Brian Cronin
The Abandoned An’ Forsaked – The Black Panther Has ESP?!
In this feature we examine comic book stories and ideas that were not only abandoned, but also had the stories/plots specifically “overturned” by a later writer (as if they were a legal precedent). Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of The Abandoned An’ Forsaked. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.
Today, based on a suggestion from reader Omar Karindu, we look at the time that Black Panther temporarily gained mental powers…or did he?
Our Lives Together – Daredevil and Iron Man Share a Party Scene
In this feature, I will spotlight some of the more interesting examples of shared comic book universes. You know, crossovers that aren’t exactly crossovers.
For the first one, we’ll take a look at an interesting party scene in two Denny O’Neil comic books in 1983, when Daredevil #195 and Iron Man #171 shared a party scene.
The Past Was Close Behind: That Time Dan Slott Predicted Speedball’s Future as Penance
This feature spotlights moments, exchanges, etc. from older comics that take on a brand new light when read in concert with later comic books. Here is the archive of previous installments.
Today we look at a 1991 Dan Slott story that, in hindsight, seems to allude to Speedball’s future role as Penance.
Poohdickery for 5/10/13
Writer Don Ferguson and artist Richard Moore did a syndicated Winnie the Pooh comic strip for ten years that still gets reprinted today. One of the notable aspects of the strip is how Winnie the Pooh and his friends often act a lot less nice than they do in their animated appearances. In this feature, I’ll post one of these examples each installment.
Read on for today’s example of Poohdickery (tip of the hat to commenter John for the name)…
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Comic Book Legends Revealed #418
Welcome to the four hundred and eighteenth in a series of examinations of comic book legends and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of the previous four hundred and seventeen. This week, did Marvel get Samuel L. Jackson to be Nick Fury BEFORE they used him as the basis for Ultimate Nick Fury? Plus, how did a typo (that was later edited out) give a clue to a future Spider-Man storyline? And speaking of Spider-Man and edits, how did Marvel “fix” a classic Spider-Man story in a reprint?
Let’s begin!
The Line it is Drawn #138 – Comic Book Characters and Game of Thrones!
Go follow Comics Should Be Good on Twitter (if you have Twitter, that is – if you don’t, you can go sign up). Here is our Twitter page… http://twitter.com/csbg. And here are the Comics Should Be Good writers who are on Twitter (the links go to the person’s Twitter account) – myself, Greg Hatcher, Chad Nevett, Kelly Thompson, Bill Reed, Greg Burgas, Sonia Harris, Melissa K. and Ken H.
I update the blog’s Twitter account updates whenever a new post is put up on the blog, so it’s an easy way to keep up with the blog. In addition, I post new content on the blog’s Twitter account.
Now on to the bit!
So every week, I ask a question here. You reply to it on our Twitter page (just write @csbg with your reply) and our blog sketch artists will each pick one of your suggestions and I will post them here every week. So every week you will have a new question and you will see the choices picked from the previous week. Here is an archive of all the previous editions of The Line It Is Drawn!
To qualify, you have to be following us when you reply – so go follow us and then give your answer to the following question/challenge (All suggestions due by 3pm Pacific Friday).
The topic is…
Mash-up comic book characters with the films of the late, great Ray Harryhausen! Here is a filmography of his work to pick from.
Read on for the sketches that came about courtesy of the last question/challenge!
Team-up or mash-up comic book characters and characters from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books (preferably, let’s stick with the characters who have appeared on the TV adaptation already)!
Enjoy!
Abandoned Love: Pretty Short-Lived Tribute to Your Dead Ex-Wife…
Every week, we will be examining comic book stories, plots and ideas that were abandoned by a later writer while still acknowledging that the abandoned story DID still happen. Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of Abandoned Love. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.
This time around, we look at how Hank Pym decided to go back to being called Giant-Man instead of continuing to honor his dead ex-wife’s codename by going by the Wasp…
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Cover Theme Game for 5/8
Every week you’ll get a brand-new comic cover theme game! The game works like this: I’ll show you three covers. They all have something in common, whether it be a character, a trait all three characters share, a connection between all three characters, a locale, a creator, a trait all three creators share, SOMEthing. And it isn’t something obvious like “They all have prices!” “They all have logos!” “They all feature a man!” “They are all Avengers (who ISN’T?)!” “They’re all dead (who HASN’T been killed off?)!” “They’ve all been cloned (who HASN’T been cloned?)!” “They’re all mutants! (who ISN’T a mutant?)” “They’re all legacy heroes (who ISN’T a legacy hero nowadays?)!” etc.
In addition, please note that you must have some familiarity with comic book history to correctly guess these comics. You cannot guess the connective theme just by looking at the covers solely, you must have some knowledge beyond just the covers. The connections will ONLY have to do with connections in the actual comic books (so no incidental connections like “they share the same last names of Vice Presidents,” etc. Now, if the three characters were each named Gerald Ford, that’d be another story, as that’d no longer be incidental).
If you come up with an answer that works outside of what I intended, I’ll give you credit (well, provided I think it fits, of course).
One more thing – if there are floating heads on the cover, ignore them! They don’t mean anything! Same thing with corner boxes!
If you think you know the answer, e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com. Don’t answer in the comments. This way, people who check in at different times of the day can still get credit for answering it correctly!
Here is an archive of all the past cover theme games, plus their answers. Before each new installment, I’ll post the answers to the previous week’s game.
Good luck and enjoy! Continue Reading »
You Decide: Who is the Definitive Iron Man Writer?
Oops, I forgot to link to our latest You Decide poll last week!
Here it is, for Iron Man 3, who is the definitive Iron Man writer?
NBC Foolishly Passes on Sixth Gun
In a world where Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are doing crazy well, NBC doesn’t think that a Sixth Gun series would work?
Not a good move, NBC!
Of course, as commenter Peter notes below, it is fair to note that the comic might not have been adapted well. So my apologies for jumping the sixth gun to “foolishly,” NBC! Perhaps you were totally correct! It is just a shame to not see a great comic series get adapted.
Comic Book Easter Eggs – Daredevil Front Page Photographer Easter Eggs!
Every week, I will be sharing with you three comic book “easter eggs.” An easter egg is a joke/visual gag/in-joke that a comic book creator (typically the artist) has hidden in the pages of the comic for readers to find (just like an easter egg). They range from the not-so-obscure to the really obscure. So come check ‘em all out and enjoy! Also, click here for an archive of all the easter eggs featured so far! If you want to suggest an easter egg for a future column, e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com (do not post your suggestion in the comments section!).
Today we take a look at the six photographer easter eggs hidden at the beginning of each of the first six issues of Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin’s Daredevil!
Enjoy!
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Gimmick or Good? – Batman #497
In this column, Mark Ginocchio (from Chasing Amazing) takes a look at the gimmick covers from the 1990s and gives his take on whether the comic in question was just a gimmick or whether the comic within the gimmick cover was good. Hence “Gimmick or Good?” We continue with 1993′s overlay cover for Batman #497…
Batman #497 (published August 1993) – script by Doug Moench, pencils by Jim Aparo, inks by Dick Giordano, cover by Kelley Jones
Eight months after shocking the world by killing off its most recognizable character in Superman, DC decided a major change was needed for its other global icon Batman. DC stopped short of killing Bruce Wayne, but still put him on the shelf for a considerable amount of time with a broken back thanks to the handiwork of a relatively new villain: the mysterious man-monster Bane. Though Batman #497 didn’t receive the host of gimmicks Superman #75 did (like a black polybag, collector’s editions armbands and Daily Planet obituaries), the comic did sport an overlay cover that turned back to reveal the full scene of Bane “breaking the bat” over his knee.
But what about inside the comic?
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The Great Comic Book Cover Homage Streak: Week 32
It occurs to me that it seems like many comic book covers are homages. Which is fine with me. I have no problem with it. It just made me think, though, how long could I go before I hit a week where NO new comic book was released that had a cover that was an homage to something? Let’s find out! Here is an archive of all the cover homages featured in the streak so far!
Comic Book Six Degrees: X-O Manowar to X-Wing Rogue Leader
I name two comic book characters. You then have to connect the two using only shared appearances in comic books (official appearances in comics only – no cameos like Terry Austin sneaking Popeye into the background of a panel and no outside comic book appearances, like cartoons and the like). You have to do so using less than six comics total. Covers and pin-ups do not count – only actual appearances in the same comic book story (so it doesn’t count if they each appeared in separate stories inside the same anthology). Mythological characters, public domain characters (other than public domain comic book characters, they’re free game) and real people (by the way, unless a fake name is used for a real person, like Ronald Raygun or whatever, you can use the person even if they are not officially named in the comic) are unique to their own comic book appearances (so DC’s Thor is different than Marvel’s Thor, DC’s Ronald Reagan is different from Marvel’s Ronald Reagan, etc.). But a licensed character is the same in all of their various comic book companies (so the Marvel Red Sonja is the same as the Dynamite Red Sonja) and approved appearances by a real person can go across comic book companies, as well (so, for instance, you can use Marv Wolfman from his Teen Titans appearance to connect with Marv Wolfman in his Fantastic Four appearance). Approval tends to be the key (except for public figures, of course).
Every week, whoever connects the two characters in the least amount of turns gets to pick the next week’s match (in the event of a tie, the winner is chosen randomly). Last week was Prince Ra-Man to She-Ra. Mike L. was one of a few people who connected the two in three moves. Here is how Mike connected the two (it is the exact same connection a few other people used, as I believe Crisis #12 is the only comic Superman has shared with Prince Ra-Man)…
Prince Ra-Man was in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 with Superman
Superman was in DC Comics Presents #47 with He-Man
He-Man was in The Secret Of The Sword with She-Ra.
Mike’s challenge is…
X-O Manowar to X-Wing Rogue Leader (Wedge Antilles)
Wow, this one is a toughie (at least based on what Mike gave me as how he connected the two – it took all six degrees. The problem is that the Star Wars comics only really ever had one official crossover)!
E-mail me your answers at bcronin@comicbookresources.com. Do NOT post your answers in the comments section!
Whoever connects the two characters in the least amount of comics gets to pick the connection for next time around (I’ll pick a random winner in the event of a tie)!
Remember, only authorized appearances in comic books count (for instance, all the Marvel characters in Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck do not count)!
50 Greatest Spider-Man Stories Master List
I was putting together the Greatest Stories Ever Told Master List when I noticed that I never compiled the 50 Greatest Spider-Man Stories poll from last year into a single list. It really doesn’t work to link to ten different lists on the master list, so I figured now was as good a time as any to make a master list of the 50 Greatest Spider-Man stories, as voted on by you readers last year!
Enjoy!
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