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

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.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Sandman And Rorschach



These guys have the right idea.  If you want to put together a cool crime fighting costume, most heroes opt to look like circus performers.  Sure, it may allow for freedom of movement, but there's a big risk of being a fashion disaster.  These guys  simply grabbed a hat, trench coat and face-concealing mask for their ensemble, and it works!  They are two of the cooler looking street level characters in comics.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Vigilante and John Wayne



Well it looks like the latest incarnation of The Lone Ranger was a bit of a dud critically and commercially. It's too bad because I think there is a great movie to be had with the character if handled properly.  It'll probably be another 20 years before he gets a theatrical chance again, so maybe it's time to give The Vigilante a shot at the big screen!  Country singer by day, masked hero by night, maybe some cameos from his teammates in the Seven Soldiers of Victory... I know I would buy a ticket!

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.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Phantom Stranger on The Death Star



The Phantom Stranger was always known to arrive at points of great conflict and offer his sage advice, so it it that much of a stretch that he could show up to offer the Empire's soldiers the choice to break free from their predetermined mission?  It might make for a fun story that would combine science fiction with magic, something the Star Wars universe is no stranger to.

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.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

It Girl and Power Girl



I have written before about how much I love Mike Allred's artwork.  His clean, expressive style is always filled with interesting designs and body types.  I can tell he really has fun with the breakout star of The Atomics, It Girl.  Her ability to mimic the properties of anything she touches really allows Allred to get visually creative.  Ramona Fradon is one of the greatest underestimated artists that the industry has seen, in my eyes.  Take a look at her work on Aquaman or Metamorpho and you will see that she has many of the same artistic sensibilities that make modern illustrators like Allred so appealing.  It's even more impressive when you consider how male dominated the industry was back when she broke into the scene.

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.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Batman and Lobster Johnson



I really like the extended world that has sprung out of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series.  Abe Sapien and the rest of the B.P.R.D. are cool and fun characters, and I love the addition of 30's pulp hero Lobster Johnson to the mix.  It would be cool to see him share an adventure with Batman, be it in a period piece or taking place in the current day.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Wonder Woman and The Wasp



I first took notice of Cliff Chiang's artwork in the Josie Mac backups he did for Detective Comics, and I became an instant fan.  He has a great, clean design sense and he has the ability to depict characters with realistic proportions who nonetheless come off as heroic.  His work on DC's Dr. Thirteen really let him show his versatility, with so many disparate characters.  Chiang also draws some of the best looking women in comics currently, I love his takes on Wonder Woman, Zatanna and the Black Canary especially.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Changeling and Wolverine



I always liked the moment in X-Men and The New Teen Titans where these two characters meet and Changeling comments on their shared name.  At that point, Wolverine's origins were still shrouded in mystery, and that quick exchange sent my mind wandering - there's gotta be a story there, right?

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Conan Vs. He-Man in: "The Mountains of Madness!"



Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of politics and back in the movies, I keep hearing news of him returning to some of his most famous roles.  He is slated to appear in the next Terminator installment and will reteam with Danny DeVito for Triplets, a sequel to Twins.  The project that piques my interest the most, though, is the next Conan film.  At first I thought it sounded crazy that he would return to the role after all these years, but the more that I think about it, the more it seems to me that it might be very cool to see a tale of an older, battle weary barbarian.  I hope that the script lives up to the story potential.

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