Tagged: ComicMix Six

ComicMix Six: Who You Want On Your Side When Zombies Attack

ComicMix Six: Who You Want On Your Side When Zombies Attack

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching and reading
enough stuff about zombies, it’s that you need a good bunch of guys with you
when the crap hits the fan. Guys who will last. Guys who know how to handle
themselves.

So in light of The Walking Dead marathon on AMC today leading up to the season finale, these are the guys I want with me when Hell is full up, and
the dead walk the earth.

  1. FLINT MARKO/SANDMAN
    Zombies love munching on flesh, but what if you put them up
    against a guy who’s made of sand? What the Hell are they gonna bite into? While
    sensitive to moisture, he can turn his body into glass. That’s gotta come in
    handy in close quarters. Flint is super strong and can take on crowds and send
    them reeling with a giant sledgehammer fist.

2. SOLID SNAKE
A veteran of many armed conflicts, this iconic video game
character has proven himself to be a top covert operations and infiltration
operator. He is a master with melee weapons, hand-to-hand combat, firearms, and
high explosives. Snake is one of the best guys to go to when you have to take
out a zombie quietly.

3. TED KACZYNSKI
Everyone’s favorite anarchist may not be the first guy you’d
want to get mail from, but he’s proven that he can live off the grid. When
electricity and running water are unavailable, knowing how to live and survive
become the same thing. He’s also pretty good at making dandy booby traps, so
that can come in handy with setting up a camp perimeter better than empty cans
on string.

(more…)

ComicMix Six: Best NYCC 2010 Announcements

ComicMix Six: Best NYCC 2010 Announcements

The ComicMix team was on the ground at New York Comic Con this past weekend – but we were having too good a time bumping elbows with the luminaries of the comics industry to report on every panel. But now that we’re back on the grid, here are the ComicMix Six best announcements to come out of the weekend.

Holding The Line At $2.99 – Easily the most-discussed announcement of the weekend were the Big Two each announcing their own initiatives for keeping their publishing line at a $2.99 cover price. DC is doing it by cutting story pages from 22 down to 20 and eliminating most co-features in their most popular titles, but reserving the $3.99 and up price points for “premium” titles like annuals and specials. For Marvel’s part, they’re not going as far, with only a commitment that all new titles launched in January will be $2.99 – but they say that they can be flexible on that price because of the success of their digital comics program. Which is a nice segue to…

Dark Horse, DC Destined for Digital – Dark Horse announced that rather than partner with Graphic.ly or other digital comics providers to serve as distributor, as the other major publishing houses have, they’ve put together a “proprietary bookshelf app” for web browsers and Apple iOS devices. The benefit of rolling their own store? No censorship and a $1.49 price point for single issues. Additionally, while specifics are hard to come by, Dark Horse says that they’ll be providing brick-and-mortar comic book stores with “exclusive digital content.” Meanwhile, DC reaffirmed their commitment to making digital copies of comics from their archive available and announced expanded support for day-and-date digital releases. DC also announced a Google Android app for their comics will be made available in the near future. 

(more…)

ComicMix Six: Weird Iron Man Armor Upgrades

ComicMix Six: Weird Iron Man Armor Upgrades

Tony Stark isn’t just a cool exec with a heart of steel. He’s also the technological hero called Iron Man. And with Iron Man 2 coming out this Friday, we’re sure to see new suits of armor with cool improvements. Over the years, Tony has constantly redesigned and updated his armor. There’s been stealth armor, undersea armor, space armor, briefcase armor, armor that has horned face plates, armor with extended shoulder pads, etc., etc.

But some changes are not all they’re cracked up to be and perhaps should’ve been left on the drawing board. So let’s take a look at some of the silliest upgrades Iron Man has made to his famous armor.

(more…)

ComicMix Six – Missing Golden Agers!

ComicMix Six – Missing Golden Agers!

The Golden Age of Comics usually refers to the first period of massive super-hero output, roughly 1938 to around 1950, give or take. Super-heroes lost their following, and desperate publishers rushed to replace capes with westerns, romance, and horror – or all three, if they could figure out how to do it. Sometimes, decisions were made hastily and work was stopped mid-production, more often they printed off their inventory and moved on… sometimes to oblivion.

But there was an interesting phenomenon in which the “lead” super-heroes featured in or above the logo failed to appear on their very final covers. Here’s the ComicMix Six top golden age missing heroes covers. If we missed yours, please write in and let us know!

Number One: The Marvel Family

This is the most blatant example of the inadvertent trend. The Marvel Family – Captain, Mary and Junior (who were more like siblings than The Three Bears) are not only missing, but there’s white silhouettes where they were supposed to be! Again, this was the last issue, so they never reappeared on the cover of that series. And before long, The Marvel Family would fade to limbo due to poor sales and the weight of an unending lawsuit from DC Comics. An unfortunate ending to a proud family.

Number Two: Green Lantern

Okay, this really sucks. Try and tind Green Lantern on this cover, the last of his solo-series of the 1940s. You can’t, except for in the logo, which doesn’t count. He’s not on the cover. But his dog is. Just…his…dog. No wonder Alan Scott didn’t walk the dog over to the Justice Society. But if you think that sucks, here’s comes the real embarrassment.

(more…)

ComicMix Six: Vampires That Don’t Suck (Human Blood)

ComicMix Six: Vampires That Don’t Suck (Human Blood)

Vampires are everywhere these days. But long before we had Team Edward and the litany of prissy emo vampires that sparkle in the G-D sun… we had real vampires. They were in popular books, TV Shows, comic books, movies made from popular books, adaptations of comic books turned into movies, and even a comic book series adapted from a popular TV show based on characters from a movie! You get the drift. And throughout all of these various sucktastic productions, the tent poles of vampirism always held true (You getting this, Eddy?). Vampires are generally more pale than the Irish, and hate the sun more then old Jews. And furthermore, they have a thirst for blood worse than the republicans. But we kid, Edward. It seems some popular Vampires (like yourself) don’t stick to traditions. Some don’t even suck blood to survive! Don’t believe us? We didn’t either, until we came up with this list:

Count Duckula – Spinning off from the popular Danger Mouse series created in the U.K., came a vampire with who’d rather toast with a tomato than nibble on a neck. In the series, Igor whilst incanting the resurrection spell of his deceased master, was accidentaly provided ketchup in place of the ceremonial blood. Thus Count Duckula was born! Far more concerned with fame, fortune, and feasting on fennel, fava beans and fresh fiddlehead ferns, Count Duckula was known more for his fondness of broccoli sandwiches than being a creature of the night. And hey, even if he decided to switch menus? Fat chance! The poor duck didn’t even have fangs.

Angel & Spike – Joss Whedon took his video store lump of coal, and coaxed it into a diamond of a TV series. He did so first by fleshing out Buffy to be more than just “Pert. Wholesome. Way Lethal”. Better than that though, he introduced a pair of tragic vamps. Smokey-eyed, bleach-blond Spike and always-afflicted sorrow-souled Angel were both introduced into the Buffy show but eventually outgrew their roles there and turned into breakout anti-heros with a new show, and multiple comics. And what of their diet de-jour? Well, Spike (in the fourth season of the series) was implanted with a chip rendering his bloody biting habit incapacitated. And Angel? Well, cursed with a soul, he’s the vampire forced to pay the world back for the sins he committed earlier in life. Sure both these babe-magnets had their anti-hero appeal, but in the end, Angel ended up solving mysteries with some chick with a thing for bones, and Spike was revealed to be a rather poor version of Brainiac.

Blade – We could get into the comic backstory here…  how the brainchild of Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan in the early 70’s was Eric Brooks. Brooks’ mother was ravaged by vampire Deacon Frost during his birth, thus granting him a swatch of vampiric powers. Of course, this rambles on, as most comic backstories do… But allow us to switch to the recent movie-marvel-verse version we’re all a bit more familiar with. Similar to his comic counterpart, Blade’s mother was attacked by a vampire prior to his birth, and due to it, was imbued with all the vampires powers, and none of their weaknesses; Save for the worst one around, the lust for human blood. But Wesley Snipe’s Blade is a tragic hero, choosing to exist off a concocted “formula” made by his mentor (Stick, aka the dude who opened for Johnny Cash back in the day…) rather than suck the blood from humans. The pros? Well, Blade looks super cool in his trench-coat as he lays waste to vampires ranging from the prissy Steven Dorff to the steroidal Triple H, all while having that “Gritty Hero with the Heart of Gold™” look abouts him. The cons? Well, three decent movies down, and Blade hasn’t really found his audience in the funny books just yet. Sucks, don’t it?

(more…)

Comicmix Six: Lovelorn Losers and Loners

Comicmix Six: Lovelorn Losers and Loners


Valentine’s Day can be a lovely little holiday, can’t it? You and your sweetie exchange little trinkets of love… romantic candle lit dinners… kanoodling on the futon while you watch DVR’ed episodes of Doctor Who… you know, all that gushy stuff. But we know for some out there, the day is just another in a long line of ‘Hallmark Holidays’ meant to sap money out of fools in love. And if you don’t have a Valentine (your Mother only counts if you’re still in grade school…) well, Comicmix wants you to know you’re not alone. Here’s a few folks who think “One is the lonliest”, but deal with it anyways:

1.Ultimate Hulk – The Grey/Green (depends on the “Season” we suppose) Goliath may have have the hots for Betty… But then he started eating people, which assume was a big turn off for her. And sure, he may have a rockin’ set of abs, and can tear a tank up like tissue paper… But he’s also got serious anger management issues. He also once scaled a building yelling for Freddie Prince Jr.’s head on a platter, whilst naked. Not what we’d call a Don Juan in the least.*

2. Booster Gold – We know what you’re thinking… Cool futuristic suit. Flight. A shiny gold flying iPad 4.0 for a best friend… What’s there not to like? He’s got to be batting off the ladies with a bat! But, sadly, the DCU’s newest ‘Time Master’ is also it’s newest loner. Having to help defend the DCU’s time stream can really put a damper on a dude’s love life. And when he’s not getting pants by the Joker on a recursive loop, Booster’s biggest mission seems to be finding new ways to piss off Rip Hunter, not pitching woo to Fire.

3. Smeágol / Gollum – Middle Earth has it’s fair share of uggos, crazies, and weird dudes… But no one takes the “loner” monicker to new depths like this former Stoor-Hobbit. And hey, we admit that we sometimes have an odd ‘fondness’ for an inanimate object (we’re looking at you, fantastic replica Alan Scott Power Battery with replica ring…), but Gollum takes it to a whole new creepy level. Sorry buddy, when you’d rather leap into an active volcano to be with your ‘Valentine’ than try a round of Speed Dating at the Prancing Pony… you’re taking the term ‘dedicated bachelor’ to a new low.

(more…)

ComicMix Quick Picks (in Six) for December 17, 2009

ComicMix Quick Picks (in Six) for December 17, 2009

Six more windows to close… at this rate, I’ll be down to only two hundred open windows by the end of the year. Sigh…

ComicMix Quick Picks (in Six) for December 16, 2009

ComicMix Quick Picks (in Six) for December 16, 2009

Six quickies:

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

ComicMix Six: Best Geek-Themed Games for the Holidays

ComicMix Six: Best Geek-Themed Games for the Holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, the question becomes: what do you get for the comic-loving gamer in your household?  Well, here are some of the best releases from this year to satiate their comic-gaming lust and keep you looking like the know-it-all Santa.  From purely comic-related titles to one of the year’s best surprises for film-fans, this is the collection to make your gamer happy.

1: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (DS, PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii)

Playing the previous title in this series isn’t necessary, as the events that unfold herein are actually the video game adaptation of Marvel’s ‘Civil War” event from a few years ago.  As players traverse the games environments, you’re tasked with choosing Pro- or Anti-Registration stance as you recruit new team members for your cause.  Gameplay is multiplayer-centric, as 4 players can team up together to take on all foes in this combat rich title.  As players pair up different members of their teams, stat bonuses reward the player for pre-existing groups (like having all the members of the Fantastic Four as a team, for example).  The control is refined from the previous title, so those who ARE familiar with the series will notice tighter control of their teams, as well ease in combining powers, one of the games newer features.  Here, timed special attacks can be joined with a selected partner for a larger attack, and bigger damage results.  While the ending won’t match the comic’s storyline, players will certainly enjoy all the Marvel references and characters throughout the title, and Xbox 360 and PS3 owners actually can download MORE characters to increase their player rosters.

(more…)