Cover Story - Top 10 Winter Soldier Covers

Edited by Robert Beach

In approximately one week’s time, Captain America: Civil War will hit theaters (in the United States). It’s a big deal. The completion of Marvel’s 2^nd film trilogy and first phase 3 entry, two facts that are bolstered by the way Captain America has emerged as the ambassador of the superhero genre to the masses in the 2010s.  

For better or for worse, Captain America is THE superhero of the decade, and this latest film looks to be his greatest journey yet, pitting him against a world desperate to bring his closest friend to task for crimes he may not have committed. I’ll be doing a lot of posts related to the upcoming premiere. For now, we celebrate the “best friend” of that synopsis with the top 10 Winter Soldier comic covers. 

Cover Story - Top 12 Azrael Covers

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going

Let’s talk about Azrael for a second.  Azrael is actually one of my favorite superheroes of all time.  A lot of this has to do with how I made the transition from animated superhero shows to actual adult comics.  One of my first exposures to adult comics was a series of audio Batman comics adapting various greatest hits, and I got a hold of a 3-part set that adapted the entire Knightfall Saga that introduced and established Azrael.  From that point on I was hooked on the character and, as luck would have it, he had an ongoing series at the time so it became the first comic I started buying monthly.  

That’s part of why it does wrangle a bit that modern versions like on Gotham or Arkham Knight seem so lacking.  It’s even more frustrating when so much of Azrael’s story plays like the good version of the Assassin’s Creed game plots so it’s not like he’s a character who needed a harsh reworking.  But, given those things have very momentarily catapulted Azrael into the public eye I’ll take what I can get to excuse a deep dive into the comic series that started me down this path with the top 12 Azrael comic covers.

Spider-Man: Homecoming News Roundup

Edited by Robert Beach 

We're a little over 2 weeks out from Captain America: Civil War’s premiere. The reviews are already trickling in with a resounding cry of “excellent” from pretty much all corners of the Internet. At this point, that’s honestly not that surprising; like it or not, Marvel Studios has become a cultural juggernaut, and Captain America is easily their flagship solo franchise.  

What’s more impressive are the reports that the new Marvel/Sony joint Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland and debuting in Civil War, is really damn excellent. This response and Internet reaction to Holland’s appearance in the film’s latest trailer has given Marvel enough of a high to release some major info about next year’s new Spider-Man movie entitled Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

Cover Story - Top 25 Supergirl Covers

Edited by Robert Beach 

This Monday could mark the end of a brief, but amazing, era in geek culture. Supergirl season 1 is coming to an end. At time of writing, it’s unclear if Supergirl is getting renewed for a second season, which means this Monday could be the last time Kara Zor-El gets to grace our scenes for a good long while. It’d be a damn shame if that happened given Supergirl is really good and the best adaptation of the Superman mythos since Christopher Reeves’ Superman in 1978. 

With that level of awesomeness, I figured we’d give the show a proper send off if this really is the end for Supergirl 2015. So I’ve culled covers from across Supergirl’s massive history from early appearances in Action Comics, her cavalcade of ongoings and minis in the ‘70s, the metaphysical weirdness of the 2000s show, and even the New 52. Let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on Supergirl. 

Comics Rainbow - Lex Luthor

Well this has been a strange year for the Superman franchise.  On the one hand it enjoyed what has been easily the franchise’s best live action installment since Superman 2 in the form of CBS’ Supergirl.  On the other hand, it was struck a possible deathblow by the worst live action Superman entry of all time in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film so bad it killed any future plans for more Superman movies.  Given my maniacal obsession with topicality and the fact we’re still talking about Superman related things I figured I’d jump on board with a look at Superman’s greatest foe Lex Luthor. 

Lex Luthor is one of the most well-known and oldest super villains of all time, first being introduced in 1940 and working his way through numerous live action and animated adaptation.  In the 70 plus years of his time in the comics he’s gone through numerous changes and re-imaginings, some terrible, some brilliant, some meh and we’re going to dive in to get the full spectrum on all of them.  

Panel Vision - Guide to Jonah Hex

Edited by Robert Beach 

This is going to be something of a different guide than usual. Most of the time in these guides I'm going through a list of characters with the understanding that I’m guiding you through a collection of characters or universe elements, so you’ll have a greater understanding the superhero mythos that’s come to dominate pop culture. However, seeking to capitalize on Jonah Hex’s appearance on Legends of Tomorrow, I had so many options to choose from. 

I decided it’d be easier than writing 5 different articles about the guy to just combine them all in a single guide to the various broad strokes stories of Jonah Hex. This is going to be part history, part recommendation list, part review, and who knows if people are interested. Maybe we’ll do it again when some other character with a lot of content to cover makes their debut. 

Dr. Strange Trailer & Set Photos

Edited by Robert Beach

My favorite thing about Marvel studios is even amid all the formula-driven plots and studio-mandated storytelling, there’s still a creative spark and vibrance for the material at the heart of these movies. Every time I’m feeling a little burnt out on the Marvel product something new pops up to drag me back in. When Thor: The Dark World and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. exhausted me, Captain America: Winter Soldier brought me back to life. I liked Age of Ultron, but it was still a frustrating mess. Then Ant-Man and Jessica Jones washed all that away. 

A lot of that has to do with tone and style. Marvel’s simply at their best when they aren’t actively trying to make blockbuster hits, but are more trying to experiment with genre and visuals. And now we have Dr. Strange, Marvel’s latest “experimental risk” in a long line of experiments that proved to be not that risky. But is there a better film to be found in this first trailer, poster, and set photos or are we on track to another well-intended disappointment in the vein of Incredible Hulk. 

Film Land - The Invitation

Edited by Robert Beach 

This past weekend saw the release of The Invitation, a masterwork of directing and performance that stands as a true triumph of its genre. I was originally planning to review the film, but that’d honestly be doing it something of a disservice. See, I went into The Invitation with literally no knowledge of the film aside from a few vague tweets from critics I followed praising it. That ignorance made the experience infinitely richer and more engaging. 

Cold is honestly the best way to experience this film, so by way of review, allow me to just say it’s an absolute great, an instant classic and a high watermark for a genre that’s been turning out a lot of great entries lately. It’s full of tense moments, engaging surrealism, and a powerful emotional core; All of which is backed up by cinematography and acting in peak performance. I’ll be discussing the film’s content in great detail going forward, including spoilers. If all that appeals to you, I implore you: see The Invitation now and then finish reading this piece later. 

Panel Vision - History of SHIELD

Edited by Robert Beach

Let’s talk about S.H.I.E.L.D. Given that you and I are conversing on the Internet, I’m taking it as a bit of a given that you like or at least know of the Marvel cinematic universe. In less than a decade, the Marvel shared universe of films, TV shows, and one-shots have come to dominate the cultural landscape and occupies the same space in the pop cultural psyche that was once reserved for the likes of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. There are a lot of reasons for that success, but chief among them is how the MCU has used continuity to cross pollinate its various properties, tying the distaff films and show together into a rich tapestry of genres and stylistic affects. 

This has allowed the individual Marvel endeavors to explore their own unique focuses like Captain America’s heavy political metaphors, Guardians of the Galaxy’s emphasis on universe building, or the villain-centric storytelling of Jessica Jones & Daredevil. And at the core of this continuity-driven exploration is S.H.I.E.L.D., the in-universe super spy agency tasked with bridging the gap between the government and the superheroes.  S.H.I.E.L.D.’s had a pretty crazy history in the MCU over the course of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, yet an even stranger history in the comic books. And today, we showcase that history.

Suicide Squad Trailer 3

Edited By Robert Beach

As I write this, it’s been a little over three weeks since Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice came out, and the overall response has been different than what was expected. This was intended to be the NEW start to the DC movie universe, much like Man of Steel before it and Green Lantern before that. Obviously, that doesn’t seem to be happening.  Critics spent a week or so savaging the film while general audiences reacted with a resounding “meh?” What’s more, the movie struggled to make a major box office impact and failed to open as large as it should’ve in China. 

Finally, upon being knocked out of the #1 spot by Melissa McCarthy’s new comedy The Boss, the writing is more or less on the wall for Batman v. Superman. Obviously, this doesn’t mean the end of the entire DCEU as more films are already in various stages of production now, but it does mean DC is in damage control and course correction mode as all eyes turn to Suicide Squad, just in time for a brand new trailer.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer

Edited by Robert Beach

By now, you’ve probably heard the Disney/Star Wars experiment isn’t going to be limited to the new trilogy of films kicked off by The Force Awakens. In case you didn’t know, the plan is every other year (i.e. 2016, 2018, 2020, and so on) instead of an episodic movie. They’ll release a spin-off flick as part of a new series entitled A Star Wars Story because the original name of Star Wars Anthology wasn’t enough of a mouthful I suppose. 

A lot of folks, including yours truly, are cautious about this plan as it smacks of corporate milking and risk of overexposure for a brand that only just found its way back to credibility after nearly a decade of being a joke in the mainstream; however, all those anxieties were washed away in an instant with the release of the first trailer for the first of these films entitled: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Cover Story - Top 16 Walking Dead Covers

What can you say about The Walking Dead?  Well, I can say that another season of the hit AMC comic book show has come to a close, which is the entire reason this article is getting written.  More than that, though, I can say that it is pretty impressive how much AMC’s The Walking Dead has managed to elevate the place of independent comics in terms of their marketability.  Previously, indie comics hadn’t really been a major force outside the comic market since the speculator bubble burst in the ‘90s. 

Back then, names like Youngblood, Spawn, and Savage Dragon were all big names and even though we had Hellboy in the mid-2000s the idea of adapting creator owned indie books to the small screen was more or less written off till Walking Dead got big.  So even though I haven’t read the comic in forever and really don’t like it or the show very much I certainly acknowledge that good things came out of this multimedia phenomena.  So, with that said let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on the top 16 Walking Dead covers.