I'm trying to experiment with a new way of doing a comics-oriented blog. My latest experiment is a new blog called Giant-Size Marvel.
This new blog will be devoid of my various pseudonyms. It will (obviously from the name) feature material only about Marvel Comics, both old and new. And it will be more about artwork than my snarky comments. The images/scans will be quite large and you may even be able to use them as your desktop wallpaper. Drop on by and give me some feedback! Nuff said.
Here's a Slide widget I created almost a year ago but never posted here: my favorite Animal Man covers by Brian Bolland. Just covering the Morrison run...
Don't forget Gallery Photon! Nuff said.
TSOYA. That's was the display on my XM Radio when I tuned into the channel 133, the PRI station. TSOYA? Sounds like a health food product.
No, it's an acronym for The Sound of Young America, hosted by "America's Radio Sweetheart", Jesse Thorn. I discovered this program a couple of months ago, where I was stunned to hear Thorn interviewing two cast members of The Wire, Andre Roya and Wendell Pierce (Bubbles and Bunk). After looking at the TSOYA archives, this podcast was immediately added to my Zune RSS feed. (Yes, I am of those lunatic Zuners.) Thorn hits my pop cultural G-Spot right on the money with guests like Chris Elliot, Nick Hornby, Ira Glass, Tony Millionaire, Austin Grossman, Elmore Leonard, Steven Wright, etc. One of my favorite interviews was done last year with Marty Krofft, the producer-creator behind HR Pufnstuff and a gaggle of other Saturday morning shows. Comics professionals pop into the podcast from time to time.
This interview with Evanier is really good. I've been pushed over the edge to buy Kirby: King of Comics
Link: Mark Evanier on TSOYA Podcast, discussing Kirby: King of Comics.
Link: Maximumfun.org, the home of TSOYA.
Link: Mark Evanier's Blog.
Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas. Marvel must have given this book to Jon Favreau to help him fulfill his childhood dreams of writing a comic. It will sell well, because of the movie. And I'll say this--if you are an Adi Granov fan--you must buy this book. The artwork is just superb.
The story, however, is all over the place, and may want to make even the Granov fans wait for the trade. It's out of continuity, doesn't resemble the Marvel Universe Iron Man, or even the movie Iron Man (as he has a secret identity here). Stark is literally Richie Rich. He owns airline companies and a Las Vegas Hotel/Casino. It's a silly story designed to induce cheap laughs. The most unreal moment for me is when Stark changes to Iron Man in an airplane bathroom. How is that possible? I can barely turn around to wipe my ass in there!
And then there's the lurking menace of Fin Fang Foom, a monster that's been overdone to death. I think Warren Ellis made the best use of FFF in Nextwave #1-2 (why is that monster wearing underpants). Favreau wastes a double page Granov spread on desert lizards/iguanas/geckos what have you. But he makes up for that mistake by having Granov draw some gorgeous tattooed women.
There you have it, dumb fun, for die-hard Iron Man or Granov completists. Nuff said.
Jim Cheung's artwork in last week's New Avengers #40 totally blew me away. I was stunned by his double-page spread depicting Galactus devouring the Skrull homeworld. I managed to get a super-sized scan of this and now it's the background on my desktop computer. Click on the image above to get it from my Flickr site.
I scoff at those who claim Galactus would not work in a feature film. Nuff said.
Secret Invasion #2. Only one dang thing wrong with this book: it goes by way too fast! The New Avengers battle the 70s Marvel heroes in the Savage Land and it's not conclusive at all. It appears that most of the 70s guys are Skrulls, yet we've got big questions about Mockingbird and Captain America. I doubt that Cap is the real deal because Steve Rogers' body didn't become Skrully in the autopsy lab. I've been critical of Bendis in the past, but this year his Marvel Avengers work is firin' on all cylinders. My favorite character this issue is Hawkeye; I love how Bendis milks the drama between him and Mockingbird. How many of Marvel's current readership knows that Hawkeye was married to Mockingbird and about her death in Avengers West Coast #100? Lenil Yu's art is fantastic, there are several double page spreads that knocked my socks off. I especially liked the last one where the Super Skrulls invade New York City.
Mighty Avengers #13. Bendis has wanted to write a Nick Fury series since he first started with Marvel. Looks like this is where he gets his wet dream, continuing from last issue, where we saw Fury havin' sex with a Skrull babe who morphed into Val. This story is pretty much setup where Fury sends Daisy Johnson (earthquake chick from Secret Wars) to recruit a new crop of second generation heroes. Fury's pretty sure these guys and gals ain't Skrulls and he can use 'em to fight back. Have to see where this one goes...it's funnier than heck that Fury disguises himself as the Ultimates Samuel Jackson.
Action Comics Annual #11. What the heck? I thought I read this already. No, wait, I did not. Can anyone in the comics world tell me what happened to the Kubert brothers? They used to put out 10 comics a year and now they do 1 a year. Well, even if it's just one a year, Adam Kubert's widescreen storytelling hits you in the face like a summer blockbuster. Great stuff! Warner Brothers ought to look at this material for the next Superman movie. Geoff Johns (and Richard Donner) create a really touching ending to this whole "Son of Superman" thing and show you that Superman can be hurt. Lex Luthor is the real standout for me in this story, there are so many great Luthor scenes here, with my favorite quote, "This is what it feels like to kill a Kryptonian." The story is not without flaws, you can't help but think these villains are so powerful, why is Superman still around? When you see Metallo use Gold Kryptonite, you will know what I mean.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, #14: Drew Goddard's story gets deeper into the whole Twilight mystery. I love the fact that Dracula's back; he's got the funniest lines in this issue, and that's sayin' a lot, because there are many laughs in this story. Just when you think Buffy is a comedy, there's shocking twist on the last page. Hooboy.
TNT (Tune in TwoMorrows, not the cable station) published a very fine interview last week with Keith Dallas, author of the forthcoming The Flash Companion
Given my name, I've naturally pre-ordered this one from Amazon. I loved the previous books in this series from TwoMorrows, especially the Titans Companion and the Legion Companion. Nuff said.
I've been following the Twitter feed of ComicList (New Comic Book Releases web site). I guess Twitter isn't as useless as I thought; I've been reading this website for years and never knew they had so much content. ComicList posted this story about 50 Hulk #1 covers being created for Hero Initiative at Emerald City ComicCon. I just love this Dale Keown cover. Nuff said.
This here greatest moment never happened, cuz it was one of those imaginary stories. In 1977, Marvel started publishing "What If?" a series devoted to imaginary tales, each one being complete in a single issue. DC had done "imaginary" stories in their regular superhero titles for years, warning kids on the cover "Hey it's a Goldarned Imaginary Story!" to make sure they knew it wasn't in continuity. Well, ol' Mighty Marvel figured, if we got a whole series of tall tales, no one will get confused.
What If #3 (What If The Avengers Had Never Been?) was published in 1977, story by Jim Shooter, art by Gil Kane and Klaus Janson. I think this is one of Shooter's best Marvel stories, and it was enhanced by the Kane/Janson team. I always loved Janson's inks on Kane's pencils, and this effort was amazin'. The story takes place right after Avengers volume #2, where the Hulk said "I don't need to be a member of your little superhero club, adios!" This moment struck fanboys in their chest just like acid-reflux after eatin' a bag of Doritos. I loved the Hulk, I loved the idea of Hulk in a team. I always wanted to see the Avengers with the Hulk and never got this again until The Ultimates. That aside, what happened in Avengers #3? The Avengers go after the Hulk, the Hulk teams up with Sub-Mariner and nearly wipes them out. Only the Hulk changin' into his alter ego, Bruce Banner, brings an end to the team up.
In What If #3, the moment the Hulk leaves the Avengers, that's when Thor decides to throw in the towel and call it quits. Giant-Man and Wasp leave Tony Stark alone, who still realizes that leavin' the Hulk alone ain't a smart idea. Then Stark has a purty good idea, an idea so good they should have done it in the Initiative. He creates the Iron Avengers. Rick Jones, Henry Pym, and Janet Van Dyne, in different variations on the Iron Man armor. Jones' armor can phase in/out of objects, Pym's armor is super-sized for his Giant-Man form, and Janet's armor is super-small, but with high-tech stingers. But these guys are losers who can't even keep their own series goin'! They give up on the armor when they find it is too difficult to control.
Tony Stark decides to take on the Sub-Mariner and Hulk all by his lonesome superhero self. From here on in, it's all action in the mother of all superhero battles. Iron Man supercharges his armor and deep fries the Hulk in the ocean. That takes out ol' Greenskin, but the Sub-Mariner is in his element, and batters Iron Man to pieces. The calvary arrives when the Iron Avengers decide that those supersuits ain't so bad after all. They succeed in drivin' away the baddies, but only through Tony Stark's ultimate sacrifice at the end. It just brings tears to this ol' cowboy's eyes everytime he reads it. Nuff said.
I've seen Iron Man and I was far from disappointed. This has now become my favorite superhero movie of all time! I love it so much I'm tempted to see it again, but I'll probably wait until the DVD comes out later this year. It did not just match the hype, it exceeded it, largely on the strength of the acting and direction.
There were so many ways this movie could have gone wrong. Fortunately, Jon Favreau populated his movie with top notch actors: Robert Downey, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, etc. Downey is Tony Stark, capturing his Richie Rich style of decadent behavior with a dash of humor and self deprecation. The minute that Downey appears on the screen, riding in the Humvee through the Middle East, the audience instantly clicks with Tony Stark. Robert Downey nailed this character so perfectly. It seems like good karma has finally come his way. Hopefully this will result in Downey appearing in many more films for years to come.
Jeff Bridges was another inspired choice for Obadiah Stane. We've seen Bridges as a buffoon (Big Lebowski), as a hero (Blown Away), or as a millionaire (Seabiscuit), but never as a villain. I always think Bridges, along with actors like Kurt Russell, are constantly overlooked for their acting ability. Everything they do looks so natural, as if they showed up on the set and started reading their lines. The way that Bridges portrays Stane is chillingly familiar. I've seen many of these types in Silicon Valley: prematurely rich, overfed, greedy, and egotistical CEOs who will run over anyone to make money.
The movie is faithful to the comics, yet it is not faithful to any particular run. The screenwriters picked the best bits from several different Iron Man series. The origin is based on Warren Ellis' revision. By updating the origin from Vietnam to present day Afghanistan, Ellis provided modern day audiences with a hook into Tony Stark's first adventure. I am sure he won't receive additional compensation for it. Tony Stark's mansion is almost a perfect recreation of the Malibu pad that Bob Layton designed during his second run. Likewise, Stark's pattern of picking up beautiful babes for one night stands comes from the Michelinie/Layton run. Iron Monger looks much like he does in Iron Man #200. Stark cannot put on the Iron Man armor by himself, he needs a team of assistants, like he has in The Ultimates, but they are robotic instead of human.
Certain things are different: Rhodey is still Stark's best friend, but he's not working for him yet. Perhaps the biggest change is Jarvis being an artificial intelligence system rather than an actual butler.
I've got two favorite scenes in the movie. The first is when Tony is building his "MK II" prototype armor and testing it out in his laboratory. It's extremely funny in a way that DC superhero movies never seem to emulate.
The second favorite scene is at the very very end of the film. YOU MUST STAY PAST ALL OF THE CREDITS TO SEE IT. Fans of Millar and Hitch will be extremely pleased. It promises an even bigger Marvel movie in the future. Nuff said.
The Incredible Hulk trailer has been released on Apple's Universal site, check out that HD trailer, pardners! CBR has screen captures already--those boys don't waste time! Even though the Hulk looks a mite unreal (as opposed to the real Hulks I see on the highway), the movie still looks good. Here's what I'm thinkin':
Liv Tyler is real purty.
If I was a fugitive, would Liv Tyler kiss this cowboy?
There's a bedroom scene. Oh Liv, that Thing You Do Do.
Gamma Radiation means no more Viagra?
If Liv Tyler spoke Elvish to the Hulk, would he turn back into Bruce Banner?
Will the Hulk speak in this movie? I really want to hear "Hulk Smash!"
Nuff said.
Here's a fun little slide show of various Iron Man covers, to get us warmed up for the movie this weekend. Nuff said.
I was so bored to tears by DC Universe #0. Sure, it has some nice art, but it's basically a big cocktease to entice you to buy a dozen other DC books coming out this summer/fall, including Final Crisis. It's only 50 cents, but I was expecting something on the order of Countdown to Infinite Crisis. What the heck--the Final Crisis Legion book looks superb, with a terrific 2-page spread by George Perez. Batman RIP is previewed by Batman watching the Joker play cards and getting creeped out. Morrison's Joker is cool. The Green Lantern preview was pretty obtuse; I am excited but I don't get it. The Spectre thing looks like crap. Wonder Woman has no big reveal either.
I get to the last page and yawn...then I read this article on CBR. Holy shit, that was in DC Universe #0 and I missed it? Spoilers after the jump...
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