what, no love for Nextwave? that has action-comedy written all over it. semi-dysfunctional superheroes-with-issues rebel against the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort that employs them and actually start saving people and stuff! it has Machine Man for the trippy scifi bits, getting drunk. It has The Captain for the Captain Marvel style action bits, Elsa Bloodstone for the fantasy, Forbush Man for the comedy, and the secret agenda of H.A.T.E for the thriller elements (with MODOK!)
@DoktorH: NextWave is comedy for comic-book fans. If you're NOT a comic-book fan, it's really too self-referential and in-jokey to be amusing.
Seriously, stuff like Irving Forbush or a bunch of two-page splash panels (with no story) are only funny to comics fans (and wouldn't translate at all to the movies). Likewise, half the characters would need explanation; a movie audience isn't going to know who Bloodstone is (hell, most comic readers didn't know) and isn't going to be happy with finding out one of the members is his daughter...and won't be happy with the two lines of exposition about it in the comic that passes for her back-story.
@WizarDru: False. The elements that you describe are no different than those in Mystery Men--inside jokes for comic book fans, characters with obscure origins--and that was a great movie.
There were quite a few ongoing comic series that continued to amaze this year.
Paul Dini's run on Detective Comics was absolutely superb, and even if you dont share his hard-on for Zantanna (Have you checked yourself for a pulse lately?), you have to admit the new Ventriloquist is shaping up to be a fascinating villain.
Angel: After The Fall and Buffy: Season VIII have both got me hooked, even though I haven't watched either series since they stopped airing first run episodes. My only major complaint with Angel, is that the artwork is so shoddy in places it's very difficult to tell who's who, especially when they're reintroducing some minor character who appeared in a few episodes of the TV series. That, and I still don't know what's up with the talking fish.
In Fables, we had the rather abrupt ending to the massive story arc that's dominated most of the previous 50 issues. Suddenly the war with the adversary is over, and the good guys have won. Hurray! Umm... Does that mean the story is over? Not by a long shot! Kudos to Bill Willingham for showing that winning the war is only half the battle, and picking up the pieces can have just as dramatic consequences.
The Walking Dead My god. This series has more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. Thought your favorite characters were safe as long as they stayed inside the prison? Ha! Think again suckers! Well, at least Rick's family is going to be okay... sonovabitch!!!! Yay, not everyone was slaughtered! Wait, who are these new guys? Huh... Did that guy just say he knew what was causing the zombies?!?!
I stopped reading Hellblazer for quite a while, since it didn't really seem to be going anywhere, but Jock seems to have brought back the bastard we all know and love. The bit with the bones of St. Nicholas has got to be one of the single most bad-ass moments in the entire series.
This year also saw a few new issues of Fell (though not as many as their should be), Buckaroo Banzai (which wasn't to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it), Criminal Macabre, Jack of Fables, No Hero, and Ellis's run on Thunderbolts.
@JohnnyZito: Agreed, loved RIP. The fact that loose ends aren't tied up and there's still some unanswered issues makes it, in my mind, all the more appealing.
Plus, trying to finalize this story with Final Crisis starting immediately afterwards...not so easy. The big question is what they'll do with Batman post-Crisis.
06/15/09
Now Jamie Madrox, that's a character I'd like to see done right on film.
06/14/09
06/14/09
Cloak, not Clock, argh, typo.
06/15/09
Typo aside, Power Pack is a great idea for a summer blockbuster. Kids would love seeing someone like themselves with superpowers.
Cloak and Dagger, though...it's a little too dark. And it feels dated to me.
06/14/09
06/14/09
06/14/09
06/14/09
06/14/09
06/15/09
Seriously, stuff like Irving Forbush or a bunch of two-page splash panels (with no story) are only funny to comics fans (and wouldn't translate at all to the movies). Likewise, half the characters would need explanation; a movie audience isn't going to know who Bloodstone is (hell, most comic readers didn't know) and isn't going to be happy with finding out one of the members is his daughter...and won't be happy with the two lines of exposition about it in the comic that passes for her back-story.
Nextwave would make a TERRIBLE movie.
06/15/09
It just couldn't rely on those elements.
06/14/09
06/14/09
Alas, after ELEKTRA, Marvel might think twice about going that route . . .
06/14/09
06/14/09
06/14/09
06/14/09
It is full of Kung Fu and good times.
(It does NOT feature SHARK EYES, though I'm seriously considering that for the rewrites.)
06/14/09
It is full of Kung Fu and good times.
12/30/08
Paul Dini's run on Detective Comics was absolutely superb, and even if you dont share his hard-on for Zantanna (Have you checked yourself for a pulse lately?), you have to admit the new Ventriloquist is shaping up to be a fascinating villain.
Angel: After The Fall and Buffy: Season VIII have both got me hooked, even though I haven't watched either series since they stopped airing first run episodes. My only major complaint with Angel, is that the artwork is so shoddy in places it's very difficult to tell who's who, especially when they're reintroducing some minor character who appeared in a few episodes of the TV series. That, and I still don't know what's up with the talking fish.
In Fables, we had the rather abrupt ending to the massive story arc that's dominated most of the previous 50 issues. Suddenly the war with the adversary is over, and the good guys have won. Hurray! Umm... Does that mean the story is over? Not by a long shot! Kudos to Bill Willingham for showing that winning the war is only half the battle, and picking up the pieces can have just as dramatic consequences.
The Walking Dead My god. This series has more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. Thought your favorite characters were safe as long as they stayed inside the prison? Ha! Think again suckers! Well, at least Rick's family is going to be okay... sonovabitch!!!! Yay, not everyone was slaughtered! Wait, who are these new guys? Huh... Did that guy just say he knew what was causing the zombies?!?!
I stopped reading Hellblazer for quite a while, since it didn't really seem to be going anywhere, but Jock seems to have brought back the bastard we all know and love. The bit with the bones of St. Nicholas has got to be one of the single most bad-ass moments in the entire series.
This year also saw a few new issues of Fell (though not as many as their should be), Buckaroo Banzai (which wasn't to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it), Criminal Macabre, Jack of Fables, No Hero, and Ellis's run on Thunderbolts.
12/30/08
12/31/08
Agreed, loved RIP. The fact that loose ends aren't tied up and there's still some unanswered issues makes it, in my mind, all the more appealing.
Plus, trying to finalize this story with Final Crisis starting immediately afterwards...not so easy. The big question is what they'll do with Batman post-Crisis.
12/30/08
12/30/08
12/30/08
12/30/08