Who watched and caught a glimpse of the Easter egg in the trailer for Zak Snyder’s new film 300? It’s been all over the internet now so if you’re online most of the time you’d probably have seen a screen capture of it in the last couple of days. Twenty years ago, plus change, Alan Moore wrote a 12 issue mini-series for DC Comics called Watchmen. It was one of the books (along with books such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman) that elevated the generally considered lightweight storytelling medium of comic books into serious literature. Twenty years ago, plus change, Alan Moore wrote and Dave Gibbons drew these panels: Last week, it was discovered that this image was slipped into the 300 trailer at 1:52 on the time stamp: Zak Snyder who directed 300 is now slated to direct Watchmen for release in 2008. The image was […]
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Marvel’s Civil War in 30 Seconds
[[image:nextwave11.jpg:Warren Ellis you sly dog you….:left:0]]Civil War was announced as the Marvel Comics crossover event for 2006-2007. Written by Mark Millar and pencilled by Steve McNiven, whose art I admired since his Sentry story arc on the New Avengers and two issues of Ultimate Secret it was going to be a total revamp of how super-powered heroes will be regarded by the government and the general public in Marvel’s Earth-616. Superhero Registration Act and whatnot. I thought I wouldn’t read too much into it and get the book once it’s been collected into a trade paperback. However, issue #7 was released and it’s difficult not to hear the online rantings of almost everyone if you’re a comic book fan. Anyway if you’re not physically, psychologically or radiologically allergic to spoilers (SPOILERS! Once again in caps for your attention) check out this Civil War in 30 Seconds post from Chris’s Invincible […]
Continue readingKneel Before Bill Cosby
So there I was watching Superman 2 (the theatrical Richard Lester version, not the brand new DVD release of Richard Donner’s version) and I just realised that when the good General said the iconic line, “Kneel before Zod!!!” he really meant kneel before Bill Cosby, which is pretty cool.[[image:zodcosby.jpg:Shenanigans in Perry’s office:center:0]]
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In the Space of Forty Odd Years
I can’t believe it’s been 43 years between the two images below. Both show the same characters. The first was illustrated by the late great Jack Kirby in 1963 ten years before I was born. The second was drawn by Yanick Paquette in 2006. The first has the members of the original class of Xavier’s school horsing around during training – still in their teens. The second shows the same group of people years later – older, wiser and scarred aplenty – just after the events of the House of M and in the thick of the current Civil War storyline in the Marvel universe.
Continue readingMeanwhile on Taris…
[[image:zayne01.jpg:Zayne Carrick:left:0]]I’ve never played Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) computer game before, where I’ve read Taris was first featured. However, when I heard Dark Horse Comics would be producing the Knights of the Old Republic series on four-colour print, I was dubious. Reading through the first story arc of the series written by John Jackson Miller entitled “Commencement”, I discovered that in terms of numerous minute elements in the story, this series has the most Original Trilogy Star Wars flavour in comics. The story is simple, a young Padawan Zayne Carrick, part of the Jedi Academy on the city world Taris in the Outer Rim, isn’t the best of Padawans. In fact he’s been screwing up task after task on one assignment: to capture small time Snivvian black marketeer Marn Heirogryph, who believes Zayne has the ability to leave behind wreckage strewn after him. Unfortunately for Zayne and his […]
Continue readingRuminations of Superman Returns
[[image:supes00.jpg:Superman Returns:center:0]]I went in to watch Superman Returns with high expectations and I got what I deserved, I guess. It was quite a decent movie, but it isn’t as epic as i thought it would be. First the non-spoilerific thoughts: [[image:supes02.jpg:Transorbital Rescue:left:0]]The stills I saw prior to seeing this movie did not do justice to Brandon Routh. He doesn’t only make a terrific Superman, but he does a fantastic iteration of Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent. The VFX of Superman flying are perfect, and make us believe a man can fly much more than Superman the Movie. Any scene with him flying for any reason is visually satisfying. There could be a scene of him trying to pick his teeth while floating and it would look great I believe. The space shuttle and Boeing 777 simultaneous rescue is everything I wanted to see in a Superman movie. [[image:supes03.jpg:Keyser Luthor:right:0]]Lots of people […]
Continue readingCyclops, Shortchanged
Last Tuesday, I finally saw X-Men The Last Stand. But I’m not going to do a full review on the movie itself. The following two paragraph will summarize what I thought about it. Despite the misgivings of having Brett Ratner directing the third X-Men movie, and reports of behind the scene shenanigans that caused Bryan Singer to leave in the first place, I really enjoyed The Last Stand. Sure there were some plot holes and unbalanced screen time for characters, but they delivered what they promised: super-powered mutants beating the crap out of each other in creative ways onscreen. And I’m sure if the writers and director were given ample time without any studio politics involved, they would have given us something much more glorious than what we got. In any case, I because of the amount of details in this movie: a totally spot on Beast with amazing acrobatic […]
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Peter, Again
Some time last August, I drew Peter with Painter Classic. Here he is once again, this time with the new armored costume Tony came up with for him while MJ and he works as a New Avenger. It has bulletproof armour, enhanced computer-display visors and those extra pincer limbs not shown in the illustration below. I like the design, though because Tony came up with colour scheme, the outfit is red and yellow. Kinda looks a bit like Shiro‘s costume.
Continue readingA Marvellous Group of Zombies
Captain America! Spider-Man! Thor! Hulk! Iron Man! Giant Man! Wasp! Power Man! Wolverine! Storm! Cyclops! Captain Mar-Vell! These are some of the greatest heroes ever to walk the Earth within the Marvel Universe. Each possessing a variety superhuman powers, together they are an unstoppable force in the pursuit of justice and the downfall of evil everywhere. So what happens when all of them die and resurrected as living dead, flesh-eating, zombies? Welcome to the world of Marvel Zombies, a mini-series written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Sean Phillips. This is not the regular Marvel universe, of course (which is Earth 616 to regular Marvel readers). It’s an alternate universe where all the heroes like Luke Cage and Shang Chi are still in their 70s-style costumes, no one’s heard of Galactus, Captain America is and has always been called Colonel America, and Captain Mar-Vell is still alive. [[popup:zombies1.jpg:(thumbnail):The Colonel is […]
Continue readingFleep
Fleep by Jason Shiga is not a webcomic. It’s a story published not to its conclusion by AsianWeek but now collected in its entirety at Jason Shiga’s website. It’s a story of one man’s adventure upon waking up entombed in a telephone booth. The tale starts out looking as if it’s fantastical and Twilight-Zone-esque, but like the best of stories there’s more to it than meets the eye, and by the end all plot points are resolved and takes you by surprise. [[image:fleep.gif:Fleep:center:0]]Jason Shiga won a Eisner for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition for Fleep in 2003. And a fun fact for Malaysians is that one of Jason’s major influence as a cartoonist is Lat according to his interview at AsianWeek. So, check out the entire Fleep story at Jason’s site. You’ll find out why comics, when written right, is a storytelling media worthy of being called literature. Thanks to […]
Continue readingV For Verisimilitude
I saw V for Vendetta on Monday. Therefore I shall write about it here. With spoilers. You have been warned. I only read the comic for the first time last year, so I never really connected with the background of the millieux presented by Alan Moore in the book. I understand why there was a need to alter it in the movie, giving it a more up to date topical setting and tying it with current events. A Neccessary Reflection of The Here And Now [[image:v00.jpg:Vox Populi:right:0]]As as example of what I’m talking about, the movie talks about the Norsefire regime in the UK rising into power because of the release of the St. Mary’s Virus as a terrorist attack in England killing 80,000 souls. Soon after the supposed terrorists were captured, tried and executed. The conservatives played upon the fear of the people and became the ruling party, thus […]
Continue readingThe Legion on JLU
No, not the French Foreign Legion. The DC Universe’s 30th century team the Legion of Super-Heroes finally get to shine in an episode of Justice League Unlimited titled “Far From Home”. Sure, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Chameleon Boy travelled back in time in Superman the Animated Series before, but this episode features a busload of Legionnaires, all in the 30th century. Additionally, their arch-villain teams, the Fatal Five, also appear (with the Emerald Empress voice by Joanne Whalley). Both Legion HQs were also shown! Unfortunately, only Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy and Phantom Girl have speaking roles. There is a good reason, however, why the others don’t speak for most of the episode. Click on the thumbnails below for a who’s who picture. [[popup:lsh01.jpg:(thumbnail):The Animated Legion:center:1]]Apart from John Stewart and Kara in the foreground, we also see between them from top to bottom: Shadow Lass, Colossal Boy and Ultra Boy. […]
Continue readingFamily Circus Meets Cthulhu
Via Boing Boing, I’ve discovered a bunch of Family Circus comics at the Accordion Guy‘s blog that has H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos captions placed on it. These are very humourous if you’ve read Lovecraft and put them into context with the Family Circus. But there was one hilarious Family Circus comic posted anonymously in the comments section that really made me chuckle out loud. (See below.) [[image:familycthulu4ld.gif:Cthulhu fhtagn:center:0]] If I was drinking, my keyboard and monitor would be wet now. 😀
Continue readingJLU Avatars
It’s cartoon avatar month on ACS Sitiawan Forums. My current favourite animated series now is Justice League Unlimited. So here are some JLU avatars for anyone’s use. No heavy hitters like Clark, Bruce and Diana. The only founding members here are John and Wally. The rest are second stringers, but what colourful second stringers they make, eh? For their names, hover your cursor over the avatars. [[image:jlu_albert_rothstein.gif:Albert Rothstein:center:0]] [[image:jlu_beatriz_dacosta.gif:Beatriz Dacosta:center:0]] [[image:jlu_dinah_lance.gif:Dinah Lance:center:0]] [[image:jlu_helena_bertinelli.gif:Helena Bertinelli:center:0]] [[image:jlu_jack_ryder.gif:Jack Ryder:center:0]] [[image:jlu_john_stewart.gif:John Stewart:center:0]] [[image:jlu_kara_zor-el.gif:Kara Zor-El:center:0]] [[image:jlu_michael_jon_carter.gif:Michael Jon Carter:center:0]] [[image:jlu_nathaniel_adam.gif:Nathaniel Adam:center:0]] [[image:jlu_ralph_dibny.gif:Ralph Dibny:center:0]] [[image:jlu_ray_palmer.gif:Ray Palmer:center:0]] [[image:jlu_ray_terrill.gif:Ray Terrill:center:0]] [[image:jlu_red_tornado.gif:Red Tornado:center:0]] [[image:jlu_todd_ricegif:Todd Rice:center:0]] [[image:jlu_vic_sage.gif:Vic Sage:center:0]] [[image:jlu_wally_west.gif:Wally West laying some smackdown on Lex Luthor:center:0]]
Continue readingSuperman: A Dick and Loving It
When you think of Superman, the first thing that comes to you mind is a virtuous, heroic, superbeing who strives to save innocent lives from disaster, and defeat the devious plots of super villians and invading aliens. But Superdickery.com has a collection of images from early Superman comics (some not so early) of Superman being a dick. Not just an annoying dick, but a real self-centered and dangerous asshole, even to his closest friends. And not once or twice, but repeatedly. For instance, can you imagine Lois Lane actually finally marrying him in the 90s after putting her through things like this dozens of times? [[image:superdickery1.jpg:Superdickery1:center:0]] There must be an easier way of not wanting to get married. Which, of course, would lead Lois to fabricate mind-bogglingly bizzare schemes in order to get Superman to notice her as shown thusly: [[image:superdickery2.jpg:Superdickery2:center:0]] For God’s sake… deal with the devil??!? Haven’t she […]
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A Spider-Man Portrait
I saw Spider-Man 2 again today. The movie version of the Spidey costume is quite rich and detailed in texture, yet true to its comic-book origins… As before I wondered how a student / freelance photographer, making barely enough as it is, is able to afford to come up with the costume. Did he sew it himself, or did he make a custom order from someone. In which case, how did he hide his identity from the costumer. Anyways, it caught my attention again enough for me to try to recreate some of its texture in a piece using Painter.
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