Marvel Civil War Continues?!?
August 28, 2007 | 2 Comments
IGN posted this image today with a gigantic veil of secrecy. It’s drawn by Marko Djurdjevic, perhaps the hottest cover artist at Marvel right now… As soon as I looked him up, I realized he is the artist responsible for nearly every painted cover I’ve been in love with since December.
Anyway, from left to right this image includes: Sentinels, Cable, Wolverine, Thing, unknown #1, Ms Marvel, Cloak (without Dagger, WTF?), Captain America (who’s in the suit?), Iron Man, Thor, Hercules, Yellowjacket, unknown #2. I think I should know unknown #1. IGN makes a big deal about who unknown #2 is (the dude in the top right corner). If we knew who was writing this, we might be able to make a better guess. A Marvel.com article makes me wonder if this is Vulcan, but that’s a serious shot in the dark.
Many knock Civil War, but I haven’t felt the passion since that series ended. This has the potential to make me dig in with some serious Marvel induced excitement. Is this a one-shot? A new series? An alternate universe? What does it mean?!? I can’t wait to find out.
Tags: cable, captain america, civil war, cloak, comic books, comics, dagger, emperor vulcan, hercules, IGN, iron man, marvel, ms marvel, sentinels, thing, thor, vulcan, Wolverine, x-men, XMen, yellowjacket
Civil War Podcasts
July 28, 2006 | Leave a Comment
If you’ve been following Civil War, like me you probably need some sort of fix to help between issues. Thankfully Marvel and Comic Geek Speak have put out a pile of fantastic podcasts. One of the primary reasons I blog about comics is to achieve a sense of discussion and community. These podcasts allow you to think about the comics you are reading and at least hear some discussion about the characters.
Here are links to the current Civil War related podcasts. Most of these are really great.
Marvel Podcast: Millar/Civil War Podcast
Marvel Podcast: Straight from the Trenches: Civil War: Front Line Podcast
Marvel Podcast: Civil War: X-men, Runaways & Young Avengers
Comic Geek Speak: Civil War - Episode 1
Comic Geek Speak: Civil War - Episode 2
Tags: cgs, civil war, comic geek speak, marvel, millar, podcast, podcasts, runaways, spider-man, spiderman, x-men, XMen, Young Avengers
X-Men 3 Review: Astonishing, Uncanny…
May 26, 2006 | 8 Comments
I expected to like this movie, but instead, I loved it. Without Bryan Singer directing I feared this may be a disappointing conclusion to a great series. Instead the movies just got better with each installment.
I was initially doubtful about the casting of Kitty Pryde and Juggernaut, but both actors played their parts to perfection. Combined with reading Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, I’m now thinking Kitty may be my favorite X-man. Right when you think think “how can she be useful in a fight?” she calls Juggernaut a “dickhead” before leaving him unconscious. Yes I’m serious.
In general the movie throws a lot of unexpected events at you. From who the funeral is for through to the after credits clip which will leave you wondering if this is truly the Last Stand for the X-Men movies.
The only thing I was not entirely satisfied with was the surprisingly small role Angel played. Also, does anyone know what happened to Nightcrawler?
Tags: "astonishing x-men", angel, astonishing, bryan singer, comics, Juggernaut, Kitty Pryde, last stand, movie, Nightcrawler, review, uncanny, uncanny x-men, x-men, XMen
X-Men 3 - After Credits Clip
May 23, 2006 | 8 Comments
According to IGN Filmforce there is a special must see 30 second clip of additional footage at the end of X-Men 3: The Last Stand, after the credits. The scene is described as a “coda” for one of the main characters. I know I’ll hang around to see it.
Tags: "The Last Stand", comic book, marvel, movie, tls, x-men, X-Men 3, x-men 3 the last stand, XMen
Road to Civil War
May 7, 2006 | 8 Comments
Over the last few months Marvel has been building both marketing and storyline in preperation for this summer huge event, Civil War. Marvel has had a lot of major events in their universe over the three years, but this one is by far the largest, and all the recent events seem to point nicely at this one.
In 2004 Brian Michael Bendis wrote Secret War. This event saw a change in leadership at S.H.I.E.L.D., as Nick Fury was replaced by Maria Hill. As part of the fallout, there was some serious distrust established between the super hero community and the US government.
Later in 2004, Avengers Disassembled (also written by Bendis) truly began this whole arc. In a stunning series of events, Scarlet Witch goes crazy leading to the death of Hawkeye and destruction of the Vision.
In the aftermath of Disassembled, a New Avengers team and comic was formed. This new team is currently made up of Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Sentry, and Ronin. In addition, a group of young super heroes formed a Young Avengers team.
While all of these new teams were forming, the summer of 2005 brought the next big event, House of M. Scarlet Witch, daughter of Magneto, was taken by him and Professor X of the X-Men in hopes of helping her get control after the events of Avengers Disassembled. At some point during this, she snaps, sending all of the Marvel Universe into an alternate reality of her creation. When she eventually puts things back, she changes something else.
Most of the mutants throughout Marvel are stripped of their abilities. This event was called Decimation. Notable on the list of depowered include: Magneto, Jubilee, Quicksilver, Stacy X, and Professor X. In the days after, there is a worldwide lash out against mutant kind. Additionally, the government recommends and helps round up many of the remaining mutants into a concentration camp-like area. Tensions are high here.
Last fall, Marvel’s banner character Spider-Man faced his own major event. In the course of Spider-Man: The Other, he is killed, resurrected, gets new powers, gets a new costume, and further establishes a deep relationship with Tony Stark (Iron Man). This newly forged bond will undoubtedly influence where he stands when full fledged civil war breaks out.
While all of these events show unrest and change in the Marvel universe, a difference of opinion on a major issue is needed to polarize the characters enough to spark a Civil War. This issue is the super-human registration act (SHRA). The plans for this act are revealed in New Avengers: Illuminati.
This secret group is made up of Namor, Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, and Professor Xavier. This group represents all the major groups in the super human population. It is also revealed in this one-shot how the group reacted to continuing destruction by the Hulk of cities and communities by exiling him into space. This ongoing Planet Hulk storyline will follow Hulk’s adventures in space. When Iron Man brings them an early copy of the act, its clear this will be a devisive topic. Iron Man tries to convince the group that by registering and supporting the act, they can diffuse an inevitable future conflict. They do not come to agreement on this.
Civil War #1 hit the shelves this week. The war has been set off and sides are forming.
Which side are you on?
Tags: and Professor X, avengers, captain america, civil war, comic books, comics, house of m, iron man, Jubilee, luke cage, Magneto, marvel, new avengers, Quicksilver, Ronin, sentry, spider-man, spider-woman, spiderman, Stacy X, Wolverine, x-men, XMen, Young Avengers
X-Men 3: Fast Ball Special Video
May 1, 2006 | 4 Comments
Erich sent me along a clip title Wolverine vs Sentinels which apparently aired on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The clip is from X-Men 3: The Last Stand and highlights a Danger Room battle that culminates in Colossus throwing Wolverine at a Sentinel. The move is a fan favorite which is commonly referred to as a “fastball special”.
I felt as if the editing on this clip was a bit choppy, and the dialog weak, but the action rules. Hopefully there is still work to be done before the movie opens on May 26th. Regardless, X-Men 3 will rock, the action alone promises that.
Tags: "The Last Stand", collossus, colossus, danger room, fast ball special, fastball, fastball special, last stand, sentinel, Storm, Wolverine, x-3, x-men, X-Men 3, x-men the last stand, X3, XMen
Free Comic Book Day 2006
April 29, 2006 | 15 Comments
Free Comic Book Day is next Saturday (May 6, 2006). Even if you aren’t normally a comic book reader, you should plan to attend this because you may not know what you’re missing. This is your opportunity to find out.
The lineup of what is available this year is pretty impressive. The offering from Marvel is primarily an X-Men/Runaways crossover, but the issue also contains Ultimate Spider-Man, Franklin Richards, and a preview of upcoming title Marvel Adventures: Mighty Avengers.
For those of us in northern New Hampshire, Geeks and Gamers will be participating so you have no excuse not to check it out. For anyone else, the Free Comic Book Day site has a locator for participating stores in your area.
Tags: comic book, comic books, franklin richards, free, geeks and gamers, runaways, spider-man, spiderman, ultimate spiderman, x-men, XMen