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The Top 9 Superheroes Who Don't Have a Solo Series Right Now (But Should Have One!)

Published

on February 20, 2009

. 5 Comments

9. Luke Cage. New Avengers may feature Carl Lucas in the lead, but the big name heroes in the book limit his face time. I want a Cage solo series wherein our invulnerable heavy hitter from Harlem handles business on his downtime.

8. Havok. He's getting a big profile bump soon in the War of Kings event, so this would be the perfect time to spin him out into his own series again. Alex Summers has already carried Mutant X on his own and he headlined X-Factor for years. Just get him back in his classic duds before he launches his new solo book!

7. Zatanna. The Bat-books need some magic. Even with Bruce Wayne MIA right now, this classic JLA hero could interact in Gotham City in interesting ways. The Arkham Asylum crowd are used to fists and gadgets. But what if they had to fight spells instead?

6. Falcon. I had an awesome idea today -- a new Marvel Two-in-One or Marvel Team Up book featuring Falcon as the reoccurring hero. Sam Wilson can fly and talk to birds, but he needs a power upgrade to handle major threats. Solution? Use his Rolodex to boost his brawn on the battlefield.

5. Sasquatch. Marvel's Canadian heavy hitter needs a new lease on stardom. Put him in his own series where he's fighting the horror creatures of the Marvel Universe. His lighthearted attitude and love for science will contrast well with fantasy themed horror elements.

4. Psylocke. Betsy Braddock needs a new modus operandi. My suggestion? A classic kung fu street series. Have her hang with Iron Fist, fight alongside Shang-Chi, and buddy up with the Daughters of the Dragon. Bring in the X-Men now and then to boost sales.

3. Joker. A supervillain (or "super villain," as DC Comics would say) series is always a tricky thing. But the Joker is a tricky kind of guy, so it just might work. With Heath Ledger's star performance as the Clown Price of Crime, Joker's profile is higher than ever -- now just put him in his own comic book full of funny and twisted tales.

2. Storm. Lucky for me, she just finished up a mini series. But I would like to see another mini lined up, or better yet, an ongoing book for this mutant weather goddess. Give Chris Claremont the writing assignment and put Aaron Lopresti on art duties.

1. Aquaman. Plain and simple. The classic DC Comics water hero, Arthur Curry. He's one of the big guns and he needs to get his own title, even if it's just a mini series! Ride that seahorse, baby, ride!!!

More: The Top 9 Marvel Universe Characters That Have Stepped Up Since Civil War!

Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.

3 Panel Reviews - X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #1

Published

nick marino

on February 12, 2009

in 3 Panel Reviews and Webcomics

. 2 Comments

Continue reading '3 Panel Reviews - X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #1'

A Day in the Life of a Comic Book Junkie

Published

nick marino

on February 6, 2009

in Comics

. 2 Comments

Wednesday, February 4

12:00 PM

On sale February 18 2009 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

on Craig St in Pittsburgh 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.

Did it even ship? WTF!?! 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

Hulk SMASH puny DVD!!! 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 Tony and Rhodey kick it in space

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

it's a movie... in poster form 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?

The Top 9 Playable Marvel Characters in Capcom Fighting Games

Published

nick marino

on January 16, 2009

in The Top 9

. 2 Comments

Okay, first, let's set the ground rules. X-Men: Children of the Atom can't be considered in the running. It's too hard to find, and in all my years of love for Capcom fighting games I've never had the chance to play it. Also stricken from the record is Marvel vs. Capcom 2. I know I'll hear a lot of whining about that, but here's why it's off the list - the playability sucks. The designers spent too much time on character sprites and not enough time on defined playability. Characters may look good, but they only have a fraction of the moves that characters have in the other Marvel fighting games. Therefore, I will allow Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Street Fighter, and Marvel vs. Capcom.

9. Blackheart - Yeah, Ghost Rider was popular in the late 90s, but Blackheart!?! Along with Shuma-Gorath, Blackheart was a bizarre choice for a baddie. Still, his playability is awesome, with excellent long range attacks and a few really great specials.

8. Cyclops - Personally, I think Cyke is a natural for a fighting game. He's got big power and he's also a scrapper. His eyebeams make him a great long range character, while his kicks make him a strong close range fighter. The only flaw is that he doesn't have more variations in his eyebeam moves.

7. Gambit - In the Capcom series, Gambit is one of your all purpose agile characters, contrasting especially well with with Jin and Strider Hiryu in Marvel vs.Capcom. Gambit has great power moves, like when he smashes your face in with his staff or charges you up to throw you. And his specials are huge.

6. Spider-Man - Spidey is another one of your all purpose agile fighters, with even greater speed and damage hits than Gambit. I like to use Spidey when I've been beat a few times in a row by an opponent. Bringing Spidey out and landing lots of fast, close range hits is especially demoralizing to a challenger.

5. Wolverine - While Spidey does have great speed and close range attacks, Wolvie has the capability to utterly devastate another player when you're in a bind. His charging moves are especially powerful, and his speed can do irreparable damage in a short space of time.

4. Hulk - Big hits. That's what Hulk does best. Often, he accepts far more damage than smaller characters like Wolvie and Spidey, which can be frustrating. But when Hulk lands his hits, the battle is decisive and it ends fast. His specials are decent, but his regular kicks and punches have tremendous power.

3. War Machine - Rhodey is the replacement for Iron Man in the later Marvel fighting games. While they are basically the same character, War Machine has a few extra moves that make him superior. But even beyond that, his playability is fantastic, with wonderful long range projectile attacks, solid close range strikes, and tremendous specials. Plus, the SFX make a little metal noise when he gets hit. How cool is that?

2. Captain America - Okay, Cap has next to no long range attacks. He's not a well rounded character by any means. But he is by far the best close range fighter, mixing agility with strong basic moves. He's not as fast as Spidey or Wolvie, but his hits tend to land better and with greater effect. His specials are solid, and his power moves are always dependable. Plus, it's demoralizing to an opponent to lose to Cap because he doesn't have all the fancy projectiles or flashy power moves.

1. Juggernaut - An odd choice for the top of the list, but well deserving. Juggs has the hit presence of the Hulk, but with greater speed and agility. His blocks are far more dependable than the Jade Giant or Zangief (the other big brawler characters). And his specials always wreck an opponent. To top it off, Juggy is a wonderful character even in assist mode (as a "sepcial hero"). Overall, he's the biggest bang-for-your-buck in Marvel fighting games made by Capcom.

Next: The Top 9 Fighting Games!

Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.

The Top 9 Greatest X-Men Pencilers of All Time

Published

nick marino

on January 9, 2009

in The Top 9

. 8 Comments

9. Rick Leonardi

8. Chris Bachalo

7. John Romita, Jr.

Continue reading 'The Top 9 Greatest X-Men Pencilers of All Time'

AudioShocker Podcast #59 - Chocolate Rain Body Doubles

Published

nick marino

on December 9, 2008

in Podcast Episodes

. 0 Comments

AudioShocker #59 [ 37:54 ] Play Now | Download

Dark Reign is at Marvel Comics as Secret Invasion ends, Nick wonders if Bucky is the emo Captain America, Neal is creeped out by the cover to Wolverine: First Class #12, Punisher: War Zone is a great date movie, Elisha Cuthbert uses a body double in He Was a Quiet Man, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is awesome, and GrandCentral sucks for turning off invites.

The Top 9 Superheroes I DON'T Want to Hang Out With

Published

nick marino

on November 21, 2008

in The Top 9

. 5 Comments

9. Man-Thing. Aside from the obvious ridicule I'd endure from my friends for chilling with someone named Man-Thing, I don't feel like "burning at the touch" of a weird swamp monster who can't hold a conversation.

8. Luke Cage. Power Man used to be awesome but now he's all into conspiracy theories and hiding out from "the man." Hanging out with Cage nowadays means putting on disguises to buy hot dogs and running underground to eat them in a deserted subway tunnel.

7. Green Arrow. Aside from being obnoxious and preachy, Ollie Queen would be extreme rude to any attractive women in his vicinity. Then he'd insist on playing darts for money until I'm broke. Not my idea of fun.

6. Doctor Strange. Seemingly fresh at first, cute sayings like "by the hoary hordes of Haggoth!" would get really old really fast. I would end up telling Stephen Strange that his "hoary whore mouth of Haggoth better shut the fuck up!" before I put my foot in it.

5. Hawkgirl. Along with being uneasy about her wings and the giant mace, I wouldn't be able to take her seriously in that bird mask. Then, if I asked her to take it off, Kendra would probably give me a line about how it's her proud warrior garb and my request insults her.

4. Hank Pym. Something is bound to go wrong. If he's not losing his mind and pretending to be a different bug, then he's slapping his wife around or getting abducted by aliens. It's not his fault he's a writers' punching bag, but that doesn't mean I want to hang out with him.

3. Emma Frost. Seriously, what a bitch. The White Queen has the worst attitude in the entire Marvel Universe. She would whine about everything. The pizza's not hot enough, the restaurant is too dirty, her ludicrous costume is riding up her crack, etc.

2. Havok. Alex Summers will ditch me halfway through our night to tell some woman he just met that he's deeply in love with her and can't live without her. He'll stick me with the bill and run off to the southwest United States, where I won't hear from him again for years. At least, that's what he always does to the X-Men.

1. Cyclops. What's worse than getting ditched by Alex Summers? Chilling with his brother Scott as he rants about "how hard it is to live life when I can't relax for one moment because the smallest slip could result in my ruby quartz glasses falling off, causing my eyes to release powerful blasts of cosmic energy that could harm the people I love!"

Next: The Top 9 Supervillains I DO Want to Hang Out With!

Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.

No End In Sight For Comic Inspired Movies

Published

neal

on November 17, 2008

in Comics and Movies

. 0 Comments

Watchmen, Red Sonja, Avengers, X-men Origins, blah blah blah I hope you aren't sick of comic book movies yet - because the hits just keep on coming. Martin Anderson over at Den of Geek just served up a list of 75 comic inspired movies that are in the works. Some of these are sequels, i.e. Sin City 2/3 and Iron Man 2, but I haven't heard of at least half of these books.

I'm curious to see if Y The Last Man ever really gets made and does anyone really care about Green Lantern? Of course, there are some stinkers on this list and I never did like Akira. Still, cruise on over and see if your favorite comic has sold out for a slice of that big money pie.

Personally, I won't be satisfied until the long awaited Cerebus vs. Judge Death comes out.

The Top 9 Superhero Vehicles

Published

nick marino

on August 29, 2008

in The Top 9

. 4 Comments

9. Fantomex's E.V.A.. From Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men comes Fantomex and his mutant gift, which acts as both his external nervous system AND his kickass transportation.

8. Captain America's Motorcycle. Kind of a boring inclusion, but you gotta admit that Cap looks sweet when he's tearing it up on his bike. Bonus points for the use of Cap's motorcycle in the 80s made-for-TV movies.

7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Turtle Van. Well, in the comics, if I'm not mistaken... it's just a van. But in the cartoon, it was a tricked out mobile fortress! And the toy was pretty excellent as well. TURTLE POWER!

6. Avengers' Quinjet. I feel like I had to include this one not because it's that great but because it's a memorable superhero vehicle.

5. X-Men's Blackbird. I love the Blackbird. Some of the most intense X-Men drama has happened aboard this vessel. If this list were based strictly on good memories, this would be #1.

4. Batman's Batmobile. Yeah, it's the Batmobile. It's classic. It's iconic. Me, I prefer the old school hot rod style Batmobile. The modern ones lack a certain flashy charisma.

3. Fantastic Four's Fantasticar. Look, it splits apart. Isn't that enough for you? Plus, this damn thing has been to how many different dimensions? It's awesome.

2. Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane. It's a plane. It's invisible. It's an invisible plane. How does it work? WHO KNOWS??? What I do know: it rules.

1. Silver Surfer's Board. You really can't top the combination of the Power Cosmic and surfing. I mean, hell, the Silver Surfer is the ultimate mobile superhero! To this day I still pretend I'm the philosophic chromed-out guy-formerly-known-as-Norrin-Radd whenever I use my skateboard to go to the grocery store.

Next: The Top 9 Comic Book Superpowers!

Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.

Great, You Took a Comic Book and Adapted it Panel by Panel into a Film. Who Gives a Shit?!

Published

nick marino

on August 21, 2008

in Comics and Movies

. 2 Comments

The blogosphere is buzzing about Zack Snyder's "faithful" adaptation of the Watchmen mini series into a film. When I say mini series, I mean it. Watchmen is, in fact, a collection of single issues as opposed to an original novel-length work. But "The Most Celebrated Comic Book Mini Series of All Time" isn't as impressive, so I understand why it's universally referred to as a graphic novel. Watching this movie is supposed to be like the comic moving before your eyes (though they already did that with Warner Premiere's Motion Comics and it looks like poop).

Truthfully, it all leaves me feeling cold. If the movie is just a direct adaptation of the comic, then who gives a shit? I already read Watchmen. It was great. I don't need to read it again, let alone sit as a captive audience member for some ungodly length of time in a movie theater. By the way, three fucking hours??! Snyder, are you out of your gourd? I sat thru 2.5 hours of The Dark Poop and I almost screamed in pain after 1.5 hours. If Watchmen is going to be 180 minutes, then split it in half ala Kill Bill so I can go home for a couple months in the middle.

Continue reading 'Great, You Took a Comic Book and Adapted it Panel by Panel into a Film. Who Gives a Shit?!'