Precinct1313’s Blast From The Past…
Welcome, fellow fans of fantastic fiction, once again, to our bombastic “Blast From The Past” and this exclusive interview with, Death, herself… hint, it doesn’t end well…
Precinct1313’s Blast From The Past…
Welcome fellow fans of fantastic fiction, to another Blast From The Past! This peerless post centres around my absolute favourite comic-book series since the venerable, Watchmen, which is high praise indeed! So why not re-indulge your senses with the mystical mastery of super escape artist, and new god – Mister Miracle…
Precinct1313’s Blast From The Past…
Well hey there, fellow fans of fantastic fiction, and welcome back to our bombastic Blast From the Past! Normal services will resume soon, as the Precinct re-materialises, once more, upon your preeminent plane…
Anathema’s Abode – Precinct1313’s Sister Site
Well, hey there, fellow fans of fantastic fiction! Through the Precinct’s mysterious portals we once more tread – referring back to our previous post, we would like to once more introduce our newly created sister site – Anathema’s Abode. Whence we attempt to unleash a plethora of potential poetic perfection.
Please feel free to journey alongside us, and partake in delirious depths of versification, such as our newly published poetic piece, shared below –
See you on the other side, friends…
We’re Back!
Well, hey there, fellow fans of fantastic fiction, we’re back! That’s right the mystical mansion of mystery, known as Precinct1313, has once again risen, like the proverbial phoenix, from the ashes!
It’s been well over a year since this other-worldly abode dematerialised from this earthly plane! Our last article was posted on the 30th of March 2024, a celebration of that curmudgeonly creature of the night – Batman, and his 85th anniversary since Bat-birth! So it’s lovely to be back posting once more, alongside all of you talented writers and artists, here on this magical digital conveyance known as – WordPress.
But, where have you been, you may well ask? Well, other projects have been sired since that Bat-post of yesteryear. I took up the art of poetry, something I have never dabbled in before, or, to be honest, ever had any real interest in. Then I met a lovely lady, who happened to be a established poet, whom, after reading some of my articles in this existential edifice, reasoned that I should try my hand at poetry, so I did! and now I’m well on my way to self publish my very own book of emotive verse!
I have, so far created around forty finished poems, and illustrated around half of those, so still some work to do before printing and publishing can take place. That said, and if you would like to indulge in some of my work in rhyme thus far, a new website was forged to share my new love of words with the world, a sister site to the Precinct, known as Anathema’s Abode.
As I previously mentioned, it’s lovely to be back amongst all my followers and fellow creators once more, and it would be wonderful if you found the time to click on the above link and visit my new site. Until next time, dear friends.
85 Years Of, The Batman!
Eighty five years ago, today, the smoking gun barrel of Joseph Chill unleashed unto the wretched streets of Gotham City, a nocturnal nightmare of which they had never seen before. The mindless murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, before the innocent eyes of their young son, Bruce, unshackled a force of vengeance and righteous justice that has been preying on Gotham’s criminal underbelly with furious anger, ever since… The Batman!
Created by the peerless pairing of Bill Finger, and Bob Kane, this creepy and curmudgeonly creature of the night’s first ever appearance was in DC Comic’s revered – Detective Comics #27, which released on 30th March 1939 (though the issue was dated May, comics are often dated a month or two ahead) Since that time, the dark and surly one has gone on to become, quite possibly, the most popular and renowned Superhero ever conceived, with his fame spreading across every single known entertainment medium, from comic-books through video-games, television shows, movies, toys, clothes, novelisations, and so, so much more, firmly cementing his Bat-place in heroic history!
But what is it that compels readers to immerse themselves in a vengeance driven man-hunter, a being that has devoted his life to bringing his own brand of Bat-justice to a corrupt and dystopian city seething with criminal detritus? I absolutely believe that it’s his inherent vulnerability and pathos, you see, unlike the vast swathe of caped crusaders, Bruce is, ultimately, just a man in a costume… he can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, or deflect bullets with bracelets, he’s not capable of reaching the speed-force, or even talking to fish! but what he does possess is the inherent belief in his own righteousness and decency, it’s his integrity and moral fortitude that has enabled him to rise above the sea of costumed crimefighters and be the best he can be, no matter the adversity or lack of powers thereof… the mark of a true hero (of course, billions of dollars, an unsurpassed mastery of myriad martial arts, genius level intellect and a compendium of glorious gadgets also, sort of, helps!)
So, Happy eighty fifth anniversary to the greatest comic-book character ever created! So, my bodacious Bat brethren, why not sound off in the comments below about your very first encounter with the dreaded Dark Knight, and what you will be doing to celebrate eight five years in the company of Gotham’s grim and gritty guardian.
Precinct1313’s Comic Book Classics: Coffin Hill
Well, hey there, fellow fans of fantastic fiction! And, we’re back! That’s right the majestic mansion of mystery, has once again returned from the void. So why not join us on a preternatural peregrination to the past with yet another – Comic-Book classic!
After a night of sex, drugs and occult ritualism in the woods, Eve Coffin wakes up naked, covered in blood and devoid of all memory of how she got there. One of her friends is missing, another finds herself in a mental asylum, and a third believes that Eve herself is responsible. Years later, Eve returns to Coffin Hill to discover that the darkness she unleashed in those dark woods a decade ago is still loose, and is surreptitiously seeping through the town of this sleepy Massachusetts hollow.
Coffin Hill is a bleak, haunting tale of witchcraft, madness, power and retribution, set against the creepy backdrop of New England. It stars Eve Coffin, an unruly and defiant teenager from a rich and powerful family, that have endured a curse that dates way back to the Salem witch trials of 1692.
Written by best selling horror/fantasy author Caitlin Kittredge, author of the popular Nocturne City and Black London series of novels. Though primarily a novel writer, Caitlin has always had a great love for the comic book medium, especially Vertigo’s Sandman series. After meeting a fellow writer who had been solicited by Vertigo, she managed to get her Coffin Hill series picked up for publishing by DC’s supernatural horror imprint.
Coffin Hill had proven a big hit for Vertigo and ran for twenty chillingly compelling issues. I recently discovered this horror gem by picking up the first trade collection and instantly fell in love with the characters, atmosphere and haunting writing style of Caitlin. The art is also outstanding, pencilled by the terrifically talented – Inaki Miranda, who formerly worked on Vertigo’s Fairest and Fables series, and a short stint on DC Comic’s Birds Of Prey series.
Coffin Hill’s trade collections are available right now and are highly recommended to anyone with a love of dark fantasy, horror and the supernatural. Expertly crafted characters, a brooding atmosphere and compelling storyline make for a tragic tale that is an infinitely addictive page turner.
Precinct1313’s Holiday Swag Bag…
Felicitations, fellow fans of fantastic festive fiction, and welcome to another thrilling treasure trove of terrific toys! That’s right, my beleaguered Bat-wallet has taken a particularly brutal beating at the behest of various geeky retail outlets! But, we’ve come away with, quite possibly, our greatest haul of nerdy necessities yet. So let’s dive on in…
Batman: The Complete Television Series…
“Holy bumper box of bodacious Batman blu-rays!” That’s right, old chum, the swinging sixties sensation has taken up residence in the Precinct with this classic collection of all 120 episodes! So it looks like I’ll be spending the entire holiday period ‘Kapowing’ my way through this camp classic, 2717 minutes of crazy capers, 3 hours of extras at a ridiculously reasonable £30… Bat-tastic!!
Dr Fate Action Figure..
Lord of order – Dr Fate, has magically materialised onto the Precinct’s overburdened shelves with this fantastic figure based upon his likeness from the recent Black Adam film. Dr Kent Nelson (played by Pierce Brosnan in the movie) is a powerful sorcerer and agent for the Lords of Order, originally created in 1940 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman.
I’ve wanted a Fate action figure for awhile now, so was pleasantly surprised to walk into my local HMV during one of their sale periods, to find this striking sculpt, and at a ridiculously cheap £10! With over 30 points of articulation, a stand, so the good ol’ Doc can levitate, and a collectors trading card, this was a complete and utter bargain!
NECA – Ultimate Robocop Figure…
“Drop it, dead or alive this toy is coming with me!” isn’t what I said to my local comic shop proprietor… but thinking back on it, it would’ve been cool if I had, oh well! I was absolutely giddy to find this stunning set in my nearest (and dearest) comic-book shop. NECA make some of the very best figures and statues in the business, and this ultimate robo is another awesome addition to their classics line.
I love Robocop, the original 87 movie is my favourite film of all time, so whenever I find absolutely anything to do with the classic cyborg, I am utterly compelled to pick it up. Standing at 7 inches, and meticulously detailed, this absolutely lives up to its Ultimate appellation. It features a spring loaded holster for Murphy’s Auto-9 pistol, a Cobra Assault Cannon, data spike alternate right hand, and an interchangeable head. “I’d buy that for a dollar” It wasn’t actually a dollar, it was 50 quid, but worth every single penny!
NECA – Elvira – Red, Fright & Boo Figure…
Another notable NECA addition to my collection is this rousing rendition of the devilish and dynamic diva of the double-entendre, the mistress of the dark herself – Elvira!
Thanks once more goes to my local HMV for providing this fabulous figure of Cassandra Peterson’s alter ego, the horror hostess with the mostest… busting out from the collector’s box, this 8 inch figure is fully articulated, with tailor fabricated clothes, and a whole host of horrortastic extras, including an alternate winking head, haunted chalice, skull and snake candle display and figure stand.
Happy Holidays!
Precinct1313’s Comic-Book Classics: Supergirl: Being Super
Let’s be honest, origin tales have been spectacularly overused in both the comic-book scene and their spin-off movie counterparts. How many times do we honestly need to witness a baby Superman being catastrophically hurled via an escape pod from the fulminating planet of Krypton, or Batman losing his parents to the smoking gun barrel of villainous Joe Chill… these characters are now so iconic that virtually everyone, comic book fan or not, is overtly familiar with their raison d’etre.
With all that said, you may be feeling slightly bemused that I’m recommending a series that dynamically delves into the past of Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, but there is a very good reason behind that… this series is fantastic. As a matter of fact it’s not only one of the greatest Supergirl comics to have ever been released, but one of the greatest comic-book series ever published… period!
Kara has in recent years found herself back in mainstream public consciousness thanks mainly to the extremely successful CW television show, and also the really rather rousing Steve Orlando – Supergirl Rebirth comic book run, plus the hotly anticipated James Gunn announced feature film – Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, based upon the superb series by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, it seems Superman’s Kryptonian cousin is finally receiving the attention she deserves.
Which brings us to one of Kara’s more recent triumphs, the superlative – Supergirl: Being Super – the Mariko Tamaki penned opus that transcends previous Kara Danvers origins by offering us a fresh take that focuses more upon her relationships, trials and tribulations of everyday life as a teenager growing up in a small american town. It’s definitely a slower burn as a comic book, less super heroics but more angst, sass and quirky dialogue as we follow Kara in an exceptionally engaging and fantastically well written coming of age story
If you approach this series with atypical expectations of vile villains, super speed, and heat vision, you’re going to go away disappointed, this is a tale that spotlights the character behind the iconic “S” symbol and it’s all the better for it. An emotionally engaging script by Mariko Tamaki is ably backed up by the always stunning visuals of Joelle Jones, Supergirl: Being Super is a revelation in superhero storytelling, and one of the most definitive takes of the classic character to date, highly recommended.
Comic Cover Of The Week: Battle Of The Batmen
That’s correct, old chum, these burly, brawly bodacious Batmen are battling it out once more, to see which of these utterly captivating comic cover classics end up on top of this breathtaking bat-pile! Delightful and dazzling DC Comics have bestowed upon us, humble comic book fans, another perfect plethora of phenomenal pictorials starring everyone’s favourite curmudgeonly creature of the night – The Batman, but which of these cool and creatively compelling covers will win out in the end… only YOU can decide.
Another month, another bustling, brimming battalion of brush-stroked Batmen! DC Comics know what their frenzied fans want, and that is, apparently, a cavernous cadre of crazy chiroptera clad comic covers, there’s more images of the dark and surly one here than you could shake a batarang at, but which of this cavalcade of caped crusaders is your fave? Why not sound off in the comments below, fellow fans of fantastic fiction!
Detective Comics #1077 – Cover By – Evan Cagle
World’s Finest: Teen Titans #5 – Cover By – Chris Samnee
Poison Ivy #16 – Cover By – Eliza Ivanova
Batman #139 – Variant Cover By – Mike Deodato
Batman #139 – Cover By – Jorge Jimenez
This Brethren Of Bodacious Bat-Books Are Available At Your Local Comic-Book Emporium, Right Now!
Batman And All Related Imagery Are Copyright: DC Comics.
Women In Comics Presents: Nell Brinkley
Nell Brinkley (1886 – 1944) was an American comic-book artist and illustrator, who rose to renown as one of the progenitors of female presence within the comic-book medium in the early 20th century.
Born in Colorado in 1886, Nell was approached, whilst still a student in high school, by the Denver Post who were looking for a talented artist to draw romance cartoons for their daily print run, for this she was paid the princely sum of $7 per week. In 1907, her terrific talent was noticed by media mogul – William Hearst, and the editor of the New York American – Arthur Brisbane, who convinced the young artist to move to New York and illustrate their daily one panel comic series.
Throughout her long and storied career, Nell also pursued a journalistic vocation, where during the day she would interview notable dignitaries and then, in a time before the general usage of photography in the print medium, she would spend her evenings creating illustrations to accompany her bodied text. Brinkley’s art made her a luminary in the field of female illustrators, becoming a household name, Nell used her fame and prodigious talent to support the causes of female suffrage and the burgeoning growth of women’s rights and liberation in the united states.
Nell was probably most famous for her “Brinkley Girl” character, a voguish and feisty paradigm, a sassy, no nonsense persona who furthered Nell’s own pursuit of strong and independent female archetypes. Often referred to as “The Queen Of Comics” throughout her forty year career, Nell’s influence on the medium is still seen as inspiring to modern day female comic creators.
Comic Cover Of The Week – Halloween Special
Well, hey there, fellow fans of fantastic freaky fiction! and welcome to our hellacious Halloween special! That’s right we’re setting off for some seriously spooky Samhain shenanigans with a cadre of creepy comic cover collectables courtesy of devilish – DC Comics!!
But… What’s this? DC’s ominously occult offerings this all hallows eve are most definitely more cute than creepy, as they serve up a delightful delectation of chibified character creations! (Chibi, which is also known as super deformation originates from Japanese anime and manga, where characters are drawn in an exaggerated style, usually small with large heads and stubby limbs… super-cute!!)
So, why not pull up a tombstone, and lets get this eerie excursion on the go…
All eight of these terrific trick or treat covers are rendered by the creatively commendable – Chrissie Zullo Uminga, who previously worked for DC on their Vertigo imprint, supplying art for such tantalising titles such as – The Wolf Among Us and, Cinderella: Fables Are Forever.
Happy Halloween!
Precinct1313’s Monthly Swag-Bag…
Well, hey there, fellow fans of fantastic fiction, we’re back! Yep, that’s right, your favourite DC Comics doling destination has once again resumed its mammoth mission, to bring you all the news and reviews pertaining to THE greatest comic-book publisher of all time!
And where have we been, you might ask, well… as you know, if you’ve been an agent of the preternatural palazzo – Precinct1313 for a while, we produce all our posts from this ancient abode, the majestic (and sometimes malefic) mansion of mystery, over a month ago we found ourselves trapped within a mysterious realm that the Precinct had decided to dimension hop us into, a perplexing plane of existence that had zero internet! Upon contacting our service provider, we were told that their inter-dimensional internet engineer was on holiday, for a month!! But rejoice, for we have returned, phoenix like to bring you another thrilling treasure trove of toys!
Warner Bros – 100th Anniversary – Wile E. Coyote Dressed As Batman Figure
Meep meep… it’s our favourite Warner Bros cartoon character of all time, the wild & wacky – Wile E. Coyote dressed up as that creepy, curmudgeonly creature of the night – Batman! I mean, how could I resist picking up this fantastic model at my local Smyth’s toys, a marvellous melding of two of my absolute favourite figures. Wile stands at seven inches in height, has around sixteen points of articulation and comes with a card certificate of authentication (which also has its own cute stand!) But, even dressed up as comic’s most renowned Masked Manhunter, he’ll still probably fail at catching that pesky Roadrunner!
Michael Keaton ’89 Lego Batmobile
You wanna get nuts? let’s get nuts, with this bodacious Batmobile based on the greatest Bat-vehicle of all time, Keaton’s 1989 classic car! This, in my humble opinion, is the best onscreen batmobile ever (closely followed by the Adam West variant and the more recent Robert Pattinson muscle-car adaptation) The 438 piece set measures 5cm high and 28cm in length and features a removable cockpit, revolving flaming exhaust and adjustable blasters, plus two extremely cool mini-figs – Keaton’s Batman, and a Joker-tastic Jack Nicholson! (I haven’t actually got around to building this one just yet, so my Bat-apologies!)
Blue Beetle Action Figure
Following on from the recent (and brilliant) Blue Beetle movie, once again, my local Smyth’s toys provided this 30cm action figure. At a bargain £10 pounds! the hero mode figure features 11 points of articulation and is surprisingly well sculpted for such a relatively cheap price. Scarab-tastic!
Lynda Carter Wonder Woman PVC Statue
