comics
From Marvel to DC, Geeks explores the popular and independant comic titles in the geek universe.
Remember That Time Luke Cage and Iron Fist Teamed Up With Doctor Who?
Doctor Who is one of the most popular science-fiction properties of all time. The show has been on television since 1963 and has legions of fans dedicated to it. In 1982, Marvel saw Doctor Who’s popularity and decided to try and replicate it on the pages of Power Man and Iron Fist #79. This comic opens to our titular characters, Power Man (Luke Cage) and Iron Fist (Danny Rand), admiring a set of robot props, called Dredlox back stage at an old theater. Luke and Danny then have a conversation with their actor friend Bob Diamond, who’s acting in the play The Day of The Dredlox as the lead, Professor Justin Alphonse “J.A.” Gamble. After leaving for an afterparty, a disgruntled janitor at the theater disappears in a blinding flash of light. The next day, after a training session with Danny, Bob confides in the Heroes for Hire that there have been several disappearances at the theater and hires them to investigate. After a day of investigating, Bob calls Danny in a panic and disappears while talking to him. The Heroes for Hire go to find Bob, and are attacked by the Dredlox, seemingly having come to life. Escaping, Luke and Danny take refuge in a small old bookstore (that’s bigger on the inside), where they meet a man claiming to be the real Professor J.A. Gamble.
By Zack Krafsig8 years ago in Geeks
Steve Ditko's Vision of Eternity in Dr. Strange
Steve Ditko will be remembered most for co-creating Spider-Man and Dr. Strange with Stan Lee (and may deserve more of the credit than Lee, depending on who you ask). He drew some of the most loved Spider-Man stories but some of the absolute best Dr. Strange stories. That's rare for creators—most later artists try to one-up the creator and many succeed, but only with Dr. Strange do all later creators merely present inferior imitations of Ditko. This is perhaps the biggest difference between Ditko's legacy on Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. Spider-Man became the face of Marvel, but Dr. Strange has remained a relatively obscure specialty title about which you might say, "Spider-Man is great standard superhero stuff, but if you want a real advanced, mind-blowing experience, you have to check out Ditko's Dr. Strange." Since Ditko perfected it right out of the gate, I'm tempted to say Ditko ruined Dr. Strange by being so good, but I don't want to belittle the other great artists who worked on the title. Gene Colan and Frank Bruner are iconic; Paul Smith, Michael Golden, Kevin Nowlan, P. Craig Russell, and Chris Warner are all magnificent; Chris Bachalo and Peter Gross are two of my personal favorites—the list goes on and on. I love most of the artists who have worked on the title, but I think even they would admit they're merely shadows of Ditko.
By F. Simon Grant8 years ago in Geeks
A Dose of Gamma a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Today we're going to be jumping into The Immortal Hulk Issue #2 because the Batman Issue #50 Wedding Special was a pretty big let-down if I'm being honest. I'll still cover it, but I don't care about that comic as much as I do about this one. Al Ewing has done a great job with Bruce Banner and the Hulk in this run. He's made the dynamic between the Hulk and Bruce Banner a little bit different than we are used to. So I plan on discussing the dynamic change between Bruce Banner and Hulk, a brief discussion of the plot, and what this issue reveals to us, the readers, when it comes to other character changes made by Al Ewing to either the Hulk or Bruce Banner.
By Just a guy8 years ago in Geeks
Top 5 Steve Ditko Characters
On June 29, 2018, the comic book community lost an icon. Steve Ditko, one of the men who helped revolutionize the comic book industry, passed away at the age of 90. Ditko gave us as readers and fans some spectacular stories and amazing characters. And in his honor, I’ve compiled a list of what I consider to be the five best characters he’s ever created or co-created.
By Zack Krafsig8 years ago in Geeks
'Captain America #1' Review and Analysis
I will be the first to admit, when it was announced that Ta-Nehisi Coates would relaunch the Star-Spangled Avenger with Captain America #1, I was really surprised. I had long admired Coates’ work on Black Panther, and I’m very much enjoying the current “Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda” storyline he’s writing, I just hadn’t thought he’d want to write any title other than Black Panther. I’m very glad he ended up branching out, however, because I absolutely loved the first issue of this new story. This is a story about the international and domestic ramifications of Hydra’s US takeover. On the domestic front, the audience sees that Captain America’s legacy has been tarnished, perhaps beyond repair. And not only has America lost faith in Cap, but Cap’s lost faith in America. America has forgot the values she was built on and allowed Hydra (led by a Hydra manipulated cosmic cube clone of Cap) to so easily take control. This first issue, beautifully drawn by Leinil Francis Yu (like everything he draws), sees Cap fighting members of the Nuke Army, enhanced soldiers with the American flag tattooed on their faces and twisted views on America, before being told to stand down by the U.S. government. Soon after, Cap has decided, even though he’s not officially sanctioned anymore, to find out who has poisoned his country, which will have him face his toughest enemy yet. The international consequences show us a potentially deadlier threat, with anti-American sentiments being spread throughout Russia under the guise of these sentiments being anti-Hydra.
By Zack Krafsig8 years ago in Geeks
Review: 'Cosmic Ghost Rider #1'
Donny Cates has been on a roll recently. Since he started writing for Marvel Comics he’s worked on and finished Thanos, Doctor Strange, and Doctor Strange: Damnation, and currently writing Venom, Death of the Inhumans, and the subject of this review, Cosmic Ghost Rider, all of which have proven massively popular with fans so far. His short but sweet run on Thanos gave us the instantly classic Thanos Wins story, in which the titular character is whisked eons into the future by his older self in order to kill the last remaining opposition to his rule and finally allow him to be with Lady Death, his one true love. One of the most intriguing additions to the Marvel Universe that Cates gave us was the Cosmic Ghost Rider, a former servant of Mephisto, herald of Galactus, and now Black Right Hand of Thanos. Fans found the Cosmic Ghost Rider endearing due to his insane personality and the fact that he’s not Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, or Robbie Reyes, but Frank Castle, the vigilante formerly known as The Punisher.
By Zack Krafsig8 years ago in Geeks
'Dragon Ball Heroes' Guide
So if you are looking for a crash course in Dragon Ball Heroes I would highly recommend you start here. A pair of the top Dragon Ball authorities goes into a complete discussion of how Dragon Ball Heroes emerged. Stop here if you do not want to receive any further spoilers.
By travus Leroux8 years ago in Geeks
The Flashes Messed Up... Again
The third installment of the Flash War gave us some pretty big insight into Barry Allen and Wally West's current relationship, how it's changed from their relationship in the past, and some really surprising information about the Speed Force. If you are a new comic reader and are unfamiliar with some of the information I cover in this post, I will explain all of this information in-depth later on in other posts.
By Just a guy8 years ago in Geeks
Batman's Army Fights an Army of Batmen
I am very behind when it comes to DC's Detective Comics Rebirth, in fact, I read the first story arc just this weekend. I have a lot to say about the story, almost all of it is good. Actually, my one complaint isn't really much of a complaint either. So let's get started on breaking this comic down. Also, there will be spoilers for Detective Comics Volume 1.
By Just a guy8 years ago in Geeks
Do You Ever Get So Angry You Just Launch Yourself Into Space?
With the launch of All-New, All Different Marvel, comic readers were getting newer characters take up the mantle of old classic comic book heroes. For example, we had Sam Wilson, Falcon, who became America. Laura Kinney, Wolverine's partial clone, took up the mantle of Wolverine. Even more recently that has made many people angry is the creation of Riri Williams to take up the role of Iron Man, dubbed Iron heart. Another huge example is Amadeus Cho becoming the Hulk, who is the subject of today's post.
By Just a guy8 years ago in Geeks
