STOP PRESS! Titan Comics new Doctor Who comics will now be available in the UK!

by Ben Fardon

I just received an email from Diamond UK with one welcome news!

Diamond UK and Titan Comics are pleased to announce that the brand new Doctor Who comics from Titan Comics are now available in the UK!

Previously listed in Previews as N/A UK, the first issues of the two ongoing series featuring the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors are set to arrive in stores on 23rd July!

This means that I can start taking orders for the new Doctor Who comics right now! There are two titles to start with, one featuring the Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant, from Nick Abadzis, Robbie Morrison and Elena Casagrande. The other will feature the Eleventh Doctor as played by Matt Smith, from Al Ewing, Rob Williams and Fraser Simon. A later series will feature Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor once the new series has debuted on TV.

Doctor Who 10th #1

Writer: Abadzis, Nick

Artist: Casagrande, Elena

Cover Artist: Zhang, Alice X

The Tenth Doctor is back, in an all-new ongoing series! New companion, new foes, unforgettable new horizons! Allons-y! The Eisner Award-winning Nick Abadzis and fan favorite Elena Casagrande take control of the TARDIS for the first five-issue arc with the tenth Doctor, portrayed by David Tennant! Gabriella Gonzalez is stuck in a dead-end job in her family's New York laundrette, dreaming of college and bigger, better, and brighter things. So when a strange man with an even stranger big blue box barges into her life on the eve of the Day of the Dead celebrations, talking about an infestation of psychic aliens, she seizes her chance for adventure with both hands. After Donna's tragic exit, the Doctor thought he was done with companions. But Gabby Gonzalez is going to prove him wrong - if she survives the night!

Doctor Who 11th #1

Writer: Ewing, Al
Artist: Fraser, Simon

Cover Artist: Zhang, Alice X

The Eleventh Doctor returns in an all-new ongoing series, with a time-twisting leap into the unknown! Geronimo! Alice Obiefune has just lost her mother when the Doctor explodes into her life. But what does a grieving young woman have to do with the career of a 70s musician, an amnesiac alien time traveler, and a terrifying cosmic threat? In the wake of the second Big Bang, discover what the Doctor gets up to when Amy and Rory aren't around! Plus, every issue includes a 'Titans' strip and a brand-new humor strip.

To order, please email me at shop@proudlion.co.uk ASAP! Always pre-order to avoid disappointment!

Ben Fardon is delighted by this news! Fantastic

The Watcher - Doctor Who: The Bells Of Saint John, A Prequel

Doctor Who returns for the second half of season seven this coming Easter Saturday, on BBC One and BBC One HD at 6:15pm.

Here's the online prequel! Enjoy!

Ben Fardon has his head in the clouds with Bioshock Infinite

The Reluctant Geek - A life less ordinary

When I was in my mid-teens, I developed a deep and abiding resentment towards my parents for not being American. It was totally unreasonable, not to mention somewhat uninformed, but at that age I hadn’t yet learned to associate the states with fast food, draconian attitudes towards abortion and Fox News. Instead, television had taught me that in order for anything truly thrilling, meaningful, exciting or dramatic to happen, it had to happen in America.

To be fair, based on the evidence of my limited experience, it wasn’t entirely surprising that I had catapulted towards this conclusion. While British TV was best known for Coronation Street and Eastenders, where people with inexplicable regional accents yelled at each other, had tawdry affairs and got run over; the States had Buffy and The X-Files. Week after week witty and committed protagonists with whom I could identify engaged in a spot of saving the world with a side of smouldering sexual tension. There was no contest really. I didn’t want to be a whinging Northerner in the rain. I wanted to be a glamorous, kick-ass heroine whose life had significance and purpose. And on some level, that meant I wanted to be in the good ‘ol USA.

That’s why I will always be grateful to the newer incarnations of Doctor Who. OK, he came along a little too late to save my teenage years, but it was the first show that taught me that the UK could be a setting for danger, excitement and narrative with meaning, just as much as anywhere else.

(I know what you’re thinking… Obviously I don’t *really* believe in time travel, aliens and magic phone boxes. It’s just nice to know that if a TARDIS did suddenly spring into existence, it might just as easily be in say, Montpellier, as the Arizona Desert!)

The early series of the modern Doctor Who massively played on this desire that humans have had to a greater or lesser extent since the days when we were living in trees and riding on pterodactyls.* We all want to be rescued from the humdrum of our daily nine ‘til five, of doing the ironing and going to the pub, just as Rose is when Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor first breezes into her life. More than any other show I’ve come across, Doctor Who taps into our craving for adventure and significance. A string of companions face the ultimate ‘intervention’ and the perfect escape, whether it’s from the wedding from hell, the family from hell, or just the soul smashing tedium of normality.

That’s why it’s really rather wonderful to have The Doctor back, as enigmatically brilliant as he always is. Matt Smith’s Doctor plays out the dichotomy of saviour versus utterly unknowable alien incredibly well and Stephen Moffat has thus far proved pretty keen to point out that all of this racing around the universe, engaging in daring escapades and seeing things that humans just weren’t meant to see, comes at a price.

Of course, where Doctor Who leads, other shows frequently follow. The Who universe spin-off Torchwood makes Cardiff look every bit as cool as any brooding American city and turns detective work into a shiny, slick, technological indulgence to rival CSI or 24 or any of the big American shows. I’m not ashamed to admit to a massive fan-girl rush standing on the Plaza, following in Jack’s footsteps (although to be honest, I’d happily follow Jack pretty much anywhere) and in this sense really exciting British TV does the UK Tourist Board a massive favour. In fact, Wales is where all of the cool kids are hanging out these days, after Being Human’s relocation, although I still feel a certain fondness for the gritty, decaying glamour of Bristol, entirely appropriate for a show about vampires and werewolves, let’s face it.

The opening scene of one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who begins with the words, "For the first nineteen years of my life nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever.' When I was a teenager myself I could hardly imagine anything worse than a life where nothing happened, so perhaps this is why the next line of this soliloquy will always send shivers down my spine: "And then I met a man called The Doctor." Thank goodness then, that he’s back for the Spring and the Autumn. Not to mention, Christmas!

This week, Kate is looking for her mojo. It’s probably under the couch again...

*Please don’t send me hate mail, I know we didn’t ever really ride on pterodactyls!

The Reluctant Geek - Hack on Slash

I haven’t told any of my friends or family this yet, but something strange happened to me last week. It came about during an unusually lively Thursday involving ambulance trips and a fair amount of pain related whimpering. (Fear not, regular readers, I’m fine. You’re not about to be abandoned in the barren wastelands of Reluctant Geek-less Saturdays).

The high point of the day was the shiny cylinder of delicious nitrous oxide that I was lucky enough to suck my way through, and aside from the giggling and wittering and tumbling through space it induced, there was one other rather surprising effect. In the midst of this drama and chaos I was comforted by a vision. An important vision. A vision that was telling me the time had come to share one of the most closely guarded and secretive corners of geekdom with the world.

As reality faded to grey around me, I found myself surrounded by every sci-fi crush I’ve ever had. (At least all of the male ones!) In the corner of the room, the Tenth and Eleventh doctors exchanged friendly banter about TARDIS size, while next to them the vampiric forms of Spike and Angel engaged in a bit of shirtless wrestling. On the other side of the room, Captain Jack Harkness and Captain Jack Sparrow admired each other’s coats and indulged in intense and charged conversation that necessitated some manly touching and long lingering looks. I could go on, but I suspect you’re starting to get the gist...

Far from merely being the product of my feverish and over-active imagination, all of this fits rather neatly into the genre of Slash Fiction, an interest that quietly occupies its own little corner of the internet, bothering no-one aside from the occasional religious fundamentalist who wanders over there by mistake. (And Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural). It’s a universe driven by fan interests in which primarily male, primarily straight, pre-existing fictional characters are written into complex, intense relationships with each other. So far, so subversive.

I hate to generalise, but if at this point you are shaking your head in baffled (if fascinated) disbelief, then the chances are you’re male. If on the other hand, this is all striking some secret and hitherto repressed chord, then you’re likely to be a woman and for the most part so are the writers of slash fic, to an overwhelming extent. We’re often told that whilst girl on girl action is pretty much everyone’s cup of tea, only gay men really want to see two men together, but when it comes to slash, this just ain’t necessarily so.

What makes it so transgressively compelling then? If there is safety in numbers, then it makes sense that Slash Fiction writers can often be found in little communities all of their own. The lovely, talented and eccentrically named Aelfric’s Cat belongs to one such community and offers some insight into the magnetic allure of slash.

“The idea of an overarching, transcendent love which surpasses all worldly difficulties, social objections, and yet still burns brightly is a huge draw,” she argues. “That two men have such intense, desperate desire for each other that they are willing to brave the prescriptions of a hetero-normative society, past enmity, strict upbringing, and biological restrictions is a truly beautiful concept.”

See, this is the thing. Easy as it might be to characterise Slash Fiction as the internet equivalent of a rowdy Hen Party in which women play at a kind of tit-for-tat objectification, it really comes down to something a bit more complex. Nobody, least of all me, is denying the appeal of the physical here (see earlier comments re: shirtless wrestling) but the real attraction of Slash lies in its willingness to tread where the mainstream generally won’t. There is still something thrillingly illicit about taking the bastions of conventional masculinity that populate our most influential cultural narratives, and putting them into taboo situations with all of that glorious masculinity intact. After all, the most interesting relationships are very often the forbidden ones.

Perhaps it’s unsurprising then, that fantasy and science fiction are far and away the most frequently slashed up genres, given that their entire game plan involves exploring previously uncharted territory. In fact, we have Star Trek to thank for the earliest incarnation of this specific branch of fan appreciation, with Kirk/Spock stories first emerging in the seventies. I suppose in the end, space may be the final physical frontier, but the cultural and emotional ones we create for ourselves are universes in their own right. And anyway, slash is fun!

Read Aelfric’s Cat’s work, and other Slash Fiction at http://www.fanfiction.net/~aelfricscat

This week, Kate is attempting to stay out of trouble...

The Reluctant Geek - Geek culture is like the TARDIS... bigger on the inside.

I write this surrounded by debris. There is a scalp of blond curly hair flung over the back of the sofa, and a shiny, black French Maid dress abandoned on the floor. There are two boots gazing lovingly at each other across the carpet and an array of shimmery sparkly make up balanced on every available surface.

Pop quiz Lion Lovers (that might’ve come out wrong) have I:

a) murdered the hired help

b) wandered onto the set of Showgirls 3

c) been living it up at Cheltenham’s premier alternative night out?

I’ll give you a clue… I don’t like Vegas and murder is just plain messy. I do however adore Judder, a club night held monthly at the Two Pigs. In a small town like Cheltenham, there are limited opportunities for indulging interests that go beyond the mainstream. Inevitably, the few places that do exist become focuses for communities that would otherwise remain disparate. Judder is one such place, and actually, Proud Lion is another.

Don’t get me wrong, the title for this blog is ‘The Reluctant Geek’ and I’m not for a single second suggesting that Judder isn’t primarily populated with achingly hip alternative types. What I am saying is that there is quite often a fair amount of sub-cultural crossover. It’s a radical suggestion I know, but often some of the most committed geeks are the ones you see on the second Friday of the month, bouncing enthusiastically to Pendulum, attired in the most fantastically elaborate costume, looking like they’re auditioning for a bit part in the next Blade movie.

Maybe it’s something to do with an indifference to the judgement of the mainstream that creates the over-lapping Venn diagram (see I can do maths references too!) On an average Judder night out I interact with role players, LARPers, comic book fanatics and sci-fi addicts, well as a whole bunch of strange and exotic folk who sometimes look scary to the uninitiated eye, but inevitably turn out to be lovely. Judder recognises the niche superiority of its audience too, with themes designed to send Cheltenham’s geek community into paroxysms of delight; past favourites have included Comic Book Judder, Post Apocalypse Judder and High School Movie Judder.

Aside from the obvious allure for an out and proud fancy dress addict like me, one of Judder’s key selling points is the sense of tolerance and mutual responsibility it fosters. If the majority of the world dismiss your interests as childish and pointless - or your dress sense and taste in music as aggressive and freakish - then you tend to go one of two ways. You either try to elevate your own particular corner of counter-culture by surrounding it with complex rules and punishing the outsiders who break them, or you go out of your way to create a community that is friendly and non-judgemental as a foil to the rest of the universe. Judder definitely takes the latter approach.

And actually, "fancy dress" is an inadequate term for some of the lengths that its collection of talented and creative attendees take costuming to. Whilst I tend to be of the "find a vaguely cute and appropriate dress and throw on a wig" school of fancy dress, some of the outfits people sashay through the door wearing could more appropriately be termed works of art than anything else. Being outside of the mainstream quite often means finding yourself surrounded by people who are infinitely more clever, nicer and more interesting than your average sticky dance-floored meat market.

In case anyone was wondering, the theme of last night’s event was Doctor Who Judder. You really haven’t lived until you’ve hit the dance floor surrounded by two Amy Ponds, a whole host of incarnations of the Doctor and a girl dressed as a TARDIS. The intersection of geek and alternative culture can be a beautiful thing...

One last point, if you’re still baffled about the relevance of the Maid outfit then you clearly need to cast your mind back to the Christmas special of 2007...

Man, I wish I hadn’t died horribly in a fire...

This week, Kate is a literary cactus.

FACT x IMPORTANCE = NEWS

A much quieter week this week, but there are a few odd gems that stand out. Here it is, the best in TV, film, gaming and comic book news from across sci-fi, fantasy and more.

A STAKE THROUGH THE HEART

I'm sure you've heard about this already, but for the one person who just got back from Narnia, here it is again. Warner Brothers have decided to reboot Buffy The Vampire Slayer, WITHOUT the character's creator Joss Whedon.

Sadly the rights to Buffy reside with the director of the original 1992 film starring Kirsty Swanson. The studio has optioned the rights from Fran Rubel Kuzui, her husband Kaz Kuzui and Sandollar Productions. The reboot will be produced by Atlas Entertainment from script by Whit Anderson. Anderson is an actress turned screenwriter, so that'll be good (sarcasm mode off).

Kristin Dos Santos from E! Online emailed Joss Whedon for his reaction and received this beautiful (and paraphrased) email:

Kristin, I'm glad you asked for my thoughts on the announcement of Buffy the cinema film. This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can't wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I'm making a Batman movie. Because there's a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

To read the full article and email, head to E! Online.

Just to make you laugh even more, Kirsty Swanson has expressed interest in reprising the role.

Former Buffy and Angel stars documented many of their reactions on Twitter. Eliza Dusku had this to say, "Joss made the "Buffster" & w/out him... I just don't trust the girl. Or the world."

Here, here.

Finally, over on the set of Bones, creator Hart Hanson tweeted this picture of him and David Boreanaz saying, "I just informed DB that they are remaking Buffy."

WHO'S THAT COMING DOWN THE CHIMNEY?

Last Friday saw Children in Need bring us our first glimpse of A Christmas Carol, the festive episode of Doctor Who.

‎"Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way The Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser, in a festive edition of the time-travelling adventure, written by Steven Moffat. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?

Amy Pond is played by Karen Gillan, Rory Williams by Arthur Darvill, The Doctor by Matt Smith and Kazran Sardick by Michael Gambon."

A Christmas Carol will transmit on December 25th, in both the UK and the USA. This will be the first time the Christmas special has been seen on the same day on both sides of the Atlantic. Great news!

JUST WHY?

To being our wrap up for this week, SFX have the first set photos from the filming of Ghost Rider 2 - though I'm struggling to care.

GOING BATTY

Following up on our early review of Batman, Inc. - Grant Morrison spoke to Comic Book Resources about the future of the new title.

GHOSTLY BOOCHIES

Kevin Smith finishes his run on Green Hornet this week. He also spoke to Comic Book Resources - all the cool kids are doing it.

Speaking of Kevin Smith, here's the teaser poster for his new, independent horror film. Something different from the Bluntman. I have high hopes. See you next week.

Ben Fardon hasn't written the word "Snoogans" in years. Thankfully, that is now remedied.

Christmas Gift Ideas - Stocking Fillers

Six weeks till Christmas? Blimey.

Our Christmas window display went in this week, there's no denying the season is nearly upon us once more.

This year Proud Lion has a bunch of fun ideas for stocking fillers or Secret Santa gifts that I want to share with you.

Doctor Who fans should consider the simple TARDIS mug - blue and white with the Police Telephone sign on one side and the recently restored St John's Ambulance logo on the other. Unlike the square TARDIS mugs that I personally would struggle to drink out of, this is a straightforward round mug. Priced at £6.00.

We also have some awesome Doctor Who wallets priced a £12.50 each. These are plain black wallets with a retro Doctor Who logo on the front, but open them up and get a glorious technicolour montage of the Fourth Doctor, the TARDIS, K-9, a Dalek and a Cyberman.

If you like your entertainment a little less family, chance are you enjoyed Kick Ass. In which case, we also have some wonderfully offensive Kick Ass mugs priced at £8.00 each. Be warned some of these are probably Not Safe For Work! In addition, the In Your Pocket keychain range has added a Kick Ass one, with six phrases from the movie. The keychains are priced at £10.00 each.

Star Wars has always had some of the coolest merchandise in the world and this year is no exception. We have two new sets of Lightsaber Chopsticks in stock, each priced at £20.00. Both include some awesome red Darth Maul chopsticks that clip together! One set features purple Mace Windu chopsticks, the other features Luke's green Return Of The Jedi lightsaber.

Possibly even more exciting is the Star Wars Science Mini Lightsaber Tech Lab. This allows you to build a 20cm replica of Anakin's lightsaber - choosing either a red crystal or blue crystal plus the choice of light-up blade or one of two focusing lenses. An enclosed science leaflet is designed to teach younger fans about light and optics - making this one of the best edutainment toys I've ever seen. At £12.50, this is a great little present for a Star Wars fan - even if it is based on the CGI CLone Wars animated cartoon.

Beyond these lovely little gifts, there are also Hellboy keyrings (three different designs at £3.00 each); Watchmen badges (packs of four at £2.50 per pack); mini figure and book sets for Snoopy & Woodstock or Spy Vs Spy (£7.00 each); a Family Guy Freaking Sweet Crapola set filled with Drunken Clam beer coasters, drinks stirrers, Brian's martini guide, a Peter Vs Giant Chicken poster and a drink can snug (£13.00); Scott Pilgrim Vs The World plush toys of Scott or Ramona, based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's artwork (£15.00 each); Batman Cosbaby mini figures (£9.00 each); World Of Warcraft leather wallets for Alliance or Horde (£25.00 each); and Nightmare Before Christmas Kubrick twin packs (£18.00 each).

Don't forget we can order any graphic novel that is in print and have it with you within a week. The final cut off for graphic novel orders for Christmas is Monday 20th December, but I would recommend you don't leave it till the last minute!

Ethan Hearts Doctor Who

I was going to do this as a quasi interview with my son for this piece but every answer to questions like "what is the best thing about the Doctor" was "everything" which should tell you where this thing is going.

When Doctor Who was revamped way back in 2005, I was excited but there was a twinge of sadness. This was due to my less than one year old son, I felt sad that he would miss this as there was no possible way it would last more than one series.

I was wrong. As my son grew the series continued. Until we got to the fourth series and he was now pretty much old enough to watch it. And we did and it was ace. He loved the show but, to be honest it was the monsters that grabbed and held his attention.

Then we came to The Eleventh Hour. A new Doctor. And within 5 minutes my son was obsessed.

It was almost frightening to watch. He was all about the Doctor, quoting his lines, voraciously reading any Doctor Who comic put in front of him. He would cry when an episode finished and was told that the next one wasn't on until next week. He was totally enraptured.

This isn't to see this hasn't happened before. There is a box of Transformers in his room to prove this. Not to mention all the Ben 10 toys scattered around everyone. He is a child, his attention span for these things is finite.

So far this hasn't been the case with Who. The toys, obviously, have an impact but he hasn't been this interested in the word of a series before. he wants to know the names of all the aliens, their history, where they come from. He spouts quotes from the show back at me, refuses to eat the 'bad bad beans'. He's even started to ask about the old Doctors, thanks to a few of the little clips of them in the new series.

I am of course, immensely proud of this. If I'm honest there has been an element of ground work laid down for this kind of behaviour, mainly in reading him issues of the Lee & Kirby Fantastic Four run for his bedtime stories.

I digress. This is truly his Doctor. Matt Smith has captured my son's heart. You can pick at this kind of show as much as you like but you cannot argue with it's appeal. It is truly universal with a central hero that is someone to aspire to.

The show (marketing aside) has good intentions and doesn't feel as 'designed' as other shows. Ben 10 is great but it feels 'designed' to appeal to kids with an almost Terminator like focus. Doctor Who feels like people trying to tell good fun stories to raise the hairs on your neck, none more so that in this latest series.

Long may it continue and may the world welcome a future Whovian.

Phil Doyle is one of the creators of abadeducation.com and co-host of the sonicsring.com podcast. His real job is in insurance which he hopes won't be forever. He also has a complete set of Marvel 2099 first issues, even Ravage 2099.

"The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know!"

CAUTION: SPOILERS ABOUT THE FINALE OF

DOCTOR WHO SERIES 31/5/FNARG AHEAD!

I was worried. Were you worried? I was. I mean I had trust in Stephen Moffat, he had written some of the best episodes of New Who. Then they released that first dodgy picture of Matt Smith. And that first look at his outfit didn't inspire confidence. A Bow tie? Nonsense. Finally I sat down to watch the new series and, my God, they had messed with the theme tune.

Five minutes and one portion of fish fingers with custard later and I was sold. Now we come to the finale, the traditional final two parter that wraps up the series. Back when Who was under Russell T. Davies, the finales were a bit maligned. All wrapped up a bit too easy with a fair amount of deux ex machina thrown in to get himself out of overwrought cliffhangers, so some say.

How does Moffat hold up? Well, in The Pandorica Opens, he shows that he can write a good cliffhanger. The final reveal of the true nature of The Pandorica itself was a great twist, very cleverly foreshadowed. Moffat nicely wracks up the tension, throwing in a ton of space ships and one of the great monologues from the Doctor. The final scene as well was a stand out moment. All of the Doctor's enemies in one room, an exploding TARDIS and the death of a companion.

The fact that all of these things are sorted out in the first five minutes of the next episode is a very Russell T. Davies trait. Here however it is carried out with such a flair that it doesn't matter. The structure of the first half of The Big Bang is an absolute joy, folding back in on itself, throwing in a lot of laughs at the same time.

All this is, let's be honest, due to the tour de force that has been Matt Smith's Doctor. That stiff first image has been blown away replaced by a whirling dervish of arms that has proved definitively that bow ties are cool. He captures the age and weight of the Doctor as well as the mischievous side. You see this in one of the final scenes of The Big Bang, telling his story to young Amy Pond. It's a great little scene that says a lot about the Doctor but also ties together the series as a whole, linking it back to the first shot of the first episode.

The last two episodes capture what has been so good about Moffat's Who as a whole. The great characters, the finely honed structure, the snappy dialog. Whilst not all the ends were tied up (I suspect that will be the focus of the next series) it was a great finale to a great great series.

I'm even starting to like the new music.

Phil Doyle is one of the creators of abadeducation.com and co-host of the sonicsring.compodcast. His real job is in insurance which he hopes won't be forever. He also has every issue of the 1990s Midnight Sons crossover and does not feel guilty about it.

VWOORP! VWOORP!

Look who just materialised at Proud Lion!

These cardboard standees cost £25 each and stocks are limited. They fold flat for ease.

Doctor Who is on at 7pm this week by the way...

Ben Fardon once crossed over with David Hasselhoff and Timmy Mallett. Now all three have a restraining order against each other.

New posters - now available in store

We've had some excellent new posters featuring Kick Ass, the Eleventh Doctor, Batman, Spider-Man and Wonder Woman.

We also have the classic Giant Chicken Vs Peter Griffin fight poster from Family Guy, Marvel Heroes, the Uncanny X-Men, and Watchmen.

They're £4.00 each or three for £10.00 - pop in store and brighten your wall.

New Doctor Who Promo Image

Today the BBC released this teaser image. It features Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, alongside three monsters - a Weeping Angel, a Dalek and a Smiler.

What do you think?

Personally, I think the image is reminiscent of children's fantasy films such as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, which is a bit of a shame. Still I think the trailer has fantastic lighting and shows real potential, so perhaps the marketing won't reflect the finished product, but will instead be used to capture the imagination of the younger generation.

It's worth remembering that kids who were 7 when the Ninth Doctor first me Rose, are now 12...



A new trailer will begin airing on the BBC on Saturday. It will also be added to www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho. Hopefully this one will include the beginning air date for new series.

Doctor Who returns with 'The Eleventh Hour'

When Matt Smith begins as the Doctor in Spring, his first episode will be an hour long reports Radio Free Skaro.



'The Eleventh Hour' written by new showrunner Steven Moffat will introduce us to "the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan)".

"Together they explore 16th century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space.
As always, wherever the Doctor goes, his oldest enemies are never far behind – the Daleks are hatching a new master plan from the heart of war-torn London in the 1940s. But they are not the only strange creatures the Doctor and Amy must face – there are also alien vampires. humanoid reptiles, old enemies such as the Weeping Angels, a Star Whale, and a silent menace that follows Amy and the Doctor around wherever they go…"

The new series airdate has not been announced yet.

Other recent Doctor Who news includes the confirmation that Neil Gaiman is writing an episode for the second series of the Eleventh Doctor. Gaiman revealed the news in a special message to the SFX Awards and the SFX Weekender. Gaiman won the Best Comic Award for Batman: Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? The writer had this to say:

"Over the years SFX, and its readers and their votes in the polls, have always been very kind to me. I thought I’d return the favour with what used to be called, in journalistic circles when I was a boy, a scoop.

As anyone who’s read my blog knows, I’m a big fan of a certain long-running British SF TV series. One that started watching -- from behind the sofa -- when I was three. And while I know it’s cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now, which is to say, NOT in the upcoming season but early in the one after that, it’s quite possible that I might have written an episode. And if I had, it would originally have been called “The House of Nothing”. But it definitely isn’t called that any more.

Countdown. You’ve got about 14 months."