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

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Firestorm and The Vision



A coldly logical synthezoid with a desire to be more human and a headstrong rookie hero eager to be taken more seriously... this is a combination that would make for some interesting conflict.  Then again, I remember Ronnie Raymond having a good relationship with The Red Tornado, so maybe he and The Vision could find some common ground.  Whichever direction the writer chose to go, it would be fun to read about!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Elongated Man and Quicksilver



In an interesting turn of events, Quicksilver is slated to appear in both X-Men: Days of Future Past and Avengers 2.  He is one of the few characters shared between 20th Century Fox  and Marvel and thus there will be two different live action interpretations to compare.  It seems that he will have a more substantial role in Avengers, given the glut of characters in X-Men... but then again, his father is Magneto, so how small could his role be there?

Ralph Dibny is still MIA at DC... along with Wally West and Alex Luthor.  Jimmy Olsen was turned into a brunette girl for the movies and Richard Dragon has been remade as a bald guy.  I'm not sure why DC is suddenly so anti-ginger, but I can't say it sits well with me!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

The Decoders



I had fun assembling this team.  I tried to select members based on the function they could serve.  Max Headroom would be the conduit to all media, C3PO would handle communications with any type of language or code, Tron is the ultimate inside man with his ability to enter the computer grid, Arno Stark is the high-tech muscle, and Oracle runs the show and coordinates the operatives.  I almost included Cypher from the New Mutants but C3PO covered his skill set.  Looking at the team, I think their varied personalities would make for some fun interaction as they worked together.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Creeper and Daredevil in "Media Blitz!"



I always thought that the Creeper was cool. I really liked that his alter ego, Jack Ryder, was a TV tabloid journalist - that seemed like a great springboard for story ideas.  The Creeper was one of  the characters missing from DC's New 52 that I had been hoping to see reappear.  It seems he has now, in name at least, in the pages of Katana.  I've seen some pages featuring a Creeper that looks more like a parade dragon than the Ditko designed hero of the previous continuity.  I haven't read the stories though, so I don't know if that will be the final form of the character.  Can anyone tell me what's up?

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Green Arrow & Black Canary and The Man-Thing



Justice League of America #200 has one of the most amazing artistic line-ups of any single issue that I have ever read.  I remember loving seeing so many of my favorite artists - Jim Aparo, Joe Kubert, Gil Kane, George Perez, Dick Giordano, and so on together in one big story... and then there was the amazing chapter featuring Green Arrow and Black Canary versus Batman by an artist that was completely new to me at the time.  I'm sure I had seen some Brian Bolland covers at that point, but this was the first time I had seen his interiors, and they blew me away.  His characters maintained realistic proportions but were still larger than life and his detailed artwork was done with a meticulous precision unlike any I had seen before.  I had a similar experience with Art Adams - as great as his covers were, I really began to appreciate him when I saw his interiors on Longshot and his various Marvel Annuals, where he really got to show off his storytelling abilities in addition to his character design.

Monday, July 15, 2013

The Spectre and Doctor Strange Vs. Nightmare!



Of all of Marvel's second phase movie plans, what has me the most intrigued is Doctor Strange. Some vague plot points and characters have been released and so far it sounds like they are on the right track.  Still, what I really need to hear is who is going to star as Strange and who will direct.  It's one of the tougher properties to pull off and  hopefully Marvel will make the right decisions.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

The New Mutants and Jor-El.



One of the surprises for me in watching Man of Steel was Russel Crowe's performance as Jor-El.  I came in with lowered expectations because I had just seen the man almost single-handedly destroy the film adaptation of Les Miserables (he is a talented actor, but his singing voice leaves much to be desired).  I thought he handled the role of Superman's birth father well, and I was not expecting him to have so much screen time.  I especially liked the extended opening sequence on Krypton, it was cool to see Crowe in full action hero mode again.  I wouldn't have minded a whole film set on Krypton from what I saw there, it was a visual feast.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Galactus and Mr. Mind



Villains come in all sizes in the world of comics, and these two are clear reminders of that.  One of the scariest things about Galactus was that, due to his extreme size and power, he generally considered humans to be less than insects and beneath his notice.  Mr. Mind, on the other hand, would often go unnoticed and underestimated by mankind - much to its regret!  I can only imagine a union of these two would be bad news for Earth.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Angel and Hawkgirl



There is something very iconic about winged characters that has always appealed to me.  They look great on the page, even in silhouette.  The ability to fly seems to be the most common choice when people are asked what power they would like to have, and that is certainly part of the attraction.  Depending on the design, wings can make your character appear more angelic, demonic or avian, so there's a broad range of stories that can be told with them.  This cover features two of my favorite heroes to sport this look.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Green Lantern and She-Hulk



You can't really blame She-Hulk for being fed up here.  The Guardians of the Universe have a long history of manipulating the heroes they work with for their own mysterious ends.  Apparently this has come to a head in the Green Lantern titles, and Hal Jordan has taken over leadership of the Corps. It will be interesting to see where this change in status will take that corner of the DCU.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Robotman and Robocop



Marvel just wrapped up another Ultron epic and it is good to see him and Hank Pym in the spotlight again.  Ultron is easily my favorite Avengers villain and I really want to see him adapted to the big screen - hopefully this new focus is the first indication of that becoming a reality.

Robocop will be heading back into theaters with a rebooted version soon.  There is some impressive talent involved, but I can't help but worry that this will be another Total Recall type unnecessary redo.  I hope I will be proven wrong, and I will try to keep an open mind until I see some actual footage.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The JSA and The Avengers in "Cruel Intentions in Dual Dimensions!"



I featured a these two teams together in their more modern incarnations a few weeks back, and I thought I would try my hand at a more retro cover.  I used to love checking out the All-Star Comics reprints that would show up in 100-Page JLA issues.  As cool as it was for me to see all those heroes together at once, I can only imagine how it must have felt for a young fan seeing the original issues on the newsstand back in the 40's.

Friday, July 5, 2013

The Atom and Machine Man



The first Machine Man mini-series that came out during the 80's was a revelation for me.  Mini-Series were still relatively new at that point , so it was cool to see one of my favorite lower tier characters get a chance to shine.  It was a fun, inventive story as well - set in the future with appearances by Iron Man 2020.  What stood out the most for me though was the artwork of Barry Windsor-Smith.  It was the first time I had seen BWS' pencils and inks, and I was blown away.  Then there were those covers - the 4-issue format gave him the opportunity to do something really neat.  Each cover featured a close-up of Machine Man's head, being assembled more and more with each issue.  They were so eye-catching and unlike any covers I had seen before, they really made the comic stand out on the racks.  It was a great design choice that I remember fondly to this day.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Captain America and The Shield



I hope everyone is having a happy 4th of July today (regardless of where you come from).  The town I live in has fireworks just a few blocks away, so all I needed to do was pull up a chair to my window and watch them go off last night, it was a blast (in more ways than one)!  Anyway, I thought today would be a good time to feature a double dose of Jack Kirby flag-bearing heroes.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Sub-Mariner and The Demon



These are two characters that are just as likely to work against the heroes of their respective universes as they are to work with them, and that's one thing that makes them interesting to me.  I think they work best when they are depicted as loose cannons, and not too chummy with the rest of the superheroic community - that tension makes for good drama and a more unpredictable story.  I can imagine that they would really butt heads if they shared a tale together, and that would be fun to read about.

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Tick Vs. Doctor Doom




Nobody wants to squash villainy more than the Tick, and nobody has less patience for shenanigans than Victor Von Doom, so I think this would make for an interesting match up. I don't know who I would give the edge to in this battle, but  it would be fun watching Doom's nerves getting increasingly frayed.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Black Canary and Mockingbird



These two characters are so close to one another, it's almost like an Earth One-Earth Two situation.  They've got similar tastes in hairstyles, fighting disciplines, outfits and men.  I'm sure they would have plenty to talk about while kicking butt and taking names.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Blue Beetle and Hawkeye



Hawkeye's first mini-series back in 1983 was a great read.  It was the first time I had ever seen the Avenging Archer in his own title and  I wondered what took so long for him to get his shot. It was a fun story with real repercussions and beautiful Brett Breeding artwork.  I thought it would be cool to see Hawkeye team up with Ted Kord - they are both non powered heroes who can nevertheless fit in with the big guys due to their skills and tenacity.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Animal Man and The Pet Avengers



With so much teeth-clenching, grim and gritty comics out there, it's nice to have concepts on the fun side like The Pet Avengers to lighten things up from time to time.  I think vast universes like Marvel and DC have built can support characters and titles of all kinds and there is room for whimsy along with the angst. Given Buddy Baker's power to mimic the abilities of any animal in his vicinity, I think this would make for a formidable partnership.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Man-Bat Vs. Man-Wolf



When it came to cover artists, there were two that always stood above the pack for me in their ability to sell a story with a single image.   To me, Gil Kane was the Marvel cover artist, and Nick Cardy was easily my favorite from DC.  Their talents were clearly recognized because they were used on covers spanning all types of genres, from superhero to western to horror and more.  I was glad to be able to use both of these legendary artists for today's entry.

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