Tagged: comic
Comic Book Cover of the Week: Muhammad Ali vs. Superman!!
There’d just be no better time to post this legendary comic book cover, yesterday we lost boxing legend Muhammad Ali at the age of 74. I really don’t need to go into much detail about the legend as he’s one of the most well known athletes of all time. However some people may not have known that he had a part in the DC universe when he took on Superman in a boxing match!
Yeah the two squared off in a fight to save planet earth from an alien invasion! This was an epic comic at 72 pages in length Superman was in the fight of his life!! Ali is also rumored to have written all of his own dialogue and make a specific request, that in the book he would discover Superman’s true identity.
RIP Muhammad, you were a real life Superhero…..
Here’s the full scoop on the legendary comic book-check it out!!!
Comic Book Cover of the Week: Adventure the Dungeons with Peter Hsu!
Back in 1986 a cool little series came out from Aricel / Adventure Comics for those D&D nerds called The Adventurers! It was a great comic book jam packed with swords, sorcery, monsters galore and yeah…ninjas. My brother collected this series and though I was a Marvel & DC kid at the time I’d often sneak his much more daring and graphic indie comics any chance he’d leave the house. It was interesting as a kid learning that there indeed was more out there than the “big two”. This rad cover is from the first issue of The Adventurers by Peter Hsu and make no mistake each issue had incredible painted covers. I’m going to have to dig these out again cuz I’m feeling the need for some serious adventures lately!
Joe Golem Occult Detective #1: Mignola & Co Bring the Thrills & Chills Again!
Mike Mignola rarely lets me down, in fact I’d go as far to say that these days the Mignola-verse is where I really like to spend most of my comic book time. So yesterday it was a no-brainer that I’d have to pick up issue #1 of Joe Golem: Occult Detective. The series is based on characters from the ‘Joe Golem & The Drowning City’ Novel by Mike Mignola & Chris Golden, but the comic is meant to be a stand alone story (actually outside of the Mignola BPRD / Hellboy world) so you don’t need to read the novel first. However this first issue has peaked my interest in the book so I’ll probably check that out soon as well.
Well as you can guess by the title, this one is a bit of a pulp style supernatural thriller and takes place in severely flooded New York City in 1965. There in waters that fill the streets children are disappearing, being abducted by vicious creatures that roam below. We’ve got Joe Golem on the case though trying to figure out just what the hell is really going on here, we also get a bit of background into the cities past and some strange flashbacks or nightmares that will somehow tie into the dangerous waters of New York City.
We also meet Golem’s partner Simon Church a mysterious old man who seems to keep himself alive with strange magic, he also keeps a golem like clay monster in is house that’s likely to play a major role in this story. The artwork by Patric Reynolds is also excellent giving us a great look and feel of the gloom of the dark flooded waterways of mid century Manhattan.
The story is titled “The Rat Catcher” and I’m most definitely on board for the rest of the 5 issues (though inside it states there’s only 3 parts to this story? hmm….) and some spooky tales of adventure & mystery that Mike Mignola has become a legend for telling!
Cool Comic Debut: Paper Girls #1 Brings us an ‘Amblin’ Style 80’s Mystery!
I just finished ‘Paper Girls’ #1 by hotshot writer Brian K. Vaughan and it’s one of best debut issues I’ve read in a long time. What’s even better is at it’s $2.99 cover price it’s a double sized issue filled with a great little story just waiting to burst into a retro ‘Amblin’ style adventure set way back in 1988. Not only do we get an intriguing story here but also some great artwork by Cliff Chiang. We follow twelve year old Erin as she heads out onto the streets to do her paper route in wee hours of the A.M. after a extremely peculiar dream, involving apples, aliens, winged astronauts and classroom demons speaking what seems to be gibberish. I love the way the dream sequence is played out in the pages here, with a ton of strange symbolism, conversations that seemingly make no sense and some frightening creatures, it really feels like an actual dream which is quite nice.
The setting in the morning is the night after Halloween, so as Erin hits the streets with her sack of papers she encounters some neighborhood bullies still roaming. Luckily three other paper girls arrive on rad bmx bikes to the scene to her defense. From this point Erin decides to ride with the girls on her route and discovers that the three of them too had been jumped by some strange “people” dressed as ghosts who stole one of their walkie talkies.
I don’t want to spoil any of the story as there are some cool surprises that develop along the way. But what I will say is this has the perfect setting for a lost 80’s flick and puts some cool supernatural elements in the mix that leave you longing for issue #2. A super solid debut and just the kind of comic book story that I love even if for some reason we get a bit of prominent product placement by the way of Apple computers. Check this one out, this issue gives you more bang for your buck too as it’s twice the normal size. A great scheme to get people to drop their hard earned cash these days on a comic book!
‘Ash vs The Evil Dead’ Trailer Looks Totally Groovy!!!!
Wow!! It looks like Sam Raimi just might have finally gone and done it right!! I’ve been so skeptical and at the same time so excited about Ash vs The Evil Dead tv series from Starz for the longest time. But today my fears were firmly put to rest by the brand new full trailer for the series and folks it seems that we just may have a full on home run here for all who love the Evil Dead as much as I do!
The first trailer is so damn good I can’t even find one thing I don’t like about it. It’s production quality looks like a movie and the special effects look pretty gosh darn incredible. Tons of old school practical gore, blood and creatures here make this so far blend pretty seamlessly with the movies. Bruce looks great, I love the comedy and the frantic action in the trailer is full on fucking awesome. Count me seriously in for this series! So I stand corrected Mr. Raimi, maybe like Bruce you still got it! Universal Dork approves!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unnLg1TPCYM
And lots more info in this Comic Con interview!
When Superheroes Trade Villains! Unexpected Awesome Super Battles!
I love a good superhero / super villain battle! We all love to see our favorite superheroes go head to head with their classic villains, who doesn’t love the classic battles of Lex Luthor and Superman?! Or The Hulk and The Abomination?! Or Batman and The Joker? Spider-man vs. The Green Goblin?! But let me tell you what I have always liked often times more than those classic battles are when a superhero ends up battling someone else’s classic villains. This just doesn’t happen nearly enough but when it does it’s always a great unexpected little piece of comic book history! So let’s look at a few of my favorites in this FIRST installment of “When Superheroes Trade Villains”!! This small list was actually a lot harder than I thought it’d be to comprise. I figured it’s be easier to find or recall classic villains fighting non traditional battles with superheroes they normally don’t come in direct contact with!
Thor #178: Thor vs. The Abomnination!!
We are all so used to seeing the Hulk and The Abomination go head to head but in Thor #178 we got to see Thor face off with the other big bad green gamma behemoth! Unfortunately this isn’t really the greatest battle or story we’ve ever seen, but hey it’s cool to see these two guys go at it a bit! The real bad guy here kinda turns out to be The Stranger who’s imprisoning creatures on his planet to do his bidding but hey I’ll take a Thor/Abomination beat down any day!
Captain America 259: Cap vs Doc Ock!
Yeah Doctor Octopus is notoriously known for his battles with everyone’s favorite web head but in Cap #259 we got see Captain America tangle with ol’ Otto! Doc Ock decides he’s gotta steal Cap’s trusty shield so he can study the metal it’s made from to make even stronger robotic arms-however Cap is totally NOT cool with this and this soon erupts into a unique battle with one of Spider-man’s most popular baddies!
Superman #9: Supes vs. The Joker!
Sooner or later The Joker was bound to get tired of Gotham and Batman! Superman #9 has one helluva awesome cover by John Byrne and the story inside is pretty fun as The Joker stops by Metropolis to make people go crazy with his deadly laughing gas and a robot superman with a nuclear bomb inside, thats when Superman steps onto the scene! He easily foils the Joker’s plan asking him why he came to Metropolis, Joker simply laughs and says “Ooh Superman…Why not?”
Daredevil #104: Murdok vs. Kraven The Hunter!
Yeah Kraven decides to fuck with someone else finally other than Spidey this time! Kraven really doesn’t have much of a beef with Daredevil but he’s hired to take him out! Whatta jerk doing it for the money huh?! Nope, get this, Kraven actually refuses the cash and does it simply for the thrill of the hunt! This leads Kraven to kidnap the Black Widow and ultimately face Daredevil in the San Francisco zoo because well you know….Kraven wants to feel like he’s in the muthafuckin’ jungle when he faces off with the Man Without Fear!
Transformers #3: Spider-man vs. Megatron?!
Yeah well back in the 1980’s Marvel had the rights to the Transformers. So in their limited series we find out in issue #3 that they exist in the same universe as the Marvel superheroes! This leads to Spider-man guesting in the third issue and taking on Megatron! Now this is a real superhero/ super villain mash up if I have ever seen one!!
So help me out here what are some other issues where Superheroes trade classic villains in an unlikely battle?!
Oh and here is a great animated classic Hulk episode “Tomb of the Unknown Hulk” where the Hulk squares off against Dock Ock!! I always though this was super cool as Ock was an unlikely villain for a full Hulk episode, this segment has their short but awesome battle in it’s finale!
My Vote Goes for a Paul Rudd Ant-Man!
I had to get this in before the final verdict on the casting of Ant-Man was officially chosen, anyway it seems we have two choices for the role, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Paul Rudd. First I’ve gotta say I hope whoever they chose they dye their hair blonde! Call me a comic purist, but it’d make it feel more like Hank Pym as he’s always been a blonde even in The Ultimates.
So to me, of these two choices I feel like the role should be Rudd’s, as he’d fit nicely with Edgar Wright’s version of the hero or at least what I imagine. Also though Gordon Levitt should be a superhero-he SHOULD be Batman dammit, he doesn’t at all resonate as a Hank Pym to me.
Rudd is a good choice, he can play cocky asshole and frankly he’d be a breath of fresh air in the role and to The Avengers. I say whatever, just get Giant-Man up on the big screen already-Ant-Man is cool but Giant-Man really rounds out the Avengers and is quite honestly one of the most cinematic things about The Ultimates!!
![giant_man_[ultimate]_8](https://universaldork.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/giant_man_ultimate_8.jpg)
Modok Exposed! Sexy Comic Book Cover of the Week!!
Modok is easily one of my fave Marvel villains of all time and that’s why I had to add this awesome cover for Captain America #313 from 1986 by probably my fave comic book artist of all time Mr. John Byrne! This one always kinda gave me the creeps because it showed Modok who’s easily one of the strangest Marvel villains with his pants down! By that I mean we see the guy without his armor chair which normally covers most of his body. This story was titled “Mission: Murder Modok!” and it featured one of my personal fave super villain teams the “Serpent Society” as they attempted to assasinate him! Seeing Modok on the cover laying on his back like a big cryin’ baby with his little body(he can’t walk because his head is too big) was kinda like when as a kid I’d see my pet hermit crab walking around at night without his shell searching for a larger one. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a hermit crab without it’s shell, but it’s pretty weird, It freaked me the fuck out! This is a cool cover and a rare glimpse of Modok “undressed”!!!
I really hope that Modok makes it into the Marvel cinematic universe-he’d be such a fun villain to see on the big screen! Hopefully they would go with animatronics and puppetry rather than CG, it’d be quite a site! If hadn’t already noticed someone did indeed put a Modok inspired character into a movie already – the 1996 flick “Head of the Family” !
Total Modok rip-off!!! But you can see how cool of a villain he would be on the big screen!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNgGaK_ZBQQ
Oh yeah and then there’s THIS!
Listen Up Hollywood! The Dark Night Returns: Starring Michael Keaton!
So I’m just not that pumped on the whole Ben Affleck Batman scenario. I get that he probably just landed his dream job and that they want Batman and Superman to appear in a movie together but I think we could shoot higher! Let’s think about another more exciting movie sequel, a live action “Dark Knight Returns” starring Michael Keaton once again as Batman!!
I was watching Keaton in a movie recently and it dawned on me that he’s the perfect age to play Batman again, in the role from the legendary Frank Miller story. Seriously. I think this is something that they need to make happen. It would make for quite a treat to all Batman fans and maybe, just maybe we could get Tim Burton to direct. I really don’t trust Burton with anything these days, I suppose he’d need to somehow insert Johnny Depp into the equation, hell maybe he could play Robin?! That’d be if we changed the sex of Robin for the movie but hey it could work if that’s what burton really needed to make himself happy! But if we could get Burton to go back to his roots with this one it’d be quite an experience!
So what about the Joker you ask? Well…no brainer, Jack Nicholson of course as an old Joker would be absolutely fantastic! Because guess what? The Joker didn’t die in the original Burton movie! Nope! Because we’ve seen it happen in the comics many times, we all know he never truly dies nor do any valuable characters. However they better jump on this idea quick as we’ve heard rumors of Nicholson possibly retiring. How great would this be as his last hurrah?! The movie could show a recap of what happened throughout the years between them, with Keaton’s Batman and we could stick to the same visual style of the first movies.
To me that sounds like a good time. Far far better than Ben Affleck jumping into the next Superman flick. I mean the first Superman was sufficient but it really didn’t captivate audiences in the way they’d anticipated. But that means that we would hypothetically need a Superman for this Burton version, so who’d fit the bill? I wouldn’t be opposed to Cavill returning, though this universe may be to Burton-esque for him, I’d be ok more so with Brandon Routh returning to the role as he has that Christopher Reeve vibe and ultimately his Superman would have fit pretty good into the 1989 Batman’s universe quite nicely. So there you have it Hollywood! Make this shit happen! This would truly be an exciting venture I’d pay to see more than once!
What do YOU think?
The Perfect Wolverine Movie……ALMOST!!!
I just had to give my two cents worth on this weekend’s big hit “The Wolverine” since I totally trashed, heavily here, many times, the god damn awful X-men Origins: Wolverine any chance I could get in the past! So “The Wolverine” was something I was completely ready to hate, however before the movie started I decided I would forget that last venture as hard as it could be. I’ve got to say though, once The Wolverine started rolling I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. It was clear from the first five minutes we were getting a completely different type of film. One that was ready to let Jackman finally shine as everybody’s favorite feral mutant. This was NOT a hokey dumbed down cartoon Wolverine movie, like it’s predecessor. Nope, this one was straight up Wolverine from the comic books!
Here Wolverine is done far better that any of his previous onscreen appearances. Jackman proves and practically erases those past movies except for the referencing of the third and worst X-men film of the franchise. Still though I give it props for sticking with the continuity- So no problems there. Wolverine in this one is a mean bastard, ready to kill, drink, swear and thoroughly fuck up anyone who pisses him off-FINALLY!
Jackman not only proves he loves Wolverine, but actually makes you feel something real for the character. It makes you root for the poor soul, hoping that maybe he’ll get some peace of mind for once in his life and maybe, just maybe find real love, if anything so he can stop having weird ass fantasies about a kinda creepy looking Famke Janssen every ten minutes. However weird these dream sequences were with her popping up all over the film, it still made sense as we all know Wolverine’s past obsession with Jean Grey, that made for a great love triangle in the comic books. Yet I couldn’t help but want to yell out at the screen to Logan to “get the fuck over it already dude!!!” But in a way I felt strangely sorry for the guy.
So this movie finally gets it right, almost and I’ll get to that. Continue reading
Universal Dork 