April 23, 2008
Countdown and Kiss Away $156!
Countdown #1 is the last issue, and I will spoil it for you: nothing much happens! This whole series seemed to be an exercise in how not to write a comic book. Weak characterization, weak plot, stupid events...it seemed little more than an advertisement for events happening in other DC Comics--like "Death of the New Gods". There's no expansion on Darkseid's supposed death from Countdown #2...even though we know he's coming back as the main villian in Final Crisis.
It makes 52 look like a masterpiece. I didn't care for 52 that much at the time, but it had a lot of nice things going for it. Black Adam's character arc was incredible, Doc Magnus shooting the Metal Men from a gun was a touch of Morrison genius, and the ending redeemed both Booster Gold and DC's concept of multiverses being a pretty cool thing.
At the end of Countdown, what happens? Jason Todd is still a murderous jerk...I thought they were going to redeem this little creep? Kyle Rayner--I have no idea what is doing in this series at all. He has a pretty important job in Green Lantern Corps already. And I can't forgive the DC idiots for spoiling Green Lantern's Sinestro Corps War storyline by having Kyle show up before that arc was over--leaving us completely with no suspense about Kyle's fate in Green Lantern. Ray Palmer--the Atom--seems like a pussy, running away to other multiverses when the heat was turned up on Earth-1. Donna Troy--love this character but this ain't the series to showcase her talent. Doesn't it make Donna look dumb to be attracted to super-creepy Jason Todd? Ew.
I can't imagine anyone but a DC completist buying the entire run of Countdown. 52 issues X $3 is equal to $156. Man, for that amount of money, people can buy another entertainment product with solid value. Such as Rock Band ($147 for XBox 360), or a regular edition Sony PSP ($169, but not that far off), Nintendo DS ($130), or a iPod 4GB Nano ($140). Sheesh...and they wonder why no one is reading comics anymore.
Posted by Kid Flash at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)1970's Luke Cage: So Sweet, it's Christmas!
Back in the ancient days, I remember when Luke Cage: Hero for Hire premiered to great fanfare. That was the time when films like Shaft and Superfly (which I could not see as they were rated R) were popular. I loved this house ad drawing by John Romita that Stan Lee highlighted in his soapbox.
I really dig the fact that the 1970s version of Luke Cage came out of that Skrull spaceship in Secret Invasion #1. I'm halfway hoping that this is the real deal and the Luke that married Jessica is the Skrull. I know that is impossible...but I can't stop fantasizing. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)April 22, 2008
Superman 675: Awesome cover
The cover to Superman 675 is simply one of the best Alex Ross paintings I've ever seen. DC Comics should consider making a poster out of this.
Too bad the story inside is so unappealing. I loved Kurt Busiek's Superman Secret Identity, but I've never gotten into his regular Superman run at all. Reading this story leaves me cold. I'm not looking forward to Trinity in the least. Countdown #1 comes out tomorrow--that's been awful too, but let's see if the last issue redeems it.
Posted by Kid Flash at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)March 28, 2007
Farewell Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers died last weekend at the age of 57. A terrible loss for the comics world and he passed away at a very young age. I was pleased to see that newspapers covered the story and reported the details about Rogers' longtime collaborations with Steve Englehart. It can't be overstated what an impact these two made on Batman in 1977. The character had slip-sided into mainstream superhero tales after Neal Adams had ended his historic run. The Joker had become a pathetic cartoon of a villain, and most of us had never heard of Hugo Strange. Englehart's story brought Batman back as a creature of the night and Rogers was the perfect artist to render these tales. It seemed like a very intimate collaboration--but we (comics fandom) discovered only at the very end of their short Detective Comics run that Rogers had never met Englehart. Englehart had written scripts, sent them to DC, and taken off on a long European vacation. He never saw the finished pages until he came back to the United States.
I had seen Marshall Rogers artwork a few months earlier, in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32-33. These issues contained the two-part "Daughters of the Dragon" story by Rogers and Chris Claremont. I immediately sat up and took notice of Rogers' unique and dynamic storytelling. Panels were broken up and laid out in unconventional ways. Sounds effects and typography were used very dynamically, too, much like Walt Simonson. The story was pretty damn cinematic as well, with Colleen Wing and Misty Knight spinning out of Iron Fist's supporting cast and into an Asian adventure. The story had scenes that were more risque than usual, as in the top sequence when Misty and Colleen's clothes are shredded during a fight and the pair run frantically to a police station. This was the era when Claremont was a superstar, making everything sparkle from Starlord to Iron Fist to the X-Men.
As great as his Batman work was, I thought Marshall Rogers did a superior job on his brief Mister Miracle three issue run. Mister Miracle's costume, gadgets, supporting cast (especially Big Barda), and villains all seemed perfectly tuned to Rogers' unique style. I kept wanting to see Rogers (and Englehart) return to Mister Miracle and give this character the treatment he deserves.
There's so much great work that Rogers did in his career, and I can't list them all here. Probably like many old time fans, after Rogers' ended his 1970s DC work, I kept waiting and waiting to see what he would do next. He did some independent work with Englehart that I loved, especially the graphic novel I Am Coyote. To appreciate this novel you have to read it during the summer in your youth under a haze of MJ. He returned to mainstream comics in 1981 to work with Roger Stern on Doctor Strange #48-53. I was thrilled to see Roger's work on the cover of 48, showing the good Doctor under attack by Brother Voodoo. Clea's butt-facing to the viewer didn't hurt at all. Rogers' short run on this series became a perfect graphic novel adventure, with the conclusion changing Doc's life forever--Clea walked out on him.
When Clea left Doctor Strange in issue 53, so did Marshall Rogers. I kept expecting him to return. Those were the days without websites! The next two issues had fill-ins by Paul Smith and Michael Golden--no slouches--but Rogers never came back. He must have known to get off the stage and leave them wanting more. I kept looking and looking for more Rogers work, and maybe during that time he did Foozle or Scorpio Rose or various one-shots. In the late 1980s, Rogers joined Englehart again, taking the Silver Surfer to new heights by finally getting him freed from Earth to soar the cosmos. The first issue in particular was spectacular: the Surfer escaped Earth, confronted Galactus, and saved Nova (the big G's new herald). It kicked off the Silver Surfer's longest running series to date, spanning over 100 issues, though Rogers left with issue 12.
I never stopped wondering when I would see another comic by Marshall Rogers, but now I'll have to be comforted by his past work. He was a unique artist. He will be missed. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)January 12, 2007
1970s-era Marvel House Ads
I was flipping through my back issue collection and fell in love with those wacky Marvel Bullpen Bulletin pages from the 1970s. Back during the time when Marvel was expanding their monthly lineup of titles, each ad seemed to make them the most important landmarks in illustrative fiction. Here are a few of my favorites...
Avengers vs Defenders: the first cross-over event! The Silver Surfer and the Vision were two of my favorite characters--it was cool to see them fight. Somehow seeing Wanda looking fearful at the Vision just increased the anxiety.
Brother Voodoo. Despite the name, I never figured out why this character never took off. He was ultra cool and had an origin just like Dr. Strange. Plus, he got to hang around with half naked voodoo priestesses.
Ka-Zar and Man-Thing. Why are these two paired together? Because Man-Thing appeared in Ka-Zar's old title, Astonishing Tales? They had one thing in common--each series was cancelled after 20-odd issues.
Planet of the Apes. Probably my favorite Marvel black and white magazine, especially the early issues featuring Mike Ploog's artwork (I'll have to make an entry on that one real soon). I was a big fan of all the Apes films and the short-lived CBS tv show. I lusted after the first issue of this magazine and just couldn't wait until I found it on the newsstand. John Romita's drawing promised that the comic would take place after Battle for the Planet of the Apes, which it did, in a way. Nuff said.
January 10, 2007
It the Living Colossus in Nextwave #11?
Nextwave #11 featured an incredible array of double-page spreads, where the team attacks wave after wave of H.A.T.E. agents. There are some pretty good gags in here, like a bunch of Stephen Hawking clones attacking the team from wheelchairs, and a giant Wolverine-ape like thing. The giant creature in the panel above appears to be IT, the Living Colossus! When I saw the wheelchair guy on the next page, instead of Hawking, I first thought it might be Bob O'Bryan, the crippled man who mentally controls the grey giant known as IT!
I knew I had to have IT when I first saw this Marvel advertisement. I'm a sucker for power-transformation fantasies that help sooth my insecurities. What's better than Shazam, Hulk, or Thor? How about turning into a 30-foot living statue that can demolish a skyscraper and fight Fin Fang Foom? Like Thor, the alter ego of the character was crippled--literally in a wheelchair. Bob O'Bryan was an actor who got his legs destroyed by a rival thespian. While he mourns the loss of his career and probably his inability to screw his hot girlfriend, Bob accidentally discovers that he can project his mind into the body of IT!
IT appeared only in four issues of Astonishing Tales (21-24) during 1973-1974. Short stories written by Tony Isabella and artwork by Dick Ayers. I loved Ayers artwork on this title, and surprised by the Wikipedia entry on IT where Isabella is quoted as saying it wasn't the best that Ayers could do. According the Wikipedia, IT was featured in other Marvel books and recently appeared in the Howling Commandos mini-series.
What I loved about IT was the utter simplicity of the premise, and goofy fun that Isabella had with the stories. Take this panel from the Fin Fang Foom (who appeared in Nextwave #1-2) battle, where he inserts a reference to the popular ABC TV show, Kung Fu: "How do you fight a dragon-sized David Carridine?" The sound effect after the karate chop is an affectionate nod to one of my favorite artists, Mike Ploog.
IT disappeared from Astonishing Tales to make way for Deathlok, but I always wondered about the mysteries that Isabella had created. Why could O'Bryan control IT? Why did his body lapse into a coma? Why was there a time limit? If you know, email kidflash {at} photontorpedoes {dot} com. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)January 7, 2007
Alex Ross' Metal Justice Men
I was in the comic shop the other day that was loaded with Alex Ross' action figures from the Justice mini-series. If I wasn't budget-constrained due to holiday spending, I would have picked up some of them--the Zatanna figure with the fishnets was especially sweet.
Justice #9 will give DC another excuse for a brand new line of Ross-designed action figures. The Leaguers have decided to protect themselves against Braniac's mind-altering nanites (based on Mr. Mind's technology) by coating themselves in armor. In some cases, it's the actual Metal Men protecting them, like Lead covering Superman. Iron's a bit disappointed that Wonder Woman has her own armor. I'm betting that Platinum (Tina) covers Black Canary. It's pretty cool how Ross designed each set of armor to reflect the character underneath--for example, the bandage-laced mummy dude has to be Metamorpho, since his origin is tied to Egypt. Aquaman looks formidable in that Creature From the Black Lagoon armor. Batman's armor evokes memories of Batman Beyond.
There's more story and action in Justice #9 than you can find in any three modern comic books. Gorilla Grodd wields a Qwardian power ring. Captain Marvel gets a tremendous amount of action, fighting Black Adam, Captain Marvel Jr, Mary Marvel, and Superman. I can't wait to see the Metal Justice Men in full battle against the Legion of Doom next issue. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)December 11, 2006
Detective Comics 826: Dini's Joker is the Bomb
Detective Comics 826 proves that Grant Morrison has formidable competition with the writing of Paul Dini. We finally get Dini's take on the Joker and Robin as well! Robin is fleeing a gang of gun-wielding thugs and makes the mistake of his life when he jumps into the Joker's car in order to get away. The Joker proceeds to take him on a car ride through Gotham that resembles "Death Race 2000" with David Carradine. There's a great scene where the Joker enters the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant and vents his frustation on the imcompetent employees. Don Kramer captures the maniacal look in the Joker's face perfectly, and I love that Santa hat he's wearing. I think the Joker's coming back in Morrison's book, but how can he top this? Nuff said.
December 6, 2006
DC's New Earth Appears in Flash #6 But No One Cares
Hokey smokes, the Flash has gone from the top of my reading pile to the very bottom, so I only read The Flash #6 just now. The writing is terrible; Bilson and Demeo seemed to get worse with each issue instead of better. There's nothing really written into Bart's character that makes me want to accept him as the Flash. I could go on and on, but this issue does have a surprise at the very end. If you've read Infinite Crisis and Justice League of America #0, you may have noticed hints that there is a new parallel Earth in the DC Universe. From the time I saw it in JLA #0, I always believed we would find Wally West tucked away on this world. Flash #6 proves that is true. Not only are Wally, Linda, and the twins there, but there is an alternate version of Jay Garrick. There's a scene on that Earth set just after Superboy broke out of prison, which looks like it was hooked up to a number of Red Sun generators. Wally passes the ring to Bart and sends him packing back to DCU Earth-1, loaded up with all the Speed Force in the world. Let's hope eventually Wally gets it back. Nuff said.
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)
