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

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Doom Patrol Vs. Doctor Doom



Now this is a battle that I would love to see.  I can see Doom setting an elaborate trap for the Fantastic Four, only to have the Doom Patrol stumble upon it first.  These characters just seem like they would naturally go together, beyond just the similar name.  Perhaps if Victor Von Doom had met Dr.Niles Caulder when he was first disfigured, he would not have gone off on the villainous path that he did.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Silver Surfer and Stargirl



I guess it really isn't surprising that Geoff Johns decided to include his creation, Stargirl, in the line up for the new Justice League of America.  Her solo title was the first place that I took notice of Johns' writing skills.  I have to wonder though, what separating her from Earth-2 will do to her back story.  Does she still have ties to The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy?  Do they even still exist in the New 52?  Her connection to those heroes as well as others like Jack Knight was one of the things I really enjoyed about the character, and I hope that it is somehow maintained.  I am sure that Johns will flesh out her history in the pages of JLA sooner or later, so we will find out what has and has not changed soon enough.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Aquaman and The Hulk



I'm not sure what the next step for a live action Hulk will be.  There had been plans for a Guillermo Del Toro produced TV series, which sounded cool, but I haven't read anything new concerning that in a long time.  After The Hulk's popular reception from The Avengers, a third solo movie has been rumored, but talk of a Planet Hulk storyline have already been shot down.  So, it looks like we'll probably be waiting until 2015's Avengers sequel to see old jade jaws up on the big screen again.  With Joss Whedon at the helm again, I am confident that it will be worth the wait.

And what of Aquaman?  Will a Justice League film include him, or does his undersea environment make the character to expensive and difficult to include?  I hope they find a way, because he really does deserve to be included, being a founding member of the team.  Come on, DC - don't let Marvel beat you to the punch with a Sub-Mariner movie!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Robocop Vs. Spider-Man



I'm not sure what to make of the upcoming Robocop movie reboot.  It has a decent cast, so there's a chance that it could far surpass my expectations, but I still think it is facing an uphill battle.  The original film is still held in high regard and it is going to be tough to get out from under its shadow.  Shots of the new Robocop design reveal quite a departure from the classic look - the imposing, bulky suit has been replaced with a sleek, black and frankly more generic outfit.  I hope to be pleasantly surprised by the final product, but I fear tat my reaction will be similar to when I recently saw the new version of Total Recall  - a film with some technical merit, but lacking the charm of the original, feeling like an unnecessary retread.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Catwoman and Hellcat



I'm not sure why there are so many cat-themed female characters in fiction, but there must be some underlying reason for such a common archetype. Maybe it is because cats are beautiful, graceful, mysterious and strong willed - all characteristics of a classic heroine or femme fatale.  At any rate, it's a concept that has given us a lot of cool characters, and these two are among my favorites.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Superboy and The Silver Surfer



I think one of DC's biggest mistakes was to remove the Superboy years from Superman's history. Having him have such a long career and the world being able to watch him grow up went a long way as to explaining why Superman was held as the premier and most trusted superhero in a world where there are hundreds of super beings in operation. Plus, as I have mentioned before, the Legion of Super-Heroes have never really recovered from Superboy's removal from their history.  I guess DC is trying to make up for the the lack of time as Superboy by giving us the Jeans-and-T-Shirt-Superman in Action Comics, but it just doesn't feel the same.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Hawkgirl Vs. She-Hulk



One of the best things to come out of the animated Justice League series was their treatment of Hawkgirl.  She was given more depth and personality than she ever had in the comics and I was really hoping that DC would give her a higher profile as a result.  Instead, quite the opposite has happened.  Shayera Hol was killed off (more than once) in the comics, and just when she was revived again, the New 52 came along and she is gone again.  Sure, there is a Hawkgirl in Earth-2, but it isn't Shayera.  I miss the real deal with her flowing red locks and the coolest helmet design in comics, hopefully she will show up soon.  At least She-Hulk is getting some attention again as a cast member of FF, a place she can shine without dealing the alternate She-Hulks that Marvel has introduced in the past few years.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Fowl Force



As a lover of crossovers, I am a huge fan of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  The story and blending of animation with live action were cool, but what really got me was seeing Disney and Warner Brothers characters sharing the screen.  My very favorite scene was the piano duet between Daffy Duck and Donald Duck.  It was a blast seeing those two go up against each other, and the animators seemed to really have fun with that sequence.  Those two classic ducks have inspired many more over the years, and it wasn't hard to come up with a suitable line up for this team.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Firestorm and Nova



I have been following thevelopment on James Gunn's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film and the latest rumor is that Marvel's space cops - the Nova Corps - will be making an appearance.  That would be pretty cool to see, although I'm thinking that they will go with Sam Alexander, the new Nova.  Marvel has been giving him a push lately with his own series and appearances in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.  Still, I'm and old school guy and Richard Rider is the Nova that I grew up with.  I know he's been killed off in the Marvel Universe, but I hold out hope that we will see the original bucket-head return one of these days.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Man-Bat Vs. Man-Thing



This pairing might not provide the most eloquent dialogue, but I'm thinking they would make up for that with action in this story.  It is interesting that a lot of the monster-type characters in comics seem to be able to maintain relationships with beautiful women.  I guess it says something that you never see the reverse - a female monster in comics that has a handsome boyfriend who sees past their outward appearance.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Iron Fist and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles



I quite liked the TMNT CGI film from a few years ago and was sorry to hear that there would not be a sequel.  The Turtles seem to be headed for the big screen again, this time under the control of Michael Bay, with Megan Fox as April O'Neil.  I have read that Bay will be straying from the comics, giving the Turtles a more alien related origin.  I  have my doubts but I will try and reserve judgement until I see some actual footage.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The New Teen Titans Vs. Magneto



This is a scene that comic fans once might have had a chance to actually see.  After the success of  X-Men and the New Teen Titans, DC and Marvel were looking forward to future crossovers.  The first was to be JLA/Avengers and then another X-Men/Titans outing, this time illustrated by George Perez.  The JLA/Avengers project famously fell apart, and the next X-Men/Titans tale never got off the ground at all.  I imagine that Magneto would be part of the story, as the X-Men's arch foe was left out of the first outing.  DC and Marvel finally got their act together and gave us JLA/Avengers for real many years later, but The X-Men/Titans revisit is a true lost issue.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Spider-Man Vs. Two Face



I remember being so excited when I heard that Two-Face was going to be one of the villains in Batman Forever.  He's my favorite Batman villain and he had yet to make the leap to live action or animation at that point.  I was very disappointed with what wound up on screen, a Two-Face that bore very little resemblance to the comic book character.  A laughing, dancing, mugging at the camera Harvey Dent was nothing anyone needed to see.  Don't get me started on the lazy make up job, where they just painted teeth on Tommy Lee Jones' cheek.  Needless to say, I was thrilled with Christopher Nolan's version of the character.  Aaron Eckhart performed the role very well and the effects to create his scarred visage looked great.  My only real complaint was that Two Face's entire career only lasted a couple of hours.  After all the work to set up the character, he should have gotten a little more to do.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Superman and The Sub-Mariner (With Ant-Man!)



Dave Bullock has a great style that combines modern storytelling techniques with classic character design.  I especially love his take on Superman, which fits in well with Jack Kirby's groundbreaking Marvel work.  It's also a style that I would love to see put to animation - the economy of line and keen sense of body language would make for a great retro feature.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Wonder Woman Vs. The Hulk



I made this cover quite a while ago, and it had not yet been revealed that The Red She-Hulk was in fact, Betty Ross. So, now she joins Rick Jones and Thunderbolt Ross as a Hulk-type character.  It still seems strange to me that the Hulk's original supporting cast members have all been turned into reflections of him.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Fantastic Four Vs. The Anti-Monitor



No villain has ever been too big or powerful for the Fantastic Four to face, so I think they would e a great team to go up against this crisis-inducing foe.  It has been cool to see a version of the Anti-Monitor on the soon to be late Green Lantern animated series.  I've always wanted to see an animated version of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and that's about a close as we will probably ever get.  We may indeed get to see some live action Negative Zone action in the future though, that's where I am hoping that the Fantastic Four movie reboot will take us.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Beetlejuice Conquers The Marvel Universe



I have read that there may be a sequel to Beetlejuice one of these days and that might actually be kind of fun.  Even though decades have passed, Michael Keaton could still easily pull off the title role, given the character's appearance.  It would be a kick to see Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder and Geena Davis reunite as well.  Hopefully this is one of those projects that actually gets off the ground rather than remaining in Development Hell.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

The Secret Sisterhood



This is a group that would be interesting to read about.  Don't be fooled by their beauty, each of these characters are fierce warriors.  They have all learned to respect and adapt to the natural environment around them so I thought they would work well together.  Despite their similarities, they each have distinct personalities that would be interesting to see play off of one another.

If you haven't seen Princess Mononoke by legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, I highly recommend it.  Actually, I recommend all of his films, his work is amazing - but Princess Mononoke is the closest to a comic book type epic and is really a must-see for any comics fan.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Legion of Super Heroes Vs. The Phoenix



This is a team up that I would have loved to have seen because it represents my favorite eras from two of the  most popular teams of my youth.  The Chris Claremont/Paul Smith run on Uncanny X-Men featured great superhero melodrama with inventive characters, menacing villains and stunning visuals.  The Brood Saga and The return of Phoenix were thrilling to read month to month.  The Legion of Super-Heroes never looked better than when George Perez would illustrate them, and his covers always made me want to read the stories within.  This was when they still had a simple continuity, before Crisis on Infinite Earths.  They never quite seemed to recover from the removal of Superboy from their history.


Thursday, February 28, 2013

Thor and Kamandi



It's been a while since I did an all-Kirby cover and I can't believe I missed one of the most obvious pairings yet!  These two guys look like they could be related, and indeed, that's what I based my concept around. I am glad that the Marvel movies are bringing new attention to some of Kirby's characters, as his world of imagination deserves to be introduced to a new generation of fans.  Hopefully we will see more of his work translated to the big screen - a live action Kamandi or New Gods film would be epic, and not such a crazy idea as they might have seemed 10-15 years ago.

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