Marvel Comics: May 2008 Archives

Michael Golden is one of my favorite comic book artists of all time.  I've bought and devoured two recent books on his artwork.  Since he's mostly done covers and pinups for the past ten years or so, finding Golden's work is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.  I recently came upon this piece from a Silver Surfer mini-series in 1995, called Cosmic Powers.  Golden did this piece for the book.

Here it is in glorious black and white.  I love how Golden has positioned all-conquering Galactus, with Norrin Radd breaking down the barriers, trying to hold back his former herald from escaping.  I believe I saw this on Albert Moy's gallery on ComicArtFans.

Here is the color version.  The Marvel editors didn't use this as the cover for some reason.  But they did print it without any captions or logos.

Awesome.  This should have been a poster.  Nuff said.

Here is the incredible cover by John Cassaday for Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1.  First, the variant black and white edition:

Seeing this without the color makes you appreciate the composition.  Colossus, Kitty, Cyclops, and Wolverine pop off the right hand side of the cover, the one that people will see on the rack.  I love the visual cue that Cassaday has added for Cyclops, that sideways beam that leaks horizontally from his visor.  Angel looks incredibly cool in his winged glory there, too.  On the right hand side, you get the non-mutant heroes, and I really dig Cassaday's Thing.

Now let's add the color:

Laura Martin is a freaking genius.  I don't need to tell you that, but every time I see her work, I am, well, astonished!  She complements Cassaday's beautiful line work perfectly.  Nuff said.

I was there at Wondercon 2005 when Whedon announced to a rapturous audience that he and John Cassaday would continue their historic partnership on the X-Men for another 12 issues.  Even better, their storyline would conclude in "Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1"!  As much as I admired Whedon already, his geek coolness factor went up 110%.  This is starting from 100%, making him 210% geek, because he loved the Marvel Giant-Size books as much as I did.

Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 exceeded my expectations for the story.  It's a thrill-ride from start to finish, and what I love the most is that it brings both humor and pathos to the characters.  Earth is facing utter destruction from the Retaliator, a ten-mile long missile-bullet heading our way.  Kitty Pryde is trapped on board, and we already know from the current X-Men books that she is not around.  The outcome doesn't look promising for her!  Colossus is fighting Aghanne, who is trying to use Peter's metallic body to destroy Breakworld.  There are several balls to juggle around in the air, with these characters plus Scott, Emma, Wolverine, Beast, and Agent Brand.  Whedon gives each character their little moments to shine, but the most rewarding moment for me was what happens to the Beast.  He finally gets a little love from Agent Brand.  My favorite quote: "Pretty much want to break you like a pony."  This goes back to his Avenger days, when the Beast attracted chicks with a little fetish bent.  Brand seems like one of those.

John Cassaday's art was phenomenal.  He made it seem more than just a Giant-Size book, this could have been a Treasury sized thing with the scope of his artwork.  Whedon has several other Marvel characters try to help save the world, and this gives Cassaday a chance to draw Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, and several Avengers.  I love the way that these guys handle Spider-Man.  The first double-page spread of Spidey swinging through New York City is breathtaking.  Whedon's sense of humor works perfectly in the mouth of Peter Parker.  I can't help but think that it is inevitable that Whedon will write a Spider-Man series one day.

The ending to this issue is really touching.  It harkens back to the end of Buffy Season Two when Buffy and Angel were separated.  I have to wonder who will eventually pick up this dangling thread.  Will it be Whedon or someone else?  Nuff said.

For today's feature, something that honors both Gene Colan (see Clifford's Meth's site for updates on Gene's health crisis) and Benjamin J. Grimm.

There's a fella after my own heart, called the Marvel Two In One guy (see his website here).  He's commissioned many pieces of original art featuring the Thing and another Marvel character, in honor of the Thing's Marvel Two-In-One teamup series.  One of these pieces is a wonderful illustration featuring Dr. Strange and the Thing by Gene Colan and Bob McLeod.

Bob McLeod has the pencils to this piece on his website, in the other artists commissions section.  Everytime I see a Gene Colan pencil piece, I'm reminded that this man really knows about shadows and light.  You have to say that Colan is a consummate craftsman, spending the time with the edge of the pencil on the paper to detail these shadows on the page.  Look at the streaks of water on top, imagine Gene carving them out in his pencils.  In today's world, where the majority of artists are using the computer, or putting in X's to indicate blacks, it's no longer necessary.  But it sure is a great joy for us to see pencils like this.

At this stage of the drawing, Dr. Strange has a noble appearance and almost regal pose as he strides next to Ben, seemingly unaware of what is happening.  Dr. Strange, like Dracula, must be one of those characters Colan could draw in his sleep.

Notice the Thing's head.  It's a bit funny looking, not your typical Thing head, which is understandable, as Colan never drew the Fantastic Four on a regular basis.  According to Bob's comments, I think Two-In-One guy asked for changes in that area.

Now here's the full illustration with Bob's inks and washes.  What a beautiful job.  McLeod has always been one of my favorite inkers, up there with Klaus Janson and Tom Palmer, and I love it when he does washes.  While this is still very much a Colan drawing, McLeod has enhanced this with his own touches.  The Thing's head as well as his rocky hide now have that classic look (what I call Sinnott-y look, after inker Joe Sinnott).

As Fernando Lamas used to say: Simply Marvelous!  Nuff said.

Link: Two In One Guy's page for Thing & Dr. Strange illustration.

Jason Aaron concluded his first arc on Ghost Rider with a bang.  The Cycle Nurses make one last ditch effort to stop him, and his quest to find Zadkiel comes to a premature end.  Danny Ketch is back on the last page, no big surprise there if you've been reading all along (it was telegraphed in the previous issue).  I loved the kick-ass, cinematic pace of this story.  Roland Boschi's artwork was off the rails as he depicts Johnny Blaze changing from human to Ghost Rider in the first few pages.  To me, what is great about this take on Ghost Rider is that he's back to his roots, tearing up the road and going after demonic (or angelic) forces. 

Tan Eng Huat (Silver Surfer: In Thy Name) is coming on board, you can see some of his artwork at Jason Aaron's forum.  Aaron's saying that Huat will do Ghost Rider #24-27, and Boschi will return after that.  Jason Aaron was also interviewed on Comic Book Resources about his plans for the next arc.  He mentions that the Hellfire shotgun is coming back, which makes me think this is a role-reversal.  In the 1990s Ghost Rider featuring Danny Ketch as the title character, Blaze came roaring in and tried to kill him with this weapon.  Now Ketch is coming back and he's Blaze's enemy.  I wonder if the part about them being brothers is still true?  Nuff said.

I am a tad bit disappointed in the first few issues of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Fantastic Four. Let's face it, the Cap robot was a weak idea.  It goes around dismantling nuclear stockpiles around the world and sooner or later it's going after all the Super Wal-Marts.  With this concluding chapter, at least the silliness paves the way for widescreen fun from Bryan Hitch.  The above is only half of a panel showing Sue and Ben bringing the Marvel heroes to help stop the Cap robot.  Which is totally unnecessary, because Reed Richards has everything under control with his Anti-Galactus suit!  Very silly, but Hitch's artwork and giant-size splash pages (I could scan and post everyone one of them but I'd get sued for piracy) make this comic well worth buying.  I always wondered what the FF would look like if Neal Adams brought his powerful storytelling chops to the series.  Even though Hitch is not an Adams clone, I feel like I've finally received that experience.  I can't wait for an oversized hardcover that will showcase his work in full glory.

Story-wise, I think Millar is much stronger writing about the FF as characters with individual personalities.  Johnny Storm seems more vibrant as a character than he has in years.  I love this scene where Psionics is waiting for him in bed.  It's inspired by that Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal, but I don't care, this is the most outrageous scene in 40+ years of the FF.  Johnny asks: "How can something so wrong feel so right?"  I can't wait to see where this relationship goes.

Millar has a charming view of Reed and Sue's relationship as well.  Reed rebuffs the advances of his first flame, Alyssa, and celebrates his anniversary with Sue with a sentimental dinner in the past.  Millar hasn't hit the Thing yet, but I hope he will soon.  The very last page is surprising, given Millar's comments on various sites that he would not be using old FF villains for a while.  If you're a Marvel fan, you've got to read this book.  Nuff said.

Mighty Avengers has been recreating a number of classic covers for this series of stories during the Secret Invasion.  The cover to Mighty Avengers #14 has Marko Djurdjevic recreating one of my favorite Avengers covers of all time...

Avengers #57 cover by John Buscema, inks by George Klein.  What a dramatic way to introduce a new character!  Is he friend or foe?  The answer was not obvious, as the Vision was sent to destroy the Avengers by his creator, Ultron.  He was able to defy Ultron, which led to the Vision becoming a full fledged Avenger.  He was a unique character that was created solely to be in this team book, unlike the other Avengers, who had all been created elsewhere.  His origins and behavior were shrouded in mystery which provided a meaty subplot for the next five years worth of stories.

West Coast Avengers #45 cover by John Byrne.  Notice Byrne's signature on the lower left, giving credit not only to John Buscema, but to George Klein as well.  This is a philosophy that both John Byrne and Walt Simonson shared, giving credit back to the original artist when recreating a famous cover.  I just thought both of them were complete gentlemen for doing this.

Mighty Avengers #14 cover by Marko Djurdjevic.  It's a shame that credit was not given to Buscema on the cover or inside the credits page.  I cannot fault Djurdjevic, it seems to be a corporate policy now at Marvel.  Djurdjevic follows the original composition by Buscema very closely.  Note the position of the four figures (Black Panther, Giant-Man, Hawkeye, Wasp) are exactly the same as the original.

While I've come to really love Bendis' Avengers, I cannot forgive him for destroying the Vision back in Avengers #500.  I know he's still running around in Young Avengers, but without his memories or the Human Torch's body parts, it ain't the same.  I was really hoping the Vision who came out of the Skrull ship in Secret Invasion #1 would be the real deal.  Alas, as this cover indicates, Bendis robbed us again.  Nuff said.

The story for Mighty Avengers #14 is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the Skrulls (Jarvis, Spider-Woman, Hank Pym, etc) are plotting against the Avengers.  Their biggest concern is the Sentry.  The Skrulls claims his power levels are off the charts and he is one of the few heroes who cannot be duplicated by the aliens.  This all comes together and ties back into Secret Invasion #2, where the 70s era Vision suddenly morphs into the Void as he confronts the Sentry.

I know a lot of people are tired of the Sentry's whining about the Void.  The Sentry actually cries in this issue when he sees the Void robbing a bank.  I am getting really tired of it, too.  I was hoping the Sentry would be Marvel's take on Superman, instead he's just a cry-baby.  I am actually rooting for Skrull-Jarvis.  Despite that, Bendis manages to pull a cool twist on the Sentry by the end of the issue. 

One other thing I hate: the Sentry's wife, Lindy.  She's a two-timing bitch and why is the Sentry so attached to her?  Just another reason why he's insane.  Nuff said.

This beautiful cover by Croatian artist Stjepan Šejic (see his site at DeviantArt) to Secret Invasion: Inhuman really conveys a mixture of emotions: loss, loneliness, and the hotness of a red-haired Medusa.  I'm looking forward to this series, which is going to pick up the Inhumans story after the events of David Hine's Silent War and the last issue of the Illuminati.  Was the Black Bolt who got his ass kicked by the Hulk a Skrull?  That's one thing I'm dying to know.  There was an interesting interview with writer Joe Pokaski (from NBC's Heroes) about this series over at Marvel.  Nuff said.

I think Leinil Yu has been kicking ass on Secret Invasion.  Here are the pencils to his variant edition cover to issue #1.  Look at the awesome details on the facial expressions, the lighting, the chain mail on Captain America.

Here is the inked cover in full color.  I like the colored cover, but I love the pencilled cover.  .  Nuff said.

Marvel.com has a video interview with Greg Pak.  I'm excited about this series, which is unusual.  I really prefer the classic Marvel characters, but this one could work out well.  There was a lot of rich material in the world that Pak created for Planet Hulk, really cool alien races and cultures.  Plus, I think Marvel has been long overdue in bringing back some of the Conan the Barbarian fun back into their universe.  I've got a lot of faith in Pak, who did very well with World War Hulk, and Ron Garney (the penciller), who is coming off a great Wolverine run.

There's another Pak interview from April 2008 over at Wizard TV.  In this one, the subject of a certain Cimmerian comes up.  Ever since I saw the promo image for Skaar #1...

...I've always thought that Skaar looks like a green gamma-infused Conan to me. 

Fingers crossed for the June 2008 launch!  To keep up with Greg Pak, you can visit his PakBuzz website.  Nuff said.

Sometimes the Marvel Adventures books can be just as good, if not better, than the Marvel Universe line.  Marvel Adventures Hulk #11 had a fun story where Bruce Banner visits the Baxter Building in search of a cure, and wouldn't you just know it, gets a little green and fights Ben Grimm.  I loved the artwork in this issue and one incredible splash page in particular.  Here's a progression from pencils to inks to full color.

Steve Scott has a wonderful frame for capturing the two monster-heroes in combat.  This just seems like a classic Marvel moment to me, channeling the best of Kirby, Buscema, Starlin, etc.  I retrieved this pencil-scan from Comicspace.

The penciller and the inker (Nathan Massengill) are working in perfect harmony here.  The Thing's rocky hide looks Joe Sinnott-y perfect, and the Hulk's visage looks like the old Tales of Suspense Hulk. (This image, by the way, was taken from Marvel Spotlight: Incredible Hulk movie.)

Finally, when the computer color, letters, and sound effects are added, the whole image just pops.  I'd like to buy this page, but I suspect that it has already been sold.  I think we will see a lot more from Steve Scott, check out his web page at DeviantArt.  Nuff said.

The Hulk was one of the major Marvel characters who never received his own Giant-Size book back in the1970s.  Marvel has given old Greenskin his just tribute in this month's Giant-Size Hulk #1.  The cover is by Gary Frank, I like it a lot.  I think he must have done this before his Marvel contract expired?  The lead story is new, written by Roger Stern, who did a lot of terrific Hulk stories in the past.  It's a lot of goofy fun with the dumb Hulk interacting with everyday people.  The Hulk chows down at Burger King!

The second half of the book reprints one of my favorite Hulk stories, from Hulk Annual #7.  Written by Roger Stern, artwork by John Byrne and Bob Layton.  It brings a lot of great X-Men elements into the Hulk's world.  Angel and Iceman are hanging out at the pool with a bunch of babes when Master Mold, the Sentinel Supreme, decides to attack.  The Hulk gets involved and winds up fighting Master Mold.  Really good, classic stuff.  I liked how Layton's inks looked on Byrne's pencils.

We've got even more giant greenskin goodness to look forward to: next week King-Size Hulk #1 arrives in stores.  The title is another tribute to Marvel's past; in the 60s/70s they called their annuals "King Size Spider-Man Annual #1".  This brand new King-Size Hulk will have artwork by Art Adams and Frank Cho, stories by Jeff Loeb.  I'm sold!  Nuff said.

See More The Incredible Hulk Screenshot at IGN.com

After the last gen game "Hulk: Ultimate Destruction", we've got high expectations on the upcoming Incredible Hulk video game.  What puts more pressure on this game is not only the legacy, but other open-world games like Crackdown and GTA IV.  Hulk can rampage throughout a semi-realistic New York City and smash his way through buildings...let's hope it's not a disaster like the Iron Man video game.  The Baxter Building can be found in this game.  Can the Hulk destroy that, too?  Nuff said.

This widescreen poster by David Finch, collecting all of his covers from X-Men Legacy, will be arriving in comic stores this June.  Didn't read the series, but this image is stunning.  Classic X-Men and New X-Men as bookends, with Sentinels, Hellfire Club, and Magneto sandwiched in-between.  Nuff said.

Jim Cheung's artwork in New Avengers #40 blew me away.  I love this double page spread of Galactus destroying the Skrull homeworld.  It's on my Windows desktop now.  Click on the above image to download it from Flickr.

It doesn't hurt that fabulous Frankie Ray, Nova, is cruising through this shot.  I loved Nova, thought she was Galactus best choice for a herald.  According to Wikipedia, Nova was killed in Silver Surfer #75.  Since they are bringing back all kinds of dead characters, why not revive Nova?  Nuff said.

I've been a Ghost Rider fan since the character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #5.  Ever since Mike Ploog and Gary Friedrich left the strip, it's lacked a good solid direction.  Things have gotten better since Daniel Way brought Johnny Blaze back from Hell in this new series, as we've learned that Johnny is really an avenging angel of vengeance.  New writer Jason Aaron has taken this situation to new heights with Johnny Blaze taking to the backroads of America, searching for clues about Zadkiel, the angel responsible for his predicament.  Johnny just happens to find a boy who ran into Zadkiel while in a coma...but the boy is guarded by an army of Tarentino-kinky naughty Cycle Nurses.  This terrific double splash page by Roland Boschi kicks off Ghost Rider #22, where Blaze is fighting a road full of demonic creatures on Cannibal Highway.

Of course, it does not hurt at all to have cover artist Marko Djurdjevic promoting the Ghost Rider.  This cover is not just an awesome image; Blaze really does pick up a scythe to cut a swath through his enemies.  Nuff said.