X-Men and The Atom (Part One)

 I'm not sure if it's the similarly styles Silver Age costumes, but The Atom looks like he fits right in with the X-Men here.  They are called the Children of the Atom, after all.  Make sure you come back tomorrow for The conclusion of this story, where we discover which X-Men villain has been toying with Ray Palmer..  

Doctor Strange and The Legion of Super-Heroes in: "Master of Mystic Interrogation!"

 

Based on the costumes, I'd say that this adventure takes place prior to Doctor Strange's first encounter with the LSH on this blog, back in STF #3546.  As for who the traitor might be in the scene above?  I never fully trusted someone who claims to be a descendant of Brainiac...

The Super Visors

 

This team comes directly from the comment section of this blog, right down to the name.  I forget actually who was discussing it, but I wrote down the idea for a team of visor-wearing heroes and it it was so silly that it stuck with me.  I finally decided to tackle it..

Conan Vs. the Demon

 

There had been some talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger returning for another Conan movie, but I haven't heard anything about that in a while.  Perhaps Arnold is having second thoughts after his return to the Terminator franchise met with less than optimal results.  Maybe they are still trying to figure out the best way to present the story of a seventy-something barbarian.  It will be interesting to see if anything comes of these plans.

X-Men Vs. Solomon Grundy

So far we have seen a couple of fleeting scenes of Solomon Grundy on Stargirl.  He looks really cool, even if you have to freeze frame the screen just to get a look at him.  I am hoping that we will eventually get a proper scene featuring him in all of is undead glory.  I realize the CGI isn't cheap, but if they can do it for King Shark on The Flash, they should be able to do it for this show.

Thor and Zatanna

Zatanna's Silver Age quest for her father was a great universe building moment for the DCU.  By having Zatanna continue her search for her missing father through the pages of Hawkman, Green Lantern, The Atom, Detective Comics and Justice league of America, it really brought the titles together in one big adventure, which was a new concept at the time.  Plus, it revolved around Zatara, a hero from the Golden Age, tying two eras together.  I'm glad that the entire story line has been collected in one TPB.

This tale spins out of the events of STF #1658...

New Mutants Vs. Godzilla

Reports are that the King Kong in Kong: Skull Island will be considerably larger than other cinematic versions.  I am assuming that is to make him more of a match when the King Kong Vs. Godzilla film becomes a reality.  I still think it's crazy that they are planning to do that - but crazy in a good way.  I know I'll be watching!

Iron Man 2020 and The Future Flash

Continuing off from yesterday's cover, I finally get a chance to feature the cool costume that Wally West of the future wore in a memorable story line from The Flash.  There have been many alternate looks for the Scarlet Speedster, but this one is my favorite,  It is still clearly The Flash, but with a nice modern feel that still manages to evoke the original Jay Garrick outfit.  I was kind of hoping Wally of the present day would graduate to this costume once Barry Allen returned but, alas, DC had other plans.

Swamp Thing and Wolverine

There have been a lot of great artistic interpretations of Wolverine over the years, but for me three rise to the top.  John Byrne's depiction as a member of the X-Men, Frank Miller's introduction of Logan as a solo character, and Barry Windsor-Smith's amazingly intricate artwork on the serialized Weapon X storyline in Marvel Comics Presents.  Seeing a story previously told only in one or two-panel flashback sequences fleshed out so beautifully made a real impression one me.

The Atom and Machine Man

The first Machine Man mini-series that came out during the 80's was a revelation for me.  Mini-Series were still relatively new at that point , so it was cool to see one of my favorite lower tier characters get a chance to shine.  It was a fun, inventive story as well - set in the future with appearances by Iron Man 2020.  What stood out the most for me though was the artwork of Barry Windsor-Smith.  It was the first time I had seen BWS' pencils and inks, and I was blown away.  Then there were those covers - the 4-issue format gave him the opportunity to do something really neat.  Each cover featured a close-up of Machine Man's head, being assembled more and more with each issue.  They were so eye-catching and unlike any covers I had seen before, they really made the comic stand out on the racks.  It was a great design choice that I remember fondly to this day.

Mister Miracle and The Black Panther

It looks lik DC is finally re-introducing the Fourth World characters that they had killed off a few years back.  First, Orion started showing up in Wonder Woman, and now Mister Miracle and Big Barda look to be making their return in Earth 2, of all places.  I will say that the New 52 costume for Scott Free looks great, one of the few new designs that is an improvement over the original (and I am a fan of that one as well).  It will be interesting to find out what writer James Robinson has in store for the world's greatest escape artist.

Captain Atom and Solar: Man of the Atom

These two atomic heroes have been around for decades and have each been published by multiple comic companies, so I thought it was about time they shared an adventure together.  I have liked Captain Atom since his introduction to the DCU in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but I didn't have a chance to try out his New 52 series.  I'm not crazy about his recent redesign as I think it makes him look too similar to The Silver Surfer.  I haven't read as much of Solar, but I have always liked the cool artwork associated with the character, from the classic Gold Key covers to Barry Windsor-Smith's beautiful work during his first Valiant run.