Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Beast and Metamorpho



Here are two of my absolute favorite characters in all of comics.  Unfortunately, I can't say that I am thrilled to see the way they have been treated lately.  I was very glad to hear that The Beast would finally be losing the cat-like appearance that he has had since the Grant Morrison run on the X-Men titles, as that look never worked for me.  But instead of reverting back to his classic look from the 80's, his new redesign is even less appealing.  In an interview, new writer Brian Michael Bendis said that they didn't even consider going back to his classic look because it would have been "too nostalgic".  What?  What's wrong with being nostalgic once in a while, and besides - isn't Bendis the one who brought back the original first class in their classic looks in the very same title?  His reasoning doesn't make much sense to me.

Still, at least Hank McCoy is still around!  Rex Mason is nowhere to be found, and has been replaced in the New 52 with Element Woman.  She's like Metamorpho... but she's sexy!  is that any way to treat Bob Haney's greatest creation?

Friday, February 8, 2013

J. Jonah Jameson Vs. Perry White



One of the main things missing for me in the latest Spider-Man film was J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle.  Of course, J.K. Simmons did such a great job in the role, it is understandable that the producers would be hesitant include the character.  Still, he's too big a part of the Spider-Man mythos to ignore, so I imagine they will include him the next time out.  Whoever they cast has some big shoes to fill.

Lawrence Fishburne will be the latest actor to portray Perry White, and boy does that make me feel old!  Martin Sheen and Lawrence Fishburne, two skinny kids from Apocalypse Now, are now starring as Uncle Ben and Perry White.  What happened to the time?

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Justice League of America Vs. The Avengers (And More!)



I wanted to do something special for an anniversary issue, so I figured what better than a 100-Page Giant?  I used to absolutely devour those when I was growing up.  In addition to the main feature, they would include reprints of classic tales as well.   Those served as my introduction to many characters and creators that I had been previously unaware of, and really opened a whole new world for me.  Add in the special features like puzzle pages and text stories, and a single issue would keep me entertained for an entire evening.  Those were the days!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Black Beauties



All-female teams were once a rarity, but we are seeing more and more of them these days.  DC has done a great job of showcasing some of their lesser known characters with their various Birds of Prey series.  Marvel now has The Fearless Defenders, to serve that purpose as well.  Even their latest Uncanny X-Men line-up is featuring an all female cast - goodness knows there are enough mutants to fill it with.  Then you have Danger Girl and The Powerpuff Girls,  a couple of trios that have been kicking butt for over a decade now. Heck, this won't even be my last all-female team on the blog.  The day of the damsel in distress is over!


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Green Lantern and The X-Men



X-Men: Days of Future Past is shaping up to be a very interesting, if crowded, film.  Brian Singer will be uniting the cast from his X-Men films with that of X-Men: First Class in a film that promises sentinels and time travel.  I hope that the film ends with something closer to the comic book timeline, as the series has played fast and loose with the continuity thus far.

The word is still out on which Green Lantern will be showing up in the Justice League film, and I doubt that we will hear much concrete information until Man of Steel hits the theaters.  While I would like to see Hal Jordan get a Hulk in The Avengers type of rehabilitation, I wouldn't mind seeing John Stewart in the film.  I have always liked the character and he worked well in the animated series.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Jimmy Olsen and Mr. Fantastic



I consider this a sequel to the Thing/Jimmy Olsen cover I did back during the MTIO run, in which Jimmy got up to a lot of trouble messing around in Reed Richard's lab.  It seems only fitting that Jimmy would atone by helping Reed out with a few science projects. I shouldn't be so hard on the poor kid though, he's had a rough couple of weeks.  The latest rumor is that he has been jettisoned in the upcoming Man of Steel film and replaced with "Jenny Olsen".  He just can't get a break.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

The Super-Skrull Joins The Superman Family




The Superman titles of my youth may seem kind of hokey by today's standards, but they were endlessly creative.  This was a time when you couldn't spend six months on one plotline, each issue was its own epic, so the editors and writers were constantly coming up with wild  new conflicts and concepts for our hero to face.  Add in great artwork by by the likes of Curt Swan or Jim Mooney, and you had stories that I just devoured for all the crazy ideas contained within.  Grant Morrison is about the only current writer to tap into that side of Superman for his stories, and it's no wonder his work with the character has been so well received.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Hellboy and Daredevil



It's funny, I work so far ahead with these covers that sometimes some of the ideas on them come to pass before I have gotten a chance to post them.  Some of my Marvel/Star Wars mashups don't seem so crazy anymore now that Diseny owns both companies.  I have some upcoming covers featuring characters like Vibe and Amethyst that I created before it was announced that they were being revived and given their own titles.  This story has Hellboy trapped in Hell and indeed Mike Mignola's crimson hero has died in the comics and now his adventures continue in the pages of Hellboy in Hell.  This is a cool chapter in the Hellboy saga, and I look forward to seeing where Mignola takes him next.


Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Flash and The Whizzer



I used this pairing as a back-up story on a previous cover, and I wanted to give them their own issue.  I really miss the classic Jay Garrick in the current DCU.  The new young version  the pages of Earth-2 just isn't the same for me.  I liked the elder statesmen role that he provided, along with Ted Grant and Alan Scott.  Plus, he's got a winged helmet, and I like winged helmets!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Thor and Steel



John Henry Irons was my favorite thing to come out of the Death of Superman event.  Here was a character inspired by the Man of Steel without being a simple copy of him with a gender or age change.  I'm not sure what he is up to in the New 52, but I hope he finds a place to shine. It would be cool to see him compare red capes and hammers with Thor one day.  I imagine this would be one of those fake-out covers, where the story would end with Thor and Odin presenting Steel with an Uru hammer to call his own.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Iron Fist and Robin



I was glad when I heard that Power Man and Iron Fist were going to be a part of  the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, but upon checking the show out, they aren't quite the characters we know from the comics.  Sure, the powers are there, but these are youthified versions of the Heroes for Hire to go along with the show's overall attempt at attracting a younger-skewing demographic.  It's a fun little show for what it is, but it really makes me hope for a more accurate depiction of Danny Rand and Luke Cage on the big or small screens.

Tim Drake has shown up in Young Justice, which has done a much better job of presenting the characters from the comics... and of course that show just got cancelled, along with Green Lantern! It's really a shame because I was enjoying both but The Cartoon Network's erratic episode scheduling never gave them a fair chance to build an audience.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Justice Society of America and Captain America



Out of all of Marvel's Characters, I think that Captain America would work the best in the DC Universe.  I don't know if it is his wartime origins or his unashamedly heroic personality, but he seems like he would be just as effective at leading the JLA or JSA as he does the Avengers or the Invaders.  It's probably his ability to see the best in others, and inspire them to bring it out. Whatever the reason, it would be interesting to see how he would interact with comicdom's first ever superhero team.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Wonder Woman and Asterix



I didn't have too much exposure to Asterix as a kid, but when I finally saw some of his adventures, they impressed me as much as the Tintin books I loved so much.  Like Tintin, these were lavishly illustrated, long stories with much better printing and paper than I was used to with the comics of the day.  In a time before graphic novels, glossy paper and computer coloring, they really stood out.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

The Huntress and Spider-Man



The Huntress has had various costumes over the years, and the one I used for this cover is my favorite.  I never understood the design she wore during her time with the Birds of Prey that for some reason had a hole cut out to expose her midriff.  I mean, maybe she wanted to show off her rock hard abs, but leaving your gut unprotected seems like an odd choice for someone who goes up against armed criminals so often.  I liked when she went with the above design, as it is functional and mixes the looks of her parents, Batman and Catwoman.

Friday, January 25, 2013

The Spectre and Doctor Who



Tom Baker is still my favorite incarnation of Doctor who, although I quite liked the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant versions as well.  I'm not sure what it is about the latest Doctor, Matt Smith, but he just misses the mark for me.  I recently watched the newest Christmas Special, and by the end I was hoping for another regeneration, but it looks like Smith will be staying in the role a bit longer.  It's not a deal breaker for me, because the show is still filled with a ton of imagination and Dr. Who has one of the best rogues galleries outside of comics.

Has the Spectre appeared in the New 52 yet?  I don't think I have heard anything yet, but I am sure that it is only a matter of time. When he does show up, it will be interesting to see what his appearance will look like and who his host will be.  Let's hope he will be goatee-free this time around.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Deadman and Doctor Strange



Deadman has always been one of my favorite characters and I am very glad to see the increased exposure that he has gotten in the past few years.  I even read that a Deadman TV series is in development, which could be very cool.  The only thing is that the series is in development by the CW Network - and judging by Arrow and Smallville, they seem to like stripping away most of the superhero aspects which makes their shows feel like watered-down versions of the source material to me.  So, I think it's doubtful that we will see anything close to Boston Brand's classic appearance.  I think not using it would be foolish, because he has a perfect reason to appear in that outfit (it's the circus performance costume he was killed in).

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Ambush Bug Vs. Deadpool



I think that both of these characters serve an important function for the DC and Marvel comics lines. More than just humorous characters, they are very meta and can comment directly on what's going on in the comic book world they operate in. The fact that they seem to know they are comic book characters allows them to react to the various fads and cliches that the genre goes through.  As seriously as we fans want our hobby to be taken, there is certainly plenty to parody, and it's good that we have guys like these to help us laugh at ourselves.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Blue Beetle and Spider-Man in "Bugjacked!"



I teamed Spider-Man with the Dan Garrett Blue Beetle before, but this is the pairing that I would really like to see.  I still miss Ted Kord in the DCU, and I don't see any reason that he and Jaime Reyes can't operate at the same time.  Of course, even Peter Parker has been killed off and replaced these days (in two separate universes, no less!), so Ted Kord is in good company.  The clear difference is that we all know that Parker will be back one way or another by the time his next film is out, but Kord's fate seems a lot more permanent.    Hopefully, he will have a chance to return sometime down the line.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Animal Man and Ant-Man



Of all of the Marvel films on the horizon, the one I am most curious about is Edgar Wright's Ant-Man film.  Wright is mostly known for his comedies, but he insists this film will not be a parody.  I hear there was some impressive test footage shot as a proof of concept and I hope that is released on the web soon so that we could get an idea of what Wright has in mind.  Will frequent collaborator Simon Pegg be playing Hank Pym?  Will The Wasp be involved? Hopefully we will learn some of these answers soon.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Watcher and Star Wars



It's going to be very interesting to see what happens with the Star Wars franchise now that it is under Disney's management.  I have heard talk of new comics. cartoons and TV shows, but what I am really looking forward to is Episode VII.  Mark Hamill is a well known comic book fan and has contributed to the genre over the years through his work as the voice of The Joker and other characters as well as comic book based appearances on shows like The Flash and a great episode of Amazing Stories.  Hamill even Directed and starred in 2004's mockumentary Comic Book: The Movie.  It will be great to see him involved in such a high profile project again when the new film comes out.

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