Marvel Comics

"These short trips don't usually work. And the chances of reversing a short trip are even more remote. Still, here's hopping."TECHNICAL SPECS: First aired Nov.8 1980.IN THIS ONE... Romana falls under the spell of the Marshmen and lets them into the Starliner. The Doctor is angered by the near-vivisection of the baby Marshman.REVIEW: There's a long reprise that features the Top 2 most bonehead moves of the previous episode, in case you missed them, which leaves 18 minutes of new material, kids. TARDIS inconsistencies continue to build, as the Doctor makes some straw about short hops in space being very difficult, yet it's done three times over the course of the episode. I think it's far more likely that Romana is behind the TARDIS' increased accuracy since she came on board. She calculated these particular coordinates, after all. He won't have her in the crew for long though. I can't help but see this episode as foreshadowing. Possessed by a spider bite that bonds her to the Marshmen (and gives her that Cyberman veiny infection make-up from The Moonbase), she smashes up her room and lets Adric play companion. It's a passive-aggressive way to tell us she's leaving. There's even a sad passing of the torch when Adric fingers her crushed hat from Shada... which might have meant something to the audience at the time had the story actually aired. Good move, Einsteins.Otherwise, the story is getting better, in no small part because of the renewed focus on the Starliner crew. They attract the Doctor's righteous anger when they try to vivisect the hapless Marshbaby, giving Tom Baker the first strong dramatic scene he's had to play in a while. The baby's violent fit saves its life, but also drives Romana to open the gates to its brethren. The vivisectionist is generally well-meaning though amoral, but you can feel the anxiety coming off the Deciders who let him go ahead with his plans. These aren't villains, just people trying to do their best for their community. Of course, their best isn't very imaginative, and it takes the Doctor to really rattle their cages and dare expose their secrets. We don't learn the entire truth here, not yet, but the accusation of willful procrastination that has kept their society idling for generations is a fair one. They've been maintaining a ship, but haven't told the citizens they can't pilot the craft. In other hands (say Holmes or Adams), this would take a satirical bent. Even the Outlers put to work on the ship doing drone work walk around in a pack of six, which could be a condemnation of the unions. But while there's irony in the Alzarians' situation, there's no sense that it's meant to reflect 1980 Earth. I think it's because the script is by and large humorless, so our brains are never switched to that mode of understanding.REWATCHABILITY: Medium - The revelations are good ones and the Doctor's scene with the Deciders is excellent, but the story's potential for satire is wasted.

Of all the great artists that were present yesterday the one I really had something to say to was Bill Sienkiewicz. As one the 80s power house Marvel artists who's art has graced the covers of Rom as well as other Rom related books I would say Sienkiewicz had the most unique style of all of them. As a kid I certainly didn't fully appreciate his slightly impressionistic style of comic book art.But as I got older I started to see it in a different light and develop a new appreciation for it. I would dare say his style would serve well as a course study in modern art and perhaps even earn some respect from the snobbish art crowd that usually regard comic book art beneath their notice. It was really nice to be able to share that epiphany I've had in recent years about his work and he was quite humble in his appreciation of what I had to say. Bill Sienkiewicz, an all around stand up guy.And what con would be complete with out some cosplay maidens? And there was even more cool stuff there but that part of it I uploaded to Youtube for your viewing pleasure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFlxl0ij-qE&feature=youtu.be

Our buddy GregXB has put Bertone’s impression of Harry Urkel Osborn from a recent podcast into video form. LOL

Our buddy Greg XB took the audio from a recent podcast and put it to video. He spotlighted JR’s take on Superior Spider-Man #6. Thanks Greg!

----- One of the longest-running series of blog posts on this Sanctum Sanctorum Comix blog is of my showcase of DOCTOR STRANGE related apparel (hats, ties, shirts, unmentionables…), and in a recent entry into that series, a few weeks ago, I showed a Custom-Made Dr. Strange themed baseball cap (seen [HERE]). The differing aspect of that article of clothing from the others is that it was made from other “Ancillary Artifacts” which were of a Dr. Strange theme – namely; PATCHES. And at the time I mentioned that that post also began a new series of posts which will feature assorted Ancillary Accessorizing Artifacts; patches, buttons and assorted bling. Well, THIS is the first of those new series’ (sub-series?) of posts dealing with Accessories of a Doctor Strange (and “6-Dimensions”) theme. The best way is to go chronologically, by manufacture – and broken-down by type (you’ll see, there’ll be a reason for my OCD-stylings). --- First up, 1977 brought us Iron-On patches manufactured by HOLM PATCHES (Made in the USA). These were 2” x 3” cloth patches which featured logos of then-popular Marvel Comics titles embroidered thereupon. I say “cloth” but they have a plush feel, more like a quality felt, velour or velvet than a standard fabric. I have ones for THE DEFENDERS and HOWARD THE DUCK, who many may forget was a sales and cultural phenomenon in the mid-to-late 1970’s. As you can see, the stitching wasn’t bad, and the accuracy of the logos was spot-on. Simply labeled as “PATCHES”, their packaging and presentation was set at zero, however, as the patches were affixed to a basic no-frills card by means of a single staple. Other such patches were made, I’m sure, but these tend to be fairly rare and thus, I’ve hardly seen many others. Strangely enough, there doesn’t seem to have ever been one for DOCTOR STRANGE made by HOLM. I would have to imagine that the company requested from Marvel a list of their top-selling titles, and while Howard the Duck was an extremely popular (if surprising) seller, and the Defenders – with the roster which included the HULK as well as many other “not-quite-top-tier” characters (like Dr. Strange) would have boosted its sales figures, Doctor Strange’s solo title must not have made the cut. --- That was rectified in 1979, when RAINBOW EMBLEM CO. of Dallas, Texas (also Made in the USA) produced a series of Marvel Comics patches with embroidered logos of several comic titles, including one for DOCTOR STRANGE; Master of the Mystic Arts. Made of cloth and sized 2.5” x 3.5”, these Sew-On patches seemed to be more concerned with peg-hook presentation than quality of product. Complete with a dynamic “SUPER-HERO PATCHES” logo on a blister card, RAINBOW’s packaging was nicer than that of HOLM products’, but their patches were abysmally sub-standard. Take a look at the Doctor Strange patch. The “name” part of the logo isn’t bad at all, but the “Master of the Mystic Arts” sub-header looks to be the work of Rumplestiltskin on a drunken bender. The material of the patch is more like a flimsy canvas or cheap, colored denim. Similarly poor patches were made for characters like the HULK and SILVER SURFER (who each actually had a small figure of themselves stitched thereupon). --- There were some other Marvel-themed patches in 1980, but since I’ve never seen any that were Doctor Strange related (or any of my particular “6-Dimensions” preferences) I’ve not needed to acquire any. --- The next time we would see Doctor Strange related, Marvel-themed sew-on patches was 1984 (and continued for a few years, until 1986 [or 1987]) when Marvel got into it themselves - teamed with TRANSCOLOR Inc. This time, it wasn’t logos embroidered onto a patch, but actual artwork from the comics, printed

Posted On Today at 03:50:29 pm EDT by Comicguy1 [Reply] [Quote] [New] BEN REILLY? I was looking at the upcoming Solicitations for August (I believe.), and it looks like in the Scarlet Spider books, they're going to bring back: BEN REILLY! Why Marvel, why? Are they really that low on ideas? Yeah, I know, Ben Reilly has a fanbase, but still, the Clone Saga almost ruined the Spidey franchise. Why open that can of worms again? To appease a few people? Ben Reilly is seriously better off staying dead. They killed him for a reason. Plus, his death actually CAN be as pivotal to Peter and impact him on a level akin to Captain Stacy, Gwen, etc. If other writers acknowledge it. But why on earth? Why Marvel, why? Can't ANYONE in comics stay dead anymore? Although I do like that Ock and Kaine are meeting up again, and that they're going to touch upon the fact that Kaine killed Ock. THAT should be interesting.

Source: Butcher Billy’s post-punk Justice League (2013)Type: Fan-made AmalgamBrazilian mash-up sensation Butcher Biller does the Justice League as post-punk/New Wave music artists at the link above. Superman is The Smiths' Morrissey for some reason. Guess he's going by looks.DISCOGRAPHY!"All You Need Is Me, Metropolis" "Now My Heart Is Full (of Kryptonite)" (song for Metallo)"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" (off the album World's Finest)"Girlfriend in a Coma" (Lois in the New52)"Wonderful Woman" (ditto)"How Soon Is Now (and If I Spin the Earth Faster, Is It Sooner?)""Half A Person" (song for Composite-Superman)"I Keep Mine Hidden" (off the album Secret Identity)"Satan Rejected My Soul""In the Future When All's Well" (for the Legion)"Doomsday Is Squeezing My Skull"/"You Have Killed Me" medley"Vicar In a Tutu"

"How odd. I usually get on terribly well with children."TECHNICAL SPECS: First aired Nov.1 1980.IN THIS ONE... The Doctor goes into the Starliner while the the Outlers hijack the TARDIS and Romana gets bitten by a humongous spider.REVIEW: I hate to keep playing timekeeper here, but only some 19 minutes of new material in this, and a LOT of it is padding as the Doctor skulks silently through the woods and then the ship. When somethings DOES happen on screen, it's usually the heroes doing something stupid or incomprehensible. The worst instance of this is without a doubt Romana going on and on about the river fruit spider (ewww, they've been eating that; do they all have a bad case of worms? it would explain the way Adric walks) being "just a spider" as the Outlers run. While I'm glad to see the female companion isn't squeamish (in this particular instance), that thing is immense and deadly-looking. It's just not credible that she would stand nonchalantly as the thing jumped on her face (list makers take note: this is the second time a cliffhanger has Romana bitten by a bug bite; time to invest in some kind of spray). The Doctor opens the door to the Starliner, lets the baby Marshman in, inadvertently arms it, and for some reason doesn't hear the message piped through the corridors (conveniently-placed P.A. speakers, I guess). I totally don't believe him when he protests that he likes to leave things as he found them, the old meddler. Has writer Andrew Smith (or script editor Chris Bidmead) not seen an episode since the Hartnell days? As for Adric, there doesn't seem to be much to motivate his refusal to lead the Outlers to the TARDIS for safety, though as it turns out, they do attack Romana. Still, Full Circle should have decided if Adric wanted to be an Outler (as he claims) or if he just wanted to be near his brother to criticize his choices. And then he dematerialized the TARDIS because he flips a tiny switch instead of opening the door with the big giant lever? Come on!But the stupidity isn't all the characters'. Take, for example, the tedious stuff about the TARDIS' weight. Not only do Romana and Adric discuss it in "Decider talk", making it over-complicated with "five times ten to the six kilos in your gravity", but that figure is obviously wrong. First, why not just say 5 million kilos? Second, not ony have we seen the TARDIS carried off by savages and such in the past, but IT HAPPENS IN THIS VERY EPISODE! There's no way the TARDIS interface (the door/box) weighs as much as the interior dimension - it's lighter on the outside! So excuse while I roll my eyes at the supposed danger of the Marshmen using the TARDIS as a super-heavy battering ram. The episode is showing signs of Bidmead's influence and I don't like it. Basically, his interest in very boring things like maths and computation (let's just call them undramatic, math lovers!) and yet complete failure to represent them believably in a real world context. The JNT era has just traded technobabble with mathbabble. It certainly doesn't inspire confidence that his idea for a new companion is a math wiz, like the Time Lords aren't already walking calculators. Speaking of JNT, his hatred of K9 (obviously a war of the initials) goes a bit too far in this episode. Just as K9 rolls in with his fun action theme, an Outler with a simple stick knocks his head off. Sure, he can be repaired, but that one's a bit distressing for the kiddies who love the metal pooch. So Full Circle has tonal problems too. So can I say a few good things about the episode? Of course I can. I like how the new Head Decider is shaken by the secrets he must keep. I like how Login (why don't they all have computery names like this?) forsakes his daughter, but is quick to regret when he hears she might still be alive. The Doctor vs. the Deciders has its moments of humor, though we're far from his old insolence. The Marshmen are impressive-looking monsters, and in a twist, we're sympathetic to the the baby

Author: GoldenSpiderMonkey101Spider-ManEnglish, Rated: TAdventure/RomancePeter P./Spider-ManChapters: 1, Words: 1,939, Reviews: 1, In-ProgressCarlotta(Carly) Jones is just another girl @ Midtown Science She's usually goes un notice, besides her6 Best friends notice her Kenzie, Gabby, Tommy, Jake, Emma& Kimie Shes the youngest of her family& her parents died in a car crash& had2 live with her aunt &uncle Then she gets paired up w/ Peter for a project what will happen R&R No Bad Reviews Peter/OC& Sorry 4 TheSuckishSummary

Is Peter Parker a baby killer? Check out my view on the latest hullaballoo, and keep the debate alive in the comment section! THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #9  “Troubled Mind Part Two [sic]: Gray Matters” WRITER: Dan Slott ARTIST: Ryan Stegman COLOR ART: Edgar Delgado LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos   PLOT POINTS: Ghost Peter, Otto explains, is a consciousness manifested from the remaining memories in Peter’s brain. Using the brain scanning helmet he retrieved last issue, Otto attempts to erase Peter’s memories, thereby destroying Ghost Peter. Doctor Octopus and Ghost Peter battle within Peter’s mindscape. Ghost Peter summons the memories of his friends to aid him, while Ock calls upon a mental army of villains. As the war turns against Ock, Ghost Peter makes Otto admit that stealing Peter’s life was bad. Otto, however, starts rationalizing his actions as giving the world a “superior” Spider-Man. Otto turns the tables by forcing Ghost Peter to admit that, in issue #8, Ghost Peter attempted to halt Otto from performing life-saving brain surgery on a child because in doing so Otto would gain access to the brain scanning helmet and discover Ghost Peter. Ghost Peter collapses, allowing Otto to purge Peter’s memories and seemingly delete Ghost Peter. Otto awakens, claiming he is free. OPINIONS! Superior Spider-Man #9 provokes considerable controversy, but thankfully little of that controversy concerns the notion that Peter Parker actually “died” this issue. I guess we all finally know better. Rather, folks mostly seem mad that Ghost Peter, to protect himself, obstructed Otto’s curing a dying little girl. Who enjoys seeing their childhood role model jeopardize an innocent life to save his own non-literal skin? I get it. But I loved this issue’s ending. Yeah, I see you there, hitting your caps lock button, ready to verbally crucify me in the comments section. Hear me out. I perceive at least three factors that mitigate this plot development’s so-called travesty. Mitigating factor 1: Ghost Peter isn’t REALLY Peter. Otto defines Ghost Peter in the panel below. We can trust Otto’s conclusion because this is a scientific matter within the story’s context, and therein lies Otto’s expertise. Thus, Ghost Peter represents a “version” of Peter Parker that was not “created” until after Otto removed Peter’s consciousness from Peter’s body, but left Peter’s memories intact for Otto’s access. Peter Parker’s original consciousness died inside Otto’s body in ASM #700. Ghost Peter is a distinct entity–he’s all those leftover memories taking on their own life. So if you’re upset that the Peter Parker we know and love tried to let a little girl die, don’t be. He didn’t. Nevertheless, I do think Otto’s line “it seems we are the sum of our experiences” suggests that Ghost Peter, being the product of Peter’s memories, is cut from the same cloth as the original. I suspect that Ghost Peter mirrors Peter such that they’d behave identically under identical circumstances. Any characterization of Ghost Peter characterizes Peter by extension. I prefer that interpretation because I have no interest in Ghost Peter independent from what we can learn about the real Peter through him. Mitigating Factor 2: Ghost Peter wasn’t CONSCIOUSLY looking out for himself. Let’s look back at #8’s key scene: Notice Ghost Peter’s words here, stating that his reason for stopping the operation is that Otto is arrogant, that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Pop quiz: to whom is Ghost Peter speaking? He addresses Doc Ock, but he can’t intend for Doc Ock to hear him, not if Ghost Peter’s real objective is to evade Ock’s detection. No, the true answer is that Ghost Peter is talking to himself, and that means he has no reason to lie. So the reason he gives in the moment for hindering Ock is what he consciously thinks at the time. Only later, after forced introspection, does Peter realize that he had the deeper, subconscious motivation to protect himself. And as soon as