Tagged: Fantastic Four
Washed Up Comic Dork on The Latest FANTASTIC FOUR Trailer & Modern ADD Streaming Content!
Today we take a closer look at “dumbed down on purpose” streaming content, the upcoming ‘FANTASTIC FOUR: First Steps’ film & the state of the MCU & modern comic books from the perspective of an old WASHED UP Marvel Comics collector! All from my bedroom! PLUS more ideas on where the MCU should go if they wanna get the approval of us old nerds of the 1980s who collected comic books and were picked on for it when it WASN’T COOL!
Comic Cover of the Week: The HULK vs. The SUPER SKRULL!
Dale Keown has easily just GOT to be one of the greatest Hulk comic book artists of all time-and here’s more proof of that as I’m showcasing issue #375 all the way back from 1990. This is an awesome cover it’s straight to the point-we waited far too long to see The Hulk battle The Super Skrull but here it finally happened. Keown’s art always for some reason reminded me a bit of John Byrne, who’s one of my all time faves but I think Keown’s Hulk is even better. This was an awesome era of the comic that explored some cool new concepts and of course here focused on the grey Hulk. The kid in me still gets so excited to add The Super Skull to the Grey Goliath’s rogue gallery…
The interior art too was no joke-look at how awesome some of these panels are! Dale made sure none of us were disappointed by their battle. I tell you, they just don’t make Hulk art or Hulk battles like they used too…
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: John Byrne’s Black & White Genius!
It’s always been clear at U-Dork that’ my all time favorite comic book artist is John Byrne & I wanted to showcase his brilliance when he only uses 2 colors to craft an utterly breathtaking a comic book cover. Sometimes keeping it real simple can be the best way to make something truly memorable. Take a look here as John uses this duo color scheme to create an unforgettable and bizarre comic book cover for Fantastic Four number 276 from 1984!
He’s done this style a couple other times, once with the Web of Spider-Man:
…and another very similar toned Alpha Flight cover:
It’s also available to be seen here in the reverse color scheme which is equally effective. Byrne does it again!
Holiday Comic Cover of the Week: The THING vs Evil Xmas Toys!
We keep getting closer and closer to Christmas this year So of course we have to check out some groovy holiday comic book covers of years gone by! Today we take a look at ‘Marvel Two In One’ number 74 from 1981. It’s a special Christmas issue that of course features The Thing battling the Puppet Master’s evil toys during the during the holidays! This is a sweet cover as well drawn by Frank Springer and it really harkens back to the Golden Age of comics when they were just a damn good time to read!
Comic Cover of the Week: The Thing battles VIRUS X!!!
This week’s comic book cover hits home here as the planet faces the Coronavirus head on. Well back in 1981 The Thing was affected heavily by a deadly one himself called “Virus X”!! Created by the evil giant headed mastermind MODOK it was designed to be hyper-contagious and deadly to the population.
Virus X was so damn deadly, in Marvel Two-in-One #82 the story’s called “The Fatal Effects of Virus X!” MODOK first tested it on group of homeless people he snatched from the streets, and soon set his sights on The Thing to see exactly what it’s effects would be on a superhuman being. As if the Thing hadn’t been through enough already dealing with his monstrous appearance MODOK’S virus mutated him even further! The Thing almost loses his life but luckily his friends Goliath & Captain America are there to give him comfort and kick MODOK’s tiny little ass located on the back of his head!!
Comic Cover of the Week: When SHE-HULK Replaced The THING!
John Byrne’s run on the Fantastic Four in the 80’s is arguably the best the title has ever seen. One of the biggest changes the legendary team encountered during his run was when The Thing left the team & She-Hulk replaced him. It was a risky move at the time, but Jennifer Walters rounded out the female ratio quite nicely with her brute strength, beauty and charming sense of humor. We all know that Byrne was a huge fan of She-Hulk and Fantastic Four #275 features the character in one of my favorite covers. She-Hulk, especially in the 80’s had to deal with a LOT of sleazy men gawking over her, this cover features a prime example of exactly that. I’m also looking at this cover and thinking this depiction of the character would be a great one to base look of the upcoming MCU tv series character on. There’s so much you could do with She-Hulk in a live action series and I’m hoping it adds the comedic elements of Byrne’s classic version of the character. I’ve always loved John Byrne and to this day his iconic 70’s and 80’s comic book art, in my opinion, is easily some of the best of the era. This cover is truly classic SHE-HULK!
Comic Cover of the Week: Vintage BEN GRIM!
The Thing was always one of my favorite superheroes, I just couldn’t get enough of this damn character. He was so freakin’ cool that besides being one of the mainstays in the Fantastic Four comics he also was the main character of ‘Marvel Two in One’ series (that started in the 70’s) and teamed up with pretty much every superhero to ever appear in the comics. There were some really really obscure team ups I’ve got to mention someday in another post. Well in 1983 I was beyond stoked as kid when John Byrne decided to give Ben Grim his very own solo series, it was one of my favorite things EVER (no pun intended)! Well issue #6 was always one of my favorite covers just ‘The Thing’ in all of his rocky glory in a simple black background. This issue itself utilized the blackness in quite an interesting way as well as he faced off against the Puppetmaster, this one drawn by the legend Ron Wilson and Brent Anderson is a true classic and shows that sometimes the best covers are sometimes the most simple!
Is It Finally The Right Time For a SHE-HULK Movie?!
So I recently checked out the Wonder Woman movie and to my surprise it was pretty damn good, for a modern day superhero movie. I only really say this because the first time we saw Gal Gadot in the role was in the wretched Batman V Superman. Uggh I tried to erase that horror story from my memory.. BUT It seems to me that DC finally did it right and impressively releasing the, waaaaaay long overdue first fully female fronted superhero movie. Let’s face it, this was a big win and now I’m sure Marvel is thinking even more seriously about the future of the female fronted superhero flick. Sure they have Captain Marvel in the wings for 2019 but I’ve read recently that another female director is hoping she can score a job behind making a She-Hulk movie.
Yep Rachel Talalay who’s directed the likes of Tank Girl, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, episodes of Supergirl, The Flash, Sherlock and most recently Doctor Who has expressed major interest in She-Hulk. She stated: “I have such a strong vision of what She-Hulk should be,” Talalay told Vice. “The difference between She-Hulk and Hulk is that she loved being She-Hulk. She was the Tank Girl of earlier days in terms of being able to say what she wanted, and when she became She-Hulk, it was like an opening of the door to freedom, to be the person that you wish you could be. That you’re stopped from being as a woman. And that’s the version of She-Hulk that I would love to embrace.” Continue reading
Superheroic Thanksgiving!
We never really think that things like Thanksgiving and Comic books go together, but hey comic book characters have gotta take some time off to spend some time breaking bread together right? Well here’s a few cool images of some of the icons spending turkey day together-check it out!
Universal Dork 