Category Archives: Comics

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.

Read the rest of this entry

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!

Read the rest of this entry

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!

Read the rest of this entry

Marvel to Give Us More Punisher

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve stopped reviewing the Punisher comic by Greg Rucka. I haven’t been enjoying it, and when that big crossover hit with Spider-Man and Daredevil, I wasn’t able to buy the other comics and basically I just haven’t been able to work up any interest whatsoever in continuing. If you highly enjoyed my Punisher reviews, let me know in the comments and I can try and continue.

Otherwise, brace yourself for a second ongoing Punisher series…for some reason.

As if Punisher has never fought the Marvel superheroes before

I guess all those teasers from earlier this week that I thought referred to Ultron War were wrong. It’s just teasing a new Punisher series. Or maybe Marvel is rebooting the current Punisher series. I don’t know, but I assume we’ll find out more soon.

I don’t think Punisher needs more than one series at a time. Back in the 90s, he had four ongoing series because the Punisher was very popular…until all four series crashed and burned, and Punisher became radioactively unpopular for a long while. One Punisher series is all that Marvel needs, as far as I’m concerned. I am not like the current series, but a lot of other people do. So good for them.

But for my money, nothing will ever reach the heights of Garth Ennis’ Punisher ever again. I’m very biased.