Saturday, October 12, 2013

Swamp Thing and Concrete



I'd love to see a story that unites these two characters.  Once human, each was transferred into an incredibly powerful new body and status quo.  Despite the extreme change in their outward appearance and altered perceptions, their intellect and thoughtful natures are constant reminders of the men that they once were.  Their stories are filled with beautiful artwork and mind bending ideas, and it would be a treat to see them cross paths some day.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Star Trek and Duck Dodgers



I recently checked out the animated Star Trek series on Netflix.  I had only seen one episode decades ago and I only had dim memories of it.  The animation is very limited with a lot of re-used footage and static poses, but I must say that it was fun to have the original cast providing the voices.  I also liked the addition of truly alien looking crew members years before such a thing would happen in live action.  It's a fun glimpse into the past, but I would only recommend it for die-hard Trek fans.  The Looney Tunes cartoons are a different story altogether.  While they predate the Trek series, they hardly seem dated to me at all.  I can pop in one of the collections and they impress and amuse me as much as the first time I watched them.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

X-O Manowar Vs. Iron Man



This is another team up that I am surprised has never happened (unless I missed it).  Not only do they have the suits of armor in common, master of metallic heroes Bob Layton is closely connected to each hero.  If they ever really do cross over, Layton should definitely be at the top of the list to be involved.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Nightwing and The Winter Soldier



It's going to be very interesting to see how Captain America: The Winter Soldier turns out.  On the one hand, it looks to be a crowded film with the title characters interacting with The Falcon, The Black Widow, Arnim Zola and more, and the directing team is an unknown quantity to me.  But then, the movie is said to be following the excellent Ed Brubaker-penned comics, some of the best Captain America issues ever.  I have high hopes and look forward to seeing a trailer soon.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Black Lightning Vs. Electro / Superman Vs. Thanos



Usually I want film versions of comic characters to look as close to the source material as possible, but in the case of Electro for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I can understand the need for a change.  I like the old lightning bolt mask on a nostalgic level, but there's no way that would work in live action.  The pictures released of a blue, glowing with energy Jamie Foxx look pretty cool to me. Spider-Man's costume is a huge improvement over the one he wore in the first film, hopefully the script to the sequel will be an improvement as well.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Batman and Richie Rich



When it came to Harvey Comics, I was more of a Ghostly Trio fan, but I did read plenty of Richie Rich.  I remember getting a kick out of the high-priced hi-jinks, but thinking that Richie was a bit of a show off.  We get it, you're loaded, you don't have to shape your hedges into dollar signs!  Would Bruce Wayne  have grown to be so frivolous with his money had his parents never died in Crime Alley?  We'll probably never know.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Django and John Wayne



Ever since I saw John Wayne smack George Kennedy upside the head with an ax handle in The Sons of Katie Elder, I have been a fan of a good revenge fueled western tale.  It's been nice to see that genre upheld over the years.  Wayne's films were followed up by the great contributions by Clint Eastwood, and today Django Unchained carries on the tradition in Oscar winning fashion.  I think a tale that got all these guys together could be pretty awesome.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Captain Canuck and The Guardian



I'm a little surprised that these two have not met already, it seems like a natural pairing.  I've always loved Guardian's costume, it's definitely one of the best flag-based outfits in comics.  His death was a shock back in those pre-internet spoiler days - but like so many other heroes, he got better.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Booster Gold and the Champions



I love the idea of Booster Gold as a guardian of the timeline.  It gives him the chance to have adventures anywhere and anytime and explore all the corners of the DCU.  Hopefully Booster will be brought back in that capacity soon.  The only thing better would be if he could investigate timeline disruptions for other universes in addition to his own...

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Iron Man and The Rocketeer Vs. Godzilla



This cover is inspired by my admiration for the classic serials from cinema's early days. None of these characters starred in those great black & white cliffhangers, but I think they would have fit right into that genre.  Start out with concept art and storyboards by the amazing Art Adams and you would have had a continuing adventure sure to thrill young and old!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Aquaman and The Human Torch



Aside from the obvious differences in their power sets and preferred locales, these two are quite opposite when it comes to personalities.  Aquaman is a serious authority figure with the weight of an entire kingdom on his mind, while Johnny Storm is an impetuous maverick, full of youthful angst.  It would be interesting to see the two try to operate effectively together.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew and Mighty Mouse



 There have been a bunch of super-powered funny animal characters over the years, but I think the first that made an impression on me was Mighty Mouse.  As I kid I loved watching Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons, and here was a cartoon who was also a superhero!  Sure, Daffy, Bugs and Donald had all put on a super suit for an episode, but Mighty Mouse was a hero full-time, not for just a single short.  They didn't play a lot of MM cartoons in my area when I was growing up, so it was always a treat to get to see one.

Monday, September 30, 2013

The New Teen Titans and The Hulk



I really miss seeing this grouping of Titans together.  They were the biggest hit DC had seen in ages when they first hit the scene in a the 80's, and I was hoping to see them in adventures as a team for decades.  Unfortunately, the characters keep getting pulled into different parts of the DCU and while the Teen Titans has remained a constant concept, it has never regained the prestige of the Wolfman/Perez years.  The Young Justice animated series did a good job of utilizing all eras of the Titans, but that was cancelled before it could really influence the comics.  I live in hope that the classic Titans will return again in one form or another.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Sub-Mariner Vs. Black Adam



I can't believe it has taken me this long to feature these two in a cover together.  Even as a little kid, I noticed the similarity in appearance that they shared, and I thought there was definite crossover potential to be had.  I imagine that any story featuring guys with such short fuses as Black Adam and Namor would  have to be filled with conflict, and that would make for a fun, action packed comic.


Saturday, September 28, 2013

Adam Strange and Thor



I have to confess that I have never seen an episode of Game of Thrones, but I have heard nothing but great things about the series and plan to watch it in full some day.  So when I heard that one of the directors from that show - Alan Taylor - would be taking over the reigns for Thor: The Dark World, I thought it sounded promising.  The trailers are out now and it does indeed look impressive.  I liked Thor but felt he spent too much time depowered and felt it was the weakest of the Marvel produced films.  The sequel looks to address the issues I had with the first one and really ramps of the action and Asgardian side of things, I'm really looking forward to it!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Man-Thing and Cain / Invisible Girl and Elasti-Girl



Here are a couple of team ups that I think are just natural pairings.  Man-Thing looks like he stepped right off of a cover of one of DC's Bronze Age horror titles, so him crossing paths with Cain seems like a no-brainer.  Rita Farr and Sue Storm are both the sole females in a quartet of heroes and I am sure they would have plenty to talk about if they got together.  Put both adventures in one issue and you have a comic that I would have snapped up in a second!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Operation: Hawk!



I like the idea of a Manchurian Candidate type of superhero team.  That is to say, a group of heroes that don't even realize that they are part of a covert team until they hear a secret phrase that springs them all into action.  Not only would you have the fun of high-stakes action, there would also be the ongoing mystery of how the team was formed in the first place.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Carrie Kelley: Robin and Spider-Man 2099 (Part Two)



I've been a big fan of all of DC's animated movies and wish the creators involved could get a crack at the live action feature films as well.  My one complaint is that sometimes their adaptations can feel a bit rushed due to the usual 70-75 minute running time.  Fortunately, they decided to split the animated Dark Knight Returns into two films.  While I originally balked at not getting the whole story at once, it turned out to be a great move.  They were able to get everything I loved from the mini series in and it made for their best work yet.


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Carrie Kelley: Robin and Spider-Man 2099 (Part One)



Here are a couple of characters who have proven so popular that they have been taken out of their usual futuristic time period and inserted into current comic continuity.  Miguel O'Hara has kept popping up despite the cancellation of Marvel's 2099 line, and is now going to be mixing it up in the Superior Spider-Man titles.  Carrie Kelley has recently shown up in the present day DCU, and I'm not sure what's up there, is she supposed to be related to the DKR version, or is it a completely alternate version?


Monday, September 23, 2013

Tarzan Vs. Skeletor



Joe Kubert will always be my favorite Tarzan artist from the comics, but he certainly isn't the only one to make his mark.  I quite like John Buscema's version of the character as well.  Buscema was an artistic god to me ever since I got a copy of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, and he seemed to be able to illustrate just about any type of story.  As much as I enjoyed his artwork on the more mainstream superhero titles, for me he really shined on titles like Tarzan and Conan.  He was great at mixing in fantastical elements with realistic looking landscapes and giving his characters a broad range of facial expression.

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