Tuesday Preview
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Here we are again. The Tuesday Preview has hit three in a row. Couldn’t do it without you.
Some interesting books this week. In Batman 685 I am sure we will learn everything we have to know about Bats. Again, I recommend anyone trying to follow this continuity to read Bubba’s comment for a clear viewpoint on our caped hero. Justice Society of America 23 should either wrap up the Gog storyline or start another. And the biggies, Final Crisis 7 and Revelations 5 - all will be cleared up. Grant Morrison reveals all. Comic readers head for tall buildings.
On the Marvel side we start with the always great Captain America. My best book of the year soldiers on. One of my new favorites is Hercules. Here is a hero that chases every woman in every story that he appears in, but with a grin on his face. And yet he seems to succeed and, as a spill over, the 7th (or 8th) smartest man in the world seems to be getting something out of his palling around with Herc. New Avengers 19 debuts and should contain the Dark Reign Saga. The only worry is that we are going to have too many Avengers teams, but I am sure we’ll never get to 50. Wow, 50 Avengers Initiative teams and 52 DC Universes. Lots of characters huh? And In Ultimate Spider-Man 130 we may continue killing off characters from Ultimatum. Or not.
Advertisement
The Deaths of Batman
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
Let’s face it. They’ll kill Captain America before they kill Batman. Whoops - they did
Now we all know comics are not for kids anymore. Trix maybe, comics, no. But we are all adults here and we know that Cap will be back in time for the movie and, after the second year without Batman, he will return also. I am sure that if Captain America can sail along with Bucky as the Winter Soldier then we can rest assured that a Search for the Cowl will find some worthy person to fill it. Add the fact that with RIP and Crisis totally screwing continuity all to hell and is so confusing so much so that my reps at DC can’t even keep it straight. Giving an answer such as “Well, it’s Grant Morrison…” is infuriating because adult fiction should be able to keep itself consistent. But, you know what? I can live with it.
What I cannot stand is this. They have killed Batman twice in two separate books. Dead in Batman 681 and dead in Crisis 6. Let us assume, for argument’s sake, that neither Batman was a clone, an android, a robot, a hero of any of the other 52 universes, or a leftover LMD from Marvel. My customers expect me to be the comic guru and I hate to feel foolish trying to explain, but I can’t explain. Maybe all the inconsistencies are really caused by Superboy Prime banging on the Walls of Eternity. I just don’t think so. It is sloppy writing and I can abide stupid better than sloppy. Still, I am sure that Crisis 7, which comes out next next, will explain it all. Don’t you?
The World According to Todd: Best of 2008
Posted by Todd Matthy Categories: Collecting, Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Figure Caption: You gotta love Supergirl!
It’s that time of year again when we look back at the year and see what lived up to our expectations and what fell flat on its face. So without further ado…here is MY Best of 2008.
Book of the Year: Captain America
When my friends ask me what the best comic out there is, this is my answer. Every month, Brubaker mixes social commentary, superhero history, and pulse pounding action into a symphony of awesomeness. As icing on the cake there is always a new twist or a new piece of character development that makes aspiring writers (like myself) bang their heads on a table wishing they thought of it. Damn you, Ed. Steve Epting’s artwork continues to be realistic and energetic with fun homages to great artists like Steranko.
Worst Book: Countdown to Final Crisis
Wasted time. Countdown to Final Crisis was an over-hyped highlight reel of the DC Universe that promised to set the stage for Final Crisis. Not only did it not set the stage for Final Crisis, it didn’t do much of anything except steal minutes from my life I’ll never get back. That and about $156 from my wallet.
Click to continue reading The World According to Todd: Best of 2008
The Joeys - Year End Comic Book Awards - Part 2
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Bad Guy of the Year: I see three choices here. Libra seems to be running the bad guys in the Crisis series, but we don’t know enough about him yet to make an informed decision. Darkseid seems to be the overriding influence of the bad guys, but he may or may not be dead. Every time I try to get an intelligent answer out of DC they only have one answer: It’s Grant Morrison. I guess that means that all will be clear in 2009. I’m holding my breath. So, in my humble opinion, Norman Osborn is the standout Bad Guy of the Year. From running the Thunderbolts to running everything, he provided a welcome surprise to the end of Secret Invasion. And he’s crazy, too.
Good Guy of the Year: Even though I didn’t like how they got there, I thought Spider-Man had a pretty good year story-wise. Now that Marvel has clarified things, a little, in that the only change was that Peter and MJ never got married so that all continuity remains the same things makes more sense. I thought Thor had a great year - kicking Tony Starks’ butt, having Asgard floating over Oklahoma, and beating the crap out of the Skrulls was neat. But old friend Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier, is the Good Guy of the Year. A beautifully drawn and written unending novel has the former Bucky picking up the reins of Captain America. Why soon we won’t even miss Mr. Rogers and as soon as that happens…
Good Girl of the Year: Supergirl is happy/sad, rebellious/obedient, heroic/whiny. In another era I would make a time of the month joke, but who knows about Kryptonian cycles anyway? We’d all like to know what MJ whispered in Mephisto’s ear before stupid Peter took the deal, but we have to wait. By default I make it She-Hulk who fights earth villains, Skrulls, and still finds time to sleep around all over the Marvel universe. And has a Skrull girlfriend too.
Bad Girl of the Year: The Skrull Queen was pretty bad, but then let herself get killed by Norman Osborn. Granny Goodness is not exactly a girl. So I go with Mary Marvel. Of course by next year she’ll be back to the Light Side but I love her in her new black costume. All she needs is a whip and mask and… I think I’ll stop right here before I really do get into trouble with my editor.
Random Thoughts
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials,
Presented for your enjoyment a series of random thoughts:
* Is it possible that they are publishing more Captain America comics now that he is dead then when he was alive?
* Is the Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom mini-series drawn by someone who had never seen the characters before he got the assignment?
* Isn’t the Secret Wars Requiem a real rip-off because it is mostly old Ant-Man stories?
* With all the different colored Lanterns showing up in the DC universe, will we get to see the Pink Lanterns? You know, the gay ones? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
* Wasn’t it cool when in Ultimate Spider-Man, Peter answers the phone with “Hall of Justice”?
* Exactly how many named characters in the Marvel universe has Tony Stark slept with? Apparently She-Hulk and the Lady Liberator’s are taking a census. And who thought up the name Lady Liberators anyway? Sounds 1940ish to me.
* If Batman 683 is picking up from 682, a miracle in itself, don’t we still want to know where the heck in continuity this story line lies?
* Didn’t we just have a year without Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman?
* Can we find out once and for all if Earthlings and Kryptonians can reproduce? All-Star Superman says no, but aren’t the All-Star books set in a different universe? Apparently Clark and Lois spent a year together without Super-powers so shouldn’t we know something by now?
* How could they send off SuperGirl in Smallville? In a Smallville filled with gorgeous women wasn’t she the tops?
The Joeys - Year End Comic Book Awards
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Here we present the “Joeys,” which is our first annual comic book awards.
Book of the Year: This takes some thought. Did All-Star Batman actually come out with an issue this year? Why, yes, it did - the infamous issue 12. I think that Frank Miller’s re-imagining of Batman is so off the wall it transcends great. Kidnapping Robin, Robin almost killing Green Lantern, making Robin eat rats in the batcave, having sex with Black Canary in th rain and wanting, in a thought balloon, to smack her around because she won’t shut up, etc. I can see where some people hate the tarnishing of the Batman Legend, but I love it.
Story Line of the Year: This takes virtually no thought. Captain America has turned into a great comic novel in many,many parts. Beautifully drawn and well-plotted out, it takes the Death of Captain America into the Bucky Cap flawlessly. Things actually make sense, no one does anything out of character, and each chapter makes you anticipate the next. This makes the sting of Marvel doing away with their First Looks program even harsher because Cap was always there. Part of the fun of owning a comic store is helping out one’s regulars and letting them read this title one week early made everyone feel special.
Rat Finks of the Year: Marvel for doing away with First Looks.
Most Confusing Story Line: So many choices. Final Crisis can’t end soon enough for me. RIP has even DC confused about it. Countdown ended, I think. But, to my mind, I have no idea what is going on in Trinity and have stopped reading a book that I don’t have to pay for.
Trend of the Year: Sex. It seems everyone wants it but now they talk about it. Libra’s offering guys a shot at Supergirl. Red Hulk willing not to kill any of the Lady Liberator’s if they put out. Nemesis putting the moves on Wonder Woman. Spider-Man asking Ms Marvel out. Skrulls having sex with humans. Dogs and cats living together. What is the universe coming to?
In Part 2 of the Joey’s we’ll discuss individual characters. Stay tuned.
Best Comic Book of 2008: Captain America
Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,
My choice for best monthly comic book series for 2008 is Captain America. I am not a professional reviewer. I don’t get paid to read every comic book from every company that comes out month-to-month. I collect only a handful titles every month because that’s all I can afford - and all of those titles consist of DC and Marvel comics. So before anyone starts complaining about this book was better, etc, etc, I am only giving you my opinion and I welcome any and all disagreements, but from what I read this year Captain America was by far the best and most consistent month-to-month title published this year.
Click to continue reading Best Comic Book of 2008: Captain America
Casting Captain America
Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, Movies, Marvel Comics,
Now that we know that the casting of Will Smith as Captain America was just a rumor, we can continue to debate who we would like to see be cast as Captain America. Personally I would like to go with an unknown. Prior to the Richard Donner “Superman,” not many people knew of Christopher Reeve. Instead of going with a big name for the lead, they went with this unknown actor and surrounded him with well known actors like Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, and Glen Ford. The movie was of course a big success and is now a classic. In my opinion, it’s the best comic movie of all time. So I would go with an unknown, but here are some of the names floating around.
Click to continue reading Casting Captain America
JLA/Avengers
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
This week Diamond Comics shipped the paperback version of the classic JLA/AVENGERS saga. These came out in comic book form in 2003, but was only compiled in hardcover format for $75. Now we have a softcover at $19.99 and it is time to revisit this story.
I believed at the time that the entire concept was flawed. Kurt Busiek wrote a story in which every Avenger and every Justice Leaguer that ever existed made at least a token appearance. He succeeded in his mind, but not mine. By putting too many characters in a story, you lose the ability to focus deeply on any of them. Recall the series of Marvel/DC Crossover books. These stories usually had one hero and one villain from each universe and you had a real interaction among the heroes and villains. Remember Crossover One with a full Superman/Spider-Man story, Hulk/Superman, etc. You really got into how the characters reacted to each other. In Crossover 2 we had Batman/Punisher, Silver Surfer/Superman and Batman/Captain America. The other two books weren’t as good, but it is always fun to match heroes from different universes. In my opinion, confining the epic to 7 or so stars from each universe would have made things much less cluttered and a better read. Characters kept coming and going so quickly it is difficult to keep track.
The story itself starts as one of the generic contest of champions ideas we have seen a million times before. Mystic artifacts being sought by both sides being manipulated by cosmic beings. Ho-hum.
No real detail in the battles to get an artifact and the 12 items are quickly divided up. They we get a mish-mash of heroes from diferrent universes interacting in a confusing way and then A Crisis on Infinte Earths climax against the super-duper villian with everyone throwing in a few shots. Been to the Source, done that.
It was, I suppose, a noble effort and it is certainly a better buy at $20 rather than $75. But as the pundit said about Dicken’s Great Expectations, I hoped for more.
Captain America movie gets a director!
Posted by David Torres Categories: Movies, Marvel Comics,
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Marvel Studios have decided to go with Joe Johnston as the director for the Captain America film. Johnston was the director for films such as “The Rocketeer”, “October Sky”, and “Jurassic Park III”. According to imdb.com he is in post-production for a remake of the “Wolf Man” staring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. “First Avenger: Captain America” is scheduled for a May 6, 2011 release.
Click to continue reading Captain America movie gets a director!
Read More 
| Hollywoood Reporter
Recent Galleries
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.