Friday, October 15, 2010

Batman and Red Sonja



Here's a character that I have been trying to get in a cover for a long time, I just couldn't get anything to work on previous attempts. This one was a little trickier than it looks, as I had to rebuild parts of the stone column and the background behind batman as there were other things in the way before.

I didn't get into the sword & sorcery titles until later in life, so my first introduction to Red Sonja was through her guest appearance in Marvel Team-Up. There's something about a gal with a chain mail bikini and broadsword that says you don't want to mess with her! Together with the flowing curly red locks, they make for a great visual and someone you believe could stand side by side with Conan.

I have heard rumors of a Red Sonja film in very early stages of development, to feature Rose McGowan in the title role. I'm not sure about that casting, she is pretty but in my opinion lacks the toughness the character also needs.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Batman and The Watcher



The very existence of this blog is proof of the fact that I have always been a fan of imaginary stories and parallel universes in the world of comics. So when Marvel came up with What If?, a series based on presenting alternate versions of popular story lines, I was immediately interested. The fact that they made The Watcher the host of these stories made the series even more appealing to me, as I had been a fan of the character from his appearances in Fantastic Four.

Uatu, The Watcher is another one of those great Stan Lee concepts. You knew that whenever he showed up, there was bound to be some big action going down soon. Even as a kid, though, I had to laugh at his "vow of non-interference". He broke that vow all the time! And even if he didn't say or do anything, Some giant bald space-toga guy showing up floating around is interference in and of itself! The Watchers really should have invested in some cloaking technology.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Batman and The Vision



I have always loved The Vision, since his earliest appearances as a member of The Avengers. His eerie visual and interesting powers and back story made him stand out in contrast with his fellow teammates. Add on top of that his relationship with The Scarlet Witch, and you had a character ripe with years of story potential.

Sadly, like his former bride, The Vision as a character has meandered somewhat for many years now. Being built and rebuilt, separated from Wanda and de-aged, it was hard for me to maintain interest in him, and I finally lost track. I am not sure of his status now, but I hope a writer can soon find a clear direction for this great marvel creation.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Batman and The Tick



I was aware of Ben Edlund's comic, but I became a fan of The Tick through his animated TV series. I have seen many comic and superhero parodies, but this one was the most well done for me. The creators had a lot of fun with the genre, but you never got the feeling that they were looking down on it. And The Tick himself is a great character, you have to love his enthusiasm.

The live action series was very short lived but well remembered. I remember watching Patrick Warburton in it and being amazed that such a show even made it to air, it was so different from everything else. It was nice to see that Bat-Manuel went on to become the Mayor of Gotham City in The Dark Knight, though!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Batman and The Thing



The Thing is my absolute favorite Marvel character. I consider him to be the heart and soul of the Marvel Universe. He has humor, tragedy, and heroism in one big package so he can be used in any type of story. Plus, he is a great team player, whether in the FF or as host star of Marvel Two-In-One. Sure, Spider-Man had met as many folks, but he still came off as a loner to me. To anyone else who is as big a fan of this character as I am... all I can say right now is stay tuned to this blog!

I actually liked the casting of Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm in the FF films, but the decision to try and go with a suit and makeup instead of cgi really killed the character for me. I am glad that the upcoming reboot will be going the computer generated route.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Batman and The Taskmaster



I always thought that the Taskmaster had a great hook - he could perfectly mimic any move that he saw with his own eyes - making him a master at any kind of weapon or fighting technique. Some folks have complained that his costume is too busy, but I think it has a cool bronze age vibe to it. He has had his profile raised recently by appearances in some Avengers titles and now his own spin off mini-series. I have heard pretty decent reviews of that, I will have to pick it up when it comes out in TPB.

This cover frustrated me a little. I was so glad to find a couple of poses that went together well that I didn't notice until too late that the Taskmaster's cape and the background were a very similar color. The result is a little bit muddy because of that.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Batman and The Suicide Squad


Here is another very early request. I never read much of the first incarnation of the Suicide Squad, but I was a big fan of John Ostrander's series in the 80's which featured a group of DCU super-villains blackmailed into performing covert operations for the government. It's a great concept that allows the writer to explore the shades of grey in his characters personalities. Great comics like Thunderbolts and Incognito have taken the idea and explored as well, but Ostrander latched on to it first. The Suicide Squad is currently showing up in the current season of Smallville - Rick Flag, Amanda Waller, Plastique and Deadshot have already made appearances.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Batman and The Sub-Mariner




Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner is one of Marvel's best characters. Because of his personality, it is fun to see him alongside different heroes - you never know whether he is going to fight them, fight alongside them, or try to seduce them! His role as a monarch as well as his long history dating back to the Golden Age of Marvel give him lots of potential for storytelling as well.

I think a Sub-Mariner film could be cool and very different, but I must admit it would be tough to pull off. Beyond the logistics of a largely underwater shoot, having the main character in a green speedo is hard to get away with. They would have to get someone like The Rock, but it would still be hard to take seriously. I do like Namor's black outfit during the 70's, maybe they could use that for most scenes.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Batman and The Squadron Supreme



The Squadron Supreme has an interesting history. They started out as analogues to the Justice League created to interact with The Avengers and that in and of itself was cool enough for me as a young reader in those days before even the first inter-company crossover. Fortunately the team was popular and were brought beck together or individually from time to time. They really broke out of guest star status with the great 12-issue Squadron Supreme series. That dealt for the first time with real world repercussions of a super team and the corruption of power. It was very unique for it's time and predated deconstructionist titles like Watchmen and The Authority which would follow to critical acclaim.

It's unfortunate that the most recent Squadron Supreme series was cut short when the creators left it. I hope to see someone pick up the reins and bring this cool group back to the forefront.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Batman and Hawaii Five-0



After posting the Charlie's Angels cover, I got a request for Hawaii Five-0. I definitely wanted to make this happen because it was definitely one of my favorite shows to watch growing up. I didn't think it was going to work because I could not find any illustrations of the show - there were a couple comic storieds but they were in black and white. Fortunately, I found some old TV Guide covers and some Hawaii Five-0 paperbacks and was able to pick an image that fit.

I checked out the new Hawaii Five-0 series pilot and it was OK, I guess. The problem is that Chin Ho and Kono (played by Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park) were much more enjoyable and watchable than the two main stars. The guys playing Steve McGarrett and Dano don't have a tenth of the chemistry of the originals. I'll stick to Jack Lord!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Batman and Charlie's Angels



I put this one together today based on a suggestion on my Facebook Fan Page. I remember fondly the Farrah red swimsuit poster that was so popular back in the day. When I was a kid - 9 or 10 years old - I had a huge crush on Jaclyn Smith. I thought that she was about the most beautiful women alive (and she still looks great). One day a classmate came in with a book of celebrity addresses, so I wrote two fan letters - one to Jaclyn and one to Mark Hamill. I clearly remember my brothers giving me a hard time about this. Well, I never heard back from Mark Hamill, but I forgive him because he is a big comics fan. A few weeks later, boy were my brothers jealous when a small package came in the mail for me from none other than Ms. Jaclyn Smith herself! It was an 8x10 glossy, and a postcard that said, "Thanks for watching Charlie's Angels!" Not much but still I didn't see any sexy movie stars writing to my brothers! That was a good day!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Batman and The Son of Satan



I first became acquainted with Daimon Hellstrom through his appearances in The Defenders. He was another good example of the hybrid superhero/horror star that Marvel did so well in the 70's. I was never a huge fan of his costume, but I did really dig the trident, a pretty cool and visually interesting weapon. The Son of Satan went down the gritty serious route in the 90's Hellstorm series which did not appeal to me and I lost track of the character. I know he has made a few guest appearances recently, hopefully he has been in good hands.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Batman and The Six Million Dollar Man



The Six Million Dollar Man was probably the first live action "superhero" show that I ever watched. Like most fans, the bigfoot episode is the one that most strongly stood out to me. I loved the strength/jumping sound effects they used - buppabuppabuppa - but even as a kid is was frustrated that they chose to used slow-motion to indicate super speed. That never made sense to me.

The Six Million Dollar Man was one of the cooler action figures out there. I got a kick out of his bionic eye and flesh that rolled away to reveal circuitry underneath! Cool stuff!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Batman and The Silver Surfer




The Silver Surfer is one of those perfect characters. He has one of the simplest designs and yet it is one of the most effective in all of comics. Then there's his compelling origin and tragic partnership with Galactus. His exile on earth taught him the ways of humanity, lessons that he uses now that he is free to roam the spaceways again.

He is also a character that artists tend to really shine on (no pun intended!) His metallic look has invited different interpretations over the years and with new artists and new coloring techniques. Even in the second Fantastic Four film, which had it's share of problems, the Silver Surfer was excellently realized. Unfortunately the proposed Silver Surfer solo film follow up is no longer happening. Hopefully he will get his chance one day - he could definitely hold a film of his own!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Batman and The Silent Knight



I didn't think that this project would be complete unless I included at least one of the original stars of The Brave and the Bold, from the early issues before the team-ups began. When I was a kid, I would gloss over the reprints of the Silent Knight, Viking Prince, etc. that were included in the 100-Page issues, because I favored the superhero tales. So it was a few years before I came to truly appreciate them, first for the gorgeous artwork that the stories contained and then for the swashbuckling stories. I am glad that DC is making an effort to collect these early stories for current audiences - they certainly deserve to be read anew and not lost to time.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Batman and The Secret Society of Super-Villains



I always loved the Secret Society of Super-Villains from their appearances in their own title as well as Justice League of America and of course the Legion of Doom in the Super Friends Cartoon. I had seen plenty of villain teams before, but this one was made up of the arch-enemies of all of DC's top heroes - each of whom posed a formidable threat on their own! A team so ruthless and powerful that they were nigh unstoppable... if their own interpersonal conflicts would stop getting in the way!

This cover uses an image from one the SSOSV's appearances late in the run of the original Justice League of America series, my favorite storyline featuring them. I also loved how they were used in the Justice league and Justice League Unlimited cartoons. Finally, the Alex Ross/Doug Braithwaite maxi-series Justice in must reading for any SSOSV fans.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Batman and Giant Man



I have already used Hank Pym in his Ant-Man form, but I like this character best when he switches between mini- and mega-sized adventures. Like yesterday's Scarlet Witch, Hank has suffered from a lot of mishandling. Hopefully larger exposure in the upcoming Avengers animated series and motion picture, he will get more of the respect that a founding member of the Marvel Universe deserves. I don't know how big a part he will play in the Avengers film, as I have heard he is in there but no casting announcements yet. We may have to wait for a sequel to really see him (and The Wasp) shine.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Batman and The Scarlet Witch



Here is one character for whom I feel a great disservice has been done. I used to love the Scarlet Witch and her appearances in The Avengers. I thought her relationship with The Vision was one of the cooler match ups in comics and she had a broader appeal with her ties to the mutant side of the Marvel Universe with Magneto and Quicksilver. In later years, writers seemed to opt to put her through the wringer though - first eliminating her children, then driving her mad hand having her kill fellow Avengers, reshaping the world in her image, and de-mutantizing the planet. The last time I thought I saw her, it turned out to be Loki in disguise. I am not sure of her status now, but I hope some writer can find a way to give her a little respect.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Batman and Mr. T



Mr. T was kind of like a superhero when he hit the scene. His larger than life personality and outrageous appearance made him feel like a comic panel come to life. Plus, he had everything that comic characters did - catchy phrases, flashy clothes and appearances on prime time TV, Saturday morning cartoons and cereal boxes - all while dispensing advice to the youth of the day on how to be a team player and upstanding citizen.

I was just watching Rocky III the other day, and he really does do such a great job in that film. I love this YouTube clip that mixes the audio from that with visuals from the Mr. T Cartoon and Super Friends:

Monday, September 20, 2010

Batman and Captain Action



The Caption Action action figure must have come out just before my time, because I don't remember ever actually seeing one for sale. I was, however, fascinated by the ads I would see in comics that I would read and thinking that it was a very cool concept. I mean, here was a guy who had the skills to impersonate Batman, Superman, The Phantom, Captain America, Aquaman, Sgt. Fury, The Lone Ranger, and more! even back then I thought it was cool that a character could cross so many company lines! With all of the rights issues involved, its probably something that we will never see the likes of again.

There's a great site featuring Captain Action celebrating his old and new adventures, check it out: http://www.captainactionnow.com/

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