Friday, August 19, 2011
Batman and Giant Man (Retro)
I really got a kick out of the Essential Giant Man volume that Marvel released a few years back. I had read most of the early adventures of Spider-Man, The Hulk, the FF, X-Men and Avengers but these were some classic stories that I had never gotten around to checking out. It was fun seeing Pym go from scientist to Ant-Man to Giant Man and be joined by his sweetheart, Janet Van Dyne. The stories are fast paced and the Kirby artwork of course is great. Marvel has done some work rehabilitating Hank Pym's image in recent years, unfortunately they felt they had to kill of Janet for his character growth. I am hoping that they will both be part of an Avengers movie sequel so if that happens, maybe Marvel will be encouraged to find a way to bring her back and finally let that couple have some happiness.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Giant Man,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Batman and Galactus (Retro)
When I did my more contemporary Batman/Galactus team up I commented that it was an admittedly odd pairing. If the two met in the 50's, though, I don't think this match up would seem all that out of place. Batman was always crossing paths with outlandish monsters and aliens! As much as I like the more serious Batman that preceded and followed that era, those stories were a lot of fun. I am glad that the animated Batman: The Brave and the Bold series has not shied away from portraying the more whimsical side of the character.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Galactus,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Batman and Flash Gordon
I think that Batman and Flash Gordon would be an interesting team up to see in the comics because of their mutual roots in the old black and white cliffhanger movie serials. Despite their quite obvious lack of big budgets, I have always found those serials to be quite charming and some of the stunt work and plot twists are pretty effective. What would have been really cool is a serial from those days combining these two action stars in one epic adventure!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Flash Gordon,
Jim Starlin,
Reed Crandall,
Team Up
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Batman and Excalibur
One of the main things that makes me resist diving back into the X-Universe is how many titles it has spun off into. There are just so many variations on the theme that I feel it dilutes the brand and makes it that much harder to get into. It wasn't always this way though, and there was a time when a separate X-Men related title or mini series was something to get excited about. Excalibur was a fun title for me in that it connected the X-Men to Captain Britain, a character I had liked and hoped to see more of. Add on top of that the gorgeous artwork of Alan Davis and you had a nice package.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Batman and Doctor Strange (Retro)
Consider this story to be the secret origin of this blog!
Doctor Strange is the latest Marvel Character I hear rumored for the movie treatment. He does have an interesting origin story and there will be a magical void at the theaters now that Harry Potter has finished his film series, so it could be a good move. Still, the outfit and some of the more mystical villains might be hard to translate faithfully so it could go either way. One thing I know is I hope they go the Robert Downey Jr. route and get an age appropriate seasoned actor for the role and resist the urge to cast some young hip flavor of the moment. I've heard talk of Johnny Depp and I know Patrick Dempsey has expressed interest in the part, but neither of those choices say Stephen Strange to me.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Batman and Dirty Harry
I mentioned yesterday that I had a Darth Vader poster in my room growing up. Well, on the other wall was Clint Eastwood as Pale Rider. Clint is one of my favorite actors ever, and he is still knocking it out of the park in front of or behind the camera. I recently watched most of the Dirty Harry flicks again and they just don't make action stars like that anymore. I think I read that Eastwood said that his amazing performance in Gran Torino would be his final role, but I hope he changes his mind. I have always wanted to see Eastwood play Bruce Wayne in a movie version of Batman Beyond!
Labels:
Batman,
Clint Eastwood,
DC Comics,
Dirty Harry,
Team Up
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Batman and Darth Vader
I was 8 when the first Star Wars came out so I was blown away - I think the best special effects I had seen up to that point were from a Herbie the Love Bug movie. Darth Vader was incredibly cool to me, I remember having a big Vader poster on the door to my bedroom for years. I was intrigued by the idea of examining his early years in the prequels but a combination of bad writing and casting choices squandered most of that potential unfortunately. I never needed to hear a young Darth Vader saying "Yippee!" or watch a pouty teen Vader try to woo a woman by comparing her to sand.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Darth Vader,
DC Comics,
Star Wars,
Team Up
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Batman and Daredevil (Retro)
Daredevil's simple all-red costume designs is one of the most effective in comics. Even so, I still get a kick out of the yellow and red outfit that he wore for his first few adventures. It doesn't seem like it should work, but for some reason I like it.
I have read that Daredevil is another contender for a movie reboot, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. I think a Daredevil is a character that could perhaps be best suited for an ongoing TV series. It could definitely be done on a reasonable budget and the machinations of the underworld and the legal system with Matt Murdock trying to navigate both could be the springboard for a complex, continuing story line. Maybe if Marvel has luck with their proposed Hulk series we will see something like this in the future.
Labels:
Batman,
Bob Kane,
Brave and the Bold,
Daredevil,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Batman and Cyclops (Retro)
I thought I would give Cyclops the retro treatment as well. I understand that the latest event in the X-Men books is some major division between Scott Summers and Wolverine, leading to two dueling X-Teams led by them. Sounds like more of the same as the X-Men seem to have been splitting up and regrouping for years. For a nice take on Cyclops, I would recommend the X-Men: Evolution animated series from a few years back. It features a slightly younger version of the character and gives him a nice arc through the run of the series.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
cyclops,
DC Comics,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Monday, August 8, 2011
Batman and Cyclops
Cyclops has been my favorite member of the X-Men since I was a kid. He looked cool and had a simple but unique power, which also gave him a bit of pathos. I think he is an interesting character and prefer when he is written as the solid leader that he is rather than a straight man for Wolverine or pining over lost loves. I really disliked how he was unceremoniously killed off in X-Men 3: The Last Stand and was hoping to see him given more justice in X-Men: First Class. Alas, that movie was a prequel and not a reboot as I had hoped, so no Cyclops this time around. It did well, maybe he will appear in the inevitable follow up.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
cyclops,
DC Comics,
Ed McGuinness,
Gary Frank,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Friday, August 5, 2011
Batman and Captain Marvel (Retro)
Captain Marvel is nowhere to be seen so far in the DC Reboot. I know DC wants to get a Captain Marvel film up and running, so I'll be surprised if he is off the solicitation list for too long. Hopefully when he returns he will be back to the traits that made him so popular in his early years. The tendency to try and make every character darker and more realistic especially hasn't worked on the Marvel Family. Their stories should be about action, fun and imagination and able to be enjoyed by all ages. I mean, one of Captain Marvel's greatest enemies is a caterpillar! That kind of thing is awesome to me and it loses something when a writer tries to make it grim and gritty or attempts to over-explain it.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Batman and Captain America (Retro)
This is the first of what will be many retro covers. I had fun with the handful that I did on the last go 'round with B&B so I decided to make some more. I hope you all like them.
Captain America was the best of the superhero films for me this summer. I thought that Chris Evans made a great Steve Rogers, it had a nice love story and the action scenes were right out of a comic book. The easter eggs for other Marvel films were worked in far less clumsily than they have been in past films. I loved seeing The Human Torch android make a cameo at the Stark Expo. It was acted well across the board - Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci especially seemed to be enjoying their roles. I really look forward to a sequel and, of course, The Avengers!
Labels:
Batman,
Bob Kane,
Brave and the Bold,
Captain America,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Batman and Captain America (Bucky Barnes)
I was pretty surprised when Marvel decided to bring back Bucky Barnes, I thought he was one hero that could be counted on to stay dead. I have to admit, his return was handled very well though and it was interesting to see him step into the shoes of the presumed dead Steve Rogers. Of course, Bucky has just been killed again in Marvel's Fear Itself event, so as to get the original Captain America back in his traditional fighting uniform. There are many untold stories from Bucky's time as The Winter Soldier though, so I guess we could still see tales from that era. And who knows, maybe that will be part of the inevitable Captain America movie sequel?
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
Bucky,
Captain America,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Batman and Boba Fett
I'll never forget going to see The Empire Strikes Back for the first time. Mostly because my brother Eric stopped me as I was walking out the door to say, "Oh yeah, one thing before you go - Darth Vader is Luke's father!"... Grrrr, I haven't let him forget that! Fortunately that wasn't enough to hurt my enjoyment of the film, one of the best sequels ever made. A big part of what made it great was all the cool new characters. Yoda, Lando, Jabba, and of course Boba Fett were all welcome additions to the cast and expanded the story in fun ways. Boba Fett with his flight pack, hidden face and bounty on the coolest member of the rebellion was the one that intrigued me the most, so I was definitely looking for more of him when the third part of the trilogy was released. Unfortunately, I think Lucas squandered his potential a bit by having him go out like such a punk in the Sarlaac pit. I think the filmmakers must have realized this misstep as they did give Boba and his father Jango pivotal roles in the Prequels, but it took a couple of decades before he got his due!
Labels:
Adam Hughes,
Batman,
Boba Fett,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
John Cassiday,
Star Wars,
Team Up
Monday, August 1, 2011
Batman and Black Goliath
I always liked the character of Bill Foster from the days when he was a recurring character in Marvel-Two-In-One. His solo title was short lived, but I had always hoped he would be given another shot once he took on the Giant Man moniker. Unfortunately he was killed off unceremoniously in Marvel's Civil War event. It seems every time there is one of these big events a character I like is killed for shock value, a trend that I am not a fan of. I see lots of potential in characters like Foster, The Wasp, Elongated Man and many others who have been treated like cannon fodder. If the companies don't know what to do with these characters, fine... but I wish they would just let them lie in limbo for a while rather than taking them out of the game completely.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Batman and Battle of the Planets
I have to say that I have never seen an episode of Battle of the Planets or Gatchaman, but I have a friend who is very into the property, so I thought I would give a cover featuring them a shot. So I will put the question out there... what is the difference between Gatchaman and BotP? It looks like there is a ton of material covering them - where is the best place for someone new to the characters to start?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Batman and Adam West
That's right, Batman is back to claim his mantle as the host of this blog! I have 100 covers to post so there will be plenty of Bat-goodness until I move on to the next title... and that's not the only change - I hope everyone noticed that there is now Lost Issues App available for Android or any type of phone or tablet, It's free, just go here to get it:
http://www.noticeorange.com/r/TheBraveandtheBoldTheLostIssues
You just have to love Adam West. Here's a guy who has a great sense of humor about and respect for his place in comics history. While some actors have tried to distance themselves from their connection to superhero and genre roles, West has embraced it and you have to appreciate that, regardless of your opinion of the 60's series. His Batman show is a hoot to watch now with the campy dialogue and the guest stars hamming it up as villains... but when I was a kid I viewed it in a completely different light. I took it as a straight action show, and loved how colorful it was with so many characters from the comics coming to life. The only thing it was missing for me was Two-Face! I think that ability to appeal to viewers on different levels must have played a big role in its success.
Labels:
Adam West,
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Team Up
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Thing and Zatanna
I was very glad to see Zatanna finally get her own ongoing series in the past couple of years, she is a character that has long since earned it... I enjoyed it quite a bit which was not a surprise with Paul Dini on writing chores. It looks like the series did not survive the DC reboot, but Zatanna will be showing up in Justice League Dark. Hopefully the writer Peter Milligan will let her shine there. I'm not so sure about the new look that she has been given. The top hat and fishnets look is a classic and I'd prefer if they had stayed closer to that style.
Labels:
Alan Davis,
Brian Bolland,
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Marvel Two-In-One,
Team Up,
The Thing,
Zatanna
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Thing and Young Justice
I really hope that The Cartoon Network brings back Young Justice soon. I was really impressed by the writing and animation on this series, and just when it was getting really interesting, it was yanked off of the schedule. It really killed the momentum of the show. They did the same thing with Batman: The Brave and the Bold, I am still waiting for them to air the final batch of episodes there. I also think that DC is missing a bet by not having the animated series line up more with their upcoming Teen Titans ongoing comic book series. The comic looks to have a different roster, and the characters that are the same have very different looks and in Robin and Kid Flash's case different secret identities. Seems to me like a lost opportunity to create some synergy. At any rate, I truly enjoy the show and hope that it returns to have a nice long run.
Labels:
DC Comics,
Impulse,
Marvel Comics,
Marvel Two-In-One,
Robin,
Superboy,
Team Up,
The Thing,
Todd Nauck,
Wonder Girl,
Young Justice
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Thing and Wonder Woman
I just watched a bit of the Wonder Woman pilot that was recently not picked up to go to series. Woof, was that a bullet dodged! Wonder Woman is one of those properties that has had a lot of difficulty in being adapted to TV and film, and it kind of puzzles me as to what the problem is. One part Xena, one part Superman, with a dash of Captain America thrown in and there you go! Another thing about Wonder Woman that nobody seems to agree on is the outfit - long pants, short pants, skirt... eagle or double W symbol, many stars or a couple of big stars, everyone has a different opinion. I am of the mind that she is a character that should not be tied down to one look. I like the traditional garb, but feel that she should have a variety of outfits for different climates and conditions. Some should be more ceremonial in nature and some more suited for battle. Hopefully hollywood will finally work out the bugs one day and we can finally see a big screen interpretation worthy of comics most recognizable super-heroine.
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