So, FOG! is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars today - the film was originally released in theaters on Wednesday May 25th, 1977. All day there will be posts from all the contributors about their personal rememberances of the Trilogy and beyond.
Check out my contribution here!
And, check back in with FOG! later tonight for this week's installment of "The Countdown Rundown"
Questionable "action" figure/doll gives fans 13" of delight . . .
Issue 50
This week started with a strong appearance by the Man of Steel, as he guides Daily Planet reporter/photographer Jimmy Olsen through the back alleys of NYC. Coming to a locked door, Superman uses his heatvision from a low space orbit to melt away the doorhandle and lock! It continues to astound that creators can find new, unique, and interesting ways to use a 70+ year old character's powers and abilities.
After a brief encounter between the Red Hood and Olsen regarding the circumstances of last week's murder of the Joker's Daughter, the story continues covering the beats hit in last week's issue with Mary Marvel's search for her powers and her family (which are, in essence, one and the same) and then more of a look at the party the Rogues are throwing for themselves. Tensions are rising on both of those fronts . . .continued here!
I love this ad campaign - here are three more for Countdown:
Granny Goodness
Eclipso
Red Robin
Luke Cage=Soon to be kicking yo ass, be'yatch!
Oh yeah! Don't forget to head over to FOG! to read my first of a year's worth of weekly columns on the DC comics series Countdown! Read The Countdown Rundown!
Tomorrow DC Comics releases the first issue of their new weekly series, Countdown. As part of my contributor responsibilities to the new and improved FOG!, I will be doing a weekly recap/analysis/investigative report on the series. So get over there on Thursday to catch the first appearance of my new weekly column: The Countdown Rundown!
From Man to Iron Man . . .
The Red & Gold as revealed by Entertainment Weekly and obviously based on Adi Granov artwork/conceptions
Here's a new semi-regular feature - I will showcase someone else's much better and more entertaining blog/website. That way, those of you who read my blog will actually get something entertaining for your time.
The first of these that I want to point you all too is the Comics Should Be Good blog over at Comic Book Resources. A great blog, but the best feature there is Brian Cronin's weekly "Comic Book Urban Legends," where Cronin debunks or confirms famous, interesting, infamous, and downright bizarre comic book industry lore and rumor.
This week the feature is celebrating its 100th posting, so check out Brian's very first Urban Legend, plus a number of creator-penned legends. Then head back every Friday for more mysterious geekiness revealed as phooey or cold hard fact!
Marvel Comics' NOVA:
Spinning out of the epic (and far better maxi-series than Civil War) Annihilation blockbuster, the new NOVA series stars the original Marvel Nova, Richard Rider. The results of the Annihalation Wave war have left most of the universe in shambles, and planets throughout the universe are still calling for Nova Corps assistance.
Problem is, Rider is the only Corps member. All grown-up, better at his job then ever, and invested not only with the cumulative powers of the Nova Corp, but also bonded to the Xandian Worldmind (the all encompassing historical database of the Corps and the Xandian people), Rider has his plate full.
Great action from writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with explosive artwork from Sean Chen, this series promises to be a sci-fi, space-faring hit. Reminiscent of the classic days of Hal Jordan's Green Lantern Corps days, this is sure to be a winner for any fan of Farscape, Serenity or Battlestar Galactica!
Behold GALACTUS! Laurence Fishburne will voice the gigantic purple world-devouring Kirby Kreation. More Kirby Dots please!
EDIT: FISHBURNE will be voicing the Silver Surfer, not Galactus. Plus that pic's from the Ultimate Alliance videogame, not the movie! My bad . . .
He's going to play the Hulk in the next movie from Marvel Films, but can even Ed Norton do this??
Robert Downey Jr. in the first picture of himself in the Iron Man duds. This is the original suit that Stark constructed, not the later (and better known) red and yellow armor. Very promising . . .
Three preview pages and the cover of the upcoming issue (in stores Wednesday) of the best super-hero comic being published:
Here's a copy of my post from over at
FOG!:
While few details are available at this time, the great comic artist, Marshall Rogers, has passed away. The trained architect turned comics penciller was only 57 years old.
One of the most definitive Batman artists of all time, he is best known for his run on Detective Comics with writer Steve Englehart in the late 1970s. Rogers was also highly-acclaimed for work he did on Mister Miracle, The Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange at Marvel, and most recently, new work with Englehart in the Batman universe with their sequel to their classic 70s run called Dark Detective.
from Heidi MacDonald's great site, The Beat!, here's a quote from 300 director Zach Snyder about the eventual DVD release of his latest masterpiece:
He said there would be some bonus footage on the 300 DVD: “It’s my cut, there is no director’s cut. But there was a sequence we cut out with these giant albino giants that had elfs riding on their backs. When I saw I said that’s too much. Even for me it’s too much! Vince Regan cuts the leg off one of the giants. Someone stabs the midget elf who is on the ground in an elf hat.”
The Forces of Good are back. Or should I say IS back! The website, which I wrote a few articles for a few years ago, is about to relaunch and creator/mastermind/evil emperor of the site, Stefan Blitz, has started up the FOG! blog again to prepare the masses for the eventual onslaught of the full site.
I will be contributing in some way to both entities and have posted my first entry over at the blog.
Go West , Young Man to read of it!
I continue to tweak as I try to teach myself the art of blog-design. Without help of books or a manual. Just tinkering and tinkering until something fits. Tonight I got the posts to move over to the left of the screen.
Also, I will now have the latest episode of PulpSecret broadcasting to the right. Comic Cover Crazy is below that for now until I can figure out how to stucture the layout that I actually want this page to have.
Stay tuned.
And watch PulpSecret before you leave - great new show if a little bit short in time and on content. The heart of the show is in the right place and hopefully future episodes will improve the amount and depth of content.
Why isn't this on DVD?? Maybe I will start a petition.
While spinning through the halls of Amazon today, I came across this gem!
Man, I liked that movie. And Wolfen too. Albert Finney owns my soul.
That would be a good name for my next record. From my fictional band.
following along . . . Sleestak via Beaucoup Kevin!
Keepin' the meme ALIVE!
here is a quote from one of my favorite writers on one of my other favorite writers (Cormac McCarthy):
Fundamentally it marks not a departure but a return to McCarthy’s most brilliant genre work, combined in a manner we have not seen since Blood Meridian: adventure and Gothic horror. That book is usually viewed not only as McCarthy’s greatest–a view I passionately share–but as representing a kind of fulcrum [in his career] . . . There are strong echoes of the Jack London—style adventure [and] Robinson Crusoe [in The Road] . . . For naturalism operating at the utmost extremes of the natural world and of human endurance a McCarthy novel has no peer. . . McCarthy has to be accounted as a secret master and the rightful heir to the American Gothic tradition of Poe and Lovecraft . . . I think ultimately it is as a lyrical epic of horror that The Road is best understood . . . The father is visited as poignantly and dreadfully as Odysseus or Aeneas by ghosts . . . Replete both with bleak violence and acute suspense, [this is] a layered, tightly constructed narrative that partakes of the epic virtue it attempts to abnegate . . . What emerges most powerfully as one reads The Road is not a prognosticatory or satirical warning about the future, or a timeless parable of a father’s devotion to his son, or yet another McCarthyesque examination of the violent underpinnings of all social intercourse and the indifference of the cosmic jaw to the bloody morsel of humanity . . . It is a testament to the abyss of a parent’s greatest fears . . . It is in the audacity and single-mindedness with which The Road extends the metaphor of a father’s guilt and heartbreak over abandoning his son to shift for himself in a ruined, friendless world that The Road finds its great power to move and horrify the reader.
As ToyFair kicks off in NYC this week, I will probably feature a few of the thousands of things that catch my eye. First up these DC Direct action figures based on the artwork for DC's first direct-to-DVD movie: Superman vs. Doomsday!!
If this is a true rendition of the artwork from the film, I think we have a lot to look forward to. It's sort of a cross between the Bruce Timm-Justice League Unlimited/Batman style and a more modern, action cartoon look akin to the recent Marvel direct films like the Ultimate Avengers and Iron Man.
Here we have Doomsday himself and a group shot. Hell, even the mullet-sporting, lame-O "Sun Suit" Superman looks decent!
Nice little docu-trailer for Spider-man 3 posted over at the always informative Blog@Newsarama - check it out!
Visit this site, click enter>trailers>choose the lower of the two (the one with the miniature eyeball man in the soup bowl!) and watch the madness!
Here's a description of Gegege no Kitaro from Jay Stephens' killer Monsterama blog:
Check out the two wicked trailers on the official Gegege no Kitarô site. The screenplay was written by Daisuke Habara, based on the super-awesome manga by Shigeru Mizuki, and it's directed by Katsuhide Motoki (Free & Easy series, Drugstore Girl). For those of you who need to catch up, Kitaro is a young half-yokai (goblin/spectre/monster) who lost his parents at birth. His father's soul lives in one of his eyeballs. Raised within the yokai clan, Kitaro keeps tabs on human society, and fights evil yokai monsters-- protecting virtuous human beings from these threats from the other world. For some reason, the filmakers have invented a human love interest for Kitaro. A high school girl named Mika is rescued by the uncanny Kitaro and gradually falls for him. Her character has been created specially for the film, although Kitaro did have a human girlfriend by the name of Yumeko-chan in the third animated TV series broadcast on the Fuji network from 1985 to 1988. Not that I'm complaining!
A poster I did for an upcoming show featuring 75orless Records bands in Providence, RI. Be there . . .
I was always a big fan of the little box at the top left of Marvel Comics that had the issue title and on team books little heads of the roster or some other little drawing. DC in the 80s did a similar thing with non-Direct Market books where they had a slogan (like "Who Watches the Watchmen?" or "DCUniverse is Must Reading") in the ISBN box. In recent years, both of those things have faded away into the realm of nostalgia.
While reading this weeks New Joe Fridays Q&A over at Newsarama I came across this:
Q: “ThomHunt”- Any chance we'll ever see the return of the cover corner boxes on Marvel Comics covers?
You remember, the ones that generally depicted a team book's roster or a solo star in some action pose? They are such a rich part of Marvel's history and a truly unique identifier of the "Marvel brand"; I always thought it such a shame when they went away a few years back. What was the reason for their demise? Maybe put it to a fan vote as to whether they should return?
JQ: Of course I remember them, ThomHunt, I dug them too and during my six years we’ve tried to bring them back in several ways. Many years ago, we used a neat little circle window that had the character in the box. Eventually, artistic aesthetics changed and we stopped using them. Most recently we’re using a version of the character box on our X-Men titles.
So, I guess the short answer is that I dig them and I’m sure they’ll keep coming back from time to time but I think the reason you don’t see people artistically going bananas over them is because it’s something that resonates mostly with people in our age group who grew up with it. There is an argument that covers are busy enough and now that comic shops don’t rack their books like the newsstands, it’s not that important. That was the only reason those icons were up there in the first place, so that as the book was racked, you could see the logo but also get an action shot of the hero hopefully enticing you to pull the book out and see what the art on the cover was. Any attempts at doing that now are just warm and cuddly retro moments for we older fans.
Stay tuned for more changes to the look of the Thunderhouse as I get more in depth with the programming.
Here is an early and probably unsanctioned look at what Venom will look like in Spider-man 3! This is the action figure from Medicom Toys of Japan that will be coming out in conjunction with the movie. These 12", 1/6 scale figures - the series of them is known as R.A.H. (Real Action Heroes) is well known to collectors as being highly accurate renditions of movie, cartoon, comic and tv characters. I own a number of them, direct from Japan and can attest to their attention to detail and dead-on likenesses. So, this is what Venom will look like in this coming summer's sure-to-be biggest blockbuster!
Over at their new blog, the crew from comics retailer, All About Books, in Phoenix have put up an opportunity for people to talk about their first comic bought. You get some free comics in exchange for your story, and just reading them all is a really great reflection on the industry.
Anyway, I have had this story of my first contact with the collecting addiction that I now suffer for many many years, but have never really shared it. It's not embellished at all, and it really is how I remember it.
So, let me share, children of the night, and read on:
I don't actually remember the first comic that I read, since I read quite a few as a kid - mostly in passing, just looking at the pictures and whatnot at friends and in my uncle's old room when we stayed at my grandmother's house on holidays growing up.
But the first book that made me a collector was on the racks sometime in 1986. I was around 13 or so, at the mall on a Friday night with a bunch of friends. One of our parents had dropped us off and between hanging at the arcade, sneaking into and getting kicked out of movies, and cruising the foodcourt to meet girls (Yeah, like that was going to happen!), we passed an old Waldenbooks. From out on the concourse I could see this really distinct book on a spinner rack near the magazines. We walked by pretty fast, but I couldn't turn my eyes away. I told my friends I saw something and that I would catch up with them at Orange Julius'.
I broke off from the group and made a b-line for the book. It was The Dark Knight Returns, book 4 -- The Dark Knight Falls. It was that sick, mostly black and sunset reds/oranges cover. Batman in silhouette with the big gun and spike-knuckled knife just about to get into it with Superman! It was so striking. I clearly remember thinking "Man! This is what comics are like now! I have to get this!" It was just an incredible cover and had such an immediate effect on me.
I started to reach for it, when suddenly a hand fell on my shoulder. It was one of my friends. He was trying to figure out what I was doing and I made up some excuse about seeing someone I knew. I don't know why but for some reason, I thought comics were just for little kids, but looking at that cover I knew that they weren't (plus I still was a kid!)
Anyway, I never did get the book that night, but I couldn't stop looking at it. The very next week was Thanksgiving and we were off to NY again for a visit to the grandparents. The day after, I begged my dad to bring me and my younger brother to a local 7-11 wannabe store to search out comics. We found a great place and I bought a ton of Batman and Detective comics and even the old History of the DC Universe Portfolio (I still have all of them in my collection.) But I couldn't find that Dark Knight book anywhere. That trip made me an addict, and except for some time in college when I was buying sporadically whenever/wherever I could find them, I haven't missed a Wednesday since. I am now pushing 35 years old.
My dad died 13 years ago this past Sunday. He fed my habit quite a bit those first few years I was collecting, until I got my license. And when I was away in school, he sometimes sent me a book or two, and always put one in my stocking at Christmas. They were usually titles I wasn't collecting, or issues I had, but I always liked those books more. To this day, I can't go to a new comic shop without thinking about him and that first trip he took me and my brother on.
It was about a year later that I finally found a regular comic shop near my home and had educated myself enough from letter columns and ads from places like Mile High Comics that I was able to track down the whole Dark Knight mini. It was worth the wait.
And that cover -- man -- it is still my favorite cover of all time.
three things:
- first week for new comics this year and it is a mama-jama of a week! Tons of stuff, so no time to write, gots to read.
- the Warren Times has an article about my brother's and 2 friends' band Six Star General - they fail to mention the countless laborious hours I put into their show flyers or album covers - thankless suckers!! (just kidding. No really.) Slick's analysis of the article is, as usual, priceless.
- my prediction for 2007 music: Times New Viking will be the shit. I'm in.
These are my lists, without rhyme or reason as to whether they came out this year or not.
ALBUMs:
Maestro Echoplex - Last Night I saw God on the Dance Floor reissue from Catbird Records
A Passing Feeling - Self-titled EP from 75orless Records (Yes, I know I designed the album cover - I said no reason - I can play favorites!)
Mission of Burma - The Oblitarati from ? I don't have it in front of me
Bonus non-album: The Of Montreal live cover show that my friend Slick gave me - much respect.
Most looked forward to in '07: The new Stooges LP featuring Mike Watt on thunderbroom!
BOOKs:
All three Charlie Huston books I read: Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things, and Already Dead!
Robert Polito's Biography of Author Jim Thompson, Savage Art.
Looking forward to in '07: Huston's two newest novels and finally getting around to reading Miller/Eisner.
DVDs/MOVIEs:
Superman Returns - loved it.
Serenity - solid sci-fi for the first time in what feels like ages.
Veronica Mars: Season 1 - still in the midst of it, but if it maintains or gets better I will be very impressed.
and finally, COMICs:
Infinite Crisis by Various, DC - despite having some big flaws, I still thought this was the comic I was the most excited about and satisfied with in years. Outperformed Identity Crisis and had a much better resolution, in my opinion.
ACME Novelty Library 16 by Chris Ware - Again, I just read it late this year, so that it wouldn't be too far removed from getting number 17. Love Rusty Brown; really really really love Chalky White!
Fell by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith, Image - one of two comics in the "done in one" format on the list. Although its been absent for most of the latter half of the year, the first 6 issues deserve all the praise they get. Creepy, disturbing, scary, compelling, but most of all, moving.
Casanova by Matt Faction, and Gabriel Ba, Image - the other short format book that I can't get enough of. Great art, amazing plots, kick-ass dialogue that consistantly breaks the 4th wall without being cheesy in the least.
52 - by Various, DC - simply the most daunting task in comics for the creators and publishers, this weekly series consistently delivers the goods like no other comic on the racks. Great, week in and week out. 35 weeks in and I can't wait for what's to come!
HONORABLE MENTION: Punisher War Journal, Vol. 2 by Matt Faction and Ariel Olivetti, Marvel; and Immortal Iron Fist by Matt Faction (see a trend here?), Ed Brubaker, and David Aja, Marvel; and finally, Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips, Marvel. All of these books had too few issues in '06 to count as best of the year, but all three are already on the short list for best of 2007.
Most looking forward to in comics in '07: The end of Civil War from Marvel out of morbid curiosity. The limited series has been so eractic that it is really hard to follow what is happening from issue to issue without reading the tie-ins, but the series also has a great baseline story and tons of potential. The artwork by Steve McNiven is phenomenal and cannot be beat. So . . . . we'll see what the last two issues have in store.
That's it for me - see you in the odd numbered year to come.
end transmission.
Here is the new FF movie teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer! Awesome - I was really surprised by the comedy and family feel of the first one, and am definitely looking forward to this 2nd installation in what should be Marvel's biggest franchise . . .
and, an image of one of the FF's greatest covers by co-creator/madman mastermind, Jack Kirby:
This last week and a half saw the passing of:
Jack Burnley (artist of the classic Golden Age Starman)
Martin Nodell (co-creator of the original Golden Age Green Lantern)
And finally . . .
Ash speaks about his roles in Spider-man and their importance
Gimme some sugar, baby!
from CBR.com:
PUNISHER 2
Actor Thomas Jane talked to IGN about what can be expected from the sequel. "It's more of a 'Taxi Driver' kind of a feel which I think we'll go for in the second movie," Jane said. "I think that's where the first one succeeded, where we were doing more realistic type stuff. And if we can, [we should] get away from the lighter aspects of the first film. Because I think that's where the movie failed."
I will be posting more later this week, with a look at the latest relaunch of
Justice Society of America, the first two parts of the origin of Jonah Hex and possible an end of the year round-up!
click here for a look at the Fantisticar that will be showing up in the FF sequel, Fantistic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . . . nice.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Garth Ennis' and Steve Dillon's Preacher has been picked up by HBO as a series to be written, directed and co-produced by Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) and Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink) - not a huge fan of Johnson's previous work, but I have confidence in the HBO track record for shows and production values. I always thought Watchmen would work best in such a format, and think this is the best avenue for Preacher - we'll see.
Finally, I have to give props out to Matt Faction this week. The writer has tipped the scales for great comics work in the last two weeks with three of the best books I have read in the last couple of months. First, Faction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova continues to play havoc with the comics medium and the Nick Fury/James Bond superspy genre. Awesome, and at a $1.99 cover price it ranks at No. 1 for value, tied with Ellis's Fell.
Then, Faction hits with the brand new ongoing from Marvel, Punisher War Journal (Vol. 2) - a book that manages to be funny, disturbing, action-packed and the best Civil War tie-in so far all at the same time. So different from the MAX title Marvel produces with Ennis writing the Punisher, but equally as chilling and dead-on in its approach to Frank Castle. Always one of my favorite characters, it was actually the original War Journal (with art by Jim Lee) series and its first few issues that turned me into a Punisher addict.
And last, but by far least, Faction, with co-writer Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Uncanny X-Men, Criminal) and artist David Aja, bring back part of the 70s best dynamic duo, Iron Fist in The Immortal Iron Fist No.1. This comic literally kicked my ass yesterday. Definitely Wednesday's best release (and that's in the same week that Loeb and Darwyn Cooke's Batman/Spirit one shot came out!)
Do yourself a favor and get to your LCS asap for some truly kick-ass comics.
two announcements went out over the wire today:
the sequel to Batman Begins, simply title The Dark Knight, hits theatres on July 18th, 2008. Boo-yah!!
and, Lauren Shuler Donner has confirmed that there will be a sequel to Constantine again starring Keanu Reeves. While I know there were a ton of complaints from purists, mainly that John wasn't English in the movie, overall, I thought it was well done, with an engaging story and one of the better performances of Reeves' career. I own it and look forward to the sequel.
finally, a bonus: The Punisher comes out in a special edition DVD tomorrow. Has its faults, but Tom Jane is simply deadon as Frank Castle. At least, rent it.
If this doesn't get you excited, you must be built like Metallo with a Kryptonite heart.
Check it out - this ad has been running in DC comics and this version premiered on the back cover of the latest issue of Action Comics which was the first issue of Richard Donner's run as co-writer/plotter with Geoff Johns. The screen saver I made a few posts back is from the second cover of the run, and should be on stands at your LCS now.
Few quick hits:
-New Spidey 3 trailer up at ifilm.com
-Donner's cut of Superman 2 out on 11/28
-Watchman news from Zach Snyder all over the place (try Comicbookresources.com first)
-DC's 52 hit the halfway point last week and just keeps getting better. Weekly comics, man, that rocks.
-Jonah Hex #13 ranks as my comic of the month - finally, the first part of the bounty hunter's origin story - I have been waiting since I was sixteen for this!
A Hulk desktop I made using the art of Brian Hitch which was used for promotion in the 2nd Ultimate Avengers direct to DVD movie.
Here is a desktop I created this morning, using the cover to an upcoming issue of Action Comics by the team supreme of Johns, Donner & Kubert - feel free to add it to your wallpaper collection! All characters and artwork copyright their respective owners.
This installation of Comic Cover Crazy is not so much crazy-weird as it is just plain crazy-good (like those damn Pop Tarts!)
Anyway, The King brings us this one and it truly is one of my favorites by him. Kirby just owns me when it comes to covers. His angles; his color schemes; those crazy machines - it all equals pure comic magic. I don't think anyone comes close to do a cover or a splash page like Jack, and I don't know if anyone ever will. There are some great ones out there (you can't go wrong with much by Neal Adams or Brian Bolland - especially on covers) but no one has ever done with so much, well, "Kirby" too it.
Gaze in wonder . . . DC's Mister Miracle No. 1!
Appropriately enough, on Friday the 13th (in the same year as 06/06/06! Bwa-ha-ha!) Marvel has posted a new Ghost Rider Exclusive Trailer on Marvel.com!
And, as I stated from the rumor-mill earlier on the terror-blog, actor Terrence Howard has been cast in the Iron Man movie as Jim Rhodes.
Now? Who's gonna be the Mandarin? How 'bout John Lone!
As Terror Central continues its new commitment to web-based activity blogging, tonight we roll out the latest feature, "From the Archives" (to be renamed when I am thinking more creatively).
For the inaugural peak into the tombs of the Terror house, I am posting two picks of the original pencil and inks for a 1985 poster that was used to promote and sell Kenner's Super Powers line of action figures. These are to many collectors, myself included, the greatest of all super-hero action figures. A whole blog could be and are dedicated to these fine plastic masterpieces.
Tonight, though, a glimpse at the artwork I bought about 10 years ago. It is by Paris Cullins and Bob Smith, done on DC Comics, Inc. Bristol board in August, 1985 for Kenner Toys. This original artwork was later partially covered with a paste-up, also drawn by Cullins, to cover the Wonder Woman driven All Terrain Trapper, that was scraped from production.
Truly a unique piece, and the gem of my meager Super Powers collection. Oh, and one other great thing about this line of figures - a lot of the design was by none other than Jack "King" Kirby himself!
Beat That, Hot Wheels!
