The Thing and Indiana Jones

I remember being completely blown away when I first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, I don't think I had ever seen such an action-packed film up to that point. I watched it again recently and it holds up amazingly well after all of these years. A lot of people have given the fourth installment a lot of flack for not living up to its predecessors, but I think that's a bit of a bum rap. Yes, they probably waited a decade too long to make it, but most of the other complaints I feel can be equally levied against the second two adventures as well. I didn't find the refrigerator scene to be any less believable than jumping out of an airplane with only an inflatable raft. Were the inclusion of aliens a bit far fetched? Maybe, but not more so than an immortal King Arthur looking dude hanging out in the cave of grails. Some took exception with Shia LaBeouf, but was his performance worse than Kate Capshaw? I think time may have softened some of the rough edges of those earlier films in many viewers' eyes.

The Thing and Calvin and Hobbes

I don't think I am alone when I say that Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest comic strip ever created. Sure, there have been other fine examples, but C&H really had the whole package - an excellent hook, fantastic artwork, hilarious gags, endless invention, and even touching moments. Couple that with the fact that Bill Watterson made the decision to end the strip when it was still at the apex of its quality and you have a true classic. Watterson has also amazingly resisted the urge to merchandise his characters, which has maintained the integrity of the strip. I can't imagine how much money he could have made off of toys of Calvin and both versions of Hobbes, or licensing the characters out to animation houses or commercials. You have to hand it to Watterson for sticking to his guns on this matter. Still, I would love it if the reclusive Watterson decided to give us another year or two of their adventures one of these days...

The Thing and Impulse

I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when Impulse first appeared in the pages of The Flash, as I have an aversion to the trend of insta-kids in comics (offspring that appear out of the blue, fully grown). I soon grew to like the character, as the fact of his rapid aging was not just a means to an end, but truly informed the character and how he perceived the world around him. His self titled series was the kind of humorous superhero comic that we don't see enough of anymore. I also liked the character growth that Bart Allen was given upon his graduation to the Kid Flash role. I did not, however, like when he was given yet another instant growth spurt and became the next incarnation of The Flash. Not too many other readers liked this either, and that decision has thankfully been reversed.

The Thing and Hellboy

I'm sure Mike Mignola drew from many influences when he created Hellboy, and I would be surprised if The Thing wasn't somewhere in the mix. These two cigar chomping straight talking monstrous guys have a lot in common. I'd love to see The Human Torch try some of his pranks on Hellboy, though - his resistance to fire would take care of Johnny's one edge! And Ben has dealt with enough minions from the Negative Zone and the center of the earth that he could take anything that The BPRD throws at him. Yup, this is a buddy team just waiting to happen.

The Thing and Conan

I hadn't thought of Conan as a guest star for The Thing because I have always considered him a Marvel Character, as that was the first place I had encountered him. I don't think he ever ran into Ben or the FF, though, so that's a good enough reason to include him. For some reason this cover took forever, there were a lot of little bits and pieces to it.

We have now finally seen some stills and quick footage from the upcoming Conan film. Well, the guy they got for the title role is certainly big enough, that's for sure. The question is, can he act?

The Thing and He-Man

This is a team up that I might not have done on my own, as the Masters of the Universe cartoon began airing a little after may Saturday morning viewing days ended, and I never really got caught up in the craze. Still, I got a lot of requests to include them so I thought I would give it a shot. I am glad I did, because I was fortunate to find images that meshed very well together and I think this is one of the more successful covers.

The Thing and Captain Marvel, Jr.

Freddy Freeman has had an interesting few years. I am thankful that he dropped the silly CM3 moniker, that just seemed to be trying too hard to be hip. In the wake of the Trials of Shazam mini-series, he was poised to become the central member of the Marvel Family, but I don't think that will (or should) stick. I'm not sure what the status in now, however. The last time I checked, Billy and Mary were still powerless and Freddy nowhere to be found. Hopefully DC will get this property back on track and everyone back in the correct identities.

The Thing and Hawkman

Hawkman, particularly when drawn by Joe Kubert, can be one of the most visually impressive characters around. I have always loved his mix of alien culture and ancient weaponry. That, along with his married status to Hawkgirl and job as a museum curator made him stand out as a character for me. It's been cool to see a live action Hawkman on Smallville. I wasn't bowled over with his appearance the first time around - for one thing, it is hard to make bare arms look impressive onscreen unless you have someone of Schwarzeneggarian proportions. Also, the wings looked off. Fortunately, when he returned in a later episode the wings were fully CGI and I think they tweaked the costume as well, because he looked a lot more impressive. I hope we see a JLA film one day because I would love to see what could be done on a feature film budget.

The Thing and Hawkgirl

I have been enjoying the renewed adventures of Hawkman and Hawkgirl in the pages of Brightest Day. While I liked the Kendra Saunders version of the character, I did miss Shiera Hall and was sorry that she had been shunted out of the way - so I am glad that current incarnation utilizes the whole reincarnation concept and had aspects of both characters intertwined. It is cool that through her appearances on the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows, Hawkgirl has become a strong character in her own right, and not just an appendage to Hawkman. Even so, I prefer to see them working together and hope a new series featuring them both with be forthcoming after the conclusion of Brightest Day.

The Thing and Harley Quinn

When Harley Quinn was first introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, I had my misgivings. A love interest for The Joker just didn't seem like something that would work. I should have had more faith in Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and company. Between the twisted relationship the pair was given and Arleen Sorkin's memorable vocal performance, she rightfully became one of the standout characters on the show. They were smart not to over-use her, so when she would appear it was a treat. The transition to the comics continuity was done well also, and she is a welcome addition to Batman's rogues gallery. Heck, I even got a kick out of her appearances in the great Batman: Arkham Asylum video game.

The Thing and Han Solo

Ah, Han Solo - one of the greatest characters ever created for the screen. The prequel trilogy for Star Wars certainly had it's share of problems which have been discussed over and over, but one thing I don't hear people bring up is the absence of a lovable rogue type character. Harrison Ford played the part so well in the original films and he brought a much needed humanity to them. Here was a character who could play the skeptic and say a lot of the things the audience was thinking. You have to love Chewbacca, too. My eight year old eyes thought he was about the coolest thing ever when I first saw the film... although I still wonder how the heck a mercenary like Solo had the patience to learn the Wookie language!

The Thing and Guy Gardner

Here's another character that would fit right in with The Thing's poker nights. I got a kick out of Guy when he was first brought back and became one of the headliners of the revamped Justice League comic. I loved his personality which set him apart from so many other heroes. For a while though, writers began to focus on his more boorish aspects and he started to become a little too unlikeable. On top of that, his changing status quo (losing the ring, becoming half-alien, wearing garish armor, etc.) made it tough to stay invested in him as a character. Fortunately Geoff Johns and others did a nice job of bringing him back to the Guy we all liked - a brash yet heroic Green Lantern. I think he has one of the best GL costume designs as well.

This cover took a lot of futzing with because there was a lot of clutter on the original MTIO cover that I had to clean up. It's what you don't see in the final product that seems to take the longest with these things! I am happy with the results though, Guy's pose worked out better than I had hoped.

The Thing and Green Lantern (John Stewart)

I remember when I first encountered John Stewart, it was in a Christmas-themed issue of Justice League of America. Hal Jordan was out of commission (from slipping on soap in the bathtub!), so Stewart was called upon to take his place. Nowadays stand-in and replacement heroes are very common, but back then it was something very rarely seen, and I thought it was just the coolest concept. I dug the character and was a bit disappointed that he made only sporadic appearances in the years that followed. So when he fully took over the role and became the headliner in the main Green Lantern title, I thought it was great, despite being a Hal fan. I was even happier that upon Hal's return to the role, John Stewart did not fade into the background as he did before. I enjoyed his short lived solo title, Green Lantern: Mosaic and I did not like it one bit when they killed off his love interest, Katma Tui. These days, with his animated appearances John has almost as much recognition as Hal and with three ongoing GL titles, there's plenty of space to include him. Hopefully the GL movie will spawn a sequel and we will see a live action John Stewart grace the screen in a few years.

The Thing and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

I can't wait for the Green Lantern movie coming out this summer. I have always thought that GL should be the next big franchise after Superman and Batman - it has the superhero aspect mixed with epic science fiction and a dash of Top Gun thrown for good measure. GL also has some great villains, including one who is also his main love interest. It really has all of the elements of a good blockbuster. The trailer received mixed reviews, but I am still optimistic. Some have complained that Ryan Reynolds trademark schtick shows through too much and that Hal Jordan comes off a bit too jokey. I am hoping they included those moments to attract Reynolds' female fans to the film - they know the GL fans will show up anyway and want to reach as broad an audience as possible. Reynolds is very good when he dials the smarm down a notch like he did in Definitely, Maybe and I trust that the director Martin Campbell will not treat the property as a joke. The thing that I am most looking forward to are the alien GL's - Tomar Re, Kilowog, Salakk and so forth. It's gonna be really cool to see them on screen. The costume looks good in some shots and only so so in others. They may have overthought things a bit with making it all cg and glowy and I do miss the white gloves. Sinestro looks perfect at does Oa and Hector Hammond, and the story looks very close to the comics. I am Sure Captain America, Thor and X-Men: First Class will be fun, but this it the most anticipated film of the year for me.

The Thing and Bone

I had heard great things about the series, so I picked up a copy of the massive one-volume edition of Jeff Smith's Bone. I don't think I have ever devoured a TPB so quickly before, I absolutely loved it. Smith draws beautiful scenery and is a master of facial and body language which make even his more simply designed characters extremely expressive. The writing is just as strong, featuring lots of moments of action, humor, suspense, and even romance. I still laugh when I think of the parts with Bone writing his love letter to Thorn. This is a great book that you can hand to anyone regardless of their age or if they have ever read comics previously.

The Thing image is from a FF pic by Evan Shaner, who I think has a fantastic style all his own. You can see more at: http://www.evanshaner.com/

The Thing and Flash Gordon

I was only familiar with Flash Gordon through the cheesy 80's film, so I did not pay much attention to the property. Years later I picked up a copy of the old movie cliffhanger serial featuring Flash and I thought it was a ton of fun. It was when I finally read the incredible stories illustrated by Alex Raymond that I truly became a fan, though. The stories are endlessly imaginative and fast moving, and the art just has to be seen to believed. It's really some of the most beautiful comic work I have ever seen and when you compare it to most other comic work from the same era, it's even more amazing. Flash Gordon brought out the best in his illustrators, and there is also some amazing work from Al Williamson, Reed Crandall (whose art I used for this cover) and others. I have heard that there is yet another film adaptation on the horizon and I hope they go back to those Raymond tales for inspiration.

The Thing and Catwoman

I was really hoping that Christopher Nolan would be using Catwoman in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises film, since Bruce Wayne's love interest in the series is no longer. Catwoman would fit right in with the world he has created and I would love to see his take on the character. While he has not revealed who the villain(s) will be yet, there have been casting calls for a new female lead. My suspicion is that he will probably go for Talia instead, as the stink of the Halle Berry Catwoman film has still not completely washed away in filmgoers' minds and the character is a bit tarnished from it. I have also heard Julie Madison, Sarah Essen, Renee Montoya ans Silver St. Cloud mentioned as possible characters in the film, so maybe there will not be a female villain at all. Hopefully we will get some more concrete info on plot and casting soon.

The Thing and Green Arrow & Black Canary

Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance are my favorite couple in comics, I always liked that they were created independently from one another in the Golden Age and years later, their Silver Age counterparts found love. Unfortunately, editors and writers just don't seem to want them to stay happy for long. They keep getting split up due to Ollie's infidelity or the fact that he died (it's comics, he got better). I was glad to see DC finally have them resolve their issues and get married, but that certainly didn't last long. These days they are running around in separate titles once again and I am not sure of their marital status. I'm sure they will find each other again and hopefully it will be more lasting the next time around.

The Thing and Green Arrow

Time for another Kirby/Kirby cover. I was just getting into comics as Oliver Queen was undergoing his makeover from Batman-inspired gimmick hero to socially conscious leather wearing bearded rebel. Having Neal Adams illustrate that B&B issue gave the change a high level of legitimacy, and suddenly he had more personality than the rest of the JLA combined. It was fun seeing him bump heads with Green Lantern or Hawkman and flirt with Black Canary. His interactions made the other heroes more interesting as well.

I have enjoyed Green Arrow filling the Batman/Bruce Wayne role on Smallville as Clark Kent's non-powered superhero confidant and I am glad that the character's profile has risen as a result of his inclusion in the series. I quite enjoyed the DC Animated Short featuring Green arrow and I hope that we will more of him on the big and small screen.

The Thing and G.I. Robot

I think I have only actually read a couple of stories featuring G.I. Robot. I still had to include him in this project because he always has such a cool look to him. He has one of my favorite cameo appearances on the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series. For some reason I always love robotic characters, even emotionless ones. Writers tend to tell stories that touch on the nature of humanity when using these mechanical characters, and those appeal to me.