Armor Bros.

Two of the Earth's greatest heroes bonding over their secret shame.

Shameless stolen like Jim's super suit from Chris Gerringer. See more of his stuff at his website

Don't Go To Sleep

Checking the Marvel Solicits for April, I saw this:

I can't tell you how excited I am for this. Between Darkhawk's big supporting role in Avengers Arena, rumors of the return of Spider-Man 2099, and this, 2013 looks to be the year the 90s returns in force.

I only hope this means a return of The Slingers by January. I mean, I know it doesn't, but a man can hope, right?

Previously on X-Men

Once upon a time, I loved watching this show every Saturday morning; It was the highlight of my week! It was this big serious show that dealt with all the stuff I loved about the X-Men, even if it didn't feature any of my favorite characters (I was an X-Force kid through and through).

That said, watching that video, I'm surprised I still like the X-Men. I don't remember that show being quite that wacky...

The Deathlok That Could Have Been

Lately I've been on something of a Deathlok kick, so color me excited when I saw this image while scanning the internet:

And then imagine my disappointment when I discovered it was from a cancelled series from 2003 by Daniel Way and Darick Robertson. Apparently it was going to be about another new Deathlok (move over Luther Manning, Michael Collins, and Jack Truman) in a new hyper violent future ruled by corporations or whatever. Also, given the art that was released, it seemed to feature some kid controlling my favorite future cyborg, so I'm guessing that would have been a story point too.

Oh what could have been...

Although, given the year it would have been released and Way's penchant for decompressed non-action (see his new Thunderbolts series as an example) I could see this series being all promise and no follow through. I guess we'll never know.

Now, if Marvel would just get off their ass and let Jason Aaron write a Deathlok series, I could stop pining over this thing.

Hey Hawkguy!

I'm sure he gets that a lot.

My favorite exchange from a book full of great exchanges, via Hawkeye (or Hawkguy) #6 from Fraction and Aja.

I'm Officially Jealous of Franklin Richards

Now if I could just figure out where to get my own...

From the pretty stellar FF #1 by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred.

Venom is a Slut Part 11

Worse, now there's more of them. It's like four times the slut.

It's Daredevil Time!

If only he came with a magic dog that looked like Foggy...

The X-Force That Could Have Been

Can you imagine a world where Shatterstar had a logical hairline? Where Magik was part of Cable's Crew? Or where Feral doesn't exist? Well, prepare for a glimpse:

Now, I can't decide if this was used as a pitch for the first X-Force book or if it was just tease designed to excite readers to something new from the New Mutants book. Could go either way, I suppose. All I know is that I'm glad I live in a world with Feral.

This Fringe-Like 'over there' look courtesy of New Mutants Annual #6

What's This About Marvel Now?

Didja hear the news? Marvel is doing a reboot!

What? Old News? Are you implying that because I've been noticeably absent the past few months that I missed out on my chance to talk about the craziness that is Marvel NOW? Maybe you're right, but indulge me.

I won't lie, the first time I saw this picture my heart sank a little bit. I was already preparing rants about what a huge mistake Marvel was making and how after twenty years I'd be finally walking away from this hobby I love so much. So imagine my excitement when it was announced that this wasn't a reboot in the DCnU kind of way, but instead a line wide refresh without doing away with any of the old continuity. And that friends, is how it should be.

Continuity is something that should be cherished, loved, and discovered. It should be something that adds to your enjoyment, but doesn't detract if you don't know it. Further, I think the more caveats you have to add, the less new reader friendly comics become.

The way DC did their refresh (because no commentary on Marvel NOW would be complete without a full comparison to the DCnU) in the end, only adds more headaches and creates a larger wall for the uninitiated fan to get over before they can enjoy the books. I find it problematic that when someone asks me a simple question about Superman, I have to qualify my statements with eras and relations to reboots to make sure I'm answering their question correctly. Try it. Try answering: "I thought Superman was married to Lois Lane, what happened?" Headaches.

Meanwhile, the Marvel method to refreshing the line becomes much easier to explain things. Sure, as with any long running fiction story you'll have bits of "they died but got better" or "they just kind of ignored [fill-in-the-blank]", but at least all the stories 'matter'. It's that respect for the overall long-running narrative that gives the Marvel method more merit in the eyes of a new reader.

The more I read about the new creative teams, storyline teases, and character combinations I find myself more and more excited about Marvel come November. There's a crazy freshness and new found energy in all the interviews that's hard to ignore. It reminds me a lot of the NuMarvel stuff from the turn of the century, when titles like Allred's X-Force, Morrison's New X-Men, and Tangled Web were challenging the limits of what you could do in a Marvel Comic. Except this time, it seems they're diving head first into big time super heroics, instead of focusing on the small interpersonal stuff.

I'm getting all revved up just thinking about it! What about you?