Thought Bubble: Event Fatigue

DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths

The past few years have had comic book fans go through blockbuster after blockbuster event that change things in their respective universes forever. Of course, if I were to detail the big comic book events of the past decade this piece would be about thirty pages long. I’ll forego that and allow you to peruse the various comic book wikis out there. Instead I shall review the pros and cons of the “event” format and offer some suggestions for the publishers and readers going forward.

Pro: Events are cash cows for the publishers. If the publishers do well then the readers do well… isn’t that how capitalism works? Plus they get to sell tie-in merchandise, action figures, clothing and what we’re all really after: jewelry. Am I right?

Con: Price. Publishers can charge more for event books, since they are pitched as “must read” comics.

Pro: Dream Teams. You get to see a popular writer/artist work together on a dream project.

Con: Nightmare Teams. If the event book features an artist or writer who you don’t like, then you’re out of luck. The even may also involve characters you have no interest in as a result. If you do not like the direction they are going with the title or the universe you may be stuck. Slogging through bad stories just for some kind of resolution is not fun.

Pro: Holy Shit Moments. Events are usually pretty traumatic in the scope of things.  This “holy shit moment” can be an incredibly powerful incident that can change the entire dynamic of the story and even the universe.

Con: Holy Shit moments falling flat. Big moments meant to have impact and gravitas end up being pointless or just plain offensive. For instance the Blob eating the Wasp in Marvel’s Ultimatum; Totally unnecessary. Shock for the sake of shock which can ruin a good story.

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Iron Man 2 Trailer

Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2

Apple has posted the first trailer for Marvel’s upcoming Iron Man 2.  We finally (legitimately) get a glimpse of completed shots with Mickey Rouke’s Whiplash and Don Cheadle’s War Machine in action. The last scene of the trailer shows some heavy action with both Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Rhodey against a group of androids.

Hats off to the production, it’s insane to see two heavy hitting comic book heros go nuts on screen at the same time.  I keep watching War Machine’s huge shoulder cannon go back and fourth drilling enemies.  Check out the Iron Man 2 trailer embedded after the jump.

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Art-O-Bot: Jason Edminston

The Art-O-Bot is back and it’s taking on one artist at a time.  Let’s start up the bot…

Jason Edmiston

Cereal Monsters by Jason Edmiston

We met Jason on the Sunday at FanExpo while we were waiting to interview a notable TV celebrity (rhymes with Lictor Vucas).  Afterwards, he shook our hands and told us we had a great interview.  Later that day while surfing artist alley we stumbled upon his table, which was riddled with fantastic art.  He promptly stood up and declared to his wife, “These were the guys I was telling you about.”  As it turns out, interviewers are very susceptible to flattery.  But this isn’t the reason we interviewed Jason.  We interviewed him because he is a fantastic illustrator, that and he emailed us about being featured on the Art-O-Bot.

Jason has been a commercial illustrator since the mid-90’s.  Creating work for advertising, editorial, packaging and publishing clients around the world.  Edmiston’s style is quite varied, featuring everything from realistic figures to exaggerated caricatures. Jason’s pop culture aesthetic has a heavy influence on his work, from retro styled advertisements and famous movie monsters to modern pulp heroes and comic book characters.

Now on to the goods.  Personally I would love nothing more then a series of commissions from Jason recreating famous comic book covers.

Be sure to check out more of Jason’s work at his official website.

Come back next time when we feature another talented local artist on the ART-O-BOT.

If you want to be featured in the bot email jeff@dorkshelf.com be sure to attach your link and any other facts you want us and the public to know.

Thought Bubble: Meditations on Comics

The Thought Bubble is a place where Jeff shares his random thoughts and observations on comics and the comic book industry.

Zombie Comics

You, Me and Zombie

Is this genre is dead? Pun intended.

The only zombie book I look forward to is The Walking Dead, and its not even really a zombie book. I am hoping that a little book from local talent Agnes Garbowska called You, Me and Zombie gets picked up. Seriously Boom get on this book! A while back Frank Cho did a zombie book that sadly was banned… Due to some zombie on cow love there will be no reprint. Writers are constantly bringing new and exciting ideas to the genre, or barring that Bill Murray cameos.

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Thor adds Asano, Stevenson and Townsend

The cast for Kenneth Branagh’s Thor just keeps getting better and better.  Twitch is reporting that the big screen adaptation of Marvel’s Norse hero has added three more extremely talented actors to its already stellar cast.  Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer, Mongol), Ray Stevenson (Rome, Punisher: Warzone) and Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) are set to “play Warrior’s Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god.”

It’s exciting to see these three join the cast, particularly Asano.  The enigmatic actor’s presence has me even more intrigued by Branagh’s production.  Stevenson is no stranger to the Marvel universe, having played Frank Castle in the recent Punisher sequel.  In addition, his role as Titus Pullo on the HBO series Rome secured his place as a legendary onscreen bad ass.  Townsend is a talented guy, he deserves a chance to redeem himself after the mess that was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Cameras begin rolling on Thor this January in Los Angeles, with a release date set for May 20th, 2011.

Via Twitch Film

Anthony Hopkins to play Thor’s Daddy

The Heat Vision Blog has some intriguing news about Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics Thor, both on the casting and story front.  Word has come down that Sir Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to play Odin, the chief god of Asgard and the father of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  The film sees Thor banished to Earth, forced to live among humanity.  However, when evil forces from Asgard threaten his new home Thor attempts to redeem himself.  Ah, the good old cast-down-god-seeks-redemption story, don’t see that very often.

Hopkins joins a great cast that includes Colm Feore, Natalie Portman and allegedly Robert De Niro and Jude Law.  With Branagh at the helm and a cast like that, the film is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Marvel projects to date.  Thor is certainly heavy on acting talent, hopefully Branagh can match that with a solid story and great action.  Only time will tell, Thor is due in theatres May 20th 2011.

Superhero Status Updates

Everyone is on Facebook these days, hell even my Grandmother uses the site.  Superheroes are no exception, they use social networking sites just like the rest of us. However, their status updates are decidedly less banal than ours—or are they?

Chris Sims takes a look at what superheroes have been posting on their Facebook accounts. I particularly like the Green Lantern one seen above and the Doctor Doom update.

Super-Social Networking: Superhero Facebook Status Updates.

Disney to Acquire Marvel Entertainment

That Goofy-Wolverine crossover you’ve always been waiting for can now finally happen!

File this in the Ridiculously Huge News folder — According to a press release just put out on the Disney Corporate website, a huge “stock and cash deal” will result in Disney taking over Marvel Entertainment and all of its subsidiaries.  As part of the $4 billion dollar acquistition Disney will now own the more than 5,000 characters from the various Marvel Universes.

I don’t know how I feel about this one.  This could be bad in many ways, especially if Disney starts trying to exert creative control of Marvel Comics itself.  It could also negatively affect the upcoming slate of feature films Marvel is producing like The Avengers and Captain America.  On the other hand, this could be very good for Marvel’s animation studio, since Disney is no slouch when it comes to animation. Many will proclaim this as the death of Marvel, but it probably makes sense from a business perspective for this takeover to happen. The two companies are world leaders in entertainment for kids, young adults and dorks.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out.

Jeff’s Pulls for the Week of August 12

This week is a big week with the launch of Marvel’s Ultimate Comics and of course the second issue of the book I am sure you are all reading; Blackest Night.  If you guys see any books you think I’m missing from my pull list or want to post your own list email me at jeff@dorkshelf.com.  Let us know what you think about the books on this week’s pull list, leave a comment.

Blackest Night #2

Ok, so last issue I stood up and applauded after finishing the book, leaving me with incredibly high hopes for issue #2.  I wish nothing more than to have my mouth on the floor, eager to see what happens on the next page.  It’s still early in the series, so there’s still time to jump on board with this book. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis are back at it and on time.  Heroes are dropping like flies, and long dead characters have risen from the grave! This is the book to read this summer.  Pick this book up.

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1

Alright, I know I always boast about the simplicity of Marvel’s Ultimate universe.  How you don’t have to worry about 60 plus years of back story and continuity; anyone can jump right in.  Well if you didn’t read any of the Ultimate universe books before, now is the perfect time for you to jump on.

This is a complete relaunch the Ultimate universe, following the events of Ultimatum some of the more known Marvel characters are dead.  New artists are coming on board, and the writers that started the original Ultimate universe are back as well.  This issue teams Brian Michael Bendis with David Lafuente (Runaways) tasked with art duties.  Bendis has yet to take to make a mistake with Spider-Man in the Ultimate universe, if any good can come out of <cite>Ultimatum</cite>, Bendis is the man to do it.

Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1

It goes without saying that Mark Millar wrote of the best Ultimates stories.  Now he’s back; and he brings with him the new-to-Marvel artist Carlos Pacheco (Justice Society of America, Superman/Batman). This has me really excited, as Millar has a chance to make some sense of the mess that was Ultimatum.  Pacheco’s art is fluid and classic, a perfect fit for this relaunch.  Where does this story start?  It’s said to involve Red Skull and a new Avengers team lineup.  This is the first issue, and I want to start off at the beginning.

That’s this weeks pull list.  Email me with your lists at jeff@dorkshelf.com.

Until next week, enjoy!

Iron Man 2 Comic-Con Footage

A bootleg version of the Iron Man 2 reel shown at the recent San Diego Comic-Con has finally hit the web.  Probable spoilers: the footage features Sam Jackson as Nick Fury and our first look at Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash in action.  We also get to see Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow kicking ass in tight leather and an awesome first look at War Machine.  Last but certainly not least, we see Robert Downey Jr. up to his old tricks as Tony Stark.

It was only a matter of time before the Comic-Con footage leaked, it could be taken down soon so enjoy it while you can.  Iron Man 2 is due in theatres May 2010.

Thanks to Raj for the link.

Art-O-Bot: Klein, Henrichon, Macdonald

Welcome to the Art-O-Bot long weekend edition!  This week I’ll be taking a look at some really talented artists whose work may be flying under your radar.

Andy MacDonald

I first saw Andy MacDonald’s art in the pages of NYC MECH. It was here that I quickly discovered how incredible this man’s talents are.  The structure of the book and the dynamic designs of the characters compelled me to buy every issue.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the comic anthology 24/7 featured even more of MacDonald’s art.  His most recent works have teamed him with the incredible colourist Nick Filardi on Punisher: War Journal #26, and most recently Marvel Comics 70th Anniversary: Miss America.  I assure you that you will not be disappointed when you check out Andy MacDonald’s Blog.  His sketch list at conventions fills up quickly, so line up early.

Niko Henrichon

Pride of Baghdad was the world’s first exposure to this insanely talented Toronto artist.  More recently Marvel has had him creating covers for various projects; my personal favorite is a book by Ivan Brandon featuring Machine Man.  I hope to see more from this guy in the future.  Check Niko Henrichon’s Official Site and if you see him at a con, go pick up some of his original art.

Nic Klein

I will admit I had heard very little of Nic Klein before reading Viking.  He and Ivan Brandon have created not only a uniquely sized book that demands you to pick it up, but also a new genre.  What I do know is that his art is fantastic!  It won’t be too long before he is on a monthly title.  Check out Nic Klein’s Blog and make sure you pick up Viking.

That’s it for this week if you have any artist you would like featured on the Art-O-Bot please email jeff@dorkshelf.com

Until next time.

Jeff’s Pulls for the Week of July 29

Welcome back to the pull list, let’s get down to it!

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3 (of 3)

This issue wraps up our introdcution to the big players in the Blackest Night event.  Again, this issue features various artist depicting the various Lanterns of the emotional spectrum. Pick it up to give you some background for Blackest Night, and to complete the panoramic cover when you lay the three issues next to eachother.

Fantastic Four #569

Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch return to make the world’s most unrelatable family a fun and exciting book you actually care to read.  Issue #569 is inching us ever closer to the end of their run on this book.  Tears will flow from my eyes when Millar and Hitch leave Fantastic Four

Justice League Of America #35

I won’t lie to you, this is strictly a collection title.  I’m getting this book for the sake of maintaining continuity in my collection.  I can’t wait for Mark Bagley to come on board JLA and see him draw some of DC’s big guns.

New Avengers #55 (Dark Reign)

Bendis is back with Stuart Immonen on art duty. All the revelations about the new Dr. Voodoo and the team starting a new story arc, makes this an excellent opportunity for new readers to jump into this series.  New Avengers is a book that has not let me down, and I’m happy to collect it.

Rapture #3 (of 6)

The Oeming/Soma duo return with one of the more dynamic books in my collection.  Thankfully this story keeps your eyes moving and your heart strings plucked at just the right moments.  You’re invested in the characters and it’s like you’re right there in the book.  If you dig this book, write to the letter to Dark Horse and let these guys know we need more stuff from Oeming and Soma.

Ultimatum #5 (of 5)

Finally, holy shit… it ends!  This horrible ending to what could have been an excellent story is upon us; and it’s mostly random nonsense.  With practically half the characters dead, Marvel’s Ultimate Universe as we know it is over.  This allows the new creative teams to pick up the scraps of this mess, and hopefully start anew.  The art has been pretty good, but this is certainly not one for the kids.  That’s right, no more Jeff Loeb in the Ultimate Universe after this.