Geek of Oz

Pop culture has been awash with horror tropes in recent years. Whether it be zombie infestations or sparkly vampire families, horror sells. So it should be no surprise that it has found its way to the anime industry. Realistically, however, this is nothing new and horror has been a prevalent part of Japanese  culture dating back as far as the Heian period.  Siren Visual are doing their part to bring j-horror to our shores giving us, Shiki , a kaidan for todays generation. "From the studio that brought you Black Butler and Fullmetal Alchemist emerges the psychological thriller that will send you to bed with a cross in hand. When citizens of a secluded village begin dying off in alarming numbers, the sole hospital's head doctor tries desperately to save his patients-but his efforts are in vain. Entire families are wiped out while others desert their homes. All hell breaks loose as the villagers discover their loved ones' corpses are rising from the gra...

Released last week by Madman, Dance in the Vampire Bund takes place in modern day Japan. Opening on the set of a Japanese light entertainment show, the Queen of the Vampire's comes out to the world announcing that not only do they exist, but they are deeply entrenched in society. "After millennia in hiding, Mina Tepes, Queen of the Vampires, suddenly appears in Japan to announce the existence of vampires and establish a colony for her blood-sucking brethren. After this landmark announcement, Akira Kaburagi's world will never be the same. As a boy, Akira vowed to serve the ruler of the night, and now he must fulfill his destiny by protecting Mina from those who would dethrone her!"

The Vampire Knight anime series is based upon the Manga of the same name. It tells the romantic story of a teenage girl, Yuki and her infatuation with a dashing pure blood vampire, Kaname (sound familiar?). But before you think that it stole themes from Twilight you should understand that the manga on which the TV series is based was first published 4 months before Twilight.

The good folks at Marvel have supplied us with a preview of November's X-Men #5 by the crazy-awesome team of Victor Gischler and Paco Medina. Every issue of this run has been sold out and it's easy to see why. Issue #4 was yet another sell out so, as usual, Marvel are gracing us with a second printing variant with an all-new cover by the one and only Adi Granov.

Today I have the honour of presenting an interview with best selling writer and winner of the Edgar and Anthony awards, Victor Gischler. He has taken the reigns of the newly relaunched X-Men series by Marvel Comics.

Granov Cover X-Men #3 $3.99 USD - In Stores Now COVERS:      Adi Granov, Marko Djurdjevic & Paco Medina WRITER:       Victor Gischler PENCILS:      Paco Medina INKS:            Juan Francisco Velasco COLORS:     Marte Gracia With the exception of the Kyle/Yost X Force series, I haven't been reading any X titles for quite a few years. That being said, I'm not feeling entirely overwhelmed or lost by this new X-Men series. Probably the biggest surprise is how much Jubilee seems to have... filled out. Did I miss something? Is she supposed to be so... buxom? I am a big fan of Medina's art, his version of Wolverine is probably one of the best out there at the moment and I think his art is a great fit for the current storyline. The panels of Wolverine slicing through swathes of vampire in the underground were great fun. Gischl...