Category Archives: comics
Age of Ultron: Off the Rails
Everything has changed in the Marvel Universe of the Age of Ultron maxi-series. In a bid to save everything, Wolverine has traveled to the past and murdered the Avenger Hank Pym before he can create the artificial intelligence known as Ultron – who in the present has conquered the planet and decimated mankind.
One continuity, wiped from time by Ultron, a second, marred by the berserker Wolverine trying to set things right. Now we find ourselves in a world unlike either before it, one where Wolverine and the Invisible Woman are prisoners of an Iron Man who rules this planet. What’s next? Find out in my review of Age of Ultron Book Eight, after the jump…
Dream Thief Dreams Of Being A Superhero On The Wednesday Run–May 15, 2013
Who doesn’t like a good “possession” story?
Yep, those sorts of ghost/demon/entity tales wherein a strange force takes over the body of a living host are where it’s at. I mean, The Exorcist, written by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin, is one of my favourite films. “Wolf in the Fold”, written by acclaimed horror author, Robert Bloch, is one of my favourite episodes of the original 1960’s Star Trek series. At their essence, those types of stories remind us that we’re not always in control of our actions; that human beings can still revert to their base, most wild forms.
But what happens when the ghost/demon/entity takes over the human host and turns him into a superhero…that kills villains?
That’s the intriguing question that today’s release of Dream Thief asks.
A Love Of Comics, Art, Storytelling, And Libraries: The Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF)
If you’re living in the Toronto area or are thinking about visiting the city this weekend, you’re in for a treat. The 10th anniversary of The Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF) is happening on Saturday and Sunday – and if you’re a fan of sequential art and storytelling in all of its forms, TCAF is the place for you to be!
If you haven’t been before, this isn’t your usual run-of-the-mill comic book convention. No, it’s much, much more interesting: truly a celebration of art, storytelling and the small-press and independent comic book industry by and for the people that love to create in unison with the people that love to read.
Love is a word that can be used often with TCAF.
The festival is indeed an international love affair and you can find out more info and some highlights after the jump!
Get Caught Red Handed On The Wednesday Run–May 8, 2013
A sly, feline hand slips into the back pocket of an unsuspecting businessman, gently pulling, in an unnoticeable fashion, at a black leather wallet.
A small pill made of unknown chemical substances is quickly and reprehensibly dropped into the hot cup of coffee of an oblivious newspaper reader.
A fry cook and a waitress antagonistically raise spatula and bagel knife against one another, the comedic scene betrayed by tempers raised amid overcooked hash.
These are the crimes, or perceived crimes, that exist on the front cover of Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes, a promise to the even stranger wrongdoings found within the inside pages, not to mention the back cover. Strange crimes, indeed.
Got your attention? Good. With crime, not all is as it seems.
Biff Bam Popcast – The Iron Man 3 Edition (Massive Spoilers)
The panel, this week featuring Glenn Walker, Jason Shayer, Andy Burns and first-timer Marie Gilbert, give their thoughts on Iron Man 3. Be warned – massive spoilers!
Walks, Landscapes, And A Swear Down – Biff Bam Pop! Speaks With Comic Book Artist And Writer: Oliver East
Many in North America first became aware of Manchester, England based artist and writer, Oliver East, through his album cover work for the acclaimed English alt-rock musicians, Elbow. His drawings and paintings for the band’s seminal albums, The Seldom Seen Kid and Build a Rocket Boys!, perfectly captured the spirit of that music: at once puzzling and implicit, melancholy and joyous. But East had been hard at work making comics too, eventually releasing four books over the last five years through publisher, Blank Slate Books.
Renown for landscape-fuelled inspiration, his latest comic book offering, Swear Down, is also his most personal story. It debuts at the upcoming Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF), an event that East will fly over the Atlantic Ocean to attend and exhibit as well as meet and greet like-minded sequential art lovers.
JP Fallavollita got a chance to speak with Oliver East via email about his love of exploring the world and understanding life through walking, his evolution as a writer and an artist, and his affinity for American comics.
Tales from the Longbox – Iron Man #149-150 (1981)
Every other week, Jason Shayer will highlight an issue or a run of issues pulled from the horde of comic book long boxes that occupy more room in his house than his wife can tolerate. Each of these reviews will delve into what made that issue or run significant as well as discuss the creative personalities behind the work. “Long Box” refers to the lengthy, white cardboard boxes most comics find themselves stored within – bagged, alphabetized and numerically ordered.
Iron Man #149-150
Aug-Sep 1981
“Doomquest/Knightmare”
Writers – David Michelinie/Bob Layton
Artists – John Romita Jr./Bob Layton
Iron Man #149-150 is a great two-part story celebrating Iron Man’s 150th issue. Michelinie and Layton would revist this storyline in a sequel published in 1989 in Iron Man #249-250.
Tony discovers that an executive in his company has sold technology to Latveria, a country on Stark International’s black list. Iron Man intercepts the technology before it gets into Doom’s hands, but all that does in infurate Doom who then dispatches his minions to steal the technology back. They succeed and Tony decides to pay a “diplomatic” visit to Latveria and confronts Doctor Doom as Iron Man.
Their discussion leads to a physical confrontation: “You should not have done that, Errand boy. I was going to make your death a swift one!” But before anything can be resolved, one of Doom’s minons with a grudge, Hauptmann, sends them both back in time.
Read the rest of this entry
Iron Man: Super-Villain?
By the end of this weekend we’ll probably all have seen the third installment of the Iron Man film series, Iron Man 3. The armored avenger seems to be more popular now than ever before. He wasn’t always this popular though, even to comics fans.
When I was a wee one, I didn’t even know who Iron Man was, beyond the guy in the armor in the Avengers. My very first impression of him, my first comic book with him in it… was a wild one. It was a comic that showed me a whole different side of Iron Man, or at least in the memory of a six year old boy. I’ll be back after the jump with my memories and thoughts on The Incredible Hulk #131 from 1970.
