Tagged: Captain America

Marvel Comics Unveils ‘Secret Invasion’ Covers

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  • March 12, 2008

Even with all the hype and recent discussion of Marvel’s grammar skills, like it or not, the "Secret Invasion" is coming from Marvel Comics. Another example of this inevitable occurrence was revealed today by Marvel with the release of cover art for the first issue of the Secret Invasion comic book series.

However, Marvel didn’t just release one cover by artist Gabrielle Dell’Otto, featuring some of Marvel’s heroes who may or may not be Skrulls, they also unveiled two pretty-cool variant covers for the first issue as well. One of the variants, by Civil War veteran artist Steve McNiven, features some of your favorite Marvel heroes being squeezed by the claws of a giant Skrull.

The other variant cover is by series penciler Leinil Yu and showcases Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor and other heroes standing in defiance of the invasion and ready to kick some Skrull butt.

Check out larger pics of all three covers after the jump.

Secret Invasion #1, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Leinil Yu, is set to hit your local comic shop on April 2nd. (more…)

‘Captain America’ Tops Rolling Stone’s 10 Best List

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  • March 7, 2008

As I’ve said before, I’m a fan of lists. I’m particularly interested in lists of favorite, must-read comic books or must-see movies and TV shows because, in some cases, I discover something new that I have never heard of before. I also sometimes see things on a list that make me wonder why they’re on the list at all.

So, it was with some great interest that I read Rolling Stone’s list of the "Top 10: Best in TV, the Web, Books and Beyond." Sure, comics were relegated to the "beyond" category but still, they were represented. Not only that, but one of my all-time favorite characters and titles, Captain America, topped the list at number one.

The magazine was particularly impressed with the latest Captain America storyline, calling it "a metaphor for the effects of the Bush Presidency." This was due in large part to the recent storyline where Cap is killed and "a new, more morally compromised character has taken over the stars-and-stripes uniform" in the persona of Cap’s former sidekick Bucky — who is now a gun-toting killer.

It’s an interesting way to think about it, I suppose. Although, I kinda expect Rolling Stone to find the political angle on most anything, so its not much of a surprise they went that way. Plus, they did also pick the abyssmal Quarterlife and the inane Project Runway as some of the other "Top 10."

Even though I think they made a good choice with Captain America, adding those other two to a list of the supposed "best" makes me question the entire thing. Given that, if you’re still curious to see if your tastes fit in with Rolling Stone’s, check out the list right here.

Revised Diamond Sales Figures for January Released

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  • March 4, 2008

Computers are one of the greatest inventions of all time. I love ’em. They make so many things possible and help us get things done more easily and efficiently. In fact, if it wasn’t for computers, you woudn’t be able to enjoy all the great content right here at ComicMix.

Unfortunately, computers can also occassionally make mistakes. Case in point the most recent sales figures for comic books, graphic novels and other periodicals for January. Apparently, there was a technical glitch in the Diamond Comics Distributors’ computer system which resulted in elevated sales figures for comics, graphics novels and other periodicals.

According to ICv2, this glitch has now been corrected and the sales figures adjusted. The new figures reveal a much different picture of sales for January. Some of the biggest differences were that instead of the previously reported 7% gain in comic book sales, it was only 1%. Graphic novels had an even bigger discrepency, with actual gains of only 3% instead of the relatively unrealistic 17% previously reported.

Even with the corrected figures, the news wasn’t all bad. Nine comic book titles, including Hulk #1, Captain America #34 and Astonishing X-Men #24, sold over 100,000 copies in January, which was up three from December’s total of six. And, periodical sales were slightly higher than the previously strong figures from January of 2007, which was considered a very successful month at the time.

If you’re curious about how well your favorite comic books and graphic novels actually sold and what the top ones in each category were, check these out:

The "Top 300 comic books in January 2008."

The "Top 100 graphic novels in January 2008."

The "Top 300 comic books in December 2007."

The "Top 100 graphic novels in December 2007."

Looking over these lists, a couple things stood out for me. I find it interesting that Hulk #1 is at the top spot on the comics list for January (I guess red is a good color on him), two titles in the top 20, Astonishing X-Men and Buffy: Season Eight, involve Joss Whedon and a third title in the top 40, Angel: After the Fall, does as well.

Plus, the number three spot on the graphic novel list is also a Whedon creation: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 3. I guess you should never underestimate the power of a great TV show, even one that ended its TV run five years ago — especially if Joss Whedon had anything to do with it.

 

The 100 Best Reviewed Comics of 2007

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  • February 29, 2008

I like lists. Lists often make things easier to understand and easier to digest. Which is why, in a previous post, I brought you the list of Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die. Apparently, writer Dick Hyacinth also like lists because over at his site, he’s done a lot of research and compiled a list of the ‘100 Best Reviewed Comics of 2007.’

His list, which he referrs to as a "meta-list compiling critical reactions from the Internet and print publications" covers a huge cross-section of comics, manga and other writings and highlights some very popular work and some other work perhaps more unknown to mainstream comics fans. 

When compiling the list, Hyacinth discovered several interesting bits of information he wasn’t aware of including that he "vastly underestimated the popularity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I mean VASTLY underestimated", he also realized he "had no idea Captain America, Fables, or Y: The Last Man would pull down such huge numbers" and that "there’s a big gap between what made the lists on comics-oriented sites and what made the lists of the more mainstream-ish papers."

Here’s the Top 10 "Best Reviewed Comics" and their popularity rankings, according to Hyacinth. For the rest of the list, check out his site.

 
This time around, I’ve read fewer of these than I did from the previous list of eight. Guess I need to get reading.
 

ComicMix Columns For The Week Ending Feb. 10, 2008

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  • February 10, 2008

There’s a new Marshall in town, and he’s laid down the law against punny headers.  So let’s just get down to business and rustle up this past week’s worth of ComicMix columns:

So if ComicMix newbee Rick is the Marshall, does that make me the schoolmarm with the heart of go — nah, I’m more like the extra mumbling "rhubarb" in the background…

‘Watchmen’ Costume Details Leaked

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  • February 8, 2008

Kung Fu Rodeo has posted reports from visitors to the set of "Watchmen" that reveal how many of the characters will look in the live-action adaptation of the graphic novel.

The reports contain some spoilers for people who haven’t read the book. (And if you’re one of the people who hasn’t read it, all I can say is, "Why the heck not?") I’ve posted the descriptions of Rorschach, Silk Spectre and Ozymandias below, but the report has info on just about every one of the main characters.

RORSCHACH – definitely my favorite from the series and looking super creepy in real life. I think most readers know that the rorschach effect on the mask will be done in CG as all the photos I saw of him he just had a blank white mask on. The suit is all brown, which I guess will darken up when filming. Basically looks awesome and one still I saw has him with his grapple hook gun. There are shots of him picketing without the mask as Ernie Kovacs….I still can’t believe this is Kelly from the Bad News Bears…but he’s perfectly freaky for this character. I hope the voice is as good – hurm….!

SILK SPECTRE – Carla Cugino looks AMAZING in a classic 1940’s looking outfit for the Silk Spectre – the bulk of the photos were of her in her youthful days. The photographer must have loved her. Many photos I saw of her in different types of poses and mostly looking like costume color and lighting tests.

OZYMANDIAS – this guy is spooky looking. The shots I saw have him in his purple suit and really weird doll-like eyes, perfectly combed blonde hair. I also expected a slightly bulkier man playing this character since I saw him as more of a retired Captain America but here he looks quite slim. Didn’t see the costume but all the Veidt ads are in there looking just like Dave Gibbons drew them.

 

(via c2f)

What Makes a Successful Character?

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  • February 7, 2008

Stan Lee and Marvel Comics Senior VP of Sales and Marketing David Gabriel weigh in on why certain characters succeed and others don’t in a recent article on Forbes.com.

After taking a few undeserved jabs at Quasar, the space-faring Marvel hero created in 1978 and recently rejuvenated by a new miniseries, the article gets down to brass tacks and talks to Lee about what makes a superpower success story.

"I’m not sure I have the full answer, but my guess would be in many cases it’s just the quality of the writing, or the artwork or whatever," Lee said.

"For example, take Sherlock Holmes. There have been millions of detective stories over the years. Many of them are forgettable. Somehow Sherlock Holmes has endured, mainly because no one could write a detective story as brilliantly as (Arthur) Conan Doyle, and nobody could come up with a character as interesting and flawed as Sherlock Holmes."

And what did Gabriel, one of the marketing gurus behind all of the recent Captain America hub-bub, have to say?

Gabriel said it’s tough pushing some books on a consistent basis. People in his business have the blockbuster movies and videogames to thank for bolstering demand. With the exception of the diehard fans, this is what gets people into the 3,500 or so comic book shops nationwide these days. Slap the death and resurrection of a flagship character in there, and you’ve got a surge in the franchise.

Well, there you go. If they just killed off Quasar, Marvel would have a hit on their hands… right?

 

On This Day: The 20th Amendment

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  • February 6, 2008

Yeah, so we’ve all been completely inundated with political coverage on this Super Tuesday week. But if we’re gonna do this right, it should be noted that today in 1933, the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect.

The Amendment reduced the time between Presidential and Congressional elections and the beginning of the elected officials’ terms. Originally, there were four months between the final election tally and the beginning of a newly elected official’s term, due to the time required to get your business in order and travel to Washington, D.C.

On a related note, this is also the week after James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, the original Captain America’s sidekick, grabbed a gun and a new costume and became the new Captain America! How does that relate to the 20th Amendment, you ask? Well, the connection should be clear – and if it isn’t, the terrorists have already won.

 

Captain America on Good Morning America

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  • February 4, 2008

The "Return of Captain America" media assault managed a few more parting shots this weekend, as the new Cap found his way onto an episode of "Good Morning America."

If you can ignore the glaring inaccuracies in the show’s presentation of the events leading up to Bucky Barnes becoming the new Captain America (Cap died in a "hail of bullets?"), the Captain America interview on "Good Morning America" is a fun little segment that features an animated interview with Cap himself, as well as live-action interviews with Newsarama Senior Editor Michael Doran and Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.

 

“… this is Captain America calling…” by Mike Gold

  • News
  • February 4, 2008
There’s been a lot of controversy about killing and resurrecting superheroes. I know that, because we’ve done a lot of that here on ComicMix. It’s fun. Be that as it may, Steve Rogers is dead, deal with it; Bucky Barnes is alive, so we (meaning me) should deal with that, too.
 
Quite frankly, I would have been burning effigies of Joey Quesada for allowing  ol’ Bucky to rise from the grave – if not for the simple fact that Ed Brubaker’s run in Captain America is so damn great. Any lesser achievement would have inflamed my wrath and you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.
 
Well, maybe you would, but only from afar.
 
Wandering back towards the point, it’s perfectly fair for someone to inherit the mantle of a “dead” superhero. I did this when I was editing The Flash; management wanted a new person inside the suit, and I felt strongly that Wally West earned his stab at adulthood. If Bucky Barnes (now referred to as “James”) is alive and well, he deserves the shield and cowl. So it’s only appropriate that I comment on Bucky’s transcendence.
 
There’s an odd timeliness to the story, as it opens with the doubling of the price of gas and thousands of homes being foreclosed. That puts a sharp contemporary edge on a story about a guy who should be 80 years old and keeps on linking his feelings to those he experienced in The War. But the economic apocalypse is a story-point that establishes the role Captain America will play in this continuing story.
 

(more…)

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