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

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Thing and Animal Man



This is a match up that I would really like to see, because I get the feeling that Buddy Baker and Ben Grimm would get along well. Despite all of the crazy and fascinating things that these characters have seen and experienced, there are still just regular guy's at heart. I think Animal Man would fit right in at one of The Thing's famous poker nights.

Animal Man has been out of the spotlight since his last mini series. Hopefully DC will rectify that soon, he's a character that I love to follow and I will give any title prominently featuring him a try.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Thing and Ambush Bug



I have to give Warner Animation credit that between the Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoons, they have been able to bring an amazing number of their characters to the small screen. Ambush Bug is really a noticeable exception, though. With his simple design and irreverent meta attitude, he would be perfect for the cartoon treatment. Hopefully we will get one someday down the line!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Thing and Adam Strange



Now that DC seems to really be pushing their characters for TV and film, I think it is time for Adam Strange to get his shot at the big screen. It really is such a great set-up: Earth man discovers a beam that temporarily transports him across space to an alien world where he finds love and becomes a hero, only to have the beam wear off at the worst possible moments forcing him to try and locate another and return in time to save the day. I think it has all the elements so make a big time blockbuster or even a series.

Adam Strange was out of the spotlight for a bit but in the past few years he has returned in a number mini-series, specials and team books. I even like his current look, just the right amount of updating on the classic costume. I am glad that he and a few of their other space-themed properties have been dusted off to appear in new adventures.

Monday, November 8, 2010

The Thing and Batman



I think the above cover says it all. As of today, The Brave and the Bold: The Lost Issues becomes Marvel Two-In-One: The Lost Issues! That's right, The great Ben Grimm will be taking on hosting duties for the next few months, while Bruce Wayne will take a much deserved breather. This does not mean that I am done with B&B covers by any means... I will still create new ones when inspiration strikes and they will eventually be posted on this blog. But for the immediate future, I hope you all enjoy the MTIO covers!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Batman and Wonder Man



I have always had a soft spot for Simon Williams. I liked that he was an aspiring actor, as I was at one point. For Simon, the superhero thing has often been a secondary focus and he can be a somewhat reluctant hero at times - but he always steps up when he is needed. I especially enjoy his adventures when he is paired with The Beast - those two were like the Booster Gold and Blue Beetle of the Marvel Universe (indeed, well before Blue&Gold were matched up!) I'd love to see Marvel do more with them. Simon's short lived self titled series was pretty fun as well.

And now for a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT:

When I return on Monday, this blog is undergoing a transformation of sorts. What exactly that will be, I cannot say for now, but my post on November 8 should make everything clear. I will try to have it up by 5PM EST... See you then!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Batman and Wolverine



Out of all of the Marvel/DC crossovers, I can't believe this one has not happened yet. Yes, I know there were those two Dark Claw comics that sprang out of the Amalgam concept from DC Vs Marvel, and presented a smooshed up version of the two heroes - but I am talking about a true team-up between Logan and Bruce Wayne. I mean, put halfway decent creators on the title and it would be like printing money. Hopefully if the companies enter more cooperative times, we will finally see this pairing one day.

Wolverine is undoubtedly a great character, but the overexposure got to such a degree that I stopped caring about his adventures as a whole a few years back. The fact that he is a member of the Avengers now is just so silly to me. With him hanging out with so much of the Marvel Universe, it takes away so much of the danger and mystery that made him appealing in the first place.

I like Hugh Jackson's portrayal of Logan for the most part, even though he cries a little too much and is way too tall. The films he has appeared in have been a mixed bag, my least favorite being the solo Wolverine film. I have much higher hopes for the sequel though, given the director (Darren Aronofsky) and the fact that it looks as though it will follow the storyiline of the original Claremont/Miller Wolverine mini-series.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Batman and Werewolf By Night



OK, I almost didn't post this one due to the low quality. It is another very early one and even though I found some poses that went together well, I couldn't find a big enough version of the Batman image I wanted to use. I blew up a smaller version and this was the result. Oh well, live and learn. I never made that mistake again and I feel like in the interest of honesty and completion, I should even post my dud covers. I will promise that this is the last of the early examples, so going forward the technique should be a lot better.

Of all the classic monster movies, the werewolf ones were always my favorite, so I was glad to see Marvel try out their own spin on the concept. Even better was the fact that they were not shy about teaming him up with their superhero characters, I always got a kick out of the blending of the two genres.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Batman and War Machine



I always liked the character of Jim Rhodes, especially the time he spent in the Iron Man armor, substituting for Tony Stark. When Stark returned to the role, it was good to see Rhodey continue on as War Machine. I wasn't that crazy about the armor, though - I felt it looked too bulky and that he was always in danger of tipping over from the weight of the shoulder cannon. Well, I have to rethink that initial opinion because I thought the War Machine armor looked very cool in Iron Man 2. That movie was not as good as the first and had a few plot holes, but Don Cheadle really sold the Jim Rhodes character. I hope to see more of him in the third installment.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Batman and Valkyrie



What can I say, I love characters with winged horses. I have enjoyed Valkyrie as a character since reading of her exploits in The Defenders. I think she has a great look, marrying the medieval and superhero styles together. I am glad that most writers have been able to portray her as incredibly noble and extremely strong without her coming off as bitchy, which sometimes happens with tough female characters. She fit in well with the group and had interesting relationships with the various members such as Hellcat and the Hulk. I am glad to see that she is starring in a comic again, Secret Avengers. I have read decent reviews of this title and plan to pick it up when it hits TPB. It'll be nice to see Val in action again.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Batman and The Black Knight



I enjoy characters that are a mix of the old and new, and the Black Knight is a good example of this. I always thought that he had a great design, especially his helmet. Another cool thing about Dane Whitman is the fact that he gets around on a winged horse - that always makes for an impressive visual. Over the years, some writers have chosen to update The Black Knight to make him more modern in appearance - trading in the cape for a leather jacket, the ebony blade for an energy sword, and Strider the flying horse for an atomic steed. I did not really care for these changes, as I prefer the classic look. I have lost track of this character and do not know what he has been up to lately - hopefully he is back to his traditional garb.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Batman and Thor



I was lucky to find two snowstorm images that I could combine here. I miss Thor's classic look, the armored sleeves in his latest version don't really work for me. I can understand why Marvel made the change though, as they were probably anticipating the need for a more film friendly costume. Unless you are Arnold or Sly, it is very hard to make bare arms look big on screen, as we saw with the unfortunate Hawkman costume on last season's Smallville. Still, I wish they would go back to the classic look for the comics.

I am really looking forward to the film, I love Branagh as a director and the footage I have seen so far looks very promising. My one concern is the fact that we have barely seen the helmet. We know it's in there, the prop was at Comicon and we see the back of it briefly in the teaser... but nowhere else. I hope they feature Thor in full costume, helmet and all, for plenty of screen time.


Monday, October 18, 2010

Batman and The X-Men



This was actually the first attempt at an X-Men cover, as I did the "All-New" X-Men cover a bit later. As much as I liked the international team introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1, the original group is a great team in their own right. I love the Lee/Kirby issues and seeing Neal Adams' more modern (at the time) take really blew my mind.

I was excited to hear the news that the next X-movie would be titled X-Men: First Class, and had hoped that is would be informed by the comic series of the same title, exploring the early days of Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Marvel Girl and Iceman. Alas, the film will instead be a prequel to the existing film series, which has played so fast and loose with continuity and character ages that such a film cannot me made. It might still be fun and I like that they are making it a period piece, but I think I would have preferred to see a complete reboot instead.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Batman and Red Sonja



Here's a character that I have been trying to get in a cover for a long time, I just couldn't get anything to work on previous attempts. This one was a little trickier than it looks, as I had to rebuild parts of the stone column and the background behind batman as there were other things in the way before.

I didn't get into the sword & sorcery titles until later in life, so my first introduction to Red Sonja was through her guest appearance in Marvel Team-Up. There's something about a gal with a chain mail bikini and broadsword that says you don't want to mess with her! Together with the flowing curly red locks, they make for a great visual and someone you believe could stand side by side with Conan.

I have heard rumors of a Red Sonja film in very early stages of development, to feature Rose McGowan in the title role. I'm not sure about that casting, she is pretty but in my opinion lacks the toughness the character also needs.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Batman and The Watcher



The very existence of this blog is proof of the fact that I have always been a fan of imaginary stories and parallel universes in the world of comics. So when Marvel came up with What If?, a series based on presenting alternate versions of popular story lines, I was immediately interested. The fact that they made The Watcher the host of these stories made the series even more appealing to me, as I had been a fan of the character from his appearances in Fantastic Four.

Uatu, The Watcher is another one of those great Stan Lee concepts. You knew that whenever he showed up, there was bound to be some big action going down soon. Even as a kid, though, I had to laugh at his "vow of non-interference". He broke that vow all the time! And even if he didn't say or do anything, Some giant bald space-toga guy showing up floating around is interference in and of itself! The Watchers really should have invested in some cloaking technology.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Batman and The Vision



I have always loved The Vision, since his earliest appearances as a member of The Avengers. His eerie visual and interesting powers and back story made him stand out in contrast with his fellow teammates. Add on top of that his relationship with The Scarlet Witch, and you had a character ripe with years of story potential.

Sadly, like his former bride, The Vision as a character has meandered somewhat for many years now. Being built and rebuilt, separated from Wanda and de-aged, it was hard for me to maintain interest in him, and I finally lost track. I am not sure of his status now, but I hope a writer can soon find a clear direction for this great marvel creation.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Batman and The Thing



The Thing is my absolute favorite Marvel character. I consider him to be the heart and soul of the Marvel Universe. He has humor, tragedy, and heroism in one big package so he can be used in any type of story. Plus, he is a great team player, whether in the FF or as host star of Marvel Two-In-One. Sure, Spider-Man had met as many folks, but he still came off as a loner to me. To anyone else who is as big a fan of this character as I am... all I can say right now is stay tuned to this blog!

I actually liked the casting of Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm in the FF films, but the decision to try and go with a suit and makeup instead of cgi really killed the character for me. I am glad that the upcoming reboot will be going the computer generated route.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Batman and The Taskmaster



I always thought that the Taskmaster had a great hook - he could perfectly mimic any move that he saw with his own eyes - making him a master at any kind of weapon or fighting technique. Some folks have complained that his costume is too busy, but I think it has a cool bronze age vibe to it. He has had his profile raised recently by appearances in some Avengers titles and now his own spin off mini-series. I have heard pretty decent reviews of that, I will have to pick it up when it comes out in TPB.

This cover frustrated me a little. I was so glad to find a couple of poses that went together well that I didn't notice until too late that the Taskmaster's cape and the background were a very similar color. The result is a little bit muddy because of that.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Batman and The Sub-Mariner




Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner is one of Marvel's best characters. Because of his personality, it is fun to see him alongside different heroes - you never know whether he is going to fight them, fight alongside them, or try to seduce them! His role as a monarch as well as his long history dating back to the Golden Age of Marvel give him lots of potential for storytelling as well.

I think a Sub-Mariner film could be cool and very different, but I must admit it would be tough to pull off. Beyond the logistics of a largely underwater shoot, having the main character in a green speedo is hard to get away with. They would have to get someone like The Rock, but it would still be hard to take seriously. I do like Namor's black outfit during the 70's, maybe they could use that for most scenes.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Batman and The Squadron Supreme



The Squadron Supreme has an interesting history. They started out as analogues to the Justice League created to interact with The Avengers and that in and of itself was cool enough for me as a young reader in those days before even the first inter-company crossover. Fortunately the team was popular and were brought beck together or individually from time to time. They really broke out of guest star status with the great 12-issue Squadron Supreme series. That dealt for the first time with real world repercussions of a super team and the corruption of power. It was very unique for it's time and predated deconstructionist titles like Watchmen and The Authority which would follow to critical acclaim.

It's unfortunate that the most recent Squadron Supreme series was cut short when the creators left it. I hope to see someone pick up the reins and bring this cool group back to the forefront.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Batman and The Son of Satan



I first became acquainted with Daimon Hellstrom through his appearances in The Defenders. He was another good example of the hybrid superhero/horror star that Marvel did so well in the 70's. I was never a huge fan of his costume, but I did really dig the trident, a pretty cool and visually interesting weapon. The Son of Satan went down the gritty serious route in the 90's Hellstorm series which did not appeal to me and I lost track of the character. I know he has made a few guest appearances recently, hopefully he has been in good hands.

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