I believe this was in one of the first books on Perez, Accent On The First E! It was around the time he was working at Marvel in the 1970s, before he went to DC Comics. And I noticed this recently on Capn's Comics blog!
Nuff Said.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Silver Surfer Saturday: Norrin Radd and the Fantastic Four by George Perez
Here's a great illustration by George Perez early in his career...
I believe this was in one of the first books on Perez, Accent On The First E! It was around the time he was working at Marvel in the 1970s, before he went to DC Comics. And I noticed this recently on Capn's Comics blog!
Nuff Said.
I believe this was in one of the first books on Perez, Accent On The First E! It was around the time he was working at Marvel in the 1970s, before he went to DC Comics. And I noticed this recently on Capn's Comics blog!
Nuff Said.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Thing Tuesday: The Thing playing poker by George Perez
A classic commish by George Perez featuring old Ben Grimm...
Nuff Said!
Nuff Said!
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Spider-Man Homecoming
I finally got a chance to see Spider-Man Homecoming this week. Would you believe, 3-4 weeks after the release on July 7th, that the theaters are still packed? They are. The first showing I tried to go to was a matinee during the week and it was sold out. My second attempt at a theater with plush reclining seats, I bought the very last seat in the theater!
My favorite movie thus far is Spider-Man 2. There is something about that movie that really captures the silver age feeling of Spidey for me. I even love the corny part of the movie where Raindrops Keep Fallin on Your Head plays while Toby is acting all clumsy, because that song actually played on the radio at the time of those comics. Doctor Octopus worked well as a villain for Spidey and their battle among the skyscrapers and train was incredible.
However, I think as a crowd pleasing movie, Spider-Man Homecoming may work the best of all of them so far! The filmmakers really achieved their goal of making a John Hughes film. There is even a blatant rip-off of a scene from Ferris Buller, so blatant they actually show a clip of it - while Spidey is running through backyards trying to chase a truck in the suburbs. There is a lot of humor in the movie which is appropriate to the character of Spider-Man. I wasn't crazy about GOTG2; it seemed like a sitcom to me, setup, joke, setup, joke. Here there are setups but they don't seem as forced. The multicultural depiction of the high school is wonderful, the young woman who played Liz Allen seemed a perfect way to allure Peter Parker. There was a twist about her I did not see coming. I was also very doubtful about Zendaya playing MJ but she was also very good in a mysterious way. I think if people are upset about the casting and ethnic changes of the characters, to enjoy they film you have to throw out all your preconceptions about how the classic comics worked.
Fans of the classic Silver/Bronze age comics also may not be happy with Spidey's new high tech costume designed by Tony Stark. The suit has so many gizmos, the best one being that Spider-Man's eyes contract and expand just like he does in the comics. The suit also has an AI voiced by Jennifer Connelly (wife of Paul Bettany who is Jarvis / Vision), a drone (the spider emblem on his chest lifts off), trackers, taser webs, etc. He doesn't know what most of it really does, kind of like the 70s TV show The Greatest American Hero. If you stopped reading comics some time ago, you have no idea many of these ideas all came from the current writer of Spider-Man, Dan Slott. During the Superior Spider-Man saga, when Doctor Octopus took over Peter's body for a long time, he upgraded Spider-Man's suit to make it high tech and work with drones / bots, enhanced the webs, eye lenses, etc. It was a lot of fun because Otto looked at how Spider-Man was doing business and said, hmmm, this can all be improved! The current high tech shenanigans have carried on to the post-Superior series where Peter is running a multi-national high tech company. Many people hate these changes, but I think it's a sign of the times.
The movie borrows from both Ultimate Spider-Man (Aunt May being younger/hipper; Ned, Peter's best friend) and Superior Spider-Man (the high tech stuff). It grounds the reality in this John Hughes version of Queens. But it makes us all the more excited to see the story unfold because it is integrated into the MCU now. So integrated, that the first few minutes details Peter's involvement in Captain America Civil War from his point of view with the iPhone documentary that he narrates. We get caught up on all that we need to know that way and also learn that Happy Hogan (played by Jon Favreau) is his handler. Tony Stark / Iron Man makes a few appearances. Now here is what I love about this movie, which has a typical plot, the hero coming of age sort of thing. Usually you have a mentor advising and cheering on the young hero. Tony plays this role for part of it, then he becomes a real jerk. The climax of the film has Stark changing his opinion, but he does it in a such a selfish, douche bag way, it's more realistic.
The other part of the movie that really works is Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes, the Vulture! I have always loved Michael Keaton as an actor. He has a charisma on screen that cannot be matched. At this point he has done everything in films: comedies, dramas, Batman, the terrific Birdman movie which won tons of awards years ago. I think Toomes has the greatest reasoning to be a villain in the film: it's all because he got shafted by Damage Control in clearing out these alien artifacts left in the aftermath of the first Avengers film. Toomes lost a fortune there and he is determined to get it all back. You couldn't have this setup without having Spidey in the same universe as the Avengers. My favorite scene is with Tom Holland and Keaton in the car having a private talk before the Prom. He lays everything on the table to Peter and offers him a fair deal. If I were in Peter's shoes I might take it, but our hero is made of better stuff.
What didn't I like about the movie? Not much, I was glued to my seat and had no urge to leave or look at my phone. But there was one thing - the new Spidey suit that Stark offers to Peter at the very end. I was horrified! I thought that Peter had better not wear that freaking thing. Hopefully it stays in storage. Nuff Said!
My favorite movie thus far is Spider-Man 2. There is something about that movie that really captures the silver age feeling of Spidey for me. I even love the corny part of the movie where Raindrops Keep Fallin on Your Head plays while Toby is acting all clumsy, because that song actually played on the radio at the time of those comics. Doctor Octopus worked well as a villain for Spidey and their battle among the skyscrapers and train was incredible.
However, I think as a crowd pleasing movie, Spider-Man Homecoming may work the best of all of them so far! The filmmakers really achieved their goal of making a John Hughes film. There is even a blatant rip-off of a scene from Ferris Buller, so blatant they actually show a clip of it - while Spidey is running through backyards trying to chase a truck in the suburbs. There is a lot of humor in the movie which is appropriate to the character of Spider-Man. I wasn't crazy about GOTG2; it seemed like a sitcom to me, setup, joke, setup, joke. Here there are setups but they don't seem as forced. The multicultural depiction of the high school is wonderful, the young woman who played Liz Allen seemed a perfect way to allure Peter Parker. There was a twist about her I did not see coming. I was also very doubtful about Zendaya playing MJ but she was also very good in a mysterious way. I think if people are upset about the casting and ethnic changes of the characters, to enjoy they film you have to throw out all your preconceptions about how the classic comics worked.
Fans of the classic Silver/Bronze age comics also may not be happy with Spidey's new high tech costume designed by Tony Stark. The suit has so many gizmos, the best one being that Spider-Man's eyes contract and expand just like he does in the comics. The suit also has an AI voiced by Jennifer Connelly (wife of Paul Bettany who is Jarvis / Vision), a drone (the spider emblem on his chest lifts off), trackers, taser webs, etc. He doesn't know what most of it really does, kind of like the 70s TV show The Greatest American Hero. If you stopped reading comics some time ago, you have no idea many of these ideas all came from the current writer of Spider-Man, Dan Slott. During the Superior Spider-Man saga, when Doctor Octopus took over Peter's body for a long time, he upgraded Spider-Man's suit to make it high tech and work with drones / bots, enhanced the webs, eye lenses, etc. It was a lot of fun because Otto looked at how Spider-Man was doing business and said, hmmm, this can all be improved! The current high tech shenanigans have carried on to the post-Superior series where Peter is running a multi-national high tech company. Many people hate these changes, but I think it's a sign of the times.
The movie borrows from both Ultimate Spider-Man (Aunt May being younger/hipper; Ned, Peter's best friend) and Superior Spider-Man (the high tech stuff). It grounds the reality in this John Hughes version of Queens. But it makes us all the more excited to see the story unfold because it is integrated into the MCU now. So integrated, that the first few minutes details Peter's involvement in Captain America Civil War from his point of view with the iPhone documentary that he narrates. We get caught up on all that we need to know that way and also learn that Happy Hogan (played by Jon Favreau) is his handler. Tony Stark / Iron Man makes a few appearances. Now here is what I love about this movie, which has a typical plot, the hero coming of age sort of thing. Usually you have a mentor advising and cheering on the young hero. Tony plays this role for part of it, then he becomes a real jerk. The climax of the film has Stark changing his opinion, but he does it in a such a selfish, douche bag way, it's more realistic.
The other part of the movie that really works is Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes, the Vulture! I have always loved Michael Keaton as an actor. He has a charisma on screen that cannot be matched. At this point he has done everything in films: comedies, dramas, Batman, the terrific Birdman movie which won tons of awards years ago. I think Toomes has the greatest reasoning to be a villain in the film: it's all because he got shafted by Damage Control in clearing out these alien artifacts left in the aftermath of the first Avengers film. Toomes lost a fortune there and he is determined to get it all back. You couldn't have this setup without having Spidey in the same universe as the Avengers. My favorite scene is with Tom Holland and Keaton in the car having a private talk before the Prom. He lays everything on the table to Peter and offers him a fair deal. If I were in Peter's shoes I might take it, but our hero is made of better stuff.
What didn't I like about the movie? Not much, I was glued to my seat and had no urge to leave or look at my phone. But there was one thing - the new Spidey suit that Stark offers to Peter at the very end. I was horrified! I thought that Peter had better not wear that freaking thing. Hopefully it stays in storage. Nuff Said!
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Thing Tuesday: Fantastic Four 133 where The Thing meets Thundra!
Fantastic Four 133 was a wonderfully silly time capsule of the the burgeoning women's lib movement in the early 1970s! It featured the first appearance of Thundra, the Femizon who came to our world in order to challenge Ben Grimm The Thing!
Here is the original cover by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. The Battle of the Century--any century!
Here is the original art to the cover.
Here is the new computer colored cover available on digital platforms - I've started noticing how vibrant and different these are from the originals.
This story is notable because it has one of the few Marvel art jobs done by Ramona Fradon, who was mainly a DC Comics artist. Supposedly she hated working in the Marvel method and only did a few stories. This tale is inked by Joe Sinnott who keeps all the characters looking consistent, only Thundra herself looks like a Fradon type of character.
The climax of the story is a fight between Thundra and the Thing while Alicia is held hostage by the Frightful Four. It takes place in a huge arena. The Thing doesn't want to fight a woman! He takes a pretty good licking and actually does get defeated because he just won't fight back too hard.
Thundra is great because she mocks the strength / superiority of men. In her world, men are the weaker sex and she constantly taunts Ben Grimm. Jeff Parker did a great story a while ago about the real reason for Thundra's visits to our world - she was seeking a mate (or frozen sperm / dna) because of the infertility on her world.
There is some historical context around this issue of the Fantastic Four. Bobby Riggs was a retired tennis player who challenged Billie Jean King to a "Battle of the Sexes". At first she declined, Riggs challenged another tennis player, Margaret Court, and won against her in May 1973. Billie Jean King then took up the challenge, played against Riggs and beat him in September 1973. These were big televised sports events and almost everybody who had a TV watched it. However, this issue of the Fantastic Four predated that by several months: with an April 1973 cover date, most likely this comic was sold three months earlier in Feb 1973. Even though it's not directly related, funny how this issue of the FF captures the "battle of the sexes" thing going on at the time. There will be an HBO movie made about the Riggs/King match starring Steve Carrell and Emma Stone.
There you go, true believers! A look back at classic FF and a moment from real pop culture history! Nuff Said.
Here is the original cover by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. The Battle of the Century--any century!
Here is the original art to the cover.
Here is the new computer colored cover available on digital platforms - I've started noticing how vibrant and different these are from the originals.
This story is notable because it has one of the few Marvel art jobs done by Ramona Fradon, who was mainly a DC Comics artist. Supposedly she hated working in the Marvel method and only did a few stories. This tale is inked by Joe Sinnott who keeps all the characters looking consistent, only Thundra herself looks like a Fradon type of character.
The climax of the story is a fight between Thundra and the Thing while Alicia is held hostage by the Frightful Four. It takes place in a huge arena. The Thing doesn't want to fight a woman! He takes a pretty good licking and actually does get defeated because he just won't fight back too hard.
Thundra is great because she mocks the strength / superiority of men. In her world, men are the weaker sex and she constantly taunts Ben Grimm. Jeff Parker did a great story a while ago about the real reason for Thundra's visits to our world - she was seeking a mate (or frozen sperm / dna) because of the infertility on her world.
There is some historical context around this issue of the Fantastic Four. Bobby Riggs was a retired tennis player who challenged Billie Jean King to a "Battle of the Sexes". At first she declined, Riggs challenged another tennis player, Margaret Court, and won against her in May 1973. Billie Jean King then took up the challenge, played against Riggs and beat him in September 1973. These were big televised sports events and almost everybody who had a TV watched it. However, this issue of the Fantastic Four predated that by several months: with an April 1973 cover date, most likely this comic was sold three months earlier in Feb 1973. Even though it's not directly related, funny how this issue of the FF captures the "battle of the sexes" thing going on at the time. There will be an HBO movie made about the Riggs/King match starring Steve Carrell and Emma Stone.
There you go, true believers! A look back at classic FF and a moment from real pop culture history! Nuff Said.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Spider-Man 1960s era Gwen Stacy by Steve Rude
Steve Rude loves Gwen Stacy! I did a post in 2010 featuring a number of his Gwen Stacy commissions. And now thanks to the Steve Rude fans group on Facebook, I found even more were done during the past few years. If you are a fan of classic 1960s Bean Scene Spider-Man, these images are for you, true believer.
Dancing in a disco! While Mary Jane complains that Peter's attention is elsewhere. I love how the black and white patterns work so well here. Gwen's checkerboard dress (and that belt) working so well against the background and the mirror ball. Mary Jane's tiger patterned dress. Yeow.
Peter as the Bachelor deciding which girl gets a red colored rose? And those outfits the girls have on. I think Gwen did wear a cowboy inspired outfit one time.
Striking a pose in recline. Again the pattern of Gwen's top plays off the bars of the background.
Groovy baby! Nuff Said.
Dancing in a disco! While Mary Jane complains that Peter's attention is elsewhere. I love how the black and white patterns work so well here. Gwen's checkerboard dress (and that belt) working so well against the background and the mirror ball. Mary Jane's tiger patterned dress. Yeow.
Peter as the Bachelor deciding which girl gets a red colored rose? And those outfits the girls have on. I think Gwen did wear a cowboy inspired outfit one time.
Striking a pose in recline. Again the pattern of Gwen's top plays off the bars of the background.
Groovy baby! Nuff Said.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Create your own Giant-Size Marvel cover! And our blog logo changes!
Scott Dutton from Catspaw Dynamics, has produced a blank cover template where you can create your own Giant-Size Marvel comic!
You can do your own digital recreations using this template. Or perhaps commission your own Giant Size cover from an artist for titles that were never published. Giant-Size Inhumans, that never existed and the story was split across Inhumans 1-2!
In addition, Scott very nicely produced a new version of the masthead for Giant-Size Marvel!
For comparison, you can see my old header here. It was a rough hodge podge of elements that I put together when I was on Microsoft Windows, using Paint.Net to clip and assemble everything together. I was always disappointed that you couldn't see all the Defenders in the circle, and I hated the fonts on top. I also wanted the full comics code stamp of approval!
The new header by Scott is cleaned up with a full Captain Marvel figure on the right, much sharper colors. The Defenders are all in the circle! And the fonts on top are clear, sharp, easy to read. In addition to the much better Giant-Size Marvel logo!
You can see Scott's specific coloring work related to Marvel Comics here. He has some great stuff there, check it out! Nuff Said.
In addition, Scott very nicely produced a new version of the masthead for Giant-Size Marvel!
For comparison, you can see my old header here. It was a rough hodge podge of elements that I put together when I was on Microsoft Windows, using Paint.Net to clip and assemble everything together. I was always disappointed that you couldn't see all the Defenders in the circle, and I hated the fonts on top. I also wanted the full comics code stamp of approval!
The new header by Scott is cleaned up with a full Captain Marvel figure on the right, much sharper colors. The Defenders are all in the circle! And the fonts on top are clear, sharp, easy to read. In addition to the much better Giant-Size Marvel logo!
You can see Scott's specific coloring work related to Marvel Comics here. He has some great stuff there, check it out! Nuff Said.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Silver Surfer and Galactus by Steve Rude
A great little sketch by Steve (Rude) the Dude featuring Norrin Radd...
...and Galactus! You can see my other Steve Rude related posts here. Nuff Said.
...and Galactus! You can see my other Steve Rude related posts here. Nuff Said.
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