Still waiting for you to read Death metal...
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I was bagging and boarding when I cam across my copies of Infinite Crisis. That was a good example of two things:
(a) DC has been overusing the term crisis for years.
(b) Damian Wayne and Jason Todd weren't the only young super-heroes to be written as complete little s*%# stains who were unworthy of the paper they were printed on. There was also Superboy-Prime.
Sad thing is, that Superboy didn't start out as a total douchenozzle. Back in the original (and still only good) Crisis, he was cool.
Superboy Prime is a douchnozzle but he's getting better about being less annoying than Damian.
Also...STILL WAITING!!
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Picked up a collected copy of Kingdom Come, the awesome story by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. I didn’t want to have to keep taking my copies out of their bags whenever I wanted to read the story.
It had some extra stuff that wasn’t in the original prints. Most notably, some extra pages at the end showing a meeting between the big three. That established Diana and Clark getting together and becoming parents. There are also a lot of sketches. It’s pretty cool.
Kingdom Come was, is and still remains one of my favorite DC stories of all time.
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Picked up a collected copy of Kingdom Come, the awesome story by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. I didn’t want to have to keep taking my copies out of their bags whenever I wanted to read the story.
It had some extra stuff that wasn’t in the original prints. Most notably, some extra pages at the end showing a meeting between the big three. That established Diana and Clark getting together and becoming parents. There are also a lot of sketches. It’s pretty cool.
After reading through it, I found another great addition to the story - a bit with Superman speaking to Orion on Apokolips, then recruiting Scott Free and Big Barda. The bits with Orion were awesome.
Yep. Like I said, Kingdom Come is the best.
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Kingdom Come was, is and still remains one of my favorite DC stories of all time.
I've noticed that while I'm not a BIG DC fan and there are many more Marvel stories that I like, the DC stories that I DO like? I LIKE ALOT.
Case in point: KINGDOM COME along with ALL STAR SUPERMAN are two of my favorite Superman stories. Especially ALL STAR SUPERMAN. So much so that I own both of them as Absolute Editions.
The LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: FIVE YEARS LATER and THE GREAT DARKNESS SAGA both arent perfect but they were MY real introduction to the LEGION and I love them BOTH.
Wolfman and Perez (as well as Wolfman and Grummett's) NEW TEEN TITANS are some of my favorite teen team comics EVER.
CRISIS ON INFINTE EARTHS will forever be one the best event comics ever. AS much as I love SECRET WARS it pales in scope and detail in comparison.
Wally West will ALWAYS be my FLASH in the same way that Kyle Rainer will always be my GREEN LANTERN. I'm old enough where it was supposed to Barry and Hal but they never clicked with me.
Anyway, I'm a Marvel guy but at the end of the day I LOVE good, HUMAN superhero comics.
I'm a Marvel Guy too. Even if some of my favorites aren't humans...like Thor, Silver Surfer and Hulk.
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CRISIS ON INFINTE EARTHS will forever be one the best event comics ever. AS much as I love SECRET WARS it pales in scope and detail in comparison.Wally West will ALWAYS be my FLASH in the same way that Kyle Rainer will always be my GREEN LANTERN. I'm old enough where it was supposed to Barry and Hal but they never clicked with me.
If I still bothered to keep up my old list of who would be eaten last during the zombiepocalypse, you'd probably be on it now.
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I go back and forth and have been more a fan of one than the other at various times. My childhood roots were Marvel and there's still some nostalgia pulling me back. It's kind of a silly thing really - writers and artists and editors go from one to the other, they've both got a wide variety of characters and story types. Seems weird to reject one in favor of the other.
I've never understood people who favor one over the other consistently. My very first comic was Marvel, but over the years I've gone back and forth over which one I favored at any particular time.
It's pretty cyclical for myself.
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I've never understood people who favor one over the other consistently. My very first comic was Marvel, but over the years I've gone back and forth over which one I favored at any particular time.
My absolute favorite superhero property is the (Levitz-era) Legion of Superheroes, but I also loved the Wolfman/Perez era Teen Titans and PADs Young Justice. And yet, these days, it's all Marvel on my pull list (and mostly X-books, at that!). I haven't really liked anything from DC lately other than Far Sector and the Wonder Twins series. But if DC gets good again, I'll be back!
So many great characters and teams, on both sides. Why pick just one?
This week I may prefer peanut butter, but that doesn't mean I can't eat chocolate! :)
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At my comic book store the other day, looking for something to read, I picked up a copy of collected Demon Bear stories. This contain the original stuff from New Mutants, as well as later stories from X-Force. I had missed out on all of it during each initial run, for various reasons. It was some decent stuff.
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Next up will be another collection. This will be one of the "DC Universe by.." books. I've already bought and read the "...Mike Mignola" and "...Len Wein" collections. The new one is "...John Byrne".
They've also got one by Neil Gaiman (which I won't buy because I already own most of what's in it), as well as one by Alan Moore (which I probably won't buy because I think it's ridiculously overpriced).
The other side of the DC Universe was pretty neat. It's basically Black Lightning's take on the entire DC Comics verse.
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Watching Blade II last night, I couldn't help but think back to my first introduction to the character, back in one of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series. I think it was the mid to late 80s.
Anyway, in that series, he was shown with his early look - brown jacket, green pants, some kind of goggles. I think he had a bandoleer as well. it was.....very 70s.
I showed my wife a picture, so she could more accurately see how much they changed it for the Snipes version. And they still have him looking like that, which is awesome.
All I know is Blade is now American and probably will stay that way...
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Since I got access to HBOMAX, I've been watching lots of stuff. One thing in particular I started on was the Young Justice TV series. I recall some folks from around here (who, sadly, no longer come around here), posting about how they thought it was a good series.
It's...okay. I'm enjoying it, at least.
Anyway, an episode I was watching last night had Wally West (whom I was happy to see is based on the original), running a donor heart across the country to someone in need, with some fun Vandal Savage action along the way. The basics of the plot were pulled right from the issue #1 of Flash from waaaayyy back in '87.
So that was really cool for me. Although, it was also a sad reminded that, even though he successfully carried the Flash identity for over 20 years, it didn't stop the a&$$@+~s at DC from s%+$ting all over him.
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Since I got access to HBOMAX, I've been watching lots of stuff. One thing in particular I started on was the Young Justice TV series. I recall some folks from around here (who, sadly, no longer come around here), posting about how they thought it was a good series.
It's...okay. I'm enjoying it, at least.
Anyway, an episode I was watching last night had Wally West (whom I was happy to see is based on the original), running a donor heart across the country to someone in need, with some fun Vandal Savage action along the way. The basics of the plot were pulled right from the issue #1 of Flash from waaaayyy back in '87.
That was a great series. Queen Perdita of Vladislava or whatever ends up showing up very briefly in season three, IIRC, as a bit-character.
I really like how the show re-imagines some relationships and origins, while feeling true to the essence of the characters from the comics.
And there are some really fun moments scattered throughout, like when stuff gets revealed. Megan's big reveal is particularly fun, because Aqualad, whom we've seen by that point is best friends with both normal looking Atlanteans, dudes with fish-bottoms, and a kid with a squid-head, is all totally casual and like, 'Do you really think we'd be so shallow as to judge someone by their appearance?' and *right behind him* most of the rest of the team is all frozen in looks of shock at her alien appearance, and he has no clue. :)
Young Justice had/has a lot I like. But I still feel like some of the choices made in the series weren't always the best. But yes, Wally in this version is pretty neat.
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Can Wally in YJ run faster than light yet? I mean, if he can... wouldn't it take him like a handful of seconds to get a donor heart somewhere, then return to beat up a bad guy? I was never much of a DC guy and I don't have HBOMax so I guess I don't understand how much of a threat this is.
Not to give too many spoilers for Young Justice, but no - the Kid Flash version of Wally West presented on that series does not achieve the raw speed capability of the adult Flash version of Wally West.
Non-deadpool is correct, he's not quite as fast as comic book/adult Wally.
Non-deadpool is correct, he's not quite as fast as comic book/adult Wally.
Nowhere near as fast would be more of an apt description. The show makes grist of the fact that Wally is slower than Barry, Jay, and Bart. The opposite is true of the Speed Force fueled Wally
Though at the start of Wally West's time as Flash - when the story that "carry the heart across the country" plot came from was written, Wally was slower - slower than he and Barry had been before Crisis. This was long before the Speed Force was even thought of.Non-deadpool is correct, he's not quite as fast as comic book/adult Wally.Nowhere near as fast would be more of an apt description. The show makes grist of the fact that Wally is slower than Barry, Jay, and Bart. The opposite is true of the Speed Force fueled Wally
Yes Wally was slower at that point in time prior to Waid reconceptualizing him - but he was never slower than Jay nor was he the slowest member of the entire group of Speedsters as he was presented in YJ
Eh. I mean it seemed like it some times, non-deadpool.
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Though at the start of Wally West's time as Flash - when the story that "carry the heart across the country" plot came from was written, Wally was slower - slower than he and Barry had been before Crisis. This was long before the Speed Force was even thought of.Non-deadpool is correct, he's not quite as fast as comic book/adult Wally.Nowhere near as fast would be more of an apt description. The show makes grist of the fact that Wally is slower than Barry, Jay, and Bart. The opposite is true of the Speed Force fueled Wally
Yes. His comic book top speed at the time was just over 700 mph.
As I recall, this was fall-out from some illness in pre-Crisis comic continuity that made it so his speed was killing him. This mystery illness was conveniently cured during Crisis, so they had someone to take Barry's place. However, it left him much slower.
Over the years in the comics, they slowly increased his speed. Then, with the "Return of Barry Allen" (not really) story, Mark Waid brought him back to Barry-level speed.
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Yes. His comic book top speed at the time was just over 700 mph.
As I recall, this was fall-out from some illness in pre-Crisis comic continuity that made it so his speed was killing him. This mystery illness was conveniently cured during Crisis, so they had someone to take Barry's place. However, it left him much slower.
Over the years in the comics, they slowly increased his speed. Then, with the "Return of Barry Allen" (not really) story, Mark Waid brought him back to Barry-level speed.
It was an even more comic bookily specific 705, that he couldn’t sustain easily. That was also when they introduced the idea that he had to consume an incredibly high caloric content to keep up his speed. This was in the early Post Crisis “de-power everyone” movement. They didn’t directly reference Wally’s heart when setting this limit on his speed, and it was a speed that was slower than his top speed with the condition.
Even Baron started to undo the 705 cap before his run was over, and Waid’s run didn’t restore Wally to the same speed Barry had - it established that Wally’s top speed was exponentially greater than Barry’s and that it had been hero worship that had kept him from running faster. This take of course jibed with several of the Flash/Kid Flash races of the 60’s where Barry often thought bubbled that he had to really work to keep pace ahead of Wally or that Wally might one day be faster than him.
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....the idea that he had to consume an incredibly high caloric content to keep up his speed.
I think they finally got rid of that when they introduced the speed force. I want to say there was a scene near the beginning of the Savitar story where he was about to eat some monster burger, and Linda Park commented that she thought he didn't need to eat like that anymore, but his reply was that he liked to.
Then....out of the blue...ninjas attacked.
I miss that series. It was fun.
I think they finally got rid of that when they introduced the speed force. I want to say there was a scene near the beginning of the Savitar story where he was about to eat some monster burger, and Linda Park commented that she thought he didn't need to eat like that anymore, but his reply was that he liked to.
Then....out of the blue...ninjas attacked.
I miss that series. It was fun.
The concept rears its head every now and again, and thankfully each time it is almost as quickly hand waived away. It popped back up for a brief moment when Bart had aged up into the role, again in the New 52 with Barry.
It was a feature of the CBS series. The CW series literally mentioned it in episode one and resolved it as an issue in episode two - never mentioning it again until the Supergirl crossover in Season 2.
And then there was the stupid "black hole of snacks, a snack hole" joke in Justice League. I suspect we'll have to deal with it at least once more in the Ezra Miller film.
I get where it comes from, there is a feeling from studios and publishers that maybe The Flash isn't very relatable and that shaving his speed down to a fathomable number or making it so he has to carb up somehow makes him more relatable.
This usually misses the point that Barry is relatable because of his lack of cynicism and Wally is relatable because of his protectiveness of his family and the legacy he carries.
Being fast doesn't mean you can't be relatable. I mean the Flash STILL can be hurt if he's not careful.
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Over the last few years, I've been acquiring "reading copies" of favorite books and comic stories. So, as a gift for myself, I finally got around to buying a collected copy of The Dark Knight Returns.
It's still one of my favorite Batman stories of all time, although it's got some stiff competition. It's also one of my favorite comic book stories of all time, although (once again) with some stiff competition.
Still, that wasn't the book I was looking for. What I really hoped to find was a collected copy of Cosmic Odyssey. Another of my favorite of all time stories. They didn't have a copy at the store, so I'll have to find it on my own. Well, I was looking for an excuse to order myself a gift from Amazon.
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On a whim awhile back, I picked up a copy of What If? The Complete Collection, Volume 2 (a first printing from 2019). Only, in reading through it, I've discovered it's not actually a complete collection. The volume jumps from issue #15 to issue #17. Issue 16 is not included.
So far, each issue had a blurb at the end, telling what story would be in the next issue. The title of #16's story was "What if Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu Fought on the Side of Fu Manchu?".
Funny thing is, I wasn't actually surprised whomever did the collection decided to leave this story out. I did find it sad, however.
There indeed very big issue rights with the use of Fu Manchu. Which is why Marvel changed it to Zheng Zhi.
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I think there's a rights issue over Fu Manchu.On a whim awhile back, I picked up a copy of What If? The Complete Collection, Volume 2 (a first printing from 2019). Only, in reading through it, I've discovered it's not actually a complete collection. The volume jumps from issue #15 to issue #17. Issue 16 is not included.
So far, each issue had a blurb at the end, telling what story would be in the next issue. The title of #16's story was "What if Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu Fought on the Side of Fu Manchu?".
Funny thing is, I wasn't actually surprised whomever did the collection decided to leave this story out. I did find it sad, however.
Exactly! You'd think they could have at least tried to negotiate to include the story, just so it actually could be a " complete" collection.
I love trademarks and intellectual property rights, but sometimes they just get in the way of telling a good story. Or, as in this case, actually giving us a product that's as advertised on the cover. I can't help think how much better the MCU might have been if they're hadn't been all that kerfuffle* over the rights to various characters.
*note* - one of my favorite words I rarely get to use
I think conflating the rights issues over Fu Manchu - a character Marvel did not create - and the rights issues as a result of Marvel selling their own characters to different movie studios at various points misses the mark on both issues a little bit.
Why do we even NEED to worry about a character that, honestly, wasn't that good nor added anything to an existing character? I'm sorry you feel put out A-zombie, but the fact is I'm GLAD this doesn't have that issue. If only because it's not additive towards the overall Marvel history.
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Alternately, the MCU might have been better because they had to dig deeper and not rehash their big name properties.I love trademarks and intellectual property rights, but sometimes they just get in the way of telling a good story. Or, as in this case, actually giving us a product that's as advertised on the cover. I can't help think how much better the MCU might have been if they're hadn't been all that kerfuffle* over the rights to various characters.
*note* - one of my favorite words I rarely get to use
Good point.
thejeff,
Eh...
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Huzzah! The new printing of Moon Knight Epic Collection Volume 2 finally came out this week. So now I have all three volumes.
Just for s!##s and giggles, I also picked up a collected copy of Days of Future Past. There’s a couple other classic stories I have in mind to get. Some of them, I have on a gift idea list for the wife make use of. Others, I’ve kept to myself.
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Awhile back, I found a new printing of one of the Epic Collection
volumes of Doctor Strange. I bought both it and another volume the store had (volumes 3 & 5). I finished reading those, now I’ll move on to volume 1 (and so far the only, it appears) of Ghost Rider (which was a birthday present to myself last week).
Anyway, that got me in the mood to maybe watch the Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider movies, which I’ll likely do tonight and tomorrow night. I own both, though the second was a gift. They’re….not the greatest movies, but they’re fun. The first had a decent story. Plus it had Peter Fonda and Sam Elliot. The second was just weird enough to be tolerable. Plus, it had Idris Elba and Christopher Lambert. Cage was (surprise!) over the top in both.
Truth be told, the Robbie Reyes GR was one of the few things about Agents of SHIELD I really liked. If they continue GR in the MCU, I wouldn’t mind seeing Gabriel Luna continue in the role. I know they had talked about it, and was sad it fell through.
Anyway, all this is a round about way of also expanding this particular thread to also include reminiscing about old comic book movies as well. Even though the modern era of comic book movies (in my opinion) really kicked off with Blade back in ‘98, I’d probably delve all the way back to the Superman/Batman era of the late 70s through early 90s.
I'm still convinced we have not seen the last of Gabriel Luna as Robbie...but if we have, I'm sure another actor will fill the role.