Yes, it's that time again. Time for the San Diego Comic Con!!! Each year.........wait, you know what it is, why should I explain it to you? Every year I do my wishlist of announcements, comic and otherwise, that I HOPE get announced at the show. Some years, I get lucky and a couple of them get announced, sometimes I get zero. Here's hoping this year, I get at least 1. So, here we go......
5) Jonny Quest!
-One of the most characters that's SO overdue for a new comic is Jonny Quest. He's also due for a new cartoon, toys, a live action movie, ect. but we won't get into that. He actually just appeared in an issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up, and while that was awesome, I want an ongoing, monthly "serious" comic.
4)Big Trouble in Little China Toys!
Yes, we got these Reaction figures from Funko, and they're awesome, but I want some awesome, articulated 6" figures from NECA. Because you can never have enough Big Trouble in Little China stuff.
3) MASK!!
I don't care if it's comics or toys, actually, I want BOTH! But I need some new MASK stuff. If you don't know what MASK is, it's like GI Joe and Transformers had a baby. And it had the most AWESOME theme song of any cartoon EVER!!
2)FLASH GORDON!
Yes, we've had a series of mini-series from Dynamite, and they've all been pretty great, but I'd like an honest to God ongoing series. Is that too much to ask? I hope not.
1)INDIANA JONES!!!
To say Marvel hit a home run with the Star Wars comics would be putting it mildly. I believe the same thing could be done for Indiana Jones. I'm sure they're waiting for the next movie, but why? Through Disney, they own all the likeness right, so just go ahead and do it all ready!!!
-So there you go. Tune in one week from today to see what, or any, thing of my wishlist come true. And get back here tomorrow for some SDCC coverage, cause even though the con floor doesn't open until Wednesday, the cons all ready started!!!!!
First off, sorry I haven't written lately, I had a wicked bout with walking pneumonia and it really laid me out. But, I'm a TON better now!
-OK, on to the purpose of this post. While I am excited for Star Wars and Superman vs. Batman, some really awesome news broke between the release of those two trailers: Matthew Vaughn is in talks to direct a FLASH GORDON movie!!! FINALLY!!! After 35 we will (hopefully) get a big screen Flash Gordon. You all know how much I love Flash Gordon, and depending on how much love is put into the movie, this could be a really really GREAT movie. Is Matthew Vaughn the right choice for director? That's where YOU come in. I have no clue if he is or not, because I've never seen one of his movies. I take it back. I saw 10 minutes of X-Men: First Class, then stopped, but that's because I hate the X-Men movies with a holy passion, not because it was a bad movie. So drop a comment below and let me know what you think. I DO hope, that if Matthew Vaughn ends up directing, that someone gives him a bunch of Al Williamson Flash Gordon comics.
Do a google image search for Al Williamson Flash Gordon. Seriously, that is the stuff that made me fall in love with comic ART. He's incredible.
Wow! ANOTHER awesome week of comics! When will these big weeks stop? Personally, I'm hoping never, cause they're awesome. Yeah, it's hard on the wallet, but it's just so much FUN!!! Let's get right to it:
Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #9: It's no secret that this is one of my favorite series. It's got everything to please both a hard-core Flash Gordon fan like myself, and someone who's never heard of Flash Gordon before. GRAB IT!!
Bad Medicine Volume 1: This is a FANTASTIC mystery series that will leave you guessing right up until the end. Then, you'll want to read it again, just because it's that awesome. Featuring art by THE Christopher Mitten.
MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #4: Mac is being hunted by bounty hunters, he's be the victim of a traitor, he's in a race around the world, and things don't look good. CLASSIC MACGYVER!!!
Superior Spider-Man #2: If you've ever had ANY interest in Spider-Man-GET THIS!!!
The Savage Hawkman #16: Word on the street is that this series is cancelled. But, more on that on Thursday. For now, pick up this savage comic.
He-Man & The Masters of the Universe #6: I'm very nervous that He-Man's going to be OK. And that he can keep Eternia safe from Skeletor.
He-Man & The Masters of the Universe: The Origin of He-Man #1: NEVER before told!!...except in the shitty 2002 series. But here, get the TRUE origin of He-Man!!! This is MUST READ BOOK OF THE WEEK FOR ME!!
-You KNOW if you're in Chicago, I'll see you at Challengers. If you're not...well, you should be. Life's too short to shop at shitty comic stores. See you on Wednesday!!
Who will save you now? Yesterday Dynamite Entertainment released their November solicitations and low and behold, after months of waiting, they officially announced their Flash Gordon comic series, Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist! Written by Vampirella & Red Sonja scribe Eric Trautmann with art by Sherlock Holmes: Year One artist Daniel Lindro. People who know me know that I am the world's biggest Flash Gordon fan. People who don't know me, will soon find that out. Here's what Dynamite says about the book:
"The year is 1934, a time of two-fisted swashbuckling, of fearsome threats and wild adventure -- and of ever-growing threats on the horizon. Three valiant humans -- Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov -- are plucked from the Earth, traveling to the distant planet Mongo. Their exploits are legendary, battling the machinations and terror schemes of the dreaded emperor Ming, the All-Seeing Ruler of Mongo. But they did not fight alone..."
-Pretty exciting stuff! I'm impressed that the story is set in 1934. I was a little scared that they were going to totally reinvent the property and make Flash an Extreme Sports star, Dale a wise-cracking TMZ reporter and Dr. Zarkov some kind of eco-conspiracy theory scientist. Nice to see that they're staying true to the property. And I bet the book will excell because of it.
-And yes, if you know me, you're assuming there will be some kind of celebration/promotion/event regarding the release of this book and you'd be 1000% right! More details to come soonish.
-It's getting hard to keep writing good stuff about this comic. In this second chapter of Arddens's second Flash Gordon mini series, the story gets moving. Not to say that it didn't hit the ground running in the first issue, but this issue really picks up the pace. Tremendously. I hear a lot of complaints about the price of comics, but story-wise, writer Brenden Deneen packs about six months worth of a Marvel comic into this one issue of Flash Gordon. There's massive amounts of cliffhangers, a great many mysteries are set up, and the team of Brenden Deneen and artist Eduardo Garcia have really hit a home run with this series. Remember how comics used to have you holding your breath when you were a kid? Yeah, it's like that. 10 out of 10!!!!
I'm gonna TRY and be as spoiler-free as I can in this. Here's the solicitation copy, from Ardden Entertainment:
"THE INVASION BEGINS! After the apparent demise of 'Ming the Merciful,' Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov continue their attempts to return to Earth. Meanwhile, Prince Barin, King Thun and Prince Vultan are hard at work trying to create a peaceful new environment on Mongo. However, when a mysterious group of Earth soldiers violently invade the planet, our heroes are separated and must band together once again to save the lives of every race on Mongo!"
-THE GOOD: EVERYTHING! And really, that about sums it up. One of my favorite hooks in this comic *SPOILER* is that Mongo's Global Translator breaks, causing Flash and his team to not be able to speak to each other. And instead of falling into "Lassie" mode(where one character speaks, and the other impossibly knows that there's a bridge out up ahead), the characters actually communicate through different means and actually are able to pick up bits and pieces of each others language. Brilliant!!! -For the most part, I just couldn't get over how much F-U-N this comic was. Writer Brenden Deneen has got the characterization down pat. His best work is with the character of Flash Gordon himself. Just a decent, good guy hero. There are NONE of them in comics right now. There's no angst, no "I wish I wasn't in this situation" thing going on, he's just a guy trying to help people. Let's face it, how many people REALLY know the Flash Gordon characters beyond what they've seen in the 1980 movie or the 1979 Filmation cartoon? Yeah, not that many. The writing familiarizes the reader with the characters in about 2 pages and you feel like you've been reading this for years. VERY well done!! In the art department, Eduardo Garcia steps up to the plate and does a SPECTACULAR job. No complaints. THE BAD: Well, this book was supposed to be out last October. OCTOBER. Yes, "Raise Your Glass" by Pink was on the radio, the San Franciso Giants were on their way to becoming World Series champs and......OK, it's not "Battle Chasers" late, but still. That's a 4 month wait. THE VERDICT: BUY IT!!! NOW!!! GO!!!
-It's getting hard to keep writing good stuff about this comic. In this second chapter of Arddens's second Flash Gordon mini series, the story gets moving. Not to say that it didn't hit the ground running in the first issue, but this issue really picks up the pace. Tremendously. I hear a lot of complaints about the price of comics, but story-wise, writer Brenden Deneen packs about six months worth of a Marvel comic into this one issue of Flash Gordon. There's massive amounts of cliffhangers, a great many mysteries are set up, and the team of Brenden Deneen and artist Eduardo Garcia have really hit a home run with this series. Remember how comics used to have you holding your breath when you were a kid? Yeah, it's like that.
