#andy kubert THANK YOU

[laughingdrawingaces]

"we never go out of style"

X-Men (1991) #24/the Uncanny Avengers #5/Dark X-Men (2023) #4/Uncanny X-Men (2024)#1/X-treme X-Men #36/Fortnite loading screen/Mr and Mrs X #12/ X-Men (2019) #16/ Rogue & Gambit (2018) #5

[neil-gaiman]

Neil, you’ve had the great good fortune of working with a dream list of artists, including Mark Buckingham, Dave McKean, Kelley Jones, Sam Kieth, Charles Vess, Colleen Doran, P. Craig Russell, Simon Bisley, Andy Kubert, John Totleben, Stephen Bissette, Mike Mignola, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Yoshitaka Amano, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Quitely, on and on.

Which Golden and Silver Age artists would you have loved to work with? Gene Colan comes to mind as someone who would have done wonders with your words.

Thanks for your time!

Tom

Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Graham Ingels, classic era Bernie Wrightson, Ramona Fradon, Barry Windsor Smith, Bernie Krigstein, Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, classic Marvel period Jack Kirby, classic New Gods era DC Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Steve Ditko, late 60s early 70s Jim Aparo (technically Jim drew one page of my Green Flame story), Will Eisner, Joe Kubert, Marie Severin... so many...

[zeawesomebirdie]

happy electric friday from this incredible tit shot thank you andy kubert

like that is literally a cleavage i need to send him a fruit basket

Oh HELLO?!?! 👀👀👀👀👀

Shout out to Andy Kubert for drawing him like this so consistently, I love this for us!!!

[dracaelus]

after going on a wild hunt i found the original post those edits are from ( https://www.tumblr.com/dickraisin/45388873096/bruce-wayne-in-a-suit-tie )

after a bit more searching and looking inside of myself when it turns out its not as easy to image search anymore i found several dozen icons that LOOK unedited but i still couldnt find the post itself or the comic ( this image is the best that i could find https://64.media.tumblr.com/be6a1e0f9d878575cd9168a869ddfd61/tumblr_inline_pb29dq5Ozi1sg3pby_540.png )

after additional several hours of searching and triangulating the original edit from around 2013 i have reached the conclusion that i need to read more comics. my bad

ANON I'M GIVING YOU MY BEST INTERNET KISS RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE YOUR ASK JUST MADE ME FIND OUT FROM WHAT COMIC THE EDITS ARE AND I PROMISE I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER FOR THIS

It's from Batman (2011) #18 ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 art by Andy Kubert

Tbh I was about to admit defeat and just agree that I should also read more comics 'cause it's been months since i first saw the original post and i still had no idea about what was the source material, but your comment actually gave me an idea...

So i went to op's blog and to their bruce wayne tag to see what comics they were reading at the time, looking for any art style similar to the edits...

And I found it :) So really, thank you hon

[ufonaut]

2, 3, 4, 7 & 8

THANK YOU!!!!!

2. Who's your favorite supporting character and why?

BOBO BENNETTI from STARMAN 1994. literally there's no question about it he's everything to me. you show me a character that talks like this and i'm sold for life

3. Who's your favorite comics hero/sidekick duo?

alan & doiby, of course! although i do consider them equals rather than doiby being merely a sidekick 4. What's your favorite comic book friendship?

rex tyler & charles mcnider because i love it when people suck and bully each other hourly. alternatively, hal & ollie for gay homosexual reasons.

7. Who's your favorite author (fanon or canon)?

we don't believe in fanon here at ufonaut dot edu so let's go with. robert kanigher, james robinson, tom king, keith giffen, john ostrander, paul kupperberg, paul levitz, gerard jones (sorry), doug moench, archie goodwin, len kaminski and. a million others

8. Who's your favorite artist (fanon or canon)?

paul reinman, bernard baily, mort meskin, gene colan, gray morrow, john paul leon, ron wagner, greg smallwood, doc shaner, lee weeks, gary frank, peter snejbjerg, joe kubert (adam & andy too), wally wood, xermanico, paul smith and. once again a million others

[wickedmisio]

So true. Bring back the off duty outfits.

Also, in those panels above from the restaurant, I never noticed (until now) that Remy was wearing gloves so Rogue wouldn't have to. Thank you Andy Kubert!

Okay, this is just a small nit pick among the myriad of more real problems I had with the first issue of the new Rogue & Gambit series, but why in the world were Gambit and Rogue apparently planning to wear their uniforms/costumes on a fancy date at a nice restaurant?  I know Marvel was/is trying to push this “mutant clothes” nonsense, but come on!  Anyone remember when the X-Men used to wear normal clothes, and dress up nice for dates?

[collectorscorner]

CC Blogger - New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : Wednesday 5/5/21 Collectors Corner Parkville - HQ : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING with Strong Safety Measures in Place (Hand Sanitizing Stations, Masks Required for All, Social Distancing Required, Limited Capacity, CURBSIDE Pick Up Optional) - According to Baltimore County Guidelines. 1-410-668-3353. CC Parkville - 2020/2021 STORE HOURS, Sunday 12-6, Mon-Tues 12-7, Wed 9-8, Thurs 11-7, Friday & Saturday 11-8 Collectors Corner - Bel Air Outpost Location : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING with Strong Safety Measures in Place (Hand Sanitizing Stations, Masks Required for All, Social Distancing Required, Limited Capacity, CURBSIDE Pick Up Optional) - According to Harford County Guidelines. 1-410-838-1777. CC Bel Air - 2020/2021 STORE HOURS, Sunday 11-5, Monday/Tuesday - Closed, Wednesday 11-8, Thursday 11-7, Friday/Saturday 11-8 Complete list of items shipping to the stores, some items may be limited in availability. 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[davidmann95]

Might I please ask what your favourite depictions of Metropolis have been across the years? (Also, might I please ask what elements from less successful visions you would be happy to keep nonetheless?). Thank You for your consideration!

In terms of the visuals, I'd say Steve Rude, Ivan Reis, Jim Lee, Frank Quitely, and Andy Kubert are the ones who've worked best for me, along with surprisingly the version seen in the DTV Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Not much writing-wise that's ever stuck with me aside from the idea of the 'avenue of tomorrow' from Busiek's run; cities in similar spaces such as Tom Strong's Millennium and the NYC of Gods of Manhattan have come closer than any actual iteration.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1314

Monday. December 28, 2020

 I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. These few comic books are thanks to the generosity of fellow fan Doug.

 Batman/Catwoman #1 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Well surprise, surprise. I really liked this first issue. Someone doubted that I would because I wasn't a fan of Tom King's recent stories but this one I enjoyed immensely and not just because of how Clay draws Selina. My favourite storyline in the Batman run was the relationship between Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Bruce Wayne/ Batman and it still is. I really wanted them to get married. This story jumps back and forth in time and involves Catwoman's complicated relationships with the hero and the villains. I hope I get to finish this new Black Label series.

 Action Comics #1027 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Klaus Janson (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters).  The House of Kent story concludes with the Superman Family winning the day and defeating the Red Cloud. Too bad the new owner of the Daily Planet and mastermind behind the Invisible Mafia, Marisol Leone, escapes justice. I hear Brian Michael Bendis is leaving this book and that some fans are happy with that news. As big a Bendis fan as I am I thought this story sucked. Not even better art would have saved it in my opinion. Even the shocking development on the last page was dumb. I hope the next creative team does a better job on this book.

 Iron Man #1 to #4 - Christopher Cantwell (writer) Cafu (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). You can't keep a good Iron Man down. Here I thought Tony Stark was dead. He's back on the racks and teamed up with Patsy Walker/Hellcat in this latest reboot and the first 4 issues were oaky. I stopped reading Iron Man a while back so I don't know who the new A.I. is that he talks to but it goes by B.O.S.S. How he hooks up with Patsy is another mystery to me. Tony has reinvented himself after being resurrected from the dead and he fights a bunch of old foes. His biggest challenge is a new version of Korvac. Remember him? I don't. For straight super hero versus super villains fare, this is okay, middle of the road comics.

 Batman Black and White #1 - James Tynion IV, J. H. Williams III, G. Willow Wilson, Emma Rios and Paul Dini (writers) Tradd Moore, J. H. Williams III, Greg Smallwood, Emma Rios and Andy Kubert (art). I call books like this vanity projects. They're written and illustrated in an artsy fartsy way that is pretentious to me. When it comes to Batman I'm more of a blue collar kind of fan and these stories feel more like they should be in a snooty art gallery. The stories are accompanied by creator bios and I found the first two to be worth reading but I didn't read all of them, kind of like how I stop reading the little plaques at the art gallery that goes with the art on the wall after a few. $5.99 US for four short stories in black and white seems steep to me.

 Batman #103 - James Tynion IV (writer) Guillem March, Carlo Pagulayan  & Danny Miki (art) David Baron (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The cover is a blatant bait and switch. It says "Ghost-Maker vs. Clownhunter" but it's really Ghost-Maker vs. Batman as Bruce tries to keep Ghost-Maker from killing Clownhunter. The best part of this issue was Harley Quinn's appearance.

 Batman #104 - James Tynion IV (writer) Guillem March, Bengal, Ryan Benjamin  & Danny Miki (art) David Baron (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). I like this Ghost-Maker guy. He wears a headband. I wonder if he still wears one under his helmet. So Ghost-Maker sedated Batman, Harley and Clownhunter last issue and now has them tied up in Arkham Asylum. He left Clownhunter unfettered with a sword handy to kill Harley with. Uh-oh.

 Batman #105 - James Tynion IV (writer) Alvaro Martinez  & Christian Duce, Carlo Pagulayan  & Danny Miki (art) David Baron (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Does Clownhunter kill Harley? Does Ghost-Maker kill Batman? Read this conclusion to "Ghost Stories" to find out. Get ready to roll your eyes.

 Superman #27 & #28 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ivan Reis (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). The last 2 parts of "Mythological" where Superman fights Synmar came to a grinding, groaning stop. This is the type of story that helps explain why some people get turned off super hero comics. It's just a bunch of big punch-'em-ups and then the good guy wins in the end. And can we get a consistent depiction of the Phantom Zone please? Is it a dimension where the bad guys are phantoms existing in null space or just another dimension where the bad guys live basically like they used to, like in this story? I hate when creators change things to suit their plots. I don't blame fans for grumbling about Bendis after reading this multi-parter.

 Detective Comics #1030 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Bilquis Evely (art) Mat Lopes (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Rob Leigh (letters). The grassroots movement to rid Gotham City of masked vigilantes doesn't make me care for the Bat Family more because it sure feels like a contrived plot device. The plotline that I'm much more interested in is Damian's poking around his dad's old case files. That's the kind of detective work I like.

 Detective Comics #1031 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Bilquis Evely (art) Mat Lopes (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Rob Leigh (letters). This issue is reflective of events that happened during the recent US presidential election. Anti-Bat and pro-Bat supporters clash and only in comic books can Batman defuse the volatile situation with a noble speech. Meanwhile, Damian quickly finds the person guilty of sweeping the cold cases of the attacks on Bruce Wayne in the past under the rug and brings them to justice. The perp's real identity offers a clue to the villain who shows up at the end of this issue.

 Detective Comics #1032 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Brad Walker (pencils) Andrew Hennessy (inks) Dave McCaig (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Father and son set aside their feud to save the rest of the Bat Family from the latest super villain that has them in his clutches. No mystery who the bad guy is with the cover for this issue being a ginormous spoiler. Yes, Hush is back and he's got a great new scheme to hurt Batman.

 Superman Special #1 - Andy Lanning & Ron Marz (writers) Phil Hester & Ande Parks (art) Hi-Fi (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Flashback sequence Marco Santucci (art) Arif Prianto (colours) A Larger World's Troy Peteri (letters). This is part 3 of "Endless Winter" which is DC's version of the finale of the Game of Thrones TV show. It's pretty straight forward. The heroes fight giant ice creatures. The end. I wouldn't spend money on this rack filler.

[northoftheroad]

The Wayne family

Sometimes, when I read Batman fanfiction, I wonder whether the writer has been reading the same comic books as I have. Because they paint a picture of a big, happy Wayne family where the kids are very close and sometimes the whole bunch even live together. 

Now, I do know the difference between canon and fanfic. And I get that wishful thinking and selective reading plays a big part. But still, I'm curious where these conceptions come from.

Just to be clear. I do think of Bruces adopted/foster children as a family because they have a common father(figure). But they have not grown up together. It depends on what DC continuity you're playing with, of course, but most of them are in their teens when Bruce Wayne comes into their lives and they can’t have lived more than a few years with him. Several of them have not lived together. So even if I let my imagination run amok, I can't see them living at the Manor together as a tight-knit family, and I don't think all of them know each other very well.

Batman and Robin vol 2 # 10. By Peter Tomasi, art Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray.

Dick Grayson had moved out (or been kicked out, depending on what version you go with) when Jason Todd came along (and Bruce suffered from empty nest syndrome). Jason was dead when Tim Drake came into the picture, and Tim lived with his parents or boarding school in the beginning. Even if Dick kept in pretty close contact with Tim, he had a permanent home elsewhere.

Batman: Gotham Knights # 45. By Scott Beatty, art Roger Robinson and John Floyd. 

I admit I haven't read a lot with Cassandra Cain. As far as I understand, after Flashpoint she has never lived in the Manor. Before Flashpoint, she was adopted, but I don’t believe she lived long in the Manor, and the only other Wayne adoptee she can have shared the home with is Tim. 

Edit: At least, Bruce probably did have time to adopt Cass, even though he promised to do it in Batman: Redemption Road (2008), just before the story arc Batman RIP where he, presumedly, died. They certainly did not live together as a family for long. 

Batgirl: Redemption Road # 6. By Adam Beechen, art Jim Calafiore and Jack Purcell.

I’m sure there are cute panels of Tim and Cass out there, but I’m picking some from comics I know of.

Batgirl # 50. By Dylan Horrocks, art Rick Leonardi and Jesse Delperdang.

Batman: Family # 7. By John Francis Moore, art Steve Lieber and Stefano Gaudiano.

Tim was an older teenager when Damian al Ghul/Wayne dropped into the house and immediately tried to get rid of Tim the hard way, and I don’t think they spent a long time under the same roof until Bruce "died", and soon after Tim left (at least partially). 

Batman # 657. By Grant Morrison, art Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang.

Dick moved in with Damian and raised him (for about a year). When Bruce first came back he travelled with Batman Inc, and Dick and Damian continued to live together. There were times when you could find Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damian and Alfred in the Manor at the same time, but not living permanently together. 

Batman & Robin vol 1 # 20. By Peter J. Tomasi, art Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray.

Now, Flashpoint, New 52 and Rebirth makes it even more impossible to puzzle together a credible timeline for everything Bruce Wayne is supposed to have done and everyone's relationship with each other. We’ll end up with Jason being Robin for about a month... But, anyway...

At the start of New 52, Dick has gone back to Nightwing and moved into his own flat in Gotham. He’ll continue to move around in different cities so he’s clearly not living with any other Wayne. By then, Cassandra is retconned out of the family and I haven’t seen any sign that Jason lives at the Manor with Bruce and Damian (and I don’t know about Tim either).

Fast forward into Rebirth, and Duke Thomas stayed and trained with Bruce for a while. If any of the other kids lived there at the same time is anybody's guess, but you can see the whole Bat-family (including, for instance, Stephanie Brown and Luke Fox) share a happy meal in the Manor, so at least they socialize from time to time. I’ve read somewhere that Duke since has moved in with relatives.

In canon right now, as far as I can make out, the only one who (at least sometimes and varying between the books) lives with Bruce and Alfred in the Manor is Damian. 

Another fanon exaggeration on the opposite part of the scale, in my opinion, is the penchant for portraying Dick and Jason's relationship as extremely bad from the start.

There are three different versions of how they met before Flashpoint. The first time, when Jason was a circus-boy Dick clone, Dick originally wanted to take him in, but Bruce stepped in instead (DC needed a new Robin for Batman, after all). The second time, Bruce had fired Dick from Robin because he was shot by the Joker and then promptly picked up Jason, after Dick had left. The third time (Nightwing Year One), Bruce fired Dick and kicked him out (I tend to ignore this version mostly, to be honest, because Bruce is ridiculously much of an ass here) and then, as you know, took in Jason.

And it's not that Dick loves Jason straight away, or the fact Bruce took in a new Robin by the blink of an eye, in the two later versions. But he still gives Jason his old Robin suit and his phone number in version two and in version three, they part on decent terms, and Dick tells Bruce (by recording) that he could have done worse.

After that, they hardly meet before Jason is killed because Dick is working with the Titans and doesn't live in Gotham. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Jason helped the New Teen Titans a few issues (Dick was busy getting in the hands of Brother Blood and being brainwashed, at the time) in New Teen Titans vol 2 # 20–31. And there is a snapshot of Dick and Jason hanging out as civilians in Nightwing vol 2 issue 63. That's about it. 

Nightwing vol 2 # 63. By Chuck Dixon, art Trevor McCarthy and Karl Kesel. 

Then, of course, Jason came back from the dead slightly unhinged (2005). I don't know the whole picture of meetings or confrontations between the Bat-kids between Jason's comeback and Flashpoint (2011). I do know he dressed up as Nightwing and killed people in Nightwing vol 2 # 118–122. When Jason was abducted, Dick struggled a bit with the question "Is it ethical for me to save someone who's a danger to society?" before he went to save Jason. In the end, Jason sends a telegram where he says "Thanks for coming for me, brother. I know we don't agree on much. I just wanted to believe we could be family again." Tim and Dick also had a confrontation with Jason in Teen Titans (2003) # 47, and Dick and Jason had a not very amicable meeting in the Outsiders v 3 # 44.

Nightwing vol 2 # 118 –122. By Bruce Jones, art Joe Dodd, Paco Diaz, BIT and Nathan Massengill. 

And then we have Battle for the Cowl, where Jason shot Damian, left Tim for dead and tried to kill Dick after he had refused to become Robin to Jason's Batman. (I guess there are Jason fans out there who think that Dick was not justified to put Jason in jail after that. Obviously, I'm not one of them, but if anyone dislikes these years in canon and decides to ignore it to the best if their ability, who am I to judge?)

So, the Wayne boys definitely had a partly antagonistic, partly close, partly distant relationship. After Flashpoint, I think it has in been portrayed as better. At least, I haven't seen them try to kill each other...  Tim calls Damian "gremlin", Jason is Damian's secret mentor (or so I've seen somewhere), they sometimes meet on the rooftops and work together. On the other hand, the previously close relationship between Dick and Tim seems pretty much forgotten. (Let's hope they start remembering that soon again.)

Detective Comics # 975. By James Tynion IV, art Raul Fernandez and Alvaro Martinez.

Somewhere in Batman and Robin Eternal, Jason says that Tim is the only of the other Robins that he likes. (I honestly don't know where that came from, I never noticed them seeing eye to eye before. Still, it's not like I've read every Bat comic ever printed. But then, I rather believe the same goes for a number of DC writers... Edit: I’ve been informed that it’s probably from a flashback in an issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws.) In RH and the outlaws annual 1 (I think that’s the only issue of that series I’ve read, to be honest), Jason narrates that there was a time when he would have killed Dick on sight. "Not my proudest moment. We've made up since then." They have a complicated relationship, but they are still somehow clearly brothers, and Jason thinks back to when he saw the Flying Graysons perform and how Dick was a hero to him then (another retcon after Flashpoint).  As far as I know, it's the only post-Flashpoint retelling of how Jason and Dick met, and the story is that Alfred puts Jason in Dick's room so he wouldn't have to clean a new one. Dick is not happy to find someone in his bed when he comes home to visit. They fight. Honestly, I can't imagine Alfred doing that, so that's one version of the canon I’m happy to overlook...

On the other hand, we have Jason and Dick hanging out on the rooftops in Blüdhaven in Nightwing vol 4 # 15, and Dick, Jason and Damian certainly bicker like siblings (together with Duke) in Batman vol 3 # 16 and # 33.

Nightwing vol 4 # 15. By Tim Seeley, art Minkyu Jung. 

Batman vol 3 # 16. By Tom King, art David Finch. 

On the whole, I think the only thing you can be sure of about the relationships between the Wayne family members these days is that it varies quite a bit between titles and writers and has had its ups and downs over the years. But that they have never lived together as one big, happy family.

Of course, all this is based on the comic books I’ve read, and there might very well be stories out there that paint a different picture. But on the whole, I’m pretty confident that this panel is about as close to a happy family gathering we’ve seen. And then it’s not only the Waynes but the Bat family.

Batman and the Signal. By Scott Snyder and Tony Patrick, art Cully Hamner.

[sineala]

18+ 616 Steve/Tony Discord Book Club: Marvel 1602

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This time of year, we tend to look toward the past....and if you've been in this fandom at all, it wouldn't surprise you to know there's a comic about that! Marvel 1602 (#1-8) written by Neil Gaiman (yes, that Gaiman) with art by Andy Kubert places our Marvel heroes in the Elizabethan era. See: political intrigue, assassination plots, and world-ending catastrophes! But maybe this historical AU 400 years in the past isn't as far off from our familiar Earth-616 as we think it is...?

Disclaimer: Tony isn't a character in this mini-series although he is in the sequel (1602: New World). Steve is in here as a Native American named Rojhaz (still pronounced "Rogers").

Come join us on You Gave Me A Home, the 18+ 616 Steve/Tony Discord server!

(Thanks to Magicasen for the summary!)

[narwhallove]

Review of R&G—Deep dive into Gambit

Earlier reviews that Ludi & I have been batting back and forth linked here, with a most welcome guest post by Jessi:

1. Faces (by me) 2. Callbacks (by @ludi-ling​) 3. Jim Lee & Pere Pérez (by me) 4. More on faces, and ‘sex creep’ Remy LeBeau (by @ludi-ling) 5. Faces and ‘creep factors’ (by @jehilew​)

On sex creep Remy LeBeau:

If I’m not misreading, Ludi and Jessi, you’re both saying Remy’s behavior is generally sexy; that he is within the parameters of good behavior because Rogue’s implicitly given him permission to talk this way. As Ludi wisely says, “The whole conversation is a way for them to negotiate where they’re at in their relationship.”

I still find this a tad problematic. He may have intuited Rogue’s feelings correctly, he may be testing her boundaries, but at this point in time, there’s no indication that he is at all worried about her feelings. To me, he sounds like the type of guy who corners an inexperienced girl into reacting the way he wants her to—even if he isn’t actually that guy.

But I’m gonna blame it on the writing. Gambit is supposed to be charming. Jessi hits the nail on the head: “You can tell he was not written by anyone who is even remotely smooth with women here.” 

So I’m glad that Thompson sweetens Remy’s dialogue. This scene is practically a perfume commercial.  Lee and Lobdell, etc., obviously could not write sexy and sweet, and so we’ve wound up with creepy (to me).

Reader, thank you for reaching this point. If you’re a Gambit fan, you’ve probably unfollowed me. But! The post below is a deep dive into Gambit’s . . . portrayal.

Ludi: So, Ms. Narwhal, what did you think about those transitions from down-time to the proverbial ka-pow? I’m interested because some of my most favourite X-Men issues were the down-time ones. Uncanny X-Men #337 - which is almost entirely focused on the X-Men having breakfast - is one of my favourites of all time.

I’m sidestepping your gorgeous question about breakfast, sadly, because I’ve changed my mind about where the art stumbles. After turning through the gorgeous TPB, I realized that it stumbles at the flashbacks. Which is weird, because the flashbacks were some of the most heady, charming parts of the series. And the art is definitely at its most ambitious.

It’s clear the team decided that they would imitate the visual styles that these original moments were rendered in, whether the original penciller was Mike Collins or Jim Lee or Andy Kubert. What a rad challenge for Pérez and D'Armata to flex their art muscles and have fun.

Let’s applaud the team for this. Thompson was ambitious in deciding to revisit of scenes from up to 20 years ago—can you imagine another writer wanting to touch Antarctica?! And Pérez was ambitious in his mimicry of styles that haven't aged so well. He’s done it with wit and verve, as below (and in my earlier post comparing Pérez’s and Lee’s versions of Rogue).

On the left is Andy Kubert’s 1994 rendering of Remy at Scott and Jean’s wedding, done in the “edgy” style of the decade: lots of hatching, high-contrast shadows, viewed from a very dramatic angle. Remy poses in such a flamboyant way you’d think he just blew Magneto up. That’s 90s for “dashing.”

Pérez updates Remy with a look that’s as fresh as Thompson’s dialogue. Same hair and arching eyebrows, but his smirk has a smile now, and he looks playful rather than self-serious. Too bad Pérez couldn’t retcon that awful tie!

It starts getting interesting when Pérez quotes Gambit’s facial structure from still earlier. The left is a detail from Gambit's first appearance in 1990, in Uncanny X-men #266, by Mike Collins. The middle is from an X-men Team card of the same year. And on the right is Pérez, clearly taking a cue from these precedents, down to the smoke drifting out of Gambit's eyes. His nose is even sharper. It's a fun reminder of how Gambit used to be portrayed—as someone capable, dangerous, and not a matinee romantic lead. 

However, this “facial quotation” means Pérez runs into some trouble when we return to the present day. Somewhere between 1990 and 2018, Gambit got a nose job. The decision to play with different styles means that Gambit doesn't look like the same person throughout the miniseries. 

These panels precede that glorious kiss in #3, and Remy looks so earnest, so chipmunklike (with that new nose), that it’s hard to believe he could have ever been the naughty, fast-on-his-feet thief we see in #2. 

So the decision has pros—it’s clever, it’s charming—and it’s got cons. One con is that if we don't like the referent artist, then we're not going to appreciate the imitation, either. But the bigger con is that the style differences can be so jarring that it seems Rogue and Gambit are being played by a bunch of different actors.

This only gets weirder when clones are introduced.

This panel is from #4, and tbh, I don’t know who these people are. These are not clones, but Rogue looks like a soccer mom, and Remy’s a chrome robot. Though I’ve developed an argument to account for some wildly different facial features throughout the miniseries, I am unsure what’s going on here. Maybe there’s a comic in which someone used Jennifer Aniston as Rogue’s reference. (I have a theory Jim Lee used model Stephanie Seymour for Rogue and Jean.)

Like Gambit, Rogue undergoes the same treatment throughout her flashbacks, though it’s more evident in her body and body language. Hopefully this post makes it clear enough that when you glance through them, you might see what I’m talking about.

Ludi, I know you had some thoughts about the ways Rogue's and Gambit's faces were rendered too, as well as when they were engaged in some important stuff—like the kissing. Were there moments you felt the characterization of our heroes wasn't as successfully conveyed? Or any big centerpieces you thought really nailed their histories?

We would like to invite anyone who wants to chime in about R&G to write a post, which we’ll link to as part of a chain. And we will comment the hell out of your posts, too. ;-) @jehilew @cmoineau @pastellarts @90sxmen4ever @bustedflipflop @awesomeamberlady @xevg and anyone whom I might have missed! Please PM.

Bullied Gently reminded by @ludi-ling that posts may be as short as a single sentence. Essays not required!

CREDITS Marvel Universe Series I Trading Cards by Fleer (1990) X-men Team Card (detail)

Rogue & Gambit #3, #4 (2018) Pencils: Pere Pérez Colors: Frank D’Armata 

Uncanny X-men #266 (1990) Pencils: Mike Collins Colors: Brad Vancata

X-men #30 (1994) Pencils: Andy Kubert Colors: Joe Rosas

[doctorofmagic]

I wanted to ask you what you thought of Stephen in the ultimates universe? I personally dislike the ultimates altogether, but... I was wondering if there was any good Doctor Strange stories to read from that universe?

Greetings and thanks for asking!

Well, as I said on another post, I don’t much about other Stephen’s versions, but I was checking out 1602 just in case so I could recommend something. It felt like Secret Wars III. It’s indeed a good version of him, you know, saving the universe behind the scenes. Yet you may not like his destiny.

It was written by Neil Gaiman, so you can expect an excellent narrative, though. The thing with ultimate universes is that they don’t last very much (even the ultimate merged with 616, so what we know, right?). I’ve read 1602: Witch Hunter Angela (a Secret Wars III tie-in), which happens in the same universe, and I really appreciated it.

But you can stick with the main series with 8 issues. There are nice references to several characters such as Daredevil, Fantastic Four and the X-men. Another good point is the art and ambiance, thanks to Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove. They’ve done a fantastic work. Lastly, don’t wanna be too spoilery, but Stephen’s fans are always fated to suffer :S

Thank you for dropping an ask!

[thatvirdiguy]

EVENT BATTLE 2017: DC’s DARK NIGHTS: METAL vs MARVEL’s SECRET EMPIRE

I know I said that this would be an annual thing, and I’ll try to keep this on schedule, and I’ll try to post these on time, and I know I’m posting the one for 2017 as 2018 comes to an end… but writing this took a backseat as I had to finish some projects and write a thesis. C'est la vie, as the French say.

Welcome to EVENT BATTLE 2017, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for sticking around.

Last time we had what I called a Triple Threat Match: DC vs Marvel vs Valiant. While I was hoping this would be a trend going forward, Valiant Comics took a break from publishing big summer crossover events this year. They’ll be back for the 2018 edition of Event Battle, though. (Side note: I absolutely adore Valiant’s quality over quantity strategy, and I hope it continues despite the recent setbacks.)

So, back to the heavyweights, then?

2017 saw DC Comics handing over their universe to the most successful team off their New 52 experiment, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (of the Batman fame), in the form of METAL, or Dark Nights: Metal. While Metal is indeed a continuation of Snyder and Capullo’s run on Batman, it does build itself up on the shoulders of giants. Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer’s “Dark Knight, Dark City” being one, Grant Morrison’s seminal run on Batman, Final Crisis, his The Multiversity stuff, and pretty much the entirety of his DC output is some of the few important stories from the past that the creators wove into theirs. However, although Metal leans on and borrows from a lot of stories (like most modern superhero stories do), it does not make them a required reading. You will easily find your way if you have never read “Dark Knight, Dark City” (you should, though) and don’t know who or what Barbathos is. Metal is that accessible to new readers. If you are a long-time reader and know your comics, however, it is oddly satisfying when you catch a reference.

Like I mentioned earlier, Metal brings back Barbathos, the bat daemon occultists in 1776 (including the third President of the United States of America!) tried summoning with their “Ceremony of the Bat”. Bruce Wayne, because of his connection to both the Wayne family and, well, I guess, bats in general, is revealed to be the host for Barbathos’ return. To act as the portal/host for the daemon, Wayne needs to be exposed to five divine metals. It is revealed later that Batman already has been exposed to most of them in previous storylines (Electrum in “Court of Owls”, Dionesium in “Endgame”, Promethium in “Superheavy”, Nth Metal in the prologue of the event with Dark Nights: Casting and Dark Nights: Forge , and finally, Batmanium during the course of this story). The daemon, of course, has evil intentions. It is bringing with itself the “dark multiverse”. It literally wants to sink the Earth and flip the scales.

Oh, and also, it is bringing with itself the twisted versions of Batman… who kinda do look awfully similar to Dark Judges from Judge Dredd?

As you can imagine, much of the story then follows Batman and the Justice League’s attempt at stopping Barbathos and his horde of mercenaries. Metal is filled to the brim with ridiculously absurd and deliciously fun moments throughout. While I did stick with my rule of not reading the tie-ins for events, I did read those that Snyder co-wrote, and they work quite well with the main story. They offer details to the story as you would expect from a tie-in but if you do choose to follow the main book only, you would be good.

While bigger, louder, more ridiculous seems to Snyder’s modus operandi for every story after “Zero Year”, it just kinda works here. Rarely does the story pauses and the characters get a chance to breathe. Even the dialogues are written in such a way that they service the plot forward and not add any depth to the characters themselves. While this does seem to continue on his Justice League run, what I do appreciate here is how he managed to adapt and extend previous stories and add more layers to the cosmic side of the DC Universe, which I have always felt falls a bit short when compared to Marvel. Apart from Darkseid and the New Gods, there’s not much else to it, is there? (Cue fans telling me off in 3… 2… 1…)

Greg Capullo draws every issue of Metal, front to back. This in itself is unheard of for modern superhero crossover events, but that’s not all. The man knocks it out of the park throughout. From huge action splash pages to an eight panel page of a tightly choreographed fight scene, Capullo works his magic throughout. Joining him on the tie-ins are John Romita Jr., Andy Kubert, Jim Lee, Doug Mahnke, Yanick Paquette, Jorge Jiménez, Riley Rossmo, Howard Porter, Bryan Hitch, Mikel Janín, and a host of talented inkers and colourists. While on some scenes in the tie-ins, the transitions between the artists is not subtle and it feels a bit off, the books are a sight to behold. If Jorge Jiménez’s work on Superman, Super-Sons, etc. didn’t inform you, the guy is a superstar.

Marvel, on the other hand, had a rough year. I’m talking about the comic book side of the business, of course. They seem to be doing just fine everywhere else.

SECRET EMPIRE is the continuation of Nick Spencer’s Captain America run, specifically his ‘Hydra Cap’ storyline. You know, the one that caused so much outrage. I wasn’t following his run then, but reading this event now, I learnt that (spoiler alert:) that man is that controversial panel actually is Steve Rogers. While the story very firmly establishes that it is not an LMD, not a clone, not a shape-shifter, etc., that man is still not our Captain America. Something is a bit off – specifically, Rogers gets his history rewritten by a sentient cosmic cube – and this leads to an interesting “What If?” storyline, almost.

Yes, Captain America is a Hydra agent. The bad guys have won. America is under Nazi rule (Which, is not that different from the current state of things, is it?). Spencer’s plays with this idea throughout the story, drawing parallels between the two. For example, the persecution of the Inhumans in the make-believe world is drawn from the persecution of the Jews in the real, and so on. While the story is not that epic in scale as Metal perhaps is, it does work as a summer blockbuster crossover event story regardless. Spencer also smartly limits the active cast. New York is put under a blackout, so half the Marvel superheroes are off the table and a shield around Earth has locked out heavy-hitters like Captain Marvel and such. This makes it easier to follow the action. Not that I doubt Spencer’s ability to write a large cast (he does exactly that so expertly here) or that I doubt the reader’s ability to read a book with a large cast. A smaller cast works here, because unlike Metal, for example, this is not a story about the heroes trying to stop the bad guys from winning. They have won already. It is up to a handful of rebels to overthrow the regime Reich.

The first and the last issue of the story is drawn by Steve McNiven, and rest of the work is divided among Rod Reis, Daniel Acuña, Andrea Sorrentino, Joshua Cassara, Leinil Francis Yu, Sean Izaakse, Joe Bennett, Ron Lim, Paco Medina, …holy shit that’s a lot of artists. To their credit though, the editorial team does manage to avoid any art inconsistencies. The story follows the one artist per issue rule to the dot, or a specific artist(s) sticks with a particular plotline. Steve McNiven hyper-detailed art sets up the mood perfectly in the beginning and that exposition is perfect for the end. Andrea Sorrentino, I think, handles a major portion of the book. His panel structure and innovative use of the borders and the gutters is fantastic.

THE VERDICT

To be honest, this was the hardest it has been in quite some time to pick one of the two. Usually, I like one book over the other a lot. Infinity over Forever Evil, Original Sin over Futures End, Secret Wars over Convergence, Rebirth over Civil War II and 4001 A.D. This year, I thought both worked quite well in their own regard. Neither of them is perfect by any means. There are some gaping holes in the plot of both stories. Dream appearing in Metal to add a convenient layer of exposition to an ‘oh my god, how are they ever going to do it?’ plot, The Punisher and Thor kinda turning Nazis with little to no conviction in Secret Empire, and so on. Nonetheless, I had a good time reading them, and that’s all that matters on some days.

While both Metal and Secret Empire had some lasting impact in their respective universe, most of what was caused by Secret Empire has been hushed over. This is partially, I think, because of all the (unnecessary) outrage it caused. Metal, on the other hand, boosted sales, launched new series, spun new tales. I had so much fun reading that book. And oh, how could I ever forget baby Darkseid doing the devil’s horns?

[comicsxaminer]

DC Collectibles was gracious enough to allow me to review the new DC Designer Series: Batman By Brian Bolland Mini Statue sculpted by David Giruad which hits the shelves this Wednesday August 29th.

This numbered and limited edition mini statue comes in the standard DC Collectibles packaging. The back of the box has a nice photo of the statue as well as the previously released DC Designer Series: Dark Knight III Batman By Andy Kubert Mini Statue sculpted by Jason Wires and the upcoming DC Designer Series: The Joker By Brian Bolland Mini Statue which, like this statue, is also sculpted by David Giruad. There is also a really nice text summary about the statue and the landmark graphic novel from which it is based on: From the pages of the Eisner Award-winning BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, acclaimed artist Brian Bolland’s iconic rendition of Batman gets a 7-inch polyresin statue. David Giraud brings to life one of the most seminal interpretations of the Dark Knight ever to come to comics.

DC Designer Series statues are based on art from the comics industry’s top creators and recreates their vision in vivid 3-D detail. #gallery-0-9 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-9 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Sculptor David Giruad accurately captures the beautiful illustration style by Brian Bolland from Batman: The Killing Joke. A really nice touch with the head sculpt is the sinister smirk on the Dark Knight’s face, just the one he had at the end of the story in response to The Joker’s joke:

Overall, this mini statue is a pretty solid item. The attention to detail such as the folds in Batman’s cape and the joker playing card in the Caped Crusader’s right hand (an obvious tip of the hat to the iconic interrogation scene) make this a must have for any Batman fan or fan of Brian Bolland art. Check out the gallery below for a closer look: #gallery-0-10 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-10 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-10 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-10 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

As previously stated, DC Designer Series: Batman By Brian Bolland Mini Statue is limited edition of 5,000. Each statue is numbered underneath the base. Since the one I received from DC Collectibles is for review purposes only, this is marked “AP 25” meaning artist’s proof.

DC Designer Series: Batman By Brian Bolland Mini Statue retails for $80.00 and will be available this week at comic shops and online retailers. Check Comic Shop Locator for a store near you or simply visit DC Shop online for this and other exciting products depicting the World’s Greatest Superheroes.

Special thank you to DC Collectibles for allowing me this opportunity to review one of their wonderful products.

Review Of DC DESIGNER SERIES: BATMAN BY BRIAN BOLLAND MINI STATUE DC Collectibles was gracious enough to allow me to review the new DC Designer Series: Batman By Brian Bolland Mini Statue…

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Batman The Detective #1

Batman The Detective #1 DC Comics 2021 Written by Tom Taylor Illustrated by Andy Kubert Coloured by Brad Anderson Lettered by Clem Robbins      A horrific tragedy in the United Kingdom sends a very personal and deadly message to the Dark Knight—one that will draw Batman out of Gotham City to investigate! From the moment he lands in Europe, Batman will face a difficult investigation and unheard-of adversaries and find the assistance of a partner once more—all in the hunt for the villain known as Equilibrium! New villains! New allies! A thrilling overseas adventure begins for the Dark Knight! Well I say this one thing and then let it go, Bruce Wayne is unrecognisable and in his steed we have Frank Castle playing the part.  I don’t care if Alfred is currently deceased, for now, the look on his is horrendous.  Now onto the matter at hand.  Tom’s writing one hell of a great introduction to the story here.  The opening here is brilliantly done and it’s nice to see Beryl in action even if she’s not wearing the suit as it still grabs the readers attention and makes you want to see what is next. I do like the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well.  There is some angst in this issue but it doesn’t override the mood, tone or feel for the book and for that I’m eternally thankful.  Getting Bruce out of Gotham to the U.K. is a great move, even if Alfred was from there as it allows us to see him kind of rediscover himself a bit.  Also the Gentleman Ghost really that’s who that was and not some giant snowman?  The character development that we see is phenomenal and its not just Bruce its also in this new Squire and Beryl herself as well.   The dialogue is great but the way that we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances fleshes them out even better.  The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages dropping hints as we’re introduced to the story it’s easy to see why this would hold so much appeal.   I also like the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story start to take shape.  With the way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it all moves the story forward is really rather quite nice to see.   The interiors here are okay.  I’m not crazy about the resemblance to JrJr’s work and it has a much rougher style than I would like to see.  The first page gave me hope but when we got to Beryl’s eyes I knew hope was lost.  There are a lot of moments that look beautiful and even more where I’m straining to see what I’m looking at and while Kubert is something of a legend this is far from his best stuff.  That being said how we see backgrounds being utilised and how we see the composition within the panels bringing us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is impeccable.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us his eye as a master storyteller isn’t diminished in the slightest.  The colour work is nicely rendered as well.  I am enjoying how we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work we see.   ​ I may quibble here and there because it’s my eye for detail that I pride myself on but overall seeing this book is so much fun.  I am certainly glad it came in a blank cover variant otherwise I probably wouldn’t have read this.  I stand by my observations of choices made and say that overall this is the kind of Batman title that I want to read, that I’ve been craving since Detective Comics became just another Batman title.