Master of Kung-Fu and Blue Beetle

 

We should start seeing some promotion for Shang-Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings soon, and I am looking forward to getting a better feel for the characters and plot of the upcoming film.  I know the movie will be straying from Shang-Chi's comic book origin, so I don't really know what to expect from the movie version.  Other than the plot revolving somewhat around a martial arts tournament, very little has been revealed about the story that will be told.  I can't wait to see what surprises may be in store. UPDATE:  Perfect timing, the first trailer has just been released!  It doesn't reveal too much plot wise, but it looks to have some awesome action and combat scenes. Awkwafina is doing her sassy best friend thing, which should be fun to watch. 

I am glad to use the artwork of Bronze Age comics legend Rich Buckler here.  I was lucky enough to pick up an original piece of his a while back (the strip is illustrated and signed on the back by Buckler and inker Joe Sinnott, (despite the Larry Lieber credit on the front):

Crystar and Martinex

 This seems like it would just be a natural pairing.  I was happy to see Martinex make a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but it would nice to see the character be a bigger part of the MCU - especially since he is played by Michael Rosenbaum, still in my opinion the best live action Lex Luthor.

Quasar and Firestorm

 

Who would have thought that the character on this cover most likely to show up in a big budget movie first would be Fin Fang Foom?  At least he has been heavily rumored to be showing up in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.  Hopefully we will see a teaser or trailer before too long and see if there is any confirmation of Foom's involvement.

Firestorm previously faced off against Fin Gang Foom in STF #1447...

Daredevil and The Huntress

 

I imagine these two working well together.  They are two no-nonsense heroes that have been personally wronged by organized crime.  I can see them joining forces to try and take down Black Mask or The Kingpin's operations once and for all.  It would be cool to see them in action side by side. 

The Graveyard Shift

 

Wouldn't you know it, I had created this new team and had this cover all ready to go, when I saw the promotional campaign for The Suicide Squad start kicking in.  On the posters was the line, "They're Dying to Save The World!"  Hey, that's a little close to the tag line that I created for these guys!  Has James Gunn been spying on me?  Yeah, maybe not.  I'm sure he has more important things to do than set up surveillance on my mashup project, so I'll just chalk it up to coincidence.

Green Arrow Vs. Hawkeye in: Barton's Betrayal!"

 

This marks the tenth time that Green Arrow and Hawkeye have met on the blog - They first met in one of my very earliest STF covers... then they were at odds with a few fellow Avengers along for the tale... Next up they faced off against The Hulk and Solomon Grundy... then it was time to hone their skills... and next they shared an adventure with Black Canary and Mockingbird, then there was a classic adventure from early in their careers... then they battled some robots together... there was the time that Green Arrow tried to steal Hawkeye's ride... and they even appeared in a photo cover for a proposed movie...

Always glad to use a Neal Adams image on this blog.  I was lucky enough to pick up a sketch by him many years ago.  It's very loose, but his signature style still shows through:

She-Hulk and Milk & Cheese

 

Offbeat clients were one of the elements that made The Sensational She-Hulk a fun read, and hopefully her Disney+ series will follow suit.  I wouldn't mind seeing some minor Marvel players like Frog-Man, Razorback or U.S. 1 show up on the series.  It would also be a great place to feature Damage Control and (if the budget allows) The Great Lakes Avengers.

Lots of talented artists have worked on She-Hulk, but John Byrne did my favorite rendition.  Here's a Byrne Wonder Woman  page I picked up several years back, mostly because I liked his version of Darkseid:

Fire and Sunspot in: "A T-Rex in Rio!"

 

I finally got around to checking out The New Mutants last night, and to my surprise, I kind of enjoyed it!  This movie had become notorious for all of the various delays and reshoots, and I went in with very low expectations.  Yes, the story was derivative and not particularly well written (this hospital only has a single employee?), but I thought the characters were all well cast and their powers were realized effectively.  There were even some pretty impressive special effects with the Demon Bear and Lockheed. I wouldn't have minded seeing this team continue.

Fire and Sunspot had an interrupted reunion in STF #2673, and  were first revealed to be siblings in STF #2484...

Black Widow and Wildcat

 

It looks like the Black Widow solo film has finally settled on an a release date after a year's worth of delays, as publicity has begun to ramp up for it once more.  Let's hope it is going to be worth the wait - I for one can't wait to see The Taskmaster in action.

I am always happy to feature the work of the great Mike Wieringo on this blog.  He was gone far too soon.  I was lucky enough to pick up a page by him several years back.  I love how no dialog or captions are needed to get the gag:

The Flash and The Invaders in: "Blasted... by the Blue Bullet!"

 

I'm very happy to hear that John Wesley-Shipp will be reprising his role as the Original Flash in the upcoming season of Stargirl.  He's great in the role and still lo0ks perfect in the suit.

Jay Garrick previously met The Invaders with the rest of the JSA in STF #272 and with Barry Allen in STF #135...

That's an Ernie Chan Flash on the cover, one of my favorite Bronze Age artists.  One of the few color pieces in my original art collections is by him:

Galactus Vs. The Herculoids

 

Watching the Inner Earth segments of the silly but tons of fun Godzilla Vs. Kong reminded me a lot of the world of The Herculoids, and how cool a modern take would be on the Hanna Barbera property.  We are at a place where CGI could convincingly bring Zandor and company to life, but I wouldn't mind seeing an updated animated version either.  One way or another, I hope to see The Herculoids return some day.

Black Racer Vs. Deadpool

 

It sounds like DC's New Gods movie is not moving forward.  While I was not a fan of Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time, I was still curious to see her take on Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters.  Maybe once DC's top tier characters are better established in the DCEU, the residents of new Genesis and Apokolips can be revisited.  At leas we got a tease in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Batman and Sleepwalker

 

Sleepwalker was one of those heroes that emerged in the early 90's, during the huge comics speculation boom that resulted in tons of new titles, characters and even entire comics companies appearing regularly.  There was just no way to try everything out and his title was one that I never got around to checking out.  Are there any fans of the series here?  Did it make an impact on you?

Speed Racer and Ghost Rider

 

Speed Racer is not a great film as far as the script went, but there's no denying that the visuals in the movie are quite impressive.  I think the movie was a victim of bad timing - it came out a year before Avatar hit screens and everyone was eager to try out the new 3D technology.  Maybe if it had released after that brief phenomenon, it would have done better at the box office.

Sinestro Vs. Doctor Doom

This could be a fun battle to see.  Both are very powerful villains that nevertheless are always seeking more sources of strength, and both are 100% convinced of their moral superiority over their opponents.  It would be quite the clash of power and ego!

Always happy to include the artwork of Gilk Kane.  He's my favorite Marvel cover artist ever.  I could never afford an original of one of his covers, but I did manage to purchase a sketch by him many years back: 

 

Northstar & Aurora and The Wonder Twins

 

With all of Marvels many film and TV projects in various stages of development, I am surprised we have not heard as much of a whisper about any plans for Alpha Flight.   Canada's premiere super-group would be a great addition to the MCU, it has a roster of unique and well defined heroes.  Besides, we need another brother-sister team seeing as Pietro Maximoff didn't end up returning after all in Wanda/Vision.

Superman and X-Factor

 

I am always glad to feature the artwork of Walt Simonson.  I remember being impressed with his work on Manhunter, which was unlike any artwork I had seen before.  Like many though, it was his run on Thor that really got me to take notice and become a gig fan.  I met him briefly at a convention several years back and he was very nice and enthusiastic about comics.  He was kind enough to do a quick sketch (with his trademark dinosaur shaped signature) for me:

Hercules and Vixen in: "Roc Blocked!"

 

Continuing the (thus far) one-sided romantic adventures of Herc and Vixen!  Hey, not every couple can instantly click like Wonder Woman and Captain America... 

These two were last seen battling giant snakes in STF #3096, and Hercules first became attracted to Vixen in STF #3014...  Will the Lion of Olympus ever win the heart of Mari McCabe? Only time (and future covers) will tell...

Concrete and Ant-Man

 

Paul Chadwick's Concrete is one of those comics that is great to loan out to readers who aren't into traditional superhero fare.  The stories are thought provoking, the characters are very well defined and the artwork is absolutely gorgeous.  I was lucky enough to pick up a sketch by Paul Chadwick several years back: 

Captain Carrot and Bugs Bunny

 

With so many DC properties that have made the leap to animation, I wonder why Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew has missed out on the fun.  The Funny Animal/Superhero hybrid comic from the 80's seemed tailor made for a cartoon show, but that's something that never has come to pass.  They didn't even get a guest shot on Batman: The Brave and the Bold - I though for sure that they would show up there.

Bugs met the entire Zoo Crew in STF #1331...