Recent Posts
Review time! with Kill All Monsters volume 1
You know, the Emerald City Comic Convention ended a bit over two months ago. I should probably start reviewing some of the books I bought there, right? So let’s get into it!
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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)!
Review time! with Jerusalem: A Family Portrait
You know, for a “tiny, strategically and economically insignificant desert hamlet” (as the frontispiece to this book calls it), people sure do love writing about Jerusalem. I wonder why?
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She Has No Head! – Superheroines On Film Are Killing It
I’ve spent most of my life aching for great superheroine portrayals on film. To see some of my comic book heroines reflected back to me on 40-foot screens. With a few awesome exceptions (X-Men, X2) I have been disappointed again and again (Catwoman, Elektra, Sue Storm in Fantastic Four, Batgirl in Batman & Robin, Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Mary Jane in Spiderman, okay not a superheroine, but still) the list of bad performances, bad writing, bad directing, and just bad ideas is painfully long.
Clockwise From Top Left: Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts in Iron Man 3, Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson in Dredd, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanov/Black Widow in The Avengers.
Sunday brunch: Links for the week 28 April – 4 May 2013
Have a seat, eat some fried eggs and bacon, and read up on some links. Sounds like a good time to me!
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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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Ecce picturae intra libros: Comics art for the week of 1 May 2013
‘I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party’ / Blow it out your hairdo, ’cause you work at Hardee’s!
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When We First Met – All of Iron Man’s Armors!
In this feature we spotlight the various characters, phrases, objects or events that eventually became notable parts of comic lore. Not major stuff like “the first appearance of Superman,” but rather, “the first time someone said, ‘Avengers Assemble!’” or “the first appearance of Batman’s giant penny” or “the first appearance of Alfred Pennyworth” or “the first time Spider-Man’s face was shown half-Spidey/half-Peter.” Stuff like that. Here is an archive of all the When We First Met features so far! Check ‘em out!
Today, in honor of the release of Iron Man 3, we take a look at all of the first appearances of each of Iron Man’s armors!
House to Astonish Episode 105
It’s Free Comic Book Day, and it’s also New House To Astonish Day – Paul and I have got a hefty slice of comicsy chat for you, with discussion of the closure of Comics Alliance, Valerie Gallaher’s departure from MTVGeek, the blacklisting of The Outhouse by DC and the cancellation of the B&B column here at CBR, as well as the end of X-Factor, the return of Spider-Man 2099, the Battle of the Atom crossover, Aw Yeah Comics’ partnership with Thrillbent, the return of Shaolin Cowboy, Dark Horse’s new Hellboy projects and Alex de Campi’s Grindhouse.
As is our usual way, we want to know what you make of the comics news of the past few weeks, including but not limited to:
- What do you think of DC’s decision to can the B&B column here at CBR and begin a similar column on their own site?
- What was the most exciting announcement out of C2E2 for you?
- Did your store do anything special or fun for Free Comic Book Day?
We’ve also got reviews of Jupiter’s Legacy, The Movement and Mister X: Eviction, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is having trouble getting over its ex. All this plus a hyperbolic chamber, the Best Dog award and all the scandals you never knew about DC Comics.
The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud.
Or you can use it right here…
House to Astonish Episode 105 – The Softest of Balls by Housetoastonish on Mixcloud
Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Twitter (I’m at @housetoastonish and Paul’s at @ifdestroyed), via email (at housetoastonish@gmail.com) or on our Facebook fan page.
Bear in mind that you can now get our range of super-swish T-shirts from Redbubble – tell people you’re a listener without actually having to tell them anything!
Friday Aboard the Star Wolf
Not comics this week, just comics-adjacent. But I think it’s a story you’ll enjoy, and also a chance to help out with something really cool. Continue Reading »
The 25 Greatest Iron Man Stories Ever Told!
Today, in honor of the release of Iron Man 3, we are giving you the 25 Greatest Iron Man Stories Ever Told, as voted on by YOU! Here is the list of the other characters/creators that you’ve voted on so far.
Enjoy!
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Gimmick or Good? – Iron Man #288 and 290
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 1992/1993′s foil covers for Iron Man #288 and 290…
Iron Man #288 and #290 (published January 1993 and March 1993) – story by Len Kaminski, art by Kevin Hopgood and Mike Decarlo (#288) and Hopgood and Steve Mitchell (#290)
As more and more early 90s comic books were getting gimmick enhancements on the cover, it was only a matter of time before Marvel would give “Old Shellhead” some kind of metallic-looking treatment. In celebration of the character’s 30th anniversary in 1993, Marvel released two separate giant-sized issues, one featuring the silver War Machine on the cover, and the other with the traditional red and gold Iron Man. Both had metallic “foil” enhancements despite the fact that the two comics were not consecutively numbered issues. Oddly enough, around the same time, Marvel did a similar thing with its Avengers anniversary issues – every third comic between #360-#369 received a chromium embossed enhancement.
But what about inside the comic?
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Comic Book Legends Revealed #417
Welcome to the four hundred and seventeenth 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 sixteen. This week, was there really a Batman/Pokemon crossover? Did Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz have Dan Quayle as the villain of Eletkra: Assassin? And what’s the deal with DC and fixing errors in their reprints of old Superman stories?
Let’s begin!
The Line it is Drawn #137 – Comic Book Characters in Classic Music Videos!
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…
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)!
Read on for the sketches that came about courtesy of the last question/challenge!
In honor of our own Daniel Cox’s music video directorial debut (which you can see here), the theme is mash-up comic characters and famous music videos!
Enjoy!
