Green Lantern Vs. The Super Skrull in: "Beaten to a Pulp!"

 

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer had Johnny Storm using the entire team's powers in a moment evocative of the Super-Skrull.  Secret Invasion featured Emilia Clarke as a character with Super Skrull abilities.  These were both just teases though, we really need to see the one true Super Skrull up on the big screen some day.  

These two first battled in STF #3172...

Wolverine and The Green Lantern Corps

 

Presenting part one of a three-part epic!  It looks like Logan and the GLC still aren't quite on the same page yet - after all, there's been tension between him and the space cops since way back in STF #209... Where will the story go from here?  Make sure you stop by tomorrow to find out!

Black Lightning and Jack of Hearts

Geoff Johns has been hinting at a soon to be revealed new DC TV series, and I hope that it will be the recently rumored Black Lightning.  Jefferson Pierce is long overdue for a live action treatment and I think that he would be a great character to build a series around.  I can definitely see him crossing over into established shows like Arrow as well.

Blue Beetle and Storm

I see that Blue Beetle will once again have his own title when DC's Rebirth event kicks in.  I liked Jaime Reyes since his debut in Infinite Crisis and his appearances on the animated Young Justice made me even more of a fan.  Best of all, there are rumors that he will be sharing the title with none other than previous Blue Beetle, Ted Kord!  I hope that is true because it would be the best of both worlds.

Hawkman and Starhawk

I had hoped that Starhawk might joining the cast in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but alas, that does not seem to be the case.  Maybe  Marvel doesn't want to confuse audiences with two "star" heroes in the mix - I hope not because Starhawk was always cool in the old Guardians of the Galaxy comics, and I'd love to see him make the leap to the big screen.

Spider-Man and The Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

There have been lots of rumors floating around concerning Sony and Marvel Studios trying to come to some sort of partnership with the rights to Spider-Man, allowing Marvel to feature the Web-Slinger in their movies.  While it would be cool to finally see Spider-Man's adventures as presented by his home studio, I am not sure another instant franchise reboot would be a hit so soon.  Maybe Spidey needs a cooling down period first, appearing as a guest star one or two times before headlining his own film once more.  One thing is for sure, we don't need to see the origin again!

One of the most common requests I get is to show a tutorial on how a cover is created.  I did that once during my MS Paint days, back in 2011.  I use Photoshop now, and I'll be presenting an all-new step-by-step tutorial as just one of the special features included in The STF 1000th Issue Spectacular, coming up in two short days! Don't miss it!

Black Lightning and Daredevil in "Whale Watch!"

Black Lightning has had a lot of different costumes over the years, but in my opinion he never looked better than he did in the mini-series Black Lightning: Year One.  Cully Hamner made a few very smart tweaks to Jefferson Pierce's classic costume and gave him a new hairstyle, resulting in a look that has a modern sensibility while respecting the past.  It's too bad that DC didn't stick with it.

Doc Samson and Superman

This is the first cover where I have used an image featuring Superman in his New 52 duds.  It's not a bad look for him, but the collar just has to go.  Frankly with the negative reaction to it as well as the fact that Superman in Man of Steel was collar-free, I am surprised it is still there.  At least he still has some kind of an "S" on the cape.  I prefer a yellow "S" but it's better than the blank look of the movie and cartoons.

Blue Beetle and Iron Man

Well, the summer movie season has officially kicked off in style with Iron Man 3.  I found the movie to be a big improvement over the second installment, although the first is still my favorite in the trilogy.  I really enjoyed the dialogue and the way the film focused on Tony Stark this time around, who has had to share screen time with lots of other colorful characters in his last two film outings.  The action was very inventive as well, with three major sequences and a lot of cool new gadgets.  Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley seemed to be having a great time in their villainous roles, and they provided some of the more surprising moments. Supporting characters Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts get a little more to do this time around, and  Jon Favreau and Gwyneth Paltrow give solid performances.  The movie is not perfect - it has a slow first half hour of build up and just not enough of Iron Man in costume.  I figured with the head's up display view of the helmet, it wouldn't be an issue, but the movie finds a way to keep Tony out of the suit for much of the running time.  I wish that Rhodey had been a little better utilized as well, Don Cheadle does a lot with what he is given, but the character comes out looking like a bit of a chump. Still, those are small nitpicks and should not dissuade you from checking out Marvel's latest cinematic outing.  It's very interesting where they leave the characters and I am intrigued to see where they go next.

Black Lightning and Storm

Cully Hamner's interpretation of Black Lightning is the best the character has ever looked, in my opinion. I was hoping they would have stayed closer to his design when Jefferson Pierce was reintroduced into the New 52, but that was not meant to be.  Still, with characters like Power Girl and Zatanna returining to more classic outfits, maybe there is hope.  Storm has recently changed back to an old style with the return of the mohawk that she first sported in the 80's.  Her appearance works for me both ways, so it's nice to have a little change of pace for a while.

Black Lightning and Captain America

I really wish that DC had stuck with this look for Black Lightning, rather than only using it for a single mini-series.  It's a great updating of the classic look by Cully Hamner.  I'm a little disappointed to see a lot of the promotional art for Captain America with the character sporting the "painted on wings" look from the movie version.  The films should strive to be closer to the comics, not the other way around - especially when it comes to costumes, which the movies still get wrong a lot more than they get right.

Black Lightning and Spider-Man

I haven't yet seen any mention of Black Lightning in the new DCU, but I am sure it is only a matter of time before he appears in one form or another.  In recent years DC had tried a few new looks for Jefferson Pierce, with varying degrees of success in my eyes.  The look that I thought really worked the best was Cully Hamner's slight redesign of Black Lightning's original costume (adding in the black T-shirt and changing up his hair style), and I hope when we see the character again he will sport a look close to that.

I have a feeling that if Black Lightning were a Marvel character, he would have been a frequent guest star in Marvel Team-Up.  He and Spidey would make for a good pair.

Batman and Usagi Yojimbo

This cover fulfills a request from a friend.  I have to confess that I have yet to read an issue of Usagi Yojimbo.  It was years before I realized he had a scar on his forehead and he wasn't just always cocking his eyebrow.  I remember seeing Usagi Yojimbo when it first came out and thinking it was just another TMNT type parody comic.  From what I have heard and seen since, that first impression could not be more incorrect.  It seems to have stood the test of time and developed into quite an epic saga.  So, where is a good place to start for folks like me who have never read the character before?

The Thing and Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

I was among the many Ted Kord fans that was not happy when the Blue Beetle was killed off to kick off a DC Comics crossover. Despite that, I decided to give his replacement, Jaime Reyes, a chance and I have to admit that I do like the character quite a bit. I really loved the look of the new Beetle armor that Cully Hamner designed - it really makes him stand out among the rest of their heroes - and Jaime was written with an appealing personality. I even got a kick out of his appearances on the Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon (not so much the recent Smallville appearance - the armor was way too clunky). This new Blue Beetle is definitely a welcome new presence in the DCU. That said, there was no reason he could not have been introduced while still keeping Ted Kord alive as well!

The Thing and Guy Gardner

Here's another character that would fit right in with The Thing's poker nights. I got a kick out of Guy when he was first brought back and became one of the headliners of the revamped Justice League comic. I loved his personality which set him apart from so many other heroes. For a while though, writers began to focus on his more boorish aspects and he started to become a little too unlikeable. On top of that, his changing status quo (losing the ring, becoming half-alien, wearing garish armor, etc.) made it tough to stay invested in him as a character. Fortunately Geoff Johns and others did a nice job of bringing him back to the Guy we all liked - a brash yet heroic Green Lantern. I think he has one of the best GL costume designs as well.

This cover took a lot of futzing with because there was a lot of clutter on the original MTIO cover that I had to clean up. It's what you don't see in the final product that seems to take the longest with these things! I am happy with the results though, Guy's pose worked out better than I had hoped.

Batman and The Invaders

I am a sucker for superhero period pieces so The Invaders was a concept that really appealed to me, it was Marvel's closest analogue to the JSA. Captain America, Namor and the original Human Torch were so different from one another that is was always cool to see them in action together.

Of all the announcements to come out of the upcoming Captain America movie the most intriguing tidbit is that the Invaders are slated to appear. I'm not sure which characters they will use or how long the team will be featured in the film, but it should be very cool to see these characters up on the screen. My guess is they will use some of the second string members like Spitfire and Union Jack.