Category: Books

New Captain Marvel Ready To Soar

Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel courtesy Marvel

  Carol Danvers flies solo in a new series by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Soy. Carol is sporting a new uniform and finally accepts the mantle she earned a long time ago in this week’s Captain Marvel #1.

  DeConnick kicks off the issue with Carol and Captain America in a showdown with a classic bruiser that’s packed with action and wit. Carol is a Colonel so she really does outrank Cap! The two Avenging friends also share a moving debate over Carol taking the title. Carol show she has the heart of a fighter and a humble hero. 

  There’s a scene that really hit me. I just fly home to take my mom to her first chemo treatment so the scene with Carol caring Tracy is moving and ironic. Tracy was Carol’s editor and is now going through chemo. That encounter leads to tragic news concerning the woman who was Carol’s biggest inspiration. DeConnick takes inside Carol’s mind as she remembers meeting, says goodbye and pays tribute to the female pilot who sparked her dream of flying.

   I loved the old costume but as DeConnick told me earlier this year, Carol is a pilot and needs a uniform. Jamie McKelvie designed the sleek new look worthy of a Captain.  Dexter Soy shows great promise. I think the art was too dark and Carol’s hairstyle was inconsistent.

Captain Marvel #1 courtesy Marvel.com

 

  I commend Marvel for a bold rebirth for one of their leading female heroes. Carol assumes her new identity and is ready to push herself. Kelly Sue DeConnick gives Carol a dramatic premiere filled with action, humor and emotion and sets the stage for an exciting new era for the high-flying powerhouse.

By Editor

Dwayne Johnson as X-Men’s Gladiator

  A Geek can dream: Dwayne Johnson could be playing a Greek demigod or an alien bounty hunter next but I think he was born to play another famous comic book alien. Johnson is in talks to play Hercules based on Radical Publishing’s Hercules The Thracian Wars and Lobo of DC Comics.

 After reading Wolverine and the X-Men #13 it came to me how Johnson would be perfect as Gladiator, the ultimate Shi’ar warrior turned Emperor. I don’t want to spoil the ending of that issue so I’ll go back in time.

  I was a young geek when I first marveled at Gladiator and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin had already blown my mind with what would become the Dark Phoenix Saga. As I opened Uncanny X-Men #137 to see my favorite heroes on a Shi’ar spacecraft surrounded by Empress Lilandra and her Imperial Guard. This elite squadron of warriors was led by a muscle-bound alien with mohawk.   Gladiator (real name Kallark) is a Strontian warrior created by Claremont and Dave Cockrum. Strontians have the capacity for incredible strength and various powers as long as they are completely devoted to a sole purpose. Kind of a Zen Superman.

Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com

  Gladiator has fought with and against the X-Men to protect the universe from the Phoenix. Emperor Kallark now leads the Shi’ar Empire and his son is at Wolverine’s school – protected by Warbird. The Phoenix is back on Earth. Gladiator and his Shi’ar army arrived to save his son and take on the Phoenix Five in a cosmic throwdown.

 Only the Marvel editors know the final fate of Gladiator after this week’s Avengers vs X-Men tie-in but the Marvel Universe would not be as amazing without him in it.

Fantastic Four #249 courtesy Marvel.com

  Given the cosmic direction Marvel movies are going maybe we’ll see the Shi’ar Empire in an Avengers sequel or the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Dwayne Johnson has the powerhouse body and presence to portray one of the coolest aliens to grace comic books and may be it’s worth considerating a Gladiator series and solo movie. Thanks for reading the casting dream of a devoted geek.

By Editor

Doctor Who & Star Trek Crossover Flashback! Jelly Baby?

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #3 courtesy IDW Publishing

  How to make the Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 comic book crossover even more geektastic? Jelly babies!

  The creative team behind IDW Publishing’s clever mashup gives old school fans a flashback with the fourth Doctor (and my first*) Tom Baker in an encounter with Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty.

  Issue #3 takes us right into the action as the eleventh Doctor is on the bridge of the Enterprise with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and crew. The Enterprise is on the run from an armada of Borg cubes and Cybermen warships. What Picard sees being transmitted from the lead Borg cube is bizarre behavior even for the alien assimilators.

  Peering into the Starfleet database reveals images of Cybermen and a curly haired man sporting a hat and scarf! The current Doctor’s violent reaction to the images triggers a flashback and away we go. Captain James T. Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott are on an away mission where the humans seem zombified, robot warriors attack and a friendly stranger in hat, scarf and offering jelly babies saves the day. The writing and art style change to reflect the flashback feel of the tale within a tale. The trip back shows that the Cybermen have been in the Trek universe for a long time and hints at the origin of the Borg/Cybermen alliance that’s threatening the Federation now.

  The writers succeed again at capturing the spirit of the classic characters and how they would act and interact. I have to thank the writers for making me remember the Cybermen’s weakness. How could I have forgotten?

  Back to the future present the Time Lord is puzzled that he keeps remembering things he didn’t remember like when he recognized Worf as a Klington even though he’d never encountered one before…or did he? As Picard grows suspicious of the eleventh Doctor’s story he calls on an ancient ally to help determine the truth.

  I’m excited to see that encounter next issue! *To be even more specific – my first Doctor Who episode was The Pirate Planet! 

By Editor

 

 

Judge Dredd’s Anderson

 

Olivia Thirlby photo courtesy IMDB

  Will a new Judge Dredd film finally bring cinematic justice for fans of the 2000 AD character? Karl Urban wears the uniform (and will not be taking off the helmet!) in Dredd 3D. Olivia Thirlby plays Anderson the psychic Judge-in-training who had her own spinoff comic book series. The stars welcomed fans to a sneak preview of the upcoming Lionsgate film during San Diego Comic Con. Thirlby spoke with Dread Central about why the reboot appealed ot her.

  “The appeal was the amazing script and the amazing character that Alex Garland wrote for this. Dredd didn’t read like a normal genre script; the characters felt so real and the circumstances felt so realistic. There’s something I really like about the heroes in this film and about this world in general. They are just men and women really; they don’t have superhuman strength, or they’re not gods from a different planet- they’re just really brave and they feel really real to me.”

  The actress says she looked to the classic comic book to help prep for the role.

“There are the comic books, definitely. Those had the same kind of feel that this version had so they were helpful. I picked up on a lot of the dry humor to this world, too- that kind of humor that comes from desperation where the humor just begins to leak out in very dark ways. All that really informed what we were doing, definitely.”

Here’s the trailer:

  For more of her interview here’s the Dread Central link. Alex Garland is author of The Beach and wrote for script for Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and Sunshine. Dredd 3D opens September 21st. By Editor

The Wolverine Is Still Looking for His Viper

 

courtesy Marvel.com

  Jessica Biel won’t be playing the Viper in The Wolverine. The actress was offered the role but talks broke down and the studio is looking at other stars according to Collider.

  Hugh Jackman’s next film is based on the limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller and focuses on Logan falling in love with a crime lord’s daughter in Japan. The Viper is a mercenary who works for the Silver Samurai – a mutant, half brother of the woman Logan loves, and heir to the clan. The Viper eventually becomes Madame Hydra, leader of the organization led by the Red Skull in the Captain America movie.

  If Biel is out I say producers turn to her Total Recall co-star Kate Beckinsale. This would reteam Jackman and Beckinsale and stake the memories of their last on-screen appearance Van Helsing.

By Editor

The X-Men’s Bird of Prey

  Wolverine and the X-Men #13 by Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw featured a cosmic level slugfest between Gladiator and the Phoenix fueled X-Men but the real star was Warbird. The creative team showcases the warrior’s fury and reveals Ava’dara’s tragic past. This issue proves this new character deserves to a major star in Marvel’s future.

Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com

  Aaron and Bradshaw deliver a brutal showdown between the Phoenix Five and their former ally while revealing Warbird’s brutal upbringing and violent past. The Shi’ar have always been portrayed as regal rulers over their sprawling empire but Aaron rips away the facade and shows life growing up as a Shi’ar warrior and how an act of compassion landed her on Earth in her current role.

 

Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com

 Aaron takes Ava’dara’s attraction to Bobby Drake that started in Marjorie Liu’s first Astonishing X-Men arc and plays with that plot here even as the allies have become enemies. 

  Here’s hoping Gladiator survives but I have a newfound obsessive love for Warbird! Jonathan Hickman’s new Avengers series is said have a huge cast and he favors the old school cosmic epics so maybe Gladiator or Warbird might turn up on his book. And given the cosmic direction Marvel movies are going maybe we’ll see the Shi’ar Empire in an Avengers sequel or if a Guardians of the Galaxy movie happens?

By Editor

Remender on the Future of Secret Avengers, Uncanny X-Force

Secret Avengers #29 courtesy Marvel.com

 Rick Remender is leading the charge into Marvel NOW! with Uncanny Avengers. The new book will feature a hybrid team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Children of the Atom. Remender has won acclaim for his work on undercover teams for both franchises (Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers) and for making eclectic team rosters work.

 Before AvX tie-in issues Remender created an ominous new threat in Secret Avengers. The Masters of Evil are back with a new leader and an entire nation under their control. The Descendants are a new race evolved from the most famous and infamous robots in Marvel history. Remender tells Marvel.com about what’s next for Hawkeye’s covert team.

  “I kind of look at [AvX] as an interlude [with the temporary team]. So, coming back into the regular fold, we open up with Hawkeye discovering that things are amiss in Bagalia, the red light nation, where we saw [him] and Captain America take a visit back in SECRET AVENGERS #21.1. And this is the arc where I am wrapping up all of Ed [Brubaker] and Warren Ellis’ Shadow Council stuff, taking all those threads and moving them toward one big story that ties in with the Master of Evil, Bagalia, Ibis [and] the Shadow Council. We drop in a squad of Secret Avengers who expect something is amiss but they don’t have any idea of quite the magnitude of what they’re about to deal with. You always want that escalation.

 So Hank Pym and Captain Britain are out dealing with Descendants investigations, trying to figure out what’s going on. We keep that Beast story percolating in the background, and the team here is Hawkeye, Venom, Ant-Man, and Valkyrie being sent down to Bagalia to investigate what’s going on, and that leads us to a four-issue story which I’m just calling “Masters of Evil right” now. The new Masters of Evil and how they all came together has a nice twist that [will] get revealed around issue #30.”

Uncanny X-Force #32 courtesy Marvel.com

  Remender revealed that Uncanny X-Force is getting a new member.

 “Well it’s something that we saw Grant Morrison touch upon in his last arc, with the evolution of E.V.A. becoming her own person, and I would put a big Spoiler Warning over this: If you’ve read UNCANNY X-FORCE #27, then you know that Fantomex takes the hit. It was something that Grant had set up as happening in his future story and I thought that it would be nice to respect that and actually show it happen. Beyond that, I also wanted Fantomex to take the hit because this is going to be a very Wolverine-centric arc. All the characters have had a lot of spotlight time in this, but Wolverine has not had a lot of personal stuff to deal with. And here he is now where the methodology of X-Force and what they’ve done with Evan, and then Fantomex cloning and growing a new Evan, have left Wolverine in a bit of a spot where he’s got this student of his who’s Apocalypse. And this is because of Fantomex, and now Fantomex is not there. Fantomex is off the picture so he’s dumped this in Wolverine’s lap to deal with.”

For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

Greg Capullo Warns Fans About His Joker

Batman #13 teaser courtesy DC Comics

  Greg Capullo was unleashed as he created the creepy Court of Owls and their relentless assassin during his first storyline with Scott Snyder on Batman. But one Talon was not enough and Capullo designed an army of enforcers from various eras of Gotham City’s history.

After creating incredible new villains Snyder and Capullo take on the ultimate rogue in Batman #13. The Joker’s face was carved off in Detective Comics #1 and Snyder tells Comics Newsarama that means Capullo can create a new look for the classic villain.

“He really is going to, obviously, have a new look,” Snyder said. “At the same time, we want it to echo his iconic look. So it’s Joker in a much more horror movie fashion. But, without giving too much away, you will see the iconic face and the grin, and he might look a little bit different and scarier. But you’ll find that he’s still himself at his core. And he’s really here in his blood-stained clothes going to work.”

 The Court of Owls epic was violent and visceral. Batman #5 literally put you in the drug crazed mind of Bruce Wayne.   Can you imagine what the minds of Snyder and Capullo are creating for the Joker’s return. Capullo has a warning for readers.

  “I would say that if you have any kind of heart conditions, or any kind of medical issues that could cause seizures or what-not, that you should check with a doctor prior to buying this story arc, because we don’t want to be responsible. DC does not want to be responsible for any fatalities or hospitalization or young or old people who may encounter this story and it just simply be too much for their system.”

 Death of the Family with Capullo’s Joker redesign begins this October in Batman #13 and continues for five issues with tie-ins in other Batman family books.

For his entire interview here’s the Comics Newsarama link.

By Editor

Meeting Greg Capullo at Emerald City Comicon this year was a geek highlight for me. Greg did an amazing Scarecrow sketch that makes me hope Snyder/Capullo will take on that classic foe next.