Category Archives: Comics
Uncanny Avengers Preview!
Behold a bold new era in comic book covers!
Great, now I gotta turn the comic on its side to read the title
That is the cover for Uncanny Avengers #1 coming out this October. It’s the first issue in the new Marvel NOW! relaunch coming this fall. I wrote about this new thingymabob earlier this week, and I felt it was time to catch everybody up on the specific news that was revealed.
Basically, Marvel is trying out some new directions and stories in the wake of Avengers vs. X-Men. My theory that it looks like the Avengers and X-Men will start blending together looks pretty realistic. The plan is to release a new #1 issue a week for five straight months, kicking off several new comic book series while also just relaunching some classics. First up we have the new Uncanny Avengers by Rick Remender and John Cassaday. You can read more about it here.
Of the series, Marvel guru Tom Brevoort had this to say:
“There are characters who are huge characters, who have been around for decades, and are beloved, that you really haven’t seen interact in a meaningful way with one another. This is a place where a lot of that will get to play out. There are not a lot of stories where Captain America and Havok interact in a meaningful way. So Uncanny Avengers will be a place where that sort of thing can happen.”
I am completely on board with this. I don’t think Havok and Captain America have ever even said ‘hello’ to each other. So I like the mindset behind this relaunch. Try out some new characters together, tell some new stories. I am totally sold!
I also like the new cover. In another interview I read, Marvel has decided that since a lot of people get their comics over the Internet, they don’t need to have the title at the top of the cover, like classic comics. They’re going to experiment a little. I also like this idea. That comic looks neat. Though I still get my comics directly from the comic book store, so hopefully I’ll still be able to find the new comics on the shelves.
Now let’s take a closer look at that big promo image for Marvel NOW! that I ran the other day.
This should be one single superhero team
We’ve got a ton of new costumes, which are always cool. I like Captain America’s new movie-inspired costume. And it looks like Cyclops might be alive at the end of Avengers vs. X-Men after all! Although with a red costume and an ‘X’ on his face instead of his classic horizontal line visor, he might become a bad guy. Or maybe that’s not the normal Cyclops at all. Who knows!? We’ll find out this fall.
Among the other new series we’ll be getting, Captain America, Iron Man and Thor will be getting brand new #1 issues. As will The Avengers, by writer John Hickman, which is said to start somewhere around 18 different characters. It’s going to be a big Avengers book.
There’s also going to be a new X-Men title by Brian Michael Bendis, which will feature the original five X-Men coming to the future/present day and being unhappy in what they find. This sounds like a dumb idea to me. You’ve got Bendis writing the X-Men…and you put him on some crazy time travel story? Why waste that talent?
Anyway, I’ll try to keep everyone abreast of all the other new Marvel titles coming out! So stay tuned!
6 Villains I Want and 6 I Don’t Want in the New Spider-Man Movies
I would not have chosen the Lizard for The Amazing Spider-Man movie reboot. But then I didn’t have the unenviable task of picking a new super-villain to star in the reboot after most of the big names had been used in the three previous films. Who else were the writers supposed to pick? Well I’m glad you asked!
Spider-Man has the second best Rogue’s Gallery in all of comics (behind Batman). He’s got smart villains, bruiser villains, small-time crooks and big-time megalomaniacs! So with this new Spider-Man franchise being launched, who would I choose for the upcoming sequels?
It’s kind of obvious
OK, so I’d pick Venom. And probably even Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. What can I say, they’re some of the best, coolest and most cinematic of Spider-Man’s villains. And I wouldn’t bat an eye if the new franchise wanted to use them. But you and I both know that Spider-Man has many, many more foes to choose from. So being the comic book geek that I am, I’ve put together a list of the 6 villains I want to see in future movies, and 6 that I don’t. Not all of Spidey’s bad guys are made for the big screen.
Something Big is Happening at Marvel Comics
The Marvel Comics Universe that we all know and love…isn’t going anywhere. There isn’t doing to be a big, DC-style reboot. But hints and rumors over the past few months seem to at least be pointing towards a fresh coat of paint. Some of Marvel’s most popular writers and artists are going to be switching to different books, many of which are probably going to get shiny, new #1 issues. The rumors also point towards new teams, new lineups and new motivations for our favorite characters.
You know, like the last dozen or so times they’ve done such a thing
The characters aren’t going to be rebooted wholesale – like DC Comics did in 2011 – but it seems that Marvel is at least relaunching their line in a new direction. Possibly called ‘Marvel Now’.
More information is expected to be released at the San Diego Comic-Con next week. But I want to do a little speculating before we know for sure, because I have a theory about what’s going to happen, and I’d like to see if I’m right. Plus I’d like to hear what some of you guys think about the possible changes before we’re actually drowning in those very change. Right now everything is just rumor and speculation. All of which you can read about after the jump!
The Dark Secret of Before Watchmen
The controversy surrounding DC Comics’ Before Watchmen prequels is heating up, and it looks like original writer Alan Moore himself is finally going to do something about it! Be careful, I’ve always suspected him of being a dark wizard.
Brought to us by the Cult of Smack.
Also, for anyone interested, I bought Nite-Owl #1 but haven’t read it yet. I also plan on reading Rorschach #1, and I may even review Rorschach. I’ll definitely let you guys know what I think!
Review: Teen Titans #10
Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. I’ve been demanding an issue like this since the very beginning of the new Teen Titans series. And now that I have it, the issue doesn’t live up to its potential. After finally ending the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. story arc, the Teen Titans get a chance to kick up their feet, relax and interact with one another on a personal level. They finally get some down time, and writer Scott Lobdell tries his darndest to write an issue where the characters act like real people first and superheroes second. But considering how wobbly and breakneck the series has been up to this point, he just can’t pull it off.
Teen Titans #10
This reads like a case of a 40-something white guy whose spent his career writing superhero comics trying to write teenagers being teenagers. The fact that they’re dressed in colorful costumes and hanging out on an island filled with dinosaurs doesn’t help.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
The biggest problem with this issue is that I just don’t care about the characters as people yet. They’ve been glued to their superhero identities for the entire series so far, attached at the hip to that ridiculous N.O.W.H.E.R.E. storyline. Now that they’re almost free of it and trying to be normal, it just doesn’t feel natural. Lobdell gives it the old college try, and for that it’s not a bad issue, but the emotional resonance that’s supposed to be behind all these scenes just isn’t there. When Kid Flash and Solstice share an adorable moment together, I was wondering when Kid Flash and Solstice were ever an item? When Superboy hugs the Titans like old friends, I asked myself when did that happen? When one character appears to die in the end, I just couldn’t care. The Titans on the page sure looked all broken up, but the series hasn’t spent enough time with these characters to make me care about them as characters.
So I guess this issue is just going to have to be a step in the right direction. Give me more like this, and maybe I’ll start caring. Though for the first time, the art of Brett Booth doesn’t work for me. His style has been a great fit for this series, but his colorful flashiness robs some of the down-to-Earth nature of some of the scenes.
Perhaps I’m just a big old curmudgeon, unhappy even when Teen Titans tries to give me exactly what I asked for. Oh well. Synopsis and more after the jump!
Henchman-4-Hire