Monday, April 18, 2016

Jonah Hex and the Original Ghost Rider (Part 1)



I always liked the look of the original Ghost Rider (later called Night Rider, and Phantom Rider).  The all-white outfit complete with white mask, cape and hat riding on a white horse made for a great image and I am sure gave out a signal to bad guys that a there was a new force for good in the west.

This is only the first part of this tale, so make sure you come back for the thrilling conclusion tomorrow!

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Thor and Doctor Who



I have read reports that The Russo Brothers are eager to use Thor in Avengers: Infinity War due to what they explain as the interesting place that the character will be following the events of Thor: Ragnarok.  This is purely speculation, but maybe Thor will finally be taking his place as the ruler of Asgard.  If that is the case, I hope his helmet will finally officially become part of his outfit!

Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Rocketeer Vs. Boba Fett



This cover comes about from a suggestion by Marc. Tyler Nobleman, a Patron of this blog.  Thanks, Marc!

I watched the Star Wars: Rogue One trailer with interest. This movie wasn't high on my radar - franky I have concerns about Disney diluting the franchise by putting too many films out.  What I have seen so far looks pretty promising though.  I love that the story takes place in the time frame of the Original Trilogy.  Thant raises possibilities of some old favorites showing up - will there be appearances by Darth Vader and/or Boba Fett?  I hope so!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Werewolf By Night Vs. Swamp Thing



It's great that Len Wein is back writing the adventures of Swamp Thing.  Don't get me wrong, I was a huge fan of what Alan Moore did with the character - but I still look back fondly to Swamp Thing's original series by Wein and Wrightson.  I loved that this horror character shared the same world as Superman and Batman, and their run was a scary, moody delight.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Blue Beetle Vs. Spider-Man in "Bug Off!"




We now know a little about the next Spider-Man movie.  It will be titled Spider-Man: Homecoming and will feature at least one more Marvel hero in addition to the web-slinger.  The Vulture has been rumored as a villain - and Michael Keaton is in talks to portray the main antagonist.  I am looking forward to Tom Holland's debut as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War. I recently watched him in In The Heart Of The Sea, and I am confident he will do well in the role.

Longtime readers know that in the above cover, Ted Kord is referring back to his first meeting with Spider-Man on this blog...

Spidey has also met the Dan Garrett and Jaime Reyes Blue Beetles on previous covers...

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Calvin and Hobbes and Captain Marvel



Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was wearing a Black Adam T-shirt at a recent awards show, and it is nice to see him so enthusiastic about the upcoming role in DC's cinematic Shazam!  Unfortunately, his casting is still just about all we know about the long-in development project.  I hope some movement is made on the film soon, DC really needs some more lighthearted fare on the big screen.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Green Lantern and Space Ghost



Continued from yesterday's cover, we see that The Watcher's warning was not an idle one...

I am glad to see that Space Ghost has found a home in comics again in the pages of Future Quest.  Now that DC has a Hanna-Barbera imprint, I hope we will see some real crossovers between the two sets of characters - GL and Space Ghost would be a great place to start.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Tintin and The Watcher



One of the greatest things about Herge's Tintin stories was the amazing design sense he put into them.  Not only were the tales densely illustrated, he was constantly coming up with interesting characters, outfits, vehicles and locations.  He really got to shine with Tintin's outer space adventures, I loved the look of the spacesuits and rocket.

This is only Part One of this epic adventure - make sure to come back for Part Two tomorrow!

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Max Mercury and Quicksilver



This cover comes about as a result of a conversation by regular STF visitor Isaac, among others.  I enjoyed the mentor-student relationship that Max Mercury had with Bart Allen in Impulse.  I would have liked to have seen him have more interaction with Jay Garrick though - I'm sure those two Golden Age speedsters would have had plenty to discuss.


Friday, April 8, 2016

Mars Attacks Howard the Duck!



I have read a few rumors that Howard the Duck will be showing up again in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.  While still a small role, it should be larger than the post credits cameo that appeared after the first film.  I hope this speculation turns out to be true - I love that Marvel is willing to embrace somie of its more outlandish concepts for their film universe.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Indiana Jones and Han Solo



STF: The Lost Issues Patron Marc Bryant suggested a Short Round / Chewbacca team up, as they were both partnered with Harrison Ford characters.  There wasn't a lot of Short Round images to choose from, so I figured why not pair up Han and Indy themselves? Thanks for the support and inspiration, Marc!

Harrison Ford is looking to reprise his roles as Indiana Jones and Rick Deckard in upcoming films, and after seeing him have so much fun as Han Solo again, I look forward to seeing him revisit two of his other iconic characters.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The Atom and Nightcrawler



I thought that Nightcrawler provided some of the best superhero movie action ever in X2: X-Men United, so I am glad that the character is finally being brought back in this Summer's X-Men: Apocalypse.  I hope we will see more of Kurt Wagner's carefree personality this time around.  I enjoyed Alan Cumming's take, but his Nightcrawler was pretty sullen for most of the film.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Savage Dragon and The Hulk



This is a team up that I am amazed has not happened yet.  While these two characters are both big, green and strong, that's where the similarities end, and it would be cool to see them laying the smack down side-by-side.  Erik Larsen has a great history with both Marvel and Image and I'd love to see him working on a project that brings those two comic universes together.

Monday, April 4, 2016

The Shadow and Captain America



I have enjoyed the adventures of The Shadow in film and print form, but my favorite memories of the character are from the classic radio dramas that he was featured in.  We used to listen to those as kids when we would go on camping trips.  With his ability to cloud men's minds, he was the perfect character for those audio mysteries.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

The Joker and Jack of Hearts



I remember picking up the Jack of Hearts 4-issue mini-series back in 1983 on a whim because I liked the George Freeman art, and I have been a fan of the character ever since.  It's too bad he hasn't been used very much over the years.  I have read that some artists do not like having to illustrate his complicated costume over and over - I hope that's not a reason for holding him back!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Robo Force in "Victory has a Price!"



Robo Force was the first team that I created for STF: The Lost Issues, so I have always had a soft spot for them.  I like when groups have an artificial life form among them in comics, so an entire team made up of AI characters just seems like it would be a lot of fun.

This is Robo Force's third appearance on the blog - they Battled Ultron in STF #202 and first became a team back in STF #150...

Friday, April 1, 2016

Robocop and Futurama



The sign of a good animated series is whether the episodes stand up to repeated viewings. Futurama definitely succeeds when it comes to that metric.  The shows are so packed with verbal and visual gags that I can enjoy visiting them again and again. Certain episodes like "The Problem with Popplers" are so perfect that I have seen them several times over and they still manage to make me laugh.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Maxx & Wolverine / Shang-Chi Vs. The Flash




The Flash and Supergirl teamed up on TV this week and it was just what I needed after Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice.  While the big theatrical release had a lot to like in terms of visuals, It was mostly a depressing affair about people who did not like having to be superheroes.  While the TV team up may have been limited budgetarily, it was nice to see the heroes enjoying themselves, even when the chips were down.  Plus, their Flash didn't have a man-bun.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Firestorm Vs. Fin Fang Foom




I am liking seeing Firestorm featured regularly on DC's Legends of Tomorrow.  I can understand why Ronnie Raymond is no longer part of the matrix due to events on The Flash, but I still don't get why the producers invented a new character in Jefferson Jackson rather than using Jason Rusch from the comics.  It's frustrating to see the plot hoops that are jumped through to keep Firestorm out of action - The limitations of a TV show, I suppose.  When he does show up, the only powers he seems to display are flight and throwing fire - which when paired with his helmetless head makes him come off more as a Human Torch rip off than Firestorm.  Hopefully, they will update both his costume and power set soon.

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