Category: comic books
Comic Cover of the Week: Ron Wilson’s Version of The THING is still one of the BEST!
The Thing’s solo series in the early 80’s remains one of my favorites. It was a HUGE deal for me as a kid, seeing one of my favorite characters ever in his very own monthly series. Written by John Byrne and illustrated by Ron Wilson we got Ben Grimm finally in some pretty thrilling solo adventures. Originally even as a kid, I was a big fan of John Byrne’s artwork and I remember seeing that he wasn’t doing the art work, I was at first worried, but soon it was clear Wilson was one of the best at portraying The Thing. That’s something that’s even more apparent today with simplistic style, he add just the right amount of charm to Ben. This cover from 1983 from his 8th issue also features Joe Sinnot putting the finishes on Wilson’s work- it’s a real gem and really represents everything I miss about comic books today…..
Comic Cover of the Week: Eric Vincent’s TALES OF TERROR!
A largely forgotten independent horror anthology comic TALES OF TERROR was ingrained into my memory of my teenage self. Especially in the way it brings back that old nostalgia from the 1980s when I would go into the dingy comic book shops with my older brother, before comic book stuff was all the rage, I’d buy all of the Marvel stuff and he’d by lots of the weird Indy stuff! Titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (when they were weird and gritty), Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, The Elementals, Deadworld and Tales of Terror from Eclipse Comics always stuck in my mind. Such beautifully creepy covers- This issue first issue from 1986 always stuck out in my mind, artist Eric Vincent of course killed it here! Dang I miss those days of being a nerd when it felt like you were uncovering hidden gems from a secret comic book diamond mine and comics felt edgy, underground, unique and somehow punk….
Comic Cover of the Week: ENTER ‘SQUATCH!
To this day one of my all time favorite Marvel comics characters is most definitely Sasquatch, known mainly as a member of Canada’s greatest super hero team: Alpha Flight. However over the years he’s had several great tussles with The Incredible Hulk, one of my favorites is this 1979 Hulk annual, where we get to see the two of them go toe to toe. I’ve always loved how HUGE they made him, as a kid I just could not get enough of him and the Alpha Flight. This particular comic was one I got in the 1980s and the cover always blew me away. The giant tree being used as a weapon was a truly nice touch and it wouldn’t be the first time these two met in the wilderness! Looking at this more closely today again brought me back to a time when comic books felt very special in a day and age when they feel mostly disposable. These books (especially the annuals) had some real weight to them and I’ll always appreciate these older back issues and the wonder they filled me with. A great cover by Al Milgrom a true comic book icon…
And as I mentioned earlier the size of Sasquatch in the comics, here Hulk penciller Sal Buscema really brings the beastly gentle giant to life. What a great full panel!
This issue was loosely made into an animated episode too of the Incredible Hulk in the 1990s-check out a clip fellow ‘Squatch fans!
RIP Marvel’s MODOK: The FINAL Nail in the MCU Coffin for Me!
The Disney MCU just continues to think MODOK is so damn funny, but us comic book fans haven’t been laughing! You bet I’ve seen the latest take on MODOK from the new MCU ‘Ant-man: Quantumania’ and it’s worse than I’d ever imagined possible. They again blow the chance to make an awesome villain into “live action”. The MCU always had a problem in my opinion bringing classic villains from the comic books onto the big screen. However I’ve really never seen a more pathetic attempt than THIS. Perhaps things have gotten considerably worse in the “Disney” MCU phase? It certainly seems so to me. I’ve found myself over the last couple years being less and less engaged in the whole shebang. I haven’t seen the last three theatrical releases and I’ve barely been able to make it through any of the Disney Plus streaming shows. Whatever the formula is, I’m no longer interested. This MODOK controversy seals the deal. The MCU………OVER IT! Let’s compare the MCU “MODOK” to the comic book version…
Why does everything in the MCU now seem like it’s some snarky joke? The problem is, whatever snarky comedy they once had has definitely worn out it’s welcome. Instead of giving us the truly classic and bizarre version of one of Marvel Comic’s most terrifying weirdo supervillains, we got another pathetic attempt at a joke.
MODOK could have been a vile, unsettling freak of a villain one that’s creepy and threatening and can instill true fear into characters like The Abomination and go one on one with The Hulk.
I’m so burnt out on this sort of factory filmmaking and pumped off the assembly line MCU / Disney Plus streaming “content”. But the funny thing is I never imagined MODOK would be the final nail in the coffin, at least for me. It’s really strange to me as well because even more recently in the comic books they portrayed the character in quite a revolting, serious way as a real threatening villain. But of course recently they also decided at some point to make a ridiculous stop motion animation series about the character as well, further pushing the joke they seem to think it’s so funny that is MODOK. That’s another thing with the current MCU they think they are way more funny than they actually are in reality. Here below is a more modern portrayal is totally on point and I wish they would’ve just stuck with something like this, but hey everything is now apparently a snarky super funny joke!
I’ll take my 80’s comic books for another re-read and call it a day!
Comic Cover of the Week: Alpha Flight & CRYSTAR!
Oh how I miss being an 80’s kid and here’s a comic book that brings back some memories: The Saga of Crystar the Crystal Warrior! It’s been a while since I thought about this title but it was BIG on my radar back in the day, mostly because of the awesome action figures I owned from the Crystar toyline. Here however, is one of my fave covers of the series, beautifully illustrated by Michael Golden, featuring unlikely guest stars: Alpha Flight! One of my all time favorite super-teams of Marvel.
Most of the short lived series, only eleven issues long (this being the final one) had consistently quite impressive art work on their covers. So as a kid all it took was one look to reel me into the Crystal Universe and BEG my mom to let get a few of their truly unique action figures!
Comic Cover of the Week: Wisconsin’s Forgotten 1980s Superhero!
Here’s a flashback to late 1980s indie comics who’s covers pack a punch (or more so a KICK)! Wisconsin superhero Badger was always a favorite of mine, for one reason because the cheese state, from which I hail, never got much attention in the superhero spectrum. Mike Baron’s ‘First Comics’ creation was a truly unique spin on the genre. This incredible cover was one as a Wisconsinite always stuck in my mind! Badger was truly reppin’ the Midwest! A dynamic cover from 1988 by Steve Rude is one of my faves hands DOWN!
Comic Cover of the Week: Iron Man Gets Seriously Bullied!
I loved the old Marvel Fanfare, back in the day it worked as a unique little anthology book. Featuring some lesser known, as well as big name superheroes in their own little self contained unique adventures. Printed on glossy paper and featuring often times more unconventional stories in the way they were presented. They also of course had some knockout covers, this one, from Marvel Fanfare #22 from 1982 features a unique moment where we see Doctor Octopus and unlikely villain for Iron Man completely intimidating him with a gang of dangerous supervillains all getting ready to gang up on Tony Stark! I’ve always loved to see comic books where superheroes face off against villains who they might not normally be associated with. This one is a great representation of that as we see Iron Man truly vulnerable, in a deadly situation beautifully illustrated by Ken Steacy in this iconic fold out cover! Oh how I miss the 1980s…
Comic Cover of the Week: Jim Lee’s BIG Break- Samurai Santa!!
A skilled japanese martial artist masquerading as a department store Santa Clause isn’t what anyone thinks of when thinking of comic book icon Jim Lee. HOWEVER Samurai Santa one shot from 1986 was really his BIG break!
This cool little long forgotten indie comic book is perfect for the Christmas season! Jim Lee was the inker on this one shot holiday themed adventure, which eventually landed him a job with Marvel Comics on Alpha Flight in the late 80s. This is a cool little off the wall Christmas story and a sweet simple one for the season! It might be time to give this one a re-read and hey maybe someone needs to adapt it into a live action movie?!
Halloween Comic Cover of the Day: Jack-O-Lantern Attacks!
When we think of Marvel Comics’ most Halloween themed characters normally The Green Goblin or The Hobgoblin come to mind first. However there’s one villain who takes the cake as the most Halloween themed character in all of the Marvel’s history: Jack-O-Lantern!
This character might be a bit of a rip off of The Green Goblin but I’ve always thought he was pretty cool looking, pretty bad ass and a bit underutilized as a villain. Oddly enough he 1st appeared in Machine Man #19 from 1981, the same year as the Spider-man issue showcased above.
Obviously Jack-O is the perfect villain for the Halloween season! He’s battled a lot of A-listers like like Captain America, as you can see right here hes got some spooky skills to show off.
He definitely deserves some love today and though I could go on and give you his entire back story why not just take a look at this awesome little entry in the Marvel Universe Official Handbook from way back in the day for the scoop on this weirdo!
Comic Cover of the Week: Frank Miller, Daredevil & THE HULK!
I’m done waiting around for Daredevil to appear in the latest She-Hulk Disney Plus series! IMO the show is a complete annoying, trainwreck and I really don’t care to see whatever pathetic version of Daredevil they end up bringing to the screen. I say this as a huge fan of The Sensational She-Hulk series by John Byrne too. So here’s a classic cover with Daredevil in his prime facing a real Hulk from issue #160 from 1980! I love the simplicity here and how we really only need to see The Incredible Hulk’s giant green hand to witness the fear in Daredevil’s face. The man without fear? I’m not so sure! Excellent work Frank Miller!!
Universal Dork 