Comics


Top 5: Sappy Spider-Man Comics

99Spider-Man has always had girl troubles. From his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 to whatever movie Marvel is releasing this year, the wisecracking web-head has rarely been lucky when it comes to love. Oh, sure, he’s had girlfriends. He’s even been married. But each and every affair inevitably ended in disaster. Death, dumping, a Marvel mandated mind-wipe — the deeper the love, the more messed-up the break-up. But does Spider-Man allow any of that to dim his dream of true love? Hells no. Skip ahead a few issues, and a new gal walks through Spidey’s door (or flies past his window…or punches him in the face while fleeing the scene of a crime…) and his lower half’s spider-sense starts tingling once more. Oh, comics. Ah, l’amour!

Listed below are my five favorite Spider-Man love stories. Some are silly, some are somber. All of ‘em are all-caps ROMANTIC.

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The Truth Is Stranger Than Twitter

55When I first saw Jeremy Conrad‘s humorous tweet, I figured he’d summed up the details of the Sony/Marvel deal as well as anyone ever would. Money, right? That’s what makes the world go round and keeps the ‘biz’ in ‘show biz.’

Then Variety released the actual details of the deal and, well, you just can’t make this stuff up: SHIT WAS FREE. No one is getting paid!

Here’s Some Fun, Non-Cannon Star Wars Mythology: Chewbacca Is The Sasquatch

98“TIL that in Star Wars Tales #19 Han Solo travels through time and crashes on Earth. Han is killed in an attack by Natives, but Chewbacca lives and becomes the Sasquatch. 126 years later, Indiana Jones is tracking down the Sasquatch only to find the crashed Millennium Falcon and the body of Han Solo.” - Skweres88

The comic being referred to is Into the Great Unknown by W. Haden Blackman and Sean Murphy, and it’s a delight. Click here to read.

X-Men: Apocalypse Casts Its Young Mutants

112Next year’s X-Men: Apocalypse will feature teenage versions of Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Storm. Director Bryan Singer just announced via Twitter who will be playing them: Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) as Jean Grey, Alexandra Shipp (Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B) as Storm and Tye Sheridan (Tree of Life) as Cyclops. Click through for full size pics. Continue reading

HANNA BARBARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

2122This marvelous mash-up comes courtesy of Jay Fosgitt, the artist on such comic books as Bodie Troll and My Little Pony: Friends Forever. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe we’re looking at the Guardians of the Galaxy versions of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm (circa The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show), Mutley, Captain Caveman and Grape Ape. Pretty clever — and cute!

It’s Official:
Benedict Cumberbatch Is Doctor Strange

fyfs2o3kMarvel.com reports, “[Benedict Cumberbatch] will star in Marvel’s Doctor Strange, scheduled to hit theaters November 4, 2016. The film, directed by Scott Derrickson with Jon Spaihts writing the screenplay, will follow the story of neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions.”

Illustration by Jenny Harder

Avengers vs. Attack on Titan is REAL

aot.jpg-large-600x291Marvel Comics Senior VP, CB Cebulski, has announced that the Avengers will be fighting Attack on Titans‘ titular titans in a Japanese comic book later this month.

Cebulski described the genesis of this unexpected crossover via his Twitter feed, saying, “I loved Marvel Team-Up and What If? as a kid. I would spend hours dreaming up my own crossovers & alternate reality stories. As I got more into manga, I always imagined how cool it would be for the Marvel characters to cross into the pages of manga worlds. If you ever wondered, ‘What if the titans from Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan attacked the Marvel universe?’ you’ll find out soon!”

It’s Like Picasso Drawing Peanuts

0“A comic strip artist will end up drawing the same characters so many thousands of times, that you’d figure they could draw them with their eyes closed. But could they really? In 1947, Life magazine decided to find out by challenging 10 contemporary comic strip artists to do just that – draw their characters with their eyes closed.” - Bored Panda

To see the results, click here.

Gus Van Sant to Direct ‘Death Note’

0The Tracking Board is reporting that Gus Van Sant will direct Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Death Note, the starts amazing/ends atrocious manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.

While Van Sant would NEVER have appeared on my mental list of directors a major studio would hire to direct a manga adaptation, I’m delighted by how potentially perfect this pairing is. Anyone who has seen Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Elephant or Paranoid Park knows how skilled he is at bringing nuanced portrayals of the teen angst, anger and confusion to the silver screen. I’m really looking forward to this!