Mr. Comic Book Issue #1

Welcome boys and girls to a new column about all things comics. (Well, most things.) Each week I’ll share some thoughts on what’s going on regarding comics and their film adaptations. I’ll also suggest some ongoing series or collections of comics that are good to read if you’re trying to get into comics and don’t know where to start. And finally, I’ll highlight some the best of the weekly releases. (I’m going to apologize to die-hard DC fans right now, as I mostly read Marvel. I just don’t have the time or money (to read all the big titles from Marvel and DC. If you thing there is a title worth reading, leave a comment and I’ll try to work it into my pull list or read it in the store.)

Now on the column! First off, I have an open letter to one of the biggest writers in the comic book industry, Jeph Loeb.

Dear Jeph,

What happened to you? I’m talking about that career wise. You use to be able to write such great stories, such as “Batman: Long Halloween,” which Christopher Nolan used as inspiration for “The Dark Knight.” But lately, you just flat out suck. Your new Hulk title, simply named “Hulk,” started out slow with the terrible character of Red Hulk (Rulk). When “Hulk” started to look up with the original Hulk losing his powers, I gained a little optimism.

But then you wrote “Ultimatum”.

You practically kicked the Ultimate Universe in the metaphorical balls by destroying almost everything in the universe. Many hated you because for this, myself included. You killed off 35 characters in five issues (A rough estimate). And none of the deaths were warranted.

When the Ultimate Universe was somewhat rebooted after the event you were nowhere to be found and I thanked Galactus for that. Mark Miller and Brian Michael Bendis started some great books in “Ultimate Comics Avengers” (Miller), and the second volume of “Ultimate Spider-Man” (Bendis).

But then the solicits came out for “Ultimate X” and I saw your name. My first thought was, “You mother f***er, stay away from the Ultimate Universe.” But I bought the first issue and was pleasantly surprised, and it seemed like a return to form that I greatly missed. But sadly this optimism didn’t last long again. Again, I saw your name on the solicits for “Ultimate Comics New Ultimates.” I bought the first issue, and my hatred for you came back. I’m a comic book fan; I know their will be some objectification of women but not to the extent that you did in “Ultimate Comics New Ultimates” #1. Women are basically sex addicts to you and the lust over any man they are near. Now I realize Frank Cho is the artist, and he synonymous with double D’s, but this is stupid. Jeph, ship up, or stop writing comics. I don’t like wasting my money and you ruining great characters that Mark Miller helped create (writer of “The Ultimates 1 & 2”).

Sincerely,
Kevin Finnigan

P.S. F*** you

Movie Time

The new trailer for “Iron Man 2” was release recently. There were some great shots of Whiplash and War Machine, as well as the new armor that comes from a briefcase. Die-hard Iron Man fans will remember when Tony Stark uses to keep the Iron Man armor in a briefcase for emergency purposes. It never looked this bad ass, and it’s a welcome reinvention of an old Iron Man aspect.

“The Green Lantern” will be shot in 3-D! Ryan Reynolds is portraying Hal Jordan (AKA the Green Lantern) and expect to see that in theaters sometime in 2011.

The race for who will be Captain America is heating up, with Marvel finally starting to cut people. John Krasinski (Jim from “The Office”) was the front-runner, but was cut Wednesday night. Krasinski had the Steve Rogers’s personality and look, but would have had to bulk up a lot to look like Captain America. Rumors are swirling around Chris Evans’ (the Human Torch from “The Fantastic Four”) name for the role.

Trades/Series for New Comers

This week, I’m going with the first trade paperback (basically a collection of issues, usually a full story arc) in Brian Michael Bendis’ amazing run on “Daredevil.” Why this one? The story doesn’t focus too much on the spandex, but more on the outside life of Matt Murdock. There are guest appearances by Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Mr. Fantastic, but all in their civilian uniforms.

Here’s the link from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daredevil-Vol-3-Wake-Up/dp/078510948X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268198990&sr=8-2

Highlights for 3/10/10

DC (not a lot released this week, with nothing from “Blackest Night”)
-Batman and Robin #10. Grant Morrison continues to write compelling stories, but the series is almost over, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Marvel (nothing tied into “Siege” this week)
-Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #8. Bendis is awesome in this book, no other way to put it. If only Stan Lee had kept Peter in high school as long as Bendis has (140+ issues and counting).

-Web of Spider-Man #6. Every issue has been tying into the mini-event in “Amazing Spider-Man” called The Gauntlet. Every old enemy (The Lizard, Electro, Sandman, etc.), has been attacking Pete one after the other in a relentless attack being planned by Kraven the Hunters daughter. Each issue has had some back story to each villain, and Fred Van Lente makes the short stories very enjoyable with some great character depth.

-S.W.O.R.D. #5- A great series that wasn’t given a fair chance. This is the final issue, so pick this and #1-4 up. Kieron Gillen writes great dialogue while making me want to see more of Agent Brand. Look for her in “Spider-Woman,” written by Brian Michael Bendis and art by Alex Maleev.