Unnecessary plastic objects a go go's.

We have been invaded!, but there's no need to run outside and check the sky for fleets of UFO's, no need to arm yourself against hordes of laser gun toting little green men, because these aliens come in peace.

Or should that be four hundred pieces, that's 80 individual characters that come in 5 juicy colours. Crazy Bone go go's were invented by the Greeks some several thousand years ago when children played with Crazy Bones made out of sheep's knuckle bones.

They invaded our modern world in glorious technicolour when they were given away free with McDonalds happy meals in the early 1990s and have been irrupting on and off the scene ever since. The latest incarnation is the series 3 'Evolution', which are sold in lime green foil packs of three. Our house alone is heaving with these little plastic fellas, my son currently has 63 of the initial 80 characters, my daughter has 68, and I am ashamed(maybe!) to say that I have 18.

For those of you with more sense and resolve to resist the endless pleading and begging from the Go go-holick kids in the family, I salute you! I have to say that I like them, I don't like the fact that they are so expensive, but they are very addictive. I dare say that some clever artist/sculptor will create an impressive artwork out of them that wouldn't look out of place in the bright and airy confines of the Tate Modern, and if they do I'll be one of the first in line to go and see it.

In the meantime, get the kids to bring you breakfast in bed, wash the dishes, sweep the floors, empty the bins, give you a massage, trim your toenails do their homework... It's amazing what they'll be prepared to do for Go-go money.

Just remember that it's a form of addiction, so don't leave your wallet/purse lying around unattended, you have been warned! For some lovely photos on Flicker, check out this photo pool, well worth a look.

Comic books under the coffee table.

Many moons ago,when Tarzan swung across our TV screens in glorious technicolour, when weekends were organized around playing in the street with your mates, throwing ourselves behind walls and hedges to avoid the imaginary bullets of the Japanese army, or the whistling arrows of the Apache Indians.

On Saturday mornings I'd take a small fistful of silver coins to the newsagents and buy a disgusting drinks' concoction called 'Dandelion and Burdock', half a pound of sweets and a couple of comics. Moving up in the world from the Beano and Topper to the war comics like Commando, before being caught in the steely gaze of a Superhero brandishing a colourful shield, Captain America.

And so we come to the present day. Last Wednesday I was checking out the previews of Thursday's comics on the Marvel website, and I got stuck on something called 'Agents of Atlas'. I have only read the first few pages as I've missed the first couple of issues. I'm happy to report though that I will be heading down to Brighton next week where the illusive missing issues are waiting for me at 'Dave's Comics' shop. This title looks like a lot of fun and the artwork is very nice.


Did anyone with the vaguest interest in Superhero comics not buy Flash Rebirth no.1? Down at my local comic shop there was a big stack of them on the shelf, so I grabbed one. Then I did something that I haven't done before, I asked a member of staff if there was a variant cover. Yes there was, but they had only received one copy in the shipment, luckily it hadn't been sold so I said I'd take it.

Due to a slight mistake at the till I payed £3.15, instead of the whopping £9.99 that I should have paid. How much, that can't be right, can it? They bagged and boarded it for me before I left the shop, needless to say I haven't read it yet!


Last up is 'The Amazon' from Dark Horse Comics. Reprinted and recoloured from the original series published twenty years ago, the story follows a reporter on his quest to solve the mystery of a missing American timber worker in the Amazon basin, and a series of strange events following his disappearance.

What's nice about this book is the stifling atmosphere that it invokes, the script is good I think, and you get to see some of Tim Sale's early artwork. I liked the lack of adverts which allowed the story to flow, and a couple of pages at the back are given over to the artist and writer in conversation about the creation of the comic.

So all in all, I'm glad I picked this one up. Still no sign of me slimming down the amount of titles that I'm pulling, and it seems that I may just have to start reading Captain America, thanks to a glowing review from London Loves Comics.