Wowie, wow, wow, wow! Creating videos is hard work! This one took longer than I hoped, and it was aided by the fact that I started to do a little bit more writing for Anititcool.com. You can swing by there and read some of my, “This Week in Comics” articles. That, plus preschools being closed just makes my spare time disappear before I know I have it!
Anyway, this video is about DC Comics- my first comicbook love. DC’s, and comics in general’s best decades were the 40’s, 60’s and 80’s. So this video is about the Top Ten stuff DC published in the 1980’s. I gotta say, it was pretty hard coming up with the list. DC just put out so much good stuff that decade. It probably didn’t help that, that was also the time I started reading comics! I got a few subscriptions for Christmas gifts (FF and Marvel Team-Up), started using my allowance on buying Justice League of America and others at the grocery store, and eventually convinced by parents and older brother and sister to drive me to a comicbook store once a month! That turned weekly once I was able to drive. To date myself, one of my first comics bought at the comicbook store was Blue Devil #1 (I somehow thought that series was going to follow me all the way up today! Little did I know back then how fast things would get canceled!). But still 80’s was a great time, beyond my personal connection. Aside from the top ten list, I have 24 items in the Honor Mentions section! So I tell you honestly, I can’t wait to hear your complaints about this list. Because just about everything DC was doing at this time was so good! So have at it and enjoy, and I’ll see ya next time.
So this just a fun short one talking about Wonder Woman wardrobe. To steal a joke from Svengoolie: “You’d like to see more of Wonder Woman on TV? So would I, but that’s as small as the censor’s will allow her costume to be.” But seriously, this was something I found / figured out a long while ago and always wanted to talk about. So I’m happy to get to it, even if it is rather trivial. Because nearly every well versed person in comicbooks will tell you Wonder Woman used to wear a skirt. Just like Captain America’s shield wasn’t originally round. But here’s the thing, while yes Cap’s shield wasn’t always round, Wonder Woman never wore a skirt! Crazy right? Well it’s all about culottes. What’s a culotte? Watch the video and find out. I didn’t spend all this time putting the video together to just spoil the lead!
On a more human note, I know we are all dealing with ‘the’ corvid-19, and I sure hope it isn’t affecting you more than just sheltering in place! I hope you have managed to keep you income and that no one you know has actually been hit by the virus. But if that’s not the case, all I can say is: That sucks @$$. And I pray that our nation (or your nation, if you aren’t from around here) will only get stronger when it’s over. In how we deal with pandemics, to how we deal with the sick and in how we deal with people’s livelihood. Often times I think we makes things harder than they need to be, for fear of doing the wrong thing. And that often turns into the worst thing to do. So, good luck and if you pardon me, God bless. I hope to see you in better times soon!
Hey party people. I’ll be honesty with ya. Sometimes it takes a loooong time to finish one of these video ones. So I thought I’d do myself a favor by making some shorter ones. So ta-da, under six minutes! Next month’s video will be too, as I tackle some fun comicbook trivia. This month I talk about Captain Marvel- until the day I die he will be called Captain Marvel by me. To be fair, as a kid I was confused over his name. Everything was branded Shazam, but people called him Captain Marvel. But this isn’t a Captain Marvel problem, it’s a Marvel Comics problem. So DC needs to grow some balls and Marvel needs to learn how to suck it. IP squatters, yeah I said it! But aside from that, one interesting thing about the character is that magic Shazam lightning bolt, and how it’s now lethal. I mean, if it can burn Superman pretty badly, imagine what it would do to you! As you may have guessed (or even know) that wasn’t the original plan for the lightning bolt. So check out my newest video and learn how it changed!
And come by next month and learn something silly about Wonder Woman! See ya then!
It’s often been said that Batman used to run around with a handgun and kill people. But, is that really true? Check out his first 14 issues, Detective Comics #27-39 and Batman Comics #1 to find out! Though while we are at it, how many did Robin kill???
Every year around Oscar time, the comicbook gang and I would compile our best of lists of the year for Aintitcool.com. Well sadly those days have come to an end. Since I already compiled most of it, I figured I’d just share them with you. One thing to keep in mind, it’s impossible to read everything! So on some level, these are my favs of everything I read this year. Mind you, I still read plenty and most are not getting rewarded with a favorite mention. So if I missed something amazing, please list it bellow. That said, here is the list:
Favorite Mini Series:
Lady Mechanika: The Clockwork Assassin
As a non-steampunk fan, meaning I don’t go out of may way to consume Steampunk material, I’m always quite surprised how much I enjoy Joe Benitez’s creation, Lady Mechanika. Mind you, the art work is always amazing, but the stories are nearly always pitch perfect adventure tales. With his latest one from 2017, The Clockwork Assassin, Lady Mechanika and her ‘sidekick’ Archie are involved in a murder mystery. As a lovely female form is slicing people in half- making Lady Mechanika the prime suspect! This is just one of, if not the best adventure book on the market.
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Best Publisher:
As I did the year before, I give the best Publisher trophy to Valiant. While they may lack in earth shattering comics, they also lack (greatly so) in mediocre and awful comics. And this year they took it up a natch with their crossover event Massacre. As H.A.R.D. Corps declared war on the psiots- mostly Generation Zero. It was a bloody not win situation, that reminded me of the X-Men heydays. Sadly, Valiant doesn’t have any marque names like Captain America or even the Walking Dead. But they have the best collection of books on the market.
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Favorite Super Team:
Future Quest
Ok this is a cheat, but I can’t think of a collect of heroes I had more fun with last year, than Future Quest. Nearly the entire line-up of Hanna-Barbera cartoon heroes coming together for one big adventure. Writer Jeff Parker (with help from the late Darwyn Cooke) did a great job updating these heroes and putting them in a collected universe. From Johnny Quest to Space Ghost, to even the Impossibles! I can’t wait to see these heroes team-up again in some fashion or another.
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Favorite Artist:
Tomas Giorello
Tomas Giorello is an Italian artist who has been bouncing around for a while. And he has just been getting better and better every time. In 2017, his work on X-O Manowar just blew me away. His work reminds me of Marko Djurdjevic, just a super rich, storybook, old school illustration feel. Editors need to be putting him on more high profile work- seriously.
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Favorite Comic Book TV Show:
The Defenders
Dare I say, there is a gut of comicbook tv shows now. Something I never thought would happen when I was a kid. We were lucky if there was one a season. But the best by fair, if by sheer weight alone, was the Defenders. Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Dare Devil and Jessica Jones all coming together in one big blow out series on Netflix. Now sure you can nitpick it to death, but the pros totally out weight the cons. And did I mention we get to see Power Man (he’s Luke Cage by the way) and Iron Fist together for the first time- plus they get to hang with Dare Devil!? Come on now! That was the best comic show of 2017, period.
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Favorite Comic Book Movie:
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
This has got to be the best year for Superhero movies. Three great Marvel movies, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man Home Coming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, a great X-Men movie: Logan and DC actually had a great- well really really good movie for once with Wonder Woman (we’ll just skip the Justice League flick). But for my money Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was the best. It was funny as hell, loaded with action and each of the main characters are so broken (Gamora and Nebula raised by Thanos, lab experiment Rocket Raccoon, Starlord’s dead Mom and M.I.A. dad, and Drax’s dead family), I cry a few manly tears while watching it. As fun and action packed as the other films were, this one touched me more, as well as entertained the hell out of me. I can’t wait for Vol 3!
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Favorite Cover and Cover Artist:
Jeevan J. Kang (AVATAREX)
It was kinda hard picking this winner, this years. As nothing really spoke to me, despite some great work all year long. But Kang’s minimalist and elegant covers for Grant Morrison’s Avatarex just had a little more cool than the rest of them this year. And even with the minimal approach, they still have some nice superhero sizzle to ‘em.
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Favorite Super Villain:
Captain America
As with last year, no supervillain really stood out to me. Seriously, where are all the good villains!? So I give it, again, to a hero turned ‘bad’ Captain America. Because it was awful and I hated it. It was ill conceived (Hey let’s make Cap a nazi- er Hydra), ham-fisted executed (stop asking how I pulled this off, how I’m maintaining it, or about all the forgotten subplots), and has messed up the character- you understand we now have two Steve Rogers: the Steve Rogers, who is now a nazi (dang) Hydra agent and a Cosmic Cube’s memory of Steve Rogers (before he remember he was a naz-ah Hydra agent) walking around in a body. Yeah that’s awful all-around, Cap wins.
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Favorite Writer:
David Walker (LUKE CAGE AND IRON FIST, LUKE CAGE)
No question about it, Marvel screwed up a good thing. David Walker’s Power Man and Iron Fist was the best comic on the market. The perfect example of a great buddy story. But Marvel canceled it and gave Walker just Power Man aka Luke Cage. With the direction of making it more like the Netflix TV show. Which, while good is rather dull. Still, Walker did a good job of it, not as great as PM&IF, but still a good read- so nice job Walker. But sales didn’t reflect my thinking, so Marvel canceled it. So from Great to decent to canceled- smooth move. Either way, Walker is my writer of the year.
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Favorite Crossover/Event:
Inhumans vs X-Men
There’s no bones about it, Crossover Events suck- they just do for some reason. DC did several this year, and while popular, they were effectively just noise. Michael Bay movies in comicbook form. But Charles Soule, Jeff Lemire had a killer opening to Inhumans vs the X-Men and while the ending was clearly lack luster, it was still a more logical and well thought out conclusion than any other event. Well, Valiant had better thought out events, but to be honest their highs weren’t as high as IVX’s highs were. So while not crushing it, IVX was my favorite crossover event of 2017, and the best ‘vs’ event Marvel ever had.
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Favorite Super Hero:
Cave Carson
Cave Carson is one of those Silver Age concepts that always kinda interested me. A time when men were men, and they went on adventures in the name of science. And you didn’t need superpowers or a costume. For DC’s Young Animal line, Gerard Way and Jon Rivera did an amazing job updating him and at the same time not trying to ‘fix him’ or make him ‘hip’ and ‘edgy’. I really enjoyed his ‘everyman’ hero bit in a Doctor Who like adventure. So he’s my hero for 2017!
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Best Ongoing Series:
Future Quest Presents:
After the end of Future Quest, Jeff Parker and team spun the Hanna-Barbera superheroes into an anthology series, Future Quest Presents, with the main focus on Space Ghost. It’s just a nice collection of sweet adventure stories that update, without breaking the H-B heroes. Stealing the Lone Ranger’s origin, Space Ghost is now a man in a mask, and the last survivor of the Galaxy Patrol. Just a great idea. Not to mention the series has had some great artwork by the likes of Ariel Olivetti and Steve Rude. It’s a real pleasure to read a comic that doesn’t deconstructed or attempt to ‘fix’ it’s concept.
Well let’s see, it’s been about a year since some meaningful content- so here is a new video series I’m kicking off! SUPERHERO-POW! Where I talk about everything I love: superheroes and cartoons! Starting things off is the first solo female superhero movie, starring Audrey Hepburn! You read that right. Now watch the video to see how it’s true!
I’ve been trying to think of a cool art project for myself. Aside from trying to create comic books and cartoons! Like I really need one. Anyway, I hit upon the idea of drawing all my favorite DC Golden Age heroes- I’m a big fan of 1940’s heroes. The thing I thought of to make it a little more interesting, as to try and draw their first appearance pose! You know Superman from Action Comics #1, Batman from Detective Comics #27, etc. Then I’ll collage them all together! It will probably take me years!
To start off with I have Rex Tyler here, AKA The Hourman. For whatever reasons I always loved his costume. Good old Rex discovered the mother of all steroids in 1940, Miraclo. Specifically designed to work his metabolism (of course!), each pill gives him superhuman abilities for 60 minutes. Making him the man of the hour- Hourman! Here is the first pose anyone ever saw of Hourman on the cover of Adventure Comics #48. He would go on to being a founding member of the Justice Society, before slipping into obscurity.
One finally interesting note about the Hourman, since the start of the war on drugs, writers and editors have been trying to get Rex (and later his son Rick) off the pill. We don’t want kids popping random pills thinking their Hourman or even Underdog, do we?
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