Happy Tenth Anniversary, Adventureblog

I don't usually celebrate blogiversaries, but ten years feels momentous enough to mention. Ten years ago today, I thought that I needed a better web presence than the crappy site I'd made for myself and Blogger seemed cheap and easy, so I started this thing. I wasn't sure what I was going to call it (and went through a couple of names before settling on this one) and I wasn't sure how it would be any different from my LiveJournal, which was a thing people used to do. Ten years later, I'm still experimenting and tweaking as I go, but I'm thankful to have a corner of the Internet that's all mine and that people seem to appreciate. Thanks to everyone for reading!

In celebration, here are posters for ten movies that were the tenth in their series. Please enjoy and make sure to grab some cake before you leave.























Pirate cake by Jen Benson at Craftsy.

The Sword of Charlton, Part 1: Herc and Thane [Guest Post]

By GW Thomas

When you say "sword-and-sorcery comics" you usually think of Roy Thomas and Barry Smith in Conan the Barbarian, back in October 1970. DC tested the waters in 1969 with "Nightmaster" in DC Showcase #82-84, then in 1971 there was a guest spot for Fafhrd and Grey Mouser in Wonder Woman #202 (August 1972), but DC didn't put them in a regular title until March 1973 with Sword of Sorcery. You would think Charlton - Marvel and DC's poor cousin - would be slow to take on the new fad of sword-and-sorcery comics, but in fact this was not the case.

Sword-and-sorcery titles exploded after Conan the Barbarian, but they had a good five-year initiation before the Cimmerian stomped the Halls of Marvel. The action was in the horror anthologies and undergrounds: Unearthly Spectaculars, Creepy, Eerie, Witzend, The Witching Hour, Web of Horror, Vampirella, House of Mystery, Chamber of Darkness, and on. Artists who became famous (or were already famous) for other kinds of comics experimented with sword-and-sorcery: Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, Gray Morrow, Reed Crandall, Jeff Jones, Tom Sutton, Alex Nino, and Berni Wrightson. The most prolific writer before Roy Thomas was Archie Goodwin. The anthologies were willing to take a chance on a sword-and-sorcery story as long as it had some horrific element. And why not? It was just one story.

The only exception was a Charlton title: Adventures of the Man-God Hercules (October 1967-December 1968), predating Conan by three years. The comic ran for thirteen issues, all written by Joe Gill and drawn by Sam Glanzman. The title sticks out because during this time at Charlton the majority of their comics were either horror anthologies like The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves or media-based comics like The Flintstones or Bullwinkle and Rocky. In 1967 there were no new Hercules films. From 1963 to 1965 there had been a spate of them starring Gordon Scott and others. On TV, the cartoon The Mighty Hercules had finished its run in 1966. For Charlton to do a new non-media-driven Hercules title, when the material seemed worn out, is unusual.

Until you consider sword-and-sorcery. Lancer books had been selling piles of Conan paperbacks starting in 1966. Someone at Charlton had noticed and that person was Denny O'Neil (scripting under the pseudonym Sergius O'Shaugnessy). In the letter columns the editors clearly identify the comic as sword-and-sorcery. A fifteen year-old Klaus Janson, who would become famous as Frank Miller's inker on Wolverine, asked why Charlton did not adapt Robert E Howard's Conan? The answer: too expensive. The public domain character of Hercules was a much cheaper alternative. O'Neil would leave Charlton for DC, giving him the chance to create Nightmaster for DC and write Sword of Sorcery, those DC titles mentioned above. Without the opportunity to explore the genre at Charlton, Denny O'Neil and DC might never have looked at sword-and-sorcery comics.

The thirteen issues of Hercules were based on the Twelve Labors of Hercules from mythology. Upon his mother's death, Hercules asks his father, the god Zeus, if he can become one of the gods. To do this he must complete twelve impossible tasks (erroneously nine in the first issue but corrected in the second). As Hercules attempts a different task each issue, Zeus' wife, the goddess Hera, tries to thwart him, since Hercules is the son of one of Zeus' lovers, Alcmene. These mighty challenges include killing the Nemean Lion, the three giants Gerion, returning Queen Alcestis from the dead and fighting Cerberus, entering another dimension and defeating the harpies for golden apples, stealing the Amazon queen's girdle, fighting the minotaur and the giant bull of Minos, the giant boar of Erymanthus, the flesh-eating horses of Diomedes, and the nine-headed hydra. Hercules ran out of labors shortly before the series ended. The feel of the series is quite similar to the films of Ray Harryhausen such as Jason and the Argonauts from 1963, with its heavenly game-players watching over the human pawns.

In terms of artwork, Sam Glanzman begins with a fairly tight style, then loosened up after the first two issues. Some letter writers complimented his art as being similar to Joe Kubert's work. By issue five Glanzman's distinctive look was in place, with Hercules' eyes being almond-shaped. There was discussion about the "slanted" eyes, but Glanzman never changed this, keeping his style the same to the end. The early issues feel stiff and dull. Though the later style is perhaps more cartoony, the lines suggests more action and flow.

It is doubtful Hercules had much influence on Conan the Barbarian as Roy Thomas had Robert E Howard's original stories to work from, but this can't be said for later comics (especially DC titles) like Michael Urslan's Beowulf: Dragonslayer and Gerry Conway's post-apocalyptic version of Hercules Unbound. The mythological hero-adventurer is part-and-parcel of sword-and-sorcery and these writers used it as well. What Adventures of the Man-God Hercules did do was get the ball rolling, allowing Marvel to establish their Conan franchise.

The back-up to Hercules was "Thane of Bagarth" (December 1967-Sept 1969) written by Steven Skeates and drawn by Jim Aparo and later San Ho Kim. This strip was set in the days after Beowulf. Hrothelac has his title of Thane of Bagarth taken from him by deceit. His enemies, including his brother, frame him for collaborating with the Swedes. In exile, he is captured by Vikings and made a slave. His ship sinks off the English coast and Hrothalec is imprisoned. He escapes with the help of the alchemist Mordwain. The series takes a weird turn at this point with time travelers coming to the past. What had been a complex tale of intrigue and power-playing shifts into science fiction. The series was partially reprinted in 1985 using fantasy-related strips from their vaults as back-ups, including Steve Ditko's "The Hammer of Thor" from Out of this World #11 (January 1959) and "Robin Hood Confounds a Rival" from Robin Hood and His Merry Men #32 (May 1957). Skeates left Charlton for Warren in 1971 where he wrote sword-and-sorcery in "The Dragon-Prow" (Creepy #39, May 1971) and "Musical Chairs" (Eerie #43, November 1972), drawn by Charlton pal, Tom Sutton.

After thirteen issues, Charlton dropped their one sword-and-sorcery title, but they weren't done with heroic fantasy just yet...

GW Thomas has appeared in over 400 different books, magazines and ezines including The Writer, Writer's Digest, Black October Magazine and Contact. His website is gwthomas.org. He is editor of Dark Worlds magazine.

34 Movies I Missed Seeing from 2014

It's time again to run through and rank all the movies from last year that I saw. I'll be doing that over the next couple of weeks, but first: here's the traditional post of movies that I wanted to see from last year, but haven't yet. That's partly to explain why some movies didn't make it into the rankings, but it's also to build a watch list for myself.

This year, work was crazy during the fall and leading up to the holidays, so I didn't get out to the theater as much as I usually do. The Missed List typically has around 20-30 movies on it, but this time there are 34 that I need to catch up on in 2015. I still saw more than I missed though, so I'm happy about that. We'll start on those in the next day or two.

For now, here's the Missed List, more or less in the order that the movies were released:

1. The Wind Rises



Hayao Miyazaki's last film. I'm a fan of Miyazaki and have seen all his feature films since Castle in the Sky, but I'm not a superfan and The Wind Rises is different enough from his fantastical stuff that I didn't rush to see it. Going to correct that soon though.

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel



I experience mixed results from Wes Anderson, but I very much enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom and what I hear about Grand Budapest Hotel makes me think it's even more in my wheelhouse from its cast and setting to its themes and the way it's shot. I love hotels and stories set in them, but there's also that whole Upstairs Downstairs/Downton Abbey angle of telling stories of both the servants and the served.

3. Joe



I would love to like Nicolas Cage in a movie again and if I can't get National Treasure 3, this seems like the way to do it.

4. Locke



A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have been the least bit interested in a movie that's set entirely in a car with a dude on the phone. But I do dig Tom Hardy and I'm curious about the mystery of where he's driving to.

5. Chef



This is mostly about the cast and Favreau as a director, but I also love some nicely shot food porn.

Wolverine and Hercules hate cephalopods

[Marvel Database]

The Marvel 52, Part Four: Marvel Knights

I've never been especially fond of the name "Marvel Knights," but I don't hate it either and since Marvel's used it a couple of times to identify its street-level, edgier characters, it's recognizable. So I'll use it too.

22. Dakota North by Ed Brubaker and Phil Noto



I don't know much about Dakota North. I don't think I've ever read one of her adventures, but she's a private eye working in the Marvel U and that could be a lot of fun. Maybe it's similar to Alias - I've never read it either - but with Brubaker writing it, it could be a fun, adventurous, Marvel version of something like Gotham Central. I picked Phil Noto for the art because he knows how to give female characters cool attitude without making them obnoxious.

21. Kraven the Hunter by Gail Simone and Marian Churchland

I admit that I picked Gail Simone for this because of the wonders she worked on Catman and because Kraven's a similar character. But visually, Kraven's much cooler and I'd love to see her do something comparable with him; give him some kind of moral center instead of just being whackadoo. Marian Churchland's soft, elegant work would give the series a pastoral look that would reinforce the idea that Kraven's seeking peace, even when he's involved in violence.

20. Hercules by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puvilland



There are a few reasons I'm not reading the current Herc series; none of them having anything directly to do with the creators involved. Indirectly though, I wouldn't be able to pass up a Hercules series drawn by the wife-and-husband team (I think they're married; doesn't matter) of LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland (Prince of Persia, Solomon's Thieves). They've got a strong, mythic quality to their work that's totally unique and exciting.

As for why Hercules is in this category: it's a tonal thing. He was the original street-level hero. In Greek mythology - a world filled with iconic, superpowered beings - Hercules was the grounded one whom people could relate to. That feeling is important to who he is and last time I checked in, Pak and Lente were already doing a great job of presenting him that way.

19. Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu by Phil Hester and Mark Smylie

I love Phil Hester's writing because there's always a layer of something deeper going on underneath the action. That's crucial to Master of Kung Fu, a series that in the '70s was filled with as much thought and philosophy as martial arts and espionage. Mark Smylie (Artesia) would complement that balance beautifully. He can paint the most brutally violent battle scene in the most exquisitely lush and contemplative way.

18. The Falcon by Greg Rucka and Steve Rude

The Falcon is one of those characters I wish I knew more about and would totally jump on if some exciting creators told a story about him. He's got a great look and I've loved him in Captain America and on Super Hero Squad, but I'd love even more to get him away from the other superheroes and see what makes him tick. I think Rucka and Rude are the guys to do that.

17. The Sub-Mariner by Ed Brubaker and David Petersen



Some of you have already pointed out that Namor would fit in well in other categories and you're right. He's a versatile character. I've put him in Marvel Knights in great part because of his attitude. I like Namor a lot, but he's a nasty dude with some serious problems he needs to get figured out. I'd certainly want this to have some great, undersea adventure to it, but I'd love for the tone to be similar to what Brubaker did with Captain America. It's exciting and fun, but it's grounded in real emotion as Cap continues to struggle - even after all these years - with being a man out of his own time. Namor's dealing with even more than that.

I picked David Petersen because he's got a realistic style and could draw the hell out of some undersea life.

16. The Panther by Mark Waid and Amy Reeder

One of the things I love most about Waid is that he knows how to dig into a character and find the approach that best suits that character's strengths without having to go off in a radical, new direction. Recently, Black Panther has changed gender, painted himself like the US flag, and borrowed Daredevil's tag line, so it's pretty clear that he's lost his way and needs someone to center him again. That's why Waid. Meanwhile, Amy Reeder (Madame Xanadu) has a sleek, romantic style that could be really cool for a series about a jungle king who dresses like a cat.

You've noticed that I dropped the "Black" from the title. I don't think it needs it, but I could be persuaded differently if it helps identify him as a black character. Unlike Falcon, when he's in costume you can't tell just by looking at him.

15. She-Hulk by Peter David and Cameron Stewart



Peter David's an underrated writer these days and his time on She-Hulk was done too soon. He inherited the character at a time when she was just coming off the tragic events of Civil War and World War Hulk and not only did he deal with that, he made her dealing with it an integral part of the story he was telling. He was also vocal though about wanting to eventually move past that to get back to the light-hearted She-Hulk he really wanted to write. The series was cancelled though and he never got the chance. I wanted to read those stories, so I'd bring him back. Artwise, I've been a big fan of Cameron Stewart since I discovered The Apocalipstix and would love to see him draw this.

14. Daredevil and Elektra by Mark Waid and Hub

Like Wolverine, Daredevil's another character I don't have a lot of affection for, but it wouldn't really be Marvel without a series that featured him. I haven't read Mark Waid and Marcos Martin's current run at Daredevil, but I'm not surprised to hear that it's very good. In order to make this interesting for me, I'd keep Waid on it, but turn it into another two-character team-up book by having Elektra co-star. Not that I'm a big Elektra fan either, but the two of them together may be more interesting than either of them separately.

The final push though would come from having Hub (Okko) on art. As great as Martin is, I can't not buy a book by Hub. He's also really excellent at depicting a fantastic version of Southeast Asia that could come in...er, Hand-y (sorry) when doing a book about a couple of ninjas.

13. The Champions by Kurt Busiek and Becky Cloonan



The founding line-up for this short-lived team was Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel, and Iceman. The Russian superhero Darkstar joined later. I didn't read this as a kid, but discovered it later thanks to my fondness for Black Widow. It's pretty cool that she was leading this team in the '70s. That's not as unique an idea now as it was then, but the line-up of characters is still unexpected and weird, especially having Ghost Rider on board.

Angel and Iceman aren't quite as interesting now as they were when the team debuted either. They were fresh out of the X-Men after the All-New All-Different team sort of pushed them out and they had something to prove. They were looking for a new home and since they were going through it together, they were able to talk about it and compare their new team to their old one. I don't know if I'd use the same two characters today, but maybe someone comparable. Characters who are immediately identifiable as X-Men, but could reasonably feel pushed out of that group for some reason. It sort of needs to be former X-Men because while that's not the most familial group of superheroes Marvel has (that would be the Fantastic Four), it's a big enough family that there are by necessity fringe members. Gambit and Psylocke might be good choices. Maybe Jubilee? Someone who's been central to the team in the past, but isn't anymore. It could be interesting watching them to try to adapt to life outside an X-group.

Anyway, Busiek is a writer who loves to try new things and would be perfect for this. Becky Cloonan has a gorgeous, gritty style that would work well for this street-level team as well.

On Monday, we'll wrap up with the last 12 titles: Marvel Heroes.

New Graphic Novel Day

I'm usually not very good with any kind of feature that has to be out on a regular schedule, but I've been wanting to try posting the promising new graphic novels that are coming out each week. This is based on Diamond Distribution's weekly list, so the caveat will be that these are books going into comics specialty shops on Wednesday. I'm not sure what kind of schedule mainstream bookstore distributors follow.

This week there are six that caught my attention:

Criminal Macabre: Cell Block 666 - The further adventures of Cal McDonald, one of my favorite paranormal investigators.

Dark Reign: Young Avengers - I like the teenage-girl version of Hawkeye. Not sure if she figures heavily into this or not, so I'll need to flip through it before I buy.

Incredible Hercules: Dark Reign - I've dearly missed Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente's awesomeness on this series since I stopped buying single issues.

Marvel Masterworks: Uncanny X-Men, Volume 3 - A great way to move one of the greatest runs of any comic ever from my storage boxes to my bookshelf.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

Usually I try to limit myself to one new book a week (with the rest going on my Wish List that I'm steadily working through), but I can't make a decision this week. Gonna have to get two:

Agenst of Atlas: Dark Reign



There are only two comics series that I still buy in single-issue form. I don't read them, but I buy them to show my support because they epitomize everything that's awesome about comics and I want more like them. Agents of Atlas is one of those (not that it did any good since Marvel cancelled it anyway), so it'll be nice to finally read the stories.

Atomic Robo, Volume 3: Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time



This, coincidentally, is the other one.

Awesome List: Runaways movie, Moon Nazis, Sea Freak, Steranko, Fleming movie, and the coolest Hulk toy ever

Runaways: The Movie



I quit reading Runaways when Brian K. Vaughan quit writing it. News of a Runaways movie makes me realize how much I miss those characters. Especially Molly (pictured above).

Night at the Museum 2

I'm not quite as thrilled about a possible sequel to Night at the Museum as I am a Runaways movie, but the first one didn't suck and I'm all for any movie with the potential for more dinosaurs chasing security guards down hallowed halls.

Iron Sky



"In 1945 the Nazis fled to the moon. In 2018 they are coming back." I want this on DVD right now.

Manhunter interview

Like all lovers of excellent superhero comics, I'm way looking forward to the return from hiatus of DC's Manhunter. Comic Book Resources has a talk with series writer Marc Andreyko that's got me even more pumped up.

Andreyko said he has the next six to eight arcs for "Manhunter" in various stages of planning but his goal is to hit the century mark with the title. "My dream is to get to #100," he said. "So please, buy this book."

Sea Freak



If that panel doesn't make you want to check out Sea Freak, nothing will. (Thanks, JK!)

Steranko's Radical covers

Comic Book Resources has another great conversation up, this time with the Awesome Jim Steranko on his cover (and possible, future interior) work for Radical Comics.

...we felt the traditional action approach would be a cliche. The Radical version is different from all other comics' versions and I felt my cover should underscore that quality. So, instead of casting it in spine-cracking action, I did the opposite: I visualized a silently inert, fearsomely intense Hercules, a Hercules just before the storm, a moment crackling with tension!

Hulk (and friends) Mighty Muggs



These Marvel Mighty Muggs are all great, but look at that Hulk one. Mike Want!

Scrubs creator dishes on NBC

I just watched the NBC Scrubs "finale" the other night. As fun as it was, what a crappy way to end an even crappier relationship between the show and the network that's screwed it over for the last seven years. Here's to an excellent final season on ABC.

...when we first did the show, it was a drama with elements of comedy and lots of stupid sound effects. But some of the strongest episodes in the second and third year had character comedy. You can still do things like kill Brendan Fraser and have the lady that loved musical theater die and then sing a song at the end. This became a very Simpsons-esque show with incredibly broad, unrealistic moments and fantasies that were both in reality and not in reality. When you've been writing this show for seven years, it's so easy to get into these patterns of writing the same jokes over and over: J.D. loves Turk, J.D. wants Dr. Cox's approval, Elliot's whiny and neurotic. But this year the stuff is really f--king good. I think our old stand-by fans are really going to dig these shows.

Fleming: The Movie



Leonardo DiCaprio's bought the rights to make a fictionalized biopic (à la Shakespeare in Love or Finding Neverland) about Ian Fleming, presumably with lots of extra spy stuff thrown in.

Elemental

Rufus Sewell's new show has a new name. Cannot wait for this one.

The Awesome List: Hercules, Wild West King Arthur, pirates, Picoult's Wonder Woman, more Bourne, Hulk toys, and more

Hercules and King Arthur of the Wild West



There's a new comics publisher in town called Radical Publishing. Their first two books are a dark, 300-esque vision of Hercules and a Western retelling of the King Arthur legend called Caliber. The art for both looks great and they're offering the first issue of each for only a buck. Definitely gonna have to try these out.

Pieces of Eight

Komikwerks has a new webcomic about pirates.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Technophobiac Sci-Fi has a review of Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D starring Brendan Fraser.

Fast Ships, Black Sails

Night Shade books has a pirate anthology coming out later this year. Contributors include Michael Moorcock and Elizabeth Bear.

Defending Jodi Picoult



I don't know if it's the desire to give a best-selling novelist the benefit of the doubt or what, but it's in vogue lately in blogland to excuse Jodi Picoult for writing a lousy run on Wonder Woman. I'm honestly not trying to pick on Picoult here, because for all I know she's a very talented writer. She just wasn't the right one for Wonder Woman. And it's not because DC editorial tied her hands.

And I'm not trying to pick on Heidi Meeley either. She's the one who got me thinking about this again, but she's also just the latest to excuse Picoult's not understanding the character and put the blame on Amazons Attack. But a good couple of issues before she started having to work in the Amazons Attack story, Picoult was portraying Wonder Woman as a self-doubting, fish-out-of-water character. Yes, forcing a lame crossover idea on Picoult only made it worse, but let's not pretend that she would've been great for the series if only she'd been left to her own devices.

Fourth Bourne

Universal's contemplating another Bourne sequel.

Marvel Adventures: Super-Heroes

Marvel's Marvel Adventures line for kids are some of my favorite comics right now. They're not so stuck in trying to be all "epic" and "relevant," but are focusing more on just being big, fun, and adventurous. So, news of a new MA title showcasing "characters that don’t have their own book, or team-ups of characters that do" is welcome news indeed.

Hulk toys

Remember that Comics Reporter post I liked so much? Here are some other, just-as-questionable, Hulk toys coming out at the same time.

The Awesome List: Cool comics

Marvel and DC for April

Marvel and DC have both released information about their April comics. Here's the stuff I found interesting:

Amazing Spider-Man #555



I'm not a Spider-Man fan and I can take or leave Wolverine, but dang those guys they're fighting look cool.

Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Clash



Looks like a continuation of the current "Incredible Herc" storyline currently in The Incredible Hulk comic, but even if it wasn't I'd be into it. Looks like a glorious smash party.

Mighty Avengers #12



I really don't care much about the Secret Invasion of Skrulls, but I do care about "WHERE THE HELL HAS NICK FURY BEEN??"

Secret Invasion #1



That said, I'll give this a flip through and see if it's interesting.

Detective Comics #843



You can't tell it from the cover, but this issue features Zatanna and that's always a draw. Especially Paul Dini-written Zatanna.

Tangent: Superman's Reign #2



I've never been a Green Lantern fan, but I love the design of the Tangent version. I'm not afraid to admit that it's the big ass lantern-on-a-stick. I'm tempted to give this issue a try even though it's part of a storyline/event that I care absolutely nothing about.

New Guardians of the Galaxy

I've really enjoyed Marvel's Annihilation: Conquest mini-series, so I'm glad they're going to keep going with the same characters when it's done. I mean, any comic with a talking space-raccoon is a good comic.

But you know how you could make that comic better? Call it Guardians of the Galaxy and put an alien with a giant fin on his head in it. We're halfway there; I just need to know where the petition I need to sign is to include Yondu.



(I realize that not even Rocket Raccoon is a done deal for the series, but a man has to dream.)

Zenescope? Yes, Zenescope.

I haven't been a big fan of Zenescope's comics so far, but they've got some upcoming projects that sound really cool. One is Dan Wickline's ongoing Sinbad series.



The other is Ken Haeser and Buz Hasson's The Living Corpse. It's not as natural a draw for me as Dan or Sinbad comics in general, but the preview makes it look like fun.



Other comics I'm looking forward to

I forgot to mention it here at the time, but my Blog@ post last week was the Top 10 independent adventure comics I'm looking forward to this year.