Going out with a grin

It’s always nice to end the year on a happy note, so here are 10 things that got a grin out of me in the past week.

1. This label on a new fruit smoothie drink called ‘Pom Grenade’ 

It’s taking longer than I thought it would, and it's not quite a story in a can, but the Invisibles are finally taking over, man. And it starts with our fruit juice.

2. Brian Bolland’s reasoning why variant comic covers are a bit shit for everyone, as revealed in his 2011 book about his DC covers:

"I entered into this business with the goal of having my work as widely distributed as possible for as cheaply as possible. My primary interest was not in well heeled collectors buying my originals for large sums of money (although they do), or in people paying for especially limited editions of signed prints, or in any other method of restricting the supply of my work to make it more valuable. I am more interested in the mass production of the printed version of my work to give everyone an equal chance of getting their hands on it. So I don't particularly care for variant covers."

Fuck yeah Bolland.
 

 
3. The soundtrack to the Utopia TV show 

After watching this eye-meltingly fantastic show earlier this year, I kept getting the music stuck in my head, so I went and got the soundtrack.

Turns out it’s excellent background music for doing housework. I get SO MUCH done.

 
 
4. That Mad Max trailer 

I could watch this over and over again because I love everything about it – the ballsy use of that particular classical music (especially when it all climaxes with “MAD! BOM-BOOM! MAAAAX! BOM-BOOOOM!”), the Brendan McCarthy factor, the bit where Max gets up and keeps going because that’s all he knows how to do.

Mad Max 2 is the greatest action film ever, but I’m still surprised by how much I’m looking forward to this. If I could only watch one film in 2015, it would unquestionably be Mad Max.
 

5. New Love and Rockets soon 

It’s been way too long since the last injection of Love and Rockets brilliance, probably the longest drought in Los Bros history, (although Beto has kept things going with his usual prolific work), so I’m totally gagging for the next issue.

This will only become more obvious over the next month on this blog.

6. This categorization of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D in a local DVD store

I have been watching this show all wrong.
 

7. Judge Death is back

The long-form storytelling masterclass that is Judge Dredd gives another lesson with the recent reappearance of Dredd’s greatest villain. Judge Death has been out of the picture for more than 10 years – an entire decade where the evil shithead was literally consigned to hell – and his return is given appropriate impact with that absence.

Imagine if DC didn’t use the Joker for 10 whole years, instead of bringing him back for a “shock return” every few months.  Imagine the impact.



8. Finally seeing The Guest 

So glad I had the chance to see this recently, since it’s probably the most fun I’ve had watching a film all year, seeing this on Christmas night with the lovely wife. The thing with the kegs, the stripped back plot and the ‘HAUNTED BY YOUR SOUL!!!!’ musical sting were all magnificent fun.
 

9. The prospect of new comic shops

I’m flying to America this Saturday for a month, because it’s my 40th birthday, and I’m noting the occasion by running away to Alaska. But we’re going through San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver to get there, and I can’t wait to see what the comic shops are like in the hippest corner of the States.

10. No blogging 

This also means the Tearoom of Despair will be in low content mode for the next month, and will essentially turn into ‘Fuck Yeah Jaime Hernandez’ for all of January.

There are worse ways to fill the space. See ya in February!