Monkey Knife Fight

Yay! A New Post

2011-07-19T18:43:00.004-05:00

Since I haven't done this in awhile, I thought today I'd lay out a couple of things I would do if I was Editor In Chief of Marvel. The first would be that when they show a crowd scene at a nightclub or bar or whatever, somewhere in the background there would be a Madrox dupe. I think this would be a fun idea and a neat little Where's Waldo type gag running through all the Marvel books.
Next I would create a Marvel Team-Up book that each month would focus on a completely different team (I've already listed some of my favorite ideas for one in previous posts) and finally, I would have a series devoted to the misadventures of Wolfsbane and Husk. I really think this would make for an awesome series especially considering both gals' connection to Cannonball.
Oh, something that I would do if I ever got to write a Spider-Man book, every couple of issues I would tease that the next book would be the one where Spidey gets married.

If you don't wanna take risks get out of comics and play Black Jack

2011-06-06T06:29:00.007-05:00

Since, I'm not really using it for anything at the moment. I thought it would be fun to apply my business degree to the woes of the comic book industry and I think it's fairly obvious to all of us comic book fans why the industry is facing contraction when with all the movies and what not they put out you would think that they would be gaining fans instead of slowly losing them. One of the big problems for the Big Two I feel is that they are part of huge companies and like most large companies they are risk adverse and the fact is being risk adverse well seeming like a good way to go, but when it comes to entertainment companies that is the exact opposite of good business. Which seems to be one of the reasons most of the various entertainment industries especially; the movie, television (or at least network television) and comic industries are facing similar contractions mainly because they don't seem to be willing to take as big of risks nowadays as they did in the past after all if you aren't throwing out new ideas to see what sticks how will you the next big thing?
I think the other major problem for comics was when that switched to the direct market only model. Once they got themselves off of the newsstands and into selling only through comic book shops I feel it signaled to the rest of the world that comics are only for a niche audience and made it harder for those how may not of thought about it, to not try out comic books. I don't think I would have gotten into comics if it was not for the spinner rack at the grocery store, since that was were I got all my comics up until I was around 12 or so. Now, I don't want to seem like I'm bashing comic books stores, after all I love my LCS. However, I also see we that being the only place to get comics as one of the reasons for the shrinking comic book market, when you do think this would be a great time of comic books building their market with all of the successful movies and games like Arkham Asylum (which even the folks I know that aren't into comics love that game) it just seems like this industry I love is relenting when they could (if they were willing to take some real risks) really do something awesome with the opportunities they currently have and, I think it would be a real shame if this industry went the way of the buggy whip industry simply because they are to risk adverse. At least that's how I see it at any rate.

Flushpoint???

2011-06-04T04:04:00.004-05:00

After hearing all the news about Flashpoint (which is a story that I have no real interest in to begin with)and reading various blogs about it. I have come to the conclusion that I don't really care about whether or not DC is doing a hard or soft re-boot. The main thing I'm concerned about is whether or not I will be able to enjoy the stories of the characters I enjoy reading about. Which looks like at least a couple of them mainly Stargirl and Stephenie Brown are not likely to be doing much for a while. The other thing that it brings to the fore for me is that I've never been all that heavy into continuity and would much rather read something entertaining than something that lines up with what came before. I think part of this stems from my preference for episodic storytelling that doesn't rely on watching or reading every episode (or issue) in order to enjoy the story. Though, on the flip side I think there should be some consistency with the characters which Marvel and DC are pretty good at maintaining with their top tier characters (well, when the characters aren't making deal with the devil to end their marriage anyways). One of the writers I think has done a good job at this (so far) is Rick Remender over on Uncanny X-Force. Each month he has just been blowing me away. I guess I don't really have a point to this post other than as long as the stories are good I'll still read DC books and if the stories are lame, well then there are quite a few awesome book I will continue to read that aren't produced by DC. So, to the whole controversy I say... MEH!

He's a Lobster... With a mission

2011-05-11T19:14:00.004-05:00

Lately, I decided to read the Fallen Angels comics I picked up at last years Comic Fest (2010) and I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. Not, because it's a great comic because it's actually pretty bad, but more because of the Nacho levels of cheese in the book. For those of you that aren't in the know, Fallen Angels is a miniseries from 1986 that follows Roberto DeCosta(Sunspot) after he injures Sam Gutherie(Cannonball) while the New Mutants play a soccer match. Sunspot runs away and Warlock follows, with them missing Magneto calls Moira to help him run the Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters and she brings Siryn and Madrox (whom volunteer to go into New York City to find Roberto).

While in the city Roberto attempts to rescue a girl named Chance he sees being accosted by some street toughs. We are then introduced to Chance's friend Ariel (who has an ability similar to Gateway's powers) and of course, the character(s) besides Devil Dinosaur that gives this series its cheesy goodness, is Gomi(which apparently means garbage in Japanese)and his mutant cyborg lobster friends Bill and Don. As I may have mentioned on here one of the things I love about comics is the ludicrousness that can only work in this medium and Gomi, Bill and, Don are a perfect example of this.

Gomi is a teenage cyborg whose cousin (literally) filled his head with cybernetic components in the hopes of recreating Marvel Girl's (Jean Grey) powers because he and his partner in crime had a huge crush on her and hoped they could make a fortune selling the cybernetic implants to the public. However then run out of money and the implants don't quite work as they should. The pair of would-be mad scientists decide their plan is a bust they decide to eat the lobsters and possibly Gomi as well. Luckily, Gomi and the lobsters are able to escape and and meet up with Ariel, Chance and their fearless(lmfao) leader The Vanisher, whom vanishes whenever there is trouble or a fight and has named their group of pickpockets the Fallen Angels.

Because, of Warlock and Sunspot saving her Chance asks them to join their team they do and after they find them Siryn and Madrox decide to join the team because why the hell not. It's not like they are starring in any comics at this time. Then Ariel and Chance decide they should rescue their former teammate Boom-Boom (Tabitha Smith) from those mutant hunters X-Factor (back when it was the original 5 X-Men). This works out for Tabitha since Beast and Iceman are kinda pissed that has just made a table with one of Beast's experiments on it explode, using her little time bomby things. Then a trip to the planet or dimension or whatever Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur live in and the team is complete. Consisting of Sunspot, Warlock, Madrox, Siryn, Boom-Boom, Moon Boy, Devil Dinosaur, The Vanisher, Chance, Ariel, Gomi, Bill and last but not least Don. Earning this team the distinction of being one of the most random teams in comics.

Right around the time they get all the members together, the Vanisher tells them to go "foraging" for food and/or money. While doing this they run into a rogue Madrox dupe and Devil Dinosaur accidentally steps on and kills Bill the mutant cyborg lobster (man, I enjoy using that phrase). Which creates the subplot of Don wanting revenge on Devil Dinosaur for killing his best friend, and the rest of the team trying to convince him that although, he may be a cyborg lobster that it would be awfully dumb of him to try and attack a mutant T-Rex. Soon, Ariel invites the team to come hang out on planet(?) Coconut Grove. The team figures sure why not and follows her there. After the people of Coconut Grove forcibly give the team makeovers they reveal why Ariel was sent to Earth to seek out mutants. It turns out there hasn't been a mutation on Coconut Grove in millions of years and they need the DNA of the Mutants that Ariel has collected in order to help them evolve and mutate, oh and it also turns out much to their protesting through out the issue that both Ariel and Chance are mutants. Turns out Chance has the mutant power to augment or nullify the powers of other mutants depending on the demands of the script and Ariel can manipulate people with her voice.

Well, the folks of Coconut Grove capture the Fallen Angels (except for Boom-Boom and Don). They then take Madrox and Sunspot away to experiment on and extract their mutant gene. Don initially comes in only wanting to rescue Gomi. But, after a rousing speech about forgiveness, Don decides to help free all of the Fallen Angels even including Devil Dinosaur. After beating up the guards and taking their keys Don manages to free the others. Then the go off in order to save Roberto and Jamie. They do so, and after returning to their hideout at Beat Street, Warlock and Sunspot decide to go back and rejoin the New Mutants, while Madrox and Siryn decide to continue with the Fallen Angels and thus ends the book.

Comic Fest 2011 (just a tad late)

2011-04-27T02:08:00.004-05:00

Even though it's been almost two weeks since I went to Comic Fest here in Denver, life had been a little too hectic to do any posts on it until now :(
So, like the last couple of years I had fun, but it's also getting to where the comic book area is getting to small. There weren't as many vendors there as the previous years but, luckily wasn't quite as cramped as it was last year. I got a copy of the Generation X movie, an Autograph from Amy Reeder for my copy of Batwoman #0 as well as a nice stack of quarter bin goodness.
Besides, the holiday this last weekend (Easter). My Sister welcomed a new son to the world the day after Comic Fest and a few other things have kept me from being able to post :( I have a couple of posts I'm working on that will hopefully be up here soon as well prepping a script I'm hoping to get published (Sadly it's not the Irredeemable X-Men, since apparently Axel Alonso does not read my blog). But, I'm attempting to get a few pokers in the fire (so to speak) and until then I'm hoping to get on here more often (like I have been saying for months now I would). Well, I should probably end my rambling now before I left out too many details of my life and as always I hope my few faithfull readers are doing well :)

That bridge is cursed, ya know

2011-04-12T19:15:00.003-05:00

Sorry, once again my faithful readers. I've been meaning to post more regularly, but lately I just haven't been able to think of anything to write, even though quite a bit has been happening in comics this last month. On another note this weekend is Comic Fest here in Denver, and I'm pretty psyched once agian Amy Reeder and Matthew Sturges will be there along with J. Scott Cambell and a bunch of other folks. Of course, I have been reading Wolverine and Jubilee (which btw is awesome) and last week I started reading Batgirl, which I should have been doing all along since I dig Stephanie Brown and all but something about it just hadn't clicked with me before. The Valentine's issue was pretty entertaining probably even more so since it guest starred Clarion the witch boy and the end literally had me laughing out loud. I was a bit sad that Deadpool Corps. ended this month, but so far Deadpool Family is making up for it. Maybe it's time for another post mortem review so I can get more in-depth with what made me enjoy Deadpool Corps so much. Well, I think that's enough rambling for now. Just thought I would catch all you fine folks up on what's been going on in the world of Jay.

The Adventures of Patsy and Remy

2011-02-26T21:41:00.006-06:00

After reading the fourth part of X-Men: To Serve and Protect. I really, really want the Immonens to make this an one going series. The chemistry between the characters were great and I really like when Gambit is the voice of reason and the one being flummoxed by someone else and Patsy Walker is the funnest agent of chaos as written by Kathryn Immonen. Add to this Stuart Immonen's awesome artwork and I would by this comic twice a month if they put it out bi-weekly. This was just such a fun and neat story that I would love to see where they could take this pair if given a monthly title (hell, even a mini-series). This story really worked for me and the Immonens really hit this one out of the park.

Curse of the Mutants

2011-01-18T14:34:00.005-06:00

Since, Wolverine and Jubilee is coming out tomorrow, I felt I would share my thoughts with you my fine readers on what I thought about the the Curse of the Mutants and X-Men vs. Vampires storylines. First off, I did not go into this series thinking I would like it. In fact, the main reason I even started reading it was so I could get my Jubilee fix (as I've stated many times on here I'm a huge jubilee fan). So, going in I thought it was just a ploy to cash in on the whole vampire thing but, in reading it I ended up really enjoying it. I especially enjoyed X-Men vs. Vampires since lately I've been leaning towards anthologies rather than single issues. Because, I enjoy getting a few stories about different characters rather than one long story and the first story in X-Men vs. Vampires is what really sold me since it starred Husk and I really like all the Generation X characters and feel they should be used more. Beyond that I really enjoyed how Jubilee tricked Wolverine and also loved the fight scene in issue #5 with all the hard skinned mutants front and center and Iceman being blessed by the priest. For me this series was really well executed. My only real complaint about it was the design of Blade. I haven't seen him in much lately, so maybe this is how he looks in all of his appearances, but to me his design made him look super gay. What I mean by that is that he looked like total rough trade stereotype, with his moustache and a haircut that one of the cats from the WWF tag team Legion of Doom would be sporting. This is not to say that it's wrong to have gay characters or that people shouldn't be into what ever tickles their fancy. But, to me it was just a bit jarring seeing this guy who is supposed to be this badass vampire slayer, and feeling like It's raining men was playing in the background every time he showed up or that his catch phrase should be "FABULOUS!" Other than that I thought the creative team did a really good job and I liked how it ended with Cyclops telling Dracula to watch his step or else... and Dracula just just being like "alright." All in all a good series and I can't wait for Wolverine and Jubilee to hit the shelves.

Another Anniversary

2011-01-12T14:41:00.005-06:00

Well, this month Monkey Knife Fight turns 2 and I would like to thank all of you who have come and checked out my little section of the Internets along with the people who have began following me on here and a special thank you to everyone who has left comments for me. You folks make me glad to write this blog as well as proving that even my ramblings have a place on the net. Now that I've thanked everyone, I would like to proclaim that as long as I feel I have something to say I will continue writing Monkey Knife Fight and hopefully I will be better at regularly posting on here. I'm also going to make more of an effort in being less random in my subject matter. I know I have been really lousy in regularly posting in the last year and for that I apologize to all my regular viewers (Hi, mom)and to make up for that I will do my best to post more and be more coherent in my ramblings. When I first started this blog, I figured I'd have enough to say for a few months or that I would maybe be able to think of enough content for maybe a year. Now here we are heading into the toddler stage of Monkey Knife Fight, the blog has learned to walk and now it's all about jamming things into electrical sockets. Hopefully, I've learned something in these last couple of years that will make me a better blogger and Monkey knife fight will continue to grow. Though, before I go I feel I should talk a little about the failed endeavour that was Quarter Bin Reviews. For those of you that don't know, this year I attempted to create another blog. I started it because I wanted to stretch out of my comfort zone of just writing about whatever fool idea comes into my head and actually have a purpose, as well as trying to learn how to write proper reviews. I was only able to do a couple of full reviews before it fizzled out and though I did enjoy writing it. I just ended up not having the free time to read (terrible) old comic books and write up entertaining reviews and they ended up being more retellings of the stories than actual reviews and though, Quarter Bin Reviews ended up crashing and burning. I still have a few other things I may try doing on another blog. but, for now I'm just working on Monkey Knife Fight. I have no clue what the coming year will bring, but I hope I will learn to find the time to post here more often than I have been. Once again a big thank you to everyone who has dropped by and I hope to continue entertaining you for as long as I have an opinion about comics and the worlds they inhabit and of course, to spread the word about the awesomeness that is Jubilation Lee.

Just sharing some more Husk love

2011-01-11T02:25:00.000-06:00

Paige and Rahne

2011-01-04T12:36:00.004-06:00

So, lately I've been thinking about how awesome it would be if Marvel let me write Marvel Team-Up and who I would team-up (besides the War Machine Gambit team-up I wrote about a few months ago) and one I came up with that I think would be all kinds of awesome is Husk(Paige Guthrie) and Wolfsbane(Rahne Sinclair). Now anyone who has been here before probably already knows how much I love Wolfsbane, as I've written about that love quite a few times here at Monkey Knife Fight. Though, I haven't written as much about how much I dig Husk (mainly because of my made love for her teamate Jubilee) I really dig Sam's sister and have been so happy that she and Jubilee have been getting a bunch of screen time in the X-Men vs. Vampires books(which is an awesome series if you haven't gotten the chance to check it out). Anyways back to the main topic, I think it would be fun to have these two team up. Since, we haven't seen them interact much in the books even though they both are connected to Cannonball in one way or another. I also, like this pairing because any criminal who ran into them would certainly start thinking about a new vocation after tangling with these two, since their powers are pretty freaky. I think that their differing personalities would make for some neat moments throughout the story and they would both get a chance to show off different parts of their personalities we don't often get to see. Plus, it would be neat to have them talk about Cannonball and his goofiness. If you want to know more about what I'd do with this pairing, I guess you'll just have to start petitioning Marvel to let me write Marvel Team-Up.

Spiderman and his cock-blocking friend

2010-12-29T16:42:00.005-06:00

I haven't talked about it in awhile on hear, but out in the real world I have been talking about my love of the show Spiderman and his Amazing Friends and as I was talking to one of these folks who was to young to have seen the show. I told them about how the main reason, I still to this day love this show is that the majority of the show is just Peter and Bobby cock-blocking each other (and indirectly themselves) in their competition to date Angelica and how it usually ends with her going out with some other guy (like Dracula). Think about this, I came to the conclusion that the main reason this causes me untold amounts of laughter, is the fact that Spidey and Iceman are too busy fighting over who will date Firestar that they never ask her about her perference. Even as a guy (and occasionally a quite boorish one at that) I've always found this attitude perplexing, the whole dynamic just makes me snicker.

Casting Cloak and Dagger

2010-12-06T18:02:00.011-06:00

With news of ABC Family developing a Cloak and Dagger TV show I thought I would chime in (a bit late) on how I think should be cast in the leading and supporting roles. I've always dug these characters and I really hope that this show works out. With an eye towards this being a tv show I figured I would stick with only the leading characters having superpowers and that the rest of the cast would just be regular non-powered people and so, here's my cast:

Cloak/Tyrone Johnson - Maestro Harrell. Much like Taylor Momsen, I haven't seen him in that much. But, from what I have seen him in I think he would do a good job as Tyrone.

Dagger/Tandy Bowen - Taylor Momsen, Although I'm not too familar with her work. I feel sees got the look to play Tandy both before and after her and Tyrome were drugged. Plus I think being on Gossip Girl she could probably handle the dark subjects of the show than one of the girls from one of the Disney or Nickelodeon shows.

Father Delgado - Jeremy Sisto, after his role on Law and Order I feel that Sisto would make a good choice as the priest who takes in Cloak and Dagger and allows them to use his church as their home base while offering support and guidance to them.

Silvermane - Kyle MacLachlan, He has the right mix of menace and congeniality to play the elder mobster whom seeks a formula for immortality. Give him some silver hair dye and he's set.

Simon Marshall - Bryan Callen, with his recurring role as Bilson on HIMYM. I think he has just the right mix of likability and jerkass to pull off the role of the man who found the duo on the streets and injected them with the drugs which turned them into superheroes.

Well there you have it. My casting choices for the (hopefully) upcoming Cloak and Dagger TV series.

The Irredeemable X-Men

2010-11-28T12:03:00.004-06:00

So, for a while now I've been toying with the idea of making up an X-Men team made up of the mutants that get no respect for the powers and came up with the idea of the Irredeemable X-Men team which consist of:

Iceman - The leader of the team, who's trying to prove to Scott and the others he can lead and that making ice is not just a parlor trick seeing how he can control one the the most abundant of the elements on Earth.

Jubilee - Besides being one of my favs she's got an awesome personality and can control the fourth state of matter (plasma) with her "fireworks".

Husk - Every team needs a big guy and I think she would be a fun one to go with. though she's not made fun of as much as the two above her. She hasn't gotten a lot of face time in the X-Men books (well, other than in the X-Men vs. Vampires books).

Wolfsbane - Even though she doesn't get teased too much about her actual powers, I do feel she could be used better with in the X-Men books which tend to focus on her religious views in a way that I think is unfair (Like some of the jokes her X-Factor teammates have thrown her way) and that she would make a good team mom for this rag-tag group.

Cypher - Last but not least the guy who can understand all forms of communication. Granted the new New Mutant book has been treating him better (especially when he pwn'd the team in his first re-appearance). He still doesn't get nearly the respect he should based on his powers. Heck, look how crazy awesome Cassandra Cain was using only one of the techniques available to him.

So, there you have it, the Irredeemable X-Men team. Hopefully someone at Marvel will make this happen and then maybe Joey Q will stop getting so much flack (from people like me) about Spider-MAn's satanic divorce.

Wolverine's Powerful Princesses

2010-11-01T00:55:00.005-05:00

While handing out candy this year, me and a friend struck upon the funnest idea for a new X-Men team. While we're still working on a name that doesn't sound pervy. The idea for the team thus far is that for whatever reason (maybe he stole Cyclop's motorcycle one too many times). Wolverine is put in charge of leading a team consisting of; Jubilee, Molly Hayes, Pixie and, Kitty Pryde. Most of this series would consist of various X-Men popping in to make fun of Wolverine. With Colossus occasionally dropping in so that Illyana can visit with her friends and Molly Hayes beating up Wolverine when doesn't pickup the right slurpee flavor or drive her too the mall or whatever. But, mainly just a book written as an excuse for young Molly to pummel Logan on a monthly basis.

She's the Boss Pt. 2

2010-10-30T16:57:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything new, mainly because I couldn't really think of anything to post. But, in the last couple of weeks I've been getting back into my love of Jubilee. I felt it would be a good time to finally post some new material. As, I've talked about in other posts I enjoy reading comics which feature Wolverine and Jubilee from the perspective that he is actually her sidekick. Just something about the idea that mean, feral, tough as nails Wolverine is following a bubbly teenage mall rat tickles me deep down in my soul and if I ever got the chance to write an X-Men book I would totally play up this alternative character interpation. With Jubilee calling the shots and Wolverine basically being like whatever, when do I get to punch someone? Looking back I think the main place the seeds of this interpation of their relationship were sewn was in the episode of the 90's cartoon in which Jubilee tells a group of kids visiting the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters a fantasy style tale, in which she is a Robin Hood type with an orc like version of Wolverine as her sidekick. Since, then it just makes their team-ups more enjoyable to me thinking that she is the boss and he is the muscle. Maybe, it's because she's always been a bit more mouthy and brazen then Wolverine's other teen aged sidekicks. Which writing this makes me wonder why no one seems to play up the creepiness of Wolverine taking on teen aged girl sidekicks as much as they do the whole thing with Batman taking up teen aged boys as sidekicks. To me at least Wolvie's relationships seem a bit more unseemly than Batman's. But, then that's just me. But, yeah I view Batman's mentoring a lot more innocently than I do Wolverine's. But, back on topic I feel that Wolverine and Jubilee's relationship works best when she is shown as the one guiding their missions and making the decisions about how to proceed.

Another Pitched Marvel Will Ignore

2010-07-06T02:07:00.003-05:00

Thinking today about the book I would love to write if Marvel ever lost there sense and hired me. I came to the realization that the book I would truly love to write for them would be a new volume of Marvel Team-Up and for you my faithful readers I will layout how I would write it starting with my first team-up. I would take highly unlikely character and put them in situations where the would have to grudgingly accept each others help and maybe even become friends by the end of the story and my first team-up would be....Gambit and War Machine. That's right official stick in the mud Jim Rhodes and part time thief Remy LeBeau.

The story would begin with Rhodey investigating a string of thefts within Stark Industries. The clues quickly point him in the direction of one Remy LeBeau (whom has been living it up in Vegas). Rhodey travels to Vegas and playing it cool ends up in a game of Texas hold'em where he and Gambit are the last to players. As the stakes of their game get higher Rhodes asks more and more pointed questions in an attempt to get Remy to confess. Of course, Gambit sees what Rhodes is trying to do from a mile away and evades the questions while putting together a mental list of whom would be trying to set him up for these thefts. The final card is dropped and Gambit wins the pot. Deciding he could use some more info he offers to buy Rhodey a drink at the bar. While sharing a drink Remy comes up with some names of the possible perpetrators and offers to help War Machine catch the thieves (for a slight reward of course). They then go busting down doors making their way down Gambit's list of suspects. Though, non of these rogues are the one's Jim and Remy are looking for, they do provide some helpful information on the reason for the thefts and eventually the catch the theif whose is revealed to be... Tony Stark, who had set up Gambit because of a confidence scam Gambit had pulled on him. Gambit returns the money he had taken from Stark (though not before stealing Tony's wallet)and they all go out for a drink.

Well, there you have it my first issue of Marvel Team-Up staring Gambit and War Machine.

Just Throwing a Little Havok Your Way

2010-06-28T22:57:00.005-05:00

What with Alex Summers out in space and all. It got me thinkig about how not many bloggers have much of an opinion on the middle Summers child. Maybe, it's because he was running the X-Men when I started reading comics but, I really like Havok and have ever since those early days and really dug what Peter David did with him in X-Factor. The only major story with him I didn't like was the Mutant X. But, then again I've never been much for alternative timelines other than Age of Apocalypse and Red Son). Silly costumes aside, I feel that Havok would be a nice contrast to Cyclops with everything going on in the X-Men universe right now. But, instead he's trpped in space playing space pirate. Which I feel is a shame since, Alex is such a cool character with a lot of stuff going on and I really like his plasma burst powers and the concentric circles used to portray them on the printed page and would have loved it if they would have atleast had a shout out to him in the movies. On the plus side they did try to work him in to the latest cartoon series. Alas, it seems that only I am a fan of his. Which is a shame since he really is one of the cooler X-characters.

Won't People Fear Mutants More, If We Call Ourselves Mutant Hunters?

2010-06-22T04:48:00.005-05:00

Lately, I've been on a X-Men: First Class kick and I've just been reading the 3 TPBs that have been published and while being on this Original X-Men jag. I've been wanting to read just about anything with them in it as a team. So, the other day I was reading some stuff online about the original X-Factor book and it got me thinking of the terrible idea it was to create the team as a group of mutant hunters and yeah, I know they were being manipulated by Cameron Hodge. But, still didn't any of the original 5 think that was a terrible idea? Even Beast? Granted he is a super genius scientist who's greatest accomplishment as accidentally turning himself blue. But, still... Heck, even Cyclops should have had an inkling that this was a terrible, terrible idea. granted because of my age I'm not too experienced with the early issues of X-Factor, since, by the time I started reading comics Angel had already gotten his metal wings and Havok was leading the X-Men. I just find it weird that it doesn't seem like any of the original 5 that this was the terrible idea it was until Cameron Hodge and Apocalypse had manipulated them into creating more fear of mutants in the general populous. Of course, the one thing this premise had in its favor is how in general the normal people of the Marvel Universe seem to not like or trust superheroes far more than in the DC universe.

How Does Iron Man got to when he has tax problems?

2010-06-06T00:32:00.002-05:00

Here's a few of the firms I feel should exist in the Marvel universe.

Robert Drake and Associates, Accounting Services

Samson, Blake and, Strange: Health Services

Worthington, Worthington and, Stark; Investments

The Law Offices of Nelson, Murdock and, Walters

Xavier/Frost: Education Enterprises

Wilson and Rhodes: Security

Well, there you go some firms and organizations that they should have in the Marvel U.

Jay's All New, All Different X-Men Team.

2010-05-25T00:18:00.006-05:00

I haven't done this in a while. So, I thought it would be fun to take a Little time and come up with the teams I would use if I were writing the X-Men Books. First off I would use the idea from the 90s of a gold and blue team. I would also have them based out of the mansion again and have a support team of Forge, Moira, Cypher and, Cyclops leader of the entire group.
The Gold Team. For this team I thought I'd go with a more experienced group.

Havok - Team Leader. Like his brother. Havok is a natural leader and has led many of the members on this team before.

Polaris - Besides being Alex's on again/off again love interest. She's a flier with long range powers.

Rogue - Heavy hitter and a flier.

Cannonball - Though, a good leader in his own right. He is the only one of the New Mutants to make this team and like Rogue, he is a flier and heavy hitter.

Nightcrawler - He can be stealthy, is good with malee weapons and can get help out of a fit in a pinch, with his teleporting powers.

Wolverine - He had to be on at least one of these teams so, might as well be on the one with someone whom knows how to deal with him.

Gambit - Besides also having Rogue on this team. With all the time he's spent reigning in Logan. I figured Havok could control Gambit a lot better than the leader of the Blue Team and it's always good to have someone that can blow stuff up on at least one of the teams.

Psylocke - Again, she has experience working with Alex and, her powers are complimented by being on this team.

Colossus - The team's heavy hitter.

Kitty Pryde - With Piotr and Logan on this team you could've guessed she was going to be on this team. Plus, much like Nightcrawler she's good to have around in case the fight starts to go sour.

BLUE TEAM. Though, not as experienced as the Gold Team. They're not a team to be taken likely.

Multiple Man - Team Leader. Since, starting up X-Factor investigations. Madrox has been the type of leader a guy with his powers should be.

Siryn - With her and Jamie's personal history. She could be good at keeping him in line as well as her long range and flight powers.

M - Jamie knows how to deal with her and she is a powerhouse, no matter what time she's on.

Angel - I put him and a couple of the original X-Men on this team to work as mentors to the younger members. Plus, he's a flier and it's always good to have a few of those on your team.

Wolfsbane - The malee fighter of the team.

Husk - She was on a team with M and in a relationship with Angel. So, there will definitely make things interesting. Plus, the her powers she can be whatever supporting member the team needs.

Jubilee - With Husk and M on the team it's only natural to have Jubes on the team. Plus, I think it would be entertaining how she and MAdrox would butt heads.

Iceman - The main reason I put him on the team was because of this team's lack of long range attackers and him being a bit more immature than the folks on the other team. I thought he'd make a good fit on this team.

Sunspot - The team's powerhouse and a former teamate of Rahne's I felt this was the team for him.

Beast - A heavy hitter and able to find solutions for problems no one's thought exist. I feel he would make a good mentor to all the members including Madrox and I kind of think that if he had a choice he would pick to be on this team, for the entertainment of watching these personalities trying to work together.

Well, there you go. My Gold and Blue X-Men teams.

Fallen S.W.O.R.D. (A Review/Post Mortem)

2010-05-12T01:37:00.006-05:00

So, this week I finally got the chance to read SWORD. For those whom didn't read it before it was cancelled SWORD follows Lockheed, Beast and, Abigail Brand after Astonishing X-Men. In the series Henry Gyrich has been selected by Norman Osborn as the co-head (along with Ms. Brand) of S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department)basically, the outer space version of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is head quartered on a space station above Earth named The Peak. Although, I did enjoy the series. I can also see why it was cancelled. For one the set up seems like it would have been better suited to a mini series rather than an ongoing series. there is a bit of a storytelling engine set up for the series. But, for the most part it's lacking a set up to continue for a long time. One of the first cracks in the armor of this series as an ongoing series is the machinations of Gyrich to have all aliens on Earth, deported back to their home worlds. While it is a good story had this plot been paced as more of a secondary plot than the main one (as it is in the issues I read). It could have added some interesting story arcs in the long run as Gyrich slowing turns the staff of The Peak against Brand and becomes more influential on Earth. Instead of doing this however, Gillen and Sanders make this the main story of the first arc. Had they used this plot point as a slow burner. I think they could have made the storytelling engine a bit richer. The final thing that I think set this series up to fail was that it didn't seem to have enough of a intro hook besides remember the last couple of pages in Whedon's Astonishing X-Men series. This is what happened to Beast and Brand. Though, another thing that could have helped the series was had they shown they were keeping take of that "bullet" Kitty was trapped in. Like I sadi at the beginning cool story but, easy to see why it didn't make it as an ongoing series (atleast in my humble opinion).

Sienkiewicz (un)covered

2010-05-10T02:49:00.005-05:00

Lately, I've been re-reading my New Mutants: Classic collections and one of the things I have realized in re-reading these is that I really like Bill Sieniewicz covers. Now, I'm not a big fan of his work. In fact, the only stories I enjoyed his interior work in where the Demon Bear and Legion story lines. For those stories and the whole metaphysical angle of them, I think his art works really well in creating the vibe of these stories taking place in a bit of a dream scape. However, his work on the other New Mutant stories just really bugs me. I'm not quite sure why, but it does. The one place where I feel he was really good on all the issues he worked on were the covers. Something about that painted style of his really clicks on the covers of The New Mutant books. My personal favorite of his covers is issue #21, entitled Slumber Party! the cover of that issue was really what got me interested in reading The New Mutants again when I was working at the Mile High Comics warehouse. When I was a kid I read a few New Mutant comics but, that was around the time of the Fall of the Mutants crossovers. So, I hadn't read any of the early issues and then I was walking around the Mile high Comics warehouse one day and I see this table in the back corner near the area I worked in. This table was decorated in a collage of all kinds of covers and other pictures and stuff. The first one that caught my attention was the VHS cover of that movie Melissa Joan Hart did with the guy from Entourage (it stuck out in my mind because in Jr. High, when she did Clarrisa Explains It All I had a huge crush on her). Anyways the second image that I noticed on the table was the Slumber Party cover Mr. Sienkiewicz did for New Mutants #21 and after that I really wanted to check out those old stories and along the way became a huge fans of the team. All because of that cover and just to have everything come full circle at Comic Fest this year I bought that issue along with a ton of other X-Factor and New Mutants comics.

Everyone enjoys a little Rahne every now and again

2010-05-05T01:13:00.005-05:00

Taking a brake from all the listy goodness for a little bit. I thought I would right about something that's been bouncing around my head for the last couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago while I was at Comic Fest me and the friend I went with were chatting about this and that and it got me thinking about how (despite her low profile) Wolfsbane has been in more titles than almost any other New Mutant, heck she's even co-starred in a couple of mini-series with Wolverine (and weirdly enough both were also written by Peter David). Seriously, you never hear much in fandom about Ms. Rahne Sinclair (not even on any of the feminist type blogs), Even though, she was in New Mutants, two versions of X-Factor and is now one of the main characters in the new X-Force book as well as being in the New Mutant/New X-men book while she was dating Elixir. I'm not really sure why this is, though I do have a sinking suspicion that Peter David really digs the character. After all, he has written two series and to minis that she has co-starred in. Yet, she barely rates a mention on the internets and that is a real shame. Now granted,I really dig Wolfsbane, in all of her incarnations and was extremely happy when I found out that one of my quarter bin finds from Comic Fest was X-Factor #99 where Haven cures her of the mutate thing and she was able to revert back to her human form and was no longer mind linked to Havok. All in all it's not a bad issue at all. Anyways getting back to the subject I think one of the strength's and why she has been in, is that she is really good supporting character. For one her background and her faith makes for interesting exchanges between her and other characters (especially,when some kind of moral dilemma is being discussed). Plus, with her powers of lycanthropy it makes a good visual, even in the background of a fight scene. What's weird is still thinking about all of this the other day, I started thinking about whether or not she would be able to carry off her own mini series and even as a huge fan of the character I don't really think she could. Unless of course, a very talented write had a story they felt could only be told with her in the lead. Other than that though, I think she works best as a supporting character that occasionally has an issue or to that spotlight her. Lately, I started re-reading the latest version of X-Factor up until she left and joined X-Factor and I think what I really enjoy about her is how Peter David writes her as a girl with a fierce and tough exterior in a vain attempt to hide her caring and soft personality and the conflicts and hurt that stem from her upbringing as well as from the conflicted ways she feels about her powers and mutant abilities. I really feel that even as a supporting character she is really fleshed out well (especially when written by Peter David) into a character that you really care and hope for as she deals with the traumas of her childhood as well as her mutant powers while growing into a woman of deep faith and conviction and it's a shame she doesn't get more coverage on the blogs or in the comic press and hopefully here soon, more people will realise just how awesome she is. Plus, who doesn't love a gal with a Scottish accent.

Shhhh... It's a Secret Part. 2

2010-04-26T01:15:00.006-05:00

Still in a list making mood and not quite ready for my New Mutants casting call. I thought it would be fun to give you fine folks another peak into how my mind works with second edition of the secret gifts/guilty pleasures of some of my favorite characters.

Alex Summers(Havok)- Besides being better at crossword puzzles than Scott, he's also better at the game of Scrabble. In fact he's one of the best Scrabble players at the X-Mansion and he and Beast have an ongoing rivalry as well as a bet on which one is actually the best.

Rahne Sinclair(Wolfsbane)- Though it's not something she would admit to, she enjoys reading "Bodice Rippers" and just to make it more humorous. In my mind it was Monet how introduce her to these trashy books, while she was still on X-Factor and that is one of the few things they were able to bond over as team members.

Tim Drake(Robin/Red Robin)- Is not very good at Wii sports. For all his training under Bruce Wayne, Tim just can not win at any of the games on Wii sports. He maybe a ninja and one of the best detectives of the DCU. But he is a terrible Wii boxer, bowler,etc.

Bobby Drake(Iceman)- Really hates when his friends ask him to make slushies, margaritas, dacaries or any other type of drink that requires ice and a blender and even more mysteriously he didn't mind it until after college.

Betsy Braddock(Psylocke)- Much too everyone's surprise (especially considering the outfit she fights in)her most prized clothing item is her full length flannel nightgown. She loves nothing more on a slow evening than to curl up on the couch in flannel nightgown with a good book in front of a roaring fire.

Well, there you go another list of some of the things I think these characters are into and that some of them would rather no one knew about.