Iron Man 2 - The Poster

Via the awesome BSCreview team I have discovered that Iron Man's sequel has an official poster and I can say that it spells awesome. Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn are also to star alongside Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Zombie Week: "Marvel Zombies" Volume 4

“Marvel Zombies” is the perfect zombie read for me, because it combines the two greatest myths that touched me early on in my adolescence: zombies at the age of 8 and superheroes at the age of 10. To be honest I thought with great despair that the series would end, because the whole Earth was devoured in the first and second mini-series, but thanks to Marvel and their handy multi-verse we get different scenarios.

Volume 4 tops my favorite list by far combining zombies, super heroes and magic, which is always a handful in Marvel titles. To me this is the ultimate un-holy trinity especially when blood and gore is involved. The four issues follow the Midnight Sons, super hero team formed by A.R.M.OR. composed out of C and D-listers like Morbius, Werewolf by Night, Hellstorm and Jennifer Kale, who track down escaped from a zombie infested dimension Simon Garth aka the Zombie and zombified Deadpool, though just his head is carried around. Their mission leads them to the island of Taino in the Caribbean Sea to villain Black Talon, who wishes to use the zombie virus as weapon and sell it to the Hood, kind-of the new Kingpin in that universe. The Midnight Sons have to battle out zombie Fish Men and a super villain team called the Night Shift before the day is saved for good or is it?

Each issue opens with a final video and testament of one of the Midnight Sons, where the writer Fred Van Lente cleverly inserts information about the reality of this Earth, the virus and its nature as well as shading the character’s past and personality. The Marvel universe is a rich and potent place to create new superheroes and see those pushed behind by front runners such as the X-Men and the Avengers ascend to the spotlight for their own fifteen minutes of fame. While the first two volumes concentrate on the gore factor and enjoying a good zombie apocalypse, where beloved characters die off and come as flesh eating dicks, volume four returns to the more typical outbreak and survival horror traditions, from which the greatest zombie stories stem. The scientific look on the zombie virus and the creation of a vaccine that can kill it as well as its evolution into ‘superbug’ status kill the hellish atmosphere, but never diminish the horror.

Artist Kev Walker has done an impressive job at delivering decomposition and rot on the human anatomy with enough detail to stay in the realm of super hero art style, while scary enough to drop a stone in your stomach. My preferences lie within the flashy magical aspects of any story, so the climax of this story with one major aerobe cloud that can resurrect and sew together corpses and a possessed by Dormamu Jennifer Kale battle it out to save this Earth completely won me over. Among the action there is also the human angle such as greed and human drama as well as comic relief in the face of the zombie Deadpool, also referred to as Z-pool, who never fails to make me laugh with such lines as:

‘Do not be alarmed! We do not, we repeat, we do not want to eat you! That is an ugly stereotype! ’

It’s a must-read for zombie fans.

Green Lantern: First Flight

Whenever a comic character sees the animated heavens of a feature film I am always pumped and can barely contain myself. So far I haven’t been disappointed by either Marvel or DC production, which made the choice to watch “Green Lantern: First Flight” quite logical. To be honest I found it entertaining despite the obvious plot, which I think is due to the fact that DC’s green corps are uncharted waters for me. What I think I know has been spoon fed to me through the JLA Unlimited animated series.

The voice actors chosen for the lead cast is strong and experienced. Hal Jordan is voiced by Christopher Meloni, who has an impressive amount of credentials in both big-screen and silver-screen productions. Victor Garber, Sydney’s father in Alias, gives his voice to main villain Sinestro, while Tricia Helfer, Number Six from Battlestar Gallactica, voices Boodikka, who is a traitor in disguise. Kilowog is none other than Michael Madsen. I find this to be an impressive crew and it explains why the superhero dialogue distinctive for its abuse of one-liners and bickering/ teasing [something the scriptwriters avoided] passed as believable, when it usually fails to transfer from comic books to the big screen.

“Green Lantern: First Flight” rewinds to the point where Sinestro switches sides, betrays the Green Corps to control the yellow element and aspires to create a new world order. All with good intentions in mind. I hope there are no surprises here, since Sinestro is one of the JLA’s most known villains or so I think. Along with transition from paragon of justice to a mad dictator-in-the-making there is the initiation of Hal Jordan from a mistrusted earthling to a well respected new addition to the Green Corps.

I can’t exactly say it was the best animated movie ever, because it consisted of well executed moments that keep the interest and then there were ‘what were they thinking’ moments. I liked the Sinestro’s transition from calmly calculative to violent and blunt in his use of power. The gradual slipping of his mask appeared authentic, although obvious. As a person, who is uneducated with Green Corps relationships, I couldn’t predict Boodikka’s betrayal, not even pick up a back stabbing vibe. Moving away from the characters and into the action I can say that the movie doesn’t disappoint. The green element is used often enough in quite a few ways, but I find that the general mimicry of everyday earth objects and constructs limit the possibilities of the power. I can’t say it’s a bad thing, but wish to insert that a hail storm of energy would be awesome.

On the not so awesome side is Hal Jordan’s character, who doesn’t seem to be bothered with being abducted in the midst of plane tests and accept things from aliens. Even the most laid back individuals experience some kind of shock, when an extra terrestrial is inserted in their lives. Not Hal apparently, who even controls the ring with relative ease as if he has spent ages in training, which apparently is a necessity. He is a natural at being a Corp, which we get since the ring chose him, but it all happens too fast and too easily. The only other unpleasant moment concerns the Guardians. As Immortals and the creators of the Green Lantern, I envisioned them as wise men and in the movie I watched a senile group of bantering senior citizens. Thankfully their role in the movie is insignificant enough to let it soil too much of the experience.

I can recommend it. It’s good and makes the time fly by, which is useful during a smoldering afternoon or a rainy day, when there is nothing to do.

Wolverine Origins: Comic Book Series

“Wolverine: Origins” is quite a needed project headed by writer Daniel Way, who is responsible for the first 18 issues of “Venom” and the second volume of Deadpool as well as several issues tracking Wolverine. Considering how many alternative Earths Marvel has, which results in some misconceptions about the nature of some of the most iconic characters, readers needed a comic book series that would answer most mysteries about the shadiest super hero of them all, Wolverine.

Issue #1 was published back in 2006 and right now the series spans over 37 issues and has been answering two major questions: Who the fuck is this Wolverine and where did he come from? As well as being a series devoted to hardcore fans, who want to scavenge for even the smallest details about Logan, it also pieces together an excellent timeline for the average comic book reader to use as a reference and for pure enjoyment alike.
Skipping the plot arcs and areas of Logan’s past, which can be found in Wikipedia fairly easily, I shall focus mainly on mechanics, story telling and effect on the reader, judging by my own experience. I have come across on opinions on forums, which mark this particular series as untrue to the character, hinting that perhaps they are too uneventful. I would like to point out however that 1) this is a sort of documentary in motion that covers several decades and involve many players and 2) most of the recollections involve violence.

The beauty behind this series can be described with one word: balance. And I think I would fall in repetition to point out how well Mister Way captured the measures, of how much story and solid writing should go with action, how these elements would fit issue for issue and progress thereafter. Flashbacks are common and serve mostly as a tool to show the reader the blocked memories that resurfaced and help Logan on his way to deal with the loose ends in his life and memory. However the loose ends that can spare more information on why Wolverine was a subject to experimentation and mind defragmentation bring more trouble than closure. One of the strongest points in terms of writing is creating a very believable and intelligent narrator out of Wolverine as well as keeping his edge. Dialogue has been top notch so far, considering how easy it is for writers to make characters bicker and speak in one-liners and punch line jokes. This quality from Daniel Way engrosses the reader in the world of Marvel and made me at least spend a sleepless night plowing through all issues in one breath.

One answered question leads Logan on yet another dizzying chase with his life on the line. Dark characters emerge from his past and deliver a grizzly and violent performance in the series such as Logan’s own son, Daken. X-Men and even the Hellfire Club make a several issue worth of appearances with risks for the whole world involved as usual. Rated A+, “Wolverine: Origins” makes an extensive use of the color red and fans of gore and violence will find enough professionally drawn fights to the death in great details, such as Wolverine versus Daken, versus Deadpool and even Captain America.

Finally I would like to discuss the art crew, working on Origins from issue one up till now. First we have pencils by Steve Dillon, the artist behind the gruesome “Preacher” and “Hellblazer”. For me he does a formidable job to create a very sober and stark world, which suits the overall tone of the series, even though I think his style didn’t allow him to depict Logan’s features. If I didn’t knew I was reading about Wolverine, I would have never recognized his face. Nevertheless it is something to get used to and doesn’t detract much from the experience. Next in line though even for a short time was Mike Deodato Jr., who I find most enjoyable for his character anatomy, dynamic compositions and his attention to detail and shading. He created a genuinely gritty atmosphere that somewhat bordered a little on the noir side, if you would pay attention to the covers he has produced. Doug Braithwaite is the current inker right now and though I can’t exactly define what he does and what captures my eye in particular, I can cement the opinion that he is well suited to be on the art team for a long time to come. Since it would take me a lot of time to list everybody from colorist to letter artists and even individual cover artists, I am settling for the more general commentary that each and every member to be included in this project hasn’t let me down as a reader and an admirer of modern visual arts.

It’s a safe bet that “Wolverine: Origins” for me was an exceptional read.

Hulk vs. Wolverine/Thor

You can never go wrong with superheroes and I am talking not that much about content than about action. I don’t particularly like Hulk as a character, but hey I won’t miss 80 minutes of combined action with Wolverine and Thor. I think Marvel did a great with this little project, because with comic book characters I think fans form two fractions. The first is all about weapons, black ops, combat and missions, which is represented pretty much by Wolverine and then there are of course the mystics, magic, dimensions and gods, which are respectfully represented by Thor. So basically there is something for everybody. As it turns out I like both so enjoyed everything.

“Hulk vs. Wolverine” is the funnier short film. We start with Wolverine chasing a beast known to the U.S military as the Hulk and without information whatsoever in the Canadian wilderness. This part is pretty grim though. People have died in a small town then there is the first fight between both superheroes, which makes them vulnerable to capture by Team X, who still want to make Wolverine a weapon and the Hulk as well. What ensues when both of them are free in the enemy base is quite funny. The animation, since it has been taken by the Japanese animation studio Madhouse, carries that funny slapstick feel with certain highlighted moments to make you chuckle. Plus I always liked Wolverine’s attitude to dangerous situations, but the comedy star was definitely Deadpool. I don’t know him as a character to be sure whether it is part of his design, but in this film he was retarded funny. All in all good show.

“Hulk vs. Thor” is more serious, because Thor is more serious. In this one Loki decides that he will kick his brother’s ass one way or another, so he kidnaps Bruce Banner, separates him from the Hulk and uses the great beast to destroy Asgard, while Odin is sleeping and the evil forces are fighting. But without Bruce inside the beast and also dead to top it off, the Hulk can’t be stopped and you see Thor getting pulverized along everything on Asgard. There are a lot of spells, rituals and a trip to the underworld involved, which all made it quite pleasurable. My only discontent was that 1] Bruce Banner as a human is annoying and like a canary that has learned one phrase “You don’t know what you have done!” and 2] Thor didn’t act as a god of thunder. If he knew the Hulk to be extra dangerous, just nuke him from distance to wear him down and then play all valiant. In the whole film I saw him use the hammer to call his powers like twice and one time was to teleport. In my mind gods are fond of showcase their talents.

All in all, I would have to say, grab a bowl of popcorn and chocolate and have a fun time with these two, if you still haven’t.

Artist Corner: Marcio Takara

To keep true to my New Year’s promise of a new project to start on my precious “Temple Library Reviews” I am starting my very own ~Artist Corner~ feature that will air every Friday from now on until I run out of artists to annoy. The interrogation…uhm, I mean art discussions can be read on “Temple Library Reviews”, but since I am generous Theresa over at “Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin’ Blog” will get them too. First to be snatched and interrogated is Marcio Takara, a comic book artist with a wide collection of pin-ups and also a man of few words, but well spoken and to the point.

Harry Markov: First of all thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. I find your art exceptionally interesting for the content and characters. But shall we begin right from the start. What attracted you to art? What can you say was the first encounter with the art form to inspire you to become an artist?

Marcio Takara: It was always comics for me. I started buying out of nowhere when I was 10 or 12 I don’t know… since then I was always drawing for fun :) good times…

HM: Which artist so far has had an exceptional influence on your work?

MT: Jim Lee, Mike Mignola, Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Ryan Ottley, Chris Bachalo, Cheeks, Stuar Immonen… so many of them… probably more…

HM: I tried to do a little research about the person behind the art, but found no traces about him. It is almost like there is this talent that possesses drawing materials and finishes the pieces with magic. Can you reveal the mystery behind Marcio Takara, the man, which has left the Internet mute? Are you a freelance artist or maybe you have a day job or perhaps work for a comic company?

MT: I live in Toronto, Canada. But I am Brazilian. I am a freelance artist yes :) No mystery there see?

HM: After expecting your profile on DA I noticed the fascination with superheroes. Which was the first superhero that hooked you into drawing pinup, the one that defined your path as an artist so to say?

MT: Superman. Right when I saw the first movie. Best movie ever for me.

HM: Another interesting moment for me is the definition of your style. As far as I understand you do pinup art, but for the sake of people, who don’t know anything about art, but would like to, how does one explain pinup to people?

MT: Uh, now that’s a tricky one… I just call it pinup to name the kind of stuff I do. I’m pretty sure some of the things I call pinup aren’t real pinups :) Whenever I think about it I remember those 50’s pinup girls… there was usually something going on in one image, which sometimes is not the case on my “pinups”. I should start calling it something else…

HM: To continue the trail of thoughts what are the tools of the trade that you most frequently use and can you describe the process and the time it takes to complete a pinup?

MT: I sketch with a mech pencil, HB 0.5… then I send it for approvals… after that I ink it with pens and brushes… scan it… and use some Photoshop magic :)

HM: Which are the super hero characters you like most to draw? There has to be a top 10 rank list somewhere and with so many pieces completed, haven’t you had some ideas for original characters?

MT: Ok. My top 10 characters :) Supergirl, Batgirl, Rogue, Dazzler, Powergirl, Back Cat, Firestorm, Phoenix, WonderWoman, Aquaman :)

And yes, I have plans to create my own stuff. Just have to find some time to work on that.

HM: Now I am curious, when it comes to using already created and copyrighted characters as sources of income. Are there any legal issues or regulations one must take in account with the creators before?

MT: Yes. If you start a whole company with existing characters you’re in trouble. But as far as I am concerned, creators can sell one or too sketches or prints at the comic conventions…

HM: I also have to wonder what your current projects are. On your DA profile there is this huge wallpaper with small comic book characters and I definitely want the story behind that as well whether you have anything else in the makings.

MT: I’m working on “The Incredibles” comicbook, for Boom! Studios, with writer Mark Waid. I just wrapped the first issue. Pencils and inks. Not coloring it. Should be out in March 2009. I’m doing 4 books for them at least.

Those tiny characters were just for fun in between work. I’ve been sending them with my sketchbooks to whoever buys them…

HM: Since comic book heroes are all about the awesome superpowers [I know that people here would usually argue that it’s spandex] and superpowers are an element of fantasy haven’t you been tempted to try your hand at any another categories of fantasy?

MT: Yes. I could definitely work on other genres. But like you said, superheroes is my thing :)

HM: For that matter do you have ideas to try a different art style, technique, and tool or simply jump into another medium altogether such as animation perhaps?

MT: I’ve been trying to improve my inking. Using a little bit more brushes… so this is my main goal for now. But no, animation is out of the question. Unless it’s character designs for animation which I did a few in the past… animation is a different monster…

HM: I understand that you also do commission work. Do you get a lot of requests and how do you decide whether or not to take up a job? What are your criteria?

MT: As long as it’s not porn or something really weird I can do it.

HM: Last but not least I would like to talk about that sketchbook of yours. The Internet is pretty silent about that one too. Is it a self published product and what does it feature? Can you tell us more about how it came into being, the basic story behind it?

MT: It is self-published. I printed 50 of them and they are almost completely gone. That was my first attempt and I want to print one every year. It’ s a nice way for people to get some of my work for a fair price. I tried to put some of the art I post on the web and some other stuff with the sketch stage of them all, so it should be interesting for people to see. At least I like to see the whole process from the artist I like.

Cool? Thanks a lot for this. Keep drawing! And happy 09 everyone!

So there you have it. This has been the ~Artist Corner~ with your irreplaceable host me and as it seems I need to practice my interrogation techniques some more. Over and out.

© All the artwork is copyrighted. Please do not use the images without the permission of the artist or owner. The artwork in this post has been used according to the rules listed by the artist herself or at least I think I have.