Hello fellow DC Geeks and welcome to the final Confessions of a DC Geek…
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Of 2018
Yes, as the year comes to an end, we have one final set of Confessions to bring you before the New Year.
This time we have all round good bloke, DC Worlds’ very own Paul Tickle confessing all about his love for all things DC. As ever, this is a great read and once more a pleasure to put together for your reading pleasure and my most sincere thanks go to Paul for taking the time to answer the questions put to him.
If anyone would like to take part, confess their DC sins in 2019, then please get in touch via Twitter @DC_ComicsGeek (myself) or the team @_DCWorld. Always great to hear from you all.
And now, on with those Confessions…
JH: First of all, would you mind telling me a bit about yourself – name, age (if willing), where you’re from and what you do for a living, anything else you wish to mention?
PT: I’m Paul, I’m 33 and I’m from Essex. I live with my Fiancé Nicola and our son Nathan. I work in the aerospace industry and have done for coming up to 8 years now. Also I am a writer for DC World!
What, or who, helped kick-start your DC Comics fandom and when?
I’m pretty sure that it was Batman Begins that really got me in to the whole DC universe. I remember seeing it at the cinema and I loved every second of it. It’s often overlooked because of The Dark Knight being so good, but Batman Begins for me is easily the best comic book film origin story. Part of the film was filmed 10 minutes from where I live and me and Nicola went to see what was going on but we couldn’t get anywhere near it!
Who is your favourite DC Superhero?
It has to be Batman.
Who is your favourite DC Villain?
It’s another obvious choice but he’s a legend… The Joker.
Away from the two mentioned above, who is another character you could call a favourite, villain/hero/other character or one of each?
Rorschach from Watchmen is definitely a favourite of mine. The way he’s written in the graphic novel and the film is just brilliant. He is the ultimate anti hero.
TV shows – which is your favourite DC effort?
I’ve got be honest, I don’t watch any of them. Every now and then I dip in and out of Gotham. I do enjoy it but it doesn’t seem to have that appeal to me that makes you need to watch the next episode straight away.
Ask me again sometime next year and I’m sure my answer will be HBO’s Watchmen series.
What is your favourite DC Movie?
The Dark Knight. I think DC will really have to do something unbelievable to top it. For me it’s as close to perfect as a comic book film can be. The writing, directing, acting everything about it is spot on. I of course can’t talk about The Dark Knight without mentioning Heath Ledger. His take on the Joker stands out above all the others. It was simply a legendary performance that I don’t see ever being topped.
I have to give mentions to Watchmen and V for Vendetta too. I love both those films.
The current films in the DCEU are great, I really enjoy all of them especially Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad. I watched Aquaman last week and loved that too. There are just too many to name!
Are there any DC Universe characters, any that we haven’t seen a live action/animated version of so far, you would like to see become part of the movie, TV or even animated universe? If so, which character and who would you like to see play the part/s?
I would love to see Azrael in future DC films. The character is really under used across all platforms. I love the version of him that was in the Arkham series of games. My first choice to play him would be the brilliant Jake Gyllenhaal but he’s in the next Spiderman film so I guess that rules him out. I’ll go for John Krasinski, Luke Evans, Liam Hemsworth John Boyega or Andrew Garfield as a curve ball. Take your pick…
The DC Universe has featured many, many actors on TV and in the movies, as well as animated movies/series’, so I ask you – who is your favourite actor, anyone who has made some sort of appearance within a DC creation?
I love Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. He was a fan playing his favourite character so he really understood him and what the fans wanted to see in Rorschach. He was violent and gritty and exactly what we expected to see on the big screen.
Comics – do you read them? If so do you have a favourite series, or a graphic novel, that you enjoy more than others?
At the minute I’m reading the brilliant Doomsday Clock and I have made a start on Heroes in Crisis. My favourite graphic novels are The Killing Joke and the Court of Owls series.
This editions’ controversial question/s:
Controversial Q1) DC Television vs DC Movies – Where do you think we are getting the best DC content, tv or movies?
Easily the movies. After a sluggish few years it seems like the DCEU is starting to come together really well. Aquaman is brilliant and with Shazam and Wonder Woman 84 to come the future is looking really positive.
Controversial Q2) Ruby Rose had to leave Twitter after the amount of criticism she received after winning the role of Batwoman. Most of the criticism was because she “wasn’t gay enough”. I know my thoughts on the whole thing (my feelings on Ruby Rose as Batwoman are known – perfect casting), but what are your thoughts on the comments she received and do you feel that social media firms have a duty to protect people (or do enough), no matter of who they are, from the sort of venomous comments that people often receive?
The criticism that Ruby Rose received was just ridiculous. For her to get to the stage where she has to leave Twitter is just crazy. It has to be so difficult for the social media companies to police all that goes on across their sites but some of the things that get said, especially to some celebrities are just going way too far and the people saying them, hiding behind their keyboards would never have the guts to say it face to face. I will say this about Ruby Rose though, I don’t watch the CW shows but after seeing the shots of her as Batwoman I’ll definitely be giving the “elseworlds” episodes a go.
DC vs Marvel – Social media seems to be a hotspot for this kind of talk, however, at times, it can get out of control and comments can become quite malicious; what are your thoughts on the whole DC vs Marvel issue, or do you feel that there should be no issue?
In any industry when there are two main players there will always be a rivalry. I don’t have a problem with a friendly rivalry between DC and Marvel. Both companies put out great content across all platforms and long may that continue.
If you were to fall in a swamp/be electrocuted/fall in a vat of chemicals/witness the death of a loved one etc. and made the choice to become superhero or villain, what would your name and powers be and what sort of costume would you go for?
I’d have to be a Superhero and I’d want to be able to fly! I’m not sure about the costume apart from I’d go nowhere near the spandex!
Apparel – do you wear any clothing that relates to DC Comics and its Universe, if so, do you have a favourite item of clothing that is still worn aplenty and fading?
I have a lot of DC t shirts and most of them feature Batman or The Joker on them. I have an awesome hoodie/jacket with the Bat logo across the chest which is way too worn now but I can’t get rid of it.
Conventions – do you attend them and, if so, do you have a favourite convention that you have been to?
I try to get to both MCM London and LFCC each year. I love going to both but if I had to pick a favourite it would be LFCC. It’s huge and there’s always a great turn out.
Before we go on to questions regarding your collection, could you please tell our readers where we may find you online (Twitter, YouTube, Blogs etc.)?
I’m @thefilmbloke on Twitter.
Now we have the necessities from you, on to the reasons that I created this feature, your DC collection.
First up, do you collect large amounts of various and random DC merchandise or is there a single type of item that you like to pick up?
I don’t intentionally collect merchandise but over time I have picked up plenty of DC related books, figures, steelbooks, models and other things. My DC Funko Pop collection is getting a bit out of control.
Do the items you collect relate to one specific character/movie/TV Show etc. or is it just all things DC Comics?
As before it is usually Batman and Joker but there are a few other characters showing up in the collection too.
Of the items you own, do you have a most prized possession? – I’m not asking for your favourite here, but the one/s you cherish most of all. Why does it/they mean so much to you?
A few years back my fiancé got me the original V for Vendetta graphic novel and V’s mask set. I have always loved that.
In your collection do you have anything that is considered a bootleg piece of merchandise? If so, what is the item and what made you buy it?
Nothing bootleg here, its all legit…
Do you have something in your collection that could be described as a rare item?
Nothing too rare but I do have a Doctor Maru Pop from Wonder Woman that can be pretty tough to find and a few other exclusives.
What is the your “go to” item when showing off your collection to, say, friends or family?
Instead of one item we have a small room in our house that we have turned in to our “fandom cave”. Our huge DVD/BluRay collection is in there and all our film related memorabilia and collectables are in there. It’s the most important room in the house!
Going back to conventions again, if you attend, what sort of merchandise do you like to pick up, or do you prefer getting to meet the celebs and receive photos/autographs etc?
I’m there for the merchandise and the people who are there to sell and promote their own work. I really enjoy going round all the artists and writers and talking to them about their work. I’m more than happy to pick up a pop or two as well.
I’ve always had a problem with how much it can cost to get a photo with and meet some of the guests. I’m sure there are a few people that I would pay to meet but I would rather go to the talks and walk about taking everything in.
I doubt that this will be applicable but out of curiosity, is there an item in your collection that you regret buying. If, by any chance there is, what is the item and why do you regret it?
No nothing to regret here.
Is there a Holy Grail for you, an item that you would love to own that may prove to be extremely difficult or even impossible to obtain?
I would love to get a film replica Batman Cowl. Nothing too impossible because they are available. I would love to get the Rorschach Pop but it’s been vaulted by Funko and now goes for about £500 online.
Cheeky question 1, but what is the most and least expensive/valuable item that you have purchased to add to your collection?
The Mrs is going to read this so I’m going to keep quiet about the first part of this question. As far as the least expensive goes I have plenty of DC socks…
Christmas is on the way, are there any DC Goodies that you hope to find in your stocking this year?
I’ve been a really good boy this year so I’ve got my fingers crossed for Bruce Wayne’s Mercedes!
Finally, 2019 is around the corner, what are you most excited about in terms of the DC Universe, whether it be movies, comics, television or anything else?
It’s definitely the movies. We are getting Shazam in April and the Todd Phillips Joker film in October next year. Plus I’m sure there will be trailers for Wonder Woman 84 and hopefully Birds of Prey towards the end of the year. I’m sure there will be confirmation on upcoming projects too. There’s a lot to look forward to!
And that’s your lot for 2018, my thanks again to Paul for taking part in this latest edition and my thanks to all of those who have taken part since the segments’ conception. I really enjoy putting these articles together and have found everyone’s confessions such fun and joy to read and I hope that you all enjoy reading them to.
So now, the Roll of Honour of those who have taken part…
Claire Payne / Steve J Ray / Chris J Capel / Darren Hackett / Paul Edwards / Max Byrne / Jim Curl / Tasmin Humphries / Adam Carr / Cainan Myracle / Jordan Valdes / Dean Connolly / Jeff Maddock / Tim Board / Dean Asquith / Luke Bugg / James Stone and Paul Tickle
These are all certified DC World, DC Geeks and I appreciate all the time they took to answer those questions.
My thanks to all who read the articles and enjoy them, you all help the site thrive and its popularity is soaring.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2019 where the DC Universe will give us so much cracking content in all media. Exciting times.
Take care
Cheers, John
