Can a superhero be a hero if they kill? The argument darts from realism to idealism to fan reactions to the ongoing burn of serialized storytelling. And what's to blame for everything? Licensing! Also: Did the Chameleon rape Peter Parker's roommate? And did licensing retcon Pete getting drunk? Next: The tyranny of realism in comic book storytelling. What's the backlash gonna be?
Tag Archive for 'Bishop'
Ross and Nick debate the comics blog 4thletter! - Venom, Bishop, black superheroes, and more populate the debate. Then Permanent Damage sneaks in at some point and the guys discuss the question: are superheroes dead???
Ross Campbell tells Nick Marino about printing problems with the Shadoweyes and what he's doing to make the character's colors look the same on the screen and in print. Nick asks Ross about the format for Shadoweyes, spinning into the differences between graphic novels and single issues. This dovetails into a back and forth about comics business and publishing. Trading cards take over and segue into Sam Keith's cover art. Bishop busts into the conversation and leads into Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, finally taking the guys into direct-to-DVD territory.
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Ross Campbell, in the heat of some serious sinus pressure, talks to Nick Marino about Google Voice, swine flu and allergies, weird mutant powers, Dazzler, different versions of the Darkstalkers fighting game, Guilty Gear XX, Xbox games, odd ways to get your NES games to work, a third party NES system, PowerJoy and Pandamar, Domain Renewal Group scams, killing trees, and supervillains.
Make sure to be back here tomorrow for the debut episode of A Podcast with Ross and Nick!!! A direct continuation of this episode, A Podcast with Ross and Nick #1 features tons of fun as the guys take a look at the Wold Superhero Registry and get some evil inspiration.
Before he was a bloodthirsty baby killer, apparently Lucas Bishop enjoyed sunbathing and long walks on the beach.
And while I just can't get enough of this hilarious image of Bishop wearing a pair of tight Daisy Dukes while he catches some rays in his beach chair (which is conveniently holding his oversized guns, nonetheless), my favorite part of this '95 Fleer Ultra X-Men trading card is Spring Break Bishop's quote on the back:
I'm always prepared to enjoy life... or defend it!
Oh, how the mighty hath fallen...
Wednesday, February 4
12:00 PM
I emailed Jay Faerber and Chris Giarrusso. Jay and I have been planning to talk about Dynamo 5 as the series approaches its semi-relaunch. I emailed Chris because Wednesday saw the unexpected appearance of Mini Marvels: Secret Invasion on the Diamond Comics shipping list.
Within the next few weeks, you can expect to hear Jay Faerber on our weekly podcast talking about Dynamo 5 #0 and the future of the series. Also expect to hear from Chris G in the coming weeks. We'll be talking about the new Mini Marvel digest, as well as his upcoming G-Man digest from Image Comics.
6:00 PM
I worked my way thru a Pittsburgh mini-blizzard to get to Phantom of the Attic Comics on Craig St. It was Wednesday, after all. And I needed me some new comics. And some old comics too.
Last week I gave my retailer a back issue wish list. At the top? Iron Man #215-232. David Michelinie and Bob Layton join up with penciler Mark Bright to take Tony Stark and Rhodey Rhodes into Armor Wars (and BWS bats cleanup on #232, an Armor Wars epilogue). I was inspired by the reviews on Advanced Iron to grab this whole run.
And there's more. I also snagged Iron Man #285-299, filling in the middle between the landmark War Machine issues of #284 and #300. AND I picked up Marvel Comics Presents #152-155, a four-part War Machine story. Expect to see some of these issues pop up in my 3 Panel Reviews.
New stuff? Black Panther #1, X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #1, X-Men Vs. Hulk, Tales of the TMNT #53, Black Lightning: Year One #1 (for free thanks to a misprint!), and Dynamo 5 #19. My retailers were awesome enough to toss me the variant cover of Black Panther #1 (probably because I'm the most rabid T'Challa fan at the shop!). Sadly, my shop didn't have any copies of Mini Marvels: Secret Invasion... I'm not sure if they didn't order any (which would be odd) or if Diamond didn't actually ship the book (which would NOT be odd).
I made a pretty serious decision about my comic book purchasing habits as well. These $3.99 books are killing me. I decided that stuff like yesterday's Secret Warriors #1 is just gonna have to wait. Stuff like the Bishop mini and Claremont's X-Men Vs. Hulk one-shot are going to take precedence. I'd rather indulge in more unique side projects. Vixen, Terra, Hulk one-shots, MC2 books, and X-Men minis are the sort of intriguing things I want to pick up.
8:00 PM
After sitting on it for a few days, it was time to crack open the Hulk Vs. DVD. First up? Hulk Vs. Wolverine. It's awesome that Jeff Matsuda was the character designer for this half of the Hulk Vs. project. But I need some character exploration too. While the animation was strong and the voice performances were decent, the story of Hulk Vs. Wolverine (which really should have been called Hulk Vs. Weapon X) needed more gripping character development. This just didn't reach the heights of Ultimate Avengers or Next Avengers. Hopefully Hulk Vs. Thor will really knock it out of the park.
9:00 PM
Shh!!! Justique's asleep and I have a whole mammoth stack of Iron Man back issues to read!!!
I slowly snuck over to my new reading regiment and selected Iron Man #215. As I crept back to the couch, Justique opened her eyes! DAMN IT!!! But I didn’t put the issue away. I know my girlfriend well. She was back to sleep within two minutes. Then I cracked open #215 and started to read.
Thursday, February 5, 11:59 AM
9:00 AM
Iron Man #225 and #228. That's what I needed. My shop had EVERYTHING from my wish list save for these two issues. I ended up paying $10 for the two of them online, which kind of sucks. But considering I only paid $1 per issue for the entire Armor Wars run, I'm already well ahead of the curve.
11:00 AM
I want to see this Push movie. Chris Evans was great as Johnny Storm. Plus, Push is a super powered action flick… so much so that a few movie reviewers actually think this film is based on comics... like this guy from the Orlando Sentinel.
But the movie could go either way. It sounds reminiscent of last year's Jumper, which sucked. My movie theater has Push projected digitally, which Fandango describes as having "impressive clarity, brilliance and color and a lack of scratches, fading and flutter."
Not sure if I'm buying it, Fandango. I mean, can it really be that much better than regular projection? Isn't it awesome enough that movies get projected 50 times bigger than the screen on my crappy TV set?
9. Flight. Who doesn't want to be able to fly? It's sweet. But not so sweet that it would top this list. In fact, most superheroes that can fly are given some other sort of ability as well (Superman, Storm, Ms. Marvel, etc). Off the top of my head, the only pure flight hero I can think of is Angel (Warren Worthington III). For a time, he had that "blood can heal you" thing. But I'm sure that's being retconned as we speak.
8. Enhanced Senses. It's a simple notion. Take the sensory perception of a normal human and turn it up to 11 (thank you, Spinal Tap). As with characters like Wolverine, these senses are often linked to an animalistic connection. But that sort of totemistic power is a completely different thing. Daredevil is a great example of plain enhanced senses, but I personally prefer the enhanced awareness and reaction time of Slade Wilson (a.k.a. Deathstroke).
7. Invulnerability. This is another superpower often paired with other abilities, most commonly super strength. Superman is invulnerable, mostly as an afterthought. Luke Cage comes close to being a pure holder of this power, but he gained some super strength with his invulnerability. You need look no further than Avengers: The Initiative #13 and Emery Schaub (a.k.a. Butterball), a teen who had no special abilities whatsoever aside from the fact that he couldn't get hurt.
6. Telepathy. Don't get me wrong -- telekinesis is great and all, but I'd rather have the full range of someone's thoughts and feelings. Telepathy is the ultimate invasion of personal privacy that seems sort of delicious in a twisted kind of way. Professor Xavier is my favorite telepath, mostly because his power is extensive and he has impressive control over his ability to get into the thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) of others.
5. Agility. Maybe not the most impressive power on this list. In fact, this is probably my "pet power" choice, if only because I've always dreamed of rolling out of leaping somersaults like Nightcrawler or daftly dodging blows like Black Panther. Truthfully, I can't think of a hero who has agility as a singular ability. Tigra's close, but too totemistic. I'll go with none other than the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man as the finest example of the ability to perform fantastic gymnastics.
4. Energy Manipulation. This one's a doozy. I mean, there are so many ways to bend energy, absorb it, and rechannel it out. Endless iterations pop up in comic books because you can draw it however you want, splash it with bright colors, and it looks sweet. My two favorite examples of energy manipulation come in the form of Havok's concentric blasts and Bishop's ability to spray you back with whatever energy you shoot at him. (And of course, the Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic too).
3. Water Manipulation. This one that's a bit obscure and sure to have its detractors. Still, I think the ability to manipulate water is probably one of the most impressive superpowers. Straying from comics, we've seen fantastic examples of water manipulation by Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender. But in comics, the best example I can think of is Hydro-Man. Yeah, the character is a moron but his powers are absolutely incredible.
2. Density Control. Okay, this one is also a bit obscure. I mean, I actually had to sit down and reason out what density control entails just to write this list. This ability is not to be confused with the mass control of Harry Leland. Instead, I'm talking about Vision's power to fluctuate between intangible and diamond-hard. Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde represent the opposite sides of this power spectrum, while Vision has the ability to make himself both ethereal and super solid with a mere thought.
1. Invisibility. Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, is probably the best pure example of this ability. She also has a host of other awesome tricks she can do that are only tangentially related to hiding herself and other objects from view. And that energy manipulation is extremely awesome. But at the end of the day, she would still have my favorite power of any superhero out there if she just had the ability to hide herself in plain sight.
Next: The Top 9 UK Oddities! [instead of The Top 9 Obscure Movie Soundtracks]
Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.
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