Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
Batman and Robocop
Thia is one team up that I would actually like to see in live action! I have heard rumors that the Robocop film franchise is in development for a return, and I hope it happens. It would be interesting to see him back on the screen with today's special effects. I still remember going to see the first movie at a drive-in theater. The sound broke down halfway through and when we went to complain, we found that the owners had left for the night! It would be a couple of years before I heard the complete movie.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Batman and Rip Hunter, Time Master
Here is another very early one so I apologize for the roughness. I was still getting used to creating new backgrounds and getting the proportions right.
I am glad that DC has found a strong supporting role for Rip in the current Booster Gold series. With all of the time travelling stories that the company does, I always thought he should have a higher profile.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Rip Hunter,
Team Up,
Time Master
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Batman and Rick Jones
I remember reading about Rick Jones in Giant-Size Captain Marvel #1, and thinking that he was pretty cool. He got to have adventures with The Hulk, Captain America, The Avengers and now Mar-Vell. It was a good idea for Marvel to have a regular Joe type of character that hob-nobbed with all of their big guns. Unfortunately Snapper Carr never took off the same way for DC!
A lot of credit must go to Peter David, who kept Jones in the spotlight during his runs on Incredible Hulk and Captain Marvel. I haven't been following the Hulk titles too closely, but last time I checked in, Jones had been transformed into an Abomination riff called A-Bomb. Yeesh. Maybe it's time to start hanging out with Captain America again!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Batman and Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel)
The well known B&B cover which featured Batman protecting his new "partner", The Joker, was ripe for a re-do in this project, it was just a matter of finding the right character to replace the clown prince of crime with. When a buddy of mine requested Ma Hunkel, the original Red Tornado from the Golden Age, I thought it was just offbeat enough to work. Unfortunately there weren't a whole lot of images to work with, but I think I found a couple to fit the bill
I have to give Geoff Johns props again for finding a useful purpose for Ma Hunkel in todays continuity by making her the caretaker of the current Justice Society's headquarters, as well as being an inspiration to her granddaughter, Cyclone.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
JSA,
Ma Hunkel,
Red Tornado,
Team Up
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Batman and Quicksilver
I always liked Quicksilver in spite of his often pompous attitude. He couldn't get a break - neither mutants or Inhumans ever really accepted him. Sure he had a short temper, but his father is Magneto, he could be a lot worse. Basically his inclusion in an issue meant there was a level of unpredictability at play, which is always interesting for a reader.
This cover was a pleasant surprise for me. I had wanted to do a lopsided race scene and was amazed when I saw how much the two running poses matched up.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
quicksilver,
Team Up
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Batman and Quasar
Quasar was a character that was giving me a very hard time, as I just couldn't find an image that would work. finally I came upon a cover of his that was done by the very talented Mike Mignola and my my flashed to a Mignola Batman cover that I thought would do the trick. I had to tweak it a little, extending the cover on the left side and moving a few bats around.
I never followed Quasar's solo series but I did like him as a guest star with Spider-Man, The Avengers or the FF and thought he had an interesting history. I'm not sure but I think I read that he was killed in one of the recent Annihilation series that Marvel has put out, and there is a female version now? I'm sure one of you can let me know if I have that right or not.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Mike Mignola,
quasar,
Team Up
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Batman and The New Mutants
As promised, here is the continuation of the story that began with yesterday's cover. Looks like things didn't go too well for Batman.
I really liked the New Mutants during the first couple of years of their original series. This was back in a time where being a newly created mutant was actually a fresh concept, of course! Recently Marvel has brought the original team of characters back for a new series. I liked the first few issues, but unfortunately it got too intertwined in crossovers with X-titles I do not follow.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Neal Adams,
New Mutants,
Team Up
Monday, June 28, 2010
Batman and Professor X
The X-Men movies got as many things wrong as they did right, but one thing that was spot on was the casting of Patrick Stewart as Professor X. It's one of those times that the fan favorite casting choice was actually used and worked perfectly. From Picard to Xavier... that's as cool as being both Magneto and Gandalf! It will be interesting to see whether James McAvoy tries to do a Stewart impression when he portrays the younger Xavier in the upcoming X-Men: First Class.
By the way - this cover is only the first part of the story... what happens next? Well, stay tuned tomorrow for chapter 2!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Batman and Prez
Going to the well of obscurity once again with this one. Prez Ricard was "The First Teen President" and had a very short-lived DC series in the 70's. Other than as a guest star in a Supergirl tale around the same time and a retro Vertigo one-shot, I don't think he has made an appearance again. Still he is such an off beat product of his times, people seem to remember him. I actually had one of his issues, and it was funny to read the "hip" teen dialogue, clearly written by a middle aged man.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Batman and Power Pack
Power Pack is one of those properties that I think could do well in kids animation, it has all the elements. Kids as protagonists, visually interesting super powers, and aliens both scary and cute. Marvel does seem to be pushing them in their all-ages line and teaming them with the more heavy hitters to increase their profile.
I always remember reading the first issue of Power Pack way back in 1984 on a bus ride to Canada, it's weird how I can recall exactly when and where I was when I read certain issues, while most just fade away. The Brave and The Bold #177 with Elongated Man reminds me of my grandparent's house, DC Comics Presents #48 with Aquaman reminds me of waiting on the grass after school play rehearsal to be picked up by my mother, and so on. Some comics I guess just have a sense memory attached to them and seeing their cover is all I need to be taken back to the days of my youth. That's one of the things I love about the hobby... and why it can take me so long to sort my comics, with all the detours down memory lane!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Power Pack,
Team Up
Batman and Power Man and Iron Fist
I like Power Man a lot - He's got a unique back story and takes no guff from anyone, be it Dr. Doom or Captain America. I like Iron Fist, he has a great look, just the right amount of power and had a recent excellent run by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. Together, they really shine, however. It's really a great example of where two characters created independently can come together and truly compliment each other, and one argument in favor of shared universes.
While Iron Fist had that recent successful run, Power Man - excuse me, Luke Cage - has not been as appealing to me lately, despite a huge push by Brian Michael Bendis. He has completely changed in appearance, married and became a father, and after a stint with the New Avengers is currently heading up the Thunderbolts. But nothing in this new direction has clicked with me. I'd like to see him adopt his heroic moniker again and wear something closer to a superhero outfit... and maybe hang out with Danny Rand a little more! Sorry, I'm old school.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Iron Fist,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
Power Man,
Team Up
Friday, June 25, 2010
Batman and Plop!
Plop was a DC humor comic in the 70's with an impressive roster of creators including Wally Wood, Basil Wolverton and Sergio Aragones. I mainly liked it for Aragones, I was a big fan of his cartoons in Mad Magazine, and it was nice to see his work on a DC title, in color. This was a request/challenge and when I first heard it I had no idea of how to make it work, as there wasn't a central character for Plop along the lines of Alfre E. Neuman. I chose one of the unmistakable Wolverton creations from one of the covers instead.
Labels:
Basil Wolverton,
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Plop,
Team Up
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Batman and OMAC
This is another early one, I was still getting the gist of it.
I never read the original OMAC series, but I remember being very impressed with a guest appearance that he made in DC Comics Presents. I later picked up his B&W mini-series by John Byrne, but that did not make much of an impression on me. DC tried to give OMAC a big push a couple of years back, but they changed the concept a bit too much for my tastes.
It wasn't until I saw him appear on a recent episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold (A show I hope all fans of this site watch regularly!) that I really saw his potential. The writers on that show really know how to distill a character down to their most appealing qualities. They did the same with another of Kirby's creations, Kamandi, in the episode he appeared in - I would be into an animated show featuring either of these properties based on their treatment on the show.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jack Kirby,
Jim Aparo,
OMAC,
Team Up
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Batman and Nova
I'd be interested to hear any opinions of Nova's most recent series at Marvel. I remember quite liking his original series and various guest appearances. From what I read of his time in New Warriors, that series didn't do him justice in my opinion. Erik Larsen's series was fun, but too short to really gain momentum. I had read some nice reviews of his latest exploits, but It seemed that his series was very tied in with the overall Annihilation group of cosmic Marvel books, and I would have to buy multiple other titles to get the whole story. If the Nova series can stand solidly when read on its own, I might be tempted to pick up some of the TPB's
This is one of the team-ups I would really like to see, Just because the two heroes are so dissimilar in personality and method.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
Nova,
Team Up
Monday, June 21, 2010
Batman and Nightwing and Flamebird
This is one of my earlier covers and is a little rough. It's a bit bare, I should have probably added a caption or word balloon.
Nightwing and Flamebird was a cool concept that was right at home in the silver age: Superman, powerless in the Bottle City of Kandor, joins forces with Jimmy Olsen as a Natman and Robin type team. Fun stuff. DC has recently tried to revive the Nightwing and Flamebird names with two new characters who recently headlined Action Comics for a year. I can't speak to how well they held up the mantle, not having read the stories - but they certainly had some big shoes to fill.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Curt Swan,
DC Comics,
Flamebird,
Jim Aparo,
Jimmy Olsen,
Nightwing,
Superman
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Batman and Nighthawk
I am not sure what Nighthawk's current status is, but I always enjoyed his adventures in The Defenders. I liked the design of his costume, especially the rigid cape. I hope to see a revival of the classic Defenders line-up, I miss Hulk calling him Bird-nose.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Gil Kane,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
Nighthawk,
Team Up
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Batman and Nightcrawler
I understand that Nightcrawler has been killed off recently in the X-Men titles. I haven't followed the X-universe closely in a while, but that really bummed me out to hear. Kurt Wagner has one of the most unique appearances, personalities and sets of abilities in comics, and deserves better than that. Hopefully, he will join the list of "only briefly dead" heroes and make his way back to the land of the living.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Batman and Night Nurse
Here's another example of a character that had to wait decades before being given another shot. Night Nurse has shown up in the past few years in Daredevil and the mini series Dr. Strange: The Oath in a role that makes so much sense I can't believe nobody has thought of it before. She runs a secret treatment center for superheroes injured on the job. It's a cool concept and I hope to see it used further. I also quite liked her relationship with Dr. Strange, so if he is given another series, it would be nice to see her as a supporting character.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Night Nurse,
Team Up
Batman and Infinity, Inc.
I am amazed that with the resurgence of the JSA in the past decade that DC has still not reprinted the first 12 issues of Infinity, Inc. Hopefully that will be rectified soon because those are some of the best comics of the 80's and contain some absolutely gorgeous Jerry Ordway artwork.
My one disappointment with the series was that the Earth-2 adult Robin did not play a larger role, he was always a favorite character of mine. At least he is back from his Crisis induced oblivion in a way, as seen in the recent Justice Society of America Annual - apparently there is a new Earth-2 out there with classic versions of all the JSAers and Infinitors. Hopefully we will see more of them.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Huntress,
Infinity Inc.,
Jerry Ordway,
Jim Aparo,
JSA
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Batman and Nick Fury
I think it is pretty cool how Marvel took their biggest WWII hero and through the plot device of "vita-rays" were able to continue to give him adventures in the present day. Like James Bond on steroids, Fury was always the ultimate in cool because not only did he have the best vehicles and weapons, he also had all the best connections. Good guy to know!
It's too bad that he is being muscled out of the on-screen Marvel Universe, but Sam Jackson is pretty cool, so I can live with his Ultimate Universe counterpart. Still, it is unfortunate that Fury's only live action appearance was performed by David Hasselhoff!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Dale Keown,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
Nick Fury,
Team Up
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