Jack Kirby’s Celestials walk the earth, courtesy of Neil Gaiman and John Romita’s 2007 mini-series, as detailed previously here.
And finally, after a year or so of pandemic-related delays, they (presumably) walk on the big screen this Friday.
Early buzz on the film is quite good, but if I’m guessing, regardless of story and cast performance, Kirby fans will judge the film on whether the cinematic realization of the Celestials matches — or even amplifies — Jack’s giant vision.
In a few days, we will all see for ourselves
Oddly enough, Arishem (the greatest of the Celestials, apparently) appears on the final page splash in many of the first few issues as the tease for the following issue. The only hiccup is that he doesn’t typically appear in any of the following issue’s action.
Our third annual Halloween tribute continues now through October 31.
Ash Wood has accomplished much in his career, but I still miss his trippy interior comic art. As clearly exemplified here.
And Ghost Rider 2099? That was the easily the trippiest of the 2099 Universe, spearheaded by my long-time pal Joey Cavalieri.
Most of the 2099 material has yet to be collected, but given the passionate enthusiasm in 90s comic art material of late, it won’t surprise me if an omnibus or two is coming our way shortly.
(I’d buy the Ghost Rider material just to revisit the art — even if I’m still not entirely sure I could explain the narrative clearly.)
Our third annual Halloween tribute continues now through October 31.
Dracula transforms into a bat and transforms back again in this cool page from the master of moodiness Gene Colan.
I’ve written about Colan’s Tomb of Dracula work with Tom Palmer previously; this issue precedes Palmer’s permanent partnership with Gene on the title, and is instead inked by Vince Colletta. (No I am not going to knock Vince’s work here. That’s what comics’ social media is for. Talk about beating a dead horse…)
So… a vampire transformation page? Cool, I will take it.
Fun fact: All the art panels on the page are pasted onto the art board that leads me to believe the story was revamped (pun intended) at some point.
We begin our third annual Halloween celebration with a terrific Alan Davis splash of Thanos becoming Death in The Infinity Conflict graphic novel.
Like all recent Davis and Farmer pages, it’s a combination of blue-line printing and pencil by Davis, and finishes by Farmer. And, also like all pages by that terrific art team, it looks great.
Happy Halloween — foe the next few weeks. See you on Thursday.
Until the last few years, James Bond’s appearances in comic books are rare. Added all together prior to 2016, they most definitely would not fill an omnibus.
Rights issues are always tricky with this franchise; although Eon Productions —and its merchandising arm, Danjaq — manages film rights, the literary property itself remains controlled by the Ian Fleming Estate.
Which explains why this run at Dark Horse features a James Bond who doesn’t in fact look like any other Bond we’ve seen previously. In fact, here he looks a little bit like — Paul Gulacy.
Regardless, It’s great Gulacy page from a good-looking miniseries; even if this specific example looks like it would be more at home in an Indiana Jones comic book.
James Bond through the years in comics. (The experience was so distasteful for Howard Chaykin on For Your Eyes Only that he left Marvel Comics.)
Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3, September, 2008
We close out our second celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Fantastic Four with a quick visit to the Negative Zone.
The Negative Zone, like so many of Jack ad Stan’s creations, endures. I’m sure one version or another will figure into the MCU when The FF finally receives the proper cinematic respect the team deserves.
In the meantime, we have the talented Barry Kitson, and the equally talented Mick Gray, delivering a dynamic and splashy page of Johnny Storm bursting into flames and out of the Fantasti-Car, leaving Ben Grimm unhappily behind. (With a cute piece of dialogue to showcase his frustration, as seen in the published page below.)
It’s a terrific piece of art, and if I have any beef with it all, it’s in the published version, because, after coloring, Johnny appears to have a tight crew cut or no hair at all when he bursts into flame. (And stays that way.)
Johnny Storm without his blonde locks? Even on fire? Blasphemy, I say.
Continuing our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the debut of Fantastic Four #1. (August 8, 1961)
Jim Starlin pens a love letter to the classic Hulk-Thing battles of the 60s and 70s with this fun two-parter from Marvel Fanfare.
The Hulk decks Mr. Grimm “off-screen” as it were, bridging the two issues. (See below.)
I never cared one way or another whether The Hulk or Thing was stronger (I pretty much enjoyed any crossover), but apparently this subject is very emotional for some.
That said, Thor is stronger than either of them.
Let the hate mail begin. Ha.
CBR has done a great overview of those classic battles, which you can read here.
Jim Starlin lets our imagination fill in the actual punch, as the Hulk has apparently just decked the Thing in between issues.
The Marvel Age of crossovers begins in March 1963, with a very busy FF meeting the Hulk and Spider-Man in the same month..
Tony Harris delivers a terrific cover for one of the oddest–logoed titles in Marvel History.
The title is not “4”, but actually “Marvel Knights 4”, as the publisher decided to give an edge to the FF by incorporating them into the Marvel Knights brand. (Of course this assumes you know that MK stands for Marvel Knights. And that you’re certain that “4” refers to the FF.)
It’s a puzzler how they ended up there.
And speaking of puzzlers — this storyline deals with time travel and Ramades, son of Ram-Tut, who makes his first appearance the issue prior.
Rama-Tut, of course, is also Kang AND Immortus, and also ultimately retconned to be Nathaniel Richards. Reed’s father. The Time Variance Authority and the Time-Keepers are also involved.
Frankly, as mentioned previously, I could never keep any of this straight, and even the very-detailed Wikipedia page can’t help my brain get around the various iterations of this character. (Not blaming them, though — it’s probably just me.)
Great cover art, though, and Tony colored it himself — adding the background texture as well.
(As for Ramades? He has yet to reappear since this storyline was completed in issue#18.)
Continuing our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the debut of Fantastic Four #1. (August 8, 1961)
Ron Garney — with the help of Jason Keith — delivers a dramatic cover of Ben Grimm and Franklin Richards preparing for a last stand against an unseen foe in a cemetery, indicating the rest of the team is dead.
It’s a time travel story, and a sentimental one at that — as it explores The Thing’s near-immortal life span. In fact, Jonathan Hickman’s one-shot story itself feels like it would be right at home in a Superman comic.
If I have any small gripe — and I think it has happened elsewhere— is that the older Franklin Richards (Reed’s son) often looks too much like a younger Nathaniel Richards (Reed’s dad) in some of the time travel or multiverse stories. Confusing from time to time. (That pun was not intended. Seriously.)
Continuing our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the debut of Fantastic Four #1. (August 8, 1961)
How many brick walls has the Thing crashed through? That’s not some sort of rhetorical question — I have no idea what the answer is.
I do know, when I saw this cool commission, it reminded me in high concept (minus the silly tank top) of John Byrne’s great cover of the ever-lovin’ Thing’s return in Fantastic Four #274.
The Thing. Breaking through a wall. And smoking a cigar.
