Category Archives: Punisher
Marvel Has Got a Mega-Load of New Comics Coming!
I’ve only mentioned All-New X-Factor and New Warriors so far, because I’m a big X-Factor and Scarlet Spider fan. But at New York Comic-Con, Marvel has announced a whole pile of brand new comics they’ll be putting out in the next couple of months! If I was more on the ball – and not playing the new Pokemon X – I would have already posted about all of them. Instead, I decided to just bunch’em all up on our Monday. Sounds like a fun way to start the week to me. A lot of these sound pretty amazing. And of course they’re coming out just when I told myself I was going to lighten my weekly comic book budget.
Silver Surfer
By Dan Slott and Mike Allred
Dan Slott is apparently a huge Silver Surfer fan, and even though she’s been spear-heading Spider-Man for years, he’s now snatched up the Sentinel of the Spaceways. I can definitely identify with someone falling in love with Silver Surfer as a kid, so this might be the perfect time for me to jump back onto the Surfer bandwagon. Mike Allred will be freed up when FF comes to an end soon (dies a little inside), and I think he might be perfect for the Surfer. Apparently Slott’s plot involves Surfer getting a young, female companion and going on adventures. So basically it’s going to be Silver Surfer by way of Doctor Who, which sounds amazing.
Check out an interview with Slott here.
Iron Patriot
By Ales Kot and Garry Brown
In another example of comics following movies, it seems that War Machine is changing to Iron Patriot for reals. I guess he’s been Iron Patriot for a few months now in the pages of Secret Avengers, but now he’s going to get his own solo series. Marvel has tried to publish a War Machine comic several times in the past, so maybe they’ll have some luck with this new coat of paint. According to some interviews, it’s going to be a heavily political book – I think.
Check out an article about the series here.
All-New Ghost Rider
By Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore
Speaking of characters getting multiple comic attempts, there’s going to be a new Ghost Rider! I’m fairly certain the last new Ghost Rider was around only earlier this year, and it was a woman. But that didn’t sell. This time, Smith is creating a new young man named Robbie Reyes to be Ghost Rider. And apparently instead of a motorcycle, he’s going to have a car. That sounds good to me. I’ve always thought Ghost Rider could be expanded by turning any vehicle into a flaming chariot of awesomeness. Ghost Rider should be riding around on a flaming segway. Not that I think anything is really going to make a new Ghost Rider series work. But good luck to all involved.
Check out the interview here.
Loki: Agent of Asgard
By Al Ewing and Lee Garbett
Who could have guessed how huge Loki would become, huh? I thought he was alright in Thor, and I was shocked Marvel would use him again so soon as the chief villain in The Avengers, but casting Tom Hiddleston as Loki was apparently as big a stroke of genius as casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark! So it’s no wonder Marvel wants to capitalize on that sexiness as much as possible. So goodbye, Kid Loki! Say hello to Sexy Loki! Ewing and Marvel are going to turn the God of Mischief into a gorram secret agent. I actually kind of love this idea. It’s a neat use of Loki, and could have some real mileage behind it if people actually buy the book.
And again, I found an interview about the series here.
Black Widow
By Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto
Speaking of The Avengers, also spinning out of that film is a new solo series for Black Widow. I really want this one to succeed. Marvel needs a strong female presence, and Black Widow is really their only major female character who isn’t a derivative of a male hero and who isn’t better known as a member of a team. So seeing Black Widow succeed would be nice. Edmondson says the series is going to be a hardcore spy comic, which definitely works for the character, but didn’t really work for Winter Soldier post-Brubaker. So who knows how this one will do.
Interview can be found here.
Elektra
By Zeb Wells and Mike Del Mundo
Elektra has had a few solo series in the past, and for good reason. She’s a badass ninja assassin, and sexy to boot. She’s as solid an idea for a female protagonist as any. According to the creators, she’s going to be on a mission to take out a league of assassins, while taking some ‘me’ time and not worrying about Daredevil. But I’m pretty sure Elektra hasn’t been linked to Daredevil in years, right?
Did somebody say interview? Check it out here.
Punisher
By Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads
Where did this Edmondson guy come from? He’s doing Black Widow and Punisher? Sounds like a dream job. But he’s not Garth Ennis, so already he’s at a disadvantage as far as I’m concerned. He’s also not a big name writer like Greg Rucka. So this seems like a basic, straight forward Punisher series written by a new up-and-coming writer. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere. The story will involve Punisher heading to LA to take out some big time criminal, while also dealing with a government group set on taking him down. Could be…something, I suppose.
More information can be found right about here.
Avengers World
By Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer and Stefano Caselli
This comic is just an expansion/continuation of Hickman’s Avengers, which I’m lukewarm about. I mostly just wanted to post that stunning picture.
Interview, they have one here!
I’m sure I’m missing one or two comics, but Marvel announced so many! I would have posted some new DC titles, but there weren’t too many notable announcements. I think they’re going to give us a weekly Batman series because DC doesn’t think they put out enough Batman. What do you guys and gals think of these new titles? Anything float your particular boats? I’ll definitely be picking up Silver Surfer, Avengers World and Black Widow, and maybe even Iron Patriot and Loki: Agent of Asgard, depending on my mood on those particular days.
Still, sounds like it was an awesome Comic-Con!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/28/13
Surprise, surprise, Villains Month isn’t half bad this week! Again, I’m not reading everything, but the few villainous issues I did pick up were actually pretty good. I especially liked the Man-Bat and Ocean Master issues, though Sinestro’s comic was really just a big character recap. So again, Villains Month is a mixed bag of different comic book styles, some of which work, and some of which don’t.
Meanwhile, it feels like forever since Forever Evil #1 came out. Say what you will about Event Comics, but Marvel clearly has a great idea when it comes to publishing them. Both Infinity and Battle of the Atom have had a new chapter every week since they started, and that makes the stories much, much better than having to wait a whole month to find out what the heck is going to happen in Forever Evil.
As such, the new chapter of Battle of the Atom wins Comic Book of the Week hands down. Jason Aaron takes over the story with Wolverine and the X-Men #36, and I think it was the best issue of the crossover to date! So many exciting things happen, with just as many great character moments.
Yes, Deadpool, tell us the future! I want to see Goldballs with a long, storied X-Men career.
Comic Reviews: Avengers #20, Man-Bat #1, Ocean Master #1, Sinestro #1, Trial of the Punisher #1, and Wolverine and the X-Men #36.
My Top 6 Greatest Comic Books of All Time
I love comic books because, deep down, I wish I was a hero with incredible powers. I wish I could fly around the world. I wish I was more powerful than a speeding locomotive. I wish I could turn invisible and mess with people on the street. I love reading comic books because they are a uniquely perfect way to tell a story, combining prose and pictures into one fun-to-read package. And comics have a creative freedom unmatched by almost any other medium. Movies and TV shows are hampered by budgets, technology, running time and so much more. With comics, the heroes can travel all around the world or into space without awkward green screens of fake-looking CGI. The visual imagination of comics is hampered only by the strain on an artist’s wrist. Comics can do anything, go anywhere and be anyone.
Though they’re mostly about men dressing up in animal costumes
I’ve had a draft of this List of Six waiting in my queue for more than a year now. I’ve been picking at it, rearranging it, deciding what should go where, but I’m dying to share this list with you. I’m always talking about comics, so what are the best comic book stories/series I have ever read? Keep in mind: this is my personal list. This isn’t just the best comic books of all time. This list isn’t going to have Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns on it. I’ve read those comics, and I like those comics, but they aren’t among the best comics I have ever read. No sir. And that probably has a lot to do with my comic book upbringing.
When I was a kid, I read everything from my dad’s comic collection that he left lying around, which were mostly a small smattering of Marvel superhero comics from the 60s. I didn’t get into comics on my own until the mid-90s, when my brother and I started with Spider-Man in the middle of the Clone Saga…which explains why he and I both love the Clone Saga…and my undying love of Phil Urich. We eventually moved on to the X-Men, but it wasn’t until Batman: Hush and Infinite Crisis that I finally started reading DC Comics on a regular basis. Because of this timeline, I wasn’t around in the 80s for Watchmen to blow my mind. I wasn’t around in the 60s for Spider-Man and Superman to define my world. In fact, almost everything on this list comes from the past 20 years or so, when I really got into comics.
Here are my personal Top 6 Greatest Comic Books of All Time. I would recommend any of these to anyone, comic fans or not.
Animated Punisher Fan Film Makes My Day
The Internet does it again and randomly delivers a fan-animated adaptation of Garth Ennis’ Do Not Fall in New York City.
Apparently this came out a few months ago, but I haven’t heard about it until now. Ain’t that how it always is? The film is a brilliant piece of Ennis brutality. It could have used some music, but otherwise it’s quite moody, and perfectly Punisher. See Hollywood, it’s not hard at all to get the Punisher right. This was made by animator Luis Pelayo Junquera.
Marvel Plays Musical Chairs with New Thunderbolts
What’s in a name?
If you’re putting together a new superhero team, do you come up with a brand new, original name? Or do you just give them the name of an already existing team in the hopes that it will increase sales? Even though the new team has absolutely nothing to do with the old team?
That’s what Marvel seems to be doing with the new Thunderbolts in Marvel NOW!
Let’s base a superhero team around the colors red and black!
You’ve got Red Hulk, Deadpool, Elekta, Venom and the Punisher (for some reason) on a team together, and are going to call themselves the Thunderbolts. I don’t know about you, but it looks to me like Marvel just threw a bunch of violent character names into a hat and picked out a couple at random. This thing is almost destined to fail, and not just because they’re stealing a name. Potentially, these characters as solo heroes sell pretty well. But they have no business being on a team together. The Punisher is definitely not a team player. Deadpool makes no sense on a team like this. And Elektra is a hired assassin, not a superhero. I’m starting to think that the black/red color scheme is the sole reason why these people are together. And where’s Ghost Rider? Was his name not picked?
Orange is kind of like red
Don’t get me wrong, the concept of this team could have potential. If you didn’t know, the Red Hulk is actually General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross…so I guess that’s why they’re going to use that name…He’s that old army guy who is always chasing the Incredible Hulk, and was in both Hulk movies. A few years ago, they turned him into a Hulk himself, and he’s been a superhero ever since, even an Avenger. Well I kind of like the idea that Red Hulk breaks away from the Avengers to put together his own superhero team to do things his way, especially if they lean heavily on the fact that he’s a retired general, with a lot of military experience.
Punisher is a former Marine and Venom is an Army veteran, so that works. But still, this does not seem like a team that Ross would put together, no matter what writer Daniel Way said in this interview. It just screams of Marvel’s marketing department.
I’ve never particularly enjoyed Way’s comics. I read some of his Wolverine back in the day, and his Deadpool, but I eventually just stopped liking what he was doing with Deadpool and dropped the book. Way was also the longtime writer of Wolverine: Origins, one of the most universally disliked comics of all time. That was the series that tried to insist that Wolverine’s entire life was all part of some vast conspiracy orchestrated by a guy named Romulus, who was basically just ‘uber-Wolverine’. You will likely never find a character more hated than Romulus, yet Marvel keeps trying to make him work for some ridiculous reason. He’s almost as hated as Red Hulk was when he first debuted.
Joining Way on art will be his Wolverine: Origins collaborator Steve Dillon, another creator whose work I just don’t like. Dillon has this stiff artistic style, where all of his characters look like they have this long, wooden face. I just don’t like it.
I just don’t like his art, so sue me
So two creators that I don’t like and who can’t sell comics based on their names alone; that’s two strikes against this series. The third? Stealing the name Thunderbolts. The comic world is not kind when Marvel tries to misuse the Thunderbolts name.
Debuting in the 90s, the Thunderbolts were a new superhero team where the concept was that they were secretly super-villains posing as superheroes. It was fairly popular…until Marvel decided to just completely revamp the series and make it about an underground super-villain fight club. Marvel completely threw out the old idea and brought in new characters and concepts for this fight club nonsense. Everybody hated it.
Worst. Revamp. Ever.
The title was mercifully cancelled after less than 10 issues.
A few years later, Marvel brought back the classic Thunderbolts, and again the series thrived. It’s been an ongoing publication ever since, using the concept of villains posing as heroes. They’ve had a few roster changes over the years, while keeping a core group of the same characters at its heart.
But then most recently, Marvel decided to change the title from ‘Thunderbolts’ to ‘Dark Avengers’, because as we saw yesterday, Marvel will slap the brand name ‘Avengers’ on anything if it’ll possibly sell more comics. So the team that has been known as the Thunderbolts is now known as the Dark Avengers…which, in theory, frees up the name Thunderbolts. And now we see that Marvel is just going to take that name and slap it on a new comic that has absolutely nothing to do with the classic Thunderbolts team and concept.
Because that worked so well when they tried it with the fight club. At least that black/red thing looks pretty cool on the cover.
Henchman-4-Hire 