Category Archives: Comics
DC Comics is Going to Try Again With Superman
This can’t be good news for the replacement writers on Superman and Action Comics. But DC has announced a brand new Superman comic – called Man of Steel – that will be written by superstar writer Scott Snyder and drawn by superstar artist Jim Lee. It will come out next year, not so coincidentally alongside a new Superman movie that is also titled Man of Steel.
Look at him break stuff like a pro!
Jim Lee, of course, is one of the most popular comic book artists of the modern day, and one of the big wigs at DC Comics corporate. He was also the artist entrusted with starting the New 52’s flagship Justice League series.
Scott Snyder is currently writing the spectacular and incredibly popular Batman series, and is the mastermind behind both the Court of Owls and the current, highly rated Joker storyline.
So clearly DC Comics is banking hard on this new Superman series.
But that makes me wonder how the new creative teams of the current Superman comics – Action Comics and Superman – must now feel. I mean, jeez, why don’t DC just hang big signs around their neck that their comics won’t matter in the wake of Man of Steel? I can’t imagine that the Superman comics are doing so well that Superman could support three ongoing series. Batman is doing it, but just barely. And Superman is not as popular as Batman.
DC has actually had a bit of trouble with Superman in the New 52. Grant Morrison has been writing a pretty popular Action Comics, but he’s leaving in the new year, to be replaced by Andy Diggle. Not to talk down on Mr. Diggle’s work, but he’s no Grant Morrison. Nobody is Grant Morrison. Though personally, I haven’t been a big fan of Morrison’s Action Comics. Considering it was supposed to be the main Superman title in the new reboot, Morrison went really insane really fast, which I thought was disruptive in the context of a reboot.
And then Superman the series has had four different writers in just one year, with Scott Lobdell taking over in September. And readers of my blog will know that I’m no fan of Scott Lobdell’s work on Teen Titans – though I am sort of enjoying his work on Red Hood and the Outlaws. But Scott Lobdell is no Scott Snyder or Grant Morrison or anybody else. Not to be mean, but he’s not an A-list talent in the comic book world. After losing George Perez – who was very vocal about why he left Superman – and Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens, it seems like DC just looked around their office for someone who wasn’t mad at DC Comics and just threw Lobdell into the slot.
So clearly Superman has been floundering in the New 52, whereas characters like Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman have exploded out of the gate. This new Man of Steel comic may turn things around and give us some quality Superman stories…but why not put Snyder and Lee on one of the existing Superman books? Why try to support 3 identical Superman comics?
Though I definitely think I’ll be buying Man of Steel when it comes out. Snyder and Lee are great!
Review: Uncanny Avengers #1
One thing is pretty clear after reading the first issue of the new Uncanny Avengers: Marvel foolishly seems to think Captain America was the hero of Avengers vs. X-Men. Were they reading the same comic I was? Because I’m fairly certain Cyclops was right all along, and it was Captain America who caused all the problems in the first place. But as I said in my review of Avengers vs. X-Men #12, history is written by the winners. And sure enough, Captain America won the big superhero fight. So he gets to decide how the world of superheroes moves forward, and he and all his buddies get to vilify Cyclops like it was their favorite new hobby.
Uncanny Avengers #1
I wonder if the ending to AvX has anything to do with Captain America leading Marvel’s $1 billion Avengers movie franchise, and the X-Men being owned by a whole different studio?
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good.
I’ll try to tone down my Cyclops love for this review, because it was a good comic. In the sense that it told a straight forward story, set up several main characters and seems to promise a lot of character-based drama in the issues to come. But I’m not blown away by the new series, and there’s nothing in here that’s truly revolutionary or exciting. It’s kind of just…a superhero comic. One that may be a little too closely tied to Avengers vs. X-Men to stand on its own. Both Cyclops and the death of Professor X weigh heavily on this issue, so I don’t know if it’ll be too daunting for new readers who might have been attracted by Marvel NOW!
The choice of villain has been spoiled for a long time, so his appearance wasn’t a surprise. His choice of henchmen, though, leaves a lot to be desired. They sacrificed one of my all-time favorite X-villains for no good reason, then introduced a bunch of new nobodies that literally made me question what the hell I was reading. And not in a good way.
This comic has a lot of potential as Marvel’s new flagship title. I have a lot of faith in writer Rick Remender, and John Cassaday is a very good artist – though I’ve seen him do much better work. He’s definitely not at the top of his game with this issue. Remender and Cassaday lay the groundwork for some hopefully great work coming up. We shall see.
Sneak Peeks at One of the New X-Forces and a Brand New Young Avengers
New York City Comic-Con is upon us, and comic book and pop culture news is going to be coming out hard and fast. I’m going to do my best to keep up with it, so feel free to keep checking back on my blog to see any new articles. You could probably get the same information on other websites, but c’mon, you know you like the atmosphere at Henchman-4-Hire best of all. Tell your friends!
Anyway, this week saw the release of some details about the brand new Young Avengers series and the revamped Uncanny X-Force, both of which are part of the Marvel NOW! campaign. I had a few misgivings about this new Uncanny X-Force, especially because it was announced on the heels of a similar title called Cable and X-Force. There comes a point where Marvel needs to learn that it’s OK to let titles end. You don’t need to slap a new writer and new characters into a title in the vain hope that it’ll keep selling.
Despite the fact that I would kill for a job like that…
My hypocrisy aside, I wasn’t too enthralled at the idea of Sam Humphries’ Uncanny X-Force…until I saw this preview and interview with ComicsAlliance!
Is that…is that a mohawk?
Join me for more details after the jump!
Welp, So Much For My Superior Spider-Man Theory
Oh well. Can’t win them all. Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott appeared at an early morning breakfast on today’s unofficial start to New York City Comic-Con. He told the investors and other big shots about some of the details for Superior Spider-Man, the upcoming relaunch of the wall-crawler.
I’m going to save the spoilers until after the jump, just in case you don’t want to find out. But suffice to say, my theory that Doctor Octopus kills Mary Jane Watson has been debunked – that is, if you believed Bleeding Cool…which I tend to do.
Superior Spider-Man Confirmed and Detailed
With New York City Comic-Con this weekend, Marvel has gone ahead and revealed the new Superior Spider-Man in the pages of USA Today. We all know that Amazing Spider-Man is going to end with the upcoming issue #700, during which a big, epic something is going to happen.
And while that something hasn’t been revealed, we’re now getting our first look at the aftermath.
Superior? What, he thinks he’s better than me?
According to the article at USA Today, the big epic something is going to result in a darker, meaner Spider-Man.
“I’ve always been the omniscient hand that’s been protecting Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and not letting anything too bad happen to him,” he adds. “And now I’ve become this cruel god. There’s something exciting about that, about going, ‘Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha, here is what’s going to happen to you, Spider-Man!’ And it’s drastic and it’s big and it’s exciting and it’s never been done before.”
Slott also said the term “Friendly Neighborhood” is no longer going to apply to Spider-Man.
Artists will include Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli.
This darker Spider-Man is lending a lot more credence to my theory that Doctor Octopus is going to kill Mary Jane Watson!
Along with the new title, Slott said that Spider-Man will get some new powers, and his costume is going to be tweaked a little. The blue will be replaced by black, plus a few other extraneous changes that you can see in this picture.
Look! He’s got little toesy thingys!
So yeah, there is our first introduction to Superior Spider-Man! We may learn more at Comic-Con, and I’ll keep everyone posted as best I can. Though I can’t say I’m excited to see these changes to Spider-Man, my curiosity may be piqued enough to at least buy a few issues.
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