Jun 05 2017

Many Marvel Digital Comics On Sale

Wonder Woman may be all the rage at movie theaters right now, but Marvel is ruling the roost (what does that even mean?) when it comes to digital comics. Why? Big sale! Read on, true believers.

Marvel Comics

When I say “sale” I do mean sale. Like, these are some super cheapo prices for Marvel digital comics. No idea how long these prices will last.

X-Men:

First up — X-Men Epic Collection: Second Genesis. This is the beginning of the X-Men that most people know and love, the team with Colossus and Storm and Nightcrawler. Also Banshee, but he doesn’t last that long, which is too bad because I like him. Wolverine joins soon after, and we all know how popular that guy is. Bottom line: 528 pages for $3.40. SERIOUSLY. Go buy now.

Next — God Loves, Man Kills. This is a famous comic (technically Graphic Novel, since it has the “Marvel Graphic Novel #5” tag) that I don’t think I’ve read. I will now though, because it’s 96 pages for 80 cents.

Infinity War:

Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” movie comes out in 2018 (!!!) but before that you can read the comics the movie is based on.

First up is Infinity Gauntlet (1991) and then Infinity War (1992). “Gauntlet” is 256 pages for $2.20, “War” is 400 pages for $4.00.

Other stuff:

Marvel’s first ever Graphic Novel, The Death of Captain Marvel, might be the best comic of its era. Why? Because it is about what the title says. No more no less. I have this digital edition already and I can honestly say it is amazing in every way. Written and drawn by Jim Starlin, this is a serious book without being maudlin. And Marvel has managed to keep Marv dead all these years, which is impressive. (Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel, now goes by Captain Marvel, and she’s the one you’ll be seeing on the big screen in 2019. If you have no idea what that sentence means don’t worry about it.) Bottom line: 128 pages for 80 cents, one of the best comics ever. GO BUY NOW.

Photo of Jim Starlin at the Wizard World comic...

Photo of Jim Starlin at the Wizard World comic convention, Chicago, Ill. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There’s a ton more digital comics for sale. I’ll add to this list when I can. Click the links and just go exploring. Or just check out Amazon’s top sellers in Comics and Graphic Novels, which at the moment are all Marvel stuff because of the sale. Remember, I have no idea how long the sale is going on, so don’t get mad at me if you click and find out the price has gone up. Buy now! Now now now! That’s I’m gonna do.


Jun 05 2017

Thoughts on Wonder Woman and “Wonder Woman”

Wonder Woman” has arrived and it’s a hit! This is a good thing for many reasons, not the least of which is that the movie is actually pretty good. Here are some of my thoughts about both the character and the new (hit) movie.

Wonder Woman's first TV appearance

(Note: the above is a screenshot from Wonder Woman’s first TV appearance, which apparently was on “The Brady Kids“.)

The Movie

It’s pretty good! I say this with the understanding the film has been deemed to be more than pretty good by Rotten Tomatoes. If you read those reviews, though, as I did, you will find that although the vast majority of them are indeed positive, there are some complaints, which is fair since there are no perfect movies. (Not even my beloved Avengers movie.)

Down to brass tacks. (Which sounds painful.) “Wonder Woman” is very entertaining. Read more »


Mar 17 2017

Beverly D’Angelo on Mutt & Stuff

The always fabulous Beverly D’Angelo will appear on Sid & Marty Krofft‘s Mutt & Stuff, Friday March 17 at 9:30am on Nickelodeon. Sid & Marty Krofft are, of course, the geniuses behind your childhood faves H.R. Pufnstuf, Land Of The Lost, and The Bugaloos. They’ve been working their way into the imaginations of a new generation with Mutt & Stuff. Today Beverly D’Angelo joins the party by playing a mermaid.

Beverly D'Angelo on Mutt & Stuff

Here’s the episode description:

Mutt & Stuff “Doggy Mermaid Island”

Tune-in Information
Friday, 9:30 am est/pst on Nickelodeon

“Doggy Mermaid Island” episode synopsis
Beverly D’Angelo make a surprise appearance as a mermaid in the premiere week finale episode for Sid & Marty Krofft’s hit preschool series, Mutt & Stuff. In the episide D’Angelo plays Coral, a mermaid who is trying to bring Pearl – a half dog, half fish who is very shy – out of his shell. The class comes to Doggy Mermaid Island to help Pearl overcome her first?day?of?school jitters.

C’mon. “Doggy Mermaid Island”? Beverly D’Angelo as a mermaid? The Krofft brothers have still got it. Check out Mutt & Stuff on Nickelodeon.


Dec 10 2016

Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer

Here is the Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer. If you are a Geek Gold Card member, prepare to make little nerdy noises.


Where to begin? So much to like.

  • He’s young. This is the first on-screen Peter Parker we’ve had that is actually the age of the original character, which is 15. Yes. 15. Even if one were to dicker over the exact age, it was clear that he was in high school, making him, at best, 16, 17, whatever. While both Tobey Maquire and Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of the character had him in high school, neither actor was as young as the current Peter/Spidey, one Tom Holland, seen already in Captain America: Civil War. It is SO MUCH FUN to see a kid playing Peter Parker as a kid. (Holland is 20 but looks younger.) Next summer (July 2017) we get a whole movie of this. Yay! (No disrespect to Mr. Maquire or Mr. Garfield, both of whom were very good.)
  • Iron ManRobert Downey Jr. is in the movie. In one of the many versions of Spidey in Marvel Comics, Tony Stark plays the role of mentor to Peter Parker. We got a taste of this in Civil War. We get another taste in the trailer. The movie will have more. There is even a peek of the two fighting side-by-side. Eee. (That’s a little nerdy noise.)
  • It looks like Ganke but it’s not. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought that Peter’s friend in the trailer was Ganke. Ganke was/is (I can’t keep track) Miles Morales’ friend in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. Miles Morales is a different version of Spider-Man who was in a different universe but now isn’t. Because comics.
  • Web wings. Spider-Man sometimes has webbing on his arms, or as Peter once referred to himself in the comics, “ol’ web pits.” In the movie, these apparently give Spider-Man the ability to glide. Not fly. Glide. Love it.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for this stuff. I’ve been fully into the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the beginning. I never thought Spider-Man would be a part of it. Now he is. I am happy.


Dec 01 2016

Marvel Cartoons Even I Haven’t Heard Of

As a Geek Gold Gold member and Marvel dork, I was surprised to find out that there are Marvel cartoons even I haven’t heard of. Note that I didn’t say Marvel cartoons I haven’t seen. I haven’t seen every animated work the House of Ideas has produced (usually with partners). That said, I figured I had heard of all of them.

I was wrong. Wrong! So very wrong.

Below is a link to a fun article from CBR, aka Comic Book Resources, discussing 15 “forgotten” Marvel cartoons. (Not to split hairs, but they clearly aren’t forgotten if you wrote an article about them!)

Since I love me some superhero animation, and I know you do too, here is a quick rundown of the shows I’ve seen and the ones I haven’t.

SEEN BY ME

Spider-Man Unlimited: Very odd show. Spidey goes to “Counter-Earth” to save John Jameson and winds up staying there because reasons. Kind of hard to search for because there is now a game with the same title. Here’s the series on Amazon.

Silver Surfer: The animation in this series is absolutely beautiful, and the rest of it is good too. Very epic and features a clever mix of traditional and computer animation. Worth seeking out. Here’s episode 1 on YouTube.

Black Panther: Very very good series that probably was doomed from the start because it’s a “motion comic”. However, as the CBR article points out, the voice talent is stellar (Djimon Hounsou, Kerry Washington, and Alfre freaking Woodard, along with a very dramatic Stan Lee cameo), and the material (based on Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr.’s excellent comics) is strong enough that it worked for me. Check it out on Amazon.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series: I have a soft spot for this 2003 series because it aired just after the 2002 Spider-Man movie and was kindasorta a continuation of it. Also, here’s your main cast: Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker, Lisa Loeb as Mary Jane Watson, and Ian Ziering as Harry Osborn. Name another cartoon with Lisa Loeb. You can’t. (That doesn’t mean she’s never done another cartoon, it just means you can’t name one.) And Ian Ziering? Is this “Spider-Man: 90210”? It was 2003, we wore onions on our belts, and the writing was pretty good. Free on Amazon with a Prime Subscription, which you can try for 30 days FREE right here.

Fred And Barney Meet The Thing: Apparently there is an episode where The Thing meets Bigfoot. I need to see that. Thing Ring, do your thing!

Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Solid story-telling overcomes a premise that shouldn’t work but totally does, which is Iron Man as a teenager. Amazon link here.

Spider-Woman: I’ve seen a couple of episodes of this series. I think the same creative team moved on to do a Spider-Man series which eventually became the ever-awesome Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Don’t quote me on that, though. The animation style and overall look/feel are very similar.

Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes: Not good. Just didn’t work.

Avengers: United They Stand: Very odd series. Most of the better known characters (Iron Man, et al) aren’t there. As for oddness, all of the characters have “Avengers flight belts”… including Falcon. Falcon’s whole thing is that HE CAN FLY. Why does he need a flight belt? Not one of the better Marvel cartoons. Of course, I watched it anyway.

UNSEEN BY ME:

Dracula: Sovereign Of The Damned: Sounds weird enough that I might check it out. I also really like Marvel’s version of Dracula.

Marvel Anime: Not my thing. All I can find online are clips here.

Monster Of Frankenstein: Doesn’t sound much like a Marvel movie but as with Dracula above, it sounds entertainingly weird.

Pryde Of The X-Men: How I’ve never seen this, I have no idea. I’ve heard so much about it that I feel like I’ve seen it. Wolverine is inexplicably Australian. Someone told me that they kept airing the pilot over and over again, teasing viewers that a series would eventually show up. Technically it did — X-Men: The Animated Series. Can we get an Honest Trailer? We can!

 

Solarman: Who?

Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers: Apparently this was some unholy mashup of Avengers and Pokemon. Sure, why not.

Everybody remembers the ’90s X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons, but do you remember these ones?

Source: Marvel Superheroes: The Most Forgotten Comics Cartoons (CBR)


Nov 10 2016

Daredevil Digital Comics Sale

Amazon is having a Daredevil digital comics sale. There are other titles available, but the ones I’m interested in are Daredevil.

Picture of Gen Con Indy 2008 in Indianapolis, ...

Picture of Gen Con Indy 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Note: the guy above is not Daredevil, because Daredevil isn’t real. Good costume though.)

For some reason Daredevil lends itself to amazing story-telling. A blind lawyer who can kindasorta see and has ninja-like skills? Sure, why not? But seriously, these are literally some of the greatest comic books ever written/drawn.

Daredevil by Frank Miller

The Frank Miller/Klaus Janson comics should be required reading for everyone. For now, I’ll have to settle for sales such as this one and hope that causes more people to read the comics. The Brian Bendis/Alex Maleev books are also damn good. For me, the Miller stuff is better, in part because it blew my mind when I was a kid, but also because I think it’s just better. No disrespect to Mr. Bendis or Mr. Maleev, who are obviously insanely talented. It’s just… these comics… wow. Got me where I live when I was a lad, and reading them now, they still do.

There might be some other stuff available as well. The DD books (digital books, via Kindle) are half off. $9.99 is a freakin’ bargain for a collection of comic book epicness. Poke around and see if there’s anything you like. Comic books, especially great ones like these, are an excellent distraction from reality. You know what I mean.

Online shopping from a great selection at Marvel Featured Collections Store.

Source: Amazon.com: Marvel Featured Collections


Oct 20 2016

Brett Singer Live Returns

Brett Singer Live has returned! Listen to it right here!

Next time we’ll get someone else to be on the air with me. Will it be you? It might be. Let me know on the Facebooks or the Twitters if you’re interested. Several fine folks have already said they will join me in my media endeavor, which is greatly appreciated.

You can also listen to past shows here. AND you can get my show on iTunes. Yes. iTunes. Click here and iTunes will open and all will be right with the world.

But I’m back! Let’s go!

Source: Guess Who’s Back? 10/19 by Brett Singer | Entertainment Podcasts