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

Friday, November 18, 2011

Batman and The Secret Wars



Marvel and DC have fallen into a repetitive cycle with one major  line wide event after another, complete with countless spin-off mini-series and tie-in issues and the sheer abundance of them has certainly diluted the impact for me.  When Marvel first released Secret Wars, huge crossovers were still a rare happening and I have very fond memories of devouring the issues as they came out.  Marvel's move of featuring it's characters returning from the Secret Wars on Battleworld with all of their changes (Spider-Man's new costume, She-Hulk in the FF, etc.) was a clever one, it really made me want to read the year-long series to find out what had happened.  I also loved the Mike Zeck art and wish he could have completed the full twelve issues.  Like DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, there are some flaws to be found upon rereading, but I will always hold it in high regard due to the memories it conjures up.


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Batman and The Rawhide Kid



I was glad to see that with the Recent DC reboot, they are still giving the western comic a chance in today's market.  I was a big fan of Marvel & DC's Western Characters like Jonah Hex, The Two-Gun Kid, The Rawhide Kid and Scalphunter.  I think the genre is well suited for comics and provides a nice contrast to all of the super science and fantastical action found in the majority of titles. John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's The Kents was a great read and I keep meaning to try the current Jonah Hex stories.  Marvel brought The Rawhide Kid back in a controversial mini series a few years back, but the less said about that, the better.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Batman and The New Warriors



When the New Warriors first appeared, I wondered why it had taken Marvel so long to put together a team like theirs.  There had not been a team of non-mutant teenage heroes since The Young Allies in the golden age (OK, they did have Power Pack, but that group was pre-teen).  I think the Success of DC's New Teen Titans at the time encouraged them to give the concept a try.  The formula must have worked for Marvel, as we have seen teen groups The Runaways, Young Avengers and The Future Foundation follow in their wake. The New Warriors was the first though, and it would be nice to see them make a return.  They have never seemed to quite recover form the destruction of the group in Marvel's Civil War event.  There have been a few attempts to relaunch a New Warriors comic, but nothing has stuck yet.  The original team had an interesting roster of characters, and hopefully we will see a more permanent return soon.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Batman and The Legion of Monsters



Now this is a cool team that I wish we could have gotten to see more of.  Like yesterdays entry with the LoEG, this is another teamed formed by pre-existing characters that share a particular genre.  it was offbeat team ups and teams like the Legion of Monsters that really fueled my imagination for what other crossovers could be possible and led to this blog.  Have they made any other appearances together as a team after their initial outing?  I have seen more modern images of them but I am not sure if they are from a full story.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Batman and The Kingpin



It's interesting that the villain most closely related to Daredevil originally started out as a foil for Spider-Man.  There was something always very menacing about Wilson Fisk.  Sure, he had a lot of muscle mass and could hold his own in a brawl, but his real power was in the influence that he held over the underworld.  There had been plenty of crime bosses in comics, but The Kingpin was the first to fully tap into that Godfather type vibe which really set him apart from the average foe. Writers like Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker have done a great job of exploring the complexities that make him tick, and it's always interesting to see what he will be up to next.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Batman and The Irredeemable Ant-Man



I wasn't sure what to make of the new Eric O'Grady version of Ant-Man when I first heard of him.  I usually prefer a new concept rather than another character simply taking over an existing identity.  The mini-series that he was introduced in by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester garnered a lot of positive reviews so I decided to check it out.  It was a lot off fun and this new, more amoral Ant-Man grew on me pretty quickly. There was a lot of fun humor in the story and the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, was a big part of it, rather than being completely cast aside to make room for the new guy.  Since that introduction, O'Grady has shared a mini-series with Pym and has even become a member of the Thunderbolts.  That's a great spot for him, as it features characters that fall between the lines of heroism and villainy, and explores which path they will ultimately take.  I like O'Grady as a reluctant hero, but I hope he doesn't completely lose some of his more questionable attributes because they keep him interesting.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Batman and The Inhumans (Retro)



I have heard that The Inhumans is one of the properties up for a potential film treatment.  It would be tough to pull off, but if done well it could be a very cool idea.  I think that the Inhumans and their world contain some of the very best Jack Kirby design work and any adaptation would have to embrace the unique look that he created.  The Asgard scenes in Thor showed the potential of this, but they didn't go far enough in my opinion.  None of this showing the helmet for five seconds and then never using it again business, a motion picture Inhumans must be unashamed of it's comic book roots.  A filmmaker like Peter Jackson might be able to do it justice.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Batman and The Human Torch (Retro)



Johnny Storm was recently killed off in the pages of The Fantastic Four (It was his turn, I think every other team member had "died" and returned at least once before).  Of course, the death was off-panel, so it is almost certainly just a matter of time before hewill be resoted to life in some manner.  There has been a flurry of promotion recently for the upcoming 600th issue and I wonder if that is where Johnny will make his return.  It seems a bit obvious though, so I wouldn't e surprised if writer Jonathan Hickman throws a bit of a curve ball.  Whatever happens, I fully expect Johnny to be back by the time the Fantastic Four reboot film hits theaters, gotta keep that corporate synergy intact!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Batman and The Hulk (Gray)



I've loved the Batman and Hulk pairing ever since that great tabloid sized adventure they shared by Len Wein and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, so I thought I would feature an updated version of the story from my retro issue, this time starring the Gray Hulk.  I really enjoyed when Peter David brought back the Hulk in his Gray persona back during his run on the title.  The Hulk can be a tough character to write on an extended basis and this was a nice way to mix things up and avoid repetition.  While the classic green version is still my favorite, it was interesting to read the adventures of this smarter and more devious version for a while.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Batman and Tales From The Crypt



I thought I would put together a special Halloween cover.  Since the comic book Crypt Keeper looked so much less cool than the live action version (just an old dude in a fright wig and robe versus the beady eyed skeleton from the TV show), I had to come up with a suitable guest star... and who better than the one character in comicdom that has been allowed to remain dead!

I was more of a superhero fan when I was a kid, but I did like to check out horror comics like Tales From the Crypt, Unexpected and House of Mystery from time to time.  They were always filled with pleasantly gruesome morality tales and often had some amazing artwork, both on the covers and the interiors.


Friday, October 28, 2011

Batman and The Hulk (Retro)



It will be cool to see The Hulk return in next Summer's Avengers film.  Mark Ruffalo is doing the motion capture to define the CGI performance, so it will be interesting to see the final product. What has me even more interested, however, is the Hulk TV series that is on the horizon.  Not much has been said about it, but the involvement of Guillermo Del Toro has me eagerly anticipating it.  With him behind the scenes, you know that the Hulk will be going up against some fearsome adversaries instead of mobsters and rednecks like in the Bill Bixby series!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Batman and The Green Goblin



There's a lot to admire in Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man film, but I think on major misstep was the look of the Green Goblin.  I've read comparisons to Power Ranger costumes and between the monochrome bodysuit and unmoving face, I can see where they are coming from.  The body armor type suit was fine, but if they had thrown on a tattered putple tunic over it, it would have looked cooler and closer to the comics.  for the mask, I would have tried to allow for more of Willem DaFoe's expressive performance show through.  It was hard enough with Spider-Man's face completely concealed, it gets tough for an audience to engage with the characters when both hero and villain are covered up.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Batman and The Fantastic Four (Retro)



I understand that The Fantastic Four is due for a movie reboot.  While the first two entries had some fun moments, they are largely missed opportunities.  Hopefully lesson will have been learned and we will finally see the epic FF film that I know is possible.  Ben Grimm's Thing form must be CGI, the man in suit version simply does not work. I'd love to see a take on Doctor Doom that was actually faithful to the comics, but given his large role in the first two movies, it is time to give him a rest.  A better angle would be a Negative Zone adventures, with a suitably creepy Annihilus and brutish Blastaar as the villains.  Spend a little more money this time around on shots of Reed and Johnny using their powers and play up the adventurers aspect of the team and it would be a superhero film that really stands out among the crowd.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Batman and The Champions



I always loved The Champions because of their cool roster. Two X-Men, a super spy, a Greek God, and the Spirit of Vengeance... I would never have thought to put them together, but they made for one of  may favorite teams ever.  Their series didn't last long, and perhaps  part of that was due to the offbeat line-up.  I loved how they interacted with one another and would love to see them work together as a team on a regular basis again.  Marvel seems not to give up on The Defenders, giving them another relaunch every couple of years - I think it's time they gave The Champions the same chance!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Batman and The Black Cat



At first glance, The Black Cat comes off as a Catwoman clone, but Marvel has done a good job of giving her enough of her own spin to keep the character unique.  I like that she is infatuated with Spider-Man and has little use or interest in his alter-ego, Peter Parker.  It's a nice twist on the traditional comic book relationship where the hero is usually trying to maintain a romance without letting his superheroic side intrude.  I prefer the stories where Felicia is written a bit off-balance -  not really a villain, but unhinged just enough that she makes Spidey's life a nightmare as she seeks to satisfy her adrenaline junkie driven desires.  The more complicated Spider-Man's life becomes, the more compelling his adventures are, and The Black Cat is one of the more entertaining love interests that has been introduced in the Spider-Man mythos..

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Batman and The Beast (Retro)



It was cool that X-Men: First Class featured Hank McCoy in both his human and beastly forms.  I would have like to have seen the oversized hands to go along with his big feet though.  I remember the Amazing Adventures serial that featured the Beast as he first made his transformation to the blue furry look fondly.  I finally tracked down all the issues after reading about him as an Avenger as well as a founding member of the X-Men.  It was cool to see the bridge between the two eras.  I really liked his original blue look, and the more cat-like appearance he adopted during the Grant Morrison X-Men run doesn't work nearly as well for me.  I'm kind of surprised the haven't gone back to the classic look by now,

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Batman and The Avengers - Cap's Kooky Quartet (Retro)



There are so many cool Avengers line-ups, I decided they warranted another cover.  As I mentioned yesterday, I hope for Avengers film sequels to feature more of their large roster.  Unfortunately, because of rights issues, it will be very unlikely that I will see my favorite grouping on the big screen because the era I loved the most was when The Beast was an Avenger.  I always felt that he fit in better there than with the X-Men once he evolved into his blue furry state.  Of course these days we have Wolverine and now Storm as card carrying Avengers, but that just does not work for me at all - it smacks of a decision made by corporate number crunchers rather than  driven by the plot.  Don't even get me started on Spider-Man as an Avenger!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Batman and The Avengers (Retro)



Well the teaser trailer has hit, for next summer's Avengers film and while it did not show a whole lot, just seeing the characters interacting together has me sold.  There was only a tease of The Hulk at the end, but I am sure those effects will take the longest to complete.  I have to hand it to Marvel, their plan of introducing the characters in separate movies and then bringing them together really seems to have worked.  It's an amazing feat that they were able to combine their movie franchises the way the comics share a common continuity.  I hope the Avengers is the huge hit that they are expecting to be, because I'd love to see sequels featuring Giant-Man, The Wasp, Vision, The Scarlet Witch and others in the future.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Batman and The Astonishing X-Men



I was a huge fan of the X-Men during the 80's - Chris Claremont really knew how to weave a superhero soap opera and the art by Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, Paul Smith and others was always a treat.  I do feel that the X-Men became a victim of their own popularity though, as more and more spinoff titles were added.  Eventually, there were so many characters, crossovers and and plot lines to keep track of that I finally gave up on following them altogether.  Every once in a while a new creative team I liked would come on board and I would check out one of the flagship titles again - but they were never able to capture the same magic.  That changed when Joss Whedon and John Cassiday gave us Astonishing X-Men.  With a streamlined cast and firm grip on the characters, it was the best X-Men title I had read in years.  I only wish they had stayed on the series longer.  Whedon's comic work here gives me confidence in the upcoming Avengers movie which he wrote and is directing.  The trailer released this week definitely has some Whedon-esque lines!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Batman and The Angel (Retro)





The Angel as originally conceived is a character that would never be created today.  Back when he was introduced, the power of flight and the visual of a man with wings was impressive enough to hook in readers - I know that I really liked him.  Somewhere along the line, it was felt that the character needed to get beefed up and given more of an edge.  When he was transformed into Archangel, he was turned blue, given metallic wings that could project blades, and saddled with a new grim and gritty attitude.  If this had just been for a story line that would have been fine, but he has never quite reverted back to his original status.  I think the changes made him seem more like a villain than a hero.    I haven't checked in on the X-books in a while so I am not sure what his status is now - I think he is still blue but are his wings metal or back to the classic feathered look?  I'm an old school guy so I almost always prefer the original design.

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