Seen the move? Read the book - Thor: The Dark World

The recent Thor: The Dark World film is about the dark elves' attempt to take over the nine realms.

If you enjoyed this film you might want to pick up the current Thor: God of Thunder series, which sees the return of Malekith (leader of the dark elves and rather prominent in the film) as he tries to take over the nine realms.  This story arc started with issue 13 which, with issue 14 only just out, is still very new - so it should be easy to find hard copies of both issues.  If you can't find hardcopies - or if you prefer digital copies - you can also pick up the series on Comixology.

Thor: God of Thunder has so far been a great series.  The previous arc dealt with a god killer named Gorr and 3 versions of Thor: one from long ago who was still young and belligerent; one from the present day who is a member of the Avengers; and one from near the end of time, who has replaced Odin as the Allfather of the Gods.  As these three Thors battle across space and time, trying again and again to defeat Gorr, we are treated not only to absolutely gorgeous art by Esad Ribic, but we also get to see the Thors quaffing lots of ale and occasionally hitting each other in the face with space sharks.  And sometimes, my dear readers, that is exactly what superhero comics should be about.  The series to date can be bought on Comixology.

Kid Book Group discussion on twitter tonight

Tonight on twitter is the monthly Kid Book Group chat.  This month, it is focusing on kids' comics.  It's set up as a comics clinic and I will be taking part as an expert (!) to give recommendations and advice.  If you want to join in, stroll on over to www.twitter.com and 9pm (UK time) and follow the hashtag #kidbkgrp (note that it is a singular kid and singular book).  The chat will last for 1 hour, until 10pm.

#kidbkgrp is the brainchild of @chaletfan, a children's and young adult literature devotee.  She's great at getting people involved and stimulating discussion.  You can find out more about the book group here:
http://didyoueverstoptothink.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/kidbkgrp-update-octnovdec-dates-and-topics/

I don't think you need a twitter account to view the tweets, but if you want to join in you'll have to register.  You can have a look at the preparatory tweets here: http://twitter.com/search?q=%23kidbkgrp&src=typd

I hope you can join us!

Marvel: Civil War

Writer: Mark Millar
Penciller: Steve McNiven
Inker: Dexter Vines
Colourist: Morry Hollowell
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Publisher: Marvel

What's it about?
A group of young heroes accidentally kill themselves and 600 civilians. This alarms the government who introduce the Superhuman Registration Act - everyone with powers must register with the government and become paid operatives of S.H.I.E.L.D.  If you don't comply, you'll be arrested and charged with treason.

This Act splits the heroes. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, She-Hulk and others are in support of the Act.  Most of the X-Men, Captain America, Nick Fury and others oppose it.  As the supporters are hired to bring in those that don't comply, the opposing faction go underground.

The book builds on and references other key events in the Marvel universe but you don't need to know about these to read it.  The other events are used to build the case for the Act and explore the moral quandary that the Marvel universe finds itself in.   The supporters believe registration is necessary to ensure new heroes are adequately trained and to ensure a measure of accountability.  The opposers believe that heroes shouldn't be beholden to government (what if government fucks up?) and that registration puts their loved ones at risk.