Friday, September 16, 2011
Batman and Phantom Lady (Retro)
There's been a lot of discussion lately regarding superheroines' costumes, what with DC redesigning a lot of their characters outfits in order to show less skin. While I understand the desire to make the costumes more utilitarian and believable (not to mention easier to translate into live action), female superheroes in skimpy outfits is hardly anything new. The original Phantom Lady was using her sex appeal and scantily clad looks decades before the likes of Witchblade and the White Queen hit the scene. I guess nothing stopped a crook in his tracks like a little leg or cleavage showing, and that gave her a couple of extra seconds to leap into action and lay the smack down!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Dick Sprang,
Phantom Lady,
Team Up
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Batman and Medusa (Retro)
Medusa is my favorite member of the Inhumans and one of Marvel's best female characters. I always thought that she had a great power and visual to go with it. I have always felt that she was deserving of a much higher profile, so it's good to see her getting some more exposure with Marvel's recent cosmic titles and mini series.
This cover also gave me a chance to use Fin Fang Foom, a Marvel baddie that has long appealed to me. I know it's a long shot, but I would love for Foom to make an appearance in the third Iron Man film. C'mon, we've seen shell head mix it up against other armored foes multiple times already, time to give audiences something new that will really blow their minds!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Fin Fang Foom,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Medusa,
Team Up
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Batman and Marvel Girl (Retro)
It will be interesting to see whether sequels to X-Men: First Class will include a young version of Marvel Girl. Unfortunately, with the X-Films wonky timeline, we won't get to see the classic team together ina movie. The Beast is already furry, Iceman is 15-20 years younger than Cyclops and Jean, and Angel doesn't enter the picture until years later. That's one reason I was hoping for a real reboot of the franchise. With the success of this latest prequel, it looks to be a while before anything like that comes to fruition.
I was recently reading some of those earliest X-Men tales by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and I had to laugh at how not just Cyclops, but the whole team seemed to have a crush on Jean Grey. Even Professor X proclaimed his affections in a few thought balloons! I think it's probably for the best that that particular story thread was soon forgotten!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Batman and Mars Attacks!
In my fevered imagination, Tim Burton would direct the film adaptation to this story. While his Batman from 1989 shows its age, and has a spotty script, it still holds up for me due to the visual flair and solid performances by Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Michael Gough. Mars Attacks! is one of my favorite Burton movies. it has a very fun cast and there's something immensely enjoyable about the glee with which the martians invade the Earth. Sarah Jessica Parker's head on the dog body always makes me laugh.
I wasn't sure what to do with this cover and then I remembered that Mars Attacks! began as a series of trading cards, I found a set of Batman cards form the same era and the result is one of my personal favorite covers, I was happy with the way this one turned out.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Mars Attacks,
Norman Saunders,
Team Up
Monday, September 12, 2011
Batman and Man-Wolf
The Wolf Man was always my favorite of the classic movie monsters, so a character that merged a werewolf with a comic book hero/villain was an easy sell for me. I was also quite taken by the "Mark of the Man-Wolf" Spider-Man comic book and record set from Power Records that I listened to countless times as a kid. You would think that J. Jonah Jameson's son transforming into a super-powered creature would have softened his views against masked vigilantes, but it only strengthened his stance. I guess he wouldn't be the JJJ we all know and love if it were otherwise, though! I haven't seen Man-Wolf show up in the Spider-Man titles in years, and I hope that changes soon. He is one of Spidey's better under-used adversaries and I am sure there are more stories to tell featuring him.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Batman and Little Annie Fanny
I remember sneaking a peek at my neighbor's Playboy collection when I was a kid and being somewhat fascinated by Little Annie Fanny. Of course the stories had some more, ahem, obvious assets to entice an impressionable young boy... but I was also quite impressed with the detailed artwork by Will Elder. I couldn't believe such a good artist was working on such a titillating project! Years later I would see plenty of top tier comic artists contributing to erotica and risque material, but this was by far the first such example I had ever seen. Ah, the innocence of youth!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Batman and Leave it to Chance
James Robinson and Paul Smith's Leave it to Chance was one of my favorite new series to come out in the past few decades. It had it all, engaging characters, cool story lines and gorgeous artwork. It also had a strong young female lead, something that comics need a lot more of. Chance Falconer is the daughter of a powerful mage and gets into all sorts of adventures while trying to prove that she is worthy of following in his footsteps. When it came time to introduce my nieces to the world of comic books, this was the character I decided to show them first. I don't think it flew off the shelves and that is unfortunate because I was really hoping to see some more tales featuring Chance and her pet dragon. Still, it was critically acclaimed and I hope someday that Robinson and Smith decide to return to the property. It's also perfectly suited for film or animation, so maybe it could find more success in another medium.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Batman and Hercules (Retro)
Hercules is a good example of a character whose personality is the main part of the appeal. On the surface he seems very similar to Thor, and Marvel certainly has plenty of super-strong heroes. Hercules stands out among them due to his bombastic over the top macho attitude and his love for adventure. In an age where we see many reluctant heroes, Hercules loves a life of derring-do and is always looking for the next battle. The producers of the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold gave Aquaman somewhat of a makeover, and I have to suspect that they were a little influenced by Marvel's Hercules when it came to his attitude (not to mention his beard!)
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Hercules,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Batman and Ultron
Ultron is one of my absolute favorite Marvel villains. From the creepy insect like design to the calculating, emotionless way that he enacts his nefarious plans, his presence in a story always meant that the heroes would have to pull out all of the stops to defeat him. I was really hoping that Ultron would be the villain in the upcoming Avengers film but it looks like that role will be filled by Loki and and alien race (Skrulls? Kree? that information has not been released yet). Hopefully, with a sequel and the addition of Hank Pym, Ultron will make his theatrical debut in a few years.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Batman and Jocasta
Jocasta springs from my favorite era of The Avengers and I have always liked her as a character. I really like the look they came up with for her, attractive yet cold and robotic at the same time. She seems to have been off the table for many years, but Dan Slott recently brought her back in his Mighty Avengers run and it was nice to see her getting some much deserved screen time.
This is a continued story, by the way - tune in for part two tomorrow!
Labels:
Alex Ross,
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jocasta,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Friday, September 2, 2011
Batman and John Wayne
This cover was a request from my mother, so how could I refuse? I was happy to do it though, because I am a big fan of John Wayne westerns. Sure they show their age, but Wayne had an onscreen presence the likes of which we rarely see anymore. I quite enjoyed the Coen Brother's remake of True Grit, but the original still holds up very well, mostly due to John Wayne's great cranky performance. Another favorite film of his is The Sons of Katie Elder. Who can forget the classic line, "I ain't gonna hit ya... the Hell I ain't!" right before he lays the smack down on George Kennedy? Great stuff.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
John Wayne,
Team Up
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Batman and Jack Bauer
24 was a show that I missed out on when it originally aired because by the time I heard about how good it was, I had already missed a bunch of episodes. Due to the real time nature of the show, I figured I would be too confused trying to join it somewhere in the middle. Well, I saw that it was featured on Netflix instant view recently, so I decided to give it a try. I was blown away, and I wound up watching the entire series over the course of a month. Jack Bauer is one of those characters that will do whatever it takes to get the job done, no matter what the cost. The show had some great twists and turns and I loved all the government intrigue. Bauer does remind me a bit of one of my other favorite TV characters, Andy Sipowicz from NYPD Blue... both are stand up guys, but you don't want to get too close to them, because terrible things seem to happen to anyone they care about! Oh well, it makes for good drama.
Labels:
24,
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Jack Bauer,
Kiefer Sutherland,
Team Up
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Batman and Iron Man 2020
The Machine Man mini-series that introduced the Iron Man of 2020 is one of my all time favorite titles from the Bronze Age. I loved the Barry Windsor-Smith highly detailed artwork (including the awesome covers that featured Machine Man being built from the circuits up) and his design for Arno Stark's suit of armor was incredibly cool. I must not be the only one to hold that opinion, because Iron Man 2020 seems to keep popping up in various titles every few years. Now there's another suit of armor that I'd love to see show up in the Iron Man movies, even as an Easter egg in the background!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Batman and Iron Man (Retro)
I like the bulky armor that Iron Man wore for his first few adventures. Not only does it look cool, but it is more close to reality as far as what a suit of iron would probably look like. For that reason I was happy to see it in live action when the first Iron Man movie was released. It looks like Tony Stark's armor will get another slight makeover for the upcoming Avengers film. It's nice to see the suit evolving, but I have to admit I am a little disappointed that we never got to see the classic red and gold armor with the widow's peak helmet which he wore for the bulk of the Silver and Bronze Age on the big screen. Oh well, Iron Man 3 will have a new director, so maybe he will be more of an old school comics fan and we still have a chance.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Iron Man,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Robin,
Team Up
Monday, August 29, 2011
Batman and Iron Fist
For a character that was created to cash in on the Kung-Fu craze of the 1970's, Iron Fist certainly has had a lot of staying power. It's been interesting to watch his various incarnations through his partnership with Luke Cage and his solo series, especially the way his back story was fleshed out by Matt Fraction in The Immortal Iron Fist. I've read that Iron Fist is among the second-tier Marvel characters being considered for a feature film. His origin is filled with action, redemption and exotic locales so I think it could make for a fun movie. Heck, since Marvel is so into franchise building these days, they should release a Like Cage fill the same year and then follow it up the next summer with a big-scree Power Man and Iron Fist flick!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Batman and Iceman (Retro)
There's something about the original team of X-Men that just works. I think it's that they each had a simple easily definable power. I did have one question when it came to Iceman, though. I loved the visual of him zipping around on his ice slides but I always wondered what happened when those things began to melt. Did they just start falling apart and come crashing to the ground? I imagine that would cause a lot of collateral damage! Perhaps they changed to the consistency of snow before breaking apart, that would avoid most of the problems, I guess.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Iceman,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Team Up
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Batman and Hellcat
I always found Hellcat to be an interesting character due to her transition from a Katy Keene type comic book model to a full fledged superheroine. I enjoyed her bubbly personality and the way she would play off of rougher characters like Valkyrie and The Hulk in the pages of The Defenders. Because of that, I wasn't a huge fan of attempts to darken the character through her relationship to Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. That eventually led to her death, but fortunately this is comics and she got better. I really liked the costume redesign that I used for this cover which she was given by the very talented Norm Breyfogle. Unfortunately, she did not use it for long - I wonder if that was because the powers that be thought it was too close to Batgirl?
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Hellcat,
Marvel Comics,
Norm Breyfogle,
Team Up
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Batman and Hawkeye (Retro)
I like the casting choice of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye in the upcoming Avengers movie (he also made a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in Thor. He is a great actor and has the ability to portray that rebellious streak that is so important to the character. My one reservation is the fact that they decided to go with his Ultimate costume rather than the one he wears in the mainstream Marvel universe. I realize the classic purple togs and mask might be more difficult to translate into live action, but the ultimate look is just so boring and generic. I would have liked for them to at least try to find some sort of happy medium between the two. Oh well, it's a small complaint and I am sure that it won't be enough to dampen my enjoyment of the film, which is looking epic so far from the filming footage that has been released.
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Hawkeye,
Marvel Comics,
Mike Allred,
Team Up
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Batman and Harvey Birdman
I remembered Birdman from Hanna-Barbara's World of Super Adventure when I was a kid but had not paid attention to him for years. Decades later, I stumbled onto Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. I have to admit that some of the episodes had me laughing out loud, especially when Scooby and Shaggy were suspected of drug use, Apache Chief loses his growing ability following being scalded with hit coffee, and of course Fred Flintstone as the Yabba-Dabba-Don. The show has gotten increasingly more bizarre and the more recent stows seem to be geared towards the under the influence college crowd, but that first season was a hoot.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Batman and Groo the Wanderer
I wasn't sure if I could pull off a Batman/Groo cover and then I remembered the Sergio Aragones mini series from DC, Fanboy. What a fun little gem that was! Not only did you get Aragones art to go along with Mark Evanier's script, there was also artwork by some of the absolute best in the business... Bolland, Kubert, Timm, Nowlan, Heath, Rude, the list goes on. It's tough to think of another mini-series with such an impressive roster. If you haven't read it, it's well worth checking out!
Labels:
Batman,
Brave and the Bold,
DC Comics,
Groo,
Sergio Aragones,
Team Up
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