We’re back with a few more comics that you absolutely must read. Please?! Anyway, this week we are diving back into the “mainstream”, but with a twist. All New Wolverine Writer: Tom Taylor Pencils: David Lopez et al (seriously there were way too many artists on this book!) Publisher: Marvel Comics Number of issues: 35 Wolverine is the best there is at what he does and what he does ain’t nice. At least that’s what he’s always thought. He’s kinda ignoring old Sabretooth and later he realises that his son Daken may be just a little bit nastier than him. Then of course there’s X-23, the female Logan clone made to be the world’s best and likely prettiest assassin. I think that the comic is stretching the definition of clone a little, but I’m just an accountant so will leave those debates to the biologists amongst you. All New Wolverine picks up after the events of the Death of Wolverine arc. To honour her father, Logan did help Laura, that’s X-23’s “real” name, escape her captors and ended up adopting her. Laura takes on the mantle of the Wolverine and tries to atone for past sins as an indiscriminate assassin by being the hero. Since Laura is trying to make a life for herself, she of course needs a supporting cast. The cast is quite small, consisting of her little sister, another clone, but this time she's called Gabby, and their pet Wolverine, Jonathan. The first arc has Laura confronting what seem like homicidal, yet less advanced clones of herself. Like her, they were bred as assassins and soldiers by Alchemax. These clones have limited life spans to keep costs down i.e. they are cheaper as they are disposable just like Blade Runner’s replicants. Laura enters the fray at first to stop their homicidal rampages but realises that they are just like her and need help. The story moves at a fair pace as Laura races to save her sisters from their shortened lifespan, a fun and tragic cameo by the Wasp and a journey into one of the clone’s bodies is the highlight here. Along the way, she tries and succeeds in convincing these clones that murder is not the answer. Disfigurement and maiming though are all good. The third arc is not as satisfying but features a team up with Iron Heart and later the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Iron Heart part of the story does feature a redemption arc of sorts for Laura, Daken and Old Man Logan as well as a sweet and somewhat disturbing friendship between the tween Gabby and Deadpool. Seriously, there is something just not quite right with that girl. Taylor’s writing does a good job of defining Laura in the context of her past as an assassin and her attempts at redemption, the end to Laura dealing with her nemesis Kimura is both satisfying while revealing that Laura still has a nasty streak to her. One of the best arcs is the Orphans of X arc. Victims of Wolverine, his fellow Weapon X team members and the various progeny hunt down the offenders and using the Muramasa blade, at least the remnants thereof, seek to end the menace, as they see it, of the “Wolverines”. This is one of the few comics that have focused on the collateral damage wrought by our heroes and the lives they destroy while going about being the “best there is at what they do”. The art though is all over the place depending on the arc and penciller. The David Lopez issues are great, dynamic and interesting. But the issues with fill in or replacement artists looks rushed and unpolished at times. This is unfortunate as it is jarring when the art changes. Despite this the book is a good read and a relatively self-contained one with few crossovers to bigger events, but even then they are localised to these characters and their world. Hellblazer Writer: Jamie Delano Pencils: John Ridgeway Publisher: Vertigo Comics Number of issues: 300 (but I am only going to talk about the first ten or so) John Constantine is a b*stard. He is cynical, selfish and almost completely amoral. However, he does try to do the right thing... when it suits him. Debuting in Swamp Thing during Alan Moore’s seminal run, Constantine would go on to star in his own book. Initially written by Jamie Delano, the book was a masterpiece of late ‘80s comic horror. Definitely not Comics Code Authority approved, the book was a tale of one man’s attempts to navigate the supernatural world while trying to profit off of it. Below the surface the book was a careful commentary on Thatherite Britain, see issue 3, couched as a horror comic full of magic, demons and stupid skin heads. The first two issues start with a horrible demon possessing people and forcing them to gorge on anything to satiate a never-ending hunger until the host dies due to over eating. Constantine is introduced as a down on his luck chancer drawn into this demon hunt by an old friend. This old friend is a junkie, who we later learn has a very good John Constantine related reason for trying to forget his worries via heroin. The story is disturbing, horrifying and ultimately the perfect introduction to who John is as he does what has to be done, but ends up making a sacrifice that tells you all you need to know who the man is in order to lock away the demon. Like I said he is a b*stard, but a b*stard that you want on your side when things go pear shaped. The next eight or so issues deal with the so-called Damnation Army storyline. While not connected to each other directly, as in part 1 to 8 of a single story, there is a recurrent sub-plot that once again shows John to be a complete and utter b*stard with a loose moral compass. This arc sees John get involved with a psychic named Zed who is hiding a past and a pretty big secret. In dealing with the Damnation Army, John makes a deal with a demon, fights a skinhead monstrosity that is resolved via good old football tribalism and hooliganism, and stops quite likely what could be the apocalypse. In so doing, he defiles someone with a greater prophesised destiny and causes the mass death of a cult. In between, John helps Swamp Thing and his girlfriend Abby Arkane in a way that only he can that is both sweet and oh so dirty. The storyline ends with the ominous warning to “Remember Newcastle”, leading John to confront his past and realise that his deals with the devil have been manipulations from day one. The artstyle is extremely stylistic at times, not the hyper realistic and posed art of super hero books. The art evokes the decay and degradation of a Britain convulsing under Thatcher’s hyper capitalist and conservative policies. This is the London before the boom of Blair’s New Labour, with the mines forcibly been shut and before finance and technology took over the London economy. It can sometimes be difficult to follow the panels, but this encourages you to take your time with each issue, once you “unlearn” what you know about reading comics you will find much to enjoy in each panel. If you like the current version of John on Legends of Tomorrow, read these comics to see just why I don’t like that version. In fact, the Keanu Reeves film is truer to the character and the horror comics than that version ever will be (ed - And it's a damn good movie to boot). Just don’t get confused by the DC Comics books that were launched in 2011, that is a sanitised version that DC created as they wanted John in the mainline DC universe interacting with the spandex crowd.

After many, many years of asking, we finally have a Mortal Kombat trailer that features the most iconic song the series has ever had. The latest Mortal Kombat 11 trailer just dropped, showing us a lot more details, a new character, and one minute fifty seconds of pure combat-based bliss. Within the last 24 hours, we git to see Shao Kahn gameplay and the Nintendo Switch version of Mortal Kombat 11. Now, we get the launch trailer for Mortal Kombat 11, featuring a remix to the most iconic Mortal Kombat soundtrack ever made. The first half of the trailer shows Kahn vs Kahn action, while the latter half focuses on the classic fighters such as Cyrax and Sektor. Sheeva can also be seen in the background behind Kitana. These familiar faces may not be playable since it is common for characters to be present in the narrative but remain unplayable. The ending peaked our attention the most, showcasing what looks like an older Nightwolf. He may be the second character for the Kombat Pack one since there will be six characters within the pack. With only a few days left, Mortal Kombat 11 has shown us more than enough to keep the hype train going. Mortal Kombat 11 will launch on the April 23, 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

While some may not agree, Thor: Ragnarok is easily the best film in the Avenger's own trilogy. Director Taika Waititi rejuvenated the character in many interesting and unique ways, while paying homage to Jack Kirby's excellent visual touch of the classic comics. It was a love-letter to fans of Thor, while giving the MCU counterpart a fresh burst of newly found energy and personality. It would sense, then, that Marvel Studios would want to move forward with a fourth Thor film, with Waititi at the helm. According to actress Tessa Thompson, it may just be the case. During an interview with LA Times, Ragnarok actress Tessa Thompson, who played Valkyrie in the film, stated that she heard Thor 4 had already been pitched to Marvel Studios, and that Waititi would return. "I heard that a pitch has happened for [another Thor film]. I don't know how real that intel is, but I hear that the pitch has happened. I think the idea is Taika would come back." It's hard to say how much of this is true, but Thompson being an insider and key part of the MCU, would be a very reliable source - though perhaps based on her saying that she doesn't "know how real that intel is" might be a reason to perhaps take this with a very small grain of salt for now. It's actually not hard to think that a fourth Thor film would kick into production, as Ragnarok and subsequently Infinity War made the character one of the most beloved in the entire MCU. Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the films, gives a great performance, and with a newfound sense of character and personality, will surely drive forward with the idea. Thanks to Ragnarok and Infinity War (yes, THAT scene in particular), Thor has become my personal favourite character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I can't wait to see which direction they take him next - that is if he makes it through Endgame, of course. Avengers: Endgame releases on April 26, 2019.

The Hellraiser franchise is one that most die-hard horror fans are aware of, but hasn't had the most promising future since the first Clive Barker classic, Hellraiser, released in 1987. Despite the best attempts of studios and directors, the series ultimately fell to direct-to-video sequels and eventually faded into obscurity, being outshined by better produced horror films and sequels in its circle. Scott Derrickson, the director of both 2012's effectively chilling horror, Sinister, as well as 2016's Marvel film, Doctor Strange, might just be teasing a revival of the Hellraiser franchise now. Derrickson recently uploaded a humorous image to his Twitter account, showing a "Lament Configuration" device advertised as a children's toy, obviously making a few not-so-subtle references to Hellraiser. The boy in the picture also resembles that of the series' main antagonist, Pinhead. While this could easily be brushed off as the director simply having fun reminiscing of the franchise, there's one factor that makes this very interesting. pic.twitter.com/1iwKui1z7C— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) April 16, 2019 Derrickson was actually involved in the Hellraiser franchise in the past, having directed the direct-to-video entry, 2000's Hellraiser: Inferno. This particular entry in the franchise is widely considered to be among the best in its enormous line-up of poorly received sequels. Ever since Derrickson had breakthrough success with Sinister, though, he's appeared on Marvel's radar and will probably direct the Doctor Strange sequel for the studio as well. If Derrickson really is teasing his involvement in a new Hellraiser project, his current credibility as a filmmaker would certainly be the revival that the franchise needs right now. We may also be wrong, and he's just simply having a spot of fun, but we'll keep our hopes up.