Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Harley Quinn Real Doll?

Even when I'm not buying anything, I'm always looking at comic shops pre-orders and new releases.  Last night I saw a pre-order for the life sized replica of Harley Quinn and I had to talk about it.  I skim over most things Harley because there is a lot of merchandise out there.  "Life sized" got my attention but what really got me looking at the listing was the word replica.  There are lots of life sized busts or even statues out there.  Replica was something different and instantly I felt it was something a little creepy. 


I wasn't wrong either.  This replica stands 5'11 and is made of foam rubber and latex.  The hair is a synthetic hair to make it more realistic.  Each replica is hand painted.  Harley is sculpted from digital files from Batman: Arkham City.  It's all a very impressive looking piece but all I can think about is someone is going to have sex with it.  Sure, I know that is my sick mind and not the product itself but I can't get around it.
 

If the real product looks at good as the pictures, it is pretty impressive.  If you're looking for a villain to outfit your Batcave this one is going to run you 1,200 dollars although you may find it slight cheaper at some online retailers.  But to all you wannabe Batmans out there, please don't fuck the Harly replica. 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

First Comic Book

I’ve talked about the first comic I can remember liking, but I honestly can’t tell you what the first comic I’ve ever owned is.  I grew up in the era of spinner racks at the convenience store, so my first could have been any number of different things that would have made me happy.  I can without a doubt tell you what my son’s first comic book was though, because we just bought it this weekend.  Sure he had all sorts of kid’s books about superheroes, but he didn’t have an actual comic. 


The week before I had heard him ask for one.  Not in a store or anything.  I think something on television had mentioned them, but I heard him say, “Where’s my comic book?”  At that very second I knew what he and I were doing on Saturday.  I took him down to a local shop.  It wasn’t where I got my first comic, but it was as shop I’ve been going to since I was 8.  By complete chance the owner was there, the same man who helped me start my first comic pull file.  We chatted for a bit and then headed off to the kid’s shelf where my son found Scooby Doo.

Not only was it Scooby Doo, but it had a dinosaur.  Or to be more correct a gh-gh-ghost dinosaur!  The little man was thrilled.  We read it together as soon as we got home.  The book actually has two short stories; one about a ghost dinosaur and another about a town given bad luck by black cats.  The dinosaur one is certainly a favorite, but since we have a black cat at home the second story was still pretty popular.  Sadly there was no Hex Girl appearance in the book, but that’s okay since it was for my son and not me.



The end of the book had some superhero stuff like “spot the differences” and stuff like that.  Oddly it also included character files on Darkseid and the Highfather.  I get the concept, but I found the character choices a bit funny. 


 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Amell Vs. Stardust

In one of the more strange/wonderful things I can think of Steven Amell is going to be wrestling at Summer Slam this Sunday.  Amell is a long time wrestling fan that had been tweeting out how much he wanted to be involved with WWE.  When his dream finally came true he began a feud with Stardust.  Stardust is the character played by Cody Rhodes.  Rhodes is known for being a fan video games and comic books.  He has come to the ring dressed as Mr. Sinister from the X-Men and even before he became Stardust he would wear a Tri-Force symbol on his boots.


The impressive thing about this is Amell’s passion and the fact that he’s been training to get into the ring.  Usually when a celebrity gets in the ring with a wrestler you can expect some badly thrown punches and maybe a slam of some sort.  Considering how active Amell is doing stunt work on his own show it looks like this is going to be an incredibly entertaining match.


To celebrate his match Amell is selling a limited time shirt.  Featuring Stardust and the Arrow the shirt is pretty cool looking.  Even cooler is that a portion of proceeds benefit Emily’s House, a hospice for children.  You can order the shirt by clicking HERE.  

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

SDCC Thomas the Tank

I was going to write something about my anger at comic convention exclusives when I saw one that I had to talk about individually.  Mattel and DC comics have decided to cross DC’s superheroes with Thomas the Tank Engine.  Once you see the pictures you’ll wonder why they decided to do this because the results are terrifying.  The five piece set includes Superman, Batman, Joker, Harley Quinn, and Cyborg. 


As the father of a 3 year old there are a lot of trains on my television.  Dinosaur Train and Chugginton are the ones we usually watch.  My son has seen Thomas, but thankfully he’s bored by it.  I say thankfully because the show is like watching paint dry and those trains are creepy looking.  The DC mash up somehow makes them look even scarier.  I thought Joker was the scariest looking until I really focused on Batman.  It looks like someone put a bloated Michael Keaton into a trash compactor and then glued him to the front of a train.  If you’re interested in these nightmares on wheels you can check out mattycollector.com for details.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Iron Fist 101: Part 4

Marvel Premiere 19, 20, 21, and 22 (1974-1975)
Welcome back to Iron Fist 101, when we concluded Part 3 Iron Fist had refused to kill Harold Meachum only to have him killed by a mysterious ninja.  Issue 19 picks up with Danny leaving the Meachum building and reflecting on how he feels bad for Joy Meachum since he knows what it is like to have your father murdered.  As he leaves the building he finds a woman waiting for him.  She quickly gives him hat and coat to throw on over his costume and they jump into a taxi.


That woman is Colleen Wing and this is her Marvel Comic Debut.  Colleen will be very, very important to the Iron Fist series.  She’ll later appear with Misty Knight in other books as the Knightwing Restorations Detective agency or their better known name, the Daughters of the Dragon.   While Iron Fist and Colleen are in the taxi Joy Meachum calls her uncle.  Ward Meachum seems unsurprised that his brother is dead and tells Joy that her father had left instructions on what to do if he was killed.


Colleen explains to Danny that her father, Lee Wing, is a Professor of Oriental studies at Columbia University.  She says he knew Iron Fist would be leaving the Meachum building and that he is in need of help.  As they exit the taxi Iron Fist knock out two assailants that were watching the apartment.  Inside Professor Wing explains those men were assassins from the Cult of Kara-Kai.  The cult has been trying to kill him since on an expedition he found an ancient book that was supposed to have a secret that would destroy the land of K’un-Lin.  He goes on to tell Danny that he heard about him from a dying traveling monk.

Iron Fist still trying to prove his innocence uses Wing’s phone to call Joy Meachum.  She tells him to meet her at an arcade.  After  that she quickly calls her uncle who dispatches a group of assassins who jump Iron Fist.  The ninja shows up in the middle of the fight to help Iron Fist again.  In the end he leaves Danny a newspaper that shows the headline, “Iron Fist sought in Meachum murder.”


Issue 20 opens with Iron Fist fighting more Kara-Kai cultists.  He urges the Professor to go into hiding and then reveals he has to leave so he can prove his innocence to Joy Meachum.  Colleen is very upset to have Danny leaving them already.  Iron Fist sneaks into the Meachum building and into Joy’s office.  She flies into a rage when she sees him but quickly switches to keep him in her office until help arrive.  Uncle Ward has hired more help to take out Iron Fist.  In fact this time he hired Batroc the Leaper!


They have an amazing fight before Danny uses the power of the Iron Fist and sends him flying.  Batroc isn’t alone though and an army of mercenaries appears to take down Iron Fist.  I mean an army too, this isn't a handful of people.  Again the ninja shows up and helps fight off the horde.  They make sure to point out that the ninja is straight up killing people here.  Once they are victorious Danny tries to question the Ninja but he disappears in a puff of smoke, because you know, ninja.  The issue ends with the ninja holding a book and slowly he turns into Professor Wing!


Issue 21 starts with Ward Meachum stiffing Batroc and his men for not killing Iron Fist.  Even back then Batroc got no respect.  Iron Fist returns to Professor Wing’s home to find it completely trashed.  As he looking for Colleen and the Professor he’s stopped by Misty Knight.  Because this is a comic book Misty immediately thinks Iron Fist is the cause of her missing friend and attacks him.  They fight briefly before Iron Fist uses a neck pinch to knock her unconscious.  Suddenly an astral version of the ninja appears and begins leading Danny down a hidden area of the subway that houses the Temple of Kali.

Colleen and the Professor are chained to a giant statue of Kali.  We are introduced to the “Living Goddess” Ushas the Shade and Shaya favored of the Sun.  We find out the book the cult is trying to get is called the Sacred Volume of Kali.  Of course a fight breaks out where we learn that Ushas has a cloak that creates darkness and Shaya has nunchaku that glow like the sun.  The Professor and Colleen are freed during the fight and the ninja appears to help Iron Fist.  One of the cultists is running away with the book when he is hit with a ninja star.  The book falls into a fire pit and is destroyed.  Suddenly the ninja and Professor Wing split.  The ninja reveals that the Dragon Kings imprisoned him in the book.  Now that he was free he could have his revenge on the city of K’un-Lun and he was going to start by killing Iron Fist. 


Issue 22 opens in a giant free for all.  Iron Fist and the ninja are still fighting each other and the Cult of Kara-Kai.  It becomes even crazier when the police appear.  The ninja confesses to the murder of Meachum, saying he revels in murder.  He then uses his ninja powers to teleport him and Iron Fist into another dimension.  The two begin to fight and the ninja drops his back story. 

Ninja was a master samurai who was cast out because of his cruelty.  He trained to become a ninja under Master Khan.  Ninja was introduced to the Book of Many Things, now known as the Sacred Volume of Kali.  It talked about the warriors or K’un-Lun, brave warriors who would pose a threat to Master Khan’s plans.  Ninja used the book to travel to K’un-Lun and attack.  Ninja cut through the surprised people of K’un-Lun until he was defeated by Lei-Kung the Thunderer.  Ninja’s soul was ripped from his body and imprisoned in the Book of Many Things.  The book passed many hands through the ages until Professor Wing found it.  Ninja possessed the Professor and kept Iron Fist alive because he believed Iron Fist would somehow free him of his prison. 


Danny uses the power of the Iron Fist to hit Ninja’s glowing sword and the explosion knocks him back into the Temple.  The Professor tells Danny the police handled the rest of the cultist and that Iron Fist is being cleared of Meachum’s murder.  Iron Fist laments that so much of his life has been focused on revenge and now he doesn’t know what to do.  The Wings advise him to stop worrying about Iron Fist and learn who Danny Rand is. 

A lot happens in those four issues, but I felt they were all part of the same story.  Issue 22 really wraps up that arc.  What I find interesting is that it seemed like the writers were moving towards a Danny and Colleen relationship.  Not only will that not happen, their friendship will be taking some pretty strange twists and turns.  Speaking of Colleen, it should be noted that she is of Japanese descent.  A lot of current artists seem to forget that and she ends up looking Caucasian.  There is lots more Iron Fist 101 to come, we haven’t even gotten to his first solo series yet!

Credits: 
19: Writer Doug Moench, Penciler Larry Hama, Inker Dick Giordano, Colorist Jan Brunner, Letterer Ray Holloway.
20: Writer Tony Isabella, Penciler Arvell Jones, Inker Dan Green, Colorist John Drake, Letterer Ray Holloway.
21: Writer Tony Isabella, Penciler Arvell Jones, Inker Vince Colletta, Colorist Stan Goldberg, Letterer Joe Rosen
22: Writer Tony Isabella, Penciler Arvell Jones, Inker Aubrey Bradford, Colorist George Roussos, Letterer Karen Mantlo.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Iron Fist 101: Part 3

Marvel Premiere 17 and 18 (1974)
As of the second issue we know that Danny Rand has just left K’un-Lun, a mystical city that only appears on Earth every 10 years.  He spent the last 10 years training in various martial arts forms and fought a dragon to gain the power of the Iron Fist.  He left behind immortality and a life in K’un-Lun so he could seek vengeance on Harold Meachum; the man who killed his father and left him and his mother to die.  Issues 17 and 18 will follow Danny on his path to vengeance. 

It’s also important to point out that the creative team has changed again in these issues.  We started with Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, then went to Len Wein and Larry Hama, and now we are at Doug Moench and Larry Hama.  This team only lasts three issues before we get another change.  It’ll change another time before we finally get to Iron Fist’s self titled book.  I’ve done a poor job listing all the credits so far, so I will include them at the bottom of this installment and edit them into the first two.


Issue 17 begins with Iron Fist, in full costume, walking into the Meachum Industries building.  He gets a lot of stares as he goes through the lobby.  He quickly finds an elevator and goes to the top floor.  As he enters the lobby spikes pop out from the walls and come rushing for him.  He smashes the spikes away and leaps to safety, except pylon mounted machine guns emerge from the floor.  He quickly takes care of the guns and heads for Harold Meachum’s office.  When he opens the door all he finds are stairs leading up.  That door is trapped with “recessed nozzles” that “spurt coruscating ribbons of destructive energy”.  Iron Fist smashes through the controls on the side of the door and heads up the stairs.  Halfway up the stairs they explode, because of course they do. 


The stairs lead to another hallway.  At the end of this hall Iron Fist sees three guys in suits just hanging out.  Iron Fist tries to play cool and is going to walk past them when they pull revolvers and start shooting.  Iron Fist makes quick work of them and continues on only to find himself locked in a room that starts spraying acid on him.  He goes to the far door expecting a trap and isn’t disappointed when he finds that it opens to open air, if he had run through the door we would have plummeted to his death on the streets below.  He climbs up the building and smashes a window on the next level.  Here he climbs into what appears to be a living room.  At this point there is a ninja hiding behind the table.  This is super important for next issue.

Anyway the living room floor tries to dump him into a pit.  Iron Fist manages to catch the edge and pull himself up when a door opens and a starving wolf attacks him.  He beats the wolf and heads into the elevator.  The elevator tries to gas him, but he punches through the top of it.  He climbs the elevator in time to see another elevator rapidly descending and threatening to crush him.  He jumps from that into a hallway where the janitor ends up being a katana wielding warrior.  Now he’s at a door with Meachum’s name on it and a large camera above it.  The camera turns out to be a laser and is about to hit Iron Fist when the ninja from before hits it with a throwing star.  The ninja disappears before Iron Fist can say anything because that’s what ninjas do.  Iron Fist goes into the next room where Triple –Iron is waiting for him.


Issue 18 gives us a better look at Triple-Iron.  He’s a giant of a man wearing a mechanical suit, standing in a mechanical room, and uses a three sectional staff.  The room powers Triple-Iron’s suit but also traps him there, he explains his only way to escape is kill Iron Fist.  As they fight the ninja shows up again and this time uses a throwing star to point out a hidden door.  Iron Fist uses the door and moves into the room that powers the mechanical one.  Using some severed power cables Iron Fist short circuit’s Triple-Iron and leaves him unconscious. 


Finally Danny enters the office of Harold Meachum and finds a man in a wheel chair with no legs.  Meachum goes on to explain that he loved Danny’s mother.  But when she rejected him he began his trek home.  He was caught in an avalanche and rescued by some local villagers, but he lost both of his legs to exposure.  While recovering a wandering monk told the story of how he visited K’un-Lun.  The monk told the story of the young boy who seemed driven in his training, who the others thought would one day become Iron Fist.  Meachum knew Danny was doing this so he could exact revenge.  Over the next 10 years he went crazy preparing for the day that Iron Fist would come for him.  He asks Iron Fist to kill him.  Instead Danny sees how crazy Meachum has become begins to leave.  Meachum gets a revolver from his desk.  That’s when the ninja appears again.  He hits Meachum with a throwing star, throwing off his aim off which causes the bullet to graze Danny and knock him out.   The ninja then stabs Meachum through the heart.
 

Danny wakes up and finds Meachum’s body just as his daughter runs in.  She knew her father had become increasingly afraid someone was going to kill him and blames Iron Fist for his death.  He of course claims his innocence but the ninja is nowhere to be found.  As the issue wraps up Iron Fist walks out of the office with Joy Meachum screaming that she will have her vengeance on him. 


Credits: Writer Doug Moench, Penciler Larry Hama, Inker Dick Giordano, Colorist Petra Goldberg, Letterers Artie Simek.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Iron Fist 101: Part 2

Marvel Premiere 16, (1974)
In the first installment we looked at the first appearance of Iron Fist.  Today we take a look at the next part of his story.  When the first issue left off Iron Fist was still in K’un-Lun.  He had passed all his challenges and would either become immortal or choose death.  So considering where the first left off, it’s odd to see the next issue opening with Iron Fist walking down the street in New York.  We learn that he is in New York to kill someone, but before the story goes any further Iron Fist is lured into an alley where he is attacked by four thugs.  Before the fight they reveal there is a 10,000 dollar bounty on Iron Fist.


During the fight Iron Fist flashes back to his time in K’un-Lun.  He remembers being taken into the city where he is introduced to Yu-Ti.  The so called August Personage of Jade tells the young Rand he is welcome in the city and asks him what he desires.  Danny tells him he wants revenge.  Yu-Ti advises that revenge cuts both ways and instead introduces Danny to Lei Kung the Thunderer.  Lei Kung becomes Danny’s trainer in the martial arts.  Years pass as Danny trains.  To prove his training is complete Danny must grab the crown off this rattlesnake that apparently lives on a pole.  No one seems to think it’s odd that a snake is just hanging out and wearing a crown.  Finally Danny is able to grab the crown, but his achievement feels empty.  As he beats the gang in the alley he remembers how Yu-Ti tells him that he with his skills he may be able to claim the power of the Iron Fist.


Danny goes to a temple in K’un-Lun and shouts out a challenge to the dragon, Shou-Lau the Undying.  Shou-Lau’s molten heart has been torn out; only a scar remains where its heart was.  A scar that looks just like a winged dragon, even though Shou-Lau doesn’t have wings; he’s more of a serpent dragon.  Anyway to beat Shou-Lau Danny squeezes the dragon; breaking the mystic link from the creature to its heart, in the process it burns the scar shape into his chest.  That’s right; the Iron Fist symbol is more a branding than a tattoo.  With the dragon defeated he finds the molten heart and plunges his hands into it until they began to glow.  He has become Iron Fist.


Back in the present Iron Fist is attacked again, this time by a lone assailant named Scythe.  Scythe is armed with a sickle that has a ball and chain on the other end.  During this fight Iron Fist flashes back to the cliff hanger from the last issue.  Yu-Ti takes him to the Tree of Immortality.  There he tells him that the portal to Earth will be open tomorrow.  It opens every 10 years.  Iron Fist has to choose between returning to Earth or staying in K’un-Lun.  Iron Fist states that he still wants vengeance on the man that killed his father.  Yu-Ti tries to talk him out of it and reveals that Yu-Ti is Iron Fist’s uncle.  Seriously it’s been 10 years and he never mentioned it to the kid?   You would think that would have come up sooner. So Iron Fist leaves K’un-Lun on a mission to kill Harold Meachum.


With the majority of his backstory finally told, we go back to the fight with Scythe.  This fight follows what will become a common format; in fact we saw it already in the first issue.  Iron Fist is already tired from his first fight.  He was taken unaware in the second and is having a hard time against Scythe.  Finally he concentrates on his Chi, hits the bad guy with his Iron Fist, and wins.  The issue ends with Iron Fist walking off to find the Rand-Meachum building.

Those first two appearances are just dense with information.  The next installments of Iron Fist 101 will finally be able to cover multiple issues.  Yu-Ti and Lei Kung the Thunderer are pretty important characters in Iron Fist.  Lei Kung will be an ally for years to come.  Yu-Ti’s story is going to take a lot more twists and turns as we go but he is always an interesting character.

Credits: Writer Len Wein, Co-Plotter Roy Thomas, Penciler Larry Hama, Inker Dick Giordano, Colorist Glynis Wein, Letterers L.P. Gregory

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Iron Fist 101: Part 1

Marvel Premiere 15 (1974)
For the first installment of Iron Fist 101 I wanted to cover a few things.  Those early issues, the ones we’re starting with, will have a lot of black and white pictures.  I don’t own the originals; I own the phonebook sized Essential Iron Fist.  When I can find a colored version of the page or panel I want to show off I’ll use it, but there will times I’ll have to use the black and white issues.  These Essential black and white pages also lead into the early Power Man and Iron Fist book which we will be covering.  The last thing I wanted to mention about this before we get started is this project is going to take a long time.  Some times (like today) I’ll talk about a single important issue, other times I’ll cover a few issues.  My Iron Fist library is pretty large and I honestly expect to still be doing Iron Fist 101 this time next year.  With all that said, let me get started at the beginning.


Marvel Premiere was an anthology book that ran for 61 issues.  It introduced new characters or showcased characters that no longer had their own series.  Iron Fist ran in Marvel Premiere from issue 15 until issue 25 when he received his own book.  That first issue is written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Gil Kane.  It also starts very different, in that the captions read as if you were Iron Fist.  After years and years of reading comics, it was a very jarring change.  That first captions read:

You are Iron Fist.  You stand tensely – too tensely – aware of their eyes on you: Yu-Ti, the Hooded One, and his four Dragon-Kings…
And Facing you, four others edge closer, searching for an opening – a moment of weakness – the careless flickering of an eyelid.
For, this is your Day of Destiny, Iron Fist.  You will eat of the fruit of the Tree of Immortality – or else drink deep of the Elixir of Death--!

That’s a lot to take in.  We have Iron Fist fighting four other people while the hooded Yu-Ti watches on with the Dragon-Kings who wear masks that look to be scaled like a dragon’s skin.  Yu-Ti seriously looks like the hooded Cobra Commander.  Starting in Marvel Premiere 16 Larry Hama will actually take over art duties, so I would think it’s pretty safe to say the origin of Cobra Commander’s hooded design start with Yu-Ti.  Iron Fist defeats the four men easily and at which point Yu-Ti tells him to think about himself before facing the next challenge.  And here is where the flashbacks start.
We learn that ten years ago a nine year old Danny Rand was tracking across the “snow-crusted Asian wastes” with his parents (Wendell and Heather Rand) and his father’s business partner Harold Meachum.  Wendell wants to take them to the city of K’un-Lun.  As they are crossing a ice bridge Danny and Heather fall down to a lower ledge.  Wendell begins rescue his family when Harold betrays him.  Literally digging his boots into Wendell’s hand until the older Rand has to let go and fall to his death.  The book makes sure we see that he bounces off his head in a bloody mess on his way down too. 


Harold wants to save Heather and Danny; in essence he wants to steal Wendell’s family and his half of the company.  Heather is willing to die instead of joining the man who just killed her husband, so the first part of the flashback ends with Meachum leaving them on the ledge.  Iron Fist snaps back to the present to face a giant masked fighter Shu-Hu.  We are told Shu-Hu is “He whose lips are pledged to silence and whose name means lightning…and whose fists are like twin thunder bolts!”  Iron Fist hits on the giant seem to have no effect and Shu-Hu is as fast as he is strong.  As the hero of the book struggles to fight his opponent he returns to his flashback.


Danny and his mother make the climb to safety and then start through the snow.  They don’t know where they are going and find themselves being tracked by a large pack of wolves.  They finally find a rope bridge and head for it.  Halfway across Heather realizes that the wolves will overtake them soon.  She sends Danny further across while she charges the wolves.  Moments later a mysterious group of archers show up and shoot the wolves, it is too late for his mother.  At the age of nine Danny has seen his father’s head cracked open on an icy mountain and his mother eaten by wolves.  Take that Batman.


Back to his challenge, Shu-Hu shoots a dagger out of his palm and hits Iron Fist in the shoulder.  The thought of his parents drives Danny into a rage and he begins kicking and punching Shu-Hu.  Finally he focuses his chi into his hand until it becomes “like unto a thing of iron.”  This punch takes off Shu-Hu’s head and reveals that his opponent was actually a robot.  Iron Fist stands triumphant and we are told that he will now have to choose between immortality and death.  We have to wait until the next issue for that though because that announcement is where Iron Fist’s first issue wraps up.

A lot happens in the first issue.  There are crazy names, crazy masks, a super dark origin story, and a robot.  One of the other interesting things in his issue is that in about half of the panels you can see Iron Fist’s eyes when he is wearing his mask.  Check back next week for part two of Iron Fist 101.

Credits: Writer Roy Thomas, Penciler Gil Kane, Inker Dick Giordano, Colorist Glynis Wein, Letterers L.P. Gregory

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Iron Fist 101 Announcement

There are a lot of superhero shows and movies out there and there are more coming.  Due to the  years I’ve sent with a  comicbook in hand I’ve become the person ask when any of my family have questions about these properties.  When you’re mother-in-law texts you because she wants to more about the Inhumans it is a very, very strange day.  I have deep pre-52 DC knowledge and fair Marvel knowledge.   My wife has gotten used to my comic triva knowledge when watching things like Arrow of Flash.  I’ll smirk or giggle at a name or reference in the background and then I’ll have to explain something why the name of Iris’ stuffed turtle is awesome. 


When we spent a weekend binge watching Daredevil I was out of my element.  I knew Daredevil of course.  I had read some of Frank Miller’s run but not all of it.  I knew a lot of his villains because they appeared in other things.  I don’t own any Daredevil comics and I have 1 Daredevil trade paperback (I’ll reveal which TBP later in this update).  So when I had to confess ignorance to some of my wife’s questions I suddenly saw her texting Brandon, the biggest Daredevil fan we know.


The next Netflix show is based on the Alias comic.  While I know of the story, I’m even more in the dark about it than I am Daredevil.  After that is Powerman.  Luke Cage appears in a lot of the comics in my collection but I don’t have any of his solo run.  Finally we get to Iron Fist.  I know a lot about Iron Fist.  Between trades and single issues I have the good, the great, and the horrible Iron Fist stories.  Starting next week Iron Fist 101 will be a regular feature here.  Every update will cover a story arc, handful of one shots, or even a single issue if it is important enough.  It won’t cover a lot of the team book stuff, I just don’t have those.


When Iron Fist debuts on Netflix next year you’ll be ready.  You’ll know your Dragon Kings, Immortal Weapons, and the Thunderer.  Oh, that Daredevil trade I own?  It’s when Matt is in prison and he asks Iron Fist to become Daredevil.  My only Daredevil trade co-stars Iron Fist, we’ll be covering that one too.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Birth of Robin

Sometimes I shouldn't be allowed near children’s toys.  As we were putting my son to bed last night I saw the Duplo Batman figure next to the circus scene and I knew what I had to do.  Batman is part of the licensed DC Comics Duplo sets that started coming out right before Christmas.  The police officer and the circus stuff all come from the other sets we have littering our floor.


Also I know it would be better if it had been Bruce Wayne and not Batman with the young Dick Grayson.  But I had a pretty limited pallet to work with here.  I figure it still gets the point across.  


For the record the only DC heroes so far with figures are Batman and Superman.  By the time they get around to Flash my son will have graduated to normal sized Lego.  Of course he could be in high school and I'd still buy a Duplo Flash.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Marvel Puzzle Quest

Lately I’ve been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto on the Xbox One.  It took me a while to pick up the game because I was so bored by the last one that I never finished it.  The new one has me sucked into both the single player version and the multiplayer.  But it is not the game that I’ve spend the most time with.  No, that honor goes to Marvel Puzzle Quest.  When I’m walking around with my phone at 22% charged it’s because of this game.


Available on iOS, Android, and PC Marvel Puzzle Quest is one of those freemium games that actually works.  MPQ is a continuation of the Puzzle Quest series.  I had the original Puzzle Quest on my Xbox 360 and spent hours upon hours playing it.  The concept was simple, it looked like any other jewel matching game but it threw in RPG elements.  You had a character with different abilities.  All of these spells and powers cost colored points.  The only way to get these points was to match gems of that color.  Added to that, each match and power would cause damage to your opponent and vice versa.


Marvel’s version is very similar but instead of only having one hero though put together teams of three.  Each of the characters has their own powers and finding a group that works well together is part of the fun.  As you play you unlock random packs that give you more characters to use.  You can use real money to purchase more random packs and to purchase my space on your roster, but it isn’t a crippling pay wall. 


 The game is constantly getting new character updates too.  The randomness of the rewards can be frustrating at times but the game is a lot of fun.  While I did say earlier that the game doesn’t require you to pay, I did want to mention I have purchased some of the Hero coins.  I felt it was the best way to show support to the game that has captured so much of my attention.  The coins went to expanding my roster slots; I have to be ready for when I eventually pull a Luke Cage cover.  I feel like already having Iron Fist should increase my chances for a Cage.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Dark Dungeons: The Movie

It’s time for a history lesson!  I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in the 80s.  I wasn’t even in my teens when I started so I had to have my parents take me to game stores.  I was lucky too; there were a few really good ones around us at that time.  So my parents were aware of what I was doing with all the dice, notebooks, and miniatures.  It was also around that time I first saw all of the religious warnings about how dangerous Dungeons and Dragons was.  The most famous of these is the mini comic from Jack Chick called Dark Dungeons.


That comic was released way back in 1984.  Now it is becoming a licensed movie.  Sure it’s a low budget movie that is premiering at GenCon but it is still official.   The movie started with JR Ralls winning 1,000 in the Oregon lottery.  After that he wrote to Jack Chick and somehow was given the rights to make this movie.  Finally Ralls took the idea to Kickstarter to round out his funding. 

The movie can be preordered at darkdungeonsthemovie.com.  This is really a must own for anyone who has spent time around a table throwing funny dice and pretending to be fantasy warriors.  The movie is going to be a faithful adaption of Chick’s original comic; which means it is going to be so over the top insane that I can’t wait to see it. 

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Stargirl Bombshell

Comic companies make a lot of money making pictures and merchandise of sexy women.  That’s the industry and I don’t really see that changing any time soon.  There have been times when a comic’s cover made me mildly embarrassed to purchase it, but for the most part I don’t think about it.  Most the statues I own are male, so it’s possible I was subconsciously a little creeped out by statues of mostly naked women in action poses.  For the past couple months DC has been doing a series of “Bombshell” statues.  They are of current DC women in retro pin-up style and even have a bit of airplane nose art on their bases.


The most recent solicited is of Stargirl.  I love the character of Stargirl.  I love airplane nose art and vintage cheesecake.  The combination of these two things had a very different reaction.  It made me uneasy.  The statue is very well done, but reading about Courtney growing up changed the way I look at this.  I feel like I’m seeing a sister or daughter posing for a pin-up and I don’t think I like it.


The strangest thing is the costume she is wearing in the statue shows just about the same amount of skin her actual costume shows.  Normally her midriff is exposed, that’s covered on the statue.  The statue shows more of her arms and back though.  There is no logical reason for my reaction.  It's probably a good thing I have a son and not a daughter.


To show my hypocrisy knows no ends, I think the Black Canary Bombshell is one of the sexiest statues I’ve ever seen.  I can’t say I’ve ever cared about the character and I almost ordered that statue.   

Friday, January 3, 2014

Sin City’s Big Damn Book is Too Damned Big

On June 25th Dark Horse is releasing a massive Sin City collection called “Frank Miller’s Big Damn Sin City.”  The 1,344 page book will retail for 59.99 and contains all seven of Sin City stories, or as the press release says, “Every blood-soaked page of Sin City to date!”  If you’ve never read Sin City, you really should.  Even some of the later stories that aren’t as popular are still worth the read.  I do have to wonder about the collected edition though.  What are people doing with books this big?


When the second Geoff John’s Flash Omnibus came out it was going to be an instant purchase, then I saw the size of the book.  I wasn’t sure it was going to be something that was comfortable to read.  This new Sin City book is over 1,000 pages.  I can’t imagine ever picking that up on a whim and reading it.  It’s quite possible I’m wrong here.  I don’t want to sound like a crotchety old man screaming about the kids on his lawn here.  Am I alone here?  Can collected comic editions get too big?
 
As a side note I’m not talking about those beautiful, oversized artist editions.  Those are big for a reason and I totally understand that.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Nova Phase

This weekend I was sent an advanced preview of the first two issue of Slave Labor’s comic Nova Phase.  I hadn’t heard anything about the book before I opened my email, so I didn't know what to expect.  Any book that lists Cowboy Bebop, The Rifleman, and Snatcher as influences immediately has my attention.  When I opened the files and started reading I wondered why this didn't exist earlier.  Nova Phase is a lot of fun. 


This isn’t a comic book, this is an extended cutscene from an early 90's video game and I mean that in the very best way possible.  Written by Matthew Ritter with art  by Adam Elbatimy Nova Phase mixes a space western story with retro video game style art.  It stars a bounty hunter who trusts too easily.  She gets involved with a rag tag group of adventures who are on the run from an evil army.  I've only read the first two issues but I’m hooked on the series.  If you grew up playing those early video games the style is going to hit you right in the nostalgia.  It’s too early for me to say how deep the story is going to get, but it has that madcap rollercoaster of action feel to it.  I called it fun earlier and I meant it.


The first two issues will be available on January 15th through Comixology.  If you prefer the feel of paper between your fingertips the first two issues will be collected into one issue and will be on sale in February through the SLG website and Amazon.  The rest of the issues will be continue to be released first on Comixology and then collected into print.  

Friday, November 15, 2013

Loki and Sex

News has broke that in the Loki: Agent of Asgard book that starts in February the Marvel character will not only be bisexual but he’ll be changing shape also.  There is much online debate on if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Loki is a trickster villain and one of the arguments is that as a villain it would put a LGBT character in a bad light.  Like if you’re LGBT you must be evil or something in that light. 

 
So let’s talk about Loki’s sexuality for a bit.  If we look back to the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda; oh right I forgot I’m talking about the actual mythology here for and not the comic version.  Since you know, the myths came before the comics.  I just want to tell one story to show how this “new take” on Loki is pretty true to the character.  Sleipnir is Odin’s eight legged horse and according to Odin is the best of the horses.  Now here comes the fun, Loki is Sleipnir’s mother.  I know it’s surprising but let me explain how it all happened.  See Loki was in Vegas and…  Okay, that’s not true.  The actual myth is more fucked up than just a bender in Sin City.

Way back when the gods were first settling the area a builder shows up and says that he can build a fortification for them in three seasons that will keep all invaders out.  All he wants is Freyja, the sun, and the moon.  They want this incredible fortress but don’t want to pay for it.  The gods try to figure out a way to screw the builder out of the bet and agree only after laying down a bunch of conditions on the builder.  The important condition is that no man is able to help him build.  The builder tricks all of the gods and brings out this amazing horse named Svaoifari.  He and the horse begin working on the fortress and because this horse is such an amazing worker it looks like the gods are going to have to pay up.

The gods are all pissed that the builder has tricked them and blame Loki.  He’s the trickster god; certainly he should have been smart enough to stop this from happening.  With three days left before the deadline Loki comes up with a plan.  He changes shape into a mare and approaches Svaoifari.  Seeing the mare, the horse breaks free from its restraints and chases after the mare all night.  The builder is unable to finish the fortress because he is unable to reign in his horny horse and spends the nice chasing after him.  A while after this Loki gives birth to Sleipnir.  Loki gives birth to an eight legged horse.    I think it’s important here to mention that the other gods didn’t look down on Loki for getting him some of that sweet, sweet horse meat.  He was pretty much doing it because when the Norse gods wanted someone tricked they went to Loki. The other fun part of this story is when gods find out this mystery builder was actually a frost giant; Thor just outright kills him. 

So what does all this have to do with the new Loki being bisexual and all the arguments around it?  Nothing really I suppose.  I just wanted to point out that Loki has already turned into a female horse, had sex with a horse, and gave birth to a freak horse.  This is a character that gives birth to horses and fathers giant wolves; it seems silly to compare him to real life human standards and morals.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Marvel Numbering

To be honest I haven’t bought a lot of comics in the past year.  I buy Flash more out of habit than anything at this point and the other few titles I’ve bought haven’t been from the big two.  I do like to keep up on what is going on in books though.  It’s because of this I was quick to read an announcement that Beta Ray Bill was going to be making an appearance in the new Nova comic.  I’m a huge Beta Ray Bill fan so I was excited to see what was going on.  The cover for the book he’ll be showing up in is posted below. 

 
The first thing you notice is that Beta Ray Bill is a bad ass.  This is normal and it’s how he should be portrayed.  The second thing you probably notice is the giant number one in the right hand corner.  The funny thing about the number one is that this is issue number 13.  You can actually see the 013. printed much smaller down on the bottom right hand corner.  Now it is entirely possible that this is only a promotional image and the real comic will not have a giant number one on the cover.  But if the comic does ship that way it is pretty interesting.

There will always be debate in comics if restarting numbering is more important than having huge issue numbers.  New number ones seem like a fresh start, but you can’t have a 100th issue if you renumber every year.  Is Marvel going to start numbering their story arcs?  Would you jump into a comic you’ve never read before if they were on the third story in an arc of a book that’s on issue 20?  Again I’m speculating a lot over an image that might not even hit the comic stands that way.  It was something I noticed yesterday and haven’t been able to stop thinking about. 

Friday, November 8, 2013

Marvel and Netflix

Yesterday Marvel announced a new partnership with Netflix that will develop four series and a mini-series based on Marvel characters.  These live action shows are set to start Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage.  The press release goes on to say that Netflix has committed to “a minimum of four, thirteen episodes series and a culminating Marvel’s “The Defenders” mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.

 
It’s an exciting announcement and it raises a lot of questions.  For budget reasons, it was smart for them to focus on some of Marvel’s street level heroes.  The group of characters they picked play pretty nice together.  Luke Cage and Iron Fist are the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups of the Marvel Universe.  Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have a daughter named after Danny Rand aka Iron Fist.  And finally, Rand actually took over for Daredevil for a short period of time.  These series have a great potential to be interconnected awesomeness.  I’m not just saying that because Iron Fist is my favorite Marvel character.

The strange part is the mention of the “self-sacrificing” Defenders.  The way it is written makes it sound like the Defenders is going to be this team of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.  If it was called Heroes of Hire that would make total sense.  The Defenders originally were Doctor Strange, Hulk, Namor, and the Silver Surfer.  There have been a few different versions of the Defenders team and Iron Fist was on one of them.  Doctor Strange has been in most of the Defenders’ lineups, so it is very possible he could be introduced in all of this. 

I really like Marvel’s street level characters, so to me this is probably the most exciting thing that has been announced in a while.  What do you think?

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Itty Bitty Plush

I’ve been a huge fan of Art and Franco’s for a very, very long time.  I was thrilled when their Tiny Titans book became as popular as it did.  My son may have been named after a certain Wolf Boy; okay he was totally named after Patrick the Wolf Boy.  The Tiny, ‘Lil, and Itty Bitty line is moving across all sorts of comic publishers now and I can’t be happier. 


One of the newer titles is Itty Bitty Hellboy.  This isn’t the first time Hellboy has been showed younger.  Obviously there is the famous “Pamcakes” comic.  Bill Wray also did the Hellboy Junior stories.  Bill is famous from Mad and Ren & Stimpy; his Hellboy Junior stories are set in a similar tone.  The Itty Bitty Hellboy has more of that Tiny Titans feel.  It’s a cute, punny book that makes Hellboy available to an all age’s audience. 


Someone saw the Itty Bitty designs and must have said “those characters are so cute I wish I could hug them.”  Because there is a line of plush Itty Bitty plush coming out.  To start with you can pick up a Hellboy or an Abe.  If these sell well I can’t imagine they wouldn’t add others to the line.  I won't lie, I'd be pretty tempted if they added a Roger to the line.  Both Hellboy and Abe sell for under 20 dollars and should be available for pre-order at your local comic shop or favorite comic website. 

Aw Yeah.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Elite Fixtures

So there is an online store called EliteFixtures.com that sells things like lighting, chandeliers, lamps, and fixtures.  This site has its own blog where they talk about things pertaining to lighting.  Decorating tips and things like that.  All of that sounds very normal, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw their blog update that replaced characters on famous comic book covers with lamps.  You read that right, famous comic book covers with lamps.
 

I’m only previewing one of the ten images here; you’ll have to go to Elite Fixtures site (click here) to see the rest.  The covers selected range from some of the most famous ones in comic history to a couple of very recent ones.  Again, I don’t know who thought of this but it is just the right kind of strange that is going to have me smiling all day.

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