Comic Books (And The Movies / Shows Based On Them)

EveryDayAmnesiac said:

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In retort...

Curses! DC Comics fans have set a world record for cosplay.

http://comicbook.com/2015/04/19/dc-...&utm_medium=latestarticle5&utm_source=article

Come on, Marvel fans!! We need to beat this!!

New Fantastic Four trailer. I am not encouraged.


I do not see why Fox is having such a hard time making a watchable Fantastic Four. Just do a couple of issues of the fucking comic book as written by Lee and Kirby, and use adaptations of Kirby's designs (WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE THINGS EYEBROWS???). Doesn't even have to be the first issues. They could do one of the Surfer story lines, the Kree-Skrull war or a variant thereof, of something about Annihilus.

Fox have made a couple of fun, though inaccurate, X-men and Wolverine movies, so people there do know how. Plus of course Deadpool looks awesome so far. But at this rate Fantastic Four really may be one that won't be done right unless Marvel gets the rights back. Which fucking sucks, because ownership of Doctor Doom, the Silver Surfer, and Galactus are bundled with it, and Fox is still balking at sharing or signing over rights.

Not posting it, cuz I don't much care, but the Batman vs Superman trailer was officially released. At least it looks a little better than the FF trailer.

In more pleasant news, thanks to the success of Daredevil there is widespread speculation that Marvel is developing some version of the Punisher for tv or film. There is definitely a "reinvention" of a Marvel character being developed for another ABC show (really hope that one is not the Punisher because a] it does not need to be 'reinvented', the Punisher kicks ass as-is; and b] Punisher should be done on Netflix, where the violence can stay nice and brutal- he is a character that does not belong on network tv at all). Maybe Blade? He had a brief TV series nobody watched. And word is Marvel does want to expand its supernatural side in TV.

http://screenrant.com/marvel-tv-series-shows-abc-john-ridley/

Awesome fan-made Deadpool movie poster. Fox will be hard-pressed to make a better one.

No word on a 2nd Daredevil season yet. But there is a SHIELD spinoff apparently being considered - not Agent Carter, but something involving Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse. The same article is claiming the other show in development, with a character being 'reinvented' by John Ridley (who wrote the script for 12 Years a Slave), may be about the newest Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan.

That is a decent comic, but that character was just 'reinvented' as a young Muslim Inhuman woman from New Jersey in 2013. Only part that needs further reinventing, IMO, is Jersey. As someone born and raised in NY, I'm not sure I could watch a superhero show set in Jersey City, where the character lives. Marvel has used Jersey as a joke many times (like when Deadpool tricked Spider-man into going to New Jersey).

http://www.comicbookresources.com/a...eportedly-to-star-in-agents-of-shield-spinoff

'Batman v. Superman,' now with West, Reeve
Parody trailer uses classic superhero footage


http://www.ketv.com/entertainment/batman-v-superman-now-with-west-reeve/32474856

1st real footage of the Vision in action from Age of Ultron


And I now have not one, but TWO, Infinity Gauntlets - one is right-handed, the other is left. Two-fisted reality reformatting!!!!

Cannot believe I didn't notice this- major topic of discussion on various comic book fora - Wally Wood is not thanked or acknowledged at any point in the credits for any episode of Daredevil. Major comic book writers and editors, including Roy Thomas and Steranko, are now commenting on this.

For those unfamiliar, though Bill Everett designed the original Daredevil, in issue #7, Wally Wood completely redesigned him, and then started writing the book as well and recreated the character (note, Daredevil #7 is also considered the 1st comic book where the hero loses - Namor kicks Daredevil's ass, and there is no later scene with Daredevil winning). Wood created: the red Daredevil uniform (he was originally in a hideous yellow getup), the DD logo, the linked sticks Daredevil fights with, made him a dark and brooding night-time character, did the first visualizations of how Daredevil sees the world, gave Matt Murdock his red glasses, and on and on and on. He is so important in the history of Daredevil that Stan Lee used to call Wood "Kid Daredevil". It is common knowledge that Daredevil would have been cancelled before its 10th issue had Wood not re-designed the character.

I had assumed Wood was being thanked in the end credits, where Bendis, Miller, and the Romita's are thanked. But he is not. Kinda surprised neither Miller or Bendis have said anything, as they both openly draw on the Wally Wood Daredevil run.

One rumor as to why he is uncredited is this awesome "Disney orgy" drawing Wally Wood did and that the Disney corporation hated him for.




Please join other fans in petitioning Netflix to include Wally Wood in the credits in season 2 (word is that a 2nd season is going to happen) and in the Defenders, by either commenting on Netflix in a Daredevil review or by commenting on the Netflix Facebook page.

Newest collectable - PotatoPool!! Instead of swords he has peelers.

There's a new joker in town.

Fantastic Four will officially suck. Reed Richards will only 'appear' to be able to stretch his body. That + a British actor playing an eyebrowless thing + Sue Storm being played by an actress older than the dude playing Reed Richards = will definitely suck.

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=119629

"The Dark Knight III: The Master Race"

Frank Miller is writing a new sequel to The Dark Knight Returns

DC Entertainment announced today that comics legend Frank Miller is returning to Batman to write the next installment of what can now be regarded as comics' Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Due out this fall, the series will help mark the 30th anniversary of the classic The Dark Knight Returns, and will surely help set the stage for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which hits theaters next March.

"Batman remains my favorite comic book hero and a sequel to Dark Knight is going to be daunting," said Miller in the official statement, "but we’ll do our best." Miller even took to Twitter for the first time in five years to help ring in the occasion:


Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Azzarello will co-write the new series.

The timing for the announcement couldn't be more perfect, since Frank Miller's importance to pop culture is seemingly on the rise. Netflix's new Daredevil series drew considerably from his run on the character, and earned critical acclaim in the process. Meanwhile, Batman v. Superman very clearly takes its aesthetic and tone from The Dark Knight Returns. However, there's still every reason to be wary of this new effort.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the original sequel to Miller's classic Batman story, was a critical failure (along with much of his work since the early '90s). And having The Master Race in the title does nothing to silence critics who've for years decried the racism in his work. (Holy Terror, anyone?) Fans will just have to wait and see how Miller's final take on the Caped Crusader pans out.

Also:
http://www.vulture.com/2015/04/frank-millers-dark-knight-returns.html

Miller has written some great comics but is not the huge influence he is taken for.
Dark Knight Strikes Again SUCKED. Let's hope this new one is better. IMHO, been a long time since Frank Miller wrote anything really good. I do love his Daredevil and his 1st Dark Knight. But I am hard pressed to name anything else of his that is even readable. Sin City was a fun movie, but a crappy comic. And I thought 300 was crappy (and historically inaccurate) both as a comic and a flick. He didn't even write my favorite Batman. Alan Moore did (Killing Joke). And though he is still uncredited, the Daredevil tv show owes as much to Wally "Kid Daredevil" Wood as it does to Frank Miller. And note Miller is no more prominent in those credits than Brian Michael Bendis, the Romita's, and others.

Miller has been replaced by Joe Kelly, Bendis, Gail Simone, and Mark Millar as the most omnipresent and influential writers, who in fact have more cultural influence than Frank at this point (not to mention Chris Claremont, who always has had more influence, and that Claremont wrote numerous comics people think Frank Miller wrote, like the original Wolverine mini-series, which Miller did some of the art for and no writing but is still often called the 'Miller Wolverine').

Bendis especially - he is as prominently cited in the Daredevil credits as Miller, wrote DD longer, not to mention he created Jessica Jones and Powers, wrote Luke Cage, Iron Fist, both the standard Avengers and New Avengers, created Ultimate Marvel with Mark Millar, and wrote the Avengers Civil War tie-ins; Mark Millar wrote the main Civil War comics, a bunch of Captain America, and about half of Ultimate Marvel, which the movies draw on heavily. While Kelly wrote the definitive Deadpool run (which is what the movie is based on), and as founder of Man of Action, is responsible for just about all of the Marvel animation of the last decade, wrote X-men, plus over at DC Justice League of America, which is coming to film and possibly tv. Gail Simone has now written more Bat-family comics than Frank Miller (mostly Bar-girl) and is in my opinion head and shoulders above Miller (she also wrote some of my favorite Deadpool and all of Agent X, so I'm biased).

And then there's Jim Starlin, creator of Thanos, Gamora, Drax, the Infinity Gauntlet, and primary author of Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock for over a decade (both due to appear in the MCU) as well as long-time writer of Iron Man. Plus he has an author-owned character, Dreadstar, in development for TV.

Frank Miller was as good as all of these folks once (and is from my neck of the woods in MD). But the difference is they are still writing hugely popular, well-written, influential comics and graphic novels. Even Starlin, who is older than Miller and has been doing it longer. Starlin has a new Thanos coming in June, the Infinity Relativity. And despite having written at least 8 previous massive Thanos storylines over 30+ years, none of them suck like Dark Knight Strikes Again or Holy Terror.

First shot of Kodi Smit-Mcphee as Nightcrawler-

And a Muppets Avengers parody, The Aveggies: Age of Bon bon. Cookie monster/The Hulk eats Cap's shield and Thor's hammer. Dr. Brownie, Onion Man, Captain Americauliflower, Black Bean Widow, Mighty Corn, and Zuchin-eye. Quoth Doctor Brownie/Cookie Monster/Hulk, "That me secret. Me always hungry". Giant green cookie monster in purple hulk pants. I need one of those. And that is what the Hulk should be in future movies.

SQUEEE!!!!! Previously unpublished KIRBY & STERANKO in upcoming issue of Agents of SHIELD!!!

http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/kirby-steranko-return-to-the-pages-of-shield-in-august

And a list of Kirby's creations. Over 200 on this list, and that is with a lot of them listed as groups rather than individual characters, like the Kree, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-men and the Eternals.

http://www.comicvine.com/profile/elderfingolfin/lists/jack-kirby-creations/18309/

So after rewatching all of Daredevil a couple of times, I actually like it even better. Been rereading the Miller and Wood Daredevil, and the show is really accurate to those. Add to that the weird-ass (and very Daredevil-becomes-leader-of-the-Hand) turn Arrow has taken (and that they are now bringing people back from the dead), and I currently consider Daredevil the best superhero show going. Though I'm still pissed Wally Wood is not thanked in any episodes.

I hope Arrow returns to how good the first season and a half were, but not holding my breath. Also as a historian the whole League of Assassins thing has always bothered me. Not that hard to portray the real league of assassins (the Nizari Ismaeli's early Illuminist iteration under Hassan i Sabbah, whose name is the actual origin of the word assassin [and the word hashish, so we gotta give the dude some props]).

arf777 said:

Hassan i Sabbah, whose name is the actual origin of the word assassin [and the word hashish, so we gotta give the dude some props]).

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I know this a good argument for the origins of "assassin" but it doesn't actually play out for "Hashish" since it has it's origin a few hundred years earlier then the 9th century AD and is a misspelling of the classic Quranic arabic word we translate as "grass".

RUDE BOY said:

I know this a good argument for the origins of "assassin" but it doesn't actually play out for "Hashish" since it has it's origin a few hundred years earlier then the 9th century AD and is a misspelling of the classic Quranic arabic word we translate as "grass".

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I can see that being correct linguistically. But the term entered the West with the recipe for Hassan's Alamut black around the late Crusades- see the work of Robert Shea (when he was just a historian, before he worked on Illuminatus! with Robert Anton Wilson) and other historians on the influence of the Crusades on Western culture and on the history of secret societies. In the West, it is connected to the name Hassan i Sabbah.

On a different topic, DC are now as much assholes about creator credits as Marvelk is being with Wally Wood- they are claiming "nobody" legally created some major characters, like Caitlin Snow on the Flash. Article by Gerry Conway, co-creator of the original Killer Frost, Power Girl, etc.

http://gerryconway.tumblr.com/post/117619743363/who-created-caitlin-snow-on-theflash-according

Never knew Shea was a historian and cant find anything to confirm he was. I know he wrote/edited for playboy before becoming a published Novelist but have never seen or heard of any non-fiction historical studys or work by him.

Can you direct me to some of his non-fiction historical works that would make him a historian?

I do not see anything about it online, never looked before.

What I saw was all in academic journals in physical libraries, mostly from the mid-60s. When I was doing grad work on the Albigensian Crusade I ran across multiple refereed articles with his name on them on the Templars and their connections to Jewish and Islamic traditions and organizations during the Crusades, including their minimally documented contacts with the original Assassins.

Though I do not know for sure it is the same Robert Shea (this was pre-web). It would be odd, though not unprecedented, for it to be a different guy with the same name writing in a related field. There were two Joseph Campbells in religious studies, one the famous one, the other a minor theologian. At the time I assumed it was the same Robert Shea. May not be though.

I know it really doesn't matter in the long(or short) run I was just nit pickin' maybe being a bit of a butthead.

The prevailing legend of 'assassins' here in the western world pretty much follows what you stated. No one's ever going to know the definitive truth behind the story now.

RUDE BOY said:

I know it really doesn't matter in the long(or short) run I was just nit pickin' maybe being a bit of a butthead.

The prevailing legend of 'assassins' here in the western world pretty much follows what you stated. No one's ever going to know the definitive truth behind the story now.

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There is some historical support for bits of it, though certainly none for more than the most minuscule contacts with Western groups. IMO, the real influence is mostly linguistic. Hashish definitely existed in the West waaay back, the word just doesn't turn up until the Crusades. Just like there were Western assassins for millennia before the official "assassins" existed. Again, biggest influence is the word, not the idea. In fact, what we sometimes mean in modern English by assassin - a hit man, a professional killer for hire to anyone with the money - is a 20th century invention.

You can get some of the actual Ismaili history if you read the Persian and Arabic accounts of the the organization in that period. Or the Mongol campaign accounts of the taking of Alamut. But those are just tidbits from a very long, mostly unknown history.

Generally you're right - that sect of Ismailis, at least from Hassan through the fall of the fortress, is arguably the quintessential secret society. So barring some unknown archive turning up, it'll remain mostly a source of speculation, even more than the Templars are (we have more documented facts about the Templars).

I was serious about it possibly being a different Robert Shea. That happens in academia pretty regularly. Two Thomas Mertons, at least three Paul Tichenors. There was even a 2nd Michel Foucault.

Just a general FYI - plenty of academic research is still not available online, just in physical libraries. Only one of the articles I published in my academic days has appeared online, and at last check that was behind a paywall. The rest are only available in actual libraries. Academic publishers can be very conservative about that stuff (and it makes them serious money - academic journals are very expensive). A good example is the work from Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, arguably one of the most important new archeological sites discovered in decades. But I have only found one of the refereed articles I've read in hard copy about it online in English. Found a couple in Turkish and in German but only one in English so far. Only other English articles online I've found on it are from non-refereed magazines like Smithsonian and Nat Geo.