Hot Girl Wednesday...Starring LILY CARTER!!!!

In just 3 short years, the adorable Lily Carter has taken the adult world by storm. She pretty much swept the XBiz Awards this year with FOUR wins, including Best Actress, Best Scene and Fan's Choice Award. You can take a look at the pictures below and figure out why.

You can follow Lily on Twitter here (personally, I'd follow her anywhere!), check out her official website here, or buy her something. C'mon, she deserves it!

He-Man Week-Day 3!!!

This is it!!! Today's the day!!!! He-Man & The Masters of the Universe #1 debuts from DC Comics!! A brand new ongoing series from writer Keith Giffen with art by Pop Mhan, this series picks up were the recent mini series left off. Here's the official word from DC comics:

Written by Keith Giffen, the new comic picks up where the miniseries left off — Prince Adam and the Masters are back in power, while Skeletor and his minions plot their revenge. More importantly, though, Hordak is coming to invade Eternia, and he's bringing Adam's sister Adora (usually better known as She-Ra) with him! MotU fans should recall that in the original series, Hordak kidnapped Princess Adora when she was an infant, and raised her as part of his evil Horde. The new comic amps that up, casting Adora as Hordak's deadliest warrior Despera. 

Come back tomorrow for my (unbiased) review!!!!

What you should buy...4/17/13

Talked about a HUGE week!!!! And it's AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL good stuff!! I wish I had more space(OK, I'm lying, I have unlimited space, but not unlimited TIME)to list more spotlight books, but here's the cream of the crop for this week:

Age of Ultron #6: Stuff happens! Not even kidding!!

Bionic Man vs The Bionic Woman #4: We all know that this is going to end up with bionic sex, but the fighting is fun to watch!

Nova #3: This is such a fun book. I wish it would've been around when I was a teenager. Wait, there WAS a Nova series when I was a teen. And it was awesome. RICHARD RIDER FOR LIFE!

Justice League #19: OK, I'll say it since DC doesn't have the stones...WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?!?

Danger Girl Trinity #1: Danger Girl returns!!!! What more could you want? Sorry, pretty sure they're wearing clothes.

The Shadow Year One #2: Matt Wagner! The Shadow's origin! What more do you want?

Conan the Barbarian #15: Not enough of you are reading this awesome book!

Vader's Little Princess: Darth Vader goes through the "fun" of being a single dad and raising a pre-teen daughter.
And of course, the BOOK OF THE WEEK is..........................

HE-MAN & THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1: ALL of your favorite Eternians are back!!! And they'll be back-EACH and EVERY MONTH!!! In this issue-Despara is coming to Eternia and she's bringing the evil Horde with her!!!
Woah, that's a lot of great stuff! As always, if you're in Chicago, come down and visit me at Challengers Comics + Conversation. Have an electrifying Wednesday!

He-Man Week-Day 2!!!

Whenever you mention He-Man to 90% of the population, the first thing that comes to their mind is this:



From 1983 to 1985, every weekday after school, millions of kids watched over 130 episodes of He-Man. Reruns of the cartoon still air on television TO THIS DAY!!! Now, was it corny? Sure. Cheesy? Absolutely, but every episode came complete with it's own life lesson to be learned.



The show actually featured some writers who would go on to greater fame, like Babylon 5 creator and writer of TONS of comics, J. Michael Straczynski. Also Paul Dini, who's written several comics, but is best known for his writing on the ground-breaking Batman: The Animated Series and David Wise, who's the current head writer on Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. There's also many, many more, but those are some of the stand outs.

Here, for you enjoyment, is the debut episode of He-Man & the Masters of the Universe. Enjoy!!

What I thought of...Superior Spider-Man #8

Superior Spider-Man #8: This issue, Doc Ock(or Spider-Man)vs Cardiac with the fate of a little girl hanging in the balance! We get some Avengers, some hospital drama, and we get a little bit of some pretty interesting mystery.
The Good: HUMBERTO RAMOS!!!! Look, you know I'm not one to spoil things, but there is a LOT of this issue that takes place in a hospital-not really exciting super-hero fighting stuff (but there IS that too), and this guy draws in incredibly. I could watch this guy draw the phone book. Um, that's not how that saying goes, is it? Combine that with a good story and you've got a winner.
The Bad: Look, I'm gonna nitpick for a mintue (and I can, because I RARELY ever do),but for the love of God can everyone PLEASE stop saying that Doc Ock is Spider-Man's greatest enemy?!?!?! We know that's simply NOT TRUE! Not by a long shot!!! Maybe Dan Slott's never heard of the GREEN GOBLIN? It's pretty much like saying Batman's greatest villain is The Riddler.
The Verdict: BUY IT! Overall, an excellent issue of a fun series. Does it have some plot holes? Sure. But, it sure is a LOT of fun!

PS-Just mentioning the Green Goblin makes me think of my favorite Spider-Man cartoon ever. So............HERE IT IS!!!

He-Man Week-Day 1!!!

He's the coolest. He's the most bad-ass. He's the Most Powerful Man in the Universe!!! He is...HE-MAN!!! This week, in celebration of the new DC Comic (Out this Wednesday) I'll be taking a look back (and forward) at some of the different incarnations of He-Man & The Masters of the Universe. Now, where else would I start, but with the toy that started it all. The year was 1982 and all across America kids, including myself, went nuts for this guy...

Shield, sword AND ax? How awesome was this guy? Plus, he came with something not to commonplace at all....a COMIC BOOK!!! Well, the first few "mini-comics" weren't really comic books. Tiny illustrated storybooks would be more accurate. The first one told the story of He-Man, the most powerful man in his.....tribe? Yup, his tribe. He left his tribe because evil had come to his planet, Eternia, and although he would've rather stayed with them, he decided to go on his "noble mission" and go and battle the forces of evil so that his tribe would have long-lasting peace. Quite different from the He-Man we know and love, right?

Up until that point in my childhood, pretty much all of my figures had been 3&3/4", which was fine by me, but then came these GIANT figures that were super awesome to play with. The only problem? I wanted Castle Grayskull. Bad. And, in 1983, it may as well have been a million dollars.



Still, it was wicked awesome. Come back tomorrow for another look at the best toy line IN THE UNIVERSE!!!

What I thought of...Age of Ultron #6

Age of Ultron #6: What can I say about this issue except HOLY $#!&!!!! There is a LOT of stuff going on in this series and this issue in particular, kicks it into overdrive. Some STRANGE alliances are made in this issue, some weird team ups are formed, and it's just pretty much all around fun.
The Good: Juuuuuuuuuuuust about everything. We go from Brian Hitch to Brandon Peterson & Carlos Pacheco, which is not to shabby and it's a natural transition in the story. It doesn't come across as jarring or forced at all. BUT, the best part about this issue......STUFF HAPPENS!!!!!....
The Bad: ....or does it? One thing that happens in this issue, which I won't spoil, well, there's NO WAY it's going to stay permanent which begs the question-is any of this stuff REALLY going to stick or have any type of lasting continuity in the Marvel Universe? Or, is this just a big budget "What If?" story? Only time will tell.
The Verdict: BUY IT!! It's a REALLY great read, you're going to enjoy it!

What I thought of...Captain America #6

Captain America #6: This issue's got a LOT going on! Cap vs Phrox! Zola tries to take over Ian's mind! Zola's sexy daughter!
The Good: Man, the art on this issue is KILLER!!! JR, JR. has 3 different inkers, and they all work. REALLY well. Between that and the world that Romita, JR. has created for this story arc, it's just amazing. Add to that, Remender's (who I'm not usually a fan of) stellar writing on this book, and you've got yourself a must read. When I read the previews for this book and his take in general, I was, let's just say, less than impressed. But, I was wrong. This is a great story that I can see myself revisiting more than once in the future.
The Bad: Even though I've been reading this book for 6 months, I still get confused. And having The Phrox speak in gibberish doesn't help either. And there's still a lot about Zola and his powers that I don't understand.
The Verdict: Buy it! Good far outweighs any bad there is.

Hot Girl Wednesday-BIBI JONES!!!

After retiring in 2012, superstar Bibi Jones is BACK!!! And we're all REALLY glad that she is. This Digital Playground honey is one of the best around, winning Best New Starlet at the AVN awards last year. Here's just a few reasons why:

You can follow Bibi on her twitter account here (although she's never used it), and check out some of her movies at this link. Hmm. She doesn't have her own website? Hmm. Not much of a social media girl..

I CAN'T WAIT FOR WINTER!!!!!!

Winter SOLDIER that is. OK, even I'll admit, that was a bit of a stretch. But who care? Production has begun on Captain America: The Winter Soldier!!!
-First, if you've never READ the Winter Soldier, get your ass to the comic store and pick up the trade. It's one of my all time favorite Captain America stories EVER! I won't go into spoilers, but it's something that NO ONE wanted to happen, made awesome. That being said, he's the press release that Marvel Studios sent out yesterday:


Following in the footsteps of the record-breaking Marvel Studios’ release, “Marvel’s The Avengers,” production on the highly anticipated release, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has commenced in Los Angeles, Calif., with production also including locations in Cleveland, Ohio, and Washington D.C. Directing the film is the team of Anthony and Joe Russo (“Welcome to Collinwood”) from a screenplay written by Christopher Markus (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) & Stephen McFeely (“Captain America: The First Avenger”). Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” returns Chris Evans (“Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) as the iconic Super Hero character Steve Rogers/Captain America, along with Scarlett Johansson (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 2”) as Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 2”) as Nick Fury. In addition, film icon Robert Redford has joined the all-star cast as Agent Alexander Pierce, a senior leader within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is set for release in the U.S. on April 4, 2014.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” will pick-up where “Marvel’s The Avengers” left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1941, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” features an outstanding supporting cast that includes Sebastian Stan (“Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Black Swan”) as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie (“The Hurt Locker,” “Million Dollar Baby”) as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Cobie Smulders (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “How I Met Your Mother”) as Agent Maria Hill, Frank Grillo (“Zero Dark Thirty”) as Brock Rumlow and Georges St-Pierre (“Death Warrior”) as Georges Batroc. Rounding out the talented cast are Hayley Atwell (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones (“Captain America: The First Avenger,” “The Hunger Games”) as Arnim Zola, Emily VanCamp (“The Ring 2,” “Revenge”) as Agent 13 and Maximiliano Hernández (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Thor”) as Agent Jasper Sitwell.

Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. Executive producers on the project include Alan Fine, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee. The creative production team on the film includes director of photography Trent Opaloch (“Elysium,” “District 9”), production designer Peter Wenham (“21 Jump Street,” “Fast Five”), editors Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. (“Star Wars: Episode 7,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”) and three time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (“The Hunger Games,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).

Marvel Studios’ upcoming release schedule includes “Iron Man 3” on May 3, 2013, and “Thor: The Dark World” on November 8, 2013. The studio most recently produced the critically acclaimed “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which set the all-time, domestic 3-day weekend box office record at $207.4 million. The film, which shattered both domestic and international box office records, is Disney’s highest-grossing global and domestic release of all time and marks the studio’s fifth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

In the summer of 2011, Marvel successfully launched two new franchises with “Thor,” starring Chris Hemsworth, and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” starring Chris Evans. Both films opened #1 at the box office and have grossed over $800 million worldwide combined. In 2010 “Iron Man 2,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury took the #1 spot in its first weekend with a domestic box office gross of $128.1 million.

In the summer of 2008, Marvel produced the summer blockbuster movies “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.” “Iron Man,” in which Robert Downey Jr. originally dons the Super Hero’s powerful armor and stars alongside co-stars Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released May 2, 2008, and was an immediate box office success. Garnering the number one position for two weeks in a row, the film brought in over $100 million in its opening weekend. On June 13, 2008, Marvel released “The Incredible Hulk,” marking its second number one opener of that summer.

-Beyond being super excited for this movie, there's a couple of things that are extra awesome. First, The Black Widow is featured in the movie. She was in the comic version of this story,so I'm glad to see they're sticking somewhat close to the source material. Second-FALCON!!!!! How awesome is that? And finally...

That's right, boys & girls-BATROC THE LEAPER!!!!!!! I REALLY hope he has the mustache. Seriously.
359 days and counting!!

What I thought of...Age of Ultron #5

Age of Ultron #5: My God. The Marvel Universe is in trouble. With a capitol U. All our heroes are either A) dead because of Ultron or B) about to be killed by Ultron. Either way you look at it, the choices aren't that great.
The Good: The story. For some reason, I love end of the world, all the heroes put aside their differences and team up to take out the bad guy stories. Brian Michael Bendis has packed this story with that in spades. Besides that, there are some pretty big things that happen in this issue. Some things I fear that are going be very, very bad for the future of (this) Marvel Universe.
The Bad: I don't believe it. OK, look. We're all smart here. We know from reading Previews that the Marvel Universe is still going to be here AFTER this story ends. Even if it wasn't for solicitations 3 months ahead of time, there's no way Marvel would actually ever END the Marvel Universe. So, there's a limit to how much I'm going to be "scared" that Ultron will win and everyone will die. The other part that I wasn't really 100% in love with this issue was Brian Hitch's art. It seemed really rushed for some reason.
The Verdict: You're halfway in, why would you NOT buy it? Besides, despite the complaints that I have about this issue, it's still a really fun comic.