Category Archives: Comics
Riding the Nudey Train All the Way to Nudesville to Sell DC Comics
Boobs sell comics. I realize this, I’m not a fool. Big, happy hooters have been at the forefront of superhero comics ever since Wonder Woman put on her first gold-emblazoned bustier. I have no problem with nudity and sex in comics. If it’s tasteful and serves a purpose, it can enhance the story or the character. But the extent to which DC Comics is trying to sell a lot of their female characters by putting them in the buff in their new #1 issues is making me feel leery about the whole line.
And the new Voodoo #1 this week may win the prize for the most exploitative.
Just look at that come-hither claw
Two-thirds of this issue take place in a strip club, where the title character is either on stage taking it off or in a private room giving a lap dance to a very sleazy guy. The fact that the guy is some kind of secret agent and the titular Voodoo is a space alien seems almost secondary. This is a comic about a strip club, and I felt as creeped out reading it as I did the last time I went to a strip club and got to sit next to a big, drunk guy who was not only really enjoying the show, but also had to keep telling me about it. DC Comics spends about as much time introducing us to Voodoo and the plot as it does telling us that there’s a good chance she’ll be naked or nearly naked in every issue!
So clearly all us lonely, geeky, basement-dwelling fan boys should buy Voodoo.
Because boobs.
Further Scarlet Spider Teases
A new teaser image of the Scarlet Spider (or a version of him) was released by Marvel Comics today and it looks pretty cool. You may recall back at the San Diego Comic Con, Marvel released an image of his iconic sweatshirt on fire. I posted it then, excited that Scarlet Spider may return. He’s a clone of Peter Parker, and was a big deal when my brother and I first got into reading Spider-Man comics. Well he’s been dead since the mid-90s, so any hints that he might be coming back are pretty cool.
Check out the imagine and a new costume…though the same iconic blue hoodie.
Apparently he'll be teaming up with Bargain Basement Daredevil
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #2
The spidery world of Miles Morales grows a little bit bigger in this second issue. Some of it is welcome and exciting, and some of it is too much too soon. But once again writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli knock one out of the park in terms of character and storytelling. Miles takes a few big steps in this issue and learns some important life lessons – not to mention spider lessons. That the reader gets to go along for the ride is the real treat.
Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #2
The All-New Ultimate Spider-Man is off to a good start. But I don’t think the characters have yet earned the heavy drama in this issue, at least not Miles’ father.
There will be spoilers!
Once again, decompression is the name of the game. Bendis is taking his time introducing us to new star Miles Morales, and he’s also taking the time to introduce Miles to his new spider-powers. We all saw Miles get bitten by the bug last issue. Now it’s time to see what that means. I do not mind the decompression, especially not from Bendis. He practically introduced the concept to the world of comics with the original Ultimate Spider-Man. He writes great dialogue and really delves into the personality of his characters. Unfortunately, we only get a taste of Bendis’ usual snappy banter in this issue. Too much is given over to a long speech by Miles’ father. It’s a nice speech, but we don’t yet know the character enough for it to matter.
At least the rest of the issue is Miles having a goofy, youthful conversation with his dorky friend Ganke.
The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning
Boy, Wolverine is really going to stick it to Cyclops in the upcoming Regenesis storyline. While Cyclops and his Uncanny X-Men stay behind on Utopia in San Francisco (I think), Wolverine is going to take his team of X-Men back to Westchester to rebuild the old Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Only Wolverine isn’t going to name it after Chuck. He’s got a much better name in mind.
The logo is not as nifty as an 'X'
Take that, Cyclops! Wolverine is going to honor your dead wife while you stay in California having sex with Emma Frost. Take that! I like the change. Professor X is still around, as far as I know, but the X-Men series has been great recently about moving forward and coming up with new ideas. There’s absolutely no reason to name the school after Charles Xavier anymore.
The war between Xavier and Magneto is long over. And for that I’m grateful. I wonder if it will now be replaced by the war between Cyclops and Wolverine!
The school looks pretty badass too.
It's probably going to be a bitch to draw, though.
My 6 Favorite Alternate Versions of Superheroes
This is going to be a very geeky list. We’re talking the height of comic book geekery. Maybe some of your non-geeks will learn something. This will hopefully be a silly list too, celebrating the depths of comic book awesomeness. Is everybody familiar with alternate realities? The idea that somewhere out there in existence is an alternate Earth, with alternate versions of us living alternate lives? Well superhero comics love this concept. There are dozens of alternate realities in comics, hundreds even. It’s a favorite of comic writers and fans to create alternate reality versions of famous superheroes.
Like Calvin and Hobbes as Batman and Robin, for example
Click the jump to read six of my favorites!
Henchman-4-Hire 