Thursday, July 19, 2012
Nightwing and Ghost Rider
Well, I recently watched Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and Woof! What a bizarre film that was! The first Ghost Rider was by no means an Oscar worthy film, but it had some fun visuals and Nicolas Cage seemed to be having fun in the role. Well, he went from having fun to just going nuts in the second entry. I still kinda like the Ghost Rider scenes (with the more charred out look to the hero and his bike), but Cage as Blaze in is human form was so over the top with his performance that the whole film seemed like a farce. Not to be outdone, the villains certainly had their fair share of chewing the scenery with their hammy performances as well. It's too bad, I think there is still a cool Ghost Rider film that could be made, but it's gonna be a while before audiences will be willing to take a chance on the character again.
Labels:
DC Comics,
Ghost Rider,
Marvel Comics,
Nightwing,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Madman and Iron Man
I have enjoyed the recent trend in animated comic book movies where they try to match the art style from the original comics. Mike Allred's artwork would lend itself very well to animation and I would love to see Madman or The Atomics make that transition. Allred has an clean, crisp style and always knows just the right amount of detail to include. Add that to his innovative panel layouts and mastery of facial expression and body language and his comics practically look animated to begin with! Or at least like storyboards to the coolest cartoon ever...
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Rocketeer and The Escapist
I wasn't sure how I felt about other creators carrying on the adventures of The Rocketeer after Dave Stevens passed on, but I have to admit what I have seen so far looks great. IDW's Rocketeer Adventures lined up a top tier roster of talent and reverence for Stevens' creation shows through on every page. It's cool to see different artists' interpretations of the awesome Rocketeer costume design. The Escapist is another character that seems to attract the best in creative teams, and it's great to see the character enjoy a life beyond the novel that he was introduced in.
Labels:
Escapist,
Mike Mignola,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up,
The Rocketeer
Monday, July 16, 2012
Iron Fist and The Phantom
I have read that Iron Fist is on the list of characters that Marvel is looking to bring to the big screen, which is a good thing. There are a couple of angles that an Iron Fist film could take. They could use the great Immortal Iron Fist series as a template, and concentrate on the generational aspect of the character. That seems ready made for a film treatment and would be a fun watch. Still, I love seeing Iron Fist with Power Man and it would be great to see them featured together. To make it really stand out, they could set the film in the swingin' 70's, complete with afros, bell bottoms and a rockin' soundtrack. Marvel has already showed us that period piece superhero films can work with X-Men: First Class and Captain America, so why not?
Friday, July 13, 2012
Blue Devil and Daredevil
Blue Devil looks to be making a return to the DCU alongside Black Lightning, a character he has never been previously associated with (I guess they are going for a "black & blue" motif). I am a fan of the Dan Cassidy character, and I hope they do not stray too far from what made him so fun to read about in the first place. I am not sure about the new, even more bestial design. He looks like he is perhaps drawn to be younger than he was before, as he has a much slighter build than he has previously had, or maybe he just needs a few good sandwiches. The arc with Black Lightning has been described as a "buddy comedy", so at least it seems he will still be one of DC's more fun characters - something that is sorely needed in the new DCU.
Daredevil seems to be in great hands these days. I have really been impressed by the quality of the artwork, especially the covers, since his most recent relaunch. Hopefully that will be maintained once Marvel has their sweeping "Marvel Now" line change, which is on the horizon.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Superman Vs. Hyperion
I always thought it was cool that Marvel had a team of JLA analogues in their super-group The Squadron Supreme. The fact that their "Superman" - Hyperion - had red hair was an added bonus. As a redhead, I was always looking out for heroes that looked like me, and it was great to have one as a team leader. Marvel had been doing some interesting things with Hyperion and the Squadron, but once J. Michael Straczynski left those titles, they seemed to lose their momentum and stopped appearing before too long. Hopefully they will be back soon, I've enjoyed them in all their various incarnations over the years.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Kamandi and Devil Dinosaur
Here's another pairing that I think would be a natural. Even though Jack Kirby created these properties for separate companies, they could easily be part of the same world. Kamandi would be right at home in The Savage Land, and Devil Dinosaur would be a force to reckon with in the last boy on Earth's animal-dominated future. Wherever the tale took place, it certainly would not be lacking for action!
Labels:
DC Comics,
Devil Dinosaur,
Jack Kirby,
Kamandi,
Marvel Comics,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The Green Lantern Corps Vs. Star Trek: TNG
It's cool to see that Star Trek has started getting around in their comic book incarnations. There was a team-up with The X-Men several years back, and more recently they have been seen alongside The Legion of Super-Heroes and Doctor Who. It would be fun to see them cross paths with the GLC. There could be so many side pairings - Kilowog/Worf, Data/Salaak, Riker/Jordan... and who wouldn't want to read a chapter featuring Reginald Barclay and Chaselon? This thing writes itself!
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Flash and The Avengers
I have heard bits and pieces about a planned Flash film for years, but Warner Brothers seems a bit hesitant to dive completely forward with one, especially with the underwhelming reception to their attempt with Green Lantern. I still think that there's a great movie to be made and the character certainly has a built in recognition factor from his live action and animated TV appearances. A movie would definitely have to provide some new ways of portraying super speed, more than just fast motion cameras and "bullet time" effects that we've seen hundreds of times by now. The success of The Avengers means that we are by no means past the superhero movie fad, so I am sure it is only a matter of time before we see a Flash flick finally filming one of these days.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Black Lightning Vs. Power Man
Well, it looks as though Black Lightning is set to make his debut in the newly revamped DCU. Apparently he and Blue Devil will be teamed together in a buddy action/comedy type tale in the pages of DC Universe Presents. His new costume doesn't look all that different from the one he had been sporting for the past few years, but he does look a bit younger. I still prefer his classic look (especially the slightly updated version that Cully Hamner illustrated in Black Lightning: Year One), but Brett Booths new design looks cool. Hopefully the stories will be allow Jefferson Pierce to shine.
Marvel seems to be gearing up to some universe redefining of its own following the Avengers vs X-Men event. From what I have seen, it is mainly to make the comics closer to the movie properties. Luke Cage hasn't shown up in the films yet, so it's unclear what the new status quo will mean for him. Hopefully he will have a proper costume again.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Batgirl and Captain America
I first took notice of Marcos Martin's art in Batgirl: Year One, and was incredibly impressed by his unique style. Martin is a master at composition and body language which gives his work an exciting, fluid look. His covers are amazing as well, he created some true classics in his recent Daredevil run. My favorite character to see Martin on is Spider-man, though. He really captures Spidey's signature style of movement and his character designs hearken back to the classic Steve Ditko issues. Any comic featuring Martin art is definitely worth checking out.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The Shining Knight and The Black Knight
Characters like The Black Knight and The Shining Knight are cool to me in that they can exist comfortably in multiple genres. I have enjoyed reading period pieces detailing their solo exploits as well as when they appeared alongside other heroes with The Seven Soldiers of Victory, The All-Star Squadron or The Avengers. Plus, they both have winged horses, which have seemed cool to me since my first viewing of Ray Harryhausen's work in Clash of the Titans.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Robin and The Punisher
Christopher Nolan is pretty good about keeping the complete details to his films under wraps until they open in theaters, and so there are still a lot of questions about The Dark Knight Rises. The big one for me is exactly what type of role does Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character play? I have seen assumptions that he will take over for a dead or weakened Bruce Wayne as either Robin or a new Batman, but I just don't know if that makes sense. He's too old for Robin and I doubt Nolan will end his trilogy by replacing the main character. I would like to see a new version of Robin when the Batman franchise inevitably rebooted, because the character wasn't really done justice in the Schumaker films in which he appeared.
I think the Punisher should probably enjoy a rest from films for a while. It's weird - he seems like one of the easier characters to adapt, but each one of the three Punisher films has been a disappointment. Maybe a cable TV series would be a better way to go.
This cover marks the end of the smaller-sized covers on this blog. Beginning tomorrow, the covers will all be in the larger size that has been featured a handful of times.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Red Tornado Vs. The West Coast Avengers
When West Coast Avengers was originally published, I liked it better than the mainstream Avengers title, mainly due to the roster of characters that it featured. It allowed Hawkeye a chance to finally shine as a leader, which I liked, and also gave heroes like Tigra and Mockingbird some nice development. I remember seeing Red Tornado as a member of Primal Force (a team coming out of DC's Zero Hour event) and hoping he would get more attention than he did as a JLA member, but he was an emotionless shell for most of the series. Fortunately, Red Tornado got a nice storyline when he joned the JLA in the Brad Meltzer run of Justice League of America. I'm still waiting to see where he shows up in DC newly revamped line.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The Flash and The Invaders
This is a story that I think I would need Roy Thomas to write. If there's anyone who can come up with a World War II epic that features time travel, The Invaders, Doctor Doom and two Flashes, he's the guy. He'd make it all fit into continuity, too! Thomas' vast knowledge of history and comic book history shows through in all his writing.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Indiana Jones and Hercules
I think these two together could make for a cool story with humorous interaction between the leads. Hercules has always been a loyal ally with a larger than life type of personality, not unlike Indy's friend, Sallah. I can see him running into Jones and demanding to join him in completing his latest quest.
Labels:
Hercules,
Indiana Jones,
Joe Jusko,
Marvel Comics,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Raven and Deanna Troi
This cover is the product of a suggestion by my awesome sister-in-law, Melanie. I enjoyed Marina Sirtis' performance as Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation, especially in episodes where she would interact with Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who played her mother Lwaxana. It's too bad Troi wasn't given more to do in the Next Generation films, though. I feel she was a bit underutilized in all of them.
Raven has one of my favorite George Perez-designed costumes. The unique shape of the cape and cloak lend motion to the character and give her a cool silhouette. It's no wonder that it has endured since her first appearance.
Labels:
DC Comics,
Deanna Troi,
George Perez,
Raven,
Star Trek,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Aquaman and Triton
I always kind of felt bad for Triton of The Inhumans. Imagine being born with a mutation tailored for underwater environments and then being relocated to the Moon! Yeah, they had some water in the Blue Area, but it still had to be a bummer for the guy. At any rate, I always liked his design and was glad he got to participate in some adventures independent of his royal family in the pages of Sub-Mariner and Marvel Two-In-One.
Labels:
Aquaman,
DC Comics,
Jim Aparo,
Marvel Comics,
Neal Adams,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up,
The Inhumans,
Triton
Monday, June 25, 2012
Firestorm and Thor
I have read that in addition to Loki, the Thor sequel will also feature The Executioner and The Enchantress as villains. This is exactly the direction I was hoping they would go, so I think that this bodes well for a fun story. The Executioner will provide a great hand-to-hand combatant for Thor, while the Enchantress can use her mind games to create some tension with Jane Foster. The usual complaint about too many villains doesn't really apply here, at The Executioner and The Enchantress appeared together so often in the comics (and Loki was never far away, for that matter).
Labels:
DC Comics,
Firestorm,
Jack Kirby,
Marvel Comics,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up,
Thor
Friday, June 22, 2012
Planet of the Apes Vs. The Terminator
Last summer's movie season held a big surprise for me. I went in looking forward to seeing Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America and The X-Men on the big screen. Little did I know, my favorite hero of the Summer would be Ceasar, from Rise of the Planet of the Apes! That movie wasn't very high on my radar, and then I saw the first trailer and my interest began to grow. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and eagerly await the follow-up, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Terminator: Salvation didn't quite relaunch the franchise in the way studios were expecting, but it didn't tarnish it so much that I would not want to see future installments. I'm sure we'll see another entry in the series before too long.
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