By Emlyn Roberts-Harry

Chances are good that you already know whether or not you want to read Infinite Kung Fu purely based on the title. It's a beautifully drawn martial arts adventure by the hugely talented cartoonist, Kagan McLeod, and if you have any fondness at all for classic kung fu movies, you really ought to give it a look.

It's set in an unspecified time and place called the "Martial World", implied to be our Earth in the far future after the total collapse of civilisation. Our hero is Lei Kung, a soldier in the emperor's army who ends up being recruited by the Eight Immortals to, naturally, save the world. Cue "wax on, wax off" training montages, a trip to prison where he perfects his skills, and all the ridiculously violent kung fu action you could possibly hope for. 

By Sam Hurcom

When I try to explain to people why comics are so incredible, I usually get met with the response; “Comics!? Aren’t they just for kids?” Well yes… and no. I mean, they were just for kids, once upon a time (back in the day*), but not anymore. I’m forced to try and explain that, as with many things in life, comics have simply grown up over their lifespan, becoming a little darker, a little more rebellious and a lot more age restricted. These days, if you scan the shelves of your local comic retailer, you aren’t going to find too many comics aimed purely at kids (readers of around five to ten years old). There’s one or two, but not many. And that seems a great shame, because there’s a few ways to look at comics and, as a result, a few reasons why they are so important. 

By Sarah Wagner

With USD $1.32 billion donated overall since the start, Kickstarter is the most successful crowd-funding site in existence, and the place to go for artistic types who need the funding to launch their creations into the world. From theatre to games, design to film, music to books, there’s a Kickstarter project to get everyone inspired and, for us comic fans, it’s swiftly becoming one of the most exciting places to see and support new talent.

So, for those of us yet to be formally introduced to the weird and wonderful world of Kickstarter, how does it work, and how did it all begin?

By Jacob H Baxter

By our very nature, comic fans are a fickle and opinionated lot. We're more than happy to rattle off a list pertaining to the things we love about a specific character. We're also likely to, at the drop of a hat mind you, go on a tirade about why we hate a certain character. It’s like some sort of rooted core programming in our heads.

My opinions have often put me at odds with many of my fellow page turners. That’s perfectly fine. They have just as much a right to their opinion as I have to mine. However, some of my opinions have sparked some bigger flames than one might expect.

By Aaron Nash

Elektra, the assassin in red, is different from other so called ‘comic heroes’ in the fact that she isn’t really a good guy. But, then again, she isn’t fundamentally bad either, even if her morals are.

Beginning life as a Daredevil villain during the 80s, Elektra quickly became an incredibly popular character, so popular in fact that, after her death in issue 181 of Daredevil, Marvel decided to resurrect her, much to the disappointment of her creator, Frank Miller. 

For a while this run was the only Elektra that I had read.  Sure, she played a big part in a few of the large Marvel events over the years, most notably Secret Invasion, but none of this really grabbed me or made me want to read a stand-alone story with her in it. I liked the idea of the character, but for some reason just never paid much attention to her.

By Sam Hurcom

It’s hard to deny that the new Death of Wolverine is a brilliant comic. It follows the greatest of fundamental comic book rules: basic premise (Logan without the ability to heal) combined with mouth wateringly superb artwork (blessed be the hand of Steve McNiven). Throw in a snazzy hardcover edition with a few nice Director’s cut features at the end, and you wind up with a highly desirable collector’s piece, one that will certainly be sought after for generations to come.

But there is snag. Well, something that sort of dulls the excitement at least. We’ve seen all this euphoria before. Not so long ago, we all got a little over excited by the suspected death of a major Marvel hero. And that didn’t exactly pan out as we were promised.

By Aaron Nash

Storm has always been a staple of the X-Men from the time I started reading in the 90s, and for me she is a crucial part of why I enjoyed their adventures growing up. She’s gone through many different looks over the years, from the classic costume to the more punk-like look in the 80s, and her character has developed as she’s gotten older. But how much do we know about her youth before her powers manifested?

By Jacob H Baxter

Everyone loves established products. I've always driven a Ford truck. I love Dr Pepper. And, I am staunchly in the Microsoft camp when it comes to the console wars. However, once in a while a dark horse rises up and makes a strong showing.

All too often, these products are unknown gems waiting to be discovered. But, therein lies the problem. They are independent because they aren't known. And, they can't become known because the independents don't possess the advertising budget nor the clout to muscle in beside the big boys.

That’s where we come in. We, as fans, are the greatest force there is. People talk about ‘the pulse’. How do we find the pulse? We don't. Rather, we just look in the mirror because we are the pulse. We determine what is popular and unpopular.

By Aaron Nash

For those who have never heard of Jamie Madrox (much like myself before reading the series) he is the Multiple Man. A mutant capable of creating an almost limitless number of duplicates of himself. Sounds like an awesome power, doesn’t it? Well, it comes with a catch. He can’t control it. It simply happens when his body receives some kind of reasonable impact. It can be as simple as being punched or hitting a wall.  It also doesn’t help that each of these duplicates contain different segments of Jamie’s personality, which generally leads to chaos and arguments ensuing as he fights with himself (literally) to get jobs done.

After the semi-disbandment of X-Factor (the sister group to the X-Men), around the time of the events of House of M, Jamie Madrox decides to start up a private detective business in the aptly named Mutant Town (a place of refuge for some of the few remaining mutants after Scarlett Witch’s wish). He, along with his former X-Factor team-mates, Wolfsbane and Strong Guy, takes on all manner of cases. Nothing’s too big and nothing's too small, as long as it pays the bills.

By Emlyn Roberts-Harry

The latest controversy in the comic world is that Milo Manara Spider-Woman cover, and it's absolutely something worth discussing. On the one hand, it was a bad idea to run a clearly sexual, male gaze-guided cover, on a comic with a female protagonist, that’s aimed at a female audience. On the other hand, this is exactly the sort of thing you hire Milo Manara for. He’s very good at erotic art and the cover isn't a bad piece of work by any means - it just doesn't belong on this comic.

If it were the cover for a book of erotic art, no one would be complaining. The problem here isn't the art itself, but the context, and that's the main issue to focus on. To paraphrase ComicsAlliance's Andrew Wheeler, you wouldn't put a spaceship on the cover of a crime story, so you shouldn't put an erotic artist on a mainstream superhero book.