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

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Carrie Kelley: Robin and Spider-Man 2099 (Part One)



Here are a couple of characters who have proven so popular that they have been taken out of their usual futuristic time period and inserted into current comic continuity.  Miguel O'Hara has kept popping up despite the cancellation of Marvel's 2099 line, and is now going to be mixing it up in the Superior Spider-Man titles.  Carrie Kelley has recently shown up in the present day DCU, and I'm not sure what's up there, is she supposed to be related to the DKR version, or is it a completely alternate version?


Friday, September 20, 2013

Green Arrow Vs. The Beast



Well, The Beast has mutated once again in the pages of the comics.  I still think that his classic Bronze Age look, featured here, works the best - but at least his current appearance is a step up from the "kittycat" years that lasted way too long.  Still, since the X-Men films model their Beast after the classic look, I'm surprised that Marvel would not want to follow suit.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Batman and Star Trek



I was a fan of JJ Abrams' first Star Trek outing, I liked the timeline twisting plot and thought it had plenty of heart and action while staying true to the classic characters.  I was really looking forward to the follow up, Star Trek Into Darkness, being a big Benedict Cumberbatch fan from his work on Sherlock.  While there were some fun moments, the sequel was somewhat of a letdown due to the inexplicable decision to pay such heavy handed homage to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  It seemed to me that the writers and director did not have enough confidence in themselves to come up with an original story and decided to just ape what worked before, and all it wound up doing was remind me of a better Star Trek movie.  Bryan Singer's Superman Returns made a similar mistake in staying too close to the previous films in its franchise,

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Marvel Girl and Batgirl



I have wanted to make a cover that features both characters by Marcio Takara for a while now.  I love his fluid style and the way his figures look constantly in motion.  He has worked on titles like The Flash and Blue Beetle, and hopefully we will see lots more from him in the future.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Detective Chimp and Howard the Duck



One of my earliest television memories is watching an episode of Lancelot Link.  I remember thinking that these monkeys dressing and talking like humans was just about the funniest thing I had seen in my short life.  So, it's no surprise that I get a kick out of Detective Chimp, in both his classic and modern appearances.  I can see him working with Howard, making for a fun good cop/bad cop pair.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Supergirl and Captain Marvel



I had established in an earlier cover the familial relation between these two, and I decided to play around with that concept some more.  There will be future covers dealing with their sisterhood as well.

Ms. Marvel's transition into Captain Marvel and her subsequent costume change works for me.  I can see that Marvel wanted to go for a more movie-friendly costume, but it works for the comics as well.  Hopefully we will see her up on the big screen by the time a third Avengers film rolls around.  I have read rumors that Katee Sackhoff is being considered for the role, and I think that would be perfect casting.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Orion Vs. The Hulk



Here are a couple of guys who each have warring sides to their personalities that they must contend with every day, and that might make for an interesting team up.  They are both Jack Kirby designs as well, and their adventures revolve around super science as much as brute force.  Yeah, I think these two would find that they have plenty of common ground - once they stopped beating the snot out of one another!

Friday, September 13, 2013

The Flash and Sonic the Hedgehog



The first video game console I ever purchased for myself was the Sega Genesis.  The games were a far cry from the immersive experiences found in today's hits like Uncharted and Arkham City, but there were definitely some standouts. I was a huge fan of NBA Jam and I spent many an hour playing Sonic Spinball, an incredibly fast paced video game that I found quite addicting.  It was fairly simple but had a great replayable value that was not unlike some of the classics I loved as a kid - Defender, Joust, and of course Pac-Man!  Oh, the quarters I spent...

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Batman and Ghost



Erik Luke's creation, Ghost, is an interesting concept that has clearly struck a chord with other creators.  Looking over the issues she has appeared in, the artist line up is filled with some of the best in the business today.  Talents like Adam Hughes, Lee Moder, Dave Bullock, John Cassiday, Ivan Reis, Goug Braithwaite and Terry Dodson have all graced the pages of Ghost.  I can't blame them either, she has one of the cooler designs that I have seen for a comics character and it's cool to see so many top illustrators depictions of her.

Monday, September 9, 2013

John Constantine: Hellblazer and Doctor Strange



I remember being amused that Sting from the band The Police was suddenly a supporting character in during Alan Moore's now classic Swamp Thing run.  Well, not really, but John Constantine was certainly illustrated to look like the famous rocker. I was surprised at how quickly the character became a fan favorite, soon getting his own series and helping to define the whole Vertigo imprint.  Constantine is back to being immersed in the mainstream DCU, which is probably a turnoff to some, but I have to admit I like how he interacts with some of the more mainstream heroes.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Superman and Ego: The Living Planet



The stories from Superman's Silver Age could sometimes be a bit hokey, but they were filled with such creativity and high concept ideas I couldn't help but get a kick out of them.  I get that writers want to modernize Superman and give him a more serious edge these days, but I hope they don't completely get rid of the whimsy or "anything can happen" attitude of some of his earlier adventures.  Writers like Grant Morrison and Alan Moore have done a good job showcasing both sides of the character, and I think that's one reason why their interpretations have been so popular.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Metamorpho and Warlock



I wanted to include a couple more of my favorite ugly characters, so I made this adventure a two parter.  I could have extended it even more though, because the list of hideous yet heroic characters is quite long,  I have always liked the concept, I think it speaks to the outcast in all of us - that outward appearances matter only so much, it's what's in your heart and your actions that truly make up who you are. Plus, most of them just look so darn cool!  Of course, Rex is a victim of the New 52, and hasn't appeared since the reboot.  Not in the comics anyway, he did appear on an episode of "Beware the Batman", which gave me a spark of hope that DC is not done with "the freak who never fails" yet...

Friday, September 6, 2013

Kilowog and Wonder Wart-Hog



I remember seeing Wonder Wart-Hog for the first time and not being sure what to make of it.  I had seen some underground comics before but they usually stayed away from superhero fare.  Here was a cross between the traditional stories that I was used to, and the strange world of the black and white independent comix scene.  That's a line that would get more and more blurred as my comic reading went on, and it was cool to see that there could be such a different take on the superhero genre.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Elongated Man and Mr. Fantastic



Stretching can often be seen as one of the goofier powers, so I am glad that emphasis was also put on the intellect of these two heroes.  Reed Richards of course is one of the most brilliant minds in the Marvel Universe.  Even without his cosmic ray induced abilities, his ability for invention would probably still keep him in the middle of plenty of super-heroic adventures.  Ralph Dibny is definitely a lighter character, but his nose for mystery and investigative skills give him a bit more of an edge.  I always liked it when he was in a JLA story without Batman and had to step up as the detective of the group.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Bullseye Vs. Deadshot



I created a Deadshot Vs. Bullseye cover as one of my earliest "villain battle" covers, and I thought that I would revisit the pairing, this time flipping the tables and giving Bullseye the upper hand.  Deadshot has become one of DC's better defined villains through the writing of John Ostrander and Gail Simone in the pages of Suicide Squad, Secret Six and his own mini-series.  He has made a few appearances in other media (Batman: Gotham Knight and Arrow), but those appearances did not really depict the character as we know him fom the comics.  Hopefully he will get another shot to break out of the comics pages.  Bullseye was famously brought to life by Colin Ferrel, but that was more of a campy depiction than I was hoping for.   Daredevil as a film property is back in Marvel's hands, so I have confidence that we will see a more faithful portrayal should they use Bullseye again.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Phantom and Black Lightning



I recently purchased and thoroughly devoured a hardcover copy of The Phantom: The Complete Series - The Charlton Years: Volume One.  It was great to finally have all those Jim Aparo illustrated tales in one place, I had been wanting to track these issues down for years.  One part depressed me a little though.  As an added feature, a few black and white pages featuring Aparo's original art for the series were included.  When I compared these pages to what was actually printed, it was a crime how much loss of detail there was!  The muddy printing techniques and shoddy coloring that was used back when these comics came out did so much to obscure the fine line work of Aparo, and truly did a disservice to the artist.  I have to wonder how much better his body of work would look with today's reproduction and coloring capabilities.  It is a tribute to Aparo that his pencils and inks still looked so great despite these major obstacles that he had to contend with.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

The Huntress and Hawkeye



I was a bit disappointed in the portrayal of The Huntress on Arrow, she did not come off as very heroic to me.  Hopefully future appearances will help to redeem her character.  Hawkeye was the only hero in the Avengers movie that I felt did not get a chance to shine.  He spent the first two thirds under a spell and by the time he saw action, he kind of got lost in the midst of all the other big guns.  Joss Whedon has promised to make up for this in Avengers: The Age of Ultron, and give Clint Barton a far more active role.  It will be great to see him in the spotlight... now if we could just do something about that boring movie costume...

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Justice League of America and The Silver Surfer



There aren't a lot of Marvel Heroes that could give the JLA a run for their money, but I think The Surfer has enough raw power to really do some damage.  This would especially be the case if he took them by surprise and they were not aware of his ability.  It's easy to underestimate a naked guy on a surfboard, after all. Anyway, it would be a fun battle up until the point where they realize it was all based on a crazy misunderstanding and decided to unite against the real villain.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Captain America and Stargirl



I first became aware of Darwyn Cooke when I read that he was behind the awesome opening title sequence for the Batman Beyond cartoon.  So when I saw that he was going to be writing and illustrating some DC comics, I was very interested to see how they would look.  I was blown away with the cinematic feel of his stories - reading comics like Batman: Ego was like looking at the coolest storyboards ever.  Then of course, there's DC: The New Frontier, where he really got a chance to flex his superhero muscles.  He's great as moody noirish tales as well, as can be seen with his work on Parker for IDW.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Batman and The Thing (And More!)



For the 500th issue, I thought I would go back to my roots and feature the two original stars of this blog.  It's no secret why I focused on Batman and Thing-centric team ups  early on, as they are my favorite characters from each company.

Well, Batman has been on the news plenty this week with word that Ben Affleck would be taking over the cowl for the Man of Steel Sequel and potential other films.  I don't have the instant hate that many do for Affleck and I an cautiously optimistic to see what he will do with the role.  He is one of my favorite current directors - I love all three of his films - so the idea that he may go on to direct a solo Batman film down the road has me intrigued, I think he is a great choice for that.  He hasn't done a big effects heavy film yet though, so I don't know if he would be a perfect fit to direct the inevitable JLA film.  I actually didn't mind him as Daredevil, the problems with that film were with the rest of the casting, script and direction... and besides, that was a decade ago, his recent performances have shown him grow as an actor.  At any rate, I am ready for a new incarnation of Batman - this time with more emphasis on the detective aspects, and with a better costume (and one that doesn't retire every time he has a bad day).

The Thing is due to return in a FF reboot as well, but nothing I have heard about that film, from casting to direction, gives me much confidence yet.  Hopefully he will at least be created with CG this time around.

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