Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Batman and Nexus (Part One)
I am a huge Steve Rude fan, he has one of those timeless styles and a real mastery of light and shadow. I was happy to fulfill this request and as it turns out I couldn't decide which images to use so I made this one a two parter.
Doing the legwork on this one made me want to seek out some Nexus tales. So, what are the essential stories? Are there any TPB's that I should start with?
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
First Comics,
Nexus,
Steve Rude,
Team Up
Monday, September 6, 2010
Batman and The Phoenix
The Dark Phoenix Saga for me is and example of comics at their best - art and writing firing on all cylinders, filled with plot twists, high stakes, colorful characters and gut wrenching melodrama. It's too bad the X-Men film franchise only kinda-sorta touched upon that storyline when if done properly it could be one of the most epic comic adaptations ever.
I must say I never paid much attention to Jean Grey in her Marvel Girl persona, it was only when she underwent her Phoenix transformation that she really started to get interesting. I haven't followed the X-titles too closely recently, but I think she is currently dead (again). Comics get a deservedly bad rap for killing off characters only to bring them back from the grave time and again, but I think that complain has to be waived when it comes to The Phoenix - I mean, death and rebirth are part of the whole concept! With that in mind, I hope we see Jean back among the living soon.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
John Byrne,
Marvel Comics,
Phoenix,
Team Up
Friday, September 3, 2010
Batman and The Phantom (Part Three)
Here's the finale of the Phantom trilogy. I was really inspired by this pairing and would love to see a true crossover some day.
I checked out the SyFy Phantom movie which I think is supposed to become an ongoing series. Playing on the generation aspect of the character, a new descendant of Kit Walker is asked to take up the mantle. The show itself wasn't bad, but I felt they made a real misstep with the costume. After a quick scene dissing the classic version, we are introduced to the updated version and it is a monstrosity. I guess I can understand what they were trying to go for, using realistic type battle gear, but it is clunky and ugly - a strange cross between a football uniform and a beekeepers uniform. I hope they tweak it if the show goes to series.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Charlton,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Team Up,
The Phantom
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Batman and The Phantom (Part Two)
Heres the second part of the Phantom trilogy
I quite like the 1996 Billy Zane Phantom move directed by Simon Wincer. It has its hokey moments but also some very well done swashbuckling action sequences and solid performances (OK, Treat Williams hams it up a bit too much). For years after I first saw it, I was convinced that Zane would make the perfect Bruce Wayne. I even thought they were able to make the costume work. It's too bad it wasn't a bigger hit and did not spawn any sequels. I think one reason for low attendance may have been the unfortunate "Slam Evil!" ad campaign which made the movie look cheesier than it was.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Charlton,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Team Up,
The Phantom
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Batman and The Phantom (Part One)
When I started branching out from DC characters for this project, The Phantom was a no-brainer. Jim Aparo's stellar work on The Phantom's Charlton series was a precursor to his work at DC with Aquaman, The Spectre and of course Batman. This was a team-up definitely ripe for a full Aparo art cover. Once I started looking for ideas, there were just too many cool images to choose from. So, there was only one solution: Three part epic! Part 2 will continue tomorrow!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Charlton,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Team Up,
The Phantom
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Batman and The Original Human Torch
I always thought that Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch was cooler than his silver age counterpart. The featurless face while in flame form made him look much more menacing, and when I found out he was an android that made him even more awesome to me! I am glad that Marvel finally decided to bring him out of retirement and have featured him in modern tales. I am surprised that he doesn't run into Johnny Storm more often though. You would think they would have a lot to talk about.
Labels:
Batman,
Bob Kane,
Brave and the Bold,
Bruce Timm,
DC Comics,
Human Torch,
Jim Hammond,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Monday, August 30, 2010
Batman and The Newsboy Legion
This was a request, and it brought me back to reading those great DC 100-Pagers with all of the wild reprints. I thought the adventures of The Guardian and the Newsboy Legion were pretty cool, mostly due to the early Jack Kirby artwork. I liked that the Guardian was secretly a beat cop and I really dug his gold shield. In fact, I would love to see a period crossover between him and Captain America. The two WWII shielded Kirby characters together, that would be great!
Batman and The New Teen Titans
Here’s an early effort where I was still testing out altering images. In fact this is the only one in which I did not use two or more covers to create. Instead I just “erased” the rest of the JLA and added the speech balloon. Kind of lazy and it shows in the boring design, so not one of my favorites.
That shouldn’t be any reflection on how much I like the New Teen Titans though. I remember being annoyed that George Perez was departing Justice League of America so soon after his run began to work on a new title, but once it hit the stands, I was blown away just like most fans. The new characters were all instantly interesting and I was always a big Robin and Kid Flash fan. DC has had a tough time keeping the momentum with the Titans due to roster and creative team changes, but hopefully that is due for a change. I saw some footage for the upcoming Young Justice animated series and it seems like is captures a lot of the spirit of those first few great years of Titans.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
George Perez,
Team Up,
Teen Titans
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Batman and The New Gods
I was a big Mr. Miracle fan when I was a kid but for some reason I just could never get into The New Gods. It was only when Darkseid became more of a line wide villain and started appearing in various titles that I started to get interested on the whole story of New Genesis and Apokolips. Fortunately, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm must have been Fourth World fans because the Kirby characters were featured quite a bit on Superman: The Animated Series and then Justice League Unlimited. It was these animated appearances where I really began to appreciate the whole mythology of the characters.
DC recently killed off all of the New Gods, and now they are going to be reborn in new forms... or something. I'm not sure. I read Final Crisis but Grant Morrison can be confusing at times! Hopefully they will be back soon.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Batman and The Micronauts
The Micronauts were probably my favorite of the toys turned comics concept that was popular during my childhood years. This was mainly due to the fact that the toys were so cool looking! Lots of points of articulation and great designs, they were pretty cool compared to most of the other action figures out at the time. I remember my brother had Biotron and I had Acroyear and we used to do mock battles, ah - good times. In the comics, I picked up a few issues if their various series, but was really won over with the X-Men vs. Micronauts mini-series. I'm not sure what the rights issues are like, but it would be nice to see The Micronauts back in action.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Batman and The Master of Kung Fu
Out of all of the martial arts characters that came out during the 70's, two really rose to the top: Iron Fist and Shang-Chi, The Master of Kung Fu. Iron Fist of course was a cross between a martial artist and superhero, so that was cool to me. Shang-Chi, on the other hand was a straight up martial artist, inspired by the likes of David Carradine's TV Kung Fu character. The neat thing was that he was still set firmly in the Marvel Universe and would appear with Spider-Man, The Thing and others.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Fu,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
Matt Haley,
Mike Zeck,
Shang-Chi,
Team Up
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Batman and The Marvel Universe
This is a pretty simple one, admittedly. Originally when I started this project I was very strict. I only wanted to use DC character that were around during B&B's publishing years, so that all the covers would be ones that could actually have been. After a while I got a lot of request for Marvel characters, so I made this early cover to appease the requesters. Of course it was not long before I brought individual members of the Marvel universe in...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Batman and The Martian Manhunter
This is where it all started. This is the very first cover that I created. While the Martian Manhunter appeared in a few pre-Batman team-ups in the early days of B&B, he never guest starred with the caped crusader himself. That and Captain Marvel were the two team ups that I most hoped would one day happen. Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands and thus the Lost Issues were born!
I have always loved the Martian Manhunter, and was glad when he was finally taken out of limbo – even if it was for the Detroit era Justice League! I would have killed to see him as a member of the Super Friends (I think El Dorado was his stand in), but it is nice that through DC’s animation arm and Smallville, the character is finally getting some recognition in other media. If they ever get around to making a JLA film, he is the character I want to see the most. Hopefully he will look a little better than the David Ogden Stiers version from that bootleg Justice League flick!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Batman and The Losers
Yet another early effort where the seams really show. I could never get the contrast right on this one either. Still, It features Kubert and Aparo, my two favorite artists, so I can't get too disappointed looking at it.
The Losers film did not set the world on fire, but it was an adaptation of a later version of the concept and not the original stories. I might still give it a rent. I mean, it stars Captain America, Uhura and The Comedian - how bad could it be?
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
The Losers
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Batman and The Legion of Super-Pets
I am a big animal lover as my family always had plenty of pets when I was growing up. For that reason, the concept of a super group made up of animal sidekicks was quite appealing to me. I still have a cat but her main superpower is the ability to wake me up at the same exact time each morning. Actually, that has come in handy more than once.
I still think pet superheroes are a great way to introduce the youngest viewers and readers into the world of comics. The animated Krypto: the Super-Dog and Marvel's Pet Avengers mini-series are a step in the right direction.
This was a very early request and I could never quite match up the contrast with all of the characters. Then someone suggested that the Legion of Super-Pets were zapping in from the Phantom Zone and I thought that was a no-prize worthy explanation!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Batman and The Justice Society of America
I have loved the JSA since I was introduced to them with their yearly guest appearances in Justice League of America. I would scour the various 100-Page DC titles to find reprints of their adventures, both solo and as a full team. I was a huge fan of the Len Strazewski and Mike Parobeck Justice Society of America series and was disappointed that it had a short run. Geoff Johns has done a nice job of keeping the team going in the current age of comics, hopefully the writers taking up the reins can maintain the quality.
It's nice to see the JSA finally making their way into other media, with appearances in Smallville and Batman: The Brave and the Bold as well as the Spectre animated short. I'm still hoping for a full animated version of The Golden Age, I loved that mini series by James Robinson and Paul Smith.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jerry Ordway,
Jim Aparo,
Team Up
Friday, August 20, 2010
Batman and South Park
I don’t do too many team ups with cartoon characters, but when I saw Batman’s statement on this cover, I couldn’t resist! South Park still manages to make me laugh after all these years. Despite their basic animation I am still amazed at how quickly they get some current references in their episodes. I didn’t have room to include Cartman on here but he is my favorite character on the show, truly one of the great villains of the past few decades!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
South Park,
Team Up
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Batman and The Invisible Girl
Susan Storm is a character that got more an more interesting over the years as Stan Lee and other writers further explored her powers and personality. When she began to manipulate force fields as well as turn invisible, she became one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe. She is also unique for the fact that readers were able to follow her from single girl, to wife, to mother. Usually when a character has children in comics, they show up half grown out of the blue one day. It was nice to see Sue raise Franklin and now Valeria from infants to toddlers to kids.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Batman and The Inhumans
I’ve been hearing good things about The Inhumans again lately. Apparently they have been playing a sizeable role in Marvel’s recent cosmic events from Annihilation onward. I am really going to have to catch up on some of that because I have been a big fan of the characters for years. I enjoyed their run in Amazing Adventures and their many guest starring appearances, as well as the stellar mini-series by Paul Jenkins and Jai Lee.
This team has a great line-up, each with an interesting look and power. My favorites are Medusa with her crazy hair, the aquatic Triton, teleporting pooch Lockjaw and their leader, Black Bolt, I think one of the best decisions made with The Inhumans was to not give Black Bolt any thought balloons, in addition to the obvious absence of speech balloons unless it is one of those rare times that he uses his devastating vocal chords. Having his thoughts and emotions conveyed solely through body language and interpretations from Medusa has made him one of the most intriguing and mysterious characters in Marvel’s possession.
Labels:
Batman,
Black Bolt,
Brave and the Bold,
Captain America,
DC Comics,
Gorgon,
Karnak,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up,
The Inhumans,
Triton
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