Comic Books

For reasons unknown, the Thai audience have been treated to a different edit of the Lego Movie trailer. It’s shorter, if not noticeably sweeter, and has a few new gags and scenes. Click here to view the embedded video. I understand the film has been produced in CG, but the production design and a lot of the shot planning was done in real life with real Lego first. Though that’s not official, and I’m waiting for Warner Bros. to clarify. Second Lego Trailer – Shorter, With New Scenes And Gags

TweetComing this November, Titan Comics have announced that they’ll be collecting together Chris Claremont and John Bolton’s series Marada The She Wolf. This will be the first time that the series has ever been collected in full, and will come with restored artwork from Bolton as well as concept sketches and other artwork. Originally published in 1982 by Marvel, the story had originally been planned to be an arc of Red Sonja. It tells the tale of Caesar’s descendent Marada, who  travels the Roman Empire, fighting various monsters and wearing precarious togas. The story is fully painted by Bolton, and will be re-released in hardcover in November. #call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;} #social-essentials {margin: 0 0 10px 0;}

Best Marvel wedding ever. Why wasn’t this a double issue?!?

Posted On Today at 05:33:51 am EDT by Coops [Reply] [Quote] [New] Ah but that there is the problem I think modern comic books face. They try to be 'realistic', I think when you're reading a story about a man who can scale a perfectly flat surface with nothing but his hands, or someone who at least doubles in size and turns green every time they get angry we can kiss realisim goodbye. I know I'm old fashioned and that old fashioned ideals don't sell but to me a superhero is supposed to give us something to strive towards, no matter how old we get. Peter Parker for example, he made a mistake. A simple tragic mistake that cost him dearly. While the rest of us would shoulder the burden of knowledge that we should have done something different, we'd try and carry on with our lives and put the past behind us in the belief that our loved one we let down would want us to live. Peter on the other hand has spent every day since then trying to make up for his mistake, his momentary lapse in judgement and continued to do so up until his death (which hopefully won't stick but let's move past that particular can of worms) even after those who knew his secret, those who cared about him have told him. His done enough and he's earned his rest and the right to live a normal life, Peter continues to push himself because in his mind it will never be enough. That by letting people die, good or evil he's reliving the failure from before. A better man finds a way to beat the odds, keep everyone alive including the villain so they can face justice. Death isn't justice, no matter what you believe comes after it, Death is a get out of jail free card and criminals in real life have tried to provoke people into killing them so they don't have to face justice. This is why comic book superheroes shouldn't kill. They're supposed to be better than us. When we're kids, they are who we strive to be. As adults they should remind us of the idealisim we once carried. Sorry to ramble on. Hope you all enjoyed my thoughts.

Who's This? Who's Who Vol.X p.22, that kid pilot.The facts: For a character we don't remember today, Hop Harrigan seems to have been a very successful aviation ace strip. Created by Jon Blummer (who wrote and drew the vast majority of his stories), Hop premiered in All-American Comics #1 (1939) and remained a feature of that book until issue 99 (1948) before the title started to focus singly on western material. But the character "hopped" around a lot as well, with strips running in various issues of All-Star Comics, Flash Comics and All-Flash, Green Lantern (vol.1), Comic Cavalcade, Sensation Comics, Wonder Woman (vol.1) and others, in stories ranging from 2 to 6 pages. All-Star Comics #8 is of particular interest because it features a 2-page prose story in which Hop meets the JSA, cementing his place in the DC Universe and landing him a spot in its Definitive Directory. Hop was also the star of a radio show from 1942 to 1948 (Hop's sidekick Tank Tinker was played by two actors, one of which was the voice for Popeye's Bluto), and of a movie serial in 1946. Don't forget to add Hop Harrigan to your list of DC stars who got a movie!How you could have heard of him: Beyond his Who's Who appearance (and the usual cameo in History of the DCU that usually produces), Hop's only appearances after the 1948 were in G.I. Combat #152 (1972), a strip in which in shoots a lot of Japanese soldiers to the "tune" of the 23rd Psalm, atypical of his stories, but written and drawn by Jon Blummer (with some help from King David, I guess); and a couple issues of Young All-Stars.Example story: All-American Comics #48 (1943) reprinted in America at War: The Best of DC War Comics (Simon and Schuster, 1979)Form my research, it would seem Hop Harrigan's adventures were more serialized than the average Golden Age character, or at least, his circumstances were allowed to change over time. He was always an aerial ace, but having started out as a "boy's own adventure" character, he eventually became air air force cadet, and then a pilot fighting Nazis in South America and the Japanese in the Pacific theater. Beyond the war, he co-owned the splendidly-named All-American Aviation Company (in case Green Lantern Alan Scott ever tried to tell you HE was the book's headliner), which I guess kept him in trouble through the late 40s. The story I chose, one of the very few made available after '48 (needs must), is from the war years and seems to end on a cliffhanger. The strip introduces us to the bomber's crew, which includes, of course, Hop Harriga0n. His father figure Major Prop Wash and his mechanic and best friend Tank Tinker, who have shared his world since the beginning, are left behind to guard the secret base in the Aleutian Islands. Captain Knuckleduster needs two things, see. One: A pilot for the "Pea-Shooter" prototype.And two: Someone to tell him racist poetry is the reason these comics don't get reprinted very often.Their target: A Japanese fleet. The Pea-Shooter is lowered from the bomb bay and while the bomber continually bombs the ships, Hop is free to take care of their planes and buzz the ships' gun turrets.But when a thick for rises up, there's no way for Hop to get back on the planet's launching trapeze. Knuckleduster decides to land the bomber on the aircraft carrier and commandeer it, something that makes the ship's captain unusually happy.BECAUSE THE USA IS THE GREATEST! Also, WORLD WAR II PROPAGANDA! And of course, SUKI-YAKI RESTAURANT! Meanwhile, Hop is still in the mix with Japanese "zeros".Oh no! The bomber crew bring the captured carrier back to base, where Prop and Tank are naturally upset their good buddy is missing in action and presumed dead. But with 51 more All-American issues to go, you just know he'll turn up alive, and in true Hop Harrigan daring-do action, he's guided himself right back to base.Not just to base, but right into a safety net. Hop Harrigan never misses, yo. The last blurb hints that the next story will show us ho

Just unearthed! Dig these rare candid 1967 pics of the Monkees in concert! These are from early in the band's concert experience, but clearly display the fun and excitement of the Monkees live, as the group delivers electrifying live versions of their hits and LP cuts, and interact with their fans! Click below to enlarge! Above: Dig all that debris on the stage! Fans would toss home-made gifts, candy, and paper onto the stage during concerts! Above: Micky performs during the mid-show "solo spots," and an attendee gets his pic with the magnificent Monkeemobile, which often traveled with the band, making its own attention-getting appearances at many tour stops! Above: Note the rear-screen projection over the band as they perform! The Monkees were one of the first groups to not merely rush thru a half hour's worth of hits then leave the stage, but one that gave fans a multi-media hour-long show, with video, bits, costume changes, and more! Above: Frantic fans and photogs follow the four, even after the live shows! BONUS! Click below to see a rare 1993 clip from ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT! Monkee Micky Dolenz discusses his delirious days in the 60s, and so much more!

"Well, they've certainly let the grass grow since I was last there." "Well, actually, they haven't built the airport yet. We're about three hundred years early." "That's great. Perhaps I can go out, file a claim on the land. When they get round to inventing the aircraft, I'll make a fortune."TECHNICAL SPECS: This story is available on DVD in both standard and Special Edition. First aired Feb.15 1982.IN THIS ONE... A falling star brings aliens to 17th-century England. The Doctor and friends meet Richard Mace, thespian and highwayman.REVIEW: One change John Nathan-Turner brought to the series is coming into focus in this episode and manifesting as padding. JNT wanted more continuity between stories, so it's now standard for a serial to start with references to the previous story. In this case, the episode must have been under-running because there's a LOT of it. Adric gets scolded for trying to use the exoskeleton in Kinda and Tegan reflects on her experience with the Mara while looking into a mirror (a set-up?). We're even told what Nyssa was doing during her absence (sleeping, just sleeping). The upside is that it gives the characters a chance to interact socially. Adric mopes about Tegan not liking him, and the Doctor tries to cheer him up while managing to appear not to like him either. Tegan is on her way out (or so she thinks), but is ambivalent about it, having forged a strong bond with Nyssa. She's obviously on an emotional roller-coaster and I can't blame. She's leaving, then she isn't, and the Doctor's excuses are pretty weak. She's still the better companion because we can connect with her. Not so much with the two tech-heads who point at things a lot.The fact this is written by Eric Saward, the script editor for the 5th and 6th Doctors, gives us a chance to see what we can expect from the next few seasons. It's an early example of his Doctor Who work, so not quite as mercilessly violent as it will later become - there's a brief fight showing the 5th Doctor knows judo and the companions team up to knock a peasant over - but his style is unmistakable in the character of Richard Mace. Saward has been accused of loving guest characters (often, mercenary types) more than he does the regulars, and Mace is certainly an indulgence on his part because it's a character he'd created for some radio play. With Mace, he's angling for a Falstaff type, a coward who speaks with false courage, and the wit is certainly there on the page. In execution, I'm far less enamored of the character than most fans, I think. Michael Robbins just doesn't do it for me. Seeing as the character used to be an actor, a certain theatricality is expected, but Robbins comes off as mannered and a little oblivious, using the same basic delivery on every line, more a comedy period character only allowed to speak in quips than an actual person.As for the plot, it seems fairly straightforward, a pseudo-historical about aliens (and a bejeweled robot) on Earth 300 years ago. Structurally, it's got its problems. We open on a family, pretty specifically characterized as if they were going to play an important role in the story, but aside from wounded the unseen alien, the only thing they contribute is a house set for the story to take place in and are gone by the time the TARDIS lands. I don't begrudge these victims their characterization, but it does feel like a waste. More to the point, we find out just enough that an entire episode of the Doctor investigating the situation means we're in a holding pattern. He's only discovering what we already know! There are new mysteries, of course. The missing family, dangerous peasants after the heroes, a wall in the wrong place. But between the over-long TARDIS scenes, lots of running around in the forest and the slow exploration of the house, the episode is much too slow. That one can be laid at the feet of director Peter Moffatt. Hopefully, the next three episodes will pick up the pace.REWATCHABILITY: Medium - It's fine,

* I've run a lot of these, but this is a pretty good done-in-one of Superman-related links. * smarties Chris Mautner and Joe McCulloch talk all things Taiyo Matsumoto. * Molly Crabapple sketches the pre-trial hearins of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. * Bob Temuka on Fatale. Sean Gaffney on Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink. John Kane on a bunch of different comics. Shawn Starr on a bunch of different comics. Jeffrey O. Gustafson on Spider-Man: The Manga #27. Paul O'Brien on a bunch of different X-Men related comic books. Kelly Thompson on Ultimate Comics X-Men #27, Aphrodite IX #2 and American Vampire: The Long Road To Hell #1. Rob Clough on a bunch of the Ignatz books. Justin Giampaoli on Alternative Comics #4. Grant Goggans on A Wrinkle In Time. A bunch of the AV Club people on a bunch of different comics. * finally, Tucker Stone re-runs a 2008 DC panel recap.

Posted On Today at 04:49:26 am EDT by Jae [Reply] [Quote] [New] Cops and soldiers... Its pretty unrealistic not to kill really. Gonna lock carnage up for the 500th time just so he can get out and kill a few hundred more people?

Bullseye goes full-mental, and sees Daredevil everywhere.  It’s like when Bugs Bunny is hungry and everyone he sees is a hot dog, only it’s Bullseye and Daredevil. This is the first issue where Frank Miller gets full writer credit, and it’s genius.