Have a meaningful Memorial Day

If you live in the US, I hope you find time to eat some bratwurst and remember our fallen soldiers. Maybe not in that order.

The Marvel 52, Part One: Marvel Pulp

I've kept pretty quiet about DC's whole New 52 deal up to now. For better or worse, I don't form opinions quickly, so I gave DC some time to get all their announcements out and respond to the first couple of waves of concerns. I will say that my initial reaction was positive though. I haven't followed DC comics for a couple of years now, so it doesn't affect me personally that they're cancelling everything and starting over. If anything, some of their new series sound really interesting. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang on Wonder Woman, for instance. Barbara Gordon as Batgirl again, as another example.

My main criticism is that DC seems to be hoping to eat its cake and have it too in regards to balancing current fans with potential, new readers. The New 52's been promoted as an "all-in" approach to reinvigorating the line, while at the same time refusing to call itself a reboot and insisting that fan-favorite stories (an extremely loosely defined category) still count. That's not very "all-in" at all and I suspect that their wishy-washiness will cost them some of those potential, new readers they're wanting.

I don't expect that they'll lose many readers though. As much complaining as fans have been doing, they're still fans. They've stuck with DC through Countdown to Final Crisis; I expect that they'll stick around through this. And it's not like Marvel's got anything especially exciting going on to compete. Yeah, yeah, Marvel still routinely beats DC in sales; all I'm saying is that I don't expect current DC readers to suddenly start switching to Marvel as a result of the "non"-reboot. Whatever you think of DCnU, it's certainly interesting. Marvel, on the other hand, continues to publish the same kind of crossover stuff they've been doing for the last five years. I'm not saying that none of it's good, 'cause some of it really is, but seriously...their section of Previews the last couple of months hasn't been nearly as exciting and expectant as DC's.

I wish I'd thought of this myself, but it was Comics Should Be Good (Robot 6's sister blog at CBR) that came up with the idea of developing your own Marvel 52. I like DC's idea of creating smaller imprints within the DCU (JLA, Batman, Superman, Dark, Edge, etc.). so I used that for my Marvel list too. Not that DC came up with it. Marvel's done the same thing before with Marvel Knights, Tsunami, Marvel MAX, and whatnot. I even used some of those in my list.

Because this could get long, I'm going to divide this up into a series of five posts going into September when DC launches their stuff. That'll give me some room to talk about why I picked the concepts I did as well as the creators I'd love to see work on them. We'll start with a category I call...

Marvel Pulp



The idea behind this "imprint" is to focus on some of the great, not-quite-superhero concepts that Marvel's had over the years: Westerns, jungle adventures, period heroes, spies, and space opera. We'll do this in countdown format, so:

52. Gamora by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Sam Hiti

Gamora's got a lot of history in Marvel's cosmic comics, but the focus on this would be her traveling the universe as an intergalactic bounty hunter. Gamora's extremely hard to kill and has a wicked sense of humor. Kelly Sue DeConnick (Osborn, Supergirl) can deliver the goods on funny (and excitement) while Sam Hiti (Tiempos Finales, Death-Day) knows everything about drawing beautiful women and exotic, alien landscapes.

51. Guardians of the Galaxy by Roger Langridge and Shaun Tan

As fun as a Gamora solo-title would be, we also need a book that can capture the rest of Marvel's cosmic characters like Silver Surfer, Thanos, and Rocket Raccoon. Roger Langridge (Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Snarked!) has the imagination to make that incredible, while Shaun Tan (The Arrival, Tales from Outer Suburbia) has the ability to mix the real and the odd in a unique, believable way. He's not known for action sequences, so I'd be interested to see how he tackled that, but I can already imagine his depiction of the arrival of Galactus and it's mind-blowing.

50. Sabra by Carla Jablonsky and Laurenn McCubbin

Sabra isn't a well-known character, but I've been fascinated by her since I first saw her in The Incredible Hulk #256. Maybe because she took her Israeli heritage so seriously, yet didn't seem to have been created specifically to fill a slot as Israel's Superhero for Contest of Champions or something. She eventually became just another of the many, international mutants running around the X-Men's corner of the Marvel Universe, but I've always thought she was better than that. I'd love to see her in a series that focused on the issues of the Middle East in a thoughtful, objective way. Not that Sabra herself should be objective about them, but that the series could explore the region and its history in a way that educates as well as entertains. Carla Jablonsky's done something similar with Nazi-occupied France in her Resistance series, so I picked her to write.  Laurenn McCubbin has a great, realistic style that would complement that kind of story beautifully.

49. Black Widow by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Amanda Conner



I don't know if this was the right thing to do, but though I picked 52 visual artists for my list, I only picked 26 writers and gave them each two books. That was partly because most writers can handle multiple books in a month, but it was also partly to make list-making easier on myself. I'm sure I'll regret it later when I realize I've forgotten one of my favorite writers.

At any rate, this is the second book I'd give Kelly Sue. I promise that I didn't purposely match up women creators with women characters, but it worked out that way in Kelly Sue's case. I'd love to see her write Black Widow. As for Amanda Conner: I love seeing anything she draws, but one look at her variant cover from Secret Avengers #6 above and you'll get why I want her on a Black Widow comic so badly.

48. Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD by James Turner and Luc Jacamon

If you've read James Turner's Rex Libris or Warlord of IO, you know how insanely, awesomely inventive he is. Just the guy to put the "super" back into super spy. And Luc Jacamon (The Killer) knows all about drawing deadly people in diverse settings, both urban and exotic.

47. Mystery Men by Susan Kim and Guy Davis

I really hate not to have David Liss and Patrick Zircher continue the concept they started, but one of the criteria I wanted for my list was to have as many women as possible on it. So I'm giving this '30s-set heroic pulp series to Susan Kim, who did such a great job with her adventurous City of Spies set in a similar time period. And I'm aching to see Guy Davis do some more stuff like he did on Sandman Mystery Theatre.

46. Tigra by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Kerry Callen



The inspiration for this book is two-fold. First, I wanted a jungle comic and Tigra would work great in that setting. She wouldn't have to stay only in that setting, but it would be a great homebase for her.The second inspiration was this description by Kerry Callen of what he wanted in a Tigra series: "a fun-loving character whose cat-like curiosity gets her into interesting predicaments." Pak and Van Lente would be perfect for that and one look at Callen's blog and you know he's the only guy for the visual part of the job.

45. The Savage Land by Joshua Fialkov and Jeremy Bastian

It's another jungle comic, but this one's different from Tigra. Her comic would be much more versatile with lots of guest-stars from other Marvel characters. The Savage Land of course would be set exclusively in the prehistoric world beneath Antarctica. At first I thought I'd call it Ka-Zar and Shanna (the first of several two-character comics you'll see in my Marvel 52), but then I remembered the temptation to take those two out of the Savage Land to interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe. Renaming it The Savage Land (which is a much cooler title anyway) removes that temptation.There's a whole world to explore there and as long as I'm fantasizing about my dream comics (as opposed to worrying about sales), I want to keep these characters out of the rest of the Marvel Universe. I don't care if other Marvel characters stop by for a visit, but I want the setting to stay consistent.

Josh Fialkov (Elk's Run, Tumor) does really well with setting and small casts of characters, so I pick him to write. Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl) draws lavishly and I'd love to see the creatures and landscapes he could fill the Savage Land with.

44. The Rangers by Alan Moore and J Bone

Based on another group of characters I once read about in The Incredible Hulk (#265 this time). The Rangers were a goofy team created by Bill Mantlo, but I liked their modern-Western concept and the sheer zaniness of it would be a great playground for Alan Moore. The team included Firebird (probably the most famous character to come out of the team) as well as modern versions of Red Wolf and the original Ghost Rider (renamed Phantom Rider to avoid confusion) and a couple of very Mantlo characters: Shooting Star (her gun shoots stars!) and Texas Twister (tornado powers). In keeping with making the series fun and versatile, J Bone can draw absolutely anything and make it look wonderful.

43. Gunslingers by John Ostrander and Leonardo Manco



Counterpoint to The Rangers, this would be a real Western set in the late 1800s. Really it's just a continuation of Ostrander and Manco's two mini-series, Blaze of Glory and Apache Skies in which they updated Marvel's classic, Western heroes for modern fans of Westerns.

Coming Monday: Midnight Sons!

Top 5 Scary Comics Adaptations

My buddy Ken's been thinking lately about superhero movie adaptations that would make him nervous and sent me an email wondering about my thoughts on it. I asked him if I could use the question as blog-food and he said, "Sure!" So here are the Top Five superhero comics that I'd be most skittish about getting made into movies. I would've guessed that it would be a similar list to my Top Five Favorite Superheroes, but that didn't end up being the case. Shang Chi, for instance, ought to be very easy to get right and I wouldn't be scared until I heard that Michael Bay was the director.

5. The Defenders



There are several team movies that I'd be really nervous about. I'm both excited and worried about The Avengers in equal measure, but I feel like there's a plan for that and - so far - it sounds like a good one. But when I think of everything that could go wrong with a Justice League movie for example, I lose my desire to ever see one. Same goes for other teams I like even more than the JLA, like the Champions and especially the Defenders.

My main concern is the difficulty of balancing that many characters in a two-hour movie. When I think of how convoluted and awful the '90s Batman movies became or Spider-Man 3 was, I cringe. The first couple of X-Men movies were okay though, so I know it can be done. It would just need a very talented writer to get it right.

4. Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD



This one's in the works and yes, I'm nervous. I love Samuel L Jackson and have no problem with him as Nick Fury, but I'm afraid that the force of his personality is going to overwhelm the groovy, '60s spy feel that I want a great Nick Fury movie to have.

3. Wonder Woman



I wouldn't have thought that this would be that hard to get right, but Joss Whedon's proposed treatment of a young Amazon girl finding her identity in Man's World made me realize how wrong someone can get this character. I was encouraged when Hollywood ultimately rejected Whedon's take, but I'll still be nervous until the right one is approved.

2. Aquaman



DC hasn't shown yet that they've figured out what to do with Aquaman, so how can I expect Hollywood to? DC's obviously working on it though; they just haven't revealed their full strategy yet. I'm hoping they've got it unlocked and can pass that knowledge on to a movie production, but the decades of history working against them aren't encouraging.

1. Doctor Strange



Doctor Strange has the potential to be one of my favorite characters, but he isn't. I've yet to read the story that perfectly balances his occult concept with his role as a superhero. Both are needed or he isn't Doctor Strange. If you go too far in one direction, he's just Harry Dresden in an outlandish costume. Too far the other direction and he's just a superhero who gets his powers from magic. Find the balance and he's spooky and cool, but that's going to be tough to do in any medium.

So what superheroes would you be nervous to see adapted for film?

Art Show: Was He Beast... Man... or Vampire?

Baby Aquaman



By Oliver Nome. [Justice League Detroit]

Luthor vs. Grodd!



By David Finch. [Illustrateurs]

Fire Monster Approaching!



By Scott Willis, Kevin Dart, and Joseph Holt. [Concept art for Genndy Tartakovsky's new giant monsters vs giant robots show Sym-bionic Titan.]

After the break: The Rocketeer, Assassin's Creed, Nick Fury, Black Widow, the ladies of Marvel, the Hulk, and the Son of Dracul.

Movie News: An Army of Ivan Dragos

20,000 Leagues movie



McG's Captain Nemo prequel may be dead in the water, but that doesn't mean that Disney's given up on the idea of a new Nemo film altogether. David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) had a take on it that he wanted to try and Disney is apparently moving with it. [/Film]

Meet Your New Richelieu



Remember that there are two Three Musketeers movies in the works right now. One is being produced by the guy who produced Sherlock Holmes; the other's by Paul WS Anderson (the Resident Evil franchise). Lately there hasn't been a lot of noise about Anderson's version (making me wonder if it had been dropped), but now he's released a ton of cast information and it's pretty cool who he's got (or is trying to get).

Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) will play Cardinal Richilieu, Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson) is in negotiations to be D'Artagnan, Milla Jovovich will be the wicked Milady de Winter, and Anderson wants Orlando Bloom to play the Duke of Buckingham. No word yet on who might play the important roles of the king and queen of France, but Mads Mikkelsen (Le Chiffre from Casino Royale) is going to be Richilieu's henchman Rochefort. Matthew Macfadyen (Darcy to Keira Knightley's Elizabeth) will be Athos, Luke Evans (who had a brief role as Apollo in the new Clash of the Titans and also has a bit part in the new Robin Hood) will be Aramis, and Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone, The Book of Eli) is Porthos. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Iron Man IV, SHIELD, Allan Quartermain (sort of), Moon Nazis, Monsterpocalypse, alien Olyphant, and who was responsible for Indy 4 after the break.

Friday Night Art Show: Are You Looking for Shells Too?

Citadel of Calvi



By MC Escher. Yes, that MC Escher. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Mermaids



By Eric Kincaid. [Never Sea Land]



By Dorian Cleavenger. [Never Sea Land]

Zorro



By Francesco Francavilla.

Alpha Flight



By Davinder.

Sherlock Homes



By Brandon Graham.

Bond and Honey



By Mike Maihack.

Nick Fury



By Evan "Doc" Shaner.

The Hulk



By Marc Basile. [Kirby-Vision]

Destruction Halted



By Jeremy Vanhoozer.

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.