Comics Thread: Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, etc.....

[Manji]

After discussing it with Sinestro, decided to geek up the Lounge with talk about comics. (Some other hobbies besides "hobbying")
If you can't stand comics or think Family Circus is the best comic out there, do not proceed any further.


Favourite comics right now for me are:

Marvel:
Supreme Power; A amazing new look at some clalssic Marvel characters
Marvel Knights' Fantastic Four: The art is amazing, agree with Sinestro and think it is better than the regular series
Astonishing X-Men: Getting Cassidy is was a coup for Marvel, story so far is quite intriguing

DC:
Identity Crisis (Mini Series, so far so good, art could be a little better)
Another Nail: Great mini-series with the same team that brought the original
100 Bullets (Vertigo) Great story great read. Realistic characters with realistic dialogue


Dark Horse:
Blade of the Immortal: The best manga out there right now. A samurai tale told with a modern edge. Amazing art.
Usagi Yojimbo: Great story telling, with actual research on feudal Japan.

Top Cow:
Wanted: Action packed, violent and sexy. Possibly the mini-series out there right now.

Right now, that's all I can think of. The thread has been started, so let the fanboy frenzy begin (or somthing like it...)

"Excelsior!!!"
Manji

 

[Manji]

Haven't read Love & Rockets or Cerebrus.
I highly recommend Lone Wolf and Cub. Great read. Just got rereleased and they finished the series about a year or two ago.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

Betty & Veronica!

 

[eyeofthedragon]

Groo or the Tick

 

[Flower]

I love comics! Just a few of my favourites ......

The Flash
Archie
Mad Magazine ~ Spy vs Spy
Sabrina The Teenage Witch

 

[knight66]

Identity Crisis is good so far.
The Jim Lee stint on Superman . Not too bad.
I liked the intro of a new "girl" robin. a bit of a refresher to the supporting role in Gotham.
Green Lantern is picknig up. Now that the series will end in a few months.
JLA - usual good story and of course the Superman/Batman series has been very good.

 

[Manji]

I can't say I'm too impressed with the Jim Lee Superman. The story is sort of flat and even the art looks rushed. Lee's run on Batman's Hush series was way better.
The Superman/Batman series has been very good. The art and story has been pretty solid so far. Its pretty interesting on how the comic explores the relationship between the Dark Knight and Man of Steel.

 

[Speedo]

Kid Colt !

 

[pblues]

I have always enjoyed marvel. My all-time fave is still Spidey!

 

[incognito]

I've always been a marvel kid. Growing up reading X-men, Spidey and the secret wars thing. My absolute favourite character is Batman, cause he is the only human who isn't altered or enhanced, he just uses his brain and his natural athletic abilities. Also the fact that his costume is typically worn by the bad guys, thats the cool factor. My second favourite character is Logan a.k.a Wolverine, just so mysterious.

Here's a couple of questions for ya guys:

1. There has been a large influx of movies made from Marvel, how do you guys like it overall?

2. Why hasn't D.C. cashed in as well, aside from Superman and Batman?

Incognito

 

[Drunken Master]

I've never really been into the whole "pop culture as high culture" thing", and I stopped reading comics awhile ago. I'd get back into them now, except they're damn expensive. How the hell do kids afford these things!

That said, The Watchmen was (aside from the artwork, which was pretty pedestrian) astounding. The whole Rorschach thing - the vigilante who, even though he seems to believe that black doesn't mix with white, good with evil, nevertheless has a pretty nihilistic view of the universe - "It's us. It's only us." - is one of the most compelling characters ever.

Alan Moore rocks. So does Frank Miller. And Grant Morrison seems to be a pretty big name these days - I remember back when his stories for Animal Man and Doom Patrol were getting bemused looks from just about everybody. His run with Animal Man was particularly wild.

 

[Drunken Master]

What's the deal with Watchmen? I saw something about it on a TV special on the history of comics? How many issues were there?

12 issues, I think? I only have the collected graphic novel, available at your local bookstore.

The Watchmen is primarily famous for taking an adult, "realistic" attitude towards comics, and treating them as if they could actually be literature.

 

[Drunken Master]

1. There has been a large influx of movies made from Marvel, how do you guys like it overall?

2. Why hasn't D.C. cashed in as well, aside from Superman and Batman?

Incognito

1. I am perhaps alone in thinking The Hulk was a great movie. Interesting character, compelling plot, with a little bit of Freudian psychology thrown into the mix. Spider Man 2 was another winner. Daredevil sucked, which sucks all the more as DD has always been one of my favourite characters.

2. DC is owned by Warner Brothers, which has an infamous reputation for bungling major projects and not having the slightest idea what will appeal to hard-core fans. Cases in point - the innane "Smallville" series, in which every episode seems to revolve around somebody getting fucked up by a piece of Kryptonite and needing to be put down by Clark Kent, and the upcoming Green Lantern movie, which rumour has it will see Jack Black, of all people, playing the lead role.

geeky enough for ya?

 

[Manji]

To answer your questions icognito

[1] I love the influx of movies as long as the movies are well done. Spiderman 2 was spectacular and the first Spiderman was pretty good. Drunken Master is not the only who thinks that the Hulk was a great movie though it did sort of fizzle out at the end. I did not like the supposedly climatic finale; Banner's super villain dad just didn't do it for me.
X Men 2 was really good (not great) though X Men 1 was lacking.
Daredevil was terrible. Although Ben Affleck fit the look of Matt Murdock/Daredevil his acting and lack of physical ability just killed the character of DD. The whole movie was a mess (also think that Jennifer Garner was a huge miscast for Elektra)
I never saw the Punisher movie, anybody got any opinions about that movie? From what I heard it wasn't too good. Was it as bad as the Dolph Lundgren Punisher?

[2] I think the DC characters are harder to market as well. The Marvel characters are more modern and I think have a broader appeal with today's audience. Batman is a great character and easier to market than Superman, Wonderwoman, Green Lantern, Flash etc... Those character are classics and I don't think the younger gereration will identify/like the DC characters especially in comparsion to Wolverine, Spiderman, Punisher, Hulk, etc...
I think the Smallville tv series is also limited by budget. They can't afford to make any cool villains because the special effects would cost too much. Anybody remember the short lived Flash tv series?
By the way, what is with this new Catwoman movie? Does that movie look like a crock of shit or what?

 

[Manji]

Watchmen was a great series. Alan Moore is one of the best writers of all time.
I recommend reading Moore's Top Ten, a great read with some great artistic work. Came out about two or three years ago.

Right now, there are a lot of comics (with new and modern characters and classic comic characters) that have their characters dealing with more realistic and adult-type of situations.

Instead of buying individual comics buy the trade paperback. Essentially, all the comics put together into one cheaper and handy graphic novel.

Another recommendation: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. A great read, imaginative and well drawn. Mix of fantasy and action/adventure, one of best graphic novels I have ever read. Story and art by Hayao Miyazaki. If there are any female comic readers on the board, you will enjoy this series as well. Comes in four graphic novels, you can buy the whole series in one collector's edition box.

 

[Frosty]

and the upcoming Green Lantern movie, which rumour has it will see Jack Black, of all people, playing the lead role.

geeky enough for ya?

Yeah I've read about that too. Green Lantern is suppose to be a comedy. I can see it now, Jack Black puts on the ring and this green glow slowly surrounds him and he's getting off on it. Or flying in the sky backwards, scratching his ass.

 

[incognito]

I haven't seen the hulk so i can't comment on it but friends of mine that saw it said it sucked. I saw the dare devil movie and i agree totally with manji on this one.
Jack Black to play the green lantern?!!? Somebody at warner bros. is on crack, who authorizes this. And since WB owns DC comics, why is it that they can make an awsome batman animated series but totally suck in making the live action movies. It seems to me that the animated series is more greated towards an older audience and the movies are more towards kids. What gives?
Don't even get me started with Halle Berry playing cat woman, sheesh, the trailers look SO bad.
I also heard that the watchmen was going to made into a movie, but that was about 2 years ago, anyone else heard about that?
I saw the anime "Nausicaa of the valley of the wind" as a kid and it was amazing, is it exactly like the manga?

 

[Manji]

I think I saw a preliminary script for the Watchmen movie five years back. I think it isn't happening.
Maybe the "League of Extraordinary Gentleman" convinced producers not to do Watchmen. Didn't see the LOEG; but the commercials looked terrible and LOEG did get shit reviews. Again, another movie changed in order to try to please everyone and in the end the movie doesn't satisfy anyone.

"Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind" anime was great. The manga is even better. As most novels/graphic novels; the manga is able to elaborate on the characters and the plot.
The artwork is unbelievable, Miyazaki puts so much detail in his work. From battle scenes to the other worldly creatures in Nausicaa's world, Miyazaki goes all out.
Miyazaki is also the creator and director of anime greats such Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

 

[Manji]

Okay, need some help from the DC guys.
Have only started reading DC recently and reading the "Identity Crisis" series has raised a few questions?

How many Hawkmans' are there? Is he (or they) human or alien (is it Thangarian?)?

There are currently two Green Lantern's right? One is black and the other is white? Which one is the real protector of Earth?

What's the story with Doctor Light? I remember reading that there was new Doctor Light that was a woman (could be wrong) and I think she was Japanese? Are they related?

Have a few other questions but I got to catch a flick tonite and I'm already running late.
Take it easy.
Manji

 

[Sinestro]

Johnny DC To The Rescue...!

Curse you, Manji! I swore that I wouldn't be drawn into this thread! But I can't...resist the urge...to share...my knowledge...!
Regarding Hawkman...ummm...it's a bit...complicated; bear with me, okay? The original Hawkman--that is to say the Golden Age Hawkman--was Carter Hall. A member in good standing, and for a time chairman of the Justice Society of America, he spent the 1940's beating on Nazi spies, gangsters, and all manner of super-powered menaces with his wife Shiera Saunders (Hawkgirl) fighting by his side. When the 50's rolled around, and comics were being attacked for supposedly contributing to juvenile delinquency, superheroes went the way of the dodo, to be replaced by war, western, and romance stories.
In the late 50's/early 60's, some bright boy at DC thought it was time to resurrect the superhero comic, and he re-introduced the world to the Flash. It wasn't, however, Jay Garrick, the Flash that everybody remembered so fondly from the war years; it was Barry Allen. Thus began the Silver Age. When the Flash proved popular, DC decided to resurrect a number of old concepts, slapping new faces and secret identities on Green Lantern, the Atom, and, yes, Hawkman. The Silver Age Hawkman was Thanagarian cop Katar Hol, who, with his wife and partner Shayera Thal (Hawkgirl), had come to Earth to study our planet's crime-fighting techniques. Falling in love with our world, they decided to stay, and became members in good standing of the Justice League of America.
Now, you have to remember that, back then, no one was thinking about things like continuity. They were just writing funny little kiddy stories; who cared if they played fast-and-loose with the details? Eventually, though, somebody decided that it was time to address the issue of the Golden Age characters who'd been uncerimoniously dumped. Thus was created Earth 2...
Earth 2, it was decided, would be the JSA's world, a world in which the Flash, and Green Lantern, and Hawkman were active in the 1940's. Earth 1 would be the JLA's Earth, the Earth in which the aforementioned heroes wouldn't come into being until the 60's. On Earth 1, there was no Justice Society to precede the Justice League; on Earth 2, there would be no Justice League to carry on the legacy of the Justice Society. You with me so far, Manji? They were two separate worlds with two separate groups of heroes. This little plot device also allowed DC to explain why Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, some of the only heroes to remain active during the 50's, didn't age. There were two Batmen, you see, leading separate lives.
Writers had fun with the concept over the years, having the JSA and JLA cross dimensional barriers every now and again to team up against one fiend or another. These meetings are being collected in the Crisis On Multiple Earths series of trade paperbacks.
By the 80's, DC continuity had become somewhat bloated. Also, the age issue once again began to creep back into people's minds, as characters who'd been active for twenty-plus years seemed to stay eternally young. Time for another reboot...
Crisis On Infinite Earths was DC's way of streamlining their continuity. I'll spare you the plot details; the end result was that all the Earths (there were more than just two by that point) became compressed into a single timeline. History was rewritten to allow the JSA and JLA to exist in the same dimension, with characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman being "erased" from the Golden Age completely, causing their clocks to be "reset". Some origins were retold to allow for a modern context (Batman Year One, courtesy of Miller and Mazzucelli, and Byrne's Man of Steel are considered to be the new foundation stories for Batman and Superman respectively), while others were greatly retooled. Enter Hawkman...
In the 80's, post-Crisis, Hawkman was still Katar Hol, but his history had been altered: he'd never come to Earth with Hawkgirl. Tim Truman's gritty Hawkworld chronicled the adventures of Katar and Shayera on Thanagar, the corrupt centre of an empire in decline, as they tried to maintain law and order. Eventually, Hawkworld would come to an end, and Katar would be introduced (reintroduced?) to planet Earth, but, by then it was too late; the damage was pretty well done. As Hawkman's origin became more and more convoluted in the hands of one inept writer and then another, he began to become something of a joke amongst fans and creators. Eventually, DC "killed" Katar, hoping that a few years might take away the stench, possibly allowing a competent writer to come in and untangle things. So, where does that leave us now, you ask? (cont'd...)