Something Funny I Made...

You can make your own at Batman Comic. It's a really neat tool that allows you to add your own text to the panels provided.

"The Death And Return Of Superman"

When I found out the news that Doomsday, one of my all-time favorite Superman villains, was the central antagonist for season 8 of "Smallville", I went into a frenzy of reminiscence. In Smallville, Doomsday is the alter-ego of Davis Bloome, a paramedic with an appetite for violence. His alter-ego, the Doomsday creature, looks a little different from the comics, but still, it is great that, for the first time ever, Doomsday has come to the silver screen.

As I said before, I was reminiscing. The main reason why is that Doomsday was originally introduced in a Superman story arc named "The Death Of Superman". Superman and Doomsday both die at the end of the graphic novel, and so it sets up events for the next two entries, "A World Without Superman" and "The Return Of Superman". These events were also recently adapted into an animated film, named "Superman: Doomsday".

Now, as many of my family and friends will know, I don't like the Superman character, but I don't despise him. Many of his stories don't appeal to me because he has no flaws- the only comic that had him in that I ever liked was "Superman: For Tomorrow"- one that I recommend to everybody. I do believe, however, that "The Death And Return" is Superman at his best. It was so successful as an arc that there was an audio drama, several animated adaptations (with lots of artistic liberty) as well as a video game.

The Return Of Eddie Brock In "Spider-Man: New Ways To Die"

For those of you that don't keep up to date with the comics world, stories featuring the Eddie Brock version of Venom have been pretty naff since the two original story lines that were illustrated by Todd McFarlane and written by David Michelinie. There was the whole "Maximum Carnage" thing, and whilst impressive, it focused more on Carnage rather than Eddie Brock.

In the 2000s, Eddie Brock has willingly shredded his symbiote, after finding out he had cancer. The suit ends up with a new host- none other than Mac Gargan, formally known as "The Scorpion"- and things have pretty much been that way since. Hoping to redeem himself, Eddie Brock started working at a F.E.A.S.T. Center in NYC- a local charity that has refuge centers for the homeless. However, the leader is also the evil Mr. Negative, and when he destroyed the cancer cells in Brock's body simply by touching him, Eddie feels like he has a new lease on life. But not for long.

As Norman Osborn, who is viewed as a hero after the "Secret Invasion" storyline, and his team of Thunderbolts (Radiation Man, Bullseye, Song Bird, and Venom) clean the streets of non-registered superheroes (see "Civil War"), he becomes obbsessed with Spider-Man once again. He doesn't know who he is (see "One More Day" and "Brand New Day"), and all he knows is that Parker takes photos of him. He sends the Thunderbolts out to look for Spidey- Venom goes AWOL, thinking he has found Spidey (he senses a host) but instead has found Eddie. Something happens, and suddenly Eddie Brock turns into Anti-Venom, a Negative Symbiote that repels the original. Using his powers, he's destined to become a hero!

"New Ways To Die" is the only Venom storyarc I've read since the "Venom Returns" storyarc that I feel has portrayed Eddie Brock- and Venom- in a really good light. 90's era Venom was always portrayed as this tortured, sobbing man, and he was so mushy you couldn't stand him. However, with "New Ways To Die", he's portrayed as the ultimate evil he once was.

I'd reccommend anybody and everybody this storyline. It's pretty cool!

"Marvel Noir" Covers

Marvel has recently released a series of new mini-series in which the different Marvel characters are recreated- not just a little, like the Ultimate series, but completely- in 1930's crime ridden New York City. The series has a visual style similar to that of 1930s and '40s crime movies. They are truly brilliant. They stray away from the superhero factor, and more to a detective/thriller story.

For those interested, I thought I'd share some covers with you. So far, there are four miniseries- "Spider-Man Noir", "Daredevil Noir", "X-Men Noir" and "Wolverine Noir". The series don't just change the characters a little- they change practically everything about them. Essentially, they create new characters.

1. "Daredevil Noir"
   http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/marvel_comics/daredevil_noir
2. "Spider-Man Noir"
   http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/marvel_comics/spider-man_noir
3. "Wolverine Noir"
   http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/marvel_comics/wolverine_noir
4. "X-Men Noir"
   http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/marvel_comics/x-men_noir

I hope some of you check out these miniseries. Two have been released in complete hardcovers- "Spider-Man Noir" and "X-Men Noir". They will be shortly followed by more hardcovers, and some new miniseries are on there way: "Luke Cage Noir" and "Punisher Noir".

"Spider-Man Noir" Sequel

When I was in England, I read a short graphic novel named "Spider-Man Noir". It was a complete reimagining of the character in 1930s crime-ridden new york. The visual style of the book borrowed heavily from many noir films, like "On the Waterfront" and "The Third Man". I liked it so much that I decided the story should be taken further.

I'm currently writing a sequel named "Spider-Man Noir II: Carnage and Tragedy", and it is set two years after the rise of Spider-Man and the fall of the Goblin's crime group. The story deals with the rise of a new criminal mastermind, named Cletus Kassidy, alternatively known as "Carnage"- and how the events that transpire break Spider-Man and his soul.

It's going to be a lot darker than the original miniseries, and of course, this Carnage is the Noir version of the classic Spider-Man villain Carnage. But don't worry, there will be no symbiotic relationship between him and an alien, like there was in the comics. I was much more interested in the serial killer side of the story.

Anyone who wants a copy of the story once it's finished can get it by requesting it via email.

New Photo From "Iron Man 2"!

Anyone see the original Iron Man movie from last year? Well, die hard fans like me will be pleased to hear a photo from the sequel has just been released online! AAAAAAHH! SUGAR CRAZY!!!

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine", "Doctor Strange: The Animated Series" and "On the Waterfront"

So... I saw the new Wolverine movie, and I have to say that it is the best marvel movie made as of yet. The only one, in my opinion, that has matched up to it in originality and... sheer art, was the animated movie of "Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme". I urge any and all to go and see it, but don't take any children who are less than 12 years old- there is a particularly nasty scene (or should I say, scenes) that features a beheading, and a character that looks like the Mummy, just without a mouth.

When you look at the title of "Doctor Strange: The Animated Series", you probably think that I was talking about the movie I just mentioned. Well, I can tell you this- you are wrong. I've begun a short, web-based television series adapting the original Doctor Strange comics. I have made two episodes as of yet, both of which are on youtube. However, a note- the first episode had the audio taken away, So i will upload both of the episodes some time in the near future. If you want them straight away, we can chat via MSN and transfer the files then. They are in .wmv format.

Also, I saw "On the Waterfront" with Marlon Brando for the first time ever. I must say it was a brilliant film, but I need to watch it again as I saw it immediately after "Wolverine" and it seemed pretty tame. Anything will after that film!

The Holocaust: A Textbook Case

In my social studies class (a mixture of geography and history) we have just begun to wrap up our knowledge on World War II. I... felt quite strange reading about it; for me, it is one of the most interesting wars I've looked at, along with The Vietnam war.

We are about to start studying the Holocaust. Our teacher, Mr. Theisen, also teaches my english class, and he tries to make the two connect for a richer learning experience. So, for example, we read "Red Badge of Courage" whilst studying the Civil War, read "Fools Crow" whilst studying Native American culture... and now, we are studying "Night", by Elie Wiesel.

I have read some Holocaust fiction before- the graphic novel "Maus". And from the experience I had reading this graphic novel, I came away with something. It changed my life, so to speak. And now, just having started reading "Night", I wanted to share with you a small passage I found:

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.

Never shall I forget that smoke.

Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.

Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.

Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.

Never shall I forget those things, even were condemned to live as long as God himself.

Never.

From this, and other Holocaust fiction I've read, I have derived a small fact: that you can never really learn about the Holocaust from a textbook. Sure, you can read about all the people that died, about the inhumane ways they were killed in.

But you will never learn the true horror from a textbook.

You need to read it from literature; preferably a first hand account, one such as "Maus" or "Night". And we need to learn this, because the enemy, even though physically defeated, will win this battle if we ever forget what happened.

"Radioactive Man Comics" and "The Simpsons"

Hey all.

I could go on and on about how bad I feel right now, but... yah. Whatever. Anyway, being at home today, I had some time on my hands. I did a multitude of things- watched "Solaris", read comics, and er... read comics. Attempted to watch Alien 3, but I found it too disturbing and had to stop watching it.

So, to take my mind off of child murders and exploding dogs, I downloaded some comics of "Radioactive Man Comics". For those who aren't fans of "The Simpsons", "Radioactive Man Comics" is Bart Simpson's favorite comic book. It's about this guy who's like Superman, but he's braindead and way more stupid than Superman is.

The concept of the series was that "Radioactive Man Comics" had been around since the 50's, and that Bongo Comics (the publisher) is presenting six highlights of the series. Almost every issue is a rip off of a famous storyline- my favorite being issue 679- "Who Washes the Washmen's Infinite Secrets Crossover Knight Wars?"- a combination of cult classics "Watchmen", "Batman: the Dark Knight Returns" and DC Megaseries "Crisis on Infinite Earths". A hiliarious issue filled with stupid pranks.

For anyone who's interested in a painful, side-splitting laugh, read these comics. If you request, I can post some links later on in the month of the whole series.

Aliens?

I know that most of you are probably familiar with the Alien Merchandise- started by Ridley Scott and killed off in the recent "AVP" movies. Well, I always thought of it as... somewhat stupid. I mean, I sort of saw it as one of those really violent video games, like "Halo", where there is not really any objective apart from follow the road and kill people.

I never liked those games. Too violent for me. And Aliens... where do I begin. I always thought it was some stupid movie that was all about seeing marines killing- or vica versa- Aliens. It always looked like it had the bones there, but where's the meat?

About a week ago, my view of the merchandise changed. First of all, we have to state that the creatures are what they look like- skeletal, bug-like and drooling. And yes, I admit that they look like they're out of a game like "Halo". However, The first film is supposedly very clever. I've heard many of my suposedly "clever" friends say it's somewhat like watching a haunted house movie in space. Similar in style to "The Shining"- which I saw the other day, and, frankly, loved.

Now that I know that the Alien Merchandise is somewhat clever and exciting, I've started dipping my toe in the water. I bought the "Alien Triple Pack" which contains the first three movies- and, if I like what I see, will go on from there. I won't bother with "Alien: Ressurection", however, as loads of people say it's a bad movie. So, if I like it, I may check out some of the comics and novels (depending on the violence- I don't want people being ripped apart in front of my eyes). But, I am going to say this- I'm not going to bother with "Predator", unless someone convinces me likewise.

"Batman: Arkham Asylum" and the Future of Comic Book Video Games

Today, I was just playing my PS2. I was playing "Fantastic Four: The Official Movie Game", and whilst I was beating up Diablo, I was thinking: this is an OK game. Most of the games I have are comic-book based. I tend to go towards RPG games, and stray away from shooters. I don't like games like "Doom" and "Left 4 Dead", as I hate the violence. Not many of the comic book games I play have been absolutley mind-blowing. The one that was brilliant, however, was "The Incredible Hulk: The Official Movie Game". The game was not great with the graphics; it was pretty simple, but the playability was brilliant. One of the most addictive games I've ever played.

When a comic book game comes out, I tend to screech and say "Oh No!", as they usually end up badly. The ones I get I get on the basis of other's reviews. However, when I saw the trailer for the upcoming "Batman: Arkham Asylum", I was blown away by the playability and the graphics. And, whats more, Mark Hamill is returning for his role as the Joker! The last time he did this was in the animated series.

Hopefully, with the release of "Batman: Arkham Asylum", we will see more brilliant comic book games coming out. I'd like to see where this is going as a medium. To see the trailer, click here. And to see the official website, click here.

Spanish Comic Book Help!

Hey all! I just found out that for Spanish, I got a big project due. I have to create a 10+ comic book in spanish (for those that cannot read spanish, I'll post an English version on comicprints.deviantart.com as well as here). Any ideas would really help. I all ready know the plot. My only real idea though is that the comic book will start out real cheesy, like a 1940's DC comic book, and end up dark and gritty (similar to "Sin City"). Any ideas on what type of artwork to do?

Thomas Scioli- The Next Jack Kirby!

I just found an amazing artist on the internet. His name is Thomas Scioli, and he is famous for his work on the Godland series for Image. I have never heard of this guy until a few minutes ago, but his art is just amazing. Have a look at it at:

http://tomscioli.blogspot.com/

For those of you who do not know who Jack Kirby is, he is often considered the king of comic book art, very much like Elvis was considered the king of Rock 'n' Roll. His art style is very dynamic and explosive. Tom Scioli looks very much like his artwork!

Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

I was looking in the school library today. I have just started a two week break from school, and it is sort of required that we have a book to read. 'Cause I've been working so hard at school recently and I haven't really had one seconds rest, I chose an easy book to read: "Diary of a Whimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney. I started it at 12:00, stoppped at 12:20, and then after school started reading it again.

I finished it in one sitting.

So for anybody looking for a good book to read, and not necessarily a hard book to read, I heavily suggest this book. It takes the concept of an illustrated book and makes it into a blend of novel and comic book. It was an intresting read.

The premise of the book is that there is this kid called Greg Heffley. His mom says that if he starts writing a journal and writes an entry every day, he gets out of his chores for the weekend. Always taking shortcuts, the boy accepts, and soon he enters seventh grade (year 8 for us english people). His brain-dead friend Rowely hangs out with him and he generally has a bad time- all this is happening under the watchful eye of "The Cheese", a slice of cheese that has been on the basketball since last spring.

Again, quite an easy read. It is based on an online blog that the writer has- Funbrain.com- but I suggest that you read the actual book, as it is superior to the online book.

...

I don't really know what to talk about. I am going through quite a rough patch at the moment. Every night I've been going to bed way too late, and I thought that "Watchmen" was really disturbing. It was by all means brilliant, But incredibly violent and upsetting. Don't see it if you are under 18 (or feel under 18 mentally).

As for the title... uh.

Ok. Now I am going to try and write about something...

And I failed.

Again.

"Watchmen" Tomorrow!

I got my tickets for "Watchmen"! Me and my father will be going for a 6:00 PM screening of it across the street from us. I've been scribbling like crazy, drawing picture after picture after picture of all the Watchmen characters... I've been looking at all of my copies of "Watchmen" (three copies of the actual comic and the book "Watching the Watchmen" and "The Art of the Film"), and I'm about to go nuts with all of the fanart of Watchmen located at DeviantART!!!!

How many of you are going to see the film? I've been seeing some reviews that say the film is ridiculous... I hope it isn't. I really, really hope it isn't. "Watchmen", from what we've seen so far looks brilliant- and amazingly, "Watchmen" is the only film that I've seen every sing TV-Spot for. Also, there are a series of "Watchmen Video Journals", and you can view them here:

Watchmen Video Journals

And here is a picture I illustrated of "Watchmen", a long, long time ago:

Watchmen Sketch by ~comicprints on deviantART

See you soon!

Spiegelman's "Maus" and Satrapi's "Persepolis"

At my school, every year we have a huge history project called a "LaGuardia". I just handed mine in (a biography of a writer called Howard Phillips Lovecraft) and am awaiting a grade. One thing, however, that I found trouble with was the research. I really was only able to find info about him on the internet, and not many specifics. So, for my next LaGuardia I have already started colllecting books. I've decided it's going to be about The Normandy Invasion of 1944.

I was looking in the library for books on World War II, and whilst looking through the WWII/Holocaust section I found one of my favorite graphic novels- "Maus". For those who have never heard of this work, it is perhaps the greatest underground graphic novel of all time. It tells the memoirs of Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew living in Poland. When the Germans invade, he starts hearing about a nightmare camp called Auschwitz. And, it turns out, he's going there. It's one of my favorites because it shows that graphic novels don't need to have complicated story lines or metaphors to be a classic. I started researching "Maus" online, read a few essays, and found another underground comic book classic called "Persepolis". I had heard of it before (forums are the greatest thing ever) but never really took the time to look into it. It turns out, the library has the first volume of "Persepolis". It tells the story of Marjane Satrapi and her experiences of the Iranian Revolutions in the 1980's. Although chock-full of metaphors and complicated art work, the book has become another classic.

I feel quite happy with my comics reading, as I am branching out from the usual superhero stuff and I am actually learning as well. I have learnt a lot about the Holocaust through "Maus". And now, I've become quite interested with this "Persepolis". And for those who don't really want to dedicate the time to reading the 300 page book of "Persepolis", the author and illustrator of the book co-directed an animated movie of the book.

"Watchmen" Premiere and More

"WATCHMEN" HAS PREMIERED!!!

My life desire has finally been fullfilled. The fanboy in me is tingling. Zack Snyder, director of "300" and "Watchmen" has finally done the impossible.

For those who don't know, "Watchmen" is a comics masterpiece. Set in the 1980's, it follows the adventures of the psychopathic nut-job Rorschach, who is investigating a superhero murder case. What he finds leads him to a large conspiracy that brings together many retired superheroes.

"Watchmen" is one of my favorite comics, and now that the first review has been released online, I felt the need to steam off. The movie premiered in Leicester Square in London.

***

Today I turned in an eleven page essay called "The Destroyer's Hands". It's about how the Americans supressed the ideas of the Native Americans. I really am proud of it, so to let you know, it follows  threads in four written masterpieces. They are:

1. "Fools Crow" by James Welch
2. Chief Seattle's Speech
3. "Shadow of A Nation" by Gary Smith
4. The Arapaho Tribes

I heavily suggest "Shadow of A Nation" as it is an amazing piece of writing. You can read the article here. It was first published in "Sports Illustrated".

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1118885/index.htm

Thanks for reading,

Andrew