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November 30, 2006
Fantasticar Looks Good, So Does Jessica Alba
USA Today has an article about the Fantasticar that will appear in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Even though the first film had its flaws, at least director Tim Story knows enough to keep the Fantasticar design to the basic roots. Conceptual designer Tim Flattery said: "He wanted something that looked less like a predator and more friendly. That's always been the Fantastic Four theme." According to the article, the Fantasticar keeps my favorite Kirby gimmick: "the Fantasticar is powered by a proton accelerator, can hover, fly at 500 mph and break into separate flying machines." Yay, now let's just hope that Ben Grimm still calls it a flying bathtub.
The Fantasticar looks great in this pic, but Jessica Alba looks pretty damn good, too. Almost makes me forget The Actress Who Should Have Been Sue Storm. Nuff said.
Posted by Adam Warlock at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)X-Men 193: Chris Bachalo Confuses This Cowboy
Have you ever given a comic-book to anyone over the age of 30, who ain't never seen one before? Maybe someone who ain't that visual, ain't into movies, thinks the Dukes of Hazzard is the be-all and end-all of entertainment? Most likely, any comic will confuse the heck out of them. They probably can't figure out what's goin' on, how to follow the panels in the right order. Worse, the comic doesn't come alive to them, like it does for us, because when we read it, the characters are actually moving in our tiny little minds. To "normal" people (whatever the heck that means), a comic is just a series of disjointed images.
Durin' the past few years, that's how any comic drawn by Chris Bachalo makes me feel.
It wasn't always this way. I loved Bachalo's work in Shade, the Changing Man, Death, Ghost Rider 2099, and Generation X. But lately with the X-Men, in both the Chris Claremont and Mike Carey stories, a lot of times I'm just plain confused during any of the action scenes. Take that panel on top as an example. The villainess called Serafina (who can master any machine) is controlling Karima (rogue Omega Sentinel chick) and firing her weapons against Mystique. Meanwhile, Sabretooth is in the background trying to ambush Serafina. After readin' this three times, I finally figured it out. My head hurt tryin' to understand this panel. What's Serafina doin' by touchin' the Omega chick? I'd be worried about that megaton hulk directly behind me. It's not clear that Mystique is in any real danger because she's mostly off panel. (To tell you the truth, I just plain forgot who the Sentinel chick was until I read the previous issues, so maybe as a trade this story works better.)
Now here's another example. That mega-ship the Children of the Vault are flyin' is about to crash into Xavier's Mansion. Cannonball (one of my favorite New Mutants, all grown-up now) decides to fly off the ship, zoom underneath and try to push it back. But it's not clear in the second panel which way Cannonball is flyin'. Is it right to left or left to right? And who are those dudes on right? Are they statues? No, they are the Sentinels guardin' the mansion who are flyin' upwards to also stop the ship! Sheesh. The next page after this one isn't clear either, because Cannonball presses against the big black hull and halts the ship's descent. At first I thought he broke through the ship and went clear into outer space.
Is it just me or is Chris Bachalo's action storytellin' a bit baffling? There's no denyin' that Bachalo is a master craftsman when it comes to drawing figures, splash pages, and all kinds of other scenes. Maybe the stories by Claremont and Carey have just been too crammed full of details that he needs to shove into every panel. Or maybe I'm just too old to be readin' this here comic. I'm in the mood to see Bachalo draw something other than superheroes. Nuff said.
Posted by Cousin Dick at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)November 29, 2006
Farewell, Dave Cockrum 1943-2006
As we all know by now, Dave Cockrum died last Sunday, November 26th. There's been a surprising number of obituaries for him in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Blogcritics. The Times article has quotes from Neal Adams and reports that Marvel only offered Cockrum $200,000 during the time he suffered from crtical pnuemonia. What a shame! You would have to think that Marvel would be deeply embarassed by this news and work to put together policies that could at least give more to their veteran creators. DC Comics has been better about this than Marvel, although Adams shamed them into helping Siegel and Schuster back in the 1970s. Click to enlarge one of Cockrum's most famous pieces above, the wedding of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, rendered in black and white from Amazing World of DC Comics #9.
Most fans first encountered Dave Cockrum in one of two historic series, either the Legion of Super-Heroes or the X-Men. I caught up on the Legion later on, but my introduction to Cockrum was in Giant-Size Avengers #2 (1974). This issue was notable for a number of reasons. One, written by Steve Englehart, it concluded an ongoing Avengers drama involving Kang, Rama-Tut, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Mantis. Two, the artwork was spectacular, because Cockrum pencilled and inked the story. And if that wasn't enough, Hawkeye returned to the team in his classic costume, as we found out on the splash page!
Englehart's stories were often cosmic in scope. He had a sense of wild dramatic flair, and a respect for Marvel continuity. At the climax of the story, Rama Tut starts fighting Kang the Conqueror in order to stop his plan to capture the Celestial Madonna. (no, it wasn't the blonde yoga singer.) This is a unique event, because Kang and Rama are actually the same person! Rama is the future incarnation of Kang, who came from the past into the present via a time travelling sarcophagus! Yes, thinking about it does warp your brain, and Cockrum warped this page, bending time to show a number of cool Avengers elements.
The page that followed was even more trippy, when everyone present at last realizes that Mantis is the Celestial Madonna. The fear on the Swordsman's face is evident, and it makes his heroic sacrifice at the end (where he saves Mantis using his own body as a shield) all the more bittersweet. I had no idea who Cockrum was, but from this point forward, I would be a Cockrum fan for life!
Outside of the Neal Adams Kree-Skrull war, this was the finest Avengers artwork I had ever seen. I kept thinking that some day, Cockrum would return to the series as the regular penciller. Seeing these Cockrum pin-ups (click to enlarge) in FOOM #6 (1974) fanned that flame for a while, but alas, it was not to be. I was happy when I found that out that he would revive my beloved mutants in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), which thrilled me to no end. Rest in peace, Mr. Cockrum. Nuff said.
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Covers: Neal Adams
Neal Adams did more covers for Deadly Hands of Kung Fu than any other Marvel magazine. Do ya think that's why it was the most successful? It sure didn't hurt sales any, take a look at these wonders...
The cover to Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 was instantly recognized by anyone who had seen Enter the Dragon. This is the first of many covers featuring Bruce Lee.
Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, was the star of Deadly Hands, even though he had appeared in less than half a dozen tales in the color comics. Deadly Hands #2 cover depicts Shang-Chi, a stranger in a strange city (New York), beatin' down anyone foolish enough to pick on a man in his pajamas.
Deadly Hands #4 was a tribute to ABC's television show Kung Fu, starring David Carridine. I couldn't wait for this show to come on TV when I was a kid. This cover shows Caine in the Old West beatin' down cowboys like I wanted to beat down rednecks!
Raise your hand if you remember Billy Jack! If you remember Billy, I bet you also remember Adrienne Barbeau and Lynda Carter! This here cover to Deadly Hands #11 depicts a scene from The Trial of Billy Jack. A movie that Marvel and Steranko (if I remember correctly from MediaScene) told me was IMPORTANT! But actually, it just sucked. Nevertheless, this cover is good.
Deadly Hands #17 had the last Adams cover, but it was another doozy with Bruce Lee from Enter the Dragon. Kinda makes me wish that Neal Adams had done an adaption of that flick, or better yet, a sequel or ongoing adventures of Bruce Lee. Adams could capture Bruce Lee's likeness perfectly. Nuff said.
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Covers: White Tiger
Continuin' my blast from the Kung Fu days, the Hector Ayala White Tiger had his moment in the sun with these two covers...
Ken Barr painted this cover to Deadly Hands #22 and it's one of my favorites. The White Tiger, standing on the end of a high-rise girder, has no alternative but to fight that gang waitin' for him with an arsenal of asian weapons. Does he look scared? Nosireee.
Earl Norem painted this cover to Deadly Hands #29. I think this must be the same bar that Turk (from Miller's Daredevil) likes to hang out in--they better have good insurance. Nuff said.
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Covers: Iron Fist
With the first issues of White Tiger and Iron Fist, it seems like everybody is Kung Fu Fightin' all over again, true believers! Let this old coot take you through some 1970s covers featurin' these dudes, from Deadly Hands of Kung Fu...
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu was a pretty good seller in Marvel's black and white line. They were going to follow this up with an Iron Fist black and white magazine, but somehow it got cancelled. I suspect the cover and story in Deadly Hands #10 were making use of the aborted Iron Fist Magazine #1.
The response to Danny Rand's black and white story must have been pretty good, because he returned in Deadly Hands #19 for a serialized story by Chris Claremont and Rudy Nebres that ran through issue 24.
Naturally, Shang Chi (Master of Kung Fu) couldn't take being replaced by the blonde newcomer. He was forced to fight Iron Fist in Deadly Hands #29.
Howard Chaykin contributed this dynamic Iron Fist pinup, that was also featured in Deadly Hands #29. A skeletal samurai, hot diggity dang! Nuff said.
Immortal Iron Fist #1: Time to Use Healing Power?
Based on his interviews, I knew Ed Brubaker understood the character of Iron Fist. Immortal Iron Fist #1 lives up to the hype, returning Danny Rand to classic form. He's not only a kung fu master from a hidden refuge called K'un-Lun, but he's also a Fortune 500 CEO. Brubaker and his writing buddy, Matt Fraction, are adding to the mythos as well by establishing a history of the Iron Fist wielders throughout history. Fans of the classic Iron Fist story by Claremont and Byrne that featured Davos (a K'un-Lun exile) stealing Danny's Iron Fist power will be intrigued by the last pages of this story. I loved this issue and it holds great promise for the future.
Hydra's put Danny in a pretty bad cliffhanger as well. I have a theory about how he will get out of this situation, baesd on one memorable scene from Iron Fist #4 (1976). A villain called Radion had destroyed a building, most of which had fallen on top of Iron Fist. Danny Rand was dying, but a dream from his teacher explained that the Iron Fist could be used for more than mere fighting--it could heal as well. And it did work to save Danny's life, though it hurt like hell. To my knowledge, he hasn't used this ability since the 70s, but I haven't re-read every Iron Fist story. Let's see if this returns in Immortal Iron Fist #2. Nuff said.
White Tiger is Purty Good
Written by Cousin Dick: I already had lots of respect for Tamora Pierce, after she dissed the Sue Richards scene in Civil War (where she leaves her kids in Reed's care). After readin' White Tiger #1, I have even more, because it's a darn good read. Angela Del Toro's story continues from Daredevil, where she inherited the amulets that make her a kung fu superstar. This is a comin' of age type of story, which pays respect to past events and current continuity, with a nod to Danny Rand impersonatin' Daredevil. Beyond fightin' gangstas in the ghetto, she takes on the Cobra, and gets drunk with Natasha Romanov (the Black Widow). What I liked most about this issue was that it was packed with lots of story--you can't just flip thru it in five seconds.
Angela Del Toro's the niece of the original White Tiger, Hector Ayla. I remember first seein' the White Tiger in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #20. The lead story in Deadly Hands was always Shang Chi or Iron Fist, but the second series, The Sons of the Tiger, were by a couple of newcomers called Bill Mantlo and George Perez. I knew these boys were destined for greatness, especially Perez, whose artistic skills grew with each story. The Sons of the Tiger were a trio of kung fu fighters, each empowered by a Asian amulet. In Deadly Hands #19, they had a falling out and threw the amulets in the trash. Hector picked 'em up and was transformed into the mysterious White Tiger, probably the first Chicano superhero in the Marvel Universe. Perez had such a great enthusiasm for this character, as you can see in the splash page above, where he painstakingly drew a New York City skyline forming the logo (in Deadly Hands #21).
I kinda miss Hector--he was killed in Daredevil by Bendis (naturally). But at least Angela refers to her uncle a lot in the new story. Now I'm thinkin' if there was a White Tiger movie...would Jessica Alba be a perfect fit? Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)November 17, 2006
Vampirella by Bruce Timm
Fucking hell, I blew it on that Cyclops-Dick article, didn't I? How can I possibly redeem myself? WITH THE MOST X-RATED POST IN PHOTON HISTORY! These outrageously hot pics of Vampirella by Bruce Timm should do the trick. Vampirella was always my favorite seductress, although her stories never lived up to the covers in the old Warren Magazines. I was always fond of Vampi's legs and buttocks, and apparently, so is Mr. Timm.
This drawing, with the erotic come-here gaze in Vampi's sweet little face is right up there with the Satana pic that Kid Flash posted. Bruce Timm did draw a short story in Vampirella Monthly #20, where she was naked, in similiar poses to this one.
Warren Magazines' other two big publications were Creepy and Eerie. Here you see another fantasy fulfilled, Vampirella dancing at a strip club while the mascots of these two titles drooled in ecstasy.
Here's one that will send fanfic writers gushing to their keyboards: Vampirella versus Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No Freudian overtones in this picture. What could that stake possibly represent? Nuff said.
Cyclops Isn't a Dick, Warlock Could Be One Though!
On yesterday's post about Astonishing X-Men 18 (Cyclops Isn't A Dick), 
reader Gareth Wilson made this observation:
"There are some writers who treat Cyclops like a dick--and Bryan Hitch didn't help with Wolverine's infamous quote in the first movie."
The "you're a dick" line was actually written by Joss Whedon, one of only two lines of dialogue that survived from his script.
First, of all, what a faux pas Warlock made in that one! Any fanboy knows that Bryan Singer directed the X-Men movie, not Bryan Hitch. And that's a very interesting factoid about Whedon's line in the first movie. Thanks, Gareth! How appropriate, Whedon turned Cyclops into a dick, now he's undicking him! Nuff said.
