Oliver Davis reviews Spawn #238… “Jim’s struggle to control his new life is put into perspective as Cogliostro reveals the secrets of the Dead Zone. From the temptations of Eden to the wars of today, the whole of human history has been tainted with conflict. While Cogliostro’s motives may not be clear, his first lesson […]

Oliver Davis reviews Prophet #41… Only four more issues to go until Prophet’s end. Brandon Graham, the comic’s writer, has promised a six issue miniseries to fully conclude the story, but still, bad times. Prophet is one of the most consistently absorbing comics out right now. Issue 41 sees the War in Space take things […]

The Great Train Robbery, 2013. Created by Chris Chibnall.Starring Jim Broadbent, Luke Evans, Neil Maskell, Jack Roth and Robert Glenister. SYNOPSIS: A two-part television adaption of Britain’s biggest ever heist – the ‘great train robbery’ of 1963. Having your life adapted for the screen seems to be the kiss of death these days. Shortly after […]

Oliver Davis reviews Prophet #42… After its terrific issue 41 (and, to be honest, every installment prior to that), Prophet #42 acts as a filler episode, taking a break from the series’ climactic battle to tell a story from Diehard’s millennia-spanning life. The comic’s usual writer and artist – Brandon Graham and Giannis Milonogiannis, respectively […]

Oliver Davis reviews East of West #9… Another issue in Jonathan Hickman’s sprawling East of West, another new character to confuse things. With each installment, the series confounds its already-epic narrative with a new, superfluous thread. It’s like the frustrating latter books of George R. R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ saga. Issue […]

Oliver Davis on the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman… Philip Seymour Hoffman (or ‘PSH’ as he was lovingly called in my house) was never a leading man in the conventional sense. A man of untucked shirts, his face was rough and slightly weathered, his portly torso giving him the appearance of a New York slob. […]

Locke, 2014 Directed by Steven Knight Starring Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott and Olivia Coleman SYNOPSIS: A construction manager’s life slowly falls apart on his drive home from work. Locke’s titular character is Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), a Welsh (it takes a while to get past the ‘camp Bane’ accent quickly) construction manager, who’s […]

Oliver Davis reviews Prophet #43… Issue 43 begins telling the story of Hiyonhoiagn. At first, it’s a little bewildering, and you worry that this is another filler installment like last month’s. The art is different, smudged somewhat, like Szymon Kudranski’s work on Spawn. But within eight pages, Hiyonhoiagn is revealed as the nerve centre of […]

Safety Not Guaranteed, 2012 Directed by Colin Trevorrow.Starring Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass and Jake Johnson. SYNOPSIS: A journalist and his two interns investigate a ‘time travel partner wanted’ advert that appears in a newspaper. WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. […]

Oliver Davis reviews East of West #10… “Death finally tracks down someone who knows where his son has been hidden, right as the Ranger finds that exact same man. Someone shoots, someone gets shot, and someone dies.“ East of West #10’s synopsis above hints at a frustrating trait of the series so far: “Death finally […]