Comic Shop Visit: Comic Fortress

I recently headed down to Somerville, NJ, to pick up a very special guest who will be appearing at Mid-Ohio-Con 2009. Ok, since it's a statue it's not so much a "who" as a "what," but our life-size Iron Man will nonetheless be a fantastic attraction for this year's show. I picked up the statue at Comic Fortress, a comic retailer that specializes in importing statues from Muckle Mannequins in Mannheim, Germany. It turns out that Comic Fortress is a lot more than just a statue importer. Their huge store is a wonder to behold, filled with comics, action figures, toys, clothes, statues, and other goodness as far as the eye can see. Probably needless to say, I ended up leaving the place with a bit more than just a life-size Iron Man statue. Comic Fortress is a true destination store, so make sure to check it out next time you're in New Jersey.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: The Clone Wars

Since discovering Star Wars: The Clone Wars last week, I’ve been catching up on the series on Cartoon Network’s web site, which runs full episodes of recent releases. After a week of watching the show on my laptop, it was a joy to see it on TV this morning. Episode 15: Trespass finds Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on the icy world of Orto Plutonia in the middle of a power struggle between the Pandorans and the Talz. With the show’s great computer animation and fast-paced action, today’s episode was a fun ride. Click on the screen clip below to view jump over to the Clone Wars page at Cartoon Network.

This Just In

As the countdown to Watchmen continues, the ambitious promotional campaign continues to unfold with the introduction of teasers and other tantalizing new material. This vintage (1970) news clip commemorating the 10th anniversary of Dr. Manhattan's unveiling to the public is just the latest release from the marketing juggernaut. Produced with all the aging skill of a Lost Dharma Initiative training film, the video is a nice artifact from the Watchmen lore.
—JHH

Comic Art Sunday: Chris Giarrusso's Watchmen

This week we offer a sneak preview of the art from a new Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 promotional poster that Chris Giarrusso has been working on for us. With the anticipation of the forthcoming Watchmen movie at a fever pitch, we thought it would be great to have Chris do a Watchmen homage in his Mini Marvel style. As you can see from his pencils in the scan below, the results are awesome! Stay tuned to the Mighty Mighty MOC-BLOG for updates on the work in progress and look for the posters that we'll be giving away at New York Comic-Con in February.

Friday Night Cartoons: Brave, Clone, Alien

While tonight's premiere of Wolverine and the X-Men was somewhat disappointing, I was interested to see just how much good cartoon fare there is on Friday nights. I discovered Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Ben 10 Alien Force, all of which I really enjoyed. I can’t see myself staying in for cartoons every Friday night, so I was psyched to see that these shows are also on Saturday mornings. Also, it looks like they offer streaming video of full episodes on both the Cartoon Network and Nicktoons web sites. Click on the window below to see Batman meet Kamandi in an episode full of post-Apocalyptic goodness!

Great Expectations: Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men premiered at 8:00 PM ET this evening on Nicktoons. I’ve been anxiously anticipating the X-Men’s return to the small screen – especially because the project is being helmed by the same team that was behind X-Men Evolution – but I have to say that I was underwhelmed by the show’s first two episodes this evening. Maybe my expectations were to high or it was tough to measure up to X-Men Evolution and the hype leading up to the premiere, but I thought that the quality of the animation was only so so, and the plot, pacing and characterization in the show was uneven. I’ll probably keep watching it with the hope that the show finds its footing in future episodes, but Marvel really ought to be able to better with such an amazing stable of characters and stories on which to draw. If you want to check the show out for yourself, you can see tonight's episodes in their entirety on Nicktoons.

The First Super Villain? Spoiler Alert? Maybe.

Ever since the Secret Invasion: Dark Reign one-shot, I've been rabidly curious about the identity of character introduced by Norman Osborn as the enforcer who will be brought to bear in case any member of his evil Illuminati turns on him. As I pondered in my first post on the topic, who is this Keyser Söze of the Marvel Universe? This first super villain? This arch-nemesis who has Marvel's rogues gallery quaking in their boots? Well, I saw this advertisement from Marvel's February Previews posted tonight on a message board on an unrelated topic and it all seemed to come together. The first super villain? Dracula? Sure, why not? It also seems plausible that Dracula could be retconed as Dr. Doom's mentor given Latveria's proximity to Transylvania. I may be jumping to conclusions, but this is certainly an interesting possibility. In any case, I'll be following the Dark Reign saga closely to see how it all plays out.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow....

The temperature made it out of the teens today for the first time in well over a week. I've been loving all the snow that we've been getting this season, but the novelty of the near zero degree temperatures last week wore off pretty quickly. Anyway, as I ventured into the great outdoors this afternoon, I was alarmed to find 100% more yetis than I normally see in my backyard. Fortunately, I keep a security detail of retired G.I. Joe Adventure Team members on staff, so I dispatched the Snow Adventurer to address the problem. Mission accomplished. Those guys are great! Check out the still clip from the security footage below.

Sunday Comics: Dave Cockrum's Uncanny X-Men

I've written on a number of occasions in Sunday Comics about the late, great Dave Cockrum's fantastic sense of humor and flair for parody, so this piece brought a smile to my face when I saw it listed on eBay last week. It's the cover art for issue # 145 of the fanzine The Comic Reader, which was published in July 1977, when Cockrum was turning over art duties on X-Men over to John Byrne. The humor is multi-layered with a bit of the comics equivalent of "inside baseball" along with fun vignettes of the X-Men acting both in and out of character. It's hard not to chuckle about the typically regal and proper Lilandra wondering "Who dealt this mess?" about her hand of cards. It's a great snapshot of a moment in time that will certainly resonate well with fans of that much-beloved era of X-history. Click the scan below to embiggen and enjoy the cover in its full glory.

Auction Watch: Battlestar Galactica Prop Auction

Battlestar Galactica is back with a vengeance! In addition to last night’s premiere to the second half of Season Four, the long-awaited PropWorx auction of off all the costumes, props, set pieces, decorations, and production art for the show is now underway. The auction started this afternoon and you can watch the bidding live along with interviews and other features online on the Auction Network. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the bidding for the life-size ships: A Raptor, a Mark XIII Viper and a Cylon Raider. If Admiral Cain’s Duty Blues went for $7,000, I can only imagine what some of the trophy items are going to command during this once-in-a-lifetime auction opportunity.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Wolverine & The X-Men

At long last, Wolverine and the X-Men is scheduled to debut on Nicktoons next Friday, January 23rd at 8:00 PM ET. The new show marks the return of Marvel's favorite mutants to the small screen for the first time since X-Men: Evolution went off the air in 2003. I was really pleased to read that the creative group behind the show is the same outstanding team that was behind X-Men: Evolution, which was a personal favorite. The story begins as an explosive event shatters the lives of the X-Men and takes away their mentor, Professor X. The beaten heroes, including Beast, Storm, Cyclops and Nightcrawler, walk away from it all, but then they are given a rare glimpse into the future, where they see a world in utter ruin…ruled by giant destructive robots. They discover the world has spiraled out of control because the X-Men have given up. So now Wolverine must take the lead on the ultimate mission--to prevent the world's destruction—while fending off enemies Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Enjoy the new trailer for the show below and check your local listings for this Friday's premiere.

The Pull List: Wednesday, January 14, 2009

We’re now in full-on planning mode for Mid-Ohio-Con 2009, so I’ve been buying a lot more comics than normal lately to get a better sense of what’s out there and what artists and writers we should invite as creative guests for this year’s show. Aside from the normal fare from DC and Marvel that I already buy in abundance, I’ve been picking up indie titles like Battlestar Galactica, B.P.R.D., Elephantmen, Fables, Hellboy, The Perhapanauts, Project Superpowers, Umbrella Academy, and many others. As a lifelong devotee of mainstream titles, I’m really enjoying these books while getting lots of great ideas for Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 guests. My buys this week included:

Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #3 of 5
Amazing Spider-Girl #28
Amazing Spider-Man #583
Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War #1
Big Hero 6 #5 of 5
B.P.R.D. The Black Goddess #1 of 5
DC Super Friends #11
Death-Defying Devil #2
Elephantmen: Worlds Collide #2 of 3
Fables #9
Face of Evil #1
Gen13 #26
G.I. Joe #1
Green Arrow & Black Canary #16
House of M: Civil War #5 of 5
Nova: The Origin of Richard Rider #1 (One-Shot)
Perhapanauts #5
Titans #9
Toyfare #139
Trinity #33
War of Kings Saga
X-Infernus #2 of 4
X-Men & Spider-Man #3 of 4

I was looking forward to a few new titles this week, most notably Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War #1. With Friday’s season premiere coming in just a few days, my enthusiasm for all things BSG is at a fevered pitch and I’m particularly interested in this untold part of the BSG mythos. The other new launch this week was IDW’s G.I. Joe by Chuck Dixon and Robert Atkins. The forthcoming movie has rekindled my interest in G.I. Joe, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this title turns out. The other title I should mention this week is X-Men & Spider-Man #3 by Christos Gage and Mario Alberti, which has been a fun and masterfully executed jaunt across 40 years of Marvel continuity. Check it out!

Check out the full list of the week's new releases at the Diamond Comics web site.

Sunday Comics: Mike Grell's Warlord

This week's installment of Sunday Comics features a sketch of the Warlord by Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 guest Mike Grell. Warlord has long been a favorite of mine and I was thrilled that Grell was able to join our outstanding roster of featured guests for last year's Mid-Ohio-Con. His artist rep - Scott Kress of Catskill Comics - was kind enough to have Grell do this sketch in the end pages of my bound volume of Warlord nos. 1-25 during the show. Warlord will make a triumphant return to the DC comics lineup this spring in an ongoing series with story and covers by Grell. Check out Grell's web site for more details and scans of his covers, and click on the image below for the full-size scan.

Satuday Morning Cartoons: Harvey Birdman

Get ready to feel the power . . . of attorney! I got the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law DVD set for Christmas and I couldn't help but to plow through all three seasons in about three nights. I caught the show every now and then when it originally aired on Cartoon Networks's Adult Swim and enjoyed it thoroughly. Although a parody of one's favorite genre has the potential to cut a bit too close for comfort, the absurdity of casting Birdman, the Galaxy Trio and most of Hanna-Barbera's stable in an L.A. Law style sitcom is tough to beat.

The Forbes Fictional 15 Rich List

We were pleased to see good representation from the worlds of comics, cartoons and sci-fi in the recent release of Forbes Magazine's annual list of the 15 richest fictional characters. Although this year's Forbes Fictional 15 are fabulously wealthy, the downturn in the economy has taken its toll on the list. In fact, you only needed a fictional fortune of $800 million to make the cut this year versus $1.3 billion last year. Times are tough all over....

1. Uncle Sam - Infinite Net Worth
2. Scrooge McDuck - $29.1 Billion
3. Richie Rich - $12.3 Billion
4. Gordon Gekko - $8.5 Billion
5. Jabba The Hutt - $8.4 Billion
6. Ebeneezer Scrooge - $8.0 Billion
7. Tony Stark - $7.9 Billion
8. Thurston Howell III - $6.5 Billion
9. Bruce Wayne - $5.8 Billion
10. Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) - $5.4 Billion
11. Jed Clampett - $3.6 Billion
12. Artemis Fowl II - $1.6 Billion
13. C. Montgomery Burns - $996 Million
14. Lara Croft - $900 Million
15. Mr. Monopoly - $800 Million

The composition of the list changed significantly this year as Gomez Adams, Lucius Malfoy, Ming the Merciless, Futurama's Mom, Nintendo's Princess Peach, Family Guy's Carter Pewterschmidt, and Willy Wonka dropped off. I was most surprised by the fall of Ming since I thought that a maniacal despot would do well in this economic environment. Check out Forbes.com for the Fictional 15 list along with some other fun lists, including The 25 Largest Fictional Companies and The Most Expensive Fictional Houses.

The Pull List: Wednesday, January 7, 2009

New comic Wednesday came quickly this week on the heels of last Friday’s holiday-delayed release. Among the week’s new books, I was most looking forward to Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion #3. Although the legendary Joe Kubert is a tough act to follow, Billy Tucci is doing a fantastic job with The Lost Battalion, combining a fascinating and thoroughly-researched story, great characterization, along with dynamic and gritty art that’s clearly a departure from his Good Girl – or is it Bad Girl? – style in titles like Shi and Heroes for Hire. Along with Sgt. Rock, my buys this week included:

Amazing Spider-Man #582
Amazing Spider-Man: Fear Itself #1 (One-Shot)
Broken Trinity: Witchblade #1
Cable #10
Detective Comics #852
Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #2 of 8
Invincible Iron Man #9
Justice: Volume 3
Marvel Apes #0
Marvel Spotlight: Dark Reign
Marvel Zombies 3 #4 of 4
No Hero #3
NYX: No Way Home #5 of 6
Official Index to the Marvel Universe #1
Dark Reign: Punisher #1
Sandman: The Dream Hunters #3 of 4
Secret Invasion: War of Kings #1 (One-Shot)
Secret Six #5
Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion #3 of 6
Terror Titans #4 of 6
War of Kings Saga
Wolverine & Power Pack #3 of 4
Wolverine: Switchback #1 (One-Shot)

Although there were no real groundbreaking titles this week, there were certainly a lot of good books to choose from on the shelves. In the Marvel Universe, I continue to be fascinated with the Dark Reign saga and I definitely enjoyed this week’s installments in Invincible Iron Man and Dark Reign: Punisher. Although my eyes typically glaze over on intergalactic odysseys, War of Kings has piqued my interest and I think I’ll follow it for a bit. In the DC Universe, I’m loving the villain titles - Secret Six and Terror Titans - so I hope that they’ll keep them up for a long time to come.

Check out the full list of the week's new releases at the Diamond Comics web site.

Dark Reign: Who Is Keyser Söze?

Okay, it may not be Keyser Söze, but Brian Bendis has introduced a shadowy and mysterious new character in the Dark Reign storyline. Initially appearing at the tail end of the Secret Invasion: Dark Reign one-shot, the character is introduced by Norman Osborn as his "friend" who will be brought to bear as an enforcer in case any member of his evil Illuminati turns on him. "If you so choose as to even lift a suspicious eyebrow towards me and mine....you and my friend here will have some words." Although Osborn's "friend" is only shown as a shadowy silhouette in the comic, he is recognized by the assembled group who clearly take the threat seriously.



The most recent reference to the mysterious new arch villain came in last week's Fantastic Four #562 when Reed Richards visited Dr. Doom in his holding cell at The Hague. Apropos to nothing, the title has seemed almost completely disconnected from the Marvel Universe since Millar and Hitch took it over, so I was pleased to see a story obviously set in Earth 616 continuity for a change. In any case, Dr. Doom makes reference to his "Master." The man who taught him everything he knows. Notwithstanding the fact that it's hard to imagine Victor Von Doom ever acknowledging any man - much less any god or demon - as his master, it's a powerful scene that further elevates the mystery.



So, who is this mastermind? This first super villain? This arch-nemesis who has Marvel's rogues gallery quaking in their boots? Is he a completely new character invented by Bendis? Is he an old school villain paroled by Norman Osborn in exchange for his cooperation? If you have a theory, faithful reader, we're anxious to hear it!

Sunday Comics: John Byrne’s Invaders

This week in Sunday Comics, I’m pleased to showcase a new commission by legendary artist John Byrne. This piece is one in a series that Byrne has done with my favorite superhero teams along with their flying vehicles and headquarters buildings. Having previously done the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of the series, I decided to do the Invaders based on Byrne's brilliant rendition of the team in Namor. Rather than feature the headquarters of the Invaders, I thought it would be cool to have the piece loosely based on the iconic Golden Age cover to All Select #1 with the Invaders attacking Hitler’s Berchtesgaden castle. The result is a stunning 20” x 30” piece that leaps right off the page and tells a story all its own. Click to embiggen the image below.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Spider-Woman

This week’s installment of Saturday Morning Cartoons features Marvel’s Spider-Woman. Launched in the fall of 1979 on ABC’s Saturday morning line up, the show ran for one season with 16 episodes. Spider-Woman was one of the earliest productions by Marvel Animation Studios and has a production feel that is very similar to Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends and other Marvel shows that would follow in the fall of 1980 and beyond. I didn’t catch the show when it aired on Saturday mornings, but I’ve certainly enjoyed discovering it on You Tube while hoping for it to be released on DVD some day.

The Pull List: Friday, January 2, 2009

It was tough to wait an extra two days for new comics to be released because of the holiday schedule this week, but it was well worth it as the New Year of comics is off to a fine start. Among this week’s releases, I was most anticipating Wolverine #70 with Part 5 of the Old Man Logan storyline by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. As promised, this issue revealed the dark and very satisfying secret of what happened to Wolverine and why he hasn’t unsheathed his claws in 50 years. Overall there were lots of great books on the shelves this week. My pick ups included:

Avengers/Invaders #7 of 12
Avengers: The Initiative #20
Batman #684
Captain America #45
Cosmic-Size Fantastic Four #1 (One-Shot)
Fantastic Four #562
The Incredible Hercules #124
Justice League of America #28
Justice Society of America #22
Kick-Ass #5
Marvels: Eye of the Camera #2 of 6
New Exiles Annual #1
Punisher War Journal #26
Teen Titans #66
Ultimate Hulk Annual #1
Ultimate X-Men #99
War Machine #1
What If?: Secret Wars #1
Wolverine #70
Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #3 of 4
X-Force #10
X-Men: Magneto Testament #4 of 5
Young X-Men #9

A pleasant surprise this week was What If?: Secret Wars #1. Written by Karl Bollers and drawn by Jorge Molina, the comic tells the story of what if Dr. Doom kept the Beyonder’s power at the end of Secret Wars. Bollers tells a compelling story, well plotted and scripted, that nicely channels the essence of Doom’s character and motivation. Although it’s subtle, the comic definitely feels like homage to the Dr. Manhattan story in chapter 4 of Watchmen with its shifts in time, space and perspective. It’s well played and definitely worth a read.

Check out the full list of the week's new releases at the Diamond Comics web site.