Category: Books

Love Hurts in “I, Vampire”

I, Vampire #6 cover courtesy DC Comics

  What’s not to love about I, Vampire from DC Comics The New 52? The vampire war has arrived in Gotham City. Joshuah Hale Fialkov tells The Source his book is not just a horror comic book.

  “All great stories are love stories,” said Fialkov. “Sometimes they’re about two people in love, or two people falling out of love, or a man in love with vengeance, or, a man in love with Truth, Justice, and the American Way. All of the characters we love are motivated almost entirely by love.”

  “So,” Fialkov continues, “it only made sense to write a book not just about a man and a woman in love, but, about them both being in love with abstract concepts that put them at odds with each other.

  “Mary loves freedom, Andrew loves humanity… Up until now, their love for one another was enough to keep that imbalance in check, but, not anymore.”

  I, Vampire #6 arrives Wednesday. The I, Vampire/Justice League Dark crossover begins in March.

Happy Valentine’s Day

 

Astonishing X-Men #5 courtesy Marvel.com

 On this Valentine’s Day I wanted to share a memory of my favorite comic book couple. Joss Whedon finally united Kitty Pryde and Colossus during his Astonishing X-Men run. This cover to issue 5 by John Cassaday.

  Colossus caught Kitty’s eye in the Chris Claremont/John Byrne era when Professor X brought Peter, Logan and Ororo to the Pryde home in Chicago to recruit the young mutant. Years of drama and even death kept them apart. The lovers are apart again but on this day let’s remember when Kitty and Colossus were together and actually ‘got together’ if you know what I mean – to which Logan said “about time.”

 Happy Valentine’s Day!

DC, Where’s Raven?

New Teen Titans #1 courtesy DC Comics

  One of the big topics at last week’s comic book discussion at my local shop was a love of the Teen Titans and the “growing up” of DC sidekicks.

  Dick Grayson became Nightwing and even Batman for a time. Cyborg is on the new Justice League. Tim Drake (Red Robin) is the new leader of the DC New 52 Teen Titans. Starfire has hooked up – literally – with Jason Todd and Roy Harper in Red Hood and the Outlaws.

  So where is Raven? The beautiful half demon heroine created by the legendary Marv Wolfman and George Perez needs a role in the New 52. As we lovingly reflected on the Titans (then and now) and suddenly I realized no one mentioned the dark lady of the New Teen Titans.  

Justice League Dark #5 courtesy DC Comics

  What popped into my brain and out of my mouth was “she’d be great in Justice League Dark!” Some of my fellow Titans agreed so this is my plea to DC – what a great fit for a beloved Titan who graduate to join John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Shade and Zatana?

And with our beloved Raven comes her father, Trigon, and maybe a new romantic start with Beast Boy?

By Editor

Top 5 Picks 2/15/12

Batman #6 courtesy DC Comics

Batman #6

Batman is broken and bleeding in the Court of Owls’ psychedelic deathtrap underneath Gotham City. Did their relentless assassin Talon really gut the Dark Knight? After last issue’s Black Swan style mind tripping issue – I believe anything is possible!

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #1

Before Obi-Wan, before Yoda – on a distant planet an order of warrior monks strive to learn the secrets of the Force but a stranger is coming to claim this power for his own. The creative team behind Star Wars Legacy reveals the mythic origin of the Jedi Knights.

The Misadventures of Adam West #1

The actor who played Batman in the camp-tastic tv show has his own outrageous comic. Magic and imagination send Adam West across time, space and alternative dimensions to fight crime.

The Winter Soldier #2 courtesy Marvel

The Winter Soldier #2

Bucky and Black Widow are Marvel’s hottest couple and coolest spies. The former Captain America must stop an army of stone cold super assassins and this may lead to an impossible mission: prevent the killing of Doctor Doom! Who has the balls to try to take out Marvel’s ultimate villain?

Army of Darkness #1

Based on the cult classic Sam Raimi film – A new chapter begins for the Army of Darkness saga. “Ash” played by Bruce Campbell in the movies is joined by a new female ally in his war against the Deadites that takes them to ancient Egypt. Bring your chainsaw and join the fun.

By Editor

The Original X-Men in X-Men First Class 2?

The Cast of X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com

  Writer Jane Goldman is Director Matthew Vaughn’s frequent collaborator (Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class.) Goldman is not officially on board for the sequel but shared her ideas with Film School Rejects for the next film, Goldman was specifically asked about the addition of Cyclops and Jean Grey.

  “You know, I can always make suggestions, and I did last time. Ultimately, those decisions come down to someone other than me,” Goldman said. “Would I, personally? Well, it’s really tricky. I think the route we had gone down with ‘First Class‘ — it’s sort of a question of where to go next, and I think those two characters were very strong, especially having [Michael] Fassbender and [James] McAvoy play them so brilliantly. In a comic sense, I still think there’s room for an X-Men [film] with the original X-Men [Laughs]. In terms of how they fit in this new universe that ‘First Class’ kicked off, I don’t know. I mean, yes, I think there’s room for that. All sorts of ideas have been talked about and Matthew has some particular ideas, and, in this case, all of those decisions will be done through Matthew.”

  Simon Kinberg (X-Men: The Last Stand) is currently the only screenwriter on board.

 Havok (Alex Summers played by Lucas Till) is the younger brother of Cyclops. If we could forget what happened in X-Men Origins: Wolverine – how cool would it be for Professor X to rescue Scott from the “orphanage” of Nathaniel Essex aka Mister Sinister.

Uncanny X-Men #50 courtesy Marvel

  I still hold on to my idea to introduce Lorna Dane aka Polaris. This green haired mistress of magnetism is the daughter on Magneto and becomes Havok’s girlfriend. 

  Thanks to Comic Book Resources for the Goldman interview.

New Mutants Journey Into Mystery

Exiled courtesy Marvel.com

  The New Mutants will take a Journey Into Mystery in Exiled, a crossover between the two books. A one-shot will kick off the 5-part story in May.

  Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Journey Into Mystery) and Andy Lanning (New Mutants) joined Marvel’s Next Big Thing event to reveal more of the story.

  “This developed quite quickly and quite easily given the long history of the New Mutants in Asgard. We wanted to bring that to Earth rather than take them back to Asgard. It’s a little twist on how past stories have played out. There are some really cool reveals and surprises along the way that will hopefully play against type and expectation.” Andy Lanning

  Carmine Di Giandomenico will provide interior art.  Stephanie Hans will create covers. Gillen teases the art fans will see in this mythic collaboration.

  “Carmine’s image of Hell, for example, is unlike any other Hell I’ve ever seen in a Marvel book. I stared at one his panels for 10 minutes. He’s a very powerful artist.” Kieron Gillen

  “The Asgardians are fish out of water in this story, and that’s part of the fun.” Andy Lanning

  “The New Mutants are now older than the last time they were in Asgard, but Loki is younger. They’ve almost taken on the parental role. It’s fun.” Kieron Gillen

New Mutants #11 courtesy Marvel.com

  This is exciting news given the compelling history between the mutants and Norse Gods – especially Danielle Moonstar fans. This will continue subplots started in Siege when Dani made a deal with Hela to gain her Valkyrie powers back.

I highly recommend The Asgardian Wars trade paperback featuring X-Men, New Mutants and Alpha Flights’s adventures in Asgard caused by the adult Loki’s manipulations.

  For all the quotes from today’s event here’s the Marvel’s Next Big Thing link.

Batman: Earth One

Batman: Earth One courtesy DC Comics

  The team behind Superman: Secret Origin create a new graphic novel exploring the transformation of Bruce Wayne into Batman. The Source revealed Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Batman: Earth One will debut in July 4th.

  This is being called an all new take on the Dark Knight mythos. Bruce Wayne is determined to bring his parents’ killer to justice. The Mayor of Gotham City is his target.

Avengers Movie Costumes

Avengers costumes from Disguise courtesy Marvel.com

  Why wait until Halloween you can be one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes this summer! New Avengers movie costumes from Disguise will debut to coincide with the May 4th premiere of Marvel’s The Avengers.

Iron Man, Thor and Captain America are pictured here. Here’s the Marvel.com link to see Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury. You can even make mischief as Loki.