Captain America Suits Up!

 

Captain America #1 courtesy Marvel

Rick Remender, John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson relaunch the Sentinel of Liberty in a brand new Captain America #1 this week.  The acclaimed artist talked with Marvel.com  adjusted design of Cap’s uniform.

“I don’t think it’s a full redesign. You still know it’s Cap, you can see things in it that are Captain America. But there’s a difference, absolutely. I think the spandex and the spandex shorts have gone the way of the dodo only because they were overused and so on. This is a little more realistic. You’ll see seams on pants, you’ll see shoelaces on boots etc. And I enjoy that.

 

Captain America #1 courtesy Marvel

Arnim Zola is the first major villain of this new volume that sends Steve into Dimension Z – which means new characters to design.

  “There are a couple of characters that are unnamed. Well, there’s one that’s named. If you watch the Phrox, these outer worldly creatures, I designed them visually. They’re interesting. The minions of Armin Zola are interesting also. And Rick wanted to use a reference from Jack Kirby’s version of the characters, and that’s good and bad. Great because I love Kirby’s stuff, but bad because I didn’t just want to completely base it on Kirby’s stuff, so I went a little bit in a different direction.

Arnim Zola’s minions are not the aberrations that they were from Jack Kirby’s days. I went a little bit more demonic, so to speak. And then the other outer worldly characters have to be different. Everything looks different and we have species, but yet each species has eyes, nose, ears. They walk, they crawl, and they have legs. So I tried to do that with these two sets of species.

You have Arnim Zola’s strange characters and you have these Phrox and I tried to give them at least one tiny bit of commonality, so there’s a little bit of an armor look, and a little bit of a lizard-demonic look to them that might be a little bit of commonality. At least in my mind, they’re from completely different planets, and yet they’re on the same planet. That’s probably too much thinking, but I can’t help myself. I’m always trying, and I don’t always succeed, but I’m always trying to do something different than I have done in the past. And if it doesn’t work out that way, it’s not from lack of trying.”

Captain America #1 courtesy Marvel

Captain America #1 is out this week.  For more of his interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

By Editor

SIF Journeys Into Mystery

 

Journey Into Mystery #646 courtesy Marvel

Lady Sif takes you on a new journey this week!

Kathryn Immonen takes over Journey Into Mystery with issue 646 and talked with Marvel about her take on the new lead character for the series.

“We talked at length as far as what her story could be, and it came down to a single question: What does she want? For Sif, what she wants above all is to be a better warrior. How far would she go for that? She makes some terrible decisions and puts a lot of people in peril,” explains Immonen of the lead change.

“One of the really interesting things about Sif to me is that she’s defined by absence, with her lover, Thor, and brother, Heimdall, always away from her.

‘What’s most interesting to me about the Asgardians is the inevitability of them. So much of their conflict is internalized because they don’t have alter egos. They’re also almost more human because of that.”

Immonen sets out the journey she’s planned for Sif and the change in tone of the title.

“Sif is not just a warrior. We’ve often seen her leading the charge, but I don’t feel like we’ve ever seen her in charge. Bear with me, but she’s kind of like my dog. He’s very committed to his pack, but never looks back because he assumes everybody else is as committed as he is. Sif is the same way.

I see a similarity between Sif and Loki because neither of them can ever be Thor. I think that has more effect on her then she’ll admit. She’s been told she’s capable of anything, but at the end of the day, she will never be Thor. It’s a matter of finding out how to be enough anyway.”

Sif is an action hero. Loki is not. They’re fundamentally different. I don’t use the talking to get to the fighting, I use the fighting to get to the talking.” says Immonen.

  Journey Into Mystery #646 out this week with Valerio Schiti as the new artist.

Jaime Alexander played Sif in Thor on the big screen. With this kind of higher comic book exposure could we see a bigger role for Sif in Thor: The Dark World.

By Editor

AGE OF ULTRON

 

Age of Ultron #1 courtesy Marvel

2013 will be the Age of Ultron! Brian Michael Bendis and Bryan Hitch reunite to reinvent the classic Avengers villain in a 10 issue limited series kicking off in March. Hitch draws the first five issues. Carlos Pacheco and Brian Peterson complete the second half of the series. Bendis and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort talked about the scope and impact on the entire universe on Marvel.com.

  “Age of Ultron is about Ultron, one of our biggest villains ever, finally fulfilling his destiny, which is taking the Earth. From the very first page, Ultron has taken the Marvel Universe and everything is changed. There is a shocking amount of destruction and devastation. It started in Avengers, but it’s meant to be a Marvel Universe book. It starts everyone,” said Bendis, “This was never supposed to be my last Avengers story, it was always meant to be a Marvel Universe event.”

 

Age of Ultron #1 courtesy Marvel

In past events we’ve seen the slow buildup of the enemy. The writer explains that this time – it’s very different: “What would it be like to wake up one morning and have one of the Marvel Universe’s biggest villains have just taken over? How will people react?”

 “This isn’t a story where the Skrulls are invading. We cut right to the chase. We’re already past that and Ultron is already here. He’s already put his footprints on the landscape. You’re immediately thrust into the heart of crazy events and things are going a million miles an hour,” adds Brevoort.

 

Age of Ultron #1 courtesy Marvel

The editor and writer confirmed this happens in continuity in the contemporary Marvel NOW! Marvel Universe.

  You probably won’t need the back story but the creators say the seeds of this epic go back to the first arc of Mighty Avengers by Brian and Frank Cho, but the most direct prologue is Avengers #12.1, aka a Free Comic Book Day issue.

Age of Ultron #1 courtesy Marvel

“Tony Stark knew the next time Ultron came back we wouldn’t be ready. This is that time,” said Bendis. 

  As soon as you say Ultron you immediately think of Vision, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne but the new threat from the metal madman will affect every Marvel hero.

 “It’s fair to say this is an Avengers Vs. X-Men level event. That doesn’t mean we won’t be doing other things later in 2013, but it’s Brian, Bryan, Brandon, Carlos and all the ingredients needed for a big deal project,” said Brevoort.

  “If you go back to the earliest Ultron stuff, he has severe daddy issues, even for a Marvel character, and they all have daddy issues. His logic is that the only thing standing in the way of the Earth being what it can be is humanity. I’m kind of obsessed with artificial intelligence in the real world and why people are scared of it. If there were a Marvel Singularity, it would be from Ultron. This is the moment technology takes over in a hostile way,” said Bendis. 

Age of Ultron #1 courtesy Marvel

  “To write a story like this is incredibly scary, because Ultron coming at us with everything he has is the end of the Marvel Universe. We’re doing it,” said Bendis, “This ending is a whopper. And I’ll go ahead and say it: You can’t guess it. I’m involved in it and even I am going ‘Really?'”

  “I could not be more excited for this book to hit the stands. Literally not a day has gone by over the last year where people haven’t asked me when it was coming. I know that people are looking forward to it, so to finally debut it and for it to be, I imagine, much more than people thought it was going to be, is great. It’s beautiful. It takes one of Marvel’s classic villains to a level he’s never been before, takes the heroes to a place they’ve never had to go, and ends in a way you will never guess,” said Bendis. 

  Age of Ultron begins with 3 issues in March 2013. The team confirmed tie-in issues in current series and some limited tie-in series.

For the entire liveblog here’s the link.

By Editor

Superman Gone Wild!

 

Justice League #14 courtesy DC Comics

  The Man of Steel goes wild with cat scratch fever (technically it was a bite)in the Congo in this week’s Justice League #14 courtesy DC Comics. Geoff Johns and guest artist Tony Daniel gave a classic campy villainess a savage New 52 debut in the previous issue.

 

Justice League #14 courtesy DC Comics

 After last week ‘s attack Superman has turned against his team, the search for Barbara Minerva reaches a new dead but the Justice League may find new allies to stop the Goddess of the Hunt’s warpath.

 

Justice League #14 courtesy DC Comics

  Tony Daniel will be taking over Action Comics (with writer Andy Diggle) so this is a perfect opportunity to see how he will handle the Man of Steel. Daniel really shines with this Wonder Woman and his ferocious take on the Cheetah!

By Editor

Joker Targets Catwoman!

Catwoman #14 courtesy DC Comics

  Not even the rogues of Gotham City are safe from the Joker! The insane villain is going after Batman’s friends and allies in Death of the Family. The Joker plucked the Penguin in a back story in last week’s Batman #14. This week the joke is on Selina Kyle in Catwoman #14 by Ann Nocenti and Rafa Sandoval.

  I can’t wait to see what the Joker orchestrates for Selina but she knows how to play cat and mouse perhaps better than anybody in Gotham! 

By Editor

Captain America: From Spy to Sci-Fi

 

Captain America #1 courtesy Marvel

Captain America #1 is out this week with a brand new creative team and new adventure for the Star-Spangled Avenger. Marvel’s ultimate boy scout in the hands of the writer known for chronicling the bad boys and gals of Marvel. Rick Remender (Punisher, Venom, Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers) is launching a brand new Captain America #1 with legendary John Romita Jr.

The writer told Marvel.com his own history with the Sentinel of Liberty.

 “SECRET WARS is what brought me into comic books. That was my first contact with Cap. That led me into his ongoing series, around #294-295 when The Red Skull and his daughters were hatching their big plot against Steve. That was great stuff; a lot of interesting stuff to get pulled into. There was plenty of history there and how they were handling the Red Skull and Captain America relationship—I remember being very grabbed by that. A few issues later Captain Britain showed up and that’s when I started falling in love with that character, too.”

What does Cap stand for?

“Tenacity. The character, in my head, was always about [that at] his core. He never gives up, he never quits. He’s a role model. That’s a term that comes a little bit clichéd and trite I suppose, but that’s sort of the beauty of who he is. He’s a patriotic soldier directed by a personal ethical compass, belief in the American dream and faith in his fellow man. At the same time we’ve seen that he’s very clever and roguish, quick with the drill comment on occasion, but he’s also a leader at the core of it. That was something that I definitely wanted to dig into when I took on the new series and we will be quite a bit.”

Expect a change in tone with Remender. While Ed Brubaker focused on SHIELD and spies, Remender will turn up the sci-fi factor.

“It’s almost like “Kirby Sci-Fi Indiana Jones.” High adventure dipped in sci-fi spy fantasy with heavy focus on the man under the suit. Steve’s fabric and his relationships drive our story and the action is the byproduct. Tonally it’s very serious. You want to make sure the characters go up against things that feel like real threats and [put] them into interesting situations. It’s a lot less of the connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the spy work and more big high adventure super hero stuff with sci-fi that I tend to lean into. It’s obviously a big challenge following a beloved run like Ed’s. I guess that’s what was also appealing because it was a challenge; it wasn’t safe. You’re working with new people.”

Uncanny Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel

Remender is writing Cap in the premiere Marvel NOW! relaunch book Uncanny Avengers and says expect a crossover.

“There will be a lot of new characters cross pollinating [between the two books]. The first 10 issues of each are going to be their own thing—you want to get that train out of the station and really solidify what the books are about and what’s going on in them. Then we’ll start to see characters from one pop up in the other and a little more cross pollination. I spent some time on the phone with Jason Aaron about how to incorporate some of his new THOR: GOD OF THUNDER ideas in UNCANNY AVENGERS as well, and I want to do the same with Jonathan Hickman and I know  Kieron Gillen and I will talk, too. We’ll try and do our very best to make it cohesive and not like it’s a bold new direction where everyone is doing their own thing. We want it to feel like a bold new direction where everyone is doing their own thing and swapping toys out, trying to build something that feels cohesive because that’s such an important part of the shared universe experience.”

Remender told IFanboy that part of the sci-fi focus will be bringing back Arnim Zola and sending Cap to Dimension Z?

“One of the mandates I have to myself is, I don’t want to touch the World War II stuff. I think that that has been done, now, and it’s been done perfectly. To go back and to keep focusing on Cap in World War II at this point, again, would be following too closely to what Ed has already done. What I’m doing is spending a lot of time in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 20s and 30s, showing Steve grow up. The first arc is 10 issues, and it’s called “Dimension Z.”

Captain America #1 courtesy Marvel

I don’t want to give away too much, but a big portion of it is Cap dealing with Arnim Zola in Dimension Z. I’m trying to take Zola and do with him, what we did with Apocalypse over in Uncanny X-Force. Where we take what’s there, re-imagine it, build a new mythology and really expand Zola, and try and build Zola into a very, very big and important character.

The other half of it is going to be a lot of flashbacks to a young Steve Rogers growing up in Depression-era Lower East Side, and getting to know his family and his friends, and how this 98-pound weakling became such a tenacious, strong person; focus on the fiber and the integrity of who he is, and really develop that for the first time.”

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

Captain America #1 arrives this Wednesday.

By Editor

Saluting Captain Marvel!

 

Captain Marvel #1 courtesy Marvel.com

I love Carol Danvers in all her costumes and identities but she’s really soaring as the new Captain Marvel by Kelly Sue DeConnick. One of my fellow geeks and aspiring writers Mitch Cook wanted to salute the Captain with this review of the first 6 chapters:

 

A funny thing about superhero origin stories, they are rarely about the person who transforms into the fantastic being and more about the mask and cape.  But not for the new Captain Marvel.

Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Soy have been tasked with establishing a character that has already been established and is merely making a name change as a part of a relaunch of Ms. Marvel.  Transitions of this kind are never easy but this team has done something unexpected.  The first six issues have completed the first arc of Carol Danvers new reign as Captain Marvel in a very compelling way.

Generally, I am not a fan of rehash.  How many times have we seen that radioactive spider bite Peter Parker, or the gamma ray blast rearrange Bruce banner’s DNA on that bomb test range?

When I was a kid, like most kids who read comics, I lived for the origin stories.  Pre-pubescent boys are especially sensitive to the transformative nature of superhero stories.  We wish we could be on the receiving end of that spider bite, or find that medallion in the cave, or are struck by the lightning bolt from another world, just so we didn’t have to live in our tightly selfish world of hormonal confusion.  I even re-read those stories during fits of darkness.  But eventually, as we get older, we don’t respond to the retelling of the same stories like we used to.  We, instead, choose to watch the transitive nature of character development.  This can be a rare achievement in comics.  A prime example is Frank Miller’s The Dark Night Returns.  He took a long established character and practically reinvented Batman.  He did it without an origin story too.  That single novel turned the comics world on its ear and threw down a challenge to any and all writers to do the same.  Now comic books and characters must evolve rather than be reintroduced.

DeConnick has managed to do just that for Carol Danvers.  The big surprise here is that she does retell the origin story of Ms. Marvel and the reader comes away with a new and exciting feeling for her in spite of it.  Nothing should change for Carol except her costume and name.  But after six compelling issues this new creative team has relaunched Captain Marvel by evolving Carol Danvers into Captain Marvel on a level deeper than just the perfunctory.  Danvers has been through much in her long tenure as Ms. Marvel so the challenge here was to take something old and make it new without boring rehash.  If DeConnick and Marvel had decided to do that then this well established character would have died a swift and senseless death.  A risk was needed and this new creative team accepted the challenge with gusto.

Old themes of feminism, time travel, origin, loyalty, dedication and service; all base level traits of Ms. Marvel are explored and the reader accepts these tired notions with glee and is left begging for more.  In the end Carol is the very embodiment of Captain Marvel without losing a single element of what made Ms. Marvel great.  Even the art is risky.  What seems simple and rudimentary, even incomplete by today’s high standards of Marvel Comics, becomes a source of inspired design.  Everything is purposeful.  The intent here is to take the reader on a journey through time in a reminiscent way.  The use of nostalgia is liberally applied but doesn’t turn off the reader.  Instead we are taken along for the journey with Danvers as she discovers what it means to be Captain Marvel.  What is even more extraordinary is that she does not lose what it means to be Carol Danvers in the process.

 

Thanks Mitch for your writing, support and allowing me to geek out with you!   Here’s to Carol and Kelly Sue and the soaring success of Captain Marvel! This is my first follower submitted review. It’s for the Captain – how could I refuse?

By Editor

 

 

Age of Ultron Teaser?

courtesy Marvel

How does this teaser image compute for you?

My geek hard drive tells me it’s the Age of Ultron by Brian Michael Bendis in 2013.

The Avengers’ greatest enemy becomes a threat to the entire Marvel Now in March 2013.

The answer revealed Monday.

By Editor