Tagged: Avengers

TV Cult Guide

News
June 29, 2007

According to TV Guide Online, here’s their latest top 30 cult teevee shows of all time.

I would scoff at this, but it turns out I really like at least a dozen of ’em.

30) Strangers with Candy (1999-2000)*

29) Absolutely Fabulous (1994-2003)

28) Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)*

27) H.R. Pufnstuf (1969-1971)

26) Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1975-1978)

25) Firefly (2002-2003)*

24) Twin Peaks (1990-1991)

23) Dark Shadows (1966-1971)

22) Doctor Who (1963-present)

21) Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)

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Is Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson?

News
June 24, 2007

After about a week of watching what looks like another “Crispen Glover as Joker” rumor, we here at ComicMix have decided to go with the story that Samuel L. Jackson has been added to Jon Favreau’s Iron Man cast as none-other-than Nick Fury.

Aint It Cool News first broke the story on Thursday with an impenetrable source: seeing Jackson physically on the set. Again, those of us who remember the constant tug-of-war game between the truths and jokes that many alleged Internet journalists like to play with us are pretty weary about this news, because it seems TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!

If this were the case, Jackson would evidently be portraying the Ultimate version of the character, of which he was originally modeled after. Not only is this the biggest casting news for next May’s film but for future Marvel projects as well, opening the door for a spin-off franchise – and an Avengers film, which Marvel is already discussing.

The most interesting thing about this story is how the Internet fan base seems to be torn into two camps over the news: one that is jumping for joy over the news, and the other that is up in arms, saying that it would be another “Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin.". So I put the question to the fans here at ComicMix: What say you, Funny-Book Fans? Comment now!

ROBERT GREENBERGER talks Civil War

News
June 20, 2007

It must come as quite a shock to you. We’re talking about a profound cultural shift for the betterment of mankind, People want this, Richard. They need the superhumans of the world to be responsible, properly trained, qualified…and ultimately held accountable. That’s what the initiative is all about. We’re trying to move out of the dark ages of masked vigilantes into a brighter future where tragedies like Stamford can’t ever happen again.

– Tony Stark to Richard Ryder, Nova #2.

World War Hulk began last week and we saw the jade-jawed giant arrive on Earth with a pretty big mad on. With less than twenty-four hours to evacuate Manhattan, Doctor Strange and his, er, estranged Avengers offer to help Iron Man clear the populace. Shellhead magnanimously offers amnesty for their help.

Welcome to the new status quo in the Marvel Universe. The dust continues to settle from the brawl that was Civil War and with all of Earth confronted by a new menace, now’s not a bad time to assess the new political landscape.

After the Mutant Registration Act, unveiled in Uncanny X-Men #181 and passed into law, required all mutants in America to be registered. Those not complying faced criminal charges. Once that was passed, a parallel super-hero or super-power act was an obvious follow up and came up during the Acts of Vengeance crossover. Fantastic Four #335 began the first serious examination of such an act. Reed Richards addressed a congressional subcommittee saying such an act was unnecessary. His odd argument that such a law wouldn’t be followed by the villains anyway struck an odd chord.

While American legislators dithered over it, the Superpowers Registration Act became Canadian law in Alpha Flight #120.

Years went by without much activity on either front with the Mutant law not being vigorously enforced and the super-human law a mere idea.

Then came the House of M.

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JOHN OSTRANDER: The Secret Death of Bees

News
May 10, 2007

Okay, I’m officially getting freaked out now.

It started with a small remark from the redoubtable Bill Moyers when he appeared on Bill Maher’s Real Time show on HBO. I started to do some research based on his remarks and it came to a head recently with an MSNBC report on their website. It’s a real life event called “Colony Collapse Syndrome.” What’s it about?

The sudden death of honeybees.

“And this affects me – how?” you might ask. “I don’t use honey. I’m strictly a Splenda man. (Or woman.)” The fact is, a lot of food crops need to be cross-pollinated to come to maturity and the principle way of doing it is with the honeybee. About one-third of the American diet depends on cross-pollination and the honeybees that do the job are dying out and nobody really knows why.

According to the MSNBC article, 80% of the cotton crop is pollinated by commercial honeybees. Same for 50% of the soybean crop. Use cotton or soybeans much? 60% of the alfalfa crop is pollinated the same way. Alfalfa hay is a staple for cows – low cost, good nutrition for the bovines. Drink milk? Having a Big Mac attack? Scarcity of an item increases its price and you can bet a jump in the price of alfalfa hay will be passed on to the consumer. Same for cotton or anything made with soybeans. How much do you feel like paying for your jeans? I haven’t even gotten into the fruit and nut cross-pollination done by bees – almonds, for example, are 100% dependent on bee pollination.

Cereal grains aren’t affected so we wouldn’t starve. We’d have to do without a number of items, though, or pay a heck of a lot more for them. Oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines, for example, are all 90% dependent on commercial honeybees for the cross-pollination. You could have your Cheerios in the morning but having milk to put on them or an OJ to go with it might be tougher to get or a lot more expensive to use.

As my Mary, a farmer’s daughter, also pointed out to me, alfalfa, soybean and clover crops (clover is also cross-pollinated) put nitrogen back into the soil. Very important in crop rotation. If you just plant corn all the time, you deplete the soil and – wham! – you’re headed for a dust bowl situation. There are indirect as well as direct effects from the death of honeybees.

What’s really weird is what’s happening with the hives. The onset is sudden. The beekeepers, after a few days, find that a hive suddenly is empty except for the queen and some very young workers. Bees don’t do that. They protect the hive at all costs. In the case of hives afflicted with CCD, the workers just disappeared.

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MATT RAUB: Spider-Man 3 Review

Reviews
May 3, 2007

So here we are, one day before the highest anticipated film of 2007, Spider-Man 3, gets released into a record 4,252 theaters. I, just like about a billion other fans, couldn’t wait to see this flick, mostly because this is the film where we get the infamous Venom as a villain, along with a laundry list of other storylines. But before I get too deep into that, lets break it down. Usually when reviewing comic book movies, I like to break the critique down into three separate sections: the Acting, the Story, and the FX.

Lets begin with my least favorite part of the entire film: the acting. Now I may be a bit jaded, but I’ve never really got into having Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. This is where doing a book or comic adaptation gets funky, because originally the character’s voice and overall demeanor is up to their interpretation. A perfect example of this is the [[[Harry Potter]]] film franchise. The casting of those films were almost spot-on with the fan’s interpretation of the characters, and they didn’t even have the visual aids that comic books have.

With that said, in my head Spidey was the nerdy, quiet kid before bitten by the radioactive/genetically enhanced spider, but then gains self-confidence while still keeping his puerile attitude towards life. This is how we get the wisecracking interpretation in modern books. But with Maguire’s performance, we are constantly treated to the somber, “woe is me” Spider-Man who, granted, still jumps, swings, and does whatever a spider can, but in between those periods is constantly in a state of teary-eyed misery. Even in the second film where he is convinced that being Spider-Man is a curse, and trashes the costume, he still looks like at any moment, he could burst into tears. Some could attribute this to Maguire’s incredible range, but if I wanted that, I’d go see Seabiscuit again.

Spider-Man is the comic relief of the New Avengers, and even in the Ultimate books, he may cry, but when he’s in the suit, he’s a regular swinging Henny Youngman. The same goes for this film, in the times that the mask isn’t on (which is way too much to begin with), his eyes are constantly filled with tears.

Moving on to our leading lady, Kirsten Dunst, I have a whole different problem. In the first film, I was starting to get into the idea of having a non-supermodel quality Mary Jane Watson and by the end of the second film, I was completely sold, though she looked like she hadn’t eaten since Jumanji. And just then, as if it was her master plan to get us all to love her, and then crush us, in a press junket for Spider-Man 2, Dunst was quoted in saying that her ideal plot for another sequel would be where our webbed hero dies in the first act, and the rest of the film is about Mary Jane coping in the modern world with an unborn Spider-Baby as a single mother. Some of you remember this quote as “The Day We Started to Hate Kirsten Dunst.” I don’t know what it is about female actors and preaching their ideas when the majority of the audience paying attention to them are people who could care less about them. We go to superhero movies to see [[[superheroes]]], not their girlfriends.

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ELAYNE RIGGS: Part of the solution

News
April 18, 2007

As I write this, the nation is still reeling from the deadliest shooting massacre in its history – if you don’t count wartime battles, and they never seem to. Once again, a disturbed young man decided that the best response to his problems lay in premeditated violence against total strangers. Once again, trusted and trained authorities appeared slow to act in protecting human life. Once again, we found ourselves yearning for a hero to make it all go away.

Comic book heroism is a double-edged sword, probably a fitting metaphor, given superhero comics’ fascination with weaponry. On the one hand you have a reflection of whatever the current national mood of the era happens to be. I was watching a history-of-Superman program on the Biography channel earlier this evening, wherein Mark Waid talked about how the character shifted from a rabble-rousing champion of the people at his inception to the "ultimate blue Boy Scout" symbol of authority after World War II. Superman, like other successful icons, was able to change with the times, allowing succeeding generations to project their desires onto him. And for some time, ever-escalating fictional violence as the appropriate (and often only) answer to frustrations has fueled the entertainment desires of Americans.

Comic books are, of course, incidental to this trend, which has encompassed virtually all forms of mass media, even more so as the news divisions — once sacrosanct and considered acceptable loss leaders to responsible corporations which made their money on other programming — morphed into 24/7 cable infotainment, hungry for the next fix of spectacularly gruesome visuals. Their mouths say "tut tut" to the carnage, but their wallets say "More please, sir!" And yet, critics of ultraviolent entertainment (and boy is that a Sisyphusean undertaking!) are always very quick to point fingers at "the comic book mentality" and wave around the latest issue of Punch ‘Em Up Man. Because, you know, it makes a good visual.

On the other hand, comics at their best can inspire and educate and lift us all up to our highest aspirational fantasies. To me, this attitude of being "part of the solution" rather than "part of the problem" has always been the essence of superhero fantasy — not beating up on badguys, but using one’s hidden reserves of power to triumph over adversity and bring hope to others, showing them by your deeds the way they too can become heroes.

Nowhere was this more keenly illustrated than after 11 September 2001, when the comics industry came out with a slew of amazing and poignant comics stories examining and trying to make sense the tragedy, in order to help raise money for victims’ families.

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Apollo and Annette? Starbuck and Li’l Archie?

Podcasts
April 7, 2007

Transformers sell out, Bendis and Bagley invade The Mighty Avengers, the awesome Bob Bolling (one of the all-time great writer/artists) returns to Li’l Archie, Galactica‘s Apollo shares even more television wisdom (complete with a season review), and the low-down on this year’s Free Comic Book Day!

But most important, you get a peek under Annette’s blanket – all on ComicMix Podcast #24, available right here, right now:

MICHAEL DAVIS: The Davis List

News
March 30, 2007

There seems to be a whole lot of people who get to tell us what they think we should see, what they think we should buy what is the best, worst, the must haves and the stay away froms. Most of these experts put out a list so that we can revel in their genius. How many lists are we subjected to? Let’s see, off the top of my head…

David Letterman’s Top Ten List, the only list I pay any attention to

The Top Ten Movie List

The Hollywood Power List

The richest people in the world list

Blackwell’s worst dress list

The Sexiest Man List (I can’t believe that I have not made that one)

Joan Rivers best / worst dress list

The New York Times Best Seller list

AFI greatest movies of all time list

Rolling Stones greatest albums ever list

These are just the ones I can think of while waiting at LAX for a flight to Chicago. There are a multitude of lists out there. Everybody has a list, every magazine, every TV news show, every critic, every commentator, every Tom, Dick and Harry has a list. Well why can’t we have a list? You, me everybody? What makes Rex Reed’s list better than yours or mine? With all due respect to Mr. Reed, I seem to remember he hated Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Need I remind everybody that that film is one of the greatest Sci-Fi films of all time. Well I think that it’s time we all have a list. Let’s start with mine. My list will not be a Top Ten list. Nope. I’m twice as cool, so mine will be a top 20!

Comics:

1. The greatest comic book ever: Avengers #66 (My first comic!)

2. The greatest superhero ever: Batman

3. The second greatest superhero ever: Captain Marvel (Shazam!)

4. The greatest super team: 60’s Teen Titans

5. The greatest superhero fight ever: Hulk vs. Thing

6. The second greatest superhero fight ever: Hulk vs. Sub-Mariner

7. The greatest team up ever: Spider-Man and Superman (the first one)

8. The greatest graphic novel ever: Watchmen

9. The second greatest graphic novel ever: The Killing Joke

10. The third greatest graphic novel ever: The Death Of Captain Marvel

11. The fourth greatest graphic novel ever: Marvels

12. The saddest event in comic books: The death of Gwen Stacy

13. The saddest event in the comics industry: The death of Jack Kirby

14. The greatest writer in comics: Denny O’ Neal

15. The greatest artist in comics: Jack Kirby (DUH!)

16. The greatest publisher in comics: Milestone

17. The second greatest publisher in comics: DC (love them or hate them, they do great books)

18. The smartest man in comics: Mike Richardson

19. The guy with the best job in comics: Paul Levitz

20. The sexiest man in comics: Michael Davis (finally!)

Movies:

1. The greatest movie ever (Tie): My Best Friend’s Wedding / Team America (long story)

2. The greatest movie superhero ever: Batman

3. The second greatest movie superhero ever: Superman

4. The greatest movie team: The Magnificent 7

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MARTHA THOMASES: More fun

News
March 21, 2007

In her book No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Kniting, Anne Macdonald describes the Puritan roots of our country and how getting together to knit, quilt or sew was one of the few ways colonial women could get together to socialize. The only way they could justify the pleasure they took in each other’s company was to do some “productive” work.

In other words, our culture hates pleasure.

This might seem to be a strange thing to say when everything from beer to detergent is being sold with sexy commercials. But, see, that’s the point. Pleasure is being used to sell. It’s not being celebrated for its own sake.

Which brings us to comics and the lack of respect they get in our modern world. Comics are fun. Denny O’Neil says that comics are one of the few media that engage both halves of the brain, providing a buzz unavailable from movies or books. Even if that didn’t happen, comics are uniquely joyous. Anything can happen in the pages of a comic. Dogs can talk. Pigs can fly. The universe can be compressed into a ball, or be the staging ground for an epic battle. The battle can be between Galactus and the Avengers, or talking dogs and flying pigs.

Comics don’t have to be silly to be a pleasure. I’ve had a fine time reading Frank Miller’s Sin City, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and Will Eisner’s A Contract with God, to name just a few, disparate titles. The pleasure comes from the books ability to get me to leave my own head and get into someone else’s, to try on another life and walk around.

Which brings us back to politics.

Back in the day (and by that, I mean the 1960s and 1970s), we thought that sex and drugs and rock’n’roll could change the world. We thought that if we showed how much fun there was in the counter-culture, no one would want to go to war.

We were right.

Comics were a major part of the counter-culture. Robert Crumb, Trina Robbins, Howard Cruse, S. Clay Wilson, Skip Williamson, Spain Rodriguez and many others blew away the straight world’s idea of what comics were about. They made comics about motorcycle demons, stoner cats, fabulous furry freak brothers, girl fights and lots of other stuff that wasn’t superheroes or expanded newspaper strips. They told silly stories that ridiculed the power structure and celebrated pleasure.

The war in Vietnam ended for a lot of reasons. Public opinion turned against it, and the troops came home. Comics helped.

There’s another war on now, and yet there are remarkably few comics that offer an alternative vision. We need them. We need more fun.

Tagged: Avengers

TV Cult Guide

Is Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson?

ROBERT GREENBERGER talks Civil War

JOHN OSTRANDER: The Secret Death of Bees

MATT RAUB: Spider-Man 3 Review

More Marvel video games

ELAYNE RIGGS: Part of the solution

Apollo and Annette? Starbuck and Li’l Archie?

MICHAEL DAVIS: The Davis List

MARTHA THOMASES: More fun

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