The Ivy League

 

Ever since Poison Ivy mentioned that she was building an Ivy League in STF #2714, I've been meaning to actually put that team together on a cover.  I've also been meaning to use Audrey II for a while.  I still remember going to see a live production of Little Shop of Horrors in Boston when I was in my teens, and loving it.  I still listen to the soundtrack, so many fun songs. 

Black Panther and Black Lightning (Vs. the Hate Monger!)

After four episodes, Black Lightning has quickly jumped to the top of the CW DC Comics based series for me.  The cast is very engaging and the writing has not fallen into the same romantic melodrama that sometimes takes over the other shows.  I might tweak Black Lightning's mask a little, but so far that's the only nitpick that I have.  Black Panther is about to be a big success on the big screen, if the very positive advance reviews are any indication.  It's taken a while, but finally these heroes are getting the wider recognition that they have always deserved.

These two first joined forces in STF #1274...

Abin Sur and Beta Ray Bill

Rumors have it that at least one green Lantern will indeed be showing up at some point in the upcoming Justice League movie.  No solid casting for wither Hal Jordan or John Stewart has leaked, so there is no guarantee that the cameo (or however large the role) will feature either one of them.  Perhaps we will just get an introduction to the Green Lantern corps concept, with an alien Lantern like Abin Sur arriving to warn of Darkseid, allowing one of the Earth GL's to be granted a ring in the Justice League sequel.

The Teen Titans Enter The Marvel Universe (and more!)

It's too bad that anthology comics don't seem to sell well these days, because they were among my favorites growing up.  I loved when World's Finest became a dollar comic and would include back-up stories featuring some of my favorite characters that did not have their own solo series.  I also really dug Action Comics Weekly, which got me to sample characters that I might not have otherwise, like Wild Dog, Blackhawk or the original Secret Six.  Marvel released a bunch of anthologies they called Megazines at one point  that I was a fan of as well.  All of these titles felt like great values to me, and I'd love to see more of their kind in the current market.

Nightwing and Daughters of the Dragon

With Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist all coming to Netflix, I am surprised that we have not heard about Misty Knight and Colleen Wing as supporting characters on any of the upcoming series. The Daughters of  the Dragon have a history with all of those heroes and would fit right in with the tone that Marvel seems to be setting.  Let's hope as more information is announced, we'll hear about their involvement in at least one of the shows.

Thanks to Jason Powell for the inspiration for this team up!

Tom Strong and Nexus

Tom Strong was my favorite among Alan Moore's ABC Comics line, as it was chock full of imagination and nods to great comic adventurers of the pst, so I am glad it has found continued life beyond Moore's departure.  I was worried that when he left, that was the last we would see of hs various ABC creations (although I'm still hoping for the return of Jack B. Quick).  Nexus similarly is a character that just can't be kept down.  He seems to reappear every few years, sometimes switching comic companies. I love that Steve Rude design and it's a good thing to see him in continuing adventures.

The Fantastic Four and Tom Strong

There aren't a lot of heroes that would be a true intellectual match for Reed Richards, but I think Tom Strong could give him a run for his money.  I have always thought that it would be a challenge to write for super-genius type characters, but writers like Stan Lee and Alan Moore did a great job at it.  Lee and Kirby provided Reed with an unending supply of futuristic inventions and Alan Moore layered one amazing concept onto another for Tom Strong's adventures.  I guess that it's no surprise that such brilliant creators were able to write so well for high-IQ characters.

The Thing and Tom Strong

I like comic properties that can be plugged into a wide variety of story types and that has always been one of the strengths of The Fantastic Four.  Thy were heroes, but also adventurers and they had their fair share of drama, humor and tragedy.  Tom Strong appealed to me in the same way.  The stories featuring Tom Strong and his supporting cast spanned many different genres and always kept the tales interesting.  Even more than a Thing/Tom Strong team up, I would love to see the entire FF meet up with the Strong Family.  That would surely make for an epic adventure!

Batman and Tom Strong

I enjoyed Alan Moore's line of ABC Comics for DC and the standouts in my opinion were Promethea, Top 10 and the flagship character, Tom Strong. Moore amalgamated parts from Superman, Batman, Doc Savage, Reed Richards, Tarzan and more to create this character with which he could tell stories in a wide variety of genres. These tales were appealing to me in that they felt timeless and were purely about all the fun that the comics medium has to offer without getting bogged down in a grim and gritty tone, which had pervaded the industry since Moore's own Watchmen was published. It's only fitting that Moore himself created a line of comics to counter the dark attitude that had seeped into so many titles. It also did not hurt that the series had beautiful art by Chris Sprouse, Art Adams, Jerry Ordway and others. I did not follow the title after Moore left the writing duties. Hopefully the writers who followed were able to maintain the quality.