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

Thursday, May 14, 2015

The Hobbits and The Silver Surfer



As a giant fan of the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, I  absolutely devoured the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson, especially the extended editions.  Still, I had my reservations about another trilogy of movies based on The Hobbit, a single novel.  While each of the new films had their share of cool moments, I do feel that the story would have been better served if it had been told in perhaps two movies instead of three. By the time I watched the third one, it did begin to feel a little repetitious.  Still, it's great that one of the masterpieces of fantasy was brought to life with such care.

Monday, May 11, 2015

The Sub-Mariner and Abe Sapien



Of all of the famous water-dwelling heroes, Abe Sapien has my favorite design.  You can tell immediately where he belongs even when he is presented in an above ground scene.  He looks at once other worldly and heroic.  I shouldn't be surprised though, Mike Mignola's amazing ability to create unique looking characters is part of what has attracted me to his artwork for decades.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Captain Marvel and Spider-Man



Marvel says that the new cinematic Spider-Man with have a costume that will stand out from the ones worn by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.  I'm not sure how much different they can go without departing from the classic design too much.  My guess is that it will look more low tech - silkscreened webs instead of raised webbing?  Or would that look too cheap? Maybe they will include the classic Ditko under arm webbing?  I doubt it, but that would be kind of cool.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Robin and Daredevil in: "Dynamic Do-Over!"



I was not surprised but very happy to learn that Daredevil has been picked up for another season by Netflix. I have been re-watching some of the episodes and they hold up to repeated viewings.  I'd be interested in seeing Daredevil regulars Bullseye and Elektra making appearances... but the what I would really like to see is Black Widow show up in an episode or two.  The issues where they would share cover billing were my introduction to the hero of Hell's Kitchen.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The JLA & JSA Vs. Ultron



I had initially been concerned with the rumored choice of Brainiac as the first enemy that the cinematic JLA is scheduled to face off against, because of potential perceived similarities to Ultron by audiences. Now that I have seen Marvel's movie treatment of their robotic despot, I am less worried.  Marvel went with a more humorous take on their character, so if DC/Warners stick with the cold, emotionless version of Brainiac, they can still present a very unique type of villain.

The JLA has reason to be concerned on the above cover - they barely escaped their last battle with Ultron.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Flash and Ant-Man



I thought that Avengers: Age of Ultron was a great way to kick of the summer movie season.  The action scenes were amazing - I am really going to have to see it a few more times to take it all in.  The Hulk/Iron Man fight lived up to the hype and The Vision was incredibly well realized.  My only real problems with the movie had to do with the pacing and Ultron.  Some scenes (like those at the safe house) seem to drag while some didn't seem to have enough time to resonate (Thor and Cap's side plots) - hopefully the rumored extended cut will fix that.  Ultron to me was off in appearance and personality.  His drones looked a lot more like the classic Ultron than the main model - I don't think all the extra articulation on the facial features was necessary or successful.  Also, I get that he was snarky because he had some of Tony Stark in him, but the humor from his character did not work for me.  Ultron in the comics was always cold and unemotional - far too often I heard Joss Whedon or Red Reddington instead of the iconic Marvel villain, and it undermined his threat... well that, and the fact that even Hawkeye could punch through his robots' heads.

This story is just the first part - stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion tomorrow!

Monday, May 4, 2015

The Inferior Five Vs. The Defenders



It was fun to see the Hulk back in action in Avengers: Age of Ultron (A blast of a movie, even if the safe house scenes did drag and Ultron's appearance & character were a bit off for me) , but I have to say that I was hoping he would get a little more dialogue.  He didn't even get to speak at all this time around, unless I missed it.  I think the Hulk works much better with The Defenders anyway.  It's too bad that scattered rights issues will prevent a film with the above cast from appearing together for the foreseeable future.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Rolling Thunder



My brother Eric (you may know his robots), suggested the idea of a superhero biker team, and even though I thought it would be tough to get multiple characters with motorcycles to fit on one cover, the idea rattled around in my brain until I finally decided to give it a shot.  STF has already established the partnership of Ghost Rider and Evel Knievel in more than one adventure, so I figured that they would be a good duo to start assembling the team with. I had been wanting to use Kaneda from Akira on a cover for ages and I was happy to also feature the star of one of my favorite childhood books, The Mouse and The Motorcycle.  Black Canary is a biker babe who can more than hold her own in a fight, so she fit right in, and the team was complete!

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Batman and Daredevil in: "Night of the Owls"



Well, after months of teasing, some clear and unobstructed pictures of Ben Affleck as Batman have surfaced.  I have to say, I love what I see.  The costume is closer to the comics than any that we have seen thus far.  It has been promised that Batman will have full freedom of movement as well, so I can't wait to see the suit in action. I personally prefer longer ears on Batman, but given the Dark Knight vibe they seem to be going for with the new look I can live with the shorter ones.  I still wish there was a way that the designers could have given Batman the white eyes from the comics.

This is a more modern pairing of Batman and DD - bur back in my Brave and the Bold: The Lost Issues! days, I presented them together in a Bronze Age adventure as well as a Silver Age one...

Friday, May 1, 2015

Dr. Fate and Thor



Alan Davis is an artist that I have followed throughout his career.  I remember being disappointed that my all-time favorite artist Jim Aparo had left art chores on Batman and the Outsiders, and wondering who this new British replacement was.  I quickly learned to love his style as well and made a point to always check out his future endeavors.  his work on JLA: The Nail as well as its sequel and Superboy's Legion is absolutely gorgeous.  I really dug his Fantastic Four run too, I wish he had stayed with that team longer.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Metal Men and Spider-Man



I am looking forward to what Marvel is going to do with Spider-Man now that they have a hand in his cinematic future.  It will be interesting to see what they do to differentiate this new take from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb versions.  I liked parts of both of those franchises, but felt they missed the mark on a lot of aspects of the wall-crawler and his rogues as well, so I am definitely up to seeing the "official" Marvel entry.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The X-Men Vs. Starro



This was not an easy cover to make.  I know it may just look like heroes lined up but it took a lot of tweaking to get right.  I've been wanting to use Starro again for a while, he is such a great villain.  He has that crazy Silver Age sensibility, but is still creepy enough to entertain modern audiences.  I'd love to see him battle the JLA on the big screen - it would be like Avengers crossed with Aliens!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Superman and The Invaders



I have been enjoying reading Superman's very first adventures in the collected Superman Chronicles series of TPB's lately.  There's an energy to those early adventures, from a time before superheroes were even a genre, that just cannot be replicated today.  I can only imagine what it was like for a young kid to have been reading those ground-breaking tales right off the newsstands.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Nightwing Vs. The Hulk



As Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues has continued over the years, I have developed a few ongoing plot threads.  One recurring theme, however, just happened on its own, or maybe in my subconscious at least. For some reason, the Hulk really does not like Robin!  In this latest outing, he's after Dick Grayson in his Nightwing guise, but he has been on his trail for a while...

from his early days with Batman...

...to his time with the Teen Titans...

and New Teen Titans!.

The Hulk is no fan of Grayson's successors either - just ask Tim Drake...

or Damian Wayne!

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Squirrel Girl and Rocky & Bullwinkle



This match up comes as a suggestion from Tim Stellmach, a Patron in good standing of this site (I take note of all ideas but Patrons of course get special consideration), and the idea just made me smile.  I was a huge fan of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show growing up, so on a whim I bought a DVD set of the first season.  I enjoyed it just as much, even moreso as an adult.  I never realized that there was so much humor in those episodes that went right over my head when I viewed them as a child.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Sgt. Rock and the Human Torch



I loved Robert Kanigher's Sgt. Rock tales, and I have always thought Marvel's wartime era comics were cool, so this is a team up that I would have loved to have seen.  Rock's stories usually featured Easy Company up against steep odds and it would be could to see the Torch  helping to turn the tide.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Aquaman and The Sub-Mariner in: "The Battle Above!" Part 1



For the longest time I figured that we would see a Sub-Mariner movie before an Aquaman one.  I'm glad that Arthur Curry beat Namor to the punch though, and I can't wait to see how the undersea realm of Atlantis is realized.

Aquaman and Namor have crossed paths on the blog before - they faced the sea's wrath back in Issue #751 and starred in my very first STF two-parter in Issue #3 and Issue #4.

This tale of course is also a two-parter so make sure you return tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Justice League of America and The Fantastic Four



Continued from yesterday's cover, we have a pairing of teams that quite frankly I am surprised took so long for me to get to.

It's amazing that after a lifetime of waiting, the Justice League of America is finally coming to life on-screen - and in more ways than one.  The extra early hype-machine for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has shown us the cinematic versions of its title characters as well as Wonder Woman and Aquaman.  Green Lantern and the Flash will be joining them for the Justice League 2-parter, with the Flash doing double duty as one of the many Justice Leaguers that the WB network is bringing to TV.  In addition to the shows featuring him and Green Arrow, a third spin-off (rumored to be titled Legends of the Future) will feature The Atom, Firestorm, Black Canary, Hawkgirl and more.  Just find a home somewhere in all those plans for The Martian Manhunter and this JLA fan will be completely fulfilled!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Justice League of America and Star Wars



This week saw new trailers for The Fantastic Four, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Star Wars: The Force Rises.  Closer looks at The Thing and Doctor Doom do not impress me, and the origin rehash doesn't excite me much, but maybe the new FF reboot will surprise me.  We are 11 months away from Batman v Superman so I didn't expect the trailer to show much, but I liked what I saw.  The Batman costumes especially looked great.  The Star Wars trailer was my favorite.  That quick shot of Han and Chewie brought a huge smile to my face, as did the Mark Hamill voice over. Heck, I loved the whole thing!

This story continues tomorrow, so make sure to tune in for the epic conclusion!

Monday, April 20, 2015

Cyborg and Iron Man



We've seen that Iron Man will be getting a few new suits of armor for Avengers: The Age of Ultron, including the fan-favorite Hulkbuster armor.  It has been cool to see so many iterations of the suit so far, but with this fifth move outing, I still say that the lack of love for the classic widow's peak armor is a glaring omission.  Sure, it may seem a bit outdated by today's standards, but Iron Man sported that look far longer than any other in his career and it deserves its cinematic due.

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