The magazine-inspired cover to "The Mystic Hands of Doctor Strange" is a great indicator of what's inside this "super issue". Four black and white stories centered around Marvel's "Master of Magic", each with a distinctive flavor, yet altogether embracing the mysticism of the pulp days. Turns out it's four bucks well spent, a revealing approach to one of Marvel's coolest characters and the universe around him that's only slightly joking with its campy offer of "More Thrills".
This week's fresh batch lacks in big-name releases, which leaves you with a great chance to catch up on some of the collected editions that also come out today.
In the cape department, you've got Batman & Robin #10, which kicks off the Batman vs. Robin arc; or the Justice League: Rise and Fall Special which puts a black stain on Green Arrow and hopefully washes out the bad taste that Cry for Justice left in your mouth. The Mystic Hands of Dr. Strange #1 offers you four black and white short stories in 48 pages, and Amazing Spider-Man #624 covers the new Vulture's origin story.
Dark Horse continues its Solomon Kane showcase in Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders #3 (of 4), and Image kicks off a new arc in Elephantmen #24.
For a change of pace, Oni's releasing Ghost Projekt #1 (of 5), about an investigation on an abandoned Soviet research facility with a supernatural twist. Marvel has a two-parter Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way for you aspiring writers, and for those who just can't wait for the A-Team movie, there's IDW's A-Team: Shotgun Wedding #1, which is awesome just for featuring Hannibal on the cover with a bible and pistol to accessorize with his alb.
Looking for collected editions? Marvel collects Jason Aaron's run on Ghost Rider with Ghost Riders Heavens on Fire, while DC updates their greek pantheon in Greek Street Vol 1 Blood Calls For Blood. Hellboy: Vol 9 Wild Hunt contains the eight-issue miniseries followup to Darkness Calls along with pages from the artist's sketchbook. Either that or the Twilight graphic novel.
You can catch the full distribution list through Diamond.
If I had written this article for a comic book centric website, then I would have said "Top Ten Gay Moments in SUPER HERO Comic Book History" But for a larger audience, "Comic Book" still means "Super Hero."
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This wasn't a list based on quality, otherwise the awful Rawhide Kid series or Alpha Flight's coming out issue wouldn't even be here. Those stories got headlines in the mainstream press. Stan Lee went on CNN to talk about their "gay cowboy" book. Rictor and Shatterstar were all over sites like Perez Hilton and similar ones.
Which is where he loses me. You could argue that the overtones between Batman and Robin caused a media frenzy when they were more prominent, but to argue that they're significant, or even mildly relevant to LGBT(QI) acceptance in comics simply can't be a honest statement. Doonesbury is a syndicated strip with an expansive readership, and exposed thousands of readers to heartfelt commentary in Andy's battle with AIDS, which, while we're discussing semantics, is much more of a "moment" than the haphazard pairings and character names that appear on the list. No one can blame Diaz for trying to expose his readers to these admittedly prominent, gay characters, but the article would've hugely benefited from additional, comprehensive research and more selective diction. What comics do you think would better fit the "Important Gay Moments" mantle?
Geoff Johns and Jim Lee flexed their publicity muscles this Wednesday when they conducted an open twitter discussion on FIRST WAVE #1 by Brian Azzarello and Rags Morales.
In case you didn't hear the announcements from him, or him, or them, DC's new creative chief officer, along with its newest copublisher would be reading and replying in real time to the new release. Under the hashtag #DCReader, tweeters could share their thoughts as they flip through the pages and receive creative commentary from other readers, including Johns and Lee. The end result proved to be a mostly insightful forum that generally avoided all-too-common twitter trash, like a fast-moving Oprah's book club with an insane audience member rambling in the seats.
Highlights of the discussion follow, so you would do well to finish the issue before reading on.
The internet was all atwitter last week with speculation about the cryptic "Stan's Back" ad campaign. Though it was no question that the distinctive signature belonged to the illustrious Stan Lee, it opened the podium to ask, "Back to what?"
Today BOOM! studios announced that the renowned Mr. Lee will "present" three new series, all superpower related, of course. BOOM!'s big man Mark Waid is writing one of these, and additional announcements on the other "A-list writers" will follow. The extent of Stan Lee's involvement isn't yet clarified, though it's likely he'll be listed as Creator. This seems to be a new trend for Lee, who last year collaborated with Hiroyuki Takei to produce the Ultimo Manga.
BOOM!'s as-of-yet unnamed series will hit stores later this year.
Director Joe Johnston's wishlist is out for his upcoming Captain America flick. The stars are mostly television up-and-comers, which comes as no surprise after seeing Kenneth Branagh's virtually-unknown choice for Thor. Whoever gets chosen to play the blue-eyed Steve Rogers, it's also important that they keep some clearance for Marvel's other film projects, as they'll be expected to lead in the upcoming Avengers film and cameo in Avengers-affiliated movies. Be sure to leave your opinion in the poll and hit the jump to better know your options.
The DC animated universe has seen a revitalization as of late, with its direct-to-DVD movies featuring Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. They're all interesting takes on the capes, like revamps without that washed-out 'Secret Origins' feel, but ultimately they remind me of how much I miss the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. The show just had a big feel to it- powerful team-ups, interplanetary implications. And with 'Crisis on Two Earths', the weighty feel returns with a universe-shattering bang.
This Wednesday saw the conclusion to one of the last Blackest Night tie-ins, the three-part Blackest Night: Flash. Penned by the Blackest Night's creator Geoff Johns, how does this limited series stack up against the other concurrent event titles?
We've got the end of a Republic, a space bug versus an old ghost, a multi-limbed assassin, and doomed team-ups hitting comic stores today.
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic #50
The final issue! The saga of Zayne Carrick -- the Padawan-turned-undercover-and-unexpected-hero -- ends in this last issue of the series that has been a part of the Dark Horse Star Wars line since 2006! Zayne and the Mandalorian Rohlan rush to aid their friend Jarael against the demented scientist Demagol and the vicious slaver Chantique. If they can arrive in time, there is a chance that everything will turn out in their favor-but with Zayne's ever-awkward connection to the Force, nothing is certain.
Green Lantern #51
The most epic battle in BLACKEST NIGHT yet comes to a shocking conclusion as Hal Jordan makes the ultimate move to take on the Black Lantern Spectre. But what price comes with the unleashing of Parallax? And what does this mean for the future of the emotional spectrum's avatars?
Chase Variant One-Shot (Is All I Need) (One-Shot)
Comics industry gossip columnist, Doctor Who writer and creator of Watchmensch, RICH JOHNSTON joins with 2000AD's BAGWELL and Heavy Metal's SAVERIO TENUTA for a very different kind of comic. A balls-to-the-wall blockbuster action comic starring the four-armed genetically altered assassin, Chase Variant, as she tries to fulfill her missions while stopping rival governments from trying to collect her for themeselves. But all the time her every action is predicted by a very familiar card game being played by unknown assailants, challenging Chase's belief in self-determinism. This is Michael Bay meets Rene Descartes, TOMB RAIDER meets ANNIE HALL.
Doomwar #1
Wakanda has been conquered, its Vibranium reserves plundered -- and Storm faces execution in the next 48 hours. Dr. Doom stands triumphant. It will take the combined forces of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the two Black Panthers to stand against him. A war has begun that will pit the world's most relentless super-villain against a collection of the world's most powerful super heroes -- one that will span the globe, offering twists and turns and surprise players (hello, Deadpool!) that neither side will see coming.
Webcomics have proven themselves to be a platform where questionable content or material that couldn't risk the cost of publication can thrive, unfiltered. Perhaps no other comic has better captured this freedom than the much-acclaimed Axe Cop. In case you haven't heard it from Comics Alliance, Wired, or EW, Axe Cop is an internet success story.
The comic's charm relies on its creative staff, as it's written by five year-old Malachai Nicolle, and, like any good five year-old's imagination, contains a fair amount of dinosaurs with guns, decapitation, and unicorn wishes. Axe Cop is the craft of absurdist PG humor captured by Malachai's older brother Ethan, and the site continues to expand with its fanbase. Check out the best piece of hatchet-related literature out there (I'm looking at you, Gary Paulsen!) on axecop.com
The buzz coming from DC's next crossover project has, naturally, perked a lot of ears on the comics blogosphere. As we approach the tail end of Blackest Night, the internet's filled with fan forums crying "event fatigue" and writers concerned with the apparent related optimism of Brightest Day with Marvel's Heroic Age. But if the relatively vapid teasers have offered any sort of glimpse into what Brightest Day is going to be, I think we're looking at a heavily modified and fairly refined system of crossover comics.
Hallmark never quite did it for me. Which explains why I've consistently stuck with macaroni-and-glue Valentine's Cards since kindergarten. But this year's different. I've got the Batman & Robin Comic Generator. Well, okay, using a corporate preprocessed image and applying your own supposed beautiful and unique words doesn't stray very far from Hallmark, but it's sure to be cheaper.
This Valentine's Day, say it with love. Say it with a Bat-slap to the face.
Northstar's Boyfriend Coming In January!
You guys may recall I was a bit cranky about Northstar and his lack of lovin' about a year and a half ago. In fact, at the time, I issued a challenge to Marvel to get him a kiss by June 2009 or I would declare him not really gay. I have not forgotten about this. However, when the X-men moved to San Francisco this year, we were teased with the existence of what looked to be Northstar's boyfriend (and manager), so I delayed judgment until we could see more. Since then, Northstar hasn't had a lot of major appearances, as there have been about a thousand major crossover events in the Marvel universe in the last six months, and each one tends to disrupt the normal storyline for most books, including the many X-books. So I waited. Our patience seems to have been rewarded! Artist Tim Fish revealed on his blog that his upcoming story in Nation X #2 (which comes out in Jan.) is a story about Northstar, and will feature Kyle, his boyfriend in an 8-page story. I'm not sure if an actual kiss is in it, but it's implied that there is some lovin' going on. Check out some sketches of Northstar, Kyle, and Aurora below, and we'll keep you up to date when we get closer to Jan. NATION X #2 1/6/10 [TimFishWorks]...
