Author: Luana Haygen

ComicMix Six: Coolest Darkseid Moments

ComicMix Six: Coolest Darkseid Moments

  • News
  • October 26, 2008

The first sentient race of the DC Universe eventually became nearly-immortal beings of celestial energy, beings now known as the Old Gods. Eventually, there came a time when the Old Gods died and their planet, the "Third World", was destroyed. After many ages, the remnants of this world formed into two new planets, collectively called the "Fourth World." There was the peaceful and beautiful New Genesis, watched over by Izaya the Highfather, and the dark, desolate world of Apokolips, where lived the dark prince Uxas.

Uxas started a life of evil early on. When his brother Drax attempted to master a cosmic energy known as the Omega Force, Uxas decided he wanted the power for himself. In one fell swoop, he disrupted Drax’s plans, becoming master of the Omega Force and leaving his brother for dead. With his new power, Uxas renamed himself Darkseid the Destroyer. Later, he killed his own mother Queen Heggra, partly in revenge for the fact that she had killed the woman he’d loved, and assumed leadership of Apokolips.

Bent on universal domination and motivated by his quest for the Anti-Life Equation, a mathematical formula that proves life is hopeless and can rob any life form of their free will, Darkseid has made many enemies, including the heroes Lightray and Mr. Miracle and his own son Orion, the "dog of war." Darkseid’s attentions later turned towards the planet Earth when he became convinced that human beings held different parts of the Anti-Life Equation hidden in their minds. This brought him into conflict with many super-heroes as well.

Until recently in Final Crisis, he was never successful in conquering Earth, true. But that didn’t mean he never got the better of a hero ever before.

Here then are six moments where Darkseid got to laugh at the failure of his enemies and his own dark power.

 

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Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

  • Uncategorized
  • October 18, 2008

Comic books, admittedly, don’t have a great history when itcomes to video game adaptations.  Hell,most games based on licensed properties have a certain stigma about them.  It probably stems from the fact that theyfeel like a cheap cash-in…a way to make a quick buck on a popular fad such asmovies, TV shows, and yes, comics.  Now,that’s not to say ALL comic book games are bad, no; but the genre does have itsshare of stinkers.  Out of all thepossible crap-fests out there, these are the top six games that should never beallowed near your console of choice…EVER.

Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men– 1989: NES

Back in the heyday of the Nintendo Entertainment System,they were making games for EVERYTHING. At the time, publisher LJN held the rights to the Marvel license, andsadly, churned out turd after turd.  Oneof their biggest steaming piles was this mess, based on Marvel’s MightyMutants.  What made this game sobad?  Well, sadly, the technology of theday seems to be the biggest culprit.  Thegame took a top-down view of the action, and since there was only so much youcould show in 8-bit, character details were pretty much non-existent.  That, combined with the muddy, dirty colorsof the backgrounds and you were lucky you could see anything at all, let alonewhich character you had selected. Nothing was recognizable, despite the fact that it had a decent sized rosterselected from the books.  Thankfully, it’sone of the few bad marks on an otherwise mostly successful game franchise.

Fantastic Four – 1997:Playstation

Ugh.  When you talkabout ugly games, two system generations ago, we had some DOGS.  3D graphics were all the rage, and polygoncounts were climbing higher and higher. Sadly, they still couldn’t figure out that muddy background thing, andso stuff tended to blend together – badly. At least this time you could see what was happening…but it wasn’tpretty.  Take a tried and true gameplaystyle, affectionately known as the “beat ‘em up”, and add comic’s firstfamily.  What could go wrong?  Well, how about poor control, terrible plotand just plain shoddy gameplay?  First,the game is about the Fantastic FOUR…so you have Mr. Fantastic, InvisibleWoman, Human Torch, The Thing and…She-Hulk? Wouldn’t that be FIVE?  Then, you have repetitive, lazy combat (anormal pitfall for the “beat ‘em up”) of miscellaneous enemies that are largein number and small in variety.  Add to thatthe poor hit detection, lousy control response and just a general sense of “whybother?” and you have this mighty gem.  Fantastic,indeed.

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ComicMix Six: Embarrassing Deaths

ComicMix Six: Embarrassing Deaths

  • News
  • September 15, 2008

The world of comic book super-heroes and costumed villains is a dangerous one. And sometimes, you don’t make it out alive.

We all remember the tragic loss of Bucky Barnes when he was blown up while trying to disarm a bomb (although he turned up alive again as a cyborg a few years ago). We can still recall the tragic loss of Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow (who was literally resurrected not too long ago). We’ve reminisced about the sacrifice of Barry Allen, who became one with the universe even as he saved it (and who returned from the dead a couple of months ago). And it was literally front page news when Captain America was assassinated (and he’s actually still dead).

But not all deaths in comics are noble moments you want to remember. Some are just down right … silly. So here are six of the most embarrassing deaths. NOTE: this is focused on super-villains and super-heroes, not just any characters in comics in general. Otherwise we would just be talking about Preacher all day.

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ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 14, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 14, 2008

  • News
  • September 14, 2008

Our best wishes go out to all our readers in Texas and other states affected by Hurricake Ike, and we encourage folks who can afford it to help relief efforts (like this one) to help our fellow Americans.  Meanwhile, we at ComicMix continue to provide our own brand of relief in the form of cultural commentary in columns and features like these from this past week:

For more comic relief, check out Tina Fey’s appearance opening Saturday Night Live‘s new season last night:

 

 

Love those Tina Fey glasses!

ComicMix Six: Super-Heroes on Television

ComicMix Six: Super-Heroes on Television

  • News
  • September 12, 2008

There have been some sad attempts at live-action super-hero shows over the years. On the other hand, Smallville has done pretty well for itself, going strong for eight seasons now. Heroes on NBC has made many TV fans question what may have been a dismissive attitude towards super-hero stories. And shows such as Buffy, Angel and The Dead Zone have shown that many folks out there enjoy stories about people who have unique abilities and fight evil.

So we at ComicMix pondered “what other super-heroes could work if brought to life on the small screen?” Personally, I think there are tons that could be great. But because none of us have that kind of time, we stuck by our habit of keeping the list down to six.

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ComicMix Six: Batman’s Super-Powers

ComicMix Six: Batman’s Super-Powers

  • News
  • August 26, 2008

There’s an upcoming story in the Superman/Batman title that will involve our long-eared Dark Knight getting superhuman abilities (albeit, temporarily). Writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson have been doing great work on the title, so this promises to be an entertaining tale.

But did you know that this won’t be the first time Batman has been given super-human talents? Here are just some of the more interesting adventures that have occurred when Bruce Wayne wound up gifted with "power and abilities far beyond those of mortal men."

PLEASE NOTE: I am not including times where Batman used technology to help him out, such as a suit of armor or a rocket pack or New God weapons. Nor am I including times when he got powers for only a few pages, such as when he borrowed Hawkman’s wing-harness and Nth metal belt or the time that Hal Jordan let him try on his Green Lantern power ring for a minute. Those times may have been cool, but they lasted for only a scene rather than a fully story. Likewise, I am not including any Elseworlds tales, so deal with it.

 

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ComicMix Quick Picks: 8/11/08

The weekend window-closing wrap-up:

11 Superheroes That Look Like Supervillains: No. When one of them is called "Evil Ernie" and is, from your own article, "tasked with killing all of humanity" I don’t think he qualifies as a superhero.

From FailBlog: well, think of it as a strange kind of crossover.

Colleen Doran provides the most useful post of the day: how freelancers can get health insurance, complete with links and her own insurance stories. Just because you haven’t got an exclusive deal with one of the big publishers, you don’t have an excuse. Now if someone would take the time and do a similar post on freelancers and life insurance…

Wanted: pre-1965 money for time travel. So if the market is suddenly glutted with mint condition early Marvels, you’ll know why.

Via John Cole: One of the largest and most photographed arches in Arches National Park has collapsed. Wall Arch collapsed sometime late Monday or early Tuesday. The arch is along Devils Garden Trail, one of the most popular in the park. For years, the arch has been a favorite stopping point for photographers.

Before:

After:

 
Not pictured: the coyote at the bottom of the ravine with the defective Acme product.
ComicMix Quick Picks: 8/8/08

ComicMix Quick Picks: 8/8/08

The collection of posts that may not warrant a full entry of their own. Excelsio — er, onward and upward:

Billionaire financier Ronald O. Perelman has agreed pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit accusing him of helping to divert $553.5 million in notes when he controlled Marvel. I’ll do a better run-down of the financials after I have a chance to slog through them. Ironically, Perelman had always wanted to turn Marvel into an intellectual property powerhouse in the mold of Disney, but it only happened after he drove Marvel into bankruptcy and bolted.

And speaking of legal matters, Gordon vs. Gordon. It’s a shame when things go bad. I wonder what will happen at the custody hearings.

And speaking of Gotham City going-ons (what a segue!) somebody else has built a working Tumbler. No word on what else he keeps in his basement or his belfry.

Don Heck’s Lovecraft work to finally see the light of day. Ai! Ai! P’tagh i’dw ryall!

Tom Brevoort is attempting to take over DC Comics. Watch out, Paul…

And just because some of you might want to know how to give yourself pointed ears… well, here you are. We’re not responsible for any pon farr, though.

ComicMix Quick Picks: 8/7/08

ComicMix Quick Picks: 8/7/08

The collection of posts that may not warrant a full entry of their own. Excelsio — er, onward and upward:

When I saw this bit about Franklin turning 40, I have to admit that wasn’t the Franklin I was thinking of… yes, Franklin Richards is 40 years old too. And people complain about Bart Simpson never aging?

The Skiffy Channel’s top 10 brilliant but cancelled sci-fi shows. Also known as their regular line-up.

Lost in all the San Diego shuffle, MTV of all people have started a comics/movies blog called Splash Page, and have gone so far as to hire former Wizard and DC Comics staffer Casey Seijas. We welcome them to the blogosphere, but would like to remind them that hiring ex-DC and Wizard employees to run a weblog is our shtick.

Paul Levitz interviewed in the Wall Street Journal. Surprise note: yes, he’s another alumni of Frank McCourt’s english classes. I always wondered where Paul picked up the Irish brogue.

Robert Downey Jr. trying to keep his ego in check for Iron Man II:

"Suddenly, for a minute, I felt like everyone needed to take a knee and listen to what I had to say, because I f–kin’ made it, and my way works and all this stuff. Then I go home and I go, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening to me? I gotta get grounded here.’ "

Downey got Tropic cowriter and actor Justin Theroux the gig writing Iron Man 2. Theroux is just crawling out from under the pile of Iron Man comics as we speak.

"I’ve just stopped marinating in all the Iron Man lore that I didn’t know, and I’m sort of firing up the chainsaw and ready to attack it," said Theroux. "You’re writing for Robert Downey Jr., so, at the end of the day, that’s an enormous amount of fun."

ComicMix Six: Six Groups of People to Kick Out of San Diego Comic-Con

[EDITOR’S NOTE: As San Diego Comic-Con gets crazier and crazier, so does the mood of some of our ComicMix contributors. Case in point, the following ComicMix Six list that appeared in the queue earlier today from contributor Arthur Tebbel, who I’ve only managed to glimpse as he sprints from one panel to the next throughout the weekend. Here, Arthur offers up his thoughts on the six groups that he could do without at this year’s Comic-Con. -RM]

THE SECURITY STAFF: The assembled masses at any comic book convention are probably too meek to takeover a Starbucks, so why do we need what appears to be thousands of volunteer security guards to give us conflicting information and, most importantly, prevent me from being where I need to be to do my job. If these guys got drunk on as little liquor as they do power they would be in the emergency room after two beers.

STORMTROOPERS: Thank God we aren’t trying to run a Death Star, because we would be dramatically overstaffed. How did we get to the point where people go through all this trouble to express themselves in exactly the same way as everyone else? We respect the effort but… no, actually we don’t respect the effort. Try harder.

PEOPLE WHO BRING BABIES TO A PANEL DISCUSSION: Your baby won’t appreciate the discussion and, thanks to them, now I won’t either. Hire a babysitter; the convention will even look after your kid for you. If your child is too precious to part with for even an hour, go to the park instead.

PEOPLE WHO START THEIR PANEL QUESTIONS WITH “I DON’T READ/WATCH [PANEL TOPIC], BUT…”: These questions are always embarrassingly bad. What happened? Do you have some compulsion that makes you go up to any open microphone? Next year, we will most certainly go to a Battlestar Galactica panel and ask, “I don’t watch Battlestar Galactica but why aren’t there more tits in it?”

JESUS FREAKS: Okay, these guys weren’t in the convention exactly — but I could really do without people telling me how much I’m going to hell for my choice in media. Furthermore, this inspires legions of fanboys to trot out the same tired comebacks about how much they worship Satan or some such. No you don’t, Hell doesn’t have a basement you could live in.

ABOUT 20% OF THE ATTENDEES: Sometime before the show begins they need to assemble all of the con-goers for that day and someone (we’ll volunteer, in fact) will walk through the crowd and eliminate 20 percent of the people. These people will have their money cheerfully refunded and they can try again next year. Next, we’ll do this for the exhibitors.

Want more ComicMix Six? Check out the ComicMix Six Archive for previous editions of CM6.

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