Selling for over $4000, here is the original art for Jim Lee’s Free Comic Book Day T-Shirt design;

The T-shirts of course… were free! And here’s how they look, on.

In February 2012, for the 35th anniversary of 2000AD, I made a pledge:

“But here’s a deal for you. If you’ll do it, so will I. 2012 will be the year I read 2000AD. 2012 will be the year YOU read 2000AD.”

(Cover by Henry Flint)

And here we go….. THE big storyline, the thing that’s been all over the media, the thing Day Of Chaos has been building up to…. the return of the remaining Dark Judges; Mortis, Fear, and Fire, all brought back to Mega-City One by those Sov agents still holding a grudge for the time Dredd destroyed their city.

There’s not that much to say really, it’s everything you expect at this point, a final blow-out of the whole Sov agent storyline, yet another thing to assault Mega-City One, the final part of what’s been one of those annus horribilis things for Dredd and co.

Funny thing is, like I said a few weeks back, now that I’ve got the whole Day Of Chaos: Eve Of Destruction storyline, I’m actually enjoying John Wagner’s incredibly tight storyline about Mega-City One and the response to the terrorists. The irony is that bringing the Dark Judges into it will give me the huge disaster I was looking for when I first took up this 2000AD pledge, except right now I’d actually really like the Day Of Chaos to hold off just a little more.

No matter – one thing I’m beginning to learn is that John Wagner is on fine, fine form with this, what looks like his last Dredd for a little while. Reading this CBR interview with him I was taken with the absolute chaotic approach he’s bringing to the storyline:

“I hadn’t intended to use them in “Day of Chaos,” but as the story developed, I saw they would fit in very nicely. The idea was to start off slowly and gradually build up to a thoroughly chaotic conclusion. By the final days, I was holding nothing back. Dark Judges? Sure — stick them in the pot and give it a stir.“

(Dredd by John Wagner & Colin Macneil)

Meanwhile, over at the other piece of brilliance in the issue, Ewing and McCarthy have dropped some of the technicolour psychedelia of The Zaucer Of Zilk, and take us deep into damp, dismal despair of the world of Raine where we get to see a little of the reasons behind his villainy.

Sure, it may be a little darker than it was before, but by heavens it still looks gorgeous, and there’s a sense of tone and mood here that’s turning a wacky concept into something far more interesting and involving.

(The Zaucer Of Zilk by Al Ewing & Brendan McCarthy)

Cadet Anderson by Alan Grant and Steve Yeowell strikes me as one of those strips that’s not going to be anything more than a un-championed, low-key adventure serial of  Psi-Judge Anderson’s younger days. The solid and dependable sort of story, unlikely to ever be held up by many as the pinnacle of 2000AD, but enjoyable enough in and of itself.

Which was also what I initially thought of The Age Of The Wolf as well. but then I read the first couple of chapters and rather enjoyed it for a great little storyline and some cracking artwork.  Over the last 9 weeks I’ve seen the adventure follow the journey of Rowan Morrigan in an England under permanent moonlight and wolf invasion.

This episode Age Of The Wolf sees Rowan deal with the little problem of the Skinners. And then….. well, that’s the problem, because that’s it. Nothing else, just an ending, a mysterious voiceover, and the report of Rowan’s disappearance with a promise of more to come. In all honesty it’s actually quite stylishly done, and if it would have come at the end of episode 15, or 20, all would possibly have been okay, but as episode 10 it all seems a little too truncated.

Finally Flesh is still going, and just as with last week and all previous episodes it’s a damn sight more fun when it’s full of giant bloody dinosaurs hurting each other and the people take a back seat.

(Cadet Anderson by Alan Grant & Steve Yeowell)

(Age Of The Wolf by Alec Worley & Jon Davis-Hunt)

(Flesh by Pat Mills & James Mackay)

As explained last night, here’s the return of Wallace and Gromit. Or at least half of their return.

That doesn’t sound like Peter Sallis to me. What a shame. I hope he’s well.

And it could have been funnier – especially if this film really is only a minute long. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the sheer density of business in Super Best Friends Forever but that seemed sadly inert.

While still as handsome to look at as ever. Hopefully the other half will redeem it.

And here’s some behind-the-scenes footage too. This runs for over twice the length of the entire Jubile Bunt-a-thon film. Hardly seems fair.

Amongst the revelations in this new featurette: that Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows was born out of a conversation with Johnny Depp about making a vampire film, generally, and not an adaptation of this show in particular.

That’s a little surprising, I think.

Also amusing to hear Helena say “What has he made you into this time.” They’re a little club and they know it.

Dark Shadows is along next weekend – and I’ll get to see it in the meantime. Stay tuned for our review as soon as I’m allowed to share it.

I don’t know if it’s because planning for the Avatar sequels has been going so well, or maybe James Cameron’s scripts for parts 2 and 3 have ended up overrunning, but for the first time, the writer-director has mentioned the possibility of a part 4.

That, I think, is the good news. The rest is bad.

Cameron was speaking to the New York Times about his professional future:

I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions.

Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it. I’m making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4,and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts.

And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the Avatar landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can’t say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing.

I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition. So that’ll be a film that’ll get made this year and come out first quarter of next year.

A few weeks back, when I was speaking with Cameron, he spoke as though Battle Angel was still a possibility.

Maybe he’s rather more capricious than I had expected and these plans will change again. Or maybe not. He’s maybe just the King of Pandora from here on out.

Howard Hardiman’s excellent series The Lengths has impressed with the 4 issues I’ve reviewed (review links here). This is what I had to say at the end of issue 4′s review:

“The Lengths is at the halfway stage here, and so much has gone on that it’s ridiculous to think of picking it up midway through. Each new issue that comes out demands a reread of the story so far, and when it’s all published, I hope Hardiman takes the plunge and collects it in book form. That way, all of the subtle nuanced moments from issue to issue will have more chance to breathe than they do here.”

Hardiman’s now offering issue 1 for free at his site. Nice jumping on point. Read it, then go and buy all four issues.

Missed this yesterday until very late, but those nice people at We Are Words + Pictures have a special mini edition of  Paper Science for FCBD with a few choice reprints – a Chloe Noonan strip by Marc Ellerby, a Ninja Bunny by Philip Spence, and a monstrous love story  by Sarah Gordon.

All available from a special dropbox link through their Twitter. Consider it a little FCBD bonus.

Axel Alonso recently confirmed another Infinite Marvel comic for #6 of Avengers Vs X-Men to follow up on the Nova webcomic with AvX #1.

He wrote;

The second Infinite Comic will be released concurrent with “Avengers Vs. X-Men” #6, the beginning of the second act of the series—and while we can’t yet tell you which character it focuses on (it’s not Nova in this case), it is somebody absolutely central to the “AvX” storyline, and the story will give you new insights into their mindset and point of view—while also providing fans for one or two of the things they’ve been asking for in “AvX” the most!

But, according to the Amazon listing for the Avengers Vs X-Men hardcover, there will also be an Infinite issue with  AvX #9 as well…

The Avengers and the X-Men-the two most popular super hero teams in history-go to war! This landmark pop culture event bringing together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Magneto and more in the story that changes them forever! And in AVX: VS, experience larger than life battle too big for any other comic to contain! Iron Man vs. Magneto! Spider-Man vs. Colossus! Captain America vs. Gambit! And more! Plus, for the first time ever in print, Marvel’s groundbreaking Infinite Comics are collected, revealing key events through the eyes of Marvel’s major players. It’s the biggest event in Marvel history-but is it the Avengers or the X-Men who emerge triumphant?

Collecting Avengers vs. X-MEN #0-12, AVX: VS #1-6, AVENGERS VS. X-MEN INFINITE COMICS #1, #6, #9 and material from POINT ONE.

VIZ MEDIA OFFERS 40% OFF ON SELECT VOLUME 1 DIGITAL MANGA TITLES EVERY MONDAY IN MAY ON VIZMANGA.COM AND VIZ MANGA APP FOR iPAD, iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH

Latest Digital Update For The First-Half Of May Also Features The Launch Of HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT, MISTRESS FORTUNE,

SEIHO BOYS HIGH SCHOOL And EXCEL SAGA

Manga publisher VIZ Media encourages fans across North America to visit VIZManga.com and the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad^®, iPhone^® and iPod^® touch every Monday throughout the first-half of May to take advantage of a special 40% off discount on select Volume 1 digital titles (Reg. MSRP: $4.99, Sale Price: $2.99). Five different opening volumes from various manga series will be offered each week, from the hit debuts of BLEACH and BAKUMAN｡, to the non-stop action of DRAGON BALL Z and psychological tension of DEATH NOTE, to the romance of BLACK BIRD and DENGEKI DAISY.

Discount Manga Titles for May 7^th Include:

BAKUMAN｡ Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens

DEATH NOTE Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

DRAGON BALL Z Vol. 1 · Rated ‘A’ for All Ages

ROSARIO + VAMPIRE II Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

TORIKO Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens

Discount Manga Titles for May 14^th Include:

ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

ARATA: THE LEGEND Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens

BLACK BIRD Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

DENGEKI DAISY Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

HYDE & CLOSER Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

VIZ Media also delivers a substantial digital manga update during the first-half of May with the announcement of the launch of 4 new series. The new series include the romantic shojo fun of MISTRESS FORTUNE, HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT, and SEIHO BOYS HIGH SCHOOL, as well as the zany sci-fi comedy action of EXCEL SAGA.

The VIZ MANGA APP is available for free through the iTunes Store and all manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada within the application for $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume. More than 55 series and 500+ volumes are currently available for download.

MISTRESS FORTUNE · by Arina Tanemura · Rated ‘T’ for Teens ·

Available May 7^th

Fourteen-year-old Kisaki Tachibana has psychic powers. She works for PSI, a secret government agency that fights aliens. She’s in love with her partner Giniro, but PSI won’t allow operatives to get involved. Just when Kisaki thinks she may be getting closer to Giniro, she finds out she’s going to be transferred to California!

HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT Vol. 1 · by Kazune Kawahara · Rated ‘T’ for Teens ·

Available May 14^th

Hapless Haruna needs help finding a boyfriend! After failing to win the eye of any guy in high school, Haruna enlists the help of cute upperclassman Yoh to coach her on how to make herself more appealing to the male species. Yoh agrees, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!

SEIHO BOYS HIGH SCHOOL Vol. 1 · by Kaeneyoshi Izumi ·

Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · Available May 14^th

Remote, lonely and surrounded by the ocean – this isn’t Alcatraz we’re talking about – it’s Seiho Boys’ High School, where the student body is rife with sexually frustrated hunks! How can these young men get girlfriends when they’re stuck in the middle of nowhere? These are the stories of the students of Seiho High and the trouble they get into as they awkwardly pursue all girls who cross their paths.

EXCEL SAGA Vol. 1 · by Rikdo Koshi ·  Rated ‘T’ for Teens ·

Available May 14^th

Question: What happens when you try to act like an anime character in real life? Answer: EXCEL SAGA. Two groups of neighbors in an apartment building lead secret lives. One thinks they’re trying to take over the city of Fukuoka. The other thinks they’re trying to defend it. Only their bosses, would-be conqueror Lord Il Palazzo and obsessed bureaucrat Dr. Kabapu, know the truth behind this increasingly dangerous private game. Too bad neither lets their underlings in on it!

 VIZ Media’s multiple digital manga platforms allow for universal access to read manga from an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and now, on VIZManga.com for desktop/laptop PC-enabled computers as well as Android-powered devices with built-in web browsers. The free VIZ Manga App is the top application for reading manga and features a rapidly growing library of the most popular manga series in the world. For more information, please visit VIZManga.com or www.VIZ.com/apps.