole “making tight compositions” thing. This song is kind of proving as that chaotic structure not working too well. Let me elaborate.

“19-2000” is about the new millennium, as its title suggests, and follows the trends of the bridge between 1999 and 2000 very carefully, with a sampled trip-hop/hip-hop drum beat and catchy boyband-like vocalisations. However, it feels very messy in all its minimalistic joy. You have Miho Hatori’s repetitive lyrics about getting “the cool sunshine”, some reversed and heavily-edited vocal samples, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz doing whatever the hell they want in the background with some multi-tracked humming from frontman Damon Albarn, behind careless and slow verses from Albarn. You also have the “we gon’ break out” bridge thing, which is just kind of there? And then you have the various synth noises going on in one specific ear while there’s finger-snapping – could we have saved this for the video, guys? I don’t know, this song is fun and I’m still relatively positive on it, but like “Tranz” and “DARE”, it seems like too much is going on throughout. Also, I don’t know what’s Albarn, what’s Hatori, what’s Weymouth and where the hell Frantz is, so that’s lovely. It just piles into some kind of ball of musical elements, but they don’t mesh. They just keep growing.

#3 – “U Remind Me” – Usher

Usher is one of my favourite artists of all time. His charisma and personality is unmatched in R&B, and he will go down as a legend with some of the best club bangers and powerful and slick R&B ballads in music history. This is US chart-topper “U Remind Me”, from his third album 8701. While I’ve always preferred the Confessions era (my personal favourite Usher track is “Confessions Part II”), I can dig his earlier stuff and this is no exception.

Those introductory strings are damn beautiful, and then the piano and the synths come in, to assist Usher in all his glory, with his smooth delivery and scratched backing gang vocals. Sure, the lyrics can be seen as pretty corny or selfish and close-minded, but Usher pulls them off with his immense amounts of swagger, with a guitar coming in to match his charisma in the second verse. Oh, yeah, the song’s about a girl he can’t date because they remind him too much of an ex... for a song about what seems to be a first-world problem, Usher’s melodramatics may seem unnecessary, but they’re really not. The catchy hook and his many ad-libs really help rather than hinder, as it becomes pretty beautiful considering its potentially silly subject matter by the end. Maybe it’s too long, maybe it’s too overdramatic, but I don’t care. Usher pulls it off like no-one else ever could.

#1 – “The Way to Your Love” – Hear’Say

Okay, can I get a “get out of review” free card? Come on, it’s the eleventh new arrival and it’s the most anti-climactic, blandest-as-possible pop song, orchestrated by a trash talent show, with talented yet uninteresting and charmless singers, as well as cliché production – although the drums here are pretty cool albeit unfitting, I will admit – including the cheapest strings I’ve heard this side of Soundcloud rap, which I feel I’ve made too many comparisons to in a blog about 2000s pop music. Ah, well. What’s this song got to say, do or try and get across? Nothing. Nothing at all. This is so cheesy that I feel the milk being heated already... yet it’s not even funny. It’s just boring. It’s just a slog. Just an uninteresting, undeserving #1. At least it’s not “Freaky Friday”.

Conclusion

Best of the Week goes to “Hard to Explain” by The Strokes, no competition, although “U Remind Me” is an Honourable Mention and deservedly so. Worst of the Week? Although I have the most bile for our #1 here, yeah, it’s going to “Innocente (Falling in Love)” by Delerium for just being insanely boring, with Dishonourable Mention going to “The Way to Your Love”, I suppose. Nothing here is outright bad, just very uninteresting. See you tomorrow for REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

[comicsbeat]

More from the Marvel presentation to retailers. EIC CB Cebulski ran down a list of the announced new #1s and presented new art in a presentation subtitled “Selling Comics, Making Memories” – because that’s what it’s all about.

In big news, Cebulski notes that many #1s will have a new trade dress, creator names a little larger, smaller UPC boxes, and two number boxes, the volume and issue number in one AND the LEGACY NUMBER in the other!!!! Retailers cheered. Cebulski notes he’s a collector and being able to find things in his boxes is important! People chuffed for this.

Cebulski started off showing FF #1 by Slott and Pichelli and the Coates/Yu Captain America. Aaron chimed in to add that the Coates Cap book will be super cool.

Next, Amazing Spider-Man #800 has almost 300,000 orders!  Take that DC. Slott is wrapping up his historic run andNick Spencer was nervous to take over the book but he’ll survive with a lot of new ideas.

The Life of Captain Marvel #1 is next. She already has a large world and a lot of elements to her history but this time they are going to be talking about her origin. “Not a retcon,” says Cebulski, just how she relates to her family and some of her early interactions with the Kree.

Jason: don’t get worried that Carol’s origin is so complicated. This is a simple. Clean story that you can tell anyone.”It’s really really good,” he add.

Avengers #1:  Avengers will be going back in time and meeting the prehistoric Ghost Rider who rides a flaming wooly mammoth. Aaron says it pulls from his many runs on Marvel titles, and gives him a chance to play with toys he hasn’t before. It’s big, iconic characters and the roster will be only seven or sometimes eight characters. The 8th slot rotates, “I want it to feel like an event in every arc. Massive world shaking threats.”

The book will establish hotspots in the Marvel U. “I loved the days when we knew Doctor Doom was in Latveria. We’ll set up more trouble spots like that around the globe.”

Next is new Thor #1. Aaron thanks store that supported the Jane Foster Thor. It was one of the best times of his career but also of his life and he was incredibly invested in her character. People applaud this.

The new run is different from the other runs, a Thor he hasn’t done. MIke del Mundo is a previous collaborator and they’re trying to outweird Weirdworld. Hela and Baldur are back, among other developments.

Marvel is making an investment in the Young Guns art program, Cebulski says. There is a theme that connects the six Young Guns variants and no one has noticed. Hop to it, team!

And now Cosmic Ghost Rider –  the success of the character caught them by surprise,  says CB. The sales keep climbing, which is very unusual. Fans have been demanding Cosmic Ghost Rider and that’s what they are getting. Dylan Burnett gets high praise for his storytelling AND inking. The Beat sez:  It does look fresh!

Aaron: everyone has been flipping out over Donny’s Thanos, but the other stuff he has coming up is even better. Cates, like Jonathan Hickman, came in loaded with a five year plan for his charactaers

Cebulski admits he’s not a big Deadpool fan,…until he read the first issue of the new Deadpool book by Al Ewing. It’s a choose your own adventure book kind of like the old Red and Stimpy issues that Dan Slott wrote. “You will think about this book do it and put it down and do it all over again. Its brilliant and inspired by Al Ewing’s love of role playing.”

World of Wakanda: The Black Panther movie has been a huge hit for Marvel. They want to expand Wakanda into the Marvel U, so they will do a series of three one shots.

Infinity Coutdown #5: Taking all the classic Marvel character and building to something big coming. Drawn by Aaron Kuder, another Young Gun.

Infinity Wars 1 Prime by Duggan and Deodato. This will have one of the biggest oh shit moments in Marvel if not all comics this summer, Cebulski says.

And the Hunt for Wolverine #1 is coming back and we’ll find out if perhaps Wolverine is not as dead as they thought he was. A lot of people are on the hunt for Wolverine, people who want his adamantium, people who want his DNA, heroes from around the Marvel U whose lives he has touched.

This story will spin in to three mini series. CB says ne encouraged writers to add to the mysteries of the Marvel myths. “Besides who is the third Summers brother, and that kind of thing, what are the questions we can use to add in more mystery?”

Claws of a Killer by Tamaki and Guice is more of a horror book. Mystery in Madripoor is about the women in Wolverine’s life. Weapon Lost ties in with some classic characters from the Marvel U.

Finally the Marvel Knights reprint line. Cebulski notes how important it is to have Joe Q in his corner helping him with advice. He’s sorry that many creator names were left off the first release. “That was a mistake. All the volumes will be collected and more Marvel Knights announcements are coming.

All-ages books are doing very well. “You asked, we listen, so Marvel Superhero Adventures is coming,” says Cebulski. It’s a series of one shots and every issue will have a new #1 instead of being 1 of five because kids won’t buy an issue #2. (Like many adults I should add.)

Marvel Rising introduced young characters and an issue 0 comes out in a few weeks.

For Father’s Day they will eventize their all ages material. Some promo items are going out to encourage fathers to visit comics shops with their kids.

99¢ elepahtnint th room. I £don’t mean to ass the buck, and we sell them the comics at the same price. Just like you offer discounts they do the same.

The Q&A then began. As noted previously the big question was those troubling 99¢ reprints. But there were other queries.

Q: If we are in this together get rid of those ridiculous ordering percentages. (ROOM GOES WILD WITH APPLAUSE.)

CB: I agree with you. I’m not going to make excuses. I admit I love variants. However I agree in my opinion  and opinion of others it should almost be like chase cards. We are reviewing that as well. I can tell you honestly I have been talking to DAvid about it. I’ve heard a lot of the same concerns addressed to me since I got this job.

Q: WHY IS COMIXOLOGY ONLY PRICING MARVEL TRADES AT 99???????!!!!!!

CB: We are looking into it.

Q: WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING COOL TAHT NO ONE ELSE HAS, NOT NETFLIX NOT MOVIES. I IMPLORE YOU TO DO SOMETHING BIG THAT ONLY WE CAN GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS. 

CB: [We can’t do a Star Wars Marvel  crossover] “I have asked.  One thing, I want to be a more forward facing editor in chief to the retailing community.” He’ll be more available and gave out his email.

Q: MOTHER’S DAY WHY NO MOTHER’S DAY???

CB: They want to do it next year this year’s timing didn’t work out and they launched with Father’s Day.

Q: HOW DOES MARVEL WORK WITH TV AND FILM TO DRIVE SALES?

CB: I don’t have an answer right away. Mike Pasciullo has been working on Netflix has come on to run all of marketing for Marvel including publishing. He’s flying into time in a few weeks to start talking about integrating the films and the animation and digital and new media. We are taking steps in that direction.

Notes from a Summit: lots of never before seen interior art from new Marvel launches More from the Marvel presentation to retailers. EIC CB Cebulski ran down a list of the announced new #1s and presented new art in a presentation subtitled “Selling Comics, Making Memories" - because that's what it's all about.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1296

Monday, January 13, 2020

 I knew my dad had an older brother living in Edmonton but I've never met him. I was introduced to him recently when my cousin sent me a picture of Uncle #2 taken while he visited with him and his other cousins there. I showed my dad the picture of his brother and his face lit up in a big smile. He hasn't seen him in decades. Uncle #2 is 91-years-old now and he and dad are the only surviving children from grandpa's first wife. I was glad that I gave my father that moment of happiness.

 Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #5 - Jody Houser (writer) Adriana Melo (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters). The trail to the Floronic Man leads the ladies to Manhattan's Central Park where they are met with a surprise. No, it's not Batwoman who guest stars this issue. It's a great cliffhanger to next issue's finale.

 The Immortal Hulk #29 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo & Cam Smith (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Roxxon sets a trap for the Hulk and it works. This is where monsters dwell. The scene with Betty and Bruce in the cafeteria was great.

 The Dollhouse Family #3 - M. R. Carey (writer) Peter Gross (layouts) Vince Locke (finishes) Cris Peter (colours) Todd Klein (letters). We catch up with Alice as an adult while the flashbacks to the past shows us some weird creatures in a cave. The dollhouse makes a couple of appearances in each point in history but we don't learn much more about it. It's still really creepy though. The last page came as a total shock. I like this DC Black Label book.

 Excalibur #5 - Tini Howard (writer) Marcus To (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is the payoff issue for the first story arc and I'm out of here now. My biggest complaint about this book is that I find myself wondering what the heck is going on as I'm reading. I feel disconnected with the action because of the different locations and all the mutants involved. There's a major change to a major hero so you may want to stick around to see where that goes.

 Young Justice #12 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Timms (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). It was nice to see Warlord even though he was only in 4 pages of this massively dialogued issue. This book had just as many heroes running around and different locations for action as Excalibur #5 and yet not once did I feel confused or disoriented. I loved how all the Wonder Comics heroes were brought together. Especially that Miguel, the Dial H for Hero kid changed into a Miles Morales-like super hero at the end. This 12-issue run was Fun with a capital F.

 X-Force #5 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Joshua Cassara (art) Dean White & Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). There's plenty of force this issue as Domino and Forge go to rescue Wolverine and Kid Omega. This new thing where every mutant can be resurrected if they die has me wondering when I'm going to get tired of writers killing characters just for shock value. Plus, the mutants can't lose now. So what if you die on a mission? I'm afraid I'm going to get bored with these characters again until the next big change.

 Catwoman #19 - Joelle Jones (writer) Geraldo Borges, Aneke  & Inaki Miranda (art) FCO Plascencia, John Kalisz & Laura Allred (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Selina comes to the rescue of family and friends and is partially successful. I like the new costume.

 Black Cat #8 - Jed MacKay (writer) Dike Ruan & Annie Wu (art) Brian Reber (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). What a great issue. The Cat and the Beetle go on a heist and we get some background on Felicia's life. It was fun until the last page when things get serious.

 Conan Serpent War #3 - Jim Zub (writer) Luca Pizzari (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) Vanesa R. Del Rey (art James Allison sequence) Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colours James Allison sequence) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). There's a mysterious force manipulating everybody in this story and I'm staying with it until I find out what it is.

 Star #1 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Javier Pina with Filipe Andrade (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Kelly's name in the credits made me give this a try. I'm not a fan of super villains being the star (har) of their own books but there are two women also in this comic book that I really like. If they're not enough to keep me reading then the God of Mischief certainly is.

 Daphne Byrne #1 - Laura Marks (writer) Kelley Jones (art) Michelle Madsen (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). This is another creepy comic from the same imprint that puts out Basketful of Heads. It's 1886 in New York and Daphne is a very intelligent young lady who doesn't fit in with the others at Miss Farrow's School for Girls. Her mother is a patron of a psychic who claims to have communicated with Daphne's dead father. That may be a hoax but her dreams seem to be all too real. I miss seeing Kelley Jones's art on the racks so I hope to keep reading this book as it comes out.

 Ruins of Ravencroft: Carnage #1 - Frank Tieri (writer) Angel Unzueta (modern day art) Guiu Vilanova (flashback art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I saw the ads for this and didn't think I would be interested but I liked the art when I flipped through it so took it to read. Other than being connected to Carnage from the title I didn't know anything about this comic book, but seeing Misty Knight on the second page meant that I had something familiar to anchor myself. And then Mayor Wilson Fisk shows up. Ravencroft is New York's version of Arkham Asylum and it was a major location during the Absolute Carnage story. It's being torn down to be rebuilt and this issue gives us the history of the evil ground that it's built on. This establishes that the Venom and Carnage symbiotes have been around since forever because the history starts in the early 1400s. I don't know where this series is going but I liked it enough to want to check out the next instalment hitting the racks January 15, Ruins of Ravencroft: Sabretooth.

 The Clock #1 - Matt Hawkins (writer) Colleen Doran (art) Bryan Valenza (colours) Troy Peteri (letters). Again, it was the art that prompted me to pick this off the rack. I first appreciated Colleen's art in 1983 when she put out "A Distant Soil". I loved her detailed pen and ink work in black and white. Here she is in colour and it still moves me. Her expressions really convey what the characters are feeling. The story is about a cancer epidemic and the threat to the world's population seems credible. I'm going to follow young scientist Jack to see how he saves the world.

 Marvels X #1 - Alex Ross & Jim Krueger (writers) Well-Bee (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I really liked the first Marvels series by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross showing the Marvel U through the eyes of regular people. This latest story features a young super hero fan named David trapped in his house after what seems to be the worldwide Terrigen Mist event when Marvel tried to make the Inhumans a big deal. David's entire family is lost and now he's off to New York City to find his heroes. I liked the kid so I'm going to follow his adventures.

 Miles Morales: The End #1 - Saladin Ahmed (writer) Damion Scott (art) Dono Sanchez-Almara (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This $4.99 US one-shot really is the end for Miles. He lives to be a ripe old age and goes down fighting. I would only recommend this for collectors of all things Miles.

 Deadpool #2 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils) Wayne Faucher, Livesay, Al Vey, Jaime Mendoza, Victor Olazaba & Tim Townsend (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I don't find Wade's new role as King of Staten Island, where monsters dwell, to be very interesting so I'm not going to read anymore of this. Much as I like Chris Bachalo's art, it's not enough to keep me coming back every month.

 20XX #2 - Jonathan Luna & Lauren Keely (writers) Jonathan Luna (art & letters). We find out what newly minted Sym Meria's power is and how she's going to cope with it. The developments with the East Side and West Side gangs and Meria's new friend are interesting enough to make me want to read the next issue of this black and white book.

 Fallen Angels #5 - Bryan Hill (writer) Szymon Kudranski (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The team is set. Psylocke leads X-23, young Cable, Husk and Bling to Dubai to fight the super villain Apoth. The foreshadowing on the last page ratchets up the anticipation for the next issue.

 The Amazing Spider-Man #37 - Nick Spencer (writer) Ryan Ottley (pencils) Cliff Rathburn (inks) Nathan Fairbairn (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Now that Absolute Carnage is done, it's time for Peter Parker to get back into the swing of things. He's testing a new device called the Clairvoyant that can predict what might happen in the future. I predict it's going to screw up his life big time down the road. The one thing I'm excited about is that a plotline that was put on the back burner is now cooking with gas. Kindred is back and he's hinting at how he's going to confront Spider-Man. As big a Spider-Man fan that I am, I still have no clue who this new super villain is.

 Batman #86 - James Tynion IV (writer) Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Let's welcome the new writer. He's got a tough act to follow but he starts his first story off very well. Batman gets wind of something big going down in Gotham City and has to deal with paid assassins gathering for nefarious purposes. There are major changes to get used to, the least of which is that Alfred is gone. Same with James Gordon, and the new Police Commissioner was a surprise. I probably would have continued to read this book because the art is so nice. Selina in the LBD at the fund raiser, MeeOwww.

 Savage Avengers #9 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Patch Zircher (art) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Conan holds his own as Doctors Doom and Strange battle Kulan Gath. When Stephen is felled by sorcerous venom Doctor Doom comes to the rescue. The amalgamation of the two Doctors was a fun surprise. If would be cool if the Iron Mage stuck around after this story.

 Joker: Killer Smile #2 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Andrea Sorrentino (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Steve Wands (letters). The doctor is out, of his mind that is. The Joker has gotten into Dr. Arnell's head in this psychological thriller. I don't imagine that things are going to end well for the good doctor in next issue's finale. Thanks to Doug for lending me his copy to read after we sold out on the racks.

[blancagriswold]

Real Weddings: Abigail and Jonathan by Angharad Thomas

Good morning and happy Friday Cwtchers!

We have a blummin beautiful wedding for you today. Images by the gorgeous Angharad Thomas, Abigail and Jonathan had a gorgeous, blustery wedding – not one that was planned as the wind changed it, but what do you do in those situations, embrace it! And goodness the results are breathtaking. With so many personal touches and fantastic DIY items, you’re about to get hugely inspired……

Abigail and Jonathan

What was your budget?

Anything in region of 10-15,000. 

How would you describe your wedding theme?

Fun, comfortable and homely. We got engaged in January 2016 so our timeframe was maybe a little shorter than most people. We both wanted people to feel relaxed and enjoy themselves and wanted them to experience the beauty of Pembrokeshire. Our service was in Emmanuel Christian Centre, we are both Christians and this part of the day was our focus.

It was emotional and moving service, with abundance of prayers, songs and teaching from the Bible about marriage. Making the commitment in this way was the most important thing for us and was a ceremony that really touched a lot of our guests. There were lots of little things touches across the day which made it personal to us. Jonny had used a type writer as part of the big marriage proposal, via a poem, so the type writer and poetry made an important feature of the invites and day. The invites and orders of services were painted by myself, with some help of a graphic designer friend!

We also brought an old Mini which we wanted to use as our wedding car, which we named “Gale”. I (Abi) didn’t fancy being driven by a hired driver but wanted my two favourite men, my Dad and new husband to drive around.

Other touches included; our vegeterian menu and served on long tressle tables ‘family style’, we had pebbles from Druidstone beach for place names, our bridesmaids and groomsmen were mix and match and we had a “naked” wedding cake made by my Mum.

What was your favourite part of your wedding?

I had many moments which really blew me away on the day and can cherish these. It am so thankful that I took on plenty of people’s advice to me to try and absorb the day as much as possible. Seeing it all come together so beautifully and to have all our loved ones in one place was so overwhelming. In addition – finally seeing Jonny as I entered the church was so much more hitting emotionally than I had envisaged, and the church service was so emotional and personal.

It was so special to stop and pray with my bridemaids and parents before we went to church too. One particularly fun moment was when Jonny and I were waiting at Newgale beach on our own for the arrival of the bridal party – Seeing my bridesmaids stroll along the beach front in their wellies and dresses made me chuckle, whilst children on the beach shouted congratulations.

The speeches, especially my Dads were amazing! Leaving the wedding venue with Jonny is a vivid memory too, our bridesmaids, groomsmen and parents gave us massive hugs and kisses as we were cheered away by all the guests in our Mini “Gale” – which had of course been hijacked with tincans!!

Tell us about your Wedding Dress

My wedding dress was bought from Brides of Winchester BOW and it was a Charlie Brear design. I went wedding dress shopping about a week after getting engaged and much to my surprise picked it out first dress shop. I must admit it was the last dress I wanted to try on out of the collection I tried.. It was very slim fit and simple dress, which could have easily been ignored alongside the big, beautiful sparkles which the shop had to offer. We added a lace overcoat, then lovely seamstress Emma Watling added sleeves, a modesty panel of lace and a belt. With the option to take off the overcoat – I was very in love with the fact I could go from pretty and lacey to tying up the bustle and showing off the low cut back.

I also chose a long, simple veil which was wonderfully wild as we faced the gale force winds of the wedding day. I had visions of wearing it with my wellies and wild flowers and it worked beautifully.

Who did you pick as your bridesmaids &/or best man and why?

Choosing bridesmaids was ever so easy, yet ever so difficult at the same time. I am blessed with many friends who mean to much to me so ummed and ahhed over the option of having nine (!!). In the end I chose those girls who really knew me at that time and could support me knowing the highs and lows of the last few years, with whom I could be completely human with. Grace and Emily I was at university with and Cat and Rachel I lived with for three years after this. They all feel like my sisters and was so honoured to have them alongside Jonny and I.

Why did you choose your venue?

We decided straight away we wanted to get married in Pembrokeshire, where my (Abi’s) parents and brothers still live. We are both fans of being outdoors and being a bit childish – we heard of a friend who hired Southwood Farm at Newgale beach last year and we looked into Tipi companies. After choosing the Timber and Canvas company and chatting to Paul at Southwood Farm we were excited by the idea of everyone bringing their wellies and gathering around a fire pit late into the evening overlooking Newgale beach. We imagined hay bales, playing in the fields, tucking into homebaked cakes and ceilidhing the night away. We had a slight blip in the plan, two days before, gale force winds were issued across the county and our Tipi venue had to be taken down. After some quick thinking and a lot of family/friends and village camaraderie – we managed to hire and decorate a local village hall.

Initially, when I was faced with an old hall, I was overwhelmed and disappointed. However, tables built, bunting up, an explosion of fairy lights and a delivery of hay bales equalled a gorgeously decorated hall and a wonderfully setting for a party. Noone minded the lack of sea views …and I still put on my wellies !

Tell us about your photographer

Angharad Thomas was our photographer – had met her in April for an engagement shoot too which was included in our wedding package. We absolutely adore our photos and she said what we said she would, she was discreet and captured Jonny and I and our day perfectly.

How did the proposal happen? 

Jonny took me to the Isle of White for the day. I knew proposal was in the pipeline as we had talked a lot about it and he had asked for ring ideas. Jonny had mentioned in passing a handmade jewellery shop on the Isle of White so I admittedly had an inkling it might happen when he planned this day out, and therefore had minimal sleep the night before (!!). We began on the ferry and Jonny’s car needed help starting as the battery died as we reached the island! It was a sunny January day, quite a classic date day for us – picnic in the car and a walk along the beach. I had then convinced myself he wasn’t proposing today as it all seemed so normal! Jonny took me up the coastal park and after a walk he stopped and pulled out a piece of paper – a poem that I had to read out loud. After a “yes” and chuckle that he was down on one knee next to a bin, we called our parents to let them know, and my parents then told me they had been asked by Jonny the previous week. We spent the rest of the day walking on the beach, picking up the ring from “Rust” jewellery and tucking into pizza and prosecco!

Any DIY stories/tutorials you’d like to share?

There were a number of things homemade – our invites, order of services, place names, the cake, flower crowns, flower arrangements, bunting.

Advice would be to ask around – it was amazing at the amount of people out there who had already spent hours sewing bunting or collecting jam jars for their daughters wedding and were more than willing to share their collection ! Our flowers at the venue were wild flowers – which was so super easy to create. My Dad and I literally shoved lavender and gypsophila into jam jars with ribbons tied round and it looked great. Our place names were pebbles from a local beach which was again easy to do with a permanent pen and half decent hand writing!! My mum is a clever lady and made the cake and flower crowns with help from my bridemaid Cat and Jonny’s Mum.

What was your first dance & why?

We didn’t have one! We had a ceiledh band who called us up first to the dance floor, quickly followed by our closest friends we had kindly ordered to come up. We didn’t fancy the added attention and wanted to avoid that awkward shuffle.

In hindsight, was there anything you would have done differently?

We had an issue with our wedding venue a couple of days before. To see the family come together and demonstrate such team work and getting everything sorted – I should have utilised people around me more before!! I also forgot to make sure we got a picture of all the wedding guests together. Don’t plan an outdoorsy wedding without a back up plan…

Do you have any advice for future couples?

Make sure you stop and just absorb whats going on at least once. I stood/ sat down for maximum a minute (not much alone time when you’re the bride!) and just looked around at all the fun going on and seeng all the people we loved in one place. Remember and remind yourselves why you are doing the wedding – you will be married – yay!! Practically – get wedding insurance!

What’s the best piece of marriage advice you received?

Ephesians 5 v 2 “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ”

What was your favourite thing about planning a wedding?

I enjoyed having the excuse to channel my creativity into something, and also having families come together to organise the event.

The Suppliers

Photographer: Angharad Thomas Photography Ceremony Venue: Emmanuel Christian Centre  Reception Venue: Southwood Farm Bed and Breakfast Bride’s Dress: Charlie Brear Bride’s Headpiece: Home Made

The Wedding Album

Liked this? You might also like these! :)

Cwtch of the Week: Abi and her Bridesmaids by Angharad Thomas

Cwtch of the Week: A Newgale Cwtch

Real Wedding: Jenny and Thomas’s Edwardian Manor House Wedding

Real Weddings: Rhian & Mark’s Farmers Classic Daughter Wedding

Real Weddings: Allie & Rafe’s Day, Their Way

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