Batman and The Grinch

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of the Lost Issues readers! I truly appreciate everyone who makes the time to stop in and check out the covers and I wish you a great holiday season close by the ones you love.  The blog grew in popularity last year and hopefully will continue to do so in 2012.  I was glad to ge a chance to use the Grinch here, star of perhaps the greatest Christmas cartoon ever.  You really can't go wrong with the combination of Doctor Seuss, Chuck Jones and Boris Karloff!

Make sure you come back Monday for the ALL-NEW Lost Issues!  Be here on the ground floor of a bold new era!

Batman and Zorro

Given the strong connections between these two characters, it's surprising that we have never seen them meet up. In the days before comic book film adaptations were a commonplace occurance,  heroes like Tarzan,  Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger and Zorro were the closest thing to superheroes in the movies, and I would watch anything that featured them.  I enjoyed the Antonio Banderas Zorro movies as they reminded me of some of those earlier swashbuckling films.  It's been a while though, so I wouldn't mind a new take on Zorro to hit the big or small screen soon.

Well, folks - that's the end of the alphabet!  I have one more B&B Cover for tomorrow and that's it for B&B... where to from here?  Make sure you tune in on Monday, December 26th for the debut of the all-new Lost Issues Title!

Batman and Xena, Warrior Princess

I remember getting a kick out of watching Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and my favorite episodes were always the ones in which Lucy Lawless would guest star as Xena.  I was of course very glad then when Xena got her own spin-off series.  Sure the show could be corny and campy at times, but the beautiful New Zealand setting as well as the strength of its main actress kept me watching throughout the entire series run.  One thing the show proved to me is that there is no reason a live action Wonder Woman could not be successful again.  There have been a few projects featuring the Amazon princess that have had trouble getting off the ground in the past few years... perhaps they could have been well served by looking to Xena for inspiration.

Batman and Wolverine (Retro)

It's too bad that Darren Aronofsky dropped out of the Wolverine sequel.  I was not a big fan of the first film, which kind of meandered through a very thin plot, but Aronofsky's involvement in the second had me hopeful for a more stylish thoughtful flick.  There is still hope though - the movie is reportedly based on Wolverine's first solo mini-series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller (which is what they should have done the first time).  That tale truly cemented the character's iconic status and should make for a markedly different film from the rest of Logan's cinematic outings.  Interviews with Hugh Jackman indicate a willingness to really try and capture the feel of those issues, and I hope he succeeds at that.

Batman and Warlock

Marvel's cosmic line has been in the spotlight again in the past few years, due to the talents of writers like Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.  This is a good thing because they have such a strong stable of space-faring characters - The Inhumans, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Annihilators, and of course, Warlock.   I have liked Adam Warlock ever since I stumbled onto an issue of his self titled series as a kid.  The Jim Starlin artwork on that gave it a sleek, modern look that set it apart from most comics of the day.  Hopefully, fans of the new cosmic stories will seek out his earlier adventures.

The Countdown to the All-New Lost Issues Title has begun! 7 days left until the big change on December 26th... stay tuned!

Batman and Union Jack

I've always liked the look of Union Jack.  I first encountered the character during the classic run of Captain America by Roger Stern and John Byrne.  He seemed cool to me so I checked out his adventures as part of the Invaders as well.  Comic characters with costumes based off of a flag motif are pretty common, but I think that Union Jack's is the most successful.  It is at once patriotic, intimidating and utilitarian.

Batman and David Dunn: Unbreakable

M. Night Shyamalan has taken some flack for his more recent output, but I still admire his work on the first few films that he directed.  I remember seeing Unbreakable and the first thing that appeared on the screen was some text describing comic book collecting... I knew then that I was going to like the movie!  I liked the slow, deliberate pace of the film and the real world angle it gave to the superhero genre.  I don't think the film was a huge commercial success (at least in relation to The Sixth Sense) and that's too bad.  Shyalaman has stated that he saw the story of David Dunn as a trilogy, and I would have loved to have seen another installment.

Batman and Two-Gun Kid

My first exposure to Two Gun Kid was when he traveled to the present in the pages of The Avengers.  I liked his friendship with Hawkeye  and I always enjoy man-out-of-time stories.  I thought he had returned to the old west at some point but he showed up in the pages of Dan Slott's She-Hulk series a few years back so I guess he never made it back home.  Y'know, I made this cover some time after I had done the Rawhide Kid cover and I just noticed that both have Batman being shot by his co-stars... he just does not get along with Marvel cowboys!

Batman and Tigra

I have been a fan of Tigra since her original appearances as The Cat, to her fully felinte transformation and then her time as an Avenger.  She is currently being featured in Avengers Academy.  I get a kick out of the fact that she is still rocking the bikini... I don't ever remember any of my teachers dressing like that!

I was glad that this pairing finally gave me a chance to do an all Bruce Timm cover.  He has a great grasp of body language and the ability to distill a character down to a simple streamlined iconic look.

Batman and Thor (Retro)

Well, I have seen the Thor film a few times now and for me it is a mixed bag.  The casting was great and I really enjoyed the performances, particularly by Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  OK, maybe they should have gotten a fatter actor for Volstagg! Asgard looked great and the battle with the Ice Giants was suitably epic.  My problems with the movie are that Thor spends way too much time depowered and out of costume... and even when he wears the costume it is without the helmet save for five seconds at the beginning.  And the helmet looks great, there's no reason not to have it on in battle (a trend that looks to be continued in the Avengers).  The battle with the Destroyer and final battle with Loki both seemed a bit abrupt as well.  Still, Thor is one of the tougher characters to pull of on film and Kenneth Branagh did an admirable job.  He is not returning for the sequel and the replacement director has already left the project so the next installment is currently up in the air.  Hey, Marvel - give Peter Jackson a call!

Batman and The Young Allies (Retro)

Long before the likes of the New Mutants or even the Teen Titans, the Young Allies blazed the trail for future teenage superhero groups.  Indeed they were Marvel's first ongoing team book.  Bucky, Toro and a plucky group of kids helped foil plots by the Red Skull and real world Axis Leaders.  With a renewed interest in Bucky these days due to his high profile return as the Winter Soldier as well as his recent cinematic exposure, I hope to see some new tales of this WWII super group hit the stands.

Batman and Marvelman (Retro)

Marvelman is one of the comics I would most like to read and have not gotten the chance to.  I've read great things about  the character, especially the stories in which he was renamed Miracleman. These tales have been tied up with legal issues for years, preventing any reprints from being produced.  The original issues have skyrocketed in price as a result.  In recent years much has been written about Marvel Acquiring the rights to the character (meaning use of the Marvelman name is no longer a problem), but thus far I have only seen some of his most early adventures collected. Hopefully whatever legal red tape remains will be unraveled soon and the rest of his tales can be brought back to the market.

Batman and The X-Men (Retro)

Well, I've had Batman in retro adventures with each of the individual members, I guess it's time for him to meet the merry mutants as a whole.  Now, here's the First Class I was really hoping to see on the big screen.  Alas, with the X-films wonky continuity, it seems as though only a full franchise reboot will allow for that to happen.  It was great at least to finally see the traditional yellow and navy blue outfits on screen at last, proving they could look cool regardless of any comments made in earlier films.

Batman and The Vision and The Scarlet Witch

I have featured each of these characters before, but wanted to use them together because I always enjoyed them as a couple.  Sure, a romance between a mutant and a synthezoid was a little freaky, but that's what made their relationship so compelling.  Unfortunately, both characters have been through the wringer for the past few decades, with The Scarlet Witch growing increasingly more unstable and The Vision receiving personality wipes and new bodies.  Their romance was one of the first casualties of all of this tampering.  I think it is time to get them both back to a more stable, iconic place and see if there is any of that old magic left.  I'm just sentimental enough to think that these two crazy kids could still make it work after all of these years.

Batman and The Viking Prince

A pretty obscure character today, but I figured as one of the original stars of The Brave and the Bold (predating the Batman team up era), the Viking Prince deserved and inclusion here. Of course, the fact that his adventures were illustrated by the incomparable Joe Kubert makes him even more appealing to me.  DC recently released a collection of all of the Viking Prince stories and I highly recommend it for any fans of  swashbuckling action  and top notch artwork.

Batman and the Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts is one of Marvel's best concepts in the past few decades.  The original run by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley came out at a time when comics were all about gimmicks - lots of foil covers and variant issues to drum up interest.  The Thunderbolts had the best gimmick of all though, a great plot twist at the end of the first issue which gave the series a unique hook.  Having villains disguised as heroes led to a lot of fascinating character arcs, as each member of the team reacted differently to their newfound hero status.  Some embraced the new outlook and tried to stay on the path of the truly heroic, while others relished in the deceit and grew even more devious.  It was a great exploration of some characters that had been around in comics for many years, and it gave them all some real depth.  Busiek and Bagley proved once again that every character has growth potential when placed in interesting enough circumstances.

Batman and The Thing (Retro)

It was fun to go back to a Thing cover again... this actually makes my fourth pairing with these two (sixth if you count Fantastic Four covers).  They are my two favorite characters from their respective companies so I really dig the idea of them sharing adventures together.  How I would have loved to see Jim Aparo illustrate The Thing in B&B, or John Buscema give us a Marvel version of the team up in MTIO... Such wishes filled my head as a child and the untapped possibilities they suggest are the basis for this blog.

Batman and The Super-Skrull

It was a fun moment at the end of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer when Johnny Storm temporarily gained the powers of the entire team. It was clearly a nod to one of the Fantastic Four's coolest villains, the Super Skrull.  That was a nice tease but what I as a fan really would have preferred was a full out adventure with the actual Super Skrull.  I had the same feeling when watching Ang Lee's Hulk - Lee made the strange decision to combine the Hulk's abusive father with classic villains Zzzax and The Absorbing Man.  I would have much rather had a solo appearance by one of those villains rather than the odd mashup we got.  There's still hope for future movies, though.  With a FF film reboot on the horizon as well as rumored Skrull involvement in the Avengers film, maybe there's a chance we'll finally see the Super Skrull on the big screen one day.

Batman and The Sub-Mariner (Retro)

Namor has been getting around a lot lately.  Already a current or former member of The Invaders, The Defenders, The Avengers and The Illuminati, he has most recently been hanging out with The X-Men.  Boy, for a supposedly anti-social character, he sure joins a lot of teams!  I guess it was only a matter of time, given his status as Marvel's first official mutant.  I don't mind seeing the Sub-Mariner in a team setting - it's fun to watch him interact with other characters with his no-nonsense attitude.

Batman and The Sinister Six

It will be interesting to see a new take on the Spider-Man film franchise, but part of me was hoping that the new films would continue in the previous movie's continuity.  That way we could have Spider-Man 4 with Kraven hunting the Lizard and Spidey in the middle, then a Spider-Man 5 with Mysterio and/or Electro as the villains... all setting the stage for Spider-Man: Sinister Six!, where the foes from each movie unite to finally try an take the web-slinger down for good.  It would be a crowded film but so cool to see one of my favorite Annuals come to life.  Ah well, perhaps it is never meant to be, but we still have the comics and the animated adaptations of the Sercret Six to enjoy.