GHOST WRITES

Tag: comic-books

  • Amalgam-Tober Day 15: Eclipse

    Amalgam-Tober Day 15: Eclipse

    As I stated on day 2, the idea for this project started when I got to drawing The Polka-Spot Man and more ideas came flooding in soon thereafter – yet the idea to draw the Polka-Spot Man came from a different place; Comicpop. The youtube channel run by Sal has discussed the amalgam Universe many times but his episode of the Elseworlds exchange where they created their own Amalgam Characters was so much fun that I started doing it too. All of these have been original ideas from me so far, but to honor that original episode that started it all I bring you: Eclipse – an Amalgam of Moon Knight and Jason Todd’s Red Hood. Now before I get into everything I do need to explain that while the idea stems from Sal, the rest of this is solely my own doing, including design and backstory.

    Naming these guys can either be the biggest pain in the ass or an absolute joy, and Eclipse turned out to be the latter. My brain literally just went: “Red Hood + Moon Knight= Red Moon? Red Moon = Lunar Eclipse, that’s too long so shorten it to Eclipse!”. It really is that simple. From there on the design followed, starting with the small logo on his chest. I inverted the usual crescent moon that Moon Knight usually sports and added an additional moon resembling the process of an eclipse.

    Moon Knight has had a lot of different costumes over the years and I toyed with the idea of making this a look inspired by the Mr.Knight suit or a more mystical suit that would tie into his origins but decided that keeping that tactical aspect from the Red Hood costume would be the best way to go. That’s why I chose to go with that more tactical black and white Moon Knight suit often attributed to Jake Lockley, but replacing the pants with something more military looking and obviously recoloring that cape. He needed a Red Hood… Duh! 

    All of this ties back to his origin: Back in the day, Jason Spector was a young criminal often on the run from the law, yet it’s when he steals a certain someone’s tires his story really begins. The skills he puts on display during his criminal acts impresses the Caped Crusader so much that he takes him under his wing. Getting the training he needs to become a superhero sidekick, Jason manages to overcome some of his troubled upbringing and reshape the skills he learned on the streets into something more heroic. But being a hero comes with a lot of downsides, and suffering traumatic event after traumatic event his volatile side kicks back up again, culminating in a violent confrontation with his father’s biggest enemy – one he does not survive. 

    It’s then that his father’s oldest enemy, The Moon Demon Khon-Al-Ghul, retrieves Jason’s body for his most nefarious plan yet. Submerging Jason in the healing Lunar waters of Arabia, Khon-Al-Ghul thinks he’s reviving Jason to turn him into a soldier for his own League of Assassins. But out from the bubbling crystal blue water comes a man forever changed, not just Jason anymore. The emotional trauma of his past mixed with the physical trauma of his violent death and subsequent resurrection has split Jason’s psyche into bits and pieces, creating three distinct personalities inside his system, all fighting for control. His youthful spirit remains within the Alter I dub “The Boy”, always steering Jason into more problems and mischief – from causing random property damage in the streets of Gotham to purposely killing low-life thugs to teach them a lesson, this Alter doesn’t understand the gravity of his actions and is not concerned with consequences. The Sidekick, Jason’s second Alter, is the exact opposite. He’s trained to be better and serves as Jason’s moral compass for good. The sidekick makes sure to cause no damage to the innocent, always makes sure that apprehended drug money ends up in places where it’s needed and desperately resists whenever murder is on Jason’s mind. Usually though: it’s the Eclipse that takes the wheel, an Alter completely engulfed with rage and revenge. He’s the one that came out of the water, he’s the one who’s set off on this journey for revenge and he’s the one who’s going to kill whoever stands in his way. 

    For a while I wanted to design all three of the Alters for this post, but I quickly realized that would be too much work for one day. That said, the final piece does feature Khon-Al-Ghul, a mix of Khonshu and Ra’s-Al-Ghul, making day 15 a double Amalgam day!

  • Amalgam-Tober Day 6: The Knight Without Fear

    Amalgam-Tober Day 6: The Knight Without Fear

    I made a promise to myself when I started this project that I’d try to include as many “new” characters as possible in these amalgams. I wanted to focus on those that didn’t even exist yet when the original Amalgam Universe was born. What I didn’t realize was that I was going to include characters this new. But after reading the freshly released “One Cold Day In Hell” by Charles Soule and Steve Mcniven, the inspiration was hard to ignore. 

    I have been really struggling with Amalgamizing (is that a word? It is now!) Batman and Daredevil. The two just belong together, they just… fit. They are pieces of the same puzzle. You’ve probably seen the many posts comparing the two and how they should swap names since bats are blind and use echo location similar to Daredevil and Batman is just a guy jumping around rooftops so he should be a Daredevil yadda yadda yadda – and no matter how baseline that idea might be, it is kind of fun to explore. But it all just felt a little too obvious. I needed an angle, and after reading “One Cold Day In Hell”, I had my angle.

    “CDIH” – as I will now be referring to it as – is a Dark Knight Returns pastiche. The old hero returns for a final outing, inspiring the next generation alongside a young girl. There is obviously more to either story but it boils down to the same thing and both books do it very well. So, as an homage to an homage, I pushed together two of the most iconic pieces of Frank Miller imagery and Steve McNiven’s tweaked Daredevil design and created today’s AmalgamTober entry.

    I started off the design with a much more frail looking figure akin to Matt’s appearance in “CDIH” but quickly realized that I was just drawing Daredevil with a bat on his chest. Thus I switched to that more bulky and square Old Man Bruce design, it needed an extra element to drive home that this is Matt and Bruce together and not just a weird Daredevil design. An unintentional comparison that this color scheme and design evokes is that of the original Batman designs drawn up by Bob Kane, who shared a similar red suit and big belt. Now I’m not a big fan of Bob Kane, so don’t take this as an endorsement, but I did sort of lean into it as a fun nod.

    Finally I also added the blindfold around his eyes. I always enjoy a Daredevil design that forgoes the eyes on his helmet, it adds to the whole blind justice angle that makes the character interesting as well as making him just generally stand out among his many, MANY, peers. It adds a level of fluidity to the piece that I like, not to mention that I couldn’t get the angle of the eyes right and just kind of gave up!

    I hope you enjoy today’s piece and I hope you check out “Daredevil: Cold Day In Hell” – which I assume will be collected early next year in trade?

  • DC Studios’ Missing Piece – And How To Fix It!

    DC Studios’ Missing Piece – And How To Fix It!

    The DCU has started. With the release of “Superman”, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new cinematic DC Universe has finally and properly gotten off the ground (quite literally, Superman flies around – get it?). And as the future of the studio becomes clearer with each passing day – as more of these projects get the greenlight – it’s also quite apparent that one side of the DC universe seems to be largely ignored. Where is the magic? For a slate of films titled “Gods and Monsters” there is shockingly little magic to be found in the upcoming roster, even though it’s a force that bonds the gods and monsters together in a major way. 

    Magic has been a long time fixture in DC comics, spawning fan favorite characters, teams and books. DC’s magical side exploded into popularity under the Vertigo publishing line, putting out some of the most creative, critically acclaimed and successful books the company has ever seen and is to this day one of the most fertile grounds for groundbreaking storytelling. Magic bleeds into almost every facet of the DC universe; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, hell even the Flash, they all deal with magic on a (semi) regular basis. But looking at the slate of projects currently worked on over at WB it seems that a magic focused project isn’t really at the forefront yet. Yes, Magical characters will show up in some of the projects announced to be in production so far, I’m sure of that – Updates on the project have been sparse since its announcement but James Mangold’s Swamp Thing surely deals with magic in some capacity, the Paradise Lost show (which will definitely morph into a Wonder Woman: Historia project by-the-way) has to feature heaps of magic if it wants to be faithful to its source material and Circe already showed magical prowess in Creature Commandos – yet none of those projects put the magicians in the lead. A weird phenomenon given how much excitement there is about these characters. 

    Many magical DC-characters could lend themselves well to a solo big-screen adventure or a big-budget-miniseries on HBO MAX; Constantine is a fan favorite, so is Zatanna, Dr. Fate is already a familiar face for audiences (that is, at least to all twelve people that saw Black Adam), Hell, you could even put them all together in a little team-up and you finally get yourself a nice Justice League Dark project. But while there are many cool and exciting possibilities we could talk about today, there is one DC book that would make for a perfect exploration to this side of DC’s mythos. The highly underrated 1990 miniseries “Books Of Magic”. 

    BOOKS OF MAGIC

    Books of Magic is a 4 issue miniseries created by Neil Gaiman, John Bolton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson, and Scott Hampton, that introduces Tim Hunter to the DC universe, a young boy destined to become a great and powerful wizard, but whose future is still left uncertain as forces of both good and evil pine for his soul. When evil mystic forces want to corrupt Tim and turn him over to the dark side of magic, a group of mystical detectives, referred to as the Trenchcoat Brigade, come together to guide Tim on a journey that will decide not just his future, but also that of the entire DC universe. The brigade, consisting of Doctor Occult, Mister E, Phantom Stranger and fan favorite John Constantine, take Tim on a journey that has him interact with almost every notable mystic in the DC universe. All of the characters that I mentioned as potential tv-and-movie-leads cross paths with Tim, as well as a bunch of others including The Endless and Madame Xanadu. This, to me, lends itself perfectly to a prestige 5 or 6 episode miniseries for HBO MAX.

    This book is such a good choice for the start of this new universe for one reason; Tim. Tim is a perfect audience surrogate, he is learning all of these crazy new secrets about the world on his journey through the past, present and future, just like the audience is doing. We introduce this world through his eyes and we can organically explain and define what magic is in this universe without it feeling forced or boring. Things never get too big for Tim, so they don’t get too big for audiences either. This is even more fitting when you realize just how well established the DCU already is. There are all these things already going on, so many stories have already happened, and Tim learning about this whole new secret layer to all of that would be an identical position to the audience.

    But the reasons why don’t end there.

    Paired up with Tim is the aforementioned Trenchcoat Brigade, a collection of characters who lend themselves well to the story we want to tell here. One of them, John Constantine, is a fan favorite character that can pull in a large number of viewers, making this a good creative idea as well as a business strategy – and while the other three are admittedly much more niche, that has never been a problem for Gunn’s productions. If anything Gunn thrives using these characters, I’m sure a realized version of this idea would see these three characters slightly tweaked and morphed into perfect versions for this type of story at the hands of Gunn, Safran and whoever else they’d bring in to produce this story (Ideally that person would be me, they should bring in me, I will send you my phone number, James).

    The original book sees Tim pair up with a new member of the brigade every issue, creating four distinct adventures over the course of four issues that explore the past, present and future of the DC universe as well as several adjacent realms. While this four part structure works perfectly for the original comic book, adapting it to a HBO-like-format would require an extra episode or two, Fleshing out the world, characters and mostly Tim with more detail compared to the original mini-series – Luckily for you, I also know just how to do that. Bring in Zatanna.

    Those of you who happen to have read the original 4 issue run know that the second issue takes place in the present day – as Constantine takes Tim through the modern-day DC universe and has him interact with this large cast of familiar faces. Among that cast of characters is Zatanna, who second only to Constantine himself, is probably the most well known magic user DC has in their roster. In the book, right after meeting up with her, Constantine is suddenly called away to go do something else, leaving Tim behind in Zatanna’s home. The two characters then have their own little adventure which, while I think it works very well in the book, needs to be remodeled for an adaptation like this. This is the part of the book where the show needs to kind of diverge from its source material and make Zatanna and Tim’s journey an entire episode in-and-of-itself – compared to the last pages of a different story. This could be ideal for a few reasons: Zatanna is a big deal in the comics, she’s a lot of fun and people are very aware of her already – even if she’s never been featured in a live action film adaptation. Giving her this little moment in the spotlight would make fans very happy, plus it would give us a different angle to approach the whole Tim mentorship with. Zatanna isn’t like any of the other members of the trenchcoat brigade, she would bring a unique maturity and kindness to TIm’s journey that I feel could mean a lot for him and dictate which side of the coin the young boy ends up choosing. She, because of her heritage and who her father was, has also been thrust into the world without really having a say in it, which is a great point to explore between the two. Also, Most of those big players in DC’s magic world, those who we will want to see more of in the DCU going forward (Like Deadman, who’s already been teased by Gunn on Instagram) appear in that second issue, so giving that part of the book a little bit more time to breathe could benefit audiences greatly. This is what we want from an interconnected universe like this, getting to know this wide tapestry of characters bit by bit. Plus, and let’s be honest here, Constantine will be the main draw of the show, no matter how good every other aspect is, audiences will be drawn to him first, by splitting his story up into multiple parts and injecting Zatanna in between those, fans will get to see a lot more of this fan favorite character.

    There is material for an additional sixth episode as well to be found in the last issue of the book. While I would in no way shape or form suggest that the ending to the original miniseries isn’t great, it’s one of the most unique and engaging endings of the Vertigo era, it might lack a little bit of flashiness for a big budget TV show. I don’t want to spoil what happens in the fourth issue (read Books of Magic if you haven’t) so this next bit might sound a little vague, but you could extend the material from the fourth issue into two episodes. Tim and Mister E travel through the future by foot until they arrive at the end of everything, the death of the universe and the death of Destiny. This climactic issue is filled with wild visuals and manages to surprise the reading audience by revealing a major twist right near the finish line. Using this twist to split this last issue in half would give this part of the story – one overflowing with lore, visuals and action –  some much needed breathing room and help audiences stomach the insanity that is present in the final stretch of Tim’s journey.

    If you’re curious about the book and want to delve deeper into it, I highly recommend checking it out. Though I must also address that, while the book is great and a LOT of writers and artists have left their fingerprint on it, it is a Neil Gaiman book – and that could be an issue for some people. I know it was a weird moment to be writing this article (I’d completed work on it several weeks before the Gaiman allegations came out but was waiting on a good moment to share this when that article was released about him), I just hope the book can still get its moment in the sun for those who worked on it that aren’t literal monsters. So fuck Neil Gaiman!

    Do you have any future DCU projects you’d like to see? Put them in the comments because I’d love to hear it. And would you be interested to see more magic in the DCU? Make sure to follow Ghost-Writes for more articles about DC studios, DC comics and a whole lot more geeky topics!

  • Iron Man V Superman: Starting a Cinematic Universe

    Iron Man V Superman: Starting a Cinematic Universe

    LOOK UP! It is finally upon us. The Summer of Superman is reaching new heights as audiences slowly but surely flock into theaters to watch James Gunn’s “Superman” film. A weirdly momentous moment for a whole platitude of reasons. Of course for starters: Hopefully it’ll turn the public’s perception of the blue boy scout around after a few years of middling wide-spread success – but, maybe more importantly, it’ll also kickstart a brand new Cinematic-Superhero-Universe, something DC, under the WB umbrella, has been trying to accomplish for a decade now. After their first attempt slowly fizzled out into increasingly confusing course corrections, leaving the entire brand tarnished in a ditch, James Gunn now holds the reins to the DC universe and his take on the “Man Of Tomorrow” is set to start it all off in a big way. But is “Superman” enough to get audiences back to the big screen for one of comics’ oldest and most iconic universes? Having seen it, I am not so sure…

    Before I get into why, maybe we should look back to the past, back to where it all began. Back to 2008. Back to Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man”. The movie that started it all – the movie that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a monumental achievement in blockbuster film-making that studios have tried – and failed – to replicate ever since. The MCU seems to be this unobtainable gem to these conglomerate studios, time and time again they try to launch their own universes, releasing spin-offs and remakes and big-budget-blockbusters to absolutely no success. Valiant comics tried to start up a universe with Vin Diesel’s “Bloodshot” film – an attempt so laughable I had to take a minute to recoup after finishing typing the previous sentence. Sony Pictures really did try their hardest to make the SPUMM universe work (Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Movies) – releasing a whole slate of critically, and often commercially, panned films for almost a decade – and Universal will always live in infamy over their Dark Universe announcement photo. Yet Marvel somehow managed to avoid that, they managed to create this incredible sprawling universe, surviving even after steadily releasing unimaginable levels of MID for half-a-decade.

    DC does have a lot of good faith going for it at the moment, it seems like audiences are excited to see more of this universe and “Superman” is projected to do good; this is the closest I think we’ve ever gotten to a studio replicating that MCU formula for success. Yet it’s the general audiences that need to be onboard the most, and that’s where I’m afraid “Superman” will lose people. 

    Gunn’s “Superman” is a comic book movie. It is the silver age brought to life, not only in design and feel but also in story structure. The entire thing plays out like a series single issues played in rapid succession, you can almost see where each issue would end and the next would start if this were a 6 issue mini-series instead of a big Hollywood blockbuster; a quality the film both suffers from as it does excel in. Because yes, it’s so refreshing to see a movie actually respect this medium that is often only used to be gutted for parts and “inspiration” – giving us scenes that feel like their ripped straight out of a comic book – silliness and wackiness included, yet it can also feel out of place at times. All the wackiness takes up screen time that I would’ve personally much rather seen used on other more important things like… I don’t know… characterization maybe!

    CHARACTERIZATION

    See, when a comic book consistently throws characters at me like Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr Terrific or even Jimmy Olsen, I’m totally down to roll with that. I know what I can and need to expect in a big-two/canon comic book – them’s the rules and I love the medium for it – but that is a completely different way of storytelling, the medium makes that work, when you apply that same story-structure to the first movie of your big franchise it becomes convoluted, stuffed to the brim with characters that I cannot imagine general audiences would be into at first glance. I’ve seen many people compare the films narrative to that of a random single issue in a 30+ issue comic book run and I totally get that, there’s so much lore and story that is only being hinted at or referred to but never actually shown that it can become convoluted – even for someone like me, who is aware of all this stuff on a not-so-normal level.

    Here’s where Iron Man comes in. Iron Man is a comic book film, yes; it has most of the things that make Iron Man who he is and is as faithful as I think time allowed it to be. But it is also a movie. It’s a film that uses the language and structure of said medium to adapt the comics – and I don’t think “Superman” does the same. “Superman” is so faithful to the comic book medium that, at times, it ends up feeling like less of a movie because of it. At times it can feel more like a series of Rick and Morty episodes strung together, with all the characters and all the different settings pulling the movie in so many different directions making the entire thing feel messy and detached from one-another. 

    Imagine a version of Iron Man 2008, with the same cast and the same runtime, but it also includes Whiplash and The Crimson Dynamo as henchmen for Obadiah Stane. That’d already be a pretty stacked film right? But then, when Iron Man keeps running into the West Coast Avengers for some reason, things become even more convoluted. Instead of the great moments between Tony and Rhodey, you’d instead get a scene where Tigra rips apart bad guys or instead of getting the cheeseburger scene with Happy and Tony, Hawkeye shows up instead to get made fun of for his bow and arrow skills. Yeah it’s fun on paper but when you think of what you get instead – what these characters are replacing in the runtime – you realize it might not make for a more satisfying final product. “Superman” is that film.

    Take the Daily Planet. A staple of the Superman mythos attached to a plethora of iconic side characters to the Superman expanded cast and vital to understanding the character of Clark Kent. I was so excited to see what Gunn was cooking with the Daily Planet. All the casting was great, I know Gunn can handle a group of big colorful characters like the Daily Planet crew and we’ve been sorely lacking a nice faithful adaptation of this side of the DC world for decades now. Yet, in the final film, they’re kind of… absent. Sure yeah they’re in the film and they have like a funny scene… but that is it. They have a scene. One maybe two scenes dedicated to the entire group. They are not in it nearly enough for how important their subplot is to the main story. Most egregious of all, one member of the Daily Planet, maybe the most vital member, is only in the film for about 2 minutes total (if not less)…  and that is Clark Kent. 

    Yes, Clark Kent is in the film for mere moments. The rest of the film is entirely dedicated to Superman. In a way I can appreciate that the film doesn’t ever make the audience believe Clark and Superman are different characters – Clark is Clark, no matter if he wears the costume or the glasses – yet characters in the film don’t know that obviously. There is an entire investigation in the film led by Lois and Jimmy that then directly ties into the final act of the film and guess what! Clark does not help a single bit. He’s so absent from the Daily Planet no one is even really concerned about him not being there. The entirety of Metropolis is evacuated in the third act, the whole crew evacuate the Daily Planet building together (that’s the only scene in the film that features them all interacting by the way) and no one is like… “Where’s Clark?”. Not a funny remark from Steve calling Clark a wuss for sitting this out or Perry White yelling out for him during the commotion. No, Kent’s presence is barely acknowledged throughout the whole film? WHY? Because instead I’m watching this weird alien creature Lex Luthor created for some reason. There’s a huge disconnect between plotline: Superman and plotline: Daily Planet – which makes the latter feel weirdly inconsequential given how much it ties into the third act. 

    And it’s not like the Justice Gang gets enough shine because of it. The exact same issues I have with the Daily Planet arise with the Justice Gang. I know nothing about these characters, about what makes them tick, what they’re like and what having them here adds to the final story beyond what I already knew about them going in. Yes, Mr. Terrific leaves a lasting impression sure, but I wouldn’t say he’s a really fleshed put character. Again, general audiences don’t have the luxury of having comic-book-brain-worms that make you store useless capeshit information in your head like some of us do. They will just be left wondering who they just saw flying around the film without ever getting an answer (until some of these guys ultimately get their own HBO miniseries or whatever). 

    It’s an even bigger shame because Gunn is clearly gifted at characterization. He made audiences fall in love with Rocket Raccoon of all characters and even in this film it’s obvious just how good he is at it. Jimmy is really fun, he might be the only supporting character that actually works in the entire film. There’s also a really nice moment where Perry White listens to Lois’ story as the entire office melts down in a panic. Character beats like that work so well but the movie just doesn’t have enough of those moments to engage you fully. 

    INTENT V EXPECTATION

    But where I think Iron Man and Superman differ the most, where I think these films’ paths leading to Cinematic Universes diverge most is with Intent and with Expectation. Superman is being released in a completely different cultural landscape compared to Iron man. The movie industry, fandom, culture as a whole has so drastically changed since 2008 (a lot of that stemming from the existence of the MCU) and audiences expectations have shifted alongside that change. “Iron Man”, unlike all the other attempts we’ve touched on so far – including “Superman” – didn’t know what it was capable of doing. Not Feige, Not the studios’, not even the audience knew what this could grow into (I’m sure there were hopes and dreams of course, but no one could’ve expected what happened). That’s the difference. Now everyone knows what Superman is gonna become, they know they can expect more – as do the studios and filmmakers. They’re launching a cinematic-universe knowing full well that, post “Guardians Of The Galaxy”, you can get away with putting a bunch of colorful stuff in your film. But I don’t think you wanna start by going at a 100 percent, “Iron Man” barely started at ten and the MCU didn’t go to one-hundred until like 5 years later.

    You need to set that foundation first. You need to grow your world from the characters, not the behind the scenes chitter-chat and background easter eggs – audiences want fully realized main characters and side characters they can really sink their teeth into, that’s how you get them onboard, that is how you get them to come back. Think of that first wave of MCU films and how those side-characters, still to this moment in the MCU, are relevant and fan favorites. Bucky, Pepper, Happy, Loki, Rhodey – these characters are the backbone of the universe and I just don’t think the DC Studios universe is starting off strong in that regard. 

    I’m not just saying this about the DC universe to be a prick, Marvel is suffering from the exact same thing at the moment (fans had to patiently wait on Karen Page to return in the Born Again finally before they could finally get some engaging characters back, for instance). Fact of the matter is I want all of this to succeed. I want to see more DC projects get the greenlight, I wanna see The Justice League finally form in a meaningful way, I want Batman and Superman to team-up for once, I want more deep-cut characters to get solo projects. But it needs to be engaging first which is why I think this start is a little bit rocky. Luckily rocky isn’t disastrous – I’m not trying to bait people and say “JAMES GUNN FAILED, THE DC UNIVERSE IS DEAD, LONG LIVE DADDY FEIGE!!!” – far from it. Like I said, I think the cinematic future of DC is looking incredibly bright and i’m so excited to see more of it, I’ve just been burned so many times – I’ve seen so many off these films underperform and get destroyed by the general public that I really hope Superman comes out of this blockbuster-summer unscathed. 

    What do you think? Did you like Superman? And what’re you hoping to see from the future of DC movies? Let me know in the comments and follow Ghost-Writes wherever you can for more ramblings about DC, Marvel and the rest of the comic book industry.

  • What To Read: Daredevil: Born Again

    What To Read: Daredevil: Born Again

    We live in a day and age filled with comic book adaptations. Movies starring our favorite superheroes, villains, anti-heroes and pulpy characters seem to pop up every month, tv shows adapting cult classic independent books are released so fast you can barely keep up with it and every now and again they even try to adapt the books we love for the stage (to middling success). Yet the stories that inspire these films and shows often get overlooked. The books that breathe life and color into these – often inferior – adaptations are sometimes completely ignored when a major studio gets their claws into them, a trend that frustrates me endlessly. That’s why I’m starting this series, where we look at upcoming comic book adaptations and discuss the books that inspired them, so you know what to pick up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

    Today we will be looking at Marvel Studios’ latest straight-to-streaming series “Daredevil: Born Again”, a continuation of the original Netflix show that released in 2015. With the episodes that have released so far we know a little of what to expect, but for those who want to know more, this list is for you. 

    Spoilers for the first 3 episodes of “Daredevil Born Again” from here on out!

    Daredevil by Charles Soule

    If you want to be prepared for “Born Again”, you need to start here. Charles Soule’s time on the Daredevil title is without a doubt the foundation on which this new season is built, not only introducing you to new-comers like Muse, but it’s also the book that kick-started Wilson Fisk’s reign over New York City, a storyline which will slowly make its way into the MCU in Born Again.

    Charles Soule’s run is quite wonderful; After Mark Waid’s took Matt into a lighter and more colorful direction in his critically lauded run on the character, Soule proceeds to rip Matt back into darkness, into the shadows of Hell’s Kitchen all the while sporting an amazing black suit and a gritty new personality. Especially that last part seems to have inspired “Born Again” at least a little, as we know Matt is going to go through some rough shit at the start of the season, dictating his personality for the entire rest of the show. 

    But it’s not just Matt’s MCU path laid out by Soule’s time on the book, it seems like Wilson Fisk might just be inspired by Soule as well. Soule took Fisk and his dirty operations out from the city’s seedy underbelly and brought him to new levels of power by making The Kingpin of New York City its newest mayor. We obviously saw Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York in the show’s first episode and I’m excited to see how the show tackles his new rise to power. One of my favorite moments from Soule’s time on the book (that I will refrain from spoiling) happens after he’s appointed as New York’s mayor so I truly hope the MCU will do this storyline justice.

    The most obvious hint towards a possible Soule adaptation though is Muse’s inclusion in the show. The artistic serial killer introduced by Soule and Ron Garney is making his on-screen debut in the new show, setting the stage for what I can only assume to be some gore-y mayhem.

    Soule’s time on the character is a wonderful return to tone, perfect for anyone who loves the Netflix Daredevil series and wants more of that gritty feel. Soule brings a unique flavor to the book with his background as a real lawyer, perfectly balancing the work of Matt and the work of Daredevil into an exciting saga filled with amazing art by a stellar line-up of artists.

    Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky

    Unlike most of these lists I write, this is mostly a pretty chronological list of books I’m recommending. After Soule quit his time on the Daredevil title came Zdarsky, taking over the saga of Matt Murdock and running with it in a new yet familiar direction. Zdarsky’s Matt is still gritty, still that catholic boy grown up wracked with guilt and anger, but he’s also just sort of beaten down. He’s tired, hurt and broken. All of which catches up to him in a major way when he faces a gang of low-tier street thugs and makes a mistake he can’t turn back. Trailers for Born Again have suggested that Matt will make a similar mistake early on in the show which is where the similarities between these two takes on the character start. 

    While Soule started Fisk’s reign over New York as Mayor, Zdarsky is the one who fledges it out into the same territory I expect from the MCU. While this might not be super important yet, I can’t imagine this stuff won’t be touched upon later in the show. Maybe that’s in the show’s next season set to release next year or it could be touched upon in other shows / movies as the street-level saga of the MCU starts to take shape. 

    Zdarsky’s time on the character spans multiple books making it a little bit more difficult to read the entire thing in one go. Essentially, this story is split up over 3 parts; starting with Daredevil (2019) issue #1 which ends and leads into “Devil’s Reign” – the 7 issue event with plethora of tie-in issues that connect to it- and finally ending with 2022’s Daredevil run. Those first two parts are most important for those who wanna get ready for “Born Again” and the future of the MCU. Many of these similar lists will tell you to skip that last part of Zdarsky’s saga as its magical “Hand” focused story might put off those looking for a gritty crime drama, but personally I have to disagree. If you wanna experience Zdarsky’s voice for Matt to its fullest, you need that last stretch to fully make it all make sense, it brings the entire thing together and wraps up one of the most satisfying runs the character has ever had. 

    The show also includes a bunch of minor characters from Zdarsky’s run; We know we’ll see Cole North in the show, a rough and tough cop who comes after Daredevil in Zdarsky’s run but quickly learns the importance of his role as the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen. The show’s version of Bullseye seems inspired by Zdarsky’s run as well, with Poindexter donning a suit inspired by Checchetto’s design and newly introduced character Daniel Blake reminds me a lot of Zdarsky creation Butch Farris.

    Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis

    Now we skip back in time to the early 2000s, way before either Zdarsky or Soule took over on the Daredevil title, before the character had appeared on Netflix and even before Ben Affleck donned the red leather on the big screen. Before all of that we had Brian Michael Bendis’ phenomenal run on the character. 

    The Bendis era is amazing. It’s Bendis at his best as he effortlessly seemed to create a narrative that spanned 50+ issues without ever taking a breather or having a fill-in issue to pad for time. He draws in from all corners of the Marvel Universe – which he seemed to be running during the early 2000s – to create his own little cohesive street-level world within this larger universe of capes and tights.

    The only reason this series isn’t higher on this list is because I just don’t see that much of it factoring in during the MCU’s“Born Again”. Some of Bendis’ storylines might be adapted later on (though I expect that to be more-so a season 3 or 4 story than a season 2 plot) but for now not all of his 50+ issues are exactly important if you want to immerse yourself in the world of the MCU show. What is important to read though is the White Tiger arc, a storyline the show has taken major inspiration from in episode 2 and 3. Sure, there are some differences the show has made that fans might not be entirely agreeing with, but if you want a glimpse at the story of Hector Ayala in the comics, this is the book to pick up.

    Nobody does the grit, the angst and the violence of Daredevil better than Bendis, leaving his mark on the character forever, infusing any adaptation off the character with that little extra something that makes Daredevil stand out from the rest of the Marvel universe. 

    Honorable Mentions

    Since the Man Without Fear has such an incredible track record in comics, with an unrivaled amount of classic and critically acclaimed runs under his name, I think it best if I give you all a little run down off other amazing Daredevil stories you should check out, even if they might not tie in with the new show’s story as much as the previous entries have. 

    Obviously the show takes its title from the seminal “Born Again” arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, which might be one of Daredevil’s greatest and most classic stories ever told. Yet the show and the book truly don’t bear any resemblance to each other, with the story instead being the main inspiration for the Netflix show’s third season. Still, picking up “Born Again” cannot do you any harm, it is a truly astounding read and I dare you not to fall in love with Miller and Mazzuccchelli’s work instantly. 

    Since I put Bendis’ run on here I do also feel like checking out Brubaker’s follow up run is a good idea. Not only do the two stories directly lead into each other, but the book also features the death of Foggy Nelson, a major plot point in the MCU show as we’ve come to learn. If the rest off the book is adapted into the show as well remains to be seen, but no matter what the book is still very solid and the perfect supplement to Bendis’ time on the title. 

    One of the show’s newest additions to the Daredevil world is that of Kristen McDuffie, whom Matt decides to set up a law-firm with in the show after Foggy’s supposed passing. Kirsten is heavily featured in Mark Waid’s run on Daredevil which – and I understand I am repeating myself here, but Daredevil just has this many hits under his belt – is another modern day classic run on the character. 

    There are many more incredible Daredevil titles for you to revel in, and I certainly hope you do check out more once you’ve gotten through this list, but for now these are all the books I think you’ll want to read as you dive in Matt’s return to the small screen. Are there any titles you think I’ve missed? And how are you liking the MCU show so far? Let me know in the comments or on my socials and be sure to follow us as to not miss any Daredevil coverage (and believe me, there is more on the way)

  • Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – What’s Next?

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – What’s Next?

    The two episode finale of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” left us with many exciting cliffhangers and set-ups for next season, some obvious and others less-so. Where do we think these storylines could lead to and can we uncover more hidden storylines if we look to the comics for leads? Let’s talk about it.

    Before we can really start I do have to say that I won’t be discussing the obvious; Yes, Norman will become Green Goblin. Yes, Lonnie will turn into a more comic accurate Tombstone. Yeah, I also saw the symbiote and Yes, Doc Ock will get his tentacles. Sure, those things are exciting but they’re not super fun to talk about compared to the outlandish theories I have cooked up, hence I’m not touching on them.

    Spoiler warning for Season 1 of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”

    Taskmaster

    Last year, way before the show came out, even before we got any official trailers or promo material, I wrote a speculative article on the series trying to piece together what we could expect from its first season. One of my more outlandish theories from that article was a surprise appearance from none-other than Taskmaster, one of Marvel’s most iconic bad guys and a fan favorite for many. Now we obviously didn’t see Taskmaster in the show’s first season but the ending of episode 10 weirdly enough made me more certain we’ll see the skull-faced bad guy in the second season. 

    See Taskmaster is connected to one of the show’s minor characters; Jeanne Foucault, who we see teaming up with Daredevil at the end of season 1. Jeanne, going by Finesse in the comics, is a gifted Polymath, being able to copy anyone’s fighting abilities in an instance. Obviously these powers are very similar to that of Taskmaster, often implying that he’s Jeanne’s biological father in the comics. Now obviously her inclusion does not have to mean Taskmaster will show up next season, but the fact that the show opted for Jeanne instead of someone like Blindspot, who’s an actual Daredevil sidekick in the comics, leads me to believe Taskmaster has at the very least been discussed by the show’s creative team. 

    Imagine how cool a team-up episode would be where Daredevil, Finesse and Peter have to face Taskmaster? Tell me you don’t wanna see that!

    The Future of W.E.B.

    One of the final scenes in season 1’s finale ended with Harry Osborn establishing W.E.B, a tech company set up to help young scientific minds fund their brilliant ideas. We see a list of potential names to join the organization including Ned Leeds; a classic member of Spider-Man’s supporting cast with a headache-inducing amount of lore and retcons to his name – including being the Hobgoblin, and Max Dillon; better known as classic Spider-Man bad guy Electro. Also included are a bunch of the show’s crew members and a wide-array of minor characters from the comics. While those latter additions to the list are far from household names, there is a shared link between some of them; G.I.R.L.

    No, that doesn’t mean they’re all girls, it’s actually an acronym for the “Geniuses In Action Research Lab”, another enterprise focused on honing the skills of young scientific minds (though this one only focused on female members). This group is founded by Nadia Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym and known as the Unstoppable Wasp in the comics. I’d love to see Spidey team-up with another bug-themed do-gooder and the inclusion of Nadia would be another fun way for the show to differentiate itself from the sacred MCU timeline. I’d also enjoy seeing the W.E.B team face off against the G.I.R.L group as the two strive for scientific dominance. 

    Fallout of War

    Now what you might forget as a viewer is that “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is basically a “What If…” episode expanded into an entire show. It might be a bit of an unconventional one but the show does explore what would’ve happened to Peter’s life had he not joined team Iron Man during the events of Civil War. While the show never addresses the Sokovia accords and subsequent fallout of the new superhero laws in detail, Civil War is alluded to on several occasions, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if the show delves much deeper into this “What If…” in subsequent seasons. 

    The inclusion of General Ross and Iron Man are my main reason for thinking we might be getting more down the line. Not only is their appearance in the show a sort of random addition, as neither character really interacts with Peter’s story at all, mainly being used as a tool by Norman, but the show also reiterates their importance in the season’s finale. Norman specifically mentions both characters in his speech to Octavius in jail as if the writers really wanted you to remember their inclusion in the show. 

    We also saw the actual Accords in the show’s final episodes and Cap makes a very minor appearance in the hallways of Oscorp, posing for a picture with Norman that’s hung on the wall for all of his visitors to see. To me it’s clear that the show keeps reminding the viewer that the superhero Civil War happened so people keep it in the back of their minds once season 2 or 3 continues developing the scenario. 

    The “YFNSM” prequel comic that Marvel has been publishing also established that this version of Peter is a bigger fan of Cap than he is off Tony, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the show decides to retroactively make Pete a member of Team Cap, especially since the webhead is definitely in conflict with the Sokovia Accords as a masked vigilante. I’d love to see what Peter would do once Cap is the first Avenger he meets instead of Tony and if he would join him in a fight against Iron Man.

    Future Villains

    Now the show has set up a whole heap of exciting new adversaries for Spidey to face next season with the obvious inclusions being more Doc Ock, Green Goblin and a Venom of sorts, but the show planted many more seeds for the future of Peter’s rogues.

    The show gives us a bunch of future bad guy material in episode 4 and 5 by establishing a crew of criminals looking to buy some of Octavius’ gear before being apprehended by the cops. These characters obviously included The Unicorn, who I don’t expect to see much more of, but it also included characters like Mikhail Sytsevich; father of the original Rhino in the comics. While this could mean his son Aleksei vows to take revenge on Spider-Man for putting his father away in prison, he does also sport a very bulky body himself, perfect for a Rhino suit in the future? Someone on the crew who does get their comic accurate costume already is Dmitri, better known as the Chameleon, the groups getaway driver. He dons his iconic white mask later on in the season while helping the 110th find Octavius’ gear. 

    While the 110th is obviously led by an increasingly scary Lonnie Lincoln now, the group does also include another well known Marvel bad guy; Bulldozer. Bulldozer is normally a part of the Wrecking Crew (who we saw in She-Hulk previously) alongside Wrecker, Piledriver and Thunderball. If we’ll see those three pop up in the 110th later on as well remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Lonnie goes to look for more super-powered allies after discovering what Ocatvius’ gas did to him.

    One of the show’s final teasers and one that puzzled me the most was that of Nico Minoru, as she used her previously hidden magical abilities to conjure up a spell. Now it wasn’t entirely clear to me what her spell was going to do but it obviously has something to do with her mother. Nico has sort of mystified me in this show, her inclusion is fun and I get that the series wanted to differentiate Peter’s supporting cast from other adaptations, but putting in the biggest member of one of Marvel’s most interesting titles, a character with such a well-established back story and identity, seems on purpose. While we don’t know what happened to Nico’s parents, we do know her story is much different from her comic book counterpart, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if the show manages to align the two versions a little more in subsequent seasons. For those who don’t know, the original Runaways story establishes Nico’s parents as villains working for an evil cult-like organization called the Cabal. I’m guessing “YFNSM” ‘s version of Nico’s mom is lost somewhere in a magical realm and Nico is desperately trying to get her back, but once she manages to do so, her mom will have turned in some way, either voluntarily or possessed by something on the other side (Mephisto?? We did see a hint of him in her Tarot deck…). 

    Whatever or whoever will appear in the shows upcoming seasons remain to be seen (though we did get an exciting Gwen Stacy reveal on Twitter today), but if the response to season 1 is any indication, fans will love whatever happens!

    There were many more exciting reveals in “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” and I’d love to hear what you are most excited to see happen next! And what did you think of the show’s first season. Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know! Be sure to follow along as I can promise the Wall-Crawler will be discussed much more in the future!

  • Thrillers Or Spectacle: The MCU Dillemma

    Thrillers Or Spectacle: The MCU Dillemma

    Marvel Studios’ latest cinema release, “Captain America: Brave New World”, is the umpteenth film in a long line of projects developed by the movie-conglomerate to disappoint fans. While there are many factors to consider in the film’s critical failure – some just and others unjust – one of the most prevalent points I keep hearing online is the unmet expectation of an “Espionage Thriller”. People seem to be champing at the bit for a gritty spy flick that takes the bureaucracy of the Marvel Universe and runs with it to create a tense, world shattering, conspiracy that only the heroes of this world can fix. That craving has been prevailing for years now while films and series released under the MCU banner promising to deliver on this specific genre more often than not end up being quite bad. We’ve seen it with “Secret Invasion”, a spectacular misfire that tried to turn the gigantic comic book event of the same name into a small scale conspiracy story to little success, and before that we also got the solo Black Widow film that seemed to be interested in relighting this gritty fire missing for so long. While that movie certainly isn’t as bad as “Secret Invasion” was, it definitely wasn’t great either; quickly falling back into the studios’ worst habits and turning into a generic action film with forgettable set pieces. So why are MCU fans still hung up on this genre if the studio can’t seem to ever get it right? Why do they think Feige and his creative partners are even capable of making a film of that kind?

    Well before we can even answer that question I say we need to take a step back and ask a bigger question instead; “Has Marvel ever made a real espionage thriller?”. I say Yes and No. You see the MCU and its hordes of fans have been chasing one high ever since 2014, hoping to fill the “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” sized cavern left by the studio. A movie so good it might end up being a negative for the MCU in the long run. “The Winter Soldier” was something so incredibly fresh, so invigorating and cool, that fans have elevated their standards to such a degree that any and all attempts at recreating the magic have fallen on deaf-ears. But, and pardon my bluntness, do MCU fans really know what they’re talking about? Or have they been chasing an unachievable high left by a film that never even really existed in the way they remember? I think so. See I agree that“The Winter Soldier” is good, it’s a tense mystery filled with great action, but any great Espionage Thriller needs that bit of realism embedded in it to create stakes. It needs to grip you, relate to you and the fears you have about the world. It needs to take from real world issues and use that to create something gripping and tense. It needs politics, an identity, maybe a little anger aimed at the world as it is. But “The Winter Soldier” has absolutely nothing to say about anything besides a surface level “good vs bad” narrative. Sure, inspired by actual political thrillers from the past like “All The President’s Men” and “Three Days Of The Condor”, “Winter Soldier” might make you feel like you’re watching something meaningful, but it’s only ever an emulation of said genre rather than actually trying to be it.

    The MCU is maybe one of the most apolitical worlds you’ll ever see on the big screen, where any real world conundrum about race or war or equality or every other very basic surface level political interest is reduced to a minor hurdle in the road to a large world ending threat or even ignored all together. I can’t remember the last time one of these movies actually used it’s heightened – super – version of reality to put a mirror up to the real world, not even using it’s super-powered foundation as an allegory for real world problems, which is probably one of the MCU’s most apparent short-comings given that almost every comic book that’s even come close to being lauded a masterpiece by general readers builds entire narratives around that exact enhanced mirror. It seems Feige and the upper-creatives at Marvel Studios are desperate to say as little as possible, often only saying things when convenient for them rather than for any artistic reasoning. 

    “But Ghost, The MCU is built on a foundation of social commentary, didn’t you see Iron Man! He hates weapons!” I hear you yell at your digital screen, and yes, Iron Man certainly tries to say something about… war I guess? That making weapons is bad… unless you use the weapon yourself? I think that’s what Iron Man tries to say, I can’t be sure though as any meaningful – though very confusing and muddled – message you try to squeeze out of the first Iron Man film is in fact buried underneath a thick layer of genuine US Military propaganda. I know I’m far from the first person to have spoken about this but Marvel has on numerous occasions (including on the production of “Iron Man”) actively worked with the US Military for their films, including giving the Department Of Defense final say on the film’s script in exchange for access to real military equipment for the film’s production. Marvel traded their entire artistic integrity just to pay a little less. A spineless decision for a quick buck. 

    Now I don’t want to get ahead of myself here but… I feel like we’ve sort of found ourselves at the root cause of this issue fairly quickly. It’s money, because of course it is. I know, I know, what a boring conclusion to come to, but I can’t help that we are living in a world built atop a foundation of currency over humanity. When you make art with the sole purpose of making money from it, you’re gonna end up saying nothing, because saying something means you’ll undoubtedly step on someone’s toes – and that person is not paying for a ticket to see your next film about a purple guy trying to kill a spider-guy. You can only make billions by making movies for everyone, which means you have to also appeal to everyone, thus saying nothing in the process. Because if you didn’t appeal to everyone, you’d end up only making hundreds of millions of dollars at once, and who’d want that when you could be making a billion instead? 

    There is honestly only one MCU project that I believe dares to say something even remotely controversial ; “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” (coincidentally a project independent from Box Office numbers since it’s a streaming series not a cinematic release) A story all about a black man becoming Captain America, this show simply couldn’t not make a statement about race and what it means to be black in America. By mirroring the real life vitriol Sam Wilson (and in extension Anthony Mackie) got for portraying the new Captain America, this show was the only thing actually willing to take a stand against that hate and by adding Isaiah Bradley to the story the show also managed to use that enhanced mirror I mentioned previously to create a really solid series. Sure, the political commentary isn’t all that scathing and falls on deaf ears for a lot of its run time, but even a small step in the right direction will get you to where you need to be eventually. Yet then, when it’s time to give Sam his own solo film, when it’s time to put Isaiah on the big screen and to continue making that same statement, the studio instead flops over into something else, a spineless film about nothing. Absolutely nothing. In a time where elections are maybe the most important they’ve ever been, Marvel studios makes a film about the president turning into a big jello pudding hulk. A sad display of cowardice but one also not all too surprising given their track record. 

    So no. A political espionage thriller isn’t happening. Not now and maybe not ever. But is there still room for a thriller of any other sort? A tense and grounded story focusing on a smaller scale adventure for any of the heroes in the MCU? Honestly, I’m not so sure about that either.

    Post-Endgame it’s been apparent that the once king of blockbuster film-making just isn’t what it used to be. While pre-Endgame Marvel movies certainly didn’t all hit, the general reputation of the MCU felt untouchable, hit after hit after hit, billions coming in at the box-office, it really felt like the MCU had the formula down. But post-Endgame the conglomerate seems to have slipped a bit. With their focus shifting to bigger and bigger slates of films and tv, the overall cohesion of the Universe slowly seemed to disappear and with it quality seemed to slip a little more as well. I wouldn’t say everything has gone to shit, that we’re watching an unmitigated disaster spin out of control until it reaches its inevitable whimper of an ending, but I do think the studio has, in an attempt to course correct, started relying too much on big spectacle moments to make up for poor critical reception, and those spectacle moments will end up leaving no lasting impact. 

    Yes, putting Red Hulk in your movie and then marketing his inclusion like crazy might compensate for the lack of audience investment in this world in the short-run, but it’s not gonna be a sustainable solution. You will run out of these characters eventually, there’s not an endless supply of glup-shitto’s in the Marvel Comics vault, and when you do, audiences will realize there’s nothing left for them in this universe, no cohesion, no stakes, no dynamics they love between characters they stan on twitter! Just a universe mistaking cameos for spectacle. 

    That same mistake is also what’s causing their Thriller problem – or lack-thereof I should say. Yes, you can give us a story about The Leader pulling the strings behind the US government as an all out world-war is set to break out, but if the stakes can only conclude in a big smash fest between Captain America and Red Hulk well then you kind of lose the tension you’ve been building (now a weak script and massive reshoots don’t help this case either but my point still stands). Same with “Secret Invasion”, which has arguably the worst finale of any Marvel project ever made with that god awful fight between Giah and Gravik forever stained upon this universe. Thrills can come from more than just bad Dragonball battles, more than power-scaling and smashing action figures into each other, especially when your entire story depends on tension on a much smaller scale!

    So can Marvel make Thrillers anymore? Probably! But there has to be some change before any of that can happen. The studio needs to take some risks. I know big studios don’t like taking those these days, but risks are what is going to get butts in seats in the long run. Risks make the audience engage in your stories and risks are how you build a franchise out. And yes that might cost money, yes you might not hit a billion with every movie you make, but you will have an audience left after your big expanding universe reaches its 20th year anniversary.

  • What To Read: Captain America – Brave New World

    What To Read: Captain America – Brave New World

    We live in a day and age filled with comic book adaptations. Movies starring our favorite superheroes, villains, anti-heroes and pulpy characters seem to pop up every month, tv shows adapting cult classic independent books are released so fast you can barely keep up with it and every now and again they even try to adapt the books we love for the stage (to middling success). Yet the stories that inspire these films and shows often get overlooked. The books that breathe life and color into these – often inferior – adaptations are sometimes completely ignored when a major studio gets their claws into them, a trend that frustrates me endlessly. That’s why I’m starting this series, where we look at upcoming comic book adaptations and discuss the books that inspired them, so you know what to pick up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

    Today we’ll be looking at Captain America’s latest big-screen outing “Brave New World” and the books that inspired it as well as books that will supplement your Gamma radiated cravings after seeing the film. 

    All-New Captain America

    Sam Wilson’s first solo title as Captain America is immediately his best. This 6 issue mini-series written by Rick Remender with art by Stuart Immonen is exactly what you want from a book like this. It introduces you to this new era of Captain America with no-holds-barred action. Seriously, this thing opens right in the middle of the fight and just doesn’t let up the entire time, it’s really thrilling. Cap is sent on a mission against Hydra that sees him facing off against every pseudo-nazi Steve Rogers has ever faced. Having Sam stuck in this adventure that encompassess almost the entirety of Steve’s past is genius and a lot of fun, solidifying it as one of my favorite ways off relaunching a legacy character like this. 

    Sam is put through the ringer here as he’s thrown into the modern-day version of a Kirby and Simon era story, including evil super-nazis trying to take over the world with a ridiculous scheme and colourful interior pages. It’s clear that Remender really went for it here to prove just how worthy Sam is of the shield as he beats down 80 years of Cap villains in 6 issues. But the story doesn’t just use its incredible action to convince the reader of Sam’s competency. It does much more.

    The entire adventure plays alongside several flashbacks scenes that explore Sam’s past and instill the entire story with motivation as we realize more and more why Sam is supposed to be Cap. These flashback sequences aren’t just good to create that sense of morality that fuels Sam but it also gives readers a sense of Sam’s back story. Sam has a sort of convoluted past because of a retcon from a few decades ago but Remender uses this book to clean that up a little, making it easier to stomach as this new status quo for the character is ushered in. 

    “All New Captain America” is a non-stop action book great for new readers and old readers alike.

    Captain America: Sam Wilson

    Remender’s Sam Wilson Mini is followed up by Nick Spencer’s run on the winged Avenger, another solid entry in this character’s new status quo. While I think Remender’s mini is the better of the two, this book feels much more akin to his Live-action counterpart. The book focuses on more grounded issues compared to the “sci-fi nazis try to sterilize the entire earth using inhumans” of our previous entry, often commentating on real world events and the rhetoric present in 2016’s America (and also 2025 America sadly). But by tackling said issues in a heightened way the book still manages to be fun and engaging instead of simply depressing. 

    The book also features the origin of Joaquin Torres’ Falcon, who we will see more of in “Brave New World” after his Disney+ debut 4 years ago. I really like Joaquin as Falcon in the comics, he’s got a very fun, young, energy around him and the total ridiculousness of his origin story is something I mess with heavily. 

    Also present in this book which may or may not tie into “Brave New World” is the Serpent Society, a group of snake-themed evil doers who were originally featured in this new film but reshoots and rewrites seem to have done away with them for the most part. It’s not entirely clear what happened to them but if you wanna make sure you’re not missing out on any snake related activity in the film, make sure to check out this book since they’re the big bad of the entire thing.

    While this run is solid, it does tie into a bunch of other Marvel Universe stuff later on which might make it a bit of a tough read for those who aren’t fully engaged into that world-building yet. I recommend starting with the first 6 issues and seeing what you think before either continuing on or pivoting to one of the other books on this list!  

    Thunderbolts Red

    No, I didn’t confuse the next two MCU releases, I know we’re not talking about the “Thunderbolts*” yet. But the inclusion of Thaddeus Ross and The Leader in Brave New World make “Thunderbolts Red” (or Thunderbolts 2013) the perfect supplementary reading material as you prepare for the new MCU blockbuster. Especially Ross’ shines here, both in his role as a no-nonsense general and as the Red Hulk. Written by Daniel Way (and later Charles Soule), this run on the Thunderbolts is unlike any of the others sharing the name. While previous incarnations of the team focused on groups of (reformed) villains, this take on the character sees a group of anti-heroes coming together under the leadership of Ross to do the big scale stuff they can’t do alone.

    Their first mission revolves all around Samuel Sterns AKA The Leader, who might not be exactly as smart as you expect him to be in this run (or the color you expect him to be for that matter), but he’s still as dastardly as you want him to be (especially in the later half of this run once other writers take over the book). The Leader doesn’t necessarily have the most iconic line-up of books under his belt, so finding a run that prominently features him the way this one does isn’t as easy as you might think.

    This book is a ton of fun. Bloody, violent, action packed and filled with fun characters like Ghost Rider, Deadpool, Elektra and Punisher alongside the aforementioned Hulk characters. 

    Honorable Mentions

    There’s many more stories to get through as we prepare for Brave New World, but many of them might not be entirely relevant to the movie’s story. That’s why they’re in this little paragraph. I still recommend reading these stories, but if you don’t get through them before the film’s release it’s not going to affect your viewing experience. 

    Red Hulk was created in 2008 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness in the aptly titled “HULK” book, an unstoppable tour de force of a comic. Loeb has undoubtedly written some beautifully emotional books before but his Hulk run sure as shit isn’t that. I wouldn’t even really call this book good yet it is still very entertaining. Each issue whizzes by you like a freight train and before you know it you’ll be 12 issues in and pondering what the fuck you’re even reading about. If you have a Marvel Unlimited subscription and a free afternoon I’d highly suggest cracking this open and turning your brain off. But if you don’t have any of these, maybe let the book lay to your wayside.

    On the flipside I’d recommend reading Immortal Hulk, my personal favorite Hulk book ever written and one of the most solid runs the big two have had to offer readers in the last 20 years. Immortal Hulk, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Joe Bennett, is a body-horror thrill ride that introduces readers to a whole new mythology surrounding Bruce Banner. Sure, this isn’t focused on Captain America necessarily, neither is it too focused on Thaddeus Ross, but if we want a story that focuses all on Gamma then Immortal Hulk is the book to bat for. 

    A book I’ll always recommend people read if they want to get into Captain America is “United States Of Captain America”, a story all about what it means to be Captain America, a concept I’m sure Sam will struggle with as well in Brave New World. The book features both Steve and Sam suiting up as the titular red-white-and-blue hero but it also includes a plethora of other Captain Americas, both old and new. It’s a fun cross-country adventure that celebrates the 80 year history of Cap perfectly and introduces you to a whole new cast of fun characters.

    Are you excited for “Brave New World”? And If so, will you be checking out any of these aforementioned books in preparation? Let us know in the comments and give us a follow if you’d like to read more!

  • Marvel Premier Format: Why Change A Winning Formula?

    Marvel Premier Format: Why Change A Winning Formula?

    Last year DC comics decided to launch a new printing initiative focused on reprinting their most iconic stories in smaller formats more akin to that of a regular Manga Volume. The much talked about launch was met with wide appraisal and stunning sales that seemed to prove what many consumers had been saying for years; Cheaper and smaller comics will sell better when you put them in more convenient places to buy. It was truly a breath of fresh air in the comics industry, after years of seemingly unresponsive initiatives from publishers it seemed like audiences were finally being listened to and in return DC made a shitload of money. The Compact Comics Initiative seemed to be a win-win for DC and comics as a whole. 

    Later on, Marvel decided that they too were going to jump on this bandwagon with their own line of smaller sized collections of some of their most iconic stories. The first wave of which is releasing this week, including the seminal Daredevil book “Born Again” and the first few issues of Ta Nehisi Coates’ run on Black Panther. Yet, while DC’s compact Comics Launch was hotly anticipated, it seems Marvel’s version isn’t off to such a hot start. I haven’t heard a single person mention these books coming out and I follow a sickening amount of people from the industry. No writer, nor artist, nor editor or journalist that I follow seems to be all that amped up for these books and quite honestly… I can understand why. 

    DC’s Compact Comics were a clear success. Their biggest and best stories for a good price of around 10 bucks and in a size that anyone can take along with them on trips or on their commute to work. It’s genius. Sure, It’s simple. But it’s genius. Yet a formula this simple seems like too much for Marvel Comics to wrap their head around, as they have seemingly decided to not learn a thing from their competitors’ success and instead just do their own baffling thing. 

    First off, Marvel has increased the price of these editions with 5 bucks, making their version of these Compact Comics a much steeper 15 bucks. This increase might not seem like a lot, but you’ll quickly figure out that every cent counts (especially these days) and that the increase seems to be for no logical reason at all. No, instead the price hike seems to be the result of an even dumber change made in sizing. DC’s format sports a nice 5.5” by 8.5” format similar to that of your standard paper novel, while Marvel’s version sports a much taller and wider size of 6” by 9”. That might not seem like much, but those half inches count for a lot. 

    People want to take this with them on the go. You want any random person, if they’re a comic fan or not, to see a book like this on the shelf and pick it up. Size and price are huge factors in this case, they might just be the most important factors. So I truly cannot imagine why Marvel ever assumed hiking both of these aspects up was such a good idea. Now your local 11 year old isn’t going to buy your Black Panther book anymore, he only got 10 bucks of allowance this month, thankfully there is a cool Batman book he can get for that price on the next shelf over. His Mom isn’t picking up your Daredevil book now either because it just doesn’t fit in her purse like her normal novels do. Luckily for her there’s a nicely sized Wonder Woman title on the shelf next to Marvel’s that does fit in her purse. These changes matter. 

    I’m obviously being a little silly here but my point is still clear. The Compact Comics had two huge selling points and Marvel has decided to just sort of ignore that in favor of something worse. Some might say that the price increase isn’t just because of the bigger format, since the book does also include quite some bonus material inside like Mazzucchelli pencils and Miller’s script for the Born Again book. While I’m really glad those extra pages are in there (The fact that Compact Comics got rid of such bonus material bugged me slightly) I don’t believe it should’ve had any real impact on the price. The Compact Watchmen edition included the entire 12 issue run, more than 400 pages, for the same 10 dollar price point as any other Compact edition while Born Again is 5 bucks more yet only has 300 pages. It just does not make sense, no matter how much bonus material is in there. 

    Yet my issues do not just end with the terrible price and size changes, I also think Marvel dropped the ball on their design choices here, mainly those hideous covers. Compact Comics have a very clear look. It’s color coded, sleek and stands out. The bright impact-like font pops out at you when it’s on the shelves and even the spines are eye-catching enough. Marvel opted for a different route. A very boring one. I do not know what the thought process behind the covers is, I imagine it’s an attempt to look more sophisticated since these books are “Premier”, but the end result looks more like a bland textbook you’d carry around in high school. Nothing screams excitement to me, there’s no action on display, no popping colors or iconic covers. Nothing about it is eye-catching. The stark white design and the badly faded out original covers slapped onto the front of the books are ugly and confusing. The thick red border at the bottom is plain and straight up boring to look at as it only highlights the confusing amount of different fonts thrown into your face. The spines are not nearly as striking as its competitors’ version, coming across as the more timid and scared little cousin of DC’s initiative. The cherry on top of this terrible cake is that horrible new Marvel Comics logo (Feige you will rue the day you started striving for brand synergy). 

    I get that Marvel is trying to hone in on a new sort of audience with these books, but I think they’ve forgotten that they’re still a comic book publisher. You can dress up the exterior as clean as possible, but once you crack open that book you will still see men in tights fighting evil villains and their henchmen. It’s okay to be a comic book, it’s okay to exude that fun energy that’s inside these books, that’s what they’re here for. If you’re trying to trick a different audience into buying your book this entire thing is gonna misfire in your face and you’ll be stuck with a few hundred boxes of “Premier” collections instead of the absolute success of the Compact line.

    A big issue with this idea for Marvel is also the type of books they have. DC just has a better library when it comes to stand alone minis that make for great material for these sorts of Collections. Marvel doesn’t really have their own version of “Batman Year One” or “Watchmen”. They have iconic, long running story arcs that you can’t squeeze into a format like this. The general audience outside of comics have always had this belief that Comics are this impenetrable web of continuity while that really isn’t the case, but showcasing them the first few issues of a 25 issue long run isn’t gonna calm their fears on that front. 

    I get that this isn’t the fault of the format. It’s really nobody’s fault. But it is a shame that Marvel didn’t even try to find more than one stand alone book at launch. Born Again is a great pick for an initiative like this. It’s singular, it’s popular and it’s coming out at a time when the words “Daredevil: Born Again” are plastered on posters across the entire globe. That’s smart marketing, and something DC doesn’t have to benefit from – not yet at least. Marvel truly has the characters to rival DC. Yes, they might have Batman and Superman – characters who’s name will forever be ingrained into our collective consciousness – but ever since the MCU, Marvel has really made some minor characters into household names. An Iron Man Premier edition would sell just as well as one of Batman’s compact editions, trust me on that, you just have to pick the right Iron Man story.

    Do I think this is gonna do well? Not particularly. Do I hope it’s gonna do well? Obviously. I love comics, the entire reason I started this page was to hopefully get some new people riled up about this industry the way I am, so if this initiative sticks I’d be happy to swallow my words. It’s not like everything is terrible about these books, the quality of the paper is really nice. The printing is wonderful and really does justice to Mazzucchelli and Scheele’s original coloring. Again, putting bonus material in there is lovely and a great way to get people familiar with the artists making this stuff behind the scenes, as they can often be overlooked by the general audience. I just hope Marvel manages to course correct over the next few months and have a nicer, more affordable set of books available come Christmas time.  

    What do you think of this new initiative? And are you planning on checking out any of the releases this week? Let us know on the socials and be sure to follow us as we’ll be delving into the future of Marvel’s Premier Collection and trying to find which books deserve to be published in this format as well.