House to Astonish Episode 104
Even though it’s been a relatively quiet couple of weeks for comics news, we still somehow managed to put together an hour and three quarters of discussion of the Saga/Comixology shenanigans, the first transgender character in the New 52, the sad passing of Carmine Infantino and the July solicitations. We’ve also got reviews of Avengers Assemble AU, Batman and Invincible Universe, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is going swimmingly. All this plus Bob Harras’s trousers falling down, what AU really stands for and Marvel’s most confusingly numbered ongoing series.
The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, either in the comments below, through Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.
Also, let’s not forget that we’ve got a new merchandise store, where you can get our super snazzy shirts. Check it out!
The X-Axis – 14 April 2013
It’s middle chapter week for the X-books!
Uncanny Avengers #6 – Well, except for this, which is more of a prologue. In fact, the Avengers don’t even appear in it. Instead, it’s an issue of set-up from the 11th century, with Kang (well, Rama-Tut, but it’s the same character) trying to alter the course of history by getting Apocalypse to kill Thor and a chap called Logan who is one of those conveniently recognisable ancestors that characters tend to have.
Charts – 7 April 2013
After last week’s improbable departure into the realms of 90s pop, normal service is now resumed.
(Briefly.)
40. Imagine Dragons – “It’s Time”
Are Imagine Dragons on a crusade to provide fodder for chart trivia collectors? The band had their first UK hits in December when “Radioactive” and “Hear Me” both made the lower reaches of the top 40 in the same week. In fact, that was largely the result of a misfired promotion: “Radioactive”was the song everyone wanted, but it was released as the B-side to “Hear Me”. So, under chart rules, if you downloaded “Radioactive” alone, it was credited as a sale of “Radioactive” – but if you downloaded the entire single, it was credited to “Hear Me”.
The X-Axis – 7 April 2013
I’ve been away for a few weeks, so we’ve got another backlog built up. Let’s cover the digital books first.
A+X #6 – I’m going to assume this is a “poker game” theme issue, rather than just a case of accidentally commissioning the same story twice.
Wrestlemania 2013
The biggest, and longest, show of the year. And also the one most heavily laden with veteran part-timers to boost the star power at the top end of the card – not exactly a ringing endorsement of the WWE’s faith in its current full-time roster. Then again, this is also a card intended to have the greatest appeal to more casual fans who will only buy one show a year; hence the march of the semi-retired.
1. WWE Title: The Rock v John Cena. The Rock has held the title since January, not that he’s done a great deal with it – aside from defending it on the February show, he’s not wrestled at all, and he’s only been a sporadic presence on the TV shows thanks to promotional work for his movies. In short, he’s been an absentee champion, but since he’s meant to be a babyface this has generally been played down.
House to Astonish Episode 103
We’re a few days late because of the Easter holiday, but we’ve got lots of chat for you this time round to make up for it. We’re talking about Angela joining the Marvel Universe, DC’s creative merry-go-round, Marvel’s new Avengers title, Jeff Parker’s Batman ’66, the return of Quantum & Woody, Marvel’s move into OGNs, Jim Rugg’s Supermag and various other bits and bobs. We’ve also got reviews of The Private Eye, Constantine and East of West, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is spreading like a viral infection. All this plus two dogs dressed as a pirate, DC’s new Thai green curry book and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of Smash Hits.
The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.
Don’t forget we’ve also got our Redbubble store – making a fashion statement out of keeping your torso warm.
Charts – 31 March 2013
Bit of housekeeping to start: we recorded the podcast tonight, so it’ll be up tomorrow. X-Axis… probably Monday or Tuesday. But in the meantime, here’s a chart worth spending a bit of time on.
Regular readers will have noticed that one thing I like about the current chart rules is that literally anything can chart if the great British public suddenly feel an urge urge to buy it, as long as it’s lurking somewhere in the iTunes catalogue. If enough people succumb to the same collective madness, literally anything can be number one.
Behold a peerless example. This one’s going to take some explaining for the overseas readers.
Charts – 24 March 2013
And we’re back. I was originally planning to chuck this week’s new entries in with the post for tomorrow’s chart, but it seems that in my absence the country has had one of its periodic fits of lunacy that means there will be plenty to say in that column already. So instead, I’m going to briefly run through last week’s largely uneventful chart to get us up to date…
35. Jakwob (featuring Maiday) – “Fade”
The first hit for James Jacob, a producer from Hereford who some of the evening shows on Radio 1 have been vaguely supporting for a couple of years now. It’s a pretty little thing, but it’s going no further. I’ve never heard of singer Maiday, but she’s got a couple of videos of her own on YouTube, neither of which seems to have made a huge impact, but then they don’t actually seem to have been followed up by a commercial release – here’s “Breathe”.
Housekeeping
Just a reminder that, as previously mentioned, we’re taking a week off. We’ll be back next weekend. Or maybe Monday. More likely Monday.
Charts – 17 March 2013
Let’s get straight to it, shall we?
38. Blake Lewis – “Your Touch”
Blake Lewis was the runner-up of American Idol in 2007, since when he’s released a couple of albums in the States to sharply diminishing returns. (If Wikipedia is to be believed, his debut album sold 309,000, and the follow-up managed just 10,000.) With this, the lead track from his third album, Lewis hurls himself on top of the passing dubstep bandwagon and clings on for all his might. It’s not horrible, actually, but it’s clearly the work of someone chasing trends.
