Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends! Join me as we once again enter that magical realm of four-colored heroes and villains: A dimension of news and fact with a fair amount of opinion thrown in for good measure. A random assortment of headlines, gossip and tall tales featuring the good men and women inhabiting the various superhero-filled worlds of Marvel, DC and occasionally even an indy comic or two. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Comicscape!
Though it was announced way back in March at WizardWorld Los Angeles, a lot of us had forgotten about the fact that James Robinson will be writing a new Justice League title. Though DC has yet to announce an official launch date, I know that the story will be spinning out of Final Crisis, so it can’t be too far off.
The name James Robinson is enough to get me on board, but when you throw Captain Marvel Jr., Batwoman and Congorilla into the mix, it’s almost got me considering camping outside of my comic shop. I live in Michigan, folks: It’s cold here, but I’m willing to deal with it. Some might argue against a Justice League without the Trinity isn’t really the Justice League. I’d argue that the Justice League’s roster is cyclical and that every so often the “super friends” need to be put on the shelf and a team of B-listers needs to take over.
Justice League artwork featuring Starman (III) by Mauro Cascioli, released at NYCC08
© DC Comics
Not that it should be a problem with this team; I’d hardly consider Green Lantern and Green Arrow to be B-listers, not to mention long-time JLA member Ray “Atom” Palmer. I don’t know anything about the Starman that has been chosen for this team, but since James Robinson is sort of the “Starman guy”, I’m going to assume that he knows what he’s doing. Batwoman has been a heaping helping of wasted potential since her introduction in 52 two years ago, and I’ve found Supergirl to be more and more interesting as time goes on, especially since Robinson’s been writing her book, so I’m pretty excited about those two being on the team. I’ve always been a fan of any variation on the Captain Marvel/Shazam theme (please, please, please put him in the blue suit!) and … what’s that? There’s a giant golden gorilla on the team? Sign me up.
In my opinion, Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen are never as interesting on their own as they are together, so seeing them together on a team that promises to be more proactive than reactive is guaranteed to be a blast. I’m sorry to admit that Dwayne McDuffie’s run on JLA hasn’t really impressed me, so I’m very eager to see a new spin on the League and judging by the roster and the writer, this new series won’t disappoint.
Dark Avengers
© Marvel Entertainment
Speaking of new versions of old teams, the New Year will bring another Avengers team to the Marvel Universe with Dark Avengers #1, on sale January 21, 2009. But who are the Dark Avengers? Well, nobody really knows, but the free Marvel Previews “Dark Reign Edition” that I grabbed at my local comic shop yesterday seem to indicate that the team will consist of Ms. Marvel, Ares, the Sentry, Noh-Varr, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Daken and somebody called “The Iron Patriot”.
Now, the combined efforts of House of M, Civil War and World War Hulk left this writer with a bad enough case of Crossover Burnout that I simply sat out Secret Invasion and its many tie-ins. This probably doesn’t make me the most qualified guy to take any guesses about the current state of the Marvel U, but I’ll take a few stabs at the identities of these team members anyway.
Since Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man are depicted in battle against the Dark Avengers in that very same preview, I think it’s safe to say that (a) that’s not Carol Danvers and (b) that’s probably Venom. Okay, those two were easy. How about Hawkeye? Last I recall, Clint Barton was calling himself Ronin and Hawkeye was a girl. Now I’m just confused. But the fans on the message boards seem convinced that Iron Patriot is actually Norman Osborn, which might lead one to believe that Bullseye, a former Thunderbolt, has assumed the Hawkeye guise.
But is it Norman Osborn under the armor? Could it be a big PR stunt orchestrated by Tony Stark? Could it be the return of a certain star-spangled Avenger? Could it be none of the above?
I haven’t got a clue, but I will admit to being very intrigued by the whole Dark Reign idea. I give Marvel a fair amount of grief over their non-stop crossovers and events, but with Dark Reign being less of a crossover and more of a “state of mind”, hopefully things will slow down a bit and both my brain and my wallet will be able to catch their breath. According to Brian Michael Bendis, the status quo as of Dark Reign was a big part of what got his initial Secret Invasion pitch approved, so it appears we’ve reached a bit of a final destination and the event-happy Marvel Universe will settle down a bit… for now.
WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
© Marvel Entertainment
The wolverine is the largest land-dwelling species of the weasel family… oh wait, wrong article.
Okay, I sacrificed a decent segue for a cheap joke and it wasn’t even funny. Anyway, another interesting prospect in Dark Avengers is the fact that Wolverine’s son, Daken, is going to be a member of the team wearing Wolvie’s old brown-and-yellow costume from the ‘80s. While I’d always held a secret desire for Logan to return to the outfit I grew up with, I’ll settle for his kid wearing it.
To be perfectly honest, Daken doesn’t do much for me. But then, neither did X-23, and I have to admit the character has grown on me. I try to be of the mind that no character is inherently good or bad, but that it all depends on how they’re written, so I have to believe that in the right hands, Daken can and will be an interesting character. As far as Marvel is concerned, there are probably no hands more capable than those of Mr. Bendis, so that’s all well and good. I actually see this as sort of a best-of-both-worlds situation. Frankly, I’d rather see a bunch of Wolverine children, clones and knock-offs running around the Marvel Universe than see Wolverine running around in every single book in the Marvel Universe. Hopefully these characters will sate fan desire for dangerously-coiffed, clawed anti-heroes and Logan himself can become a little less over-exposed.
The whole Wolverine/Daken/X-23 thing does leave a bad taste reminiscent of the 1990’s in my mouth, with all their blades and attitudes, but hopefully these folks won’t start wearing lots of belts and shoulder pads and we’ll all be cool.
Hugh Jackman from X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
© 20th Century Fox
I gotta mention that trailer. Have you seen the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine? I was barely interested in this movie, and frankly I’m barely interested in Wolverine anymore, but I have to admit that after seeing the trailer, this movie actually looks pretty good.
Not good like Dark Knight good, and probably not even Incredible Hulk good, but still; pretty good. I know that it can’t possibly be as bad as Spider-Man 3, Elektra or either of the Fantastic Four movies, so it’s at least got that going for it.
Amazing Spider-Man #528, Spider-Ham variant by Mike Wieringo
© Marvel Entertainment
Unfortunately no. I was just hoping that if I threw that out there as a headline, a few of you would get excited and maybe we could eventually drum up enough support that such a thing could actually happen.
Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham is one of the few funny animal books or superhero spoofs I’ve really enjoyed in my lifetime, and I’ve been having a hard time finding all the issues I need to complete my run. I’d love to see the character make a full-fledged return to comics, but I’d settle for a collection of the old stories.
Marvel rather half-heartedly brought the character back in 2007 with a one-shot entitled Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham written by J. Michael Straczynski, but it wasn’t what fans of the porcine hero were waiting for. My apologies to JMS, but he clearly had no understanding of Spider-Ham or the universe he inhabited. Even as a Civil War parody, it was pretty lame and I have to believe Straczynski wrote it while asleep or under the influence of some heavy narcotics.
What say you, Mania readers? Is it time for Spider-Ham to make his return? Or at the very least get a trade? Or maybe just an Essential collection? Heck, even Werewolf by Night got an Essential!
Action Comics #872 featuring the Creature Comandos, artwork by Gary Frank
© DC Comics
Have you read Action Comics #872 yet? The Creature Commandos are back!
The Creature Commandos debuted in DC’s Weird War Tales #93 back in November of 1980. Long story short, they’re a team of World War II soldiers who took part in a crazy experiment that turned them into ghoulish super-soldiers reminiscent of classic Universal Monsters.
I was too young to read their exploits when they were originally published and I wasn’t even aware of the 2000 mini-series written by Tim Truman. Truth be told, I found a few issues of Weird War Tales in a quarter bin at the Motor City Comic Con just this summer and I fell in love with the characters. What’s not to love about a team of monster soldiers? I’m glad these guys have been brought back to the DCU and I hope that it was done because somebody just got a great pitch approved and we’ll be seeing more and more of them.
If the thought of monsters with machine guns isn’t scary enough, how about this: Marvel will soon be raising the prices on New Avengers, Hulk, Punisher: Max and that new Dark Avengers book I was talking about earlier. $3.99, folks. And it may not be long before the whole line goes in that direction.
Now, I don’t want to waste your time by rehashing anything that you’ve already read somewhere else, and I don’t want to cause anyone any undue worry. But I have to admit to being more than a little frightened by this prospect. Remember when I mentioned that I hoped my wallet would be able to catch its breath now that the latest crossover was drawing to a close? Looks like I spoke too soon (which is really odd when you consider that I’m the one writing this article and I knew full well that I’d eventually mention the whole price increase thing).
I can afford to drop $3.99 on the occasional book here and there, but if Marvel’s whole line goes up a dollar? Looks like that crossover boycott of mine might have to extend to the entire Marvel U, or I might have to become a trade-waiter. And who knows how a price increase would affect trade paperback prices?
Buck Rogers by Francesco Francavilla
© Francesco Francavilla
The Spirit hasn’t even been released yet, but apparently someone has faith in Frank Miller. Either that, or the people who own the rights to Buck Rogers are just desperate for their movie to get made.
According to recent reports, Mr. Miller’s next big-screen directing effort will be a new version of Buck Rogers. I wonder if it’ll all be shot on green screen in black and white and look exactly like Sin City?
Hey, I haven’t seen The Spirit yet, so I shouldn’t judge. It looks intriguing, but it also looks exactly like Sin City. Yes, directors tend to have a signature style. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell the difference between a film directed by Quentin Tarantino and one helmed by Werner Herzog. But while a director may repeat similar themes and shots throughout his or her career, they’re not usually known for making a movie that is almost indistinguishable from the last one they made.
Again… I haven’t seen the Spirit, so I shouldn’t judge. I’m not even saying it’s a bad movie, I’m simply saying it resembles Frank Miller’s Sin City a lot more than it resembles anything I’ve ever seen from Will Eisner. But who knows, maybe Frank will surprise me and it’ll totally rock? And maybe he’ll go in a completely different direction with Buck Rogers? I think it would be great if Frank Miller could prove himself as not only a visionary in the field of sequential art, but also in the field of film. I’m not holding my breath though.
And that will wrap up yet another edition of Comicscape! I’ll be back next week with the final Comicscape of 2008. Until then, please enjoy the ramblings of myself and Bedazzling Ben Johnson with The Spinner Rack!
By Ben Johnson and Chad Derdowski
DARK HORSE COMICS
Gigantic #2 (Of 5) $3.50
Ben: Wow! Wow, wow, wow! The ultimate title and issue number combo just in time for Christmas! There is a Santa!
Indiana Jones & Tomb Of The Gods #3 (Of 4) $2.99
Mister X Condemned #1 (Of 4) $3.50
Until his eyes turned yellow.
Star Wars Knights Of Old Republic #36 Prophet Motive Part 1 $2.99
Star Wars Omnibus Rise Of The Sith $24.95
Umbrella Academy Dallas #2$2.99
Ben: Good stuff.
Usagi Yojimbo #116 $2.99
DC COMICS
All New Atom TP Vol 04 Small Wonder$17.99
Chad: In this volume, the neighbors find out that Vicki is a robot! (did anyone actually get that joke?)
Batman #683 $2.99
Ben: Now everything will make sense! (Just kidding).
Chad: Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Everything will make sense…. Oh, that’s rich!
Batman Gotham After Midnight #8 (Of 12) $2.99
Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #3 $2.50
Brave And The Bold #20 $2.99
Crayon Shinchan Vol 06 (MR) $7.99
Ben: Poorly drawn bottoms and not funny.
Ferryman #4 (Of 5) $3.50
Final Crisis Rage Of The Red Lanterns #1 2nd Ptg $3.99
Flash #247 $2.99
Gears Of War #3 (MR) $3.99
Greatest Hits #4 (Of 6) (MR) $2.99
Key To The Kingdom Vol 06 $9.99
Ben: I have a church key. Does that count?
Midnighter TP Vol 03 Assassin 8 $14.99
Push #3 (Of 6) $3.50
Rann Thanagar Holy War #8 (Of 8) $3.50
Reign In Hell #6 (Of 8) $3.50
Scooby Doo #139 $2.50
Chad: #139? Really? For some reason, I’m really impressed by that.
Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #4 (Of 5) $2.99
Top 10 Season Two #3 (Of 4)$2.99
Trinity #30 $2.99
Unknown Soldier #3 (MR) $2.99
Ben: Who the hell does this guy think he is?
Vigilante #1 $2.99
Wildcats #6 $2.99
Wonder Woman #27 $2.99
Young Liars TP Vol 01 Daydream Believer (MR) $9.99
IMAGE COMICS
American Flagg Definitive Coll TP Vol 01 $19.99
Astounding Wolf-Man #11 (Res) $2.99
Darkness #73 Lucas Cvr A (MR) $2.99
Darkness #73 Sejic Cvr B (MR) $2.99
Guerillas #3 (Of 9) $5.99
Invincible #57 (Res) $2.99
Ben: That was fast.
Savage #3 (Of 4) $3.50
Savage Dragon #143 $3.50
Spawn #186 2nd Ptg (Pp #846) $2.95
Spawn #187 $2.95
Spawn Book Of The Dead HC (Res) $29.99
Spawn Book Of The Dead HC Toy Ed $32.99
MARVEL COMICS
Captain America Theater Of War America First $4.99
Daredevil #114 $2.99
Dark Tower Treachery #4 (Of 6) $3.99
Ghost Rider Danny Ketch #3 (Of 5) $3.99
Hedge Knight II TP Sworn Sword $15.99
Hulk #9 $2.99
Hulk #9 Santa Hulk Var $2.99
Immortal Iron Fist #21 $2.99
Lords Of Avalon Knights Of Darkness #2 (Of 6) $3.99
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man TP Vol 11 Digest$8.99
Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #6 $2.99
Ms Marvel #34 DKR $2.99
New Avengers #48 DKR $2.99
Chad: At what point do they have to stop calling themselves “New”?
New Warriors #19 $2.99
Nova #20$2.99
Off HB Marvel Univ A To Z Prem HC Vol 06 $24.99
Onslaught Reborn TP $14.99
Patsy Walker Hellcat #4 (Of 5) $2.99
Punisher War Zone #3 (Of 6) $3.99
Runaways 3 #5 $2.99
Secret Invasion Requiem #1 DKR $3.99
She-Hulk 2 #36 $2.99
Skaar Son Of Hulk #6 $2.99
Spider-Man Brand New Day Yearbook $4.99
Thor #12 $2.99
Ultimate Spider-Man #129 $2.99
Ultimates 3 Prem HC Who Killed Scarlet Witch $24.99
Ultimates 3 Prem HC Who Killed Scarlet Witch B & W Dm Var $24.99
Ultimates 3 Prem HC Who Killed Scarlet Witch Dm Ed $24.99
Ultimatum #2 (Of 5) $3.99
What If Classic TP Vol 05 $29.99
What If Spider-Man Back In Black $2.99
Wolverine First Class #10 $2.99
Chad: Huh. I always figured he’d fly coach.
Wolverine Origins #31 $2.99
X-Men Complete Onslaught Epic TP Book 04 $29.99
X-Men TP Angel Revelations $19.99
Ben: As a present to all the Marvel fan’s I’ve been pissing off lately I won’t comment on any of the above titles and I love Dark Reign, and Noir and Secret Invasion (no I don’t, Secret Invasion sucks). Merry Christmas.
I'll be man and step up. Yes, I got the "Small Wonder" reference. Nice way to be obscure.
I'm personally irritated by the constant use of the "New" prefix on ever friggin' re-launch Marvel does. I'll bet they'd do the "New Men" if they could get the rights to the name.
As a child of the 80s, I got your Small Wonder reference, too! Good job!
I've actually really enjoyed Secret Invasion. Perhaps I'm not so burned out, because House of M was during my "comics-hiatus," and I skipped WWH altogether, cuz frankly I don't really like or care about the Hulk. Secret Invasion has been a bit chaotic, and it lasted about 2 issues too long because of some unnecessary backstory thrown in there in the middle. But overall, I liked seeing all the big names get together for a couple of serious knock-down, drag-out fights. Perhaps because I only read a few select titles and because I missed a couple of the mega-crossover Events of Ridulousness, I enjoyed seeing NYC get caught in the middle of yet another super-powered war. And I liked the plot of Civil War, too, as it seemed to take the Marvel U in a slightly new direction (I'm still bracing for retcon, of course). And I'm looking (mildly and hesitantly) forward to this Dark Reign concept. Having a "dark Illuminati" running around seems like a cool (yet unoriginal) idea to throw into the mix, at least for readers of the Avengers titles.
Ben... Gigantic #2... and you did nothing with it. The setup was there, you pointed it out... and then left it. I'm sad.
Hey celt6, I'm not really a fan of the Hulk, either, but World War Hulk was a towering improvement over the unnecessarily long House of M (which had less tie-ins, but the whole thing was pointless. And I like mega-events).
"The biggest reveals were all B-List characters at best. I noticed not a single "marquee" character was revealed to be a Skrull"
Cap & Iron Man couldn't be revealed as Skrulls because it would've been seen as a cop-out. Spidey was too busy selling his soul or whatever... that pretty much leaves only Thor, Hulk and the X-Men as "marquee" names. Hulk couldn't be a Skrull 'cause he was off-planet and Thor was dead. Were any X-Men revealed as Skrulls?
Yeah, it is kind of disappointing. Sort of like when "No More Mutants" didn't eliminate any marquee mutants either. I guess we shouldn't be surprised.
As a full blown child of the 80's I got the small wonder reference right away. Then spent several minutes wondering why that show is not on television, not for the first time. Also as a child of the 80's, or maybe just because I am sort of strange, I would love to see a Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham trade with all the old stories collected. So you are Not alone.
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" New Avengers #48 DKR $2.99
Chad: At what point do they have to stop calling themselves “New”?"
When they hit issue #97 approximately four years from now and the series is retitled, "Avengers" and set back to the original numbering with issue #600. I can also see them sneaking in a few extra issues each year so this renumbering will coincide with the Avengers movie (and Steve Roger's return).