Once Upon a Geek

Siege will be over before we know it.  With it brings the cancellation of all the current Avengers titles.  Beginning in May, Marvel will relaunch the entire Avengers franchise with some big shake-ups.  There will be several one-shots and mini-series, along with four ongoing books.  I’ve outlined below what we know so far about the ongoing series.

Avengers – Starting in May, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by John Romita Jr.  Members revealed so far: Captain America (Bucky), Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and Spider-Woman.  The traditional Avengers line-up is seven members, so it’s likely we’ll have at least two more surprise members on this team.  I’m thinking we might see Vision or Wasp (Hank Pym) on this team.  This will be the flagship Avengers title.

Secret Avengers – Starting in May, written by Ed Brubaker with art by Mike Deodato.  The team members are still a secret for now (go figure), but according to Brubaker the book is, “definitely going to have a lot of the espionage plots and the Steranko influence, and the crazy Kirby technology, but I don’t think there’s going to be much soap opera.  I hope it feels different than any Avengers team, ever.”  For more of Ed Brubaker on the Secret Avengers, click here.

Below is a teaser image of the Secret Avengers members.  Each character had their own quote when presented individually.  Here are the quotes and some speculation working left to right:

• “I lead by example.”   Some believe this may be Steve Rogers.
• “I am in control of my life.”  Some believe this may be Valkyrie or Scarlet Witch.  Personally I think you gotta consider Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, or Moonstone as well.
• “I act on my convictions regardless of personal consequences.”  Some believe this may be War Machine.
• “I focus on the solution, not the problem.”  Some believe this may be the Beast or Gorilla-Man.  I’m hoping for Beast.
• “I excel through adversity.”  Some believe this may be Nova.
• “I strive for redemption.”  Some believe this may be Moon Knight or The Hood.

New Avengers – Starting in June, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Stuart Immonen.  Members revealed so far: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Jewel, and The Thing.  Personally this is the book I’m most excited about.  It’s got a really interesting line-up.  Like the main Avengers book, I imagine there will be at least two more surprise team members once the series hits the stands.  I’m thinking we might see Iron Fist and Mockingbird on this team.

Avengers Academy – Starting in June, written by Christos Gage with art by Mike McKone. Members revealed so far: Veil & Striker (both new characters), as well as Reptil.  This book was only recently announced.  Newsarama is running teaser images all this week on Avengers Academy.  Click here for the latest character reveals.  The members and flavor of this book is likely to be a mix of Young Avengers, New Warriors, and Avengers: The Initiative.  That seems likely given that Christos Gage is just coming off writing Avengers: The Initiative.

The information and images above came from Newsarama.  Be sure to head over there for the latest comic news.

While it may seem overkill to launch four new Avengers ongoing series, they are really just starting over books they are canceling.  There are four ongoing Avengers titles right now all about to be cancelled: New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Mighty Avengers, and Avengers: The Initiative.  So don’t think of it as launching four new ongoing series, just think of it as Marvel starting the numbering over in order to sell lots of #1 issues.

In case you haven’t seen it already, here is the second trailer for Iron Man 2.  The film is due in theaters on May 7, 2010.

Holy crap, this movie just keeps looking better and better!  I can’t friggin’ wait!

If you can’t view the embedded video above, please click here.

Instead of blogging about comics, this weekend I actually read some! I’ve literally got stacks and stacks of comics I’m behind on reading. I only got through 17 comics this weekend, most of which were Marvel Siege-related titles.

Here are the titles I read and some quick thoughts on them (and they do contain SPOILERS):

Blackest Night #7 – Pretty good issue.  Overall the Blackest Night storyline has been great, but I was somewhat disappointed with the previous issue.  I didn’t care for the idea of Earth “deputies” for the various colored lanterns.  Now that I have accepted the “deputies” as part of the story, I thought they were handled quite well in issue #7.  I especially loved how Luthor and Scarecrow turned on everyone.  That’s exactly what would happen.  The arrival of the white entity was no shocker, but I liked the selection of the White Lantern.  Glad it wasn’t Jordan.  I hope next issue provides a strong closing.

Siege #1 & #2 – Ignore the haters, this is a good story.  To boil it down for you, it’s a story of one man’s hubris thinking he can take on the gods.  Norman Osborn (arguably the most politically powerful man in America) has decided to declare war on Asgard.  Many Thor comic fans are outraged saying there is no way humans could take on the gods, and they are right.  I have no doubt that Osborn’s forces are going to get spanked.  However, Osborn starts Siege with two god-worthy tools in his arsenal: the Sentry and Ares.  Those two guys open the door for Osborn’s forces to make an initial assault.  When things start to fall apart, there is a battle between the Sentry and Ares… OMG!  That was shocking and pretty freakin’ awesome!  One more random thought.. I like the idea that Osborn manufactures the incident at Soldier Field in order to gain more power.  It’s a nice play off the Stamford incident and the kind of thing people do when absolute power corrupts.  Osborn’s going down and the fall is going to be fun to watch.

Siege Embedded #1 & #2 – If you enjoyed Civil War Frontline, then you’ll like this book.  It’s a journalistic view of a major Marvel event through the eyes of Ben Urich.  I’ve enjoyed nearly everything written by Brian Reed, so while this series isn’t critical to Siege I’ll be sticking with it.

Avengers: The Initiative #32 & #33 – By all rights I should not enjoy this book.  In its current incarnation, it’s about really terrible people running the Initiative.  I don’t typically like books about villains with no redeemable qualities.  That’s why I dropped Thunderbolts during Warren Ellis’ run.  The other storyline is about the Avengers Resistance, which is essentially the New Warriors.  I stopped caring about the New Warriors a long time ago, so seeing Night Thrasher in action really puts me off.  With all that said, writer Christos Gage has managed to keep this book engaging.  Bizarrely enough, I enjoy reading about Taskmaster. Who would have guessed.

New Avengers #61 & #62 – Great issues.  I’ve loved New Avengers since the beginning and it continues to be a good read.  In these issues I especially liked the interplay between Spider-Man and Spider-Woman.  It was also nice to see the recently-returned Steve Rogers along with Captain America Bucky back-to-back in battle.  Two small disappointments.. 1) Steve Rogers saying, “Son of a bitch.”  That seemed out of character.  2) The insanely tiny print of Steve Rogers whispering to Carol Danvers turned out to be gibberish after I search 30 minutes for a magnifying glass in my house.

Dark Avengers #13 & #14 – Again, by all rights I should not like this book.  It’s about terrible people posing as Avengers.  These guys are the definition of irredeemable.  Yet, Brian Michael Bendis has managed to spin a great series that I’m disappointed is coming to an end soon.  These issues were Sentry-centric.  For the first time since New Avengers began, Sentry was worth reading about.  We’re beginning to find out more about the character.  My biggest worry the last few weeks was that Sentry would turn out to be Marvelman.  I’m so glad that isn’t the case!

Mighty Avengers #33 & #34 – Probably the weakest of all the Avengers current titles.  Hank Pym is an unlikeable hero and not someone you can relate to.  It’s such a huge departure from his previous depictions that it’s hard to swallow. The only thing I’m looking forward to with this title is the coming of Ultron. Dan Slott’s Avengers: The Initiative was pure gold, so this series is a bit of a disappointment.  Especially since this team has the most classic-like line-up of Avengers.  I won’t be sorry to see this series go.

Ms. Marvel #43 – #46 – This has consistently been one of Marvel’s best superhero comics.  It’s a real shame it’s coming to an end.  I’m not sure whether its poor sales or Marvel has other plans for the character, but I’m bummed about this going away.  These issues conclude the “War of the Marvels” in which the Moonstone Ms. Marvel is battling the recently-resurrected Carol Danvers Ms. Marvel.  They’ve already published the last issue (#50), but I’m still catching up.  Brian Reed has been writing this comic since it’s inception and he’s been graced with a number of fantastic artists.  If you’ve missed it, start picking up the trades.  It’s a great straight-forward superhero story with a strong female lead.

There you go!  Have you read anything good lately?  Feel free to share in the comments.

From Funny or Die, here is Stan Lee’s bid for the Oscars…

“A horror-edged fantasy, set in the DC Universe.”

Wow.  The editorial staff that put this ad together had no idea where this comic was going to go, did they?

Presenting comic book advertisements for the 1980 Saturday morning cartoons!  Here we have ads from ABC, NBC, and CBS.

If I had to declare a winner for me personally in 1980, I guess it would have been ABC.  I was a big fan of Super Friends and Thundarr the Barbarian, and a moderate fan of Plastic Man and Happy Days Gang.  Conversely, Scooby-Doo had pretty much buried itself with Scrappy-Doo and no longer held any interest for me.  I’d say NBC was close on the heels of ABC in 1980 with winners like Godzilla/Dinomutt Hour, Space Ghost and Herculoids.  About the only time I’d switch over to watch CBS in 1980 was for Drak Pack and the Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour. Interesting that NBC had Daffy Duck and CBS had the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show.  I didn’t realize they split the Looney Toons characters up for these purposes.

I have fond memories as a child watching shows like Looney Toons, Scooby-Doo, Popeye, and Tom & Jerry.  Yet I watched them on weekday afternoons rather than Saturday mornings.  For me, Saturday morning cartoons were reserved for new and exciting adventures, not cartoons I could watch any day after school.  I guess I was a bit of a Saturday morning snob.

If you enjoy these, check out the Saturday morning cartoon ads I’ve run previously from 1983 and 1985.  The 1985 post also includes some of my general commentary about Saturday morning cartoons and what the current generation of kids are missing.

Last August when John Hughes passed away, artist Cliff Chiang did a brilliant The Breakfast Club mash-up with the Teen Titans.  See below.

“Dear Batman: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in Bat-detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is an archer, and a speedster, and a swimmer, a princess, and an acrobat. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Teen Titans.”

That is pure genius!  I think it’s especially funny that Aqualad is the whiny Anthony Michael Hall character!  You can find a few more superhero/80s album art mash-ups from Cliff Chiang on Comics Alliance.  My thanks to Ed for directing me to these images.

I bought a DC Comics Snuggie?!?!  First off, it’s not really a “Snuggie”, it’s a “Comfy Throw”.  What does that mean?  That means it’s a body-length blanket with sleeves made of fleece material; similar in design to a bathrobe that is worn backwards.  Yeah, I know.  That’s the definition of a “Snuggie”.  This is DC Comics’ off-brand version of a Snuggie.

I picked it up at F.Y.E. in Tampa for $10 (originally priced at $20).  The dimensions are 48″ x 71″.  Upon seeing the box (and after finishing rolling her eyes), my wife stated that no woman would be caught dead in that thing, and the only reason a woman is wearing one on the box is because it will help sell the product to geeks.  Y’know what, I think she’s exactly correct!

When I bought it, I never really thought I’d wear it.  However, my Comicatorium (a.k.a. Shag’s Sanctum Sanctorum) is about 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house.  So on cold winter nights this thing could actually come in handy!  In fact, I’m wearing it as I type right now.  It’s currently 32 degrees outside and freakin’ cold in the Comicatorium, but I’m all mosty-toasty in my DC Comics Snuggie.

Here is a sample of the pattern featuring: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Shazam, Justice League of America, and the Super Powers logo.

Finally, proof positive that I have no sense of shame.

Have you heard of the term “Sense Memory”?  It’s used in acting, but it also refers to the interaction of the senses and the memory, and the ways in which certain sensory stimuli can trigger memories.  Have you ever caught the scent of a former girlfriend’s perfume, or heard a particular song, and it unexpectedly brought back a wave of memories and emotions?  That’s what I’m talking about.

I have a pretty strong sense memory.  One in particular sticks out for me. Lemon-Lime flavored Slush Puppies bring back a flood of emotions and memories related to The Marvel Saga comic books.  Weird, huh?  Now we don’t have any convenience stores in my area that carry Slush Puppies anymore, but just the thought of one triggers the memory.  I can clearly taste the lemon-lime and once again feel the excitement and wonder I felt when reading The Marvel Saga.

When I was 13 years old my mother sometimes picked me up after school and took me to her office until quitting time.  The rule was that I had to be quiet and stay out of her fellow co-workers way.  So she’d give me a few dollars and I’d walk down to the local convenience store.  I’d immediately make a beeline for the Slush Puppie machine.  Now don’t be confused, there is a tremendous difference between a Slush Puppie and an Icee or Slurpee.  If you don’t know what a Slush Puppie is, then you’ve never lived.  It’s that simple.  An Icee and/or Slurpee machine simply dispenses a frozen foamy drink, whereas a Slush Puppie requires action on your part to create the heavenly concoction.

When approaching a Slush Puppie machine you are immediately confronted with the difficult decision of choosing which flavor you want (usually there are about a dozen bottles of flavoring to choose from).  Once you’ve decided on your flavoring, you grab an empty cup and dispense the flavoring from a pump bottle.  You are supposed to pump out three squirts per cup, however, I usually went for six or seven squirts.  Talk about lemon-lime tart overload!  Then you fill the remainder of the cup from the spigot.  This pumps out glorious sweet-infused icy water into the cup and mixes the entire drink.  The sweet icy water isn’t foam-based like an Icee, this has zillions of ice pellets.  Little tiny ice pellets perfect for crunching.  It’s a religious experience!

Anyway, I would mix my super-sweet/sour lemon-lime Slush Puppie and then peruse the comic book rack.  I didn’t go to my mother’s office very often, so there were always new comics to check out.  It was during a visit like this I picked up my first issue of The Marvel Saga which happened to be issue #2.  It seemed like everytime I went to my mother’s office, I bought a new issue of The Marvel Saga. If you’ve never read the series it was intended to follow Marvel’s continuity as closely as possible starting with the inception of the Marvel Universe and then continuing forward in chronological order (also incorporating retcons).  The interior was a mixture of comic panels and large text pieces (sort of like Marvel Universe or Who’s Who).  It took me hours to read an issue cover to cover.  It’s was like hitting the lottery for a kid just getting into Marvel back then.  First of all, my $1 would buy hours of entertainment, unlike other comics that could be read in 15 minutes.  Second, it provided all the background on my favorite characters at a time when I didn’t know the Marvel Universe inside-and-out.  This comic provided hours of wonder and joy as my curiosity about the history of these characters was slaked.  A copy of The Marvel Saga in one hand, a lemon-lime Slush Puppie in the other.  That’s happiness.

Sense memory is a funny thing.  Nowadays if I taste something with a really tart lemon-lime flavor, I’m immediately overwhelmed with an inexplicable sense of wonder and curiosity.  That’s what comes first.  It’s later that the memory materializes of Slush Puppies and The Marvel Saga.  Now if I could just find a Slush Puppie machine in my area and a copy of the Essential Marvel Saga…

Hey gang! More of an administrative post today.  I was hoping to get some feedback from you readers about a change I’ve recently made to the blog.

If you look in the right-hand sidebar I’ve added two Twitter feeds, one for comic books and one for Doctor Who (both popular topics here).  I thought this might be a nice geek-news aggregation resource for readers while on my site.  What I’m looking to find out is if this is useful to you.  If not, are there any ways to make it useful to you (i.e. list 10 tweets instead of 5, create a feed for Star Wars, only show tweets from news sources, etc).  Also, is there anything I can do to make the blog more interesting or relevant for you?

Typically when I ask for feedback like this I get a couple responses.  That’s depressing considering hundreds of people read this site everyday.  I can prove you’re not alone.  Scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar.  Towards the bottom, there is a section labeled “Users Currently Online”.  That’s the number of people on ONCE UPON A GEEK at that moment.  See, you’re not alone.  Now c’mon folks, help me out here.  Suggestions you provide will only make your experience better here.  Y’all are a great audience, so I’d appreciate any feedback you’ve got to share.  Please feel free to comment here or send me an e-mail at shag@onceuponageek.com.  Thanks!