Showing posts with label Super-Team Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super-Team Family. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Iron Man Vs. The Iron Giant



C'mon, you can't really blame The Iron Giant here.  All brightly colored and metallic, Tony Stark must look like a nice piece of candy to him.  I imagine that he would realize his error before things went too far and by the end of the story, both characters would receive an upgrade in their hardware by combining their technology.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Flash and Northstar




The flash has one of the greatest costume designs in comics.  Carmine Infantino came up with a simple, sleek uniform that looks great in motion, and it has deservedly stood the test of time.  When Wally West took over the mantle of The Flash, a few tweaks were made.  The material was shinier and the eyes where whited out, but it was still close enough to the classic design for me.  The latest revamp with the New 52 reboot was less successful in my eyes.  I don't see what adding a chin strap and a whole bunch of unnecessary seams does besides make the suit look busy.  The artists like to have the seams glow and crackle with energy when he uses his powers, but to me that usually looks messy and more like his abilities are based on electricity rather than speed.

You could tell that John Byrne was going for that sleek Silver Age type of designs with his uniforms for the members of Alpha Flight.  Their cool, simple looks were very effective and have for the most part remained unaltered over three decades later.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Ambush Bug and The Hulk



It's a good thing that Ambush Bug can teleport because it is a skill that would come in handy if he were to ever join up with The Hulk for an adventure.  Their color scheme is about the only thing that they have in common, and I think that their differences in style would make for a fun romp.  I really hope that Keith Giffen brings Ambush Bug into the New 52, because I would love to see what he has to say about the changed landscape.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Harley Quinn and The Punisher



I thought I would put together a new romance for Valentine's Day.  There aren't a lot of characters that would give Harley Quinn the same thrill to be with that she gets from The Joker, but Frank Castle might just fit the bill.  Of course, he may not always reciprocate her feelings, but since when has that stopped Harley?  Whatever the result of this match made in Arkham, it would certainly be fun to read about.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Creeper and Spider-Man in: "Creeper Vs. Crawler - Round 2!"



This was the very first pairing that I featured in my Super-Team Family covers, and I wanted to see them together again, this time with more of a Bronze Age feel.  I'm not sure what the status of The Creeper is these days, but he is one of my favorite Ditko creations, so I hope he doesn't stay off of DC's table for too long.  I was excited to see The Creeper's alter ego, Jack Ryder, show up in the excellent Arkham City video game, but alas he did not appear in costume.  Maybe next time!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Question and Rorschach


As most comics fans know, Alan Moore was originally going to use the Charlton characters for the his Watchmen series.  I think that he and DC ultimately made the right decision in creating all-new characters for the story instead, but part of me has always been curious as to what the final result would have looked like if he had gone with The Question, Blue Beetle, Nightshade and the rest, rather than Rorschach, Nite-Owl, Silk Spectre and the other cast members of Watchmen.  How much would the use of the Charlton gang have affected mainstream DC continuity down the line?  Would the comic have still reached its legendary status, spawning prequels and a movie?  It's interesting to speculate on, but I am glad we have two sets of cool characters instead of just one.

Monday, February 11, 2013

The Spectre and Ghost Rider



The 90's were a crazy time for comics.  Poplarity and speculation were at an all time high and comic companies were doing whatever they could to keep up with the demand.  The Spectre and Ghost Rider were two characters that benefited from the influx of new titles.  Once a C-Lister, the Ghost Rider got a second chance and hit a chord with readers, going on to support multiple titles and becoming one of Marvel's star players for a while.  The 1990's Spectre series by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake was one of the best (and most overlooked) titles from the decade.  It's an almost perfect 60-issue run and it's a shame that more people dod not get a chance to catch it.  Hopefully now that Jim Corrigan has been reinstated as The Spectre in the New 52, DC will consider reprinting the series in trade paperback form..

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Man-Thing in Dagobah



Like most Star Wars fans, I am looking forward to the new films and having old favorites like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker back up one the big screen.  I know that decades have passed and age is a factor, but I still would prefer a script set around the original characters than one where new characters dominate the action.  Fortunately, the non-Human characters like Chewbacca and the Droids are much easier to bring back, so I hope that means we can count on them getting a lot of screen time.  Sure, they may have to add some wisps of grey to Chewie's coat and explain how a couple of robots built with 60 year old technology would still be able to keep up, but that's no reason for them not to have their moment in the spotlight again!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Beast and Metamorpho



Here are two of my absolute favorite characters in all of comics.  Unfortunately, I can't say that I am thrilled to see the way they have been treated lately.  I was very glad to hear that The Beast would finally be losing the cat-like appearance that he has had since the Grant Morrison run on the X-Men titles, as that look never worked for me.  But instead of reverting back to his classic look from the 80's, his new redesign is even less appealing.  In an interview, new writer Brian Michael Bendis said that they didn't even consider going back to his classic look because it would have been "too nostalgic".  What?  What's wrong with being nostalgic once in a while, and besides - isn't Bendis the one who brought back the original first class in their classic looks in the very same title?  His reasoning doesn't make much sense to me.

Still, at least Hank McCoy is still around!  Rex Mason is nowhere to be found, and has been replaced in the New 52 with Element Woman.  She's like Metamorpho... but she's sexy!  is that any way to treat Bob Haney's greatest creation?

Friday, February 8, 2013

J. Jonah Jameson Vs. Perry White



One of the main things missing for me in the latest Spider-Man film was J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle.  Of course, J.K. Simmons did such a great job in the role, it is understandable that the producers would be hesitant include the character.  Still, he's too big a part of the Spider-Man mythos to ignore, so I imagine they will include him the next time out.  Whoever they cast has some big shoes to fill.

Lawrence Fishburne will be the latest actor to portray Perry White, and boy does that make me feel old!  Martin Sheen and Lawrence Fishburne, two skinny kids from Apocalypse Now, are now starring as Uncle Ben and Perry White.  What happened to the time?

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Justice League of America Vs. The Avengers (And More!)



I wanted to do something special for an anniversary issue, so I figured what better than a 100-Page Giant?  I used to absolutely devour those when I was growing up.  In addition to the main feature, they would include reprints of classic tales as well.   Those served as my introduction to many characters and creators that I had been previously unaware of, and really opened a whole new world for me.  Add in the special features like puzzle pages and text stories, and a single issue would keep me entertained for an entire evening.  Those were the days!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Black Beauties



All-female teams were once a rarity, but we are seeing more and more of them these days.  DC has done a great job of showcasing some of their lesser known characters with their various Birds of Prey series.  Marvel now has The Fearless Defenders, to serve that purpose as well.  Even their latest Uncanny X-Men line-up is featuring an all female cast - goodness knows there are enough mutants to fill it with.  Then you have Danger Girl and The Powerpuff Girls,  a couple of trios that have been kicking butt for over a decade now. Heck, this won't even be my last all-female team on the blog.  The day of the damsel in distress is over!


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Green Lantern and The X-Men



X-Men: Days of Future Past is shaping up to be a very interesting, if crowded, film.  Brian Singer will be uniting the cast from his X-Men films with that of X-Men: First Class in a film that promises sentinels and time travel.  I hope that the film ends with something closer to the comic book timeline, as the series has played fast and loose with the continuity thus far.

The word is still out on which Green Lantern will be showing up in the Justice League film, and I doubt that we will hear much concrete information until Man of Steel hits the theaters.  While I would like to see Hal Jordan get a Hulk in The Avengers type of rehabilitation, I wouldn't mind seeing John Stewart in the film.  I have always liked the character and he worked well in the animated series.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Jimmy Olsen and Mr. Fantastic



I consider this a sequel to the Thing/Jimmy Olsen cover I did back during the MTIO run, in which Jimmy got up to a lot of trouble messing around in Reed Richard's lab.  It seems only fitting that Jimmy would atone by helping Reed out with a few science projects. I shouldn't be so hard on the poor kid though, he's had a rough couple of weeks.  The latest rumor is that he has been jettisoned in the upcoming Man of Steel film and replaced with "Jenny Olsen".  He just can't get a break.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

The Super-Skrull Joins The Superman Family




The Superman titles of my youth may seem kind of hokey by today's standards, but they were endlessly creative.  This was a time when you couldn't spend six months on one plotline, each issue was its own epic, so the editors and writers were constantly coming up with wild  new conflicts and concepts for our hero to face.  Add in great artwork by by the likes of Curt Swan or Jim Mooney, and you had stories that I just devoured for all the crazy ideas contained within.  Grant Morrison is about the only current writer to tap into that side of Superman for his stories, and it's no wonder his work with the character has been so well received.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Hellboy and Daredevil



It's funny, I work so far ahead with these covers that sometimes some of the ideas on them come to pass before I have gotten a chance to post them.  Some of my Marvel/Star Wars mashups don't seem so crazy anymore now that Diseny owns both companies.  I have some upcoming covers featuring characters like Vibe and Amethyst that I created before it was announced that they were being revived and given their own titles.  This story has Hellboy trapped in Hell and indeed Mike Mignola's crimson hero has died in the comics and now his adventures continue in the pages of Hellboy in Hell.  This is a cool chapter in the Hellboy saga, and I look forward to seeing where Mignola takes him next.


Friday, February 1, 2013

Tarzan and Ka-Zar



Talk about a couple of overachievers!  As if living in the jungle and fending off attacks from lions, tigers and crocodiles in only a loincloth didn't make them tough enough, they both regularly seemed to be going toe to toe with dinosaurs as well!  It's a good thing they have their trusty knives on them at all times (how do you think that they always keep their faces so clean shaven?)

Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Flash and The Whizzer



I used this pairing as a back-up story on a previous cover, and I wanted to give them their own issue.  I really miss the classic Jay Garrick in the current DCU.  The new young version  the pages of Earth-2 just isn't the same for me.  I liked the elder statesmen role that he provided, along with Ted Grant and Alan Scott.  Plus, he's got a winged helmet, and I like winged helmets!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Thor and Steel



John Henry Irons was my favorite thing to come out of the Death of Superman event.  Here was a character inspired by the Man of Steel without being a simple copy of him with a gender or age change.  I'm not sure what he is up to in the New 52, but I hope he finds a place to shine. It would be cool to see him compare red capes and hammers with Thor one day.  I imagine this would be one of those fake-out covers, where the story would end with Thor and Odin presenting Steel with an Uru hammer to call his own.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Iron Fist and Robin



I was glad when I heard that Power Man and Iron Fist were going to be a part of  the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, but upon checking the show out, they aren't quite the characters we know from the comics.  Sure, the powers are there, but these are youthified versions of the Heroes for Hire to go along with the show's overall attempt at attracting a younger-skewing demographic.  It's a fun little show for what it is, but it really makes me hope for a more accurate depiction of Danny Rand and Luke Cage on the big or small screens.

Tim Drake has shown up in Young Justice, which has done a much better job of presenting the characters from the comics... and of course that show just got cancelled, along with Green Lantern! It's really a shame because I was enjoying both but The Cartoon Network's erratic episode scheduling never gave them a fair chance to build an audience.

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