Comic Book Resources

Who is it: Captain America. Sadly, only got it with number 5

I'd say Captain America if I was not bothered by "this character is much stronger than normal human beings" while Cap is supposed to be just above olympic-level athletes human beings.

Well, olympic-level athletes are much stronger than normal human beings.

Captain America had fangs?

Matthew E -

Yep, in the very awful "Capwolf" storyline (which I don't think was the official title, but that's what it's always referred to by Cap fans. Just mention "Capwolf," and a fellow fan will nod their head and lament). It was a rare blemish on Mark Gruenwald's otherwise excellent work as a writer on the book.

This might be a stretch, but two of the stories in the Cover Challenge feature a sorcerer recruiting a team of magic-based followers (Dr. Strange in The Witches, Dr Druid in the Quasar story). I'm not sure if the Daredevil story fits that theme, though.

Ape Beast. Definitely Ape Beast. I think I would have been more receptive to Feline Beast had it not been one of the hundreds of revamps done on X-Characters all at the same time. Angel's blood has the power to heal? White Queen has a diamond form? Bishop has the ability to know exactly where he is on earth? There were too many more to count. It was too much.

Ape Beast by far. The appearance suited his name far better than the current one (especially since it was drawn with far more consistency than the feline form, which still seems to be a little shaky for some artists). If there's one thing I'm truly enjoying about the Endangered Species back-up strips (and there pretty much is only one thing about them I'm enjoying), it's seeing a version of Beast that actually looks like I want him to.

Ape Beast by leaps and bounds. Originally Beast was human and fur-less. In this form he was ape like and it wasn't until he drank some formula that brought about the fur and claws. It seemed to me and still seems that his "secondary mutation" is more of an extension on his name and furry appearance rather than his original appearance and abilities. It would make more sense if the fur and claws WERE the secondary mutation brought upon by the formula he drank all those years ago. Really the feline form is a third mutation for poor Hank. Also they said his "secondary mutation" into feline form was some sort of de-evolution. De-evolve into a feline from a simian form? Huh? Wouldn't de-evolving be becoming MORE ape like and less, oh... becoming another species? Or is it genus? I slept through biology. Maybe if I didn't I'd understand this all better.

cover theme: All feature characters with tattoos: Jennifer Kale (?) of the Witches, Mandrill's female army, and either Quasar or his girlfriend Kayla (?) wound up with the Starbrand.

Who is it: Cap with clue 5, but clue 5 did make me think of Sam Simeon from Angel and the Ape also. Any other recurring character in the comics who was a cartoonist?

Cover challenge: Thunderstrike 24 is the first that came to mind. Eric, we hardly knew you. http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=57701&zoom=4

Also, Daredevil 20 of the current run was the 400th issue, and did have a special story by STan Lee, Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. The cover wasn't super special, though it was nice.

http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=85331&zoom=4

Wow, this time I got Captain America on the very
first clue!

Cover game:

Thor #425
http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=48660&zoom=4

The very best Eric Masterson cover!

Best,
Hunter (Pedro Bouça)

I was never a big fan of ape-like Beast, even though that's the way I most knew him. I mean, come on, he's Wolverine painted blue. Maybe if they'd worked to make his design more distinct before the switch (long before the switch) I'd be more anxious for him to return. To paraphrase a famous complaint, CATT NOT MUNKY!!

I do agree, though, that they need to decide what the cat Beast actually looks like, and hand that down to their artists...

All three covers feature characters co-created by Steve Gerber: Jennifer Kale, Mandrill, and the Living Mummy.

Hey, I got Captain America on the first guess! Lucky me.

Definitely prefer Ape-Beast. I just don't life the look of cat-beast.

LIKE the look. I don't like the look.

Dang! Omar got to it before I did. Yeah, they're all Gerber babies.

What, no love for the big-footed, otherwise human-looking Beast? But yeah, blue and apelike (Avengers era) all the way. I can't get used to the Beaty & the Best look and don't want to.

I prefer the ape-like Beast, for the reasons Cambert mentioned, plus fond memories of the short-lived solo series that established that look.

I grew up on the Ape-Beast who pal'd around with Wonder Man in the Avengers. He was a lot of fun. But I have to say I've kind of warmed up to the Feline-Beast, especially when drawn by somebody like Frank Quitely or John Cassaday, who can do a good job of conveying the sleak features of a cat while not making it preposterous. It also helps when I imagine him speaking in the voice of Kelsey Grammar...

Whenever I hear Beast mentioned, I think back to those heady days with George Perez drawing ape-Beast in AVENGERS, heading out into town with Wonder Man...

*sighs* Happy days.

Cassaday's cat-Beast is good, too, I must admit - and Kelsey Grammar as Beast was about the only good thing in X3 (IMHO)...

When the term "many years ago" was used, I immediately started thinking of Anthro, or Moonboy, maybe Ikaris. Bit misleading, I'd say

I like the commemorative cover collection -- I think it's interested when companies decide to promote or ignore any issue that's simply divisible by 25.

I guess with Amazing Spider-Man going to 3x month, it should surpass FF pretty quickly as Marvel's highest-numbered title and be the first Marvel title to hit #600. Heck, Spidey could even catch up with Batman or Superman before long. (Although he'd have awhile before catching up with Action or Detective.)

I got Cap on the first clue!

Ape-beast. Easy. The new one just looks silly.

Ape-Beast, one of the all-time classic character designs, a sheer joy to look at, vs. Cat-Beast, which looks like ass. Hmm. Let me think. Yeah, going to go with Ape-Beast. (And yes, Cat-Beast is supposed to look like ass. It was part of Morrison's character arc for the Beast in his run on the series. The same can be said about the "Iron Spider" costume. Doesn't mean it has to stick around forever.)

And does anyone other than me just love the sheer, unadulterated hucksterism of that first Daredevil comic? Putting both Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four on the cover, just because the same people published them? Classic Stan Lee.

I don't really care what animal the Beast resembles, but the transformation into the cat form was good for him, and I prefer for him to look furhter away from humanity.

His hair in the ape-form was really ugly, though.

I hope that the endangered species storyline will end up bringing back ape beast. Although Cassaday draws stupid cat very nicely. Ang yes, Grammer was the only redeeming factor in X3. And did you hear that Goyer has been attached to Magneto now, too? Great! Three crappy movies to look backwards to (what's the actual antonym for look forwards?)! Superman, Wolverine, Magneto. Goddammit.

Yuo guys must have really hated X3, 'cause Kelsey Grammar stunk up the joint like a turd in the summertime.

Ape Beast... When I first started reading X-Men it was all about Colossus and Longhsot and Gateway and stuff, so my first real encounter with Beast was the X-Men cartoon. And when I hear Beast talk, that is the voice I hear...

While I like his character in the Avengers, I don't care for the way he was drawn back then. I much prefer the early 90's style, with big hair and sideburns. Bachalo did a great Beast, as did Mad and Larocca.

Beast is still one of my all time favourite Marvel characters, so I am warming up to Cat Beast, but when I picture him, I see the classic furball.

PS. The best version of Cat Beast was in Power Pack / X-Men, which also showed Cyclops new costume in the best representation I have seen.

I'd say Cat-Beast if Quitely or Cassaday are drawing him. Unfortunately, when anyone else draws him, he looks ridiculous.

CAT BEAST FOREVER.

One positive note about the feline McCoy- look at how much play time he has in the comics, he's in as many comics (or maybe more) as Wolverine! The transformation made the character the x-men icon in writers eyes.

Cambert kind of opens himself up to criticism by saying Beasts premise is supposed to be "devolving". This was a dramatic plot line established by Morrison and picked up by Whedon.

"Devolving" is supposed to be how Hank feels.

If Marvel Comics truly devolves Beast into an ape form then it will prove that they disagree with risk, fun, and new ideas; regardless of an opportune plot device or not.

Marvel should treat new designs how they would "like" to treat character deaths- by suggesting fans go back and look at the hundreds of previous appearances of the character if they enjoyed that version so much.

It's cool because I'm apart of a different generation of Marvel fans. I watched the t.v. series X-Men, and I read them when I was a kid.

I just loved feline Beast from Quitely that I automaticaly think that any artist that draws him afterwards is trying to live up to that- even if they don't make it.

The BEST part of Quitely's design? The legs. Go back and look at them. They looked like cat legs and bent backwards. I wish that a writer would pick up on the original design and have Hank bend his legs backwards like a feral cat and then just mention that he never uses them like he's supposed to.

Might I respectfully point out to Marvel that I already own the previous hundreds of appearances, but I do not own the comics they are trying to sell me? If they don't want my money, of course, they can continue doing it "their way", but I have a pretty strong suspicion that they do want my money, and as such, I feel free to impose conditions upon its delivery.

Such as, purely as a hypothetical example, using a character design that is elegant, classic (in all senses of the word), evocative, and unique, rather than one that is ugly, awkward, and that ninety percent of their artists can't seem to draw properly.

Just, y'know, as an example. (And no, I'm not boycotting Marvel until they fix the Beast's look. But it is symptomatic of the prima donna-esque belief at Marvel that the opinions of their customers don't matter.)

Correct, Omar!