BECAUSE MARVEL KNEW WE WOULD BUY ANYTHING BY FRANK MILLER WITHOUT CHECKING THE INTERIOR ART FIRST
When it comes to movies based on comic book superheroes I am of the opinion that the best I can hope for is it doesn't suck too much. Two or three bad super hero films can kill the genre for about a decade. Look at the 80s for an example.
Fortunately for fans of comic-to-film cinema Marvel has been doing a pretty good job lately in their choices. What helped I think was an overall vision or if you prefer, a story arc. Beginning with Iron Man a connecting theme of sorts has been present all with the goal of maintaining a franchise to culminate in the Avengers movie slated to be released next year. Clearly, a lot is riding on the Marvel characters to pay off in the end and the recent Captain America movie probably did not hurt the studios chances of wrapping up the story with good box office.
I saw Captain America, the First Avenger, The Movie (to use the full official title) in the theater last Monday and I was pretty impressed. It exceeded my expectations that the movie not be merely OK which is about all I really want from a super hero flick. While I really enjoyed the film I did accidentally pick the 3D version from the hard to navigate sun-washed touch-screen kiosk outside the box office, so ouch to my eyes. The 3D was alright but it is not my entertainment viewing preference.
The film was fun, exciting and the producers didn't get stupid with the script or go cheap which is the death of any comic book film (for instance the 1990 Cap). Production values were high and there were plenty of Easter eggs to delight the geeks like myself such as the Human Torch android safely sealed in a vacuum tube and the Arnim Zola giant face in the monitor. Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving as Captain America and the Red Skull were pretty great. Wisely, a young Nick Fury was not included.
The film managed to acknowledge the entire published and cinematic history of Captain America and as a fan I was pleased it did not ignore the contributions of Simon and Kirby among other creative teams. Honestly though, I thought the 1990s Red Skull mask was superior to the one worn by Weaving. The 2011 Red Skull had smooth and flawless skin. I expected more veins, raw exposed teeth and muscles similar to the one worn by Scott Paulin in the 1990 film.
The initial Hydra spy foot chase could have benefited from some tighter editing and the musical number, with Cap punching co-splay Hitler was a nice scene that set the stage for the journey from propaganda jester to hero. Also, a nice touch was that Captain America was made in a process that meant more than the physical aspect as a pre-super soldier Steve Rogers obsessively studied militarily history and tactics. It was clear that not just anyone could be Captain America, something that the comic books has addressed for decades. That the Nazis were only incidental to the film and Hydra was the big bad initially caused some story concern for me. What is Cap without Nazis? But it became clear that the Nazis were petty, venal thugs with limited vision and ability. In recent cinema (after the 1940s) this idea was also put forth in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The fate of the Red Skull is pretty obvious and I'd be surprised if he doesn't make an appearance in the Avengers film or a Cap sequel. Bucky was also set up to make a return as the Winter Soldier if the fan interest is there.
So as a lead in to The Avengers and as a stand alone film I was not disappointed with Captain America: The First Avenger. Most of all, are you listening, Marvel? This film I would pay to see again.
The news that the Disney Company is buying Marvel Comics and their stable of characters was met by fans with various cries of alarm, worry, anger and shaking sobs. I don't know, I'm kind of looking forward to the epic "final" battle between Tigger and Logan. If memory serves, Tigger has a healing factor that just won't quit and he may be Logan's long lost Great, Great, Great Grandfather.
There have been worse cross-overs.
It's been long established Jennifer Walters has always gotten more than the usual kick out of fisticuffs and the Sentry cuts a fine figure so who can blame a girl for getting all enthusiastic, but...
Hard enough to score concrete?
Oh, and it doesn't matter what font you write it in, Earth-8009 will always look like Earth-BOOB at first glance.
Like that was a coincidence.
Images from Savage She-Hulk #4 (September 2009), only one was manipulated. Guess which one.
Since the Master of the Mystic Arts won't be waving his hand and making all the Skrull problems go away here's a little puzzle to get Doctor Strange some much needed exposure. The game is easy to play and just because the writers don't know what to do with the Doc* doesn't mean you won't!
Click the sacred Orb of Agamotto to view a page suitable for entry into the Book of the Vishanti! 
It's amazing Tarzan survived to grow into adulthood.
From Pizzazz #2 (November 1977).
Two contrasting covers from Marvel in the 70s. Women get a joke about their weight while the guys get to brag about the size of their equipment.
From Queen-Size Millie the Model #11 (September 1974) and Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 (April 1974).
Nertz. Spider-Man post-One More Day doesn't suck.
Wise-cracking, loner, part-time loser Peter Parker IS better.
Looks like Joe Quesada was r-r-r-r-r...
He was r-r-r-r-r...
Joe Quesada was r-r-r-r-r-r...
He was right, okay?
It's bad enough that Marvel has a serial killer selling cars, but now the U.S. Army is paying for product placement type ads in comic books (And what's up with the name tag on that soldier that reads "MUTART" in that other ad anyways?).
I understand that the days of the Count Dante account supporting a comic are long gone but I wish Marvel (and others) wouldn't allow the military to place advertising within the stories themselves. Comic Books are still perceived to be disposable fare for children and teens by the greater public. What's next, a cartoon character selling booze and cigarettes?
I could think of a few things that would serve the comic better to have showing on the Avenger's penthouse entertainment system than a commercial for the military. For instance, a Hayley Mills film like "Sky West and Crooked" would not be out of place.
If Marvel wants to promote the armed services then they should just have that old G.I. Joe cartoon running in the background. That show probably faked more kids into joining up than any number of "MUTART" ads would ever do.
Or Wolvie could have drifted off watching the bestest television show ever!
Comic book readers are somewhat of a captive audience. Product placement in the movies is one thing, there is no way to show commercials for added revenue otherwise. But comic books have full pages already devoted to advertising. Short of tearing out those pages there is no way for a reader to avoid at least giving them a glance, hence money well spent by the marketing agencies. So do me a favor and keep the ads on the advertising pages.
Spidey can find it in himself to lift a 20 ton piece of machinery off of his back because of the thought of all the people who rely on him gives him strength to persevere. But he can't say no to the Devil?
I stated before I understand why Joe Quesada would want to return Peter Parker to single status and get rid of MJ, but I don't have to like it.
I don't.
With the possible exception of the Warren or Conan black and white magazines the sex act was not usually shown in main stream comic books. Not in Marvel and definitely not over in DC. There was plenty of risque' poses, editorial swimwear and the usual skimpy costumes but depictions of the act where usually not shown. When it came to showing sexual acts comic books used the equivalent of a Bollywood romance scene, just when things got intense everybody would suddenly start dancing. This changed a bit with the Steve Gerber run on Guardians of the Galaxy in the 1970s.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were a team of genetically modified humans bred to survive in harsh extraterrestrial conditions who existed in an alternate Marvel Universe where Earth and the solar system was was conquered by the Badoon. Charlie was dense and powerful, Martinex was made of crystal could exist in extreme cold and Nikki could live in extremely hot environments. Vance Astro was an astronaut who had lived in suspended animation while traveling at sub-light speeds and was the link to the heroic past. He would later change his possible future by meeting his younger self and activating the boys' latent mutant powers. The young Vance would then join various groups to include the Avengers. The non-humans of the group included Yondu, a warrior from another world and later, Starhawk, a mutant who shared a single body with his adopted sister.
The Guardians first appeared back in 1969 in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 and after a 1974 guest-appearance in Marvel Two-In-One #4-5, were later revived as a regular feature in Marvel Presents #3 in 1975. Their story was directly related to a throw-away tale in the original Silver Surfer series. One of the great things about the 70s and 80s was that often when a series was canceled the story would continue or be concluded in other titles. This was back when sales for even a failing book were much larger than some of the top-selling books of today. The fan base who wanted to read a character's adventures was large enough that it would not harm a title to have a guest-appearance form a failed book and could even boost sales. The Dark Fist story in Iron Fist by Claremont & Byrne concluded in Marvel Team-Up and was all the better for it. Captain Marvel saw the end of a space saga finish in another title, giving readers closure. Guardians of the Galaxy was one of those stories that also finished their arc elsewhere. Their story continued as guest-stars in various magazines, really coming to an end with the Korvac Saga in the Avengers title. There was a later series that I don't look back on with fondness because of the slavish adherence to 90's Marvel characterization and by relying heavily on elements of the X-Men, including the Phoenix. The series also adhered to the maxim that "Every Super Hero Team Needs A Wolverine" by introducing Logan's many times great-granddaughter as a despotic villain.
The series was best in the 1970s, when Marvel was freaking crazy and would publish anything no matter how odd, to see what worked and what didn't (Spider-Man and Doctor Strange being examples). The mid-70s were a good time for Marvel as they attracted older readers seeking a deeper context than what other companies would be giving in comparison. While I dislike hippies in general the modern sell-out professional hippie of the 70s was a different breed and wrote some darn good comics.
It was in Marvel Presents #7 (Nov 1976) that Steve Gerber created a blip of controversy with his run. While fighting the Badoon the Guardians came across the Topographical Man, a planetary-sized humanoid creature who fed on exploding galaxies. The TM was also an energy vampire, and absorbed the psyche of Vance Astro while he did battle with one of its avatars. Various alien races had also come to live on the planetary creature, though they acted more like prisoners of hell than willing settlers. At the same time Vance was fighting an avatar, Nikki was being convinced by a cult to commune with the Topographical Man in order to convince it to stop its plans of destruction. Nikki allowed herself to be strapped into a machine that separated her spirit from her body and she went to have a chat with the big guy.
But a few moments after being introduced to the Topographical Man, Nikki decided words were cheap and instead of communing proceeded to have hot sweaty space sex with it by bringing the spirit of Vance Astro to the fore of the creature's consciousness. The idea was that an act of love and creation would destroy a creature of anti-life.
